This second one-shot is here to give, both, a Codex document on Collectors, and a much closer look at them. Just to give a framework for the Collector race the way I believe they'd turn out.
The Collector Codex.
Nomenclature:Collectors; AKA: Arthropans; AKA: Telestrati (compound word formed from Greek words "téleio" and "stratióti", meaning "perfect-soldier").
Latin Name:"Retorta Reliquiae" (Twisted Remnant).
Homeworld:Citadel; formerly Darkspace.
Government:Ochlocracy.
Culture:Undetermined.
Biology:Arthropod-Insectile/Genetically Altered.
History:
Also sometimes called "Arthropans" due to the term "Collector" no longer being considered accurate, until 2186-2187 this species of insectoid bipeds (often described as "person-sized, winged beetles") was so rarely encountered that most people were liable to believe them a myth. It wasn't until the early months of the year 2187, that the Collectors were officially regarded as a real, sapient race. Due to the majority of the Collector population inhabiting Darkspace alongside the Reapers — with only a fraction of them stationed inside a massive space station in the galactic core — for the past 50,000 years.
This resulted in Collectors being extremely difficult to track and find, especially with the only way to the galactic core being the Omega 4 Relay— a Relay through which no ship had ever returned from a trip into. Thus, no one knew to where the Omega 4 could possibly lead. Theories as to why no ship would ever come back through the Relay included a black hole being present on the other side, the Collectors destroying any vessel to come through, or that there was some sort of earthly paradise on the other end. It wasn't until Commander Shepard, the first Human Spectre, led a suicide mission into the Omega 4 Relay, that it was discovered that a specialized IFF was required to get through the Relay safely, as any vessel that didn't possess this "Reaper IFF" was quickly obliterated by the countless supernovas and black holes in the galactic core.
Before the Spectre's mission through the Omega 4, the most anyone knew of the Collectors was that they operated in the Terminus Systems and that they always traded with slavers and pirates. Said transactions usually consisted of useful technology from the Collectors, in exchange for live subjects of various races. These living bartering chips were almost always members of different species who possessed rare genetic defects and numbered in the dozens. Most people assumed that the Collectors took and used these captives for the purpose of experimentation.
Commander Shepard's mission into the galactic core, as well as his campaign against the Collectors, revealed that the Collectors are, in reality, the indoctrinated, genetically altered, and cloned descendants of the long-dead, Protheans. This confirmed that the Collectors were mindless thralls under the Reaper's control— which explained why they'd been abducting the populations of hundreds of Human colonies for the duration of the two years previous. Commander Shepard's mission gave insight as to the Reaper form of reproduction, the nature of the Collector species, and the reason for their suspicious dealings with the Terminus; and resulted in the destruction of the Collector Base in the galactic core— leaving the Milky Way devoid of them.
It wasn't until the Reaper War that the rest of the Collectors in Darkspace returned to the galaxy in full force. They were used by the Reapers as the "mop-up crew" on occupied worlds— ground forces that would root out any bunkered down or hiding organics. It was also during the Reaper War that it was discovered that the Collectors could be freed from Reaper control and given back sentience. It was due to the Leviathans. Their joining of the war-effort was what allowed them to sever Harbinger's connection to any Collector ground forces. Most of the Arthropans in question would perish in this process, but those that survived would be "Awakened", and would thus join the rest of the galaxy in the Reaper War.
A month following "The Pulse", or "The Retreat", an event which ended the Reaper War instantly, seventy-seven Collector "Black Ark" ships arrived at Earth. When military forces intercepted and boarded the ships, they found all of them to be full of non-hostile Awakened Collectors. This find resulted in "The Integration"— a mass migration of the Collectors to the Citadel. The decision was finicky and rushed, leaving the understaffed Citadel-Security with their hands full as they struggled to question and process all 7.7 million Collector immigrants. In the end, after much tribulation and bureaucracy, the Awakened Collectors were accepted into the galactic community as a client race to the Turians, due to Collectors being recognized as the perfect shock troopers and powerful Biotic fighters. As to how and why so many Awakened Collectors had suddenly showed up was difficult to ascertain. The most any one Collector knew was that they'd been released from indoctrination and "woken up" on their respective Black Arks just as they'd arrived in the Widow System.
