Ethereals: Dossier
Venadiar, Watcher of the Elders and Hunter of the Creator
"I know I should probably be going on and on about how I'm going to defeat you for the glory of the Elders and the almighty bitch, but let's be real – I just like to kill things."
- The Hunter, right before killing two ADVENT squads during the First Battle of Korea
CODEX DOCUMENT 1223
Distributed through Human publishing outlets after threats were received
Edited by Quisilia
Flagged by ADVENT Intelligence for review
Below are several notable excerpts
The Ultimate Guide to the Species of the Galaxy – And How to Kill Them!
By Dave, a Real Human™
Introduction
Greetings, prospective readers of this little document I've put together for your reading pleasure. Now you may have questions, such as a how a very Real Human™ could possible put together such an authentic document, but if you have any doubts, just look at my name again (What alien would be called "Dave" – Exactly right, none, so stop thinking about it).
This will be briefer than you may expect, and it actually isn't too difficult to actually kill aliens (At least to me), so I'll be including some extra information such as interesting and idiotic cultural, military, and government differences, as well as why each species is either good or bad. Many aliens died to bring you this information, so have a moment of silence before you read further.
Or don't, and just go out and kill an alien. Would make me feel better.
Part 1 – Andromedons
Overview: So, these are aliens that you've probably seen before, the ones in big suits that no one seems to like that much. As far as aliens go, they aren't idiots and can put up a semi-decent fight (Although they can be creepy when they want to be). At the same time, they're one of the more mechanical alien species; in fact, I'd say they were robots if I hadn't killed a few myself.
Overall Rating: 6/10 - I wouldn't kill all of them
How to kill them: You break their suits. For whatever fucking reason, they decided it would be a good idea to come to a galaxy where they literally couldn't breathe the atmosphere, and this apparently extends everywhere. They have to actually poison their planets to walk around without their suits. So yeah, break the suits and boom, dead Andromedons.
Good thing they have the suits though, because they are an absolute joke outside of them. If you do, just shoot them in the head. They die as easily as other species with heads. Or somewhere in their chest would be sufficient. For their suits, if you want to take the "No Helmet" challenge, be sure to target any sort of tanks they're wearing – these often contain chemicals, air, or something else important. Also target the joints to bring them down.
Alternatively, just throw them in the water. They can't swim and will eventually drown. If you don't want to be subtle, just shoot a rocket at them. That's always fun.
Killability Rating: 8/10 – Somewhat challenging and fun to kill. Would recommend.
Culture: They're divided up into the space equivalent of tribes, and it's just as stupid as it sounds. Basically all of them hate each other, but they also don't want to go to war with each other, and more importantly, they hate the Sectoids more, so they're in a constant loop of trying to outdo each other and subtly try and insult everyone not from their space-tribe.
If you ask me, they'd be much better off if they just dropped the pretense and got back to fighting each other. Would make things a hell of a lot more interesting. Otherwise they're really, really boring. Not like us Real Humans™ though, because even though we do stupid things, at least there's a good chance that someone is going to die instead of everyone just hoping it goes away.
Interesting Culture Rating: 4/10 – I'll make this a 10/10 when the civil war starts happening.
Military: Yeah, they're competent. Easy to kill, but they're fine. Good suits, good tech, kills things, pretty good.
Competence Rating: 9/10 – Would recommend.
Government: The government pretty much just exists to keep the space tribes from killing each other. Cool. Us Humans have had similar government bodies that pretty much did the same thing, and if I recall, it didn't do them much good when things got heated. Doubt it'll be different for these guys.
How Quickly Civil War Would Happen If Their Leader Was Assassinated Rating: 3/10 – Like I said, all these space tribes hate each other. Bring it on as far as I'm concerned.
Part 2 – Ethereals
Overview: Oh yeah, not even the immortal four-armed aliens are going to be ignored here. They can die just like anyone else, even if they are, a bit harder to kill, and I confess, I really haven't tried yet.
Doesn't mean I haven't thought about it a lot.
In fact, I have a running list of certain glorious Elders to kill when the time comes.
Overall Rating: 3/10 – This number is how many Ethereals are on my list. This'll go down with each one killed, after all, what good is a species that doesn't have enough members that I can't kill a few here or there when I feel like it?
