Sectoids: Unit
Pilot
"The difference between a pilot and soldier? It's actually pretty straightforward. One pilots UFOs, the other is slightly better at shooting."
- Patricia Trask, Overseer of the XCOM Psionics Division
Looking back, I remember when we all saw those grainy videos and pictures of little pale aliens. Everyone thought they were fake, since they did look eerily similar to stuff you'd see out of Area 51 and all that. When aliens were confirmed, the big question was what these aliens were then. Leaders? Abductors? Theories were endless and they were honestly terrifying.
And now out of all the aliens I've seen now…they really are about as intimidating as a small cat. They're weak, small and bad at fighting. I'm not exaggerating. They can't hit anything. One shot is usually enough to put them down without much fuss. The fact is that this species isn't supposed to be fighting. Probably why we've only really seen them in the UFOs they land.
They are supposedly psionically capable, but even knowing that, I've only seen them try any mental tricks once, and Amy only complained of a terrible headache and that was it. We saved the offending Sectoid for her to kill herself. I think she enjoyed it. I wonder if XCOM found them difficult at first, or if they wiped them out just as easily as we can right now.
- Notes of Terri Anderson, ADVENT Soldier
XCOM Autopsy SEC02
Species: Sectoid
Unit Identity: Pilot
Codename: Helios
Alien Autopsy Overseer: Head of XCOM Research and Development Dr. Moira Vahlen
Audio Notes of Dr. Moira Vahlen
"Contrary to earlier assumptions, it appears that there are certain breeds of Sectoids that are marginally different from each other, one of these are the pilots that are typically encountered in the alien UFOs. In fact, it seems like these have largely been the Sectoids we have been fighting these past few months."
"Physically, they are identical to the breed we have designated as "Soldiers", if such a term can feasibly be applied to such a physically frail species. They retain the wrist plasma weapons of the soldiers, but pose little threat to our trained soldiers at this point, and appear to have been designed exclusively to pilot the UFOs, and rely on the Outsider defense system in the event of a crash."
"This clearly has implications for the Sectoid Virus, and I must quickly determine what adjustments must be made to ensure the plague is still viable."
Report:
A thorough comparison of Sectoid pilot DNA compared to that of other discovered Sectoid breeds has revealed that the changes are so minute as to have barely altered the genetic code at all, which is a relief as the Sectoid Virus will not need to be significantly reworked to accommodate the additional genomes.
The differences in pilots appear to largely stem from how the brain is structured, which results in it being slightly larger than an average Sectoid head, and when combined with psionic telepathy, it seems designed to work almost seamlessly, a reasonable assumption since pilots would likely prefer to be connected to each other to some degree.
Their muscular physiology has not been altered or enhanced in any way, and is visually identical to the majority of Sectoid breeds. Psionically they are weak, and only have the capability of linking with other nearby Sectoids, accessing the psionic locks in their UFOs and performing weak telepathic attacks on hostile soldiers. An interesting note is that their psionic potential seems to have been limited deliberately, which adds to the theory of the Sectoids utilizing a form of a caste system within their society, one likely controlled by the Hive Commanders themselves.
Addendum – Aegis' Notes:
There is little I can add that you already do not know about this breed of Sectoid. As you noted, they are created for a singular purpose, which is to pilot the fleets of Sectoid spacecraft and are capable of little else. Sectoid variants are not largely different from each other either as you noted, and I suspect that only the Hive Commanders will be immune to your plague.
I believe I can shed some light on the Sectoid hierarchy. Their entire species is viewed as disposable with the exception of the Hive Commanders. Almost all Sectoids are investments from various Hive Commanders. Organic drones that are grown to perform a specific purpose and can be replaced easily. Pilots in particular are nearly inconsequential to the Sectoids. Every single one could be executed and they would simply grow more within weeks, and they have entire stores of backup units in storage on planets specifically built for such.
A "caste" system as you describe it, is not an accurate representation of how their species operates. There is only one class of Sectoids that have any say, and those are the Hive Commanders. Any other Sectoid is a derivative of them with little intelligence, initiative and free will of their own. A Sectoid is incapable of betraying the Hive Commanders not simply because they have no desire to, but because they are incapable on a genetic level.
I would suggest, Dr. Vahlen, that you reexamine several Sectoid captives for insight in how your Manchurian program could be implemented.
ADVENT Report S011
Research Type: Alien Experimentation
Species: Sectoid
Overseer: Chief of Alien Research, Dr. Kim Munju
FINDINGS:
While there are no doubt some who would consider that there is little we can learn from this alien subspecies, I would contest that greatly. While XCOM has laid exceptional groundwork for learning about this species, dismissing it as a minor threat is both arrogant and a disappointing underappreciation of the secrets this alien has to offer us.
I largely believe this underappreciation comes down to directly comparing the combat capabilities of this unit on its own, and not what it was made to do. These Sectoid pilots were created to fly aircraft, so I believe learning how they accomplish this is just as important as a simply autopsy itself. Thanks to our Engineering teams disassembling the various UFOs recovered, we have confirmed that the Sectoids partially control the UFO through psionics, though this might simply be a form of security to prevent non-psions from accessing the ship. Nonetheless, it is a vulnerability that, if properly researched, could lead to a means to cripple their entire fleet.
The key, of course, is learning how this link works, and more importantly, how to disrupt it. The Sectoid captives that we recovered have proven invaluable in determining what can disrupt this link. As expected, electric shocks, extreme heat and cold, and almost any sort of intense pain was enough to disrupt any attempt at psionic linking or attack.
But I am also aware that this is not practical or useful for disrupting control over a UFO, as the spacecraft itself is resistant to such physical attacks. So we moved to invisible forms of attack. Sounds broadcast at high decibel levels have had excellent results, as Sectoids under psionic influence seem to have an increased sensitivity to loud noises, and if such a sound could be broadcast to a specific UFO, it is theoretically possible the UFO in question would crash. At high enough levels, as to almost not even be audible, the sound knocks the Sectoid immediately unconscious, and permanently damages their audio receptors and in rare cases has been observed to cause a mild form of brain damage.
Another method that yielded exceptional results was the usage of a sonic attack, which might be able to be put into effect easier than a high-decibel sound broadcast. However, it suffers similar problems to physical attacks, namely that the craft in question will simply block the sonic wave. However, I believe this would be more useful for Sectoids deployed in combat against our ground forces. Theoretically, it could be used to disrupt the psionic abilities of both Leaders and Hive Commanders which are far more dangerous Sectoid variants than a simple pilot.
Prototypes and theoretical documents have been sent to Dr. Tygan and Dr. Mercado for review and potential implementation. Chancellor Vyandar has also been notified of this potential opportunity.