Ever since, the Collectors have become productive inhabitants of the Citadel— most becoming C-Sec Officers in the Investigation, Special Response, and Patrol divisions of Citadel Security Services, or as soldiers in the Turian military.
Culture/Government/Interspecies Interaction:
One won't find much in the way of art, philosophy, or tradition when it comes to Arthropan culture. Most "customs" they have come in the form of their behavior toward their own kind, as well as other species. A Collector's personality is likely to align with one of two extremes: they're always either the hardest workers, or don't work at all. The most calm people you'll meet, or the most temperamental and fickle. The most accepting, or the most exclusionary. The most social, or the most introverted. Over a tenth of the entire Collector population is jobless and homeless— though none of them seem to be at all bothered by it, nor do any of them seem particularly motivated to rectify their situation. Many a said Vagrant can be found flying from skyscraper to skyscraper around the Citadel's Wards, taking up the role of sapient city-birds, scavenging for leftovers from the Wards's denizens.
If asked why, a Collector Vagrant would simply say that they see no reason to do much of anything. This is indicative of a statistically-justified demographic trend— a Collector will always fall into one of two categories: the workaholics, or the apathetics. They either throw themselves into their work, or stagnate, put simply. Individuals who lean toward the latter are often said to act depressed, subdued, and quiet. This is part of another fact about them: the Collectors as a whole are so homogenous and consistent throughout that there are rarely any outliers from known groups. Though, this can make Collectors slightly predictable, their uniformity has advantages.
The unity and bonds between Collectors are almost stronger than those among Quarians. Arthropans will often refer to others of their species as "brother" or "sister", completely in ignorance of any actual blood-relation. Two individuals may not necessarily like or know each other, but there's commonly an amount of understanding between all Collectors, regardless. This is most likely caused by the fact that every Collector has been through the same ordeal— they're all in the same boat and situation. A lot of the time, groups of Telestrati who know one another will often form close-knit "families", "Packs", or "prides". The relationships between these persons are comparable to those amongst siblings in other species. In essence, the Collector race is made up of thousands of small groups who share opinions, conditions, problems, or skills. "If you wrong one Collector, you can expect a reprisal from all of his friends".
This leads to the Collector government, or lack thereof. They don't have a formal government structure. The most organized they ever get, are the common and weekly meetings called "Congregations" that the Arthropans hold among their race. All over the Citadel, thousands of groups of Collectors all meet and accumulate in various areas. All Collectors. In these meetings the Arthropans will, more or less, "compare notes and opinions", then exchange these amongst the other Congregations via video-links. After they do so, whether or not any kind of decision is made usually depends on whether or not they all address the same issue. But, most of the time, Congregations simply keep each other "posted". Individuals who have problems will usually keep these grievances to themselves, or simply share their issues among their Pack. Non-Collectors who stumble upon these Congregations will either be displaced by the participants, or simply allowed to spectate. Congregations are often said to be "quiet, generally logical, and inclusive".
When dealing with other species, most Collectors tend to act with appropriate professionalism, straightforwardness, and politeness. Either that or they avoid members of other races, or ignore them as they go about their business. Generally: Collector will seem to treat any Turians, Batarians, Humans, Krogan, and Elcor with utmost respect and courteousness.
To Drell, Salarians, Volus, Quarians, and Raloi, an Arthropan will behave with an agreeable amount of politeness, at least until any real disagreement is made known.
However, when it comes to the Asari and Hanar, Collectors will seem to try to avoid individuals of these races whenever possible. If forced to interact with them, they'll be polite for as long as their temperaments can endure.
When around Geth or Vorcha, a Telestrati will appear to become defensive or outright hostile.