How to kill them: See, I could tell you this, but the thing is, I kinda want it to be a surprise. Blame Quisilia, he'd probably share it with them as some kind of twisted joke. But make no mistake, this is the endgame for the galaxy. Kill one of these, and you have my endless respect.
Killability Rating: 10/10 – Good fucking luck killing them.
Culture: I don't fucking know, they don't tell me that sort of thing. Heard they had some kind of Empire once, then a bunch of them died, and now they go around assembling random species into a poorly run and managed Collective than has no goal other than to really exist.
There is like only one goddamn Ethereal that ever does anything, well ok, maybe two. But yeah, the big impression I'm getting from Ethereals is that they're pretty lazy. You'd think having control of entire species would give them some motivation, but no.
I bet they don't even know this is being published, heh.
Editor's Note: Quisilia – I would say you're lucky the Imperator was mostly amused when I mentioned this to him.
Interesting Culture Rating: 6/10 – A bit of mystery, but they blow it by being lazy.
Military: The Battlemaster is solid. If there was once an army of him, I'd never want to meet whoever beat them. With that said, no one else seems to ever do anything, so he seems to be the only competent one. Although I've noticed a lot of Ethereals like having their own private armies, and those are run well.
Stuff to think about.
Competence Rating: 8/10 – If nothing else, they can put up a good fight.
Government: Did I mention they are lazy and never do anything? Well, I'll say it again.
If you're not going to run your Collective, just fuck off and give it to someone who actually wants it. I've always wanted to have a galactic army, and I'd at least be more hands on than you've ever been. Even if I am a Real Human™, I'd guarantee I'd do a better job than the Imperator.
Like, for example, I wouldn't be toying with my enemies, but having some fun killing off all the world leaders until they inevitably descend into chaos, and from the ashes, new leaders emerge to unite the people and then I kill them too, and by then I'd probably just send in my soldiers to put the species to work…
Yes, I've thought about this. Sue me. Your plans are boring, Imperator, do something for once in your life.
How Quickly Civil War Would Happen If Their Leader Was Assassinated Rating: N/A – Much as I insult him, I doubt even I'd be able to kill the great Imperator, so this situation will probably never be relevant. Although that would imply that anyone besides the Battlemaster did anything, so make of that what you will, dear reader.
Part 3 – Humans
Overview: While us Real Humans™ are indeed one of the most interesting and smartest species in the galaxy, we are, sadly, not without our flaws. But we have things the aliens don't have, like music, the Internet, personality, and most importantly, a lot of ways to kill each other. I love that about being a Real Human™, just being able to order any weapon I want.
Granted, we're a bit behind the tech, but I think we'll get there.
Overall Rating: 10/10 – Would be Human again.
How to kill them: Let's be honest and say that Real Humans™ die pretty easily. Just shoot them in the head, heart, any vital organ, or bang their head hard enough, or make them fucking trip and fall down, and you can kill a Human. So there are many ways to kill Humans, however, we are pretty well aware of how much we suck in the survivability department, so I'll focus on the positives.
We have some good shots. We have armor, and we can also use purple space magic to kill the xeno scum. Psionics makes things a hell of a lot more interesting, and can make targets very difficult to kill if they actually know how to use it (50/50 on that, honestly). Sadly though, overall we aren't really that much fun to kill when it comes down to it. We are fun when Expert and Amazing shooters deliberately handicap themselves for a challenge.
Killability Rating: 5/10 – 9/10 For skilled psions. Fun to make heads explode.
Culture: I'm not even going to attempt to really cover this because us Humans have so many fucking cultures it's impossible to keep up. Yes, we are actually a species that has something interesting about ourselves besides big guns or psionics, but at the same time, we went a little overboard. I would recommend getting rid of a few of the more useless traditions and cultures. Preferably anything to do with pacifism.
And please just shoot Nazis and Communists on sight. Hate those guys.
Interesting Culture Rating: 10/10 – Nice to be able to talk to ten different Humans and actually not have it sound like the same fucking person over and over again – you would not believe how common this is.
