Andromedons: Dossier
Collective Andromedon Commander J'Loran
"We face a crucial choice and I will not allow our species make the wrong one."
- Collective Andromedon Commander J'Loran
Analysis Record: J'Loran, Formerly of Union Haruma
Current Role: Collective Andromedon Commander
Current Interference Level: Low
Threat Level: Medium
Usage Level: Low
RESTRICTION: Overseer of the Assembly Aui'sareesh'golon
Brief Assessment: Overseer, you are aware that my loyalty is to the Collective first, and then to the Aui'Vitakar, but nonetheless, that does not dissuade me from watching for threats to our way of life and species. Thus, I feel obligated to warn you to tread carefully in your relations with the Collective, and Andromedons in particular.
The Battlemaster has recently begun reorganizing the Collective military into his own personal Division, in essence building it from nothing, and that includes his inner circle of officers. While small, the choices are particularly warranting some interest, largely the appointment of the Andromedon J'Loran to such a role.
If the respected Assembly is unaware of the new Collective Andromedon Commander, then I will summarize his history as best as I was able to learn from the limited Andromedon records we were able to access. J'Loran originally came from Union Haruma, which is one of the smaller and atypical of the Andromedon Unions, primarily focusing on chemical and bioengineering, but they are ultimately unimportant to J'Loran himself.
J'Loran entered the Andromedon military specializing in biological warfare, so it is no surprise that he was assigned to the Contamination Operatives and by the end of his first term, was one of the ranking soldiers in that division. His methods were often very decisive and precise, with some ulterior motive beyond the denial of enemy ground. He's personally been involved in terraforming worlds to suit Andromedon physiology, which has always required the ultimate destruction of the current ecosystem, and J'Loran specializes in such endeavors.
Putting him in charge of the most powerful Collective Andromedon army is up for debate, but what I want to draw your attention to is his motives and attitudes towards the Vitakara. For reasons I have yet to determine, he does not seem to approve of our species, and the most speculated reason is that he views us as emotionally inhibited, that is, too empathetic. Andromedon history is filled with constant war, the Ethereals were almost wiped out, the Sectoids are drones to the Hive Commanders and the Mutons were barely beyond tribes when the Battlemaster subdued them.
Contrast that to our own species, where our own history is relatively peaceful, and has seen no interspecies conflict in thousands of years. Such a concept is likely difficult for him to grasp, and due to our prominence in the Collective, it is likely he feels like it is unearned, perhaps because our species was saved by the Ethereals themselves.
Another factor to consider is that he is a true Collective loyalist, though I cannot help but wonder if this is partially due to the influence of the Battlemaster. Regardless, as a rule he tends to disapprove of species that refuse to fully commit to the Collective, which admittedly does include his own species. He was one of the loudest voices pushing for the Federation to join with the Collective more firmly, so the fact that the Aui'Vitakar is largely autonomous, and the Runianarch and Lurainian answer to them is almost a threat in his eyes, despite how closely you've worked with the Ethereals before.
Nevertheless, the appointment of such an individual by the Battlemaster raises some concerns, and while I doubt the Battlemaster is truly considering annexing the Aui'Vitakar, the fact that he has one who will not hesitate to carry it out is telling in it of itself. Tread carefully with Ethereal interactions, Overseer, and I would suggest you being intertwining Vitakara and Andromedon resources and trade. Colonization also needs to be expanded. The Andromedons are a very practical species, Overseer, and the more dangerous and valuable we are to them, the safer our species will be until I can determine what the ultimate goal of the Battlemaster is here.
Because it is not simply filling a role, J'Loran is a contingency plan, and I do not like what that implies.
- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary
XCOM Profile 1988
Subject: J'Loran
Current Occupation: Collective Andromedon Commander, Division of the Battlemaster
Threat Level: High
Assessment Author: Psionic Overseer Patricia Trask
Approved by: The Commander
Section 1: Physical Characteristics
Hair color: None (Andromedon)
Eye color: Unknown
Skin color: Brown
Height: 8'11' (Suit) (Estimated)
Weight: Unknown
Distinguishing Features: J'Loran appears to wear a heavily modified Andromedon soldier's suit, specifically with the addition of heavy chemical dispensers on the arms, and a micro-missile launcher on the left shoulder. The helmet is the same yellow, but there is some kind of symbol etched into it which we have not been able to translate. It isn't Ethereal Script, so we can likely assume it is an Andromedon equivalent, his union name, perhaps?