Most of these reactions to certain races come from an intrinsic preference towards strength and discipline. This doesn't mean that a Collector will automatically like or dislike a person purely based on those few conceptions; they simply serve as a "starting point" or "default policy" that Collectors use when dealing with any given individual. A Collector will generally allow every person the benefit of the doubt, and failing that: the chance to make nice.
In any case, casual conversation is easy to pull off for Collectors. But friendship with those outside of their species is uncommon. Either, conditions are incongruent with companionship, or it "just doesn't work". An Arthropan will almost never "cut loose", "open up", or "share" when they're not amongst their own Pack. That said, it should be noted that Collectors will often scorn incompetence, stupidity, or immaturity.
None of this is to say that Collectors are incapable of friendliness or are prejudiced. To the contrary, almost every Collector you meet will be very well informed and culturally-knowledgeable. In fact, an Arthropan will often imitate the body language of different species (when appropriate) purely for the benefit of others— since they lack the ability to make facial expressions. It doesn't help that Collector voices are deep, baritone, resonating, and largely monotone, making it often difficult to discern the tone or inflection when a Collector speaks.
Overall, Collectors only ever speak or act when they deem it necessary— they're extremely selective and pedantic when it comes to whom they wish to speak to, as well as how they act, and what they do. If forced into a situation where they have to communicate, a Collector will be as formal as verbally possible. If a Collector you've never held a particularly long conversation with suddenly becomes a lot more talkative when around you and your associates, it probably means that they've deemed you "worth their attention".
This practice results in the concept of "awkwardness" being almost alien to Collectors. Collectors are almost never the subject of any meekness or shame, social faux pas almost never occur around or because of them. As to why is the subject of debate among sociologists.
Other than their "faux-rivalry" with the Asari, the Collectors are probably the most agreeable and reasonable people you'll ever meet— if you can garner their trust and interest. If not, they'll either stay out of your way or be, at least, polite.
The aforementioned bad blood between the Asari and Collectors isn't just the result of the "Asari Shunning", and the Asari race's official censure from the Council. Before the crimes of the Asari race were made known to the galaxy, any Arthropan would have openly admitted that they didn't like the Asari very much. Mostly, this stems from the history between the Protheans and early, primitive Asari. The Protheans had believed that the Asari would rule the next cycle with an iron fist— they theorized that, with the correct guidance, the Asari could go on to defeat the Reapers and transcend even the Protheans themselves in terms of military might and disciplined doctrine. So, the Protheans gave them the gift of being naturally Biotic. It also wouldn't be insane to believe that the Asari have the ability of Melding due to the Protheans, because of how oddly similar the Prothean's sense of "Bio-Markers" is.
But now that the Awakened Collectors have regained their sapience after 50,000 years, they have found their expectations for the Asari left wanting. After the multiple gifts that were given to the natives of Thessia, even with all of the support they were granted, they had still not risen up to the level that the Protheans had predicted them to be at. Most Collectors will say that the Asari, and all of their "underserved arrogance", are a joke. This was only made worse when the Shadow Broker gave the Collector Congregations information and evidence that proved the Asari had been breaking their own laws for centuries, and hoarding technology that rightfully belonged to them.
Of course… unless directly asked for their opinion, no Collector would have ever said so aloud. Despite all of that, however, if you asked a friendly Arthropan their opinion of the Asari, most will say that they don't hate the latter. If anything, a Collector would label their feelings toward Asari in general as "disappointment".
Biology:
Collector physiology is remarkable by most scientific standards. Due to being indoctrinated by the Reapers, Harbinger has spent the last fifty thousand years engineering the Collectors to be the perfect soldiers. Every aspect of their bodies was designed for combat. Because their artificial evolution was the product of the will of a sapient being, the Collector's bodies and minds are eerily well-suited for the task they were made for.