Military: Pre-Actual Competent military, us Humans honestly weren't that great. We had maybe one or two decent militaries, but other than that, eh, not great. ADVENT is good though, true defenders of Humanity. Amazing what having a central species power will do for you. Also can't give enough props to XCOM for putting those Ethereals in their place.
Caelior's reaction when the good ol' Ravaged One was killed was amazing.
Competence Rating: 8/10 – Pretty good I think.
Government: Humans, we have some good governments. We also have some awful ones. Pre-ADVENT, we were pretty screwed. At this point in time, there actually seems to be some intelligence in it, and as a result the rest of the world has to be smarter too or they'll be introduced to what an annexation looks like.
ADVENT, can you do this more often? Stop beating around the bush and take over the world already. It's going to be very disappointing if you always try to go the diplomatic route. May I recommend taking out the heads of state? I do contract work, you know (Call me!).
How Quickly Civil War Would Happen If Their Leader Was Assassinated Rating: 8/10 – Pretty good. I'd have to kill the whole government to actually make a difference I think. At least for ADVENT. 5/10 for everyone else.
Part 4 – Mutons
Overview: I present to you the most useless and idiotic species in the galaxy. They literally cannot do anything with any sort of intelligence whatsoever. The glorious Elders (May they wither and die) actually have to grow them since they can't naturally be smart. What they were thinking in uplifting such a useless race is beyond me.
Overall Rating: 1/10 – Throw them all in a fire.
How to kill them: With literally any kind of weapon. Shoot them in their stupid, unarmored heads. They'll probably just stand there and let you do it. They're equipped with the cheapest stuff possible, which doesn't do much to protect them. Sure, they have "good" biology and can survive in almost any environment. Wow. Amazing. Doesn't do much good when I blow their heads off now does it?
Killability Rating: 1/10 – I would rather shoot a moving target than one of these things. At least then if I was bored, it would be my own fault.
Culture: hahahahahaha
Interesting Culture Rating: 0/10
Military: More intense laughter.
Ok, ok. Those Elites take two shots to kill usually, not one. Even the fucking Battlemaster can only do so much with them though. They're only good to use as suicide soldiers and create organic cover.
Competence Rating: 2/10 – I only gave them two points because the Sargons are admittedly somewhat intelligent. And that is why you'll never find someone who hates the species more than a Sargon. Trust me, if you were constantly surrounded by morons, you'd hate your own species too.
Government: hahahahahahaha
How Quickly Civil War Would Happen If Their Leader Was Assassinated Rating: N/A – They don't have a government.
Part 5 – Sectoids
Overview: This species is the definition of 'creepy', and are what most rational beings, including us Humans, distrust based on appearance alone. Yes, it's stereotyping, but the Sectoids are one situation where the alien abductor and soulless experimenter are not only true, those are the nicest things you can say about them.
Trust me, most Sectoids aren't very talkative, and the only ones that have any sort of personality have God complexes so severe you would think they considered themselves the only ones who actually mattered in the galaxy. Not too dissimilar from the glorious Elders themselves, now that I think about it, but I digress.
They're creepy bugs with the majority being mindless drones, but I can't say they're completely stupid.
Overall Rating: 7/10 – I'd kill them, but they aren't offensive.
How to kill them: Shoot their oversized heads. I bet a child could kill one of the drones. They aren't too smart and are so psionically weak the worst you'll get is a headache. Well, they can shoot, so that might complicate things. But at minimum, even a rookie could kill the little ones. Like I said, if you shoot pretty much any part they'll eventually die. Not a durable species, the Sectoids.
Things get a little more complicated if they actually use those large heads of theirs. The Hive Commanders can be actually challenging since they aren't drones, but highly trained and powerful psions. They have an annoying tendency to not stay dead for whatever reason, so be sure you burn the body if you ever fight one.
I'm serious. I've killed four of the things and every single one has shown up alive again.
Haven't quite figured out how that works. Cheating of the highest order, I'd say.
Killability Rating: 8/10 – Mostly because of whatever bullshit magic the Hive Commanders use to cheat death. Keeps things very interesting, and psionics is also fun to counter.
Culture: I find it mildly revolting that the goddamn race of mechanical and scientist drones are somehow both smarter and more interesting than a species literally from another galaxy. Part of it is the mystery, them Hive Commanders like staying in their eggs on their homeworld doing who knows what. But even better is that the Hive Commanders actually seem to work together and each one has their own focus and skills.
