Vitakara: History
The Nulorian Purge
"I assure you, good citizens of Vitakar, that this is only the beginning. From this day forward we will strive to ensure that we live in a world free of the terrible violence brought by these terrorists, and a society which is purged of their ideology. Today will be remembered as the end of the Nulorian."
- The Speaker of the Elders, immediately following the conclusion of the operation
To the Battlemaster,
While the operation against the Nulorian can be confirmed as a significant success, this report will concern the unexpected appearance of the Chronicler and the questions this raises as to the capabilities of XCOM and T'Leth to strike at us, even on Vitakar. Please refer to reports directly addressing the aftermath of the operation for specific details on the status of the Nulorian now.
When there was confirmation of non-Vitakara defenders, as planned, Quisilia himself intervened and we believe this was the location of Miridian, or at minimum high-ranking Nulorian individuals. The majority of defenders were dealt with, and Quisilia specifically focused on Zar'nartha'intha for elimination, and he is presumed to be dead, though his body was not recovered. His status is ultimately irrelevant.
However, Quisilia states that he was unable to personally strike Nartha down before the Chronicler appeared and "Demanded a rematch", potentially referring to a social media post that Quisilia had made specifically "Calling out" T'Leth in an attempt to lure out his agents. Both Quisilia and the Chronicler engaged in a protracted duel, starting in the Borelian Wastes, and eventually moving throughout the continent.
CAPABILITIES OF THE CHRONICLER: I will briefly recount the known capabilities and tactics of the individual known as the Chronicler to provide some context for the duel. First and most important is that the Chronicler is an identified Agent of T'Leth who originally had infiltrated and held a position within the organization EXALT, prior to dissolution and has since been openly executing the agenda of T'Leth.
T'Leth's complete agenda is not clear outside of expelling the Ethereal Collective from Earth and likely subverting Humanity to become a puppet species. The Humans have little recourse in the event this happens, though notably T'Leth appears to have restricted his activities significantly in the field, though his Agents work closely with XCOM. It was also recently confirmed that the Chronicler has spoken to high-ranking individuals in ADVENT, and they may now be aware of T'Leth, though not the Sovereign Ones as a whole.
The Chronicler is an elderly Human male in appearance, though this is almost certainly cosmetic, as he is extremely athletic, powerful, and expresses no deficiencies typical in elderly Humans. It is suspected that he has undergone various forms of Sovereign-level genetic modification, though specifics are vague. What we do know is that he is at minimum equivalent to a fully-modified XCOM soldier (A close equivalent would be Carmelita Alba – see file for more details).
He has demonstrated proficiency in all known psionic disciplines, though specifically Dynamo, Teleportation, and Aegii psionics are more prevalent and relevant. However, he notably is not as effective at, or not used as often, more difficult aspects such as Biopathy. We do not know if he is incapable of performing this, or has refrained from utilizing it for an unknown reason.
His bond with T'Leth, effectively allowing him to be puppeted, does provide him with additional power, modifying the color of his psionics to a deep blue (it is still unknown what causes this, outside of a connection to a Sovereign One). It is unknown to which level the Chronicler is augmented, as he is presumed to be linked in all major conflicts, but we can assume that even if he is rendered incapable of bonding with T'Leth, he'd be a dangerous psion on his own.
Out of all the Agents identified, the Chronicler is equally proficient at long-range and short-range conflict, and has a blatant disregard for enemies he does not consider important or relevant (largely because he disposes of them easily). He is more tactically-oriented, and works efficiently with or without support, especially in defense of a position (as seen during the Battle of Beijing).
When participating in offensive operations, he is far more unpredictable and dangerous, with little to no concern for collateral damage. We do not know if this behavior is influenced by T'Leth or not. Given what we know of the Sovereign, it would not be surprising if this attitude was at least partially influenced by him.
RANGE OF DUEL: While the original start of the duel was within the Borelian Wastes, it soon moved beyond that. As both the Chronicler and Quisilia are proficient in teleportation, this took them across various points of the planet, largely led by the Chronicler in which military bases, cities, and landmarks were targeted.
It is unknown how the Chronicler learned of these places, or knew the correct locations to teleport, though it is feasible that he planned this operation out beforehand. It is also possible that the locations were random and the Chronicler made do with what was nearby.
DAMAGE OF DUEL: The damage was significant in places that were caught between the two dueling psions. It will ultimately prove to be useful due to the fact that Quisilia is clearly defending Vitakar from the Chronicler, and did not engage in the destruction of the land or occupants, but it also has the potential to highlight how vulnerable planets are to psionic attackers.
Due to the shifting locations, Quisilia did have support from nearby Runianarch and Zararch Peacekeeper forces, though as discussed, these are not significant threats to the Chronicler and he extracted a death toll of at least three thousand defenders, and an unknown number of civilians killed as collateral (believed to be fewer overall compared to military casualties).
The Chronicler deliberately targeted critical installations, including communications hardware, automated military defenses, and landmarks important to Vitakar. Utilities such as electric and water suppliers were also targeted and quickly dismantled. All of this will eventually be restored in a timely manner, but it has disrupted life throughout the planet.
OUTCOME OF DUEL: Eventually the Chronicler withdrew after his attacks against collateral targets became less frequent in favor of defending against Quisilia, who was noticeably becoming the dominant combatant. There was no singular event that caused the event to end, and the Chronicler simply departed the planet and Quisilia reported he could not sense the Sovereign agent any longer (his primary means of tracking him), leading the conclusion to be that he had returned to Earth.
Neither the Chronicler nor Quisilia suffered any serious wounds, and Quisilia commented that this duel was 'better' than his previous one, in which he had nearly been killed by the Chronicler previously. Quisilia is confident now that he can face the Chronicler and at minimum fight him to a standstill.
IMPLICATIONS: The most important takeaway is that we have confirmation that not just XCOM, but the Agents of T'Leth can reach Vitakar through psionic teleportation. As of now there is no viable means of preventing this, and exposes Vitakar as extremely vulnerable to a mass attack by Human forces, bypassing the need for fleets.
While it is unlikely that there will be an unexpected invasion, it is almost certain that XCOM, ADVENT, and T'Leth are conducting operations on the planet and using the Nulorian as their primary proxy. As of now, it is unknown what the relationship between the Nulorian and the Humans is, and is still being determined.
Finally, our current methods for handling enemy forces on Vitakar are completely ineffective against psions, and cannot be adequately defended against. The entire system needs extensive overhauling and modification, as this level of destruction will doubtless occur again before the war ends. While we have the means of facing, distracting, and killing psions, we do not have the capabilities to mitigate the damage they can cause.