Every present-day Collector is the genetically-engineered, and cloned descendant of the indoctrinated Prothean they were born from. As such, many of the mannerisms and memories of their Prothean ancestors still inhabit the minds and subconscious of the Arthropans. Some Collectors were created from Protheans that lived long before the previous cycle's Reaper invasion; and others are spawned from Prothean soldiers who were born during their fight with the Reapers.
Though this gives a lot of Collectors ancient and useful knowledge, it also results in personal and psychological… "complications". A Collector — a General — once said that individuals among his people had periodic doubts and regular intervals of deep internal conflict. They would debate within themselves, and within their Pack, as to what they were. As to who they used to be, who they are, and who they should be, now. Whether they should go back to the old Prothean methods, or to let go of the old and to focus on the here and now— to make new persons out of themselves. To be Prothean… or to be Arthropan. It's an internal struggle that every Collector has to deal with and resolve. Most never get that far— most simply distract themselves in superficial work. But some have actually found peace in either holding on to their inner Prothean, or in letting go and fully accepting their new existence as Collectors.
It is this complication that often makes the issue of an individual Collector's name rather awkward. Some have one-word, ambiguous designations that appear to make little sense; some have three-word, latin-esque names. Often times a Collector will simply take the name of the Prothean they descended from, and reverse it.
In any case, the Collector race is divided into five separate "breeds". This is most likely a result of Harbinger compartmentalizing the Collectors into different groups, and then modifying each group to suit a specific purpose. The five breeds are as follows: Troopers, Captains, Avengers, Praetorians, and Generals. Like with the species name as a whole, some in galactic society have chosen to use different nomenclatures when in reference to each breed— due to the terms being potentially politically incorrect and/or offensive. Though, no Collector has ever expressed any dislike for any term.
Each Breed, overall, shares most of the same traits, but with a few key differences…
Trooper (AKA: Criterian): The Trooper, also known as a Criterian (the word drawn from "criterion"), is the most common and most often encountered Breed of Telestrati. They are considered the "baseline", or "basis" for the appearance and qualities of the four other Collector Breeds. The Collectors have been described as being "weaponized Protheans", or "living Swiss-army-knives" for good reason. From what can be observed from Javik, The Last Prothean, the scientific community has a fairly good idea of just how extensively the Collectors were engineered.
Troopers, like all Collectors, have a tough, thick, bullet-resistant exoskeleton that serves as their outermost layer of skin— as well as an internal endoskeleton for additional flexibility, support, and endurance. They possess a leathery, semi-pliable epidermis that is half-hidden between their joints. This second skin, underneath the exoskeletal armor, seems to serve the purpose of providing additional durability, as well as allowing Collectors a full, and impressive range of motion. Arthropods aren't usually particularly limber in the animal world— their exoskeletons, while useful as armor, will crack or snap if bent too far. This doesn't seem to be a problem for Collectors.
To call a Telestrati "invulnerable" would be incorrect. Enough bullets will still punch through their natural armor (especially if the bullets are "modded", such as with incendiary rounds). An explosion will kill them just as quick, and they'll be just as injured by a knife by any other organic... provided said knife struck in the right spot.
What is odd about their skin is that, for reasons unknown, the skin and exoskeletal pigment in Collectors changed when they were released from Reaper control. After their (unexplained) return to a sapience, their skin changed color. Some Arthropans gained stripes, others now have various patterns all over their bodies, and some have just changed color completely. Every Collector has a unique skin coloration and patterning, making them easy to point out. How and why this happened is unknown— what is known is that every Awakened Collector gained new colors while molting.
The molting process for Collectors is, strangely, not required for if they "outgrow" their own "shell" (which never occurs, in the first place). Instead, a Collector will molt their exoskeleton once every month. It appears to be for the purpose of repairing damage in their exoskeletal armor. For example, a Collector with a bullet wound would only have to wait for their next molt for the injury to be completely repaired. How molting occurs is unexplained. Some have theorized that there is a fixed amount of "stem cells" stored underneath the exoskeleton.
The point is that after their release from Reaper control, the next molt that every Collector went through resulted in their skin pigment changing in varied and unpredictable ways.