Breaking into those eggs is harder than you think. They do not like random people poking around. But then again, take out the Hive Commanders and it becomes utterly drab. And there sadly isn't the possibility of them killing each other. Also a point against them.
Interesting Culture Rating: 7/10 – I only rate it this high because there's some mystery around them. Might change this when I figure it out.
Military: The Sectoids seem to believe that if you make something big enough, it's actually hard to kill.
No. It isn't. Short-sighted fools.
Forces a bit of creativity, but once you figure it out it's pretty easy to dismantle anything they throw at you. Fun for practice though, I'll give them that.
Competence Rating: 5/10 – At least it's functional and large. They'd lose against the Andromedons.
Government: Run by the creepy Hive Commanders. They pretty much do their own thing and get together and talk about shit every once in a while. Pretty simple, and the rest of the time they stay in their eggs and do…whatever they normally do in there. Probably what you'd expect from a bunch of master telepaths with god complexes.
Still, everything runs fine, and you have to admire a species that decides to kill off half of itself for not being up to their IQ standards. Killing off a whole gender is hardcore.
How Quickly Civil War Would Happen If Their Leader Was Assassinated Rating: 10/10 – Largely because the damn Hive Commanders don't die, and even if I actually killed one, they'd just make another one and probably wouldn't care too much in the first place.
Part 6 – Vitakara
Overview: Ah…this is like coming home. Boy is this an interesting one; a mishmash of various races that have nothing in common except DNA, with militarists and pacifists all living in harmony together with a fixation or fear of gene modding, depending on how you look at it. And on top of it, they boast some actual terrorists.
For as much as they are decried as weak, Vitakara are thankfully not too boring. Although the outlooks sadly seem to only vary by species. Not much divergence within them unfortunately.
Then again, I may be biased.
Overall Rating: 8/10 – Meh, they're tolerable.
How to kill them: The vast majority can pretty much be treated like Humans. Just think of them as Humans with grey skin and taller, Humans who have fur and are taller, or Humans who live in trees and have a pointless philosophy and existence. Great! Now there are only three other races to concern yourself with.
Cobrarians follow a lot of the same rules. Shoot the head, and if that fails, just shoot the body until it falls dead. Close range is not recommended, since the reptiles are rather feisty and like to play dead a lot. Don't really bother with the Sar'Manda, they only fight underwater and don't do much to begin with anyway. They're more boring than the Andromedons.
The Oyariah are a bit trickier. Most take a few shots to take down, and you're better off hitting chinks in their stony skin than trying to get headshots, since that'll just annoy them. Rockets and explosives also aren't as effective as you'd think. Oh well, at least it actually gives some challenge which the rest of the species is sorely lacking.
Killability Rating: 7/10 – Nulorian and Oyariah bump this up significantly.
Culture: I'll sum this up:
- Vitakarians: The only ones who actually do stuff and hold some kind of intelligent position.
- Dath'Haram: Pacifist cowards who constantly complain about 'military violence'.
- Cobrarian: Misandrist reptiles who complain about everything in their desert.
- Oyariah: Stony Ethereal-worshippers who are good soldiers.
- Borelians: Boring military types who like to have snowball fights.
- Sar'Manda: Isolationist fish that just want to stay in the ocean.
They were a lot more varied once, although since that almost killed off the entire species, them becoming a bit more restrained is a little understandable.
Interesting Culture Rating: 7/10 – Over half the races aren't bad, good enough for me.
Military: If you ignore the fact that they never actually fought in a war until us Humans, then they are pretty good? Otherwise they suck in every way possible. They can't shoot straight, crack under pressure, get sick at the sight of blood, and have no idea what the fuck war actually is.
Idiots. Hopefully most of them will get killed.
Competence Rating: 4/10 – Only because the Zararch and Battlemaster are actually competent.
Government: They are a bunch of Ethereal puppets that can't think for themselves and are stuck debating the most pointless stuff you can think of. Sitting in one of their meetings makes you want to blow your brains out, and I came very close to killing the whole fucking mass of blabbering representatives just to shut them up.