Physical Condition: Unknown (Suit negates this factor)
Union of Origin: Haruma (Suspected)
SECTION 2: Psychological Assessment
This is a clever little alien, I'll give him that much. Aegis was unfortunately not able to help much in identifying useful information since he rarely interfered in Collective military matters, much less those under the Battlemaster. But what he was able to tell me was that J'Loran is a loyalist to an almost absurd degree, which he suspects is because of the Battlemaster. He also appears to hold some disgust for all species not affiliated with the Collective (Which ironically, includes some of his own species).
Aegis described him as a 'machine' which matches up to how he behaved when I fought him. He appears to identify problems, and counter them. I try and take control of aliens, he controls them right back. Him having the foresight to do that is respectable, despite how irritating it was. He appears to have some skill at specifically identifying weaknesses in opponents and negating their strengths.
Aegis also told me that he is apparently both terrified and hates psionics, which is why he goes to such lengths to avoid being controlled. In seemingly making himself immune to my own powers, it involved him cybernetically enslaving his brain to a series of pre-programmed instructions if it detected psionic meddling. Clever, but it also has the downside of making him less efficient on the battlefield, a fact which I was unaware of at the time.
How this is possible is something both Aegis and I don't know, although he suspects it is based off the technology used to create the Andromedon Special Operators (Which thankfully aren't in use anymore, otherwise we might have issues), although how and why he was able to discover this and get it authorized by the Federation raises some questions.
SECTION 3: Threat Assessment
Of many of the aliens I've faced, this is one of the first that gave me a significant amount of trouble, and now he knows it. J'Loran is competent, smart and more importantly, knows how to utilize his forces and counter our own. That potentially means that our psions will be much less effective when facing armies directly under him, because if he can negate my telepathic effect, he likely has plans to disrupt all forms of psionics.
His suit itself seems designed for front-line combat, and like most Andromedons, we'll likely have difficulty taking it down without a liberal usage of explosives and concentrated fire. J'Loran is probably able to take out an entire ADVENT squad on his own, and might be able to fight a poorly prepared XCOM squad to a standstill.
What is also difficult to contend with is that J'Loran is well aware of the danger an XCOM soldier poses, and will concentrate an overwhelming amount of resources on just one soldier, even if it means that more of his own soldiers will die. This alien cares about results, and in his mind, every dead XCOM soldier increases his chances of victory.
He isn't wrong, and I have to respect him for that.
The one advantage we do hold over him is that he is unlikely to be able to predict with exact certainty who he will be facing. He can adapt well, but he may be faced with a substandard force and that might prove fatal to him. Now that we know how he protects himself from telepathy, we might be able to exploit that with our own computer hackers, and perhaps take control of him or at least his suit.
J'Loran has his weaknesses, but we have to approach any conflict with him carefully, else we will lose over and over again. I recommend we build a dedicated squad specifically for taking him out, because we can't rely on every conflict going as well as Seattle, and that ended in a draw.
Address to the Andromedon Federation by Terraforming Overseer J'Loran
"Chief Overseer, Federation representatives, I appreciate that you have allowed me to provide my input in light of the recent contact with this Ethereal Collective. After consideration and speaking with their leaders, as well as analyzing their military forces, I believe it is in the best interests of the Andromedon Federation to ally with them."
"I have not been party to the discussions held privately with the Ethereals, but I can say for certain that they are not our enemy unless we make them one. We have been running on our own for too long, ignoring the fact that we are not, nor ever have been, alone in this galaxy. We know that we cannot stand on our own against the uncontrollable forces of this galaxy and to pretend otherwise is foolish and petty."
"We have an opportunity now to not only ensure the continued survival of our species, but expand in ways that would be impossible otherwise. The powers these aliens wield are unlike anything I have ever seen, which no doubt some will see as a threat, but which I see as an opportunity. We gain nothing by refusing to ally, and everything to lose by ignoring, or worse, going to war with them."
"The time of our isolation must end, and we have survived an attempt on our entire species. We must work to ensure we are never in that position again, and to do that, we must find allies. This Collective is composed of two separate species in addition to these Ethereals, and while our own military is a force to be reckoned with, their combined might is not something we can stop."
"But another question we must ask ourselves is what the purpose of this Collective is? After speaking with several of these Ethereals, simple conquest is not something I believe they want. Nor do I believe this Collective is a simple progression of the result of species meeting each other. They have a purpose for their Collective, and unless we want to be ignorant as to what that is, we should make efforts to at least understand the answer."
"While I am aware my past and Union calls some of my statements into question, I know war, I know militaries, I know hostile aliens. And so when I say that the Ethereals are preparing for something…I believe it and I suspect that this body knows better than me what that could entail. Our species stands at a crossroads here, one that will define the path we take for centuries to come. We cannot afford to make the wrong decision here. Keep that in mind when discussing this topic, because the Federation will not allow you to forget it."