Under the skin-layer, the first thing one would see is a solid, thick wall of muscle. A lot of muscle. Troopers have extremely well-developed ligaments and twitch-fibers, and do not posses a single ounce of excess fat. It has been deemed medically impossible for a Collector to become overweight, or for them to lose muscle mass. A Trooper is about twice as physically strong as the average Turian as a result of this.
This, at least partly, comes from their digestive system. Collectors eat through spear-like proboscises which are hidden behind their lower facial plates (said plates are connected to the skull by two, small "mandibular limbs", each on one "cheek", which can both separate from the face and move about freely). Though whatever digestive system they once had has been completely replaced by Reaper technology, Troopers still gain energy and sustenance through consuming organic material. This digestive system is extremely efficient — to the point of absurdity — and can break down any organic matter into fuel. No "waste" product is created, and any inedible material is regurgitated as a thick paste back through the proboscis.
Additionally, Telestrati only need to eat a single meal every week, since their bodies consume far fewer calories, on average, than other organics. This hyper-efficient digestive system is most likely a result of Harbinger striving to make the Collectors as self-sufficient as physically possible.
Troopers have digitigrade legs, designed for increased speed and agility, as opposed to the plantigrade seen in Protheans, like Javik.
Collector bones are surprisingly, yet unsurprisingly, made of metal. A very durable, unknown, "Reaper" metal. This makes the Arthropans immune to the condition of a "broken/fractured bone".
All of this leads to the fact that a Trooper can be run over by a skycar, stand right back up, and be completely fine.
As can be clearly observed on the Citadel, most Collectors possess four, translucent, triangular wings which are usually concealed behind their shoulder blades. There are two primary, or "fore-wings", which are larger and are placed up higher than the other two, smaller, tertiary wings. The fore-wings provide speed, propulsion, and lift, while the tertiary wings provide maneuvering, stability, and turning. With these wings able to flap as fast as an Earth hummingbird's, a Collector can achieve sustained flight for as long as they have the energy to uphold it.
Their top speed can be up to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h, or 66 ft/s). The wings are one of the few things, other than skin-pigmentation, affected by the "Post-Release Molt". While under Reaper influence, every Telestrati's wings were proportionally small, triangular-shaped, and colored a bright, vivid red. After the "P-RM", a Collectors' wings became collectively larger, and often changed in various miscellaneous ways. In some cases, their wings grew to the proportional size of a dragonfly's, and thus can fly faster, and for longer time periods. Or, their wings simply changed color. Or both. It's all very unpredictable.
Collectors breathe and smell out of small holes in their backs— just as insects breathe through airways in their abdomens. Said sense of smell is continuous and doesn't require a breath to draw in scent particles. Troopers have a sense of smell roughly as acute as an Earth canine's.
While in the realm of senses, Telestrati eyes (there being four of them) are extremely sensitive to light and movement, and are able to see through a military grade Tactical Cloak— just as a Prothean's can.
Any sense of taste cannot be determined, but it is assumed that Collectors don't have one, due to their proboscises having no tastebuds. Although, some Telestrati have been known to violently and abruptly spit out certain foods, saying that it "burned" the inside of their facial plates. In these cases, the food was discovered to be poisoned or prepared poorly. So, it can be concluded that, while they have no sense of taste, they'll still be able to tell when something is toxic. This has led at least one Collector into a job of levo-food-tasting.
Collector auditory senses appear to be no more sensitive than a Human's, yet they're able to hear some infra/ultrasonic frequencies.
One of the most iconic traits shared among the five Breeds are organic arm-blades. The exoskeleton in the forearms of most Collectors is able to shift part into two separated pieces with the tense of a muscle, allowing a two foot long, retractable blade to extend from it. Said blade is thin, double-edged, and curves inward. Given a Trooper's physical strength, it would be reasonable to think that they could do a grievous amount of damage with these organic melee weapons.