Unfortunately, I was advised that would be a bad idea, so I decided to save that for later.
Would have been funny though.
How Quickly Civil War Would Happen If Their Leader Was Assassinated Rating: 5/10 – Would be a 3/10, but since the Zararch would likely take control, I'm not too sad about that. Still probably wouldn't go over that well.
Message to Quisilia from Chosen [ERROR! SCRAMBLED] on the CODEX Encrypted Network
Subject: A Favor
Quisilia, we're friends, right? I'm in a bit of a situation.
See, I did a few things that, in hindsight, probably should have been avoided, and ended up with your friend the Battlemaster sending my dear sister after me. Now I want to say that I didn't lose to her, I'm not that incompetent, but I did make a mistake and let's just say things were rather painful for me.
Still though, what was absolutely infuriating was that my idiot sister forgot to pick up my sniper rifle, and it's probably sitting in some ADVENT or XCOM lab.
So could you get it back for me? I'd do it myself, but I'm a bit indisposed right now.
Thanks!
- D
Re: Subject: A Favor
I suppose I could look into this. I'm a bit occupied at the moment, but I know how attached you are to that gun.
- Quisilia
No recorded activity for sixteen hours
Re: Re: Subject: A Favor
Quisilia.
When I said I wanted your help, this is not what I had in mind.
Please get rid of this.
- D
Attached is a screenshot of the following tweets:
Quisilia TheGreatQ – Nov 25, 2016
Hey, ADVENT_PR XCOM can you help me out? Looking for a certain rifle that looks like this picture attached below. Asking for a friend. #lostandfound #guns #missinginaction #please
Attached is a picture of the rifle, as held by the Hunter.
Replying to TheGreatQ
XCOM XCOM – Nov 25, 2016
No.
Replying to XCOM
Quisilia TheGreatQ – Nov 25, 2016
Please, my friend is really distraught about this. #thinkofthealiens #mean #stealing #art #warcrime
Attached is a surprisingly well drawn image of a cartoon hunter sitting on the ground in a fetal position, presumably crying. A thought bubble (In the shape of a heart) shows the Hunter getting married to his sniper rifle, presumably signifying true love.
Re: Re: Re: Subject: A Favor
What? So dismissive of my methods?
You're entertaining, but consider what you're asking right now? We have a lot to deal with, and to be honest, finding your oversized gun is not a high priority. That, and you're not even supposed to be able to have communications capability right now.
You are also quite lucky the Battlemaster hasn't cut your head off. Please don't ask him for your rifle when he speaks to you. Unless you want to lose more body parts.
Have fun!
- Quisilia
Log PD172 – CODEX Archive System
Category: Other
Type: Audio Log
Participants: Venadiar; Human Captive 2771
Begin Playback:
[Venadiar]: "Greetings, Human, mind if I sit here?"
Sounds of a chair being pulled up in front of the cell.
[Human 2771]: "Don't think I have a choice. Come to torture me some more?"
[Venadiar]: "No, not my style. Thought I would give you an easier way out."
Pained chuckled from the Human.
[Human 2771]: "I don't think they want me to die yet."
[Venadiar]: "Mmm, no, they really don't. But now it's only a matter of time. Feel up for talking?"
[Human 2771]: "You're the first one who's bothered, so sure, why not?"
[Venadiar]: "Great! So, what were you before coming to the glorious Paradise?"
[Human 2771]: "A programmer. Not the best, but it was good work. Fun."
[Venadiar]: "Can't say I know too much about that stuff. Military then?"
[Human 2771]: "Nah, although I guess you could say I ended up there. No, VR devices, entertainment, you know?"
[Venadiar]: "Virtual Reality? That's military; even before you put on that ADVENT uniform."
[Human 2771]: "No, no, this was just for fun. The tech was still pretty new, but it was extremely promising. It would have revolutionized how we, Humans, consumed media. Doubt anyone's working on it now."
[Venadiar]: "Ah, so it's another way to play your video games?"