Pause (Unidentifiable voice). "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that if you make the wrong decision, you will reignite the Union Wars. And I believe that no one here will consider that a good thing. You have the eyes of our species on you. Choose your words carefully."
THREAT ANALYSIS: 110111110000
ANALYSIS COMPILER: COLLECTIVE ANDROMEDON COMMANDER J'LORAN
RESTRICTION: THE BATTLEMASTER
UNITS(S) OF INTEREST: XCOM PSIONS
SPECIES: HUMAN
NOTE: WEAPON TECH SET TO (TECH_LEVEL=BEAM || TECH_LEVEL=GAUSS)
IDENTIFIED PSIONIC SPECIALIZATIONS:
SPECIALIZATION 1: OFFENSIVE/ATTACK
ABILITIES (MANUAL COMMENT): We have seen psions of this specialization utilize the disruptive energy of psionics to manipulate it into ripping enemies apart on an individual or area level. Some also have the ability to concentrate energy in their hands and fire concentrated bursts or beams of pure psionic energy that has been noted to rip through armor of Muton Elites.
The range of these abilities appears to be limited, though this might simply be due to inexperience, not an ingrained limit of their psionic potential. But there have not been observed displays of human-created psionic rifts that have affected more than four enemies. It should also be noted that usage of such unstable psionic energy visibly scars their arms, although doesn't cause permanent damage.
The only known human psion wielding these kind of abilities was the now-deceased Annette Durand, who was killed by the Ravaged One, though not before killing a large number of Collective soldiers. If XCOM has more psions of this specialization, we will not know until they awaken more. Nevertheless, the overall tactics for neutralization will not change.
NEUTRALIZATION (MANUAL COMMENT): Mobility is not a strength of these psions, and they continuously require a period of time to gather their power before unleashing it. Thus, the obvious counter is the usage of highly agile and mobile units to continuously force them to move. Any Berserker unit or Heavy Floater will suffice. Seeker units might also prove useful for disruption, but could easily be destroyed by more powerful psions.
While psions do not require the usage of limbs to utilize their powers, the truth is that most rely on them as appropriate directors of power. Psions of this specialization are likely resistant to pain due to the nature of their abilities, but they can be surgically negated nonetheless. Psions will need to expose themselves to use their powers, and should a killing blow not be possible, a strike that neutralizes the arms of these psions is equivalent to taking the weapon away from a soldier; in essence, rendering it powerless.
A more traditional defense is the usage of Sectoid Leaders to enact psionic shields to absorb psionic attacks and thus negate their power over ordinary soldiers. It is recommended that Leaders be supplemented with additional forces, or used in conjunction with the tactics listed above due to the fragility of these units.
SPECIALIZATION 2: DEFENSIVE
ABILITIES (MANUAL COMMENT): Psions of this specialization have straightforward abilities, namely enacting purple-tinted bubble and shields that absorb plasma fire, psionic attacks and more. These shields and bubbles can be large enough to protect entire squads, or even individual soldiers. The unfortunate truth is that even a weak barrier is incredibly resilient and cannot be disrupted easily.
In addition to these defensive abilities, the shields have been seen being used offensively, acting as an equivalent to a stasis ward. Protecting the one trapped inside from harm, but effectively negating them altogether (This can also be used on friendly units, specifically wounded ones). An additional note that will not apply to our soldiers, but nonetheless be essential for our psions, these defensive psions have stronger minds than typical psions, though not on the level of telepaths.
The only identified XCOM psion in operation is Iosif Bronis, who is still active and presumably training more psions as well as improving his own abilities. He participated in killing both the Hive Commander in the Earth Sectoid Hive and the one sent to assault the Citadel. He is not to be underestimated and poses a clear and present threat to our offenses. Said Tariq, one of the EXALT "Furies", has also been identified as one of these psions, though field data on him is not available
NEUTRALIZATION (MANUAL COMMENT): The most obvious tactic is overwhelming firepower, but tests with Ethereal Aegis have revealed the general folly of relying on such a tactic. Unless we have a gauge on the approximate power level of the psion, concentrated fire does very little as the defensive psions are specifically trained for such attacks.
The hard truth is that it is extremely difficult to reliably kill these psions. They do not require much time to utilize their powers, and can trap mobile units in stasis fields, negating that strategy. Thus the most appropriate strategy is to force the psion to divide their concentration. For every Berserker they trap in stasis, that is time they are not shielding allied soldiers.