On the topic of gender and reproduction... Troopers don't have either. In fact, Collectors don't seem to possess any kind of sex drive— their bodies have no testosterone/estrogen or hormonal glands (nor do they have any alien equivalent). From the corpses examined from the Reaper War, it would appear that Collectors don't seem to have any kind of reproductive organs. Granted, if asked, a Collector would say that they "feel" to be a certain gender, likely derived from the sex of the Prothean that a Collector descended from. Either way, it would seem that Harbinger didn't have need for the Collectors to reproduce by themselves, since they would all just be cloned near the end of their lives, anyway. This presents a problem, since the Collectors have no foreseeable way to increase their numbers, without cloning. This is only made worse by the fact that no one yet knows how long a Collector's life span is. Scientists have considered naming the Collector race "actively extinct".
Another capability unique to the Telestrati race is that of "Biological-Marker Reading", or "Bio-Marking". Bio-Marking is a trait passed down from their Prothean ancestors that wasn't weeded out or removed by Harbinger. It is similar to the idea of psychometry, and allows any Telestrati to learn a foreign language, pick up a chemical trail, explain a complicated idea, or even have a conversation instantaneously, all with a single physical touch. This makes Inner-Ear Translators unnecessary, and it allows Arthropans to be extremely adept at analyzing crime scenes.
The final notable trait that is shared between most Breeds, would be Biotics. The Biotic potential in all Collectors was fully unlocked upon their release from Reaper control. Prior to their return to sapience, the only way a Trooper could be able to use Biotics was if Harbinger assumed direct control of them through a Collector General. This was caused by implants in the cerebellum area of the brain which would cause the Biotic power within a Trooper to be unleashed whenever a "signal" from a General was sent to it. But ever since the Collector's Awakening, they became capable of using the same devastating Biotic attacks used by Harbinger. Said Biotics appear to be a green/turquoise color, and have the same incendiary effect on organics, able to set a target on fire.
Captain(AKA: Alpha): The second Breed of Arthropan, Captains, are the second-most commonly encountered. They're easily recognizable by their antennae-like "brow-prongs" (to serve what purpose, no one is sure), and altered head shape. They've been described as "upgraded Troopers", an assessment that may not be entirely inaccurate…
Captains, in general, have been found to be taller, stronger, have thicker exoskeletons, longer and sharper arm blades, larger wings, faster reflexes, more powerful Biotics, and more acute senses than their Trooper brothers. They also possess an extra pair of eyes. Then again, these advantages are statistically marginal, in most cases, when put to the test. On the mental level, Alphas seem to have a more tactical way of thinking and are almost as tenacious as some of the more determined Humans, known to find clever or quick solutions to demanding problems while others would be overwhelmed or afraid in the same situations. All of this would indicate that the Captains were created to be the leaders of squads, made to direct Criterians in small-scale skirmishes.
Avenger: The third, and third most common, Breed are the Avengers. This Breed only exists due to the intervention of the Leviathans. Collectors who were forcefully severed from Reaper control by the Leviathans during the Reaper War were transformed into Avengers. How an Awakening triggered by a Leviathan would result in an Avenger (and not simply a normal Awakened Collector) is unclear, and the Leviathans themselves are not available to be questioned on the matter.
The Avengers were the first of the Collectors to regain sapience, and were the first to join in the fight against the Reapers, hence their name. Due to Alphas being mentally "tougher" than their Criterian brothers, most Avengers resemble Captains— minus a pair of shed, and dropped, brow-prongs
They are considered to be the Biotic Adepts of the Arthropans. This comes from the fact that their Biotics are, in fact, exponentially more powerful than a Captain's, as well as much more "flexible". It's no secret that a Biotic of any species appears to have a finite amount of Biotic Techniques they're able to learn— said amount depends on the individual's skill, as well as species. Other Collector Breeds appear unable to learn (or relearn) the ancient, lost Biotic Techniques that were unique to the Protheans (such as Dark Sphere, Dark Channel, and Vengeful Strike), thus they usually try to supplement their Biotic abilities by acquiring modern Biotic Techniques— in addition to the attacks they can use due to Harbinger.