[Human 2771]: "That's what everyone thinks of, but it can used for so much more. Engineering, simulations, and also military. It's-"
[Venadiar]: "Yeah, yeah, trust me, I know how it works. Thing is we don't have that sort of thing for fun. A shame. You Humans actually seem to prioritize that, which is both impractical, and admirable. I mean, having entertainment where you actually can shoot up people for fun would get you taken by the Zararch, joyless bastards."
[Human 2771]: "Uh…why are there bugs everywhere?"
[Venadiar]: "Ah, yes, there aren't any, you're just going insane. Don't worry, it won't get much worse."
[Human 2771]: "What did you do to me?"
[Venadiar]: "Still haven't figured that out, but everyone I talk to loses their mind after a while. And frankly, this is a better way to go out than what the glorious bitch has planned for you. So since I have nothing better to do, I just like talking to people. You Humans are an interesting species."
[Unidentified Caretaker]: "Step away from the captive, Hunter."
[Venadiar]: "Fuck off, I'm having a conversation."
Sound of discharged weapons. Unidentified Caretaker is presumed incapacitated.
[Venadiar]: "Sorry, but it looks like our talk is over. Shame it ended this soon."
One additional gunshot. Human Captive 2771 is presumed dead.
XCOM Profile 7291
Authorization Level: XCOM Intelligence
Subject: Venadiar
Assessment Authors: Agent Abigail Gertrude; Aegis; Head of XCOM Research and Development Dr. Moira Vahlen
Approved by: The Commander
SECTION 1: Physical Characteristics
Hair: None noted
Eye color: Glowing Blue
Skin color: Dark Purple
Height: 8'2" – 8'10 (Height unable to be accurately determined from footage)
Weight: 220 – 280 lbs. (Weight unable to be accurately determined from footage)
Age: 5 – 140 Years (As with the other similar aliens, they could be recent creations or very old. This particular alien was likely originally a Vitakara, probably a Vitakarian, and they already have long lifespans.)
Scars or markings: Unlikely to have any due to their regeneration.
Physical condition: Highly agile and strong, at least from what was seen. For once this one didn't seem to have any psionic powers, but is arguably just as good with his rifle.
SECTION 2: Assessment
This alien is…utterly bizarre. The closest comparison I can think of is if you took Quisilia, gave him a sniper rifle, and made him a psychopath. If nothing else, you can class Venadiar as one of the more interesting aliens, and one of the most unsettling to ever fight.
Reviewing what ADVENT has provided to us, it paints enough of a picture to actually put together something resembling a profile on him, largely because he never actually stopped talking through the entire battle up until his removal. This will be covered more in the following section, but I'll focus on his actions right now.
It appeared that the Hunter, as he identified himself during the beginning of the Battle of Korea, was with the aliens from the beginning. However, at some point he announced that he was essentially not going to follow his orders, and instead decided to start killing aliens and Humans alike. I want to say there was a pattern to his targets, but it honestly seemed like he just shot whatever he felt like.
Although, targets that are extremely large, insult him, or otherwise get a rise out of him seem to have a higher chance of getting targeted.
What is interesting is that it seemed like the aliens did not expect this, nor really seemed to be aware of the traitorous tendencies of this alien, and were apparently aggravated enough to send another of the Chosen to take him out. This led to…a surprising alliance between us and the Chosen, and even then we almost still lost.
If there is one thing that we can definitely take away from this, it is that the Hunter is perhaps the most dangerous of the Chosen. Not only was he capable of sustaining an entire missile barrage, but also managed to beat all of us and if he hadn't made the mistake of picking up my rifle, we would have all died.
Addendum: Aegis – This is perhaps the first time I have ever seen anything resembling treason within the Collective. I am not sure how the Battlemaster overlooked putting such a being in his military, and it implies that this alien has either been putting on a facade or has a more volatile personality than any other alien in the Collective.
SECTION 3: Psychological Profile
On the edge between insanity and anarchism. I can't really tell which. He likes to ramble while he shoots his targets about seemingly random topics, most of which aren't really connected at all to the current situation. He doesn't seem to have any kind of regard for life, Human or alien, which is clearly apparent from some of what he's said.
He started the battle with saying he wanted to kill whoever he wanted to, and multiple times in combat he mentioned how much he likes killing things. This is the clearest case for a psychopath label I've seen in a long time, and he not only seems to realize that, but revel in it. He deliberately seems to go out of his way to make the most difficult and impossible kills, only for his own amusement.