In order to properly combat these psions, we must deliberately sacrifice them. We must strike in all places, and more to the point, kill opposing soldiers the psion is not protecting. Traditional standoffs are not useful in accomplishing this, so we must adapt. I recommend we convert a portion of our Floater force into suicide bombers to fly into ADVENT positions that are not being protected by the psion, and repeat this tactic, striking wherever they are not protecting. A psion that cannot reliably defend is useless, and continuous attacks will strain their concentration, especially if the attacks are successful and they are continuously besieged by Berserker and Heavy Floater harassment.
In the end, the most effective way of negating this psion is not killing it, but making it ineffectual and causing it to overexert itself.
SPECIALIZATION 3: TELEPATHY
ABILITIES (MANUAL COMMENT): These psions are potentially the most dangerous out of them all. They have the capability to dominate and control the minds of our soldiers, either dropping dozens of units with a single thought or worse, ordering them to turn on their own brethren. They appear to have easily dominated every species encountered so far, with the exception of Ethereals and Hive Commanders, but it is a small comfort when they can turn an entire team of Andromedons against their subordinates.
They also pose a much greater threat off the battlefield, as they no longer have any reason to employ traditional interrogation techniques as they can simply read the minds of our agents. All psions can sense emotions, as you know, but only a few can actually read minds, and these psions are among them. It also gives them unstoppable political and international power, should they choose to utilize it. Had XCOM wanted it, I imagine that they could have simply forced the leaders of the world to support them, and why they have not done so is questionable, but perhaps they feel it is too risky.
Naturally, the most infamous Human psion, Patricia Trask, is a telepath. She was the primary reason why XCOM was able to defeat the Ravaged One and his forces when he attacked the Citadel, and she is only growing stronger. Andromedons, Mutons, every Collective unit we have used is powerless against her and that is what makes her the most dangerous Human on Earth. We also have confirmation that both Moira Vahlen and the Fury Fatima Tariq (Another EXALT psion) are telepaths, but their power level appears to not be as extensive.
NEUTRALIZATION (MANUAL COMMENT): The only way to reliably stop a psion is to either disrupt or prevent their control over the minds of organics. However, the only way that is possible is to cybernetically alter the brains of soldiers to allow them to be controlled remotely. Technology that has only recently been developed for Mutons, and not at all for Vitakara or Sectoids.
Short of psionically strengthening a mind, there is no defense other than the psion overexerting themselves. Despite the controversial nature of such a tactic, it must be done if we are ever able to even hope to defeat not just Patricia, but any other telepath XCOM awakens. To do this I have begun converting all Muton forces under my command to be cybernetically enslaved to an Andromedon-controlled network which will force them to obey simple commands.
I also have access to all suit overrides of my own Andromedon soldiers which will negate control over them directly. I suspect the Vitakara will have issues with such a measure, so I will simply advise not to use them if telepaths are likely to be encountered, and the same with Sectoids with the exception of Hive Commanders.
There are very few solutions for telepaths, and we must use each and every one, regardless of cost.
SPECIALIZATION 4: TELEKINESIS
ABILITIES (MANUAL COMMENT): Their psions in this specialization have been observed to do exactly as you would expect. Telekinetics is an aspect with which you are intimately familiar, so I will not rehash the specifics, only the scale. In truth, it is much like your own application, very small-scale and direct.
There is little that can be done to effectively stop them from applying crushing force to our soldiers, aside from some psionic shields which the majority of our soldiers do not possess. In addition they can create telekinetic fields which stop solid projectiles, which includes our own grenades and missiles. Do note that they cannot stop plasma or beam weapons.
As far as we know, the only known telekinetic psions are the Human identified as Matthew Hawkins, who was one of the so-called "Furies" from EXALT. The Commander himself is also identified as using basic telekinesis, though he doesn't appear to be nearly as powerful as Matthew. The psion proved devastating to our forces in Japan who had no answer for his abilities.
NEUTRALIZATION (MANUAL COMMENT): These psions rely on line of sight to be truly effective, so thus they must be isolated and flanked as quickly as possible. Floaters are especially useful in this regard, and utilizing quick units such as Chryssalids and Berserkers may have the attentional impact of focusing his attention or distracting him from flanking units.
Similar to attack psions, debilitating his arms would have largely the same effect as neutralizing him altogether. Psionic shields can also be used to protect exposed units, or even to prevent crushing from such actions, though the amount of psions powerful enough to resist one of these psions is limited. Heavier units stand the best chance against psions.
Cyberdisks would be particularly useful, but largely for support as the telekinetic would have the ability to stop the projectiles with a telekinetic field. Drones are durable and small, and could provide harassment. Muton Elites are one of the most durable of the species and would suffice well. Sectopods are perhaps the best counter, as only truly powerful telekinetics could deal with them, and their weapons can't be blocked by the psion himself.
In dealing with telekinetics, unit composition is the key to victory, not necessarily the tactics employed.