But even the most Biotically-pathetic Avenger can use said Techniques with an ease that's as natural as breathing. In addition to that, they seem to be able to add at least twice as many new Biotic abilities to their skill set— some have even become more Biotically flexible than many Asari Matriarchs.
Avengers have even been able to create and use completely new Techniques. They've been known to use their Biotics to manipulate groups of Seeker Swarms into acting as living shields, or as being an odd facsimile for small projectiles.
An odd attribute that Avengers have been known to display is a rage-induced state (nicknamed "Ascension" by the Collectors themselves) in which their Biotic and physical attacks become temporarily stronger— to the point of absurdity. The drawback to the advantage in combat that this gives, is that the fluctuating and conflicting Biotic fields generated from Ascension Mode appear to weaken or soften an Avenger Telestrati's exoskeleton, as well as their Biotic barriers— resulting in them being more vulnerable.
Praetorian: The fourth, and second rarest, Breed are the Praetorians. They mostly resemble Troopers in appearance, the major difference being that they're almost two times as large— typically being around twelve feet tall, some being known to reach fifteen. They're much bulkier— their arms and legs are trunk-like, proportionally thicker and longer, looking more like the heavily armored joints of a YMIR mech, than like actual organic limbs.
This results in many advantages, and disadvantages. For one, Praetorians have exoskeletons (being three inches thick in some places) that allow them to completely shrug off most small arms fire— sometimes even being able to endure an explosion or ground-to-ground missile attacks. Their physical strength is impressive, most Praetorians having the ability to toss around a Krogan with moderate effort.
Their Biotic barriers are also noticeably improved— though not by much. Their size and strength give them the ability to wield certain weapons portably, which would normally be too heavy for other organics (uprooted machine guns being one example), and have garnered them a reputation of being excellent club bouncers, body-guards, heavy weapons specialists, and C-Sec Riot Troopers. Naturally, their size and strength garner them much larger and thicker arm-blades. The two weapons looking more like giant scythes, than swords.
This is where the positives end. Their considerable size and weight (most Praetorians weighing in at around 700-800 pounds) means that they are much less nimble, or agile. They're unable to make sharp turns while running, and their leg structures are, surprisingly, plantigrade, like a Human's— a modification made by Harbinger in the interest of providing extra support for their bulk. They completely lack wings, seeing as though flight would not be viable. However, Praetorians are strangely adept at leaping, as well as climbing steep surfaces.
The Praetorians were most likely created by Harbinger for the purpose of assisting and protecting Generals, hence their name.
General(AKA: Counsellor): Troopers (Criterians) are common place, and Captains (Alphas) are half as often encountered. For every fifty Troopers there are five Avengers, and for every hundred there's three Praetorians. Lastly… there are only five registered Telestrati Generals in existence, including the Collector Ambassador, Cytotax Destrin Etrigann. They are the rarest Collectors, and one's chances of meeting one are less likely than those of winning the galactic lottery.
Generals are the most insectile and animalistic in appearance compared to the other Breeds. They stand on four stilt-like legs, at around eighteen feet tall. Counsellors also have four arms, two large, two small, and are tipped with twin scythe-like blades that form crab-like claws instead of hands.
All other details pertaining to their physiology are only guessed at, since no corpses have ever been found or examined, and because no Generals have ever undergone any kind of study. This has less to do with the Counsellor's opinions about being examined, and more to do with the fact that they're, more or less, doted on by all other Arthropan Breeds. They seem to be highly respected and coveted by their brethren— for exactly what reason, no one knows. The Collector race's ability to keep the Generals hidden and unfindable is almost on par with how ambiguous the Keepers have kept their own activities.
To those of you who have watched the animated film "Mass Effect: Paragon Lost", you will note that the idea of "Praetorians" is not completely unfounded.