He does not seem to care about anything, and freely admitted that he doesn't have any loyalty to the Collective, and continuously insulted and derided them just as much as ADVENT, and in fact, almost seemed more complimentary to us than the alternative. He is definitely not anyone professional, even if he is by far the best shot I've ever seen in my life.
He seems to harbor some hatred for his 'siblings', even commenting that he'd wanted to shoot the Assassin in the head for some time, and seemed to greatly enjoy fighting her. Killing is perhaps the only thing he can enjoy, and as a result, seeks it out whenever possible even if it results in him betraying his own side. I don't know if this extends to Ethereals, but he doesn't seem too happy with the Creator either, judging from several comments made towards her.
He is an unpredictable loose cannon, and one we don't want to encourage. I don't know if he's legitimately insane or not, because he seems skilled and intelligent, but his actions show him as an impulsive thrill seeking psychopath. He can't just be ignored either, because even if he also shoots aliens, he's still shooting at us.
SECTION 4: Concerns and Abilities
The good news: I don't think he's a psion, or at least, not a skilled one. There were some telepathic defenses noted by the Priests, but he never displayed any psionic abilities at any point during our battle. It is possible he's just a weak psion, who is only really trained to protect his mind and nothing else.
The bad news: It really doesn't matter. His weapon skills make up for that significantly.
The Hunter is without a doubt the best sniper we've ever seen. His kill count by ADVENT estimates is in the hundreds, and pretty split between Human and aliens, with a wide variety of units killed. He likes to telegraph his attacks, usually by speaking to them first, or even announcing what he's going to do, and there is literally no defense. He marks a target, that target dies.
It doesn't matter if the target is hiding behind cover, is behind layers of armor, or is a psion; nothing seems to matter to him. And he's not only effective at long range, but also in closer encounters where he switches to his pistols and is an equally good shot with them. He's stated that he's trained to kill psions, and our efforts to kill him seemed to largely amuse him.
Combine his skills with his invincibility, and I genuinely think this is the most dangerous Chosen that we have encountered. Anyone that can so easily outclass the Assassin is one to be concerned about. I don't know what we can do to stop him when he returns.
If we're lucky, the Ethereals will just kill him as punishment, but I doubt we'll be that lucky.
Addendum: Moira Vahlen – I have finished some preliminary analysis of the biological components that were recovered by Abigail Gertrude, and the results are truly fascinating. We now have some biological framework for how these aliens function on a biological level, and it is extensive enough that I am not convinced we could replicate it with the technology we have.
The Chosen appear to be, as we suspected, originally other alien species. This Hunter in particular has remnants of Vitakarian DNA, and has preserved several aspects of that race, such as the eyes and height. I can easily believe that both the Assassin and Warlock were victims of similar experimentation.
However, the entirety of these Chosen are composed of trillion of small, nanite-like creatures that…don't entirely function like cells, but at the same time, seem to perform the same function. These are biological in nature, and there is nothing on Earth that compares to them. The easiest thing to imagine is that, if we were not composed of cells, but nanites.
The Chosen appear to be entirely constructed out of these base units, and while it appears that some of their original biology is retained, it is at least supplementary at best, and quite possibly just replicated by these organic nanites. I do not know how such a thing could be created, much less organized into a fully sentient being, but this does provide an explanation for their regenerative capabilities.
From the arm that was recovered, the first thing that we noticed was that the arm had sealed itself off from outside contamination. The stump had effectively cauterized itself in a thin organic layer of skin, and kept fluids like blood still inside. This implies that it is impossible for a Chosen to actually bleed out. Indeed, performing various kinds of cuts on the arm just resulted in the skin sealing back up in mere moments.
The working hypothesis is that, since these organic nanites operate on similar concepts to mechanical nanotechnology, it is possible that the entire body contains a 'snapshot' of what it should look like, and when parts are missing, it immediately replaces them. We have observed these components replicate incredibly fast through cell-like splitting and reproduction, and as a result, it would theoretically allow for the regeneration of limbs, organs, and other vital components of the body.
Now since the limb has not regenerated into a full body, and cutting off one of the fingers also didn't cause a new one to grow, there must be some kind of requirement for such complex components to be regrown. This is likely energy, and as of right now, there is no sustenance reaching the arm and thus no additional components to expand.
The implications for our own research are obvious, but I am unsure that we have the technology to replicate these small components, as right now it is beyond anyone in my team. We will continue more invasive research, and since the arm has not deteriorated at all since acquiring it, I believe that we can safely say that it will not rot or decay.
As curious as the armor Agent Gertrude brought back was, this is more likely to be one of the most important discoveries we will uncover.
Log NB121 – CODEX Archive System
Category: Operation
Type: Audio Log
Participants: Venadiar; Zar'joreal'mattis
Begin Playback:
[Venadiar]: "You ever wonder why we're here?"
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "Because I'm ordered, and Nebulan asked you to help?"
[Venadiar]: "Not that. Like what exactly we're doing in the galaxy. What our ultimate purpose is."
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "First, what brought this on; second, no, I really haven't. I think I've got my purpose all figured out. Our lives are what we make of them."
[Venadiar]: "Because I'm fucking bored, and I'm getting tired of staring at these wannabe Nulorian. Why are we even watching them?"
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "She wants to see if they are connected to any other cells, or if this drug operation is independent. If it is, we take everyone out and get an outpost."
[Venadiar]: "Fine, I won't kill them right now. Anyway, as to what you said, I don't necessarily agree. You're working for an Ethereal, so for you this is answered. But what about her? What about her species? The Ethereals, they were designed, they know they were designed, and for some reason, they never really bothered to figure out why someone went to the trouble of designing an entire species."
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "I think the better question is if that actually matters? So they were designed? Does this actually now dictate what they must do? If that were the case, wouldn't their creators have been more…visible?"
[Venadiar]: "Perhaps they're dead."
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "In which case my point still stands."
[Venadiar]: "Mmm, might just be my own experience, but anyone who can design a species doesn't just disappear. This galaxy is very, very strange if you stop to look at it. No one stops to wonder at the planets of alien ruins, the obvious biological tampering with everything, and why everyone seems to be constantly preparing for something they don't know about."
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "Not every species in the galaxy was designed."
[Venadiar]: "No, but enough of them are to be suspicious. Ethereals, Vitakara, quite possibly Humans and Sectoids as well."
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "First, Vitakara aren't designed. And I highly doubt either the Humans or Sectoids were as well-"
Interrupted by Venadiar laughing.
[Venadiar]: "Please, you're telling me that six highly distinct races just so happened to be the same species by chance? I'm aware the Vitakara think the idea is unsettling, but I ran the numbers once. The chances of a species like that occurring naturally is impossible. And I'm also assuming you weren't aware of the ruins on Mars and Helion-2, yes? Sectoids don't bother mentioning that little detail. Someone was definitely watching them, and they probably weren't idle."
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "Even if that's true, again, what does it matter?"
[Venadiar]: "I'll let in on a little secret, Joreal, because you're actually sort of interesting to talk to: The ones who made the Ethereals, Vitakara, and probably dozens of others, they never went away. Don't know the details, but I think it's tied to what eventually killed off the Ethereals. From what I've seen, the species that came around by chance probably kill themselves off before they reach spaceflight – case in point, Mutons."
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "So give me your opinion on this?"
[Venadiar]: "Mine? There's something that is coming, and the aliens they shape are their soldiers. Considering what I've seen, it's going to be bloody. The bitch might be insane, but she isn't working day and night for no reason. The Ethereals know something, and whatever it is, it isn't good."
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "And what about you? What role do you think you have in all this?"
[Venadiar]: "Me? Oh, I know why I was created. I'm just supposed to kill things."
Long pause.
[Venadiar]: "Probably why I get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I see a head explode into chunks. Wouldn't trade that for anything. Speaking of which, I'm a bit sick of the philosophizing. We've waited long enough."
Sound of gunshots firing.
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "I knew you'd be a problem."
[Venadiar]: "Yeah, yeah, you going to help or am I getting all the kills today?"
[Zar'joreal'mattis]: "Might as well make this worth my time."
Sounds of battle intensify and combat finishes approximately four minutes and four seconds later.
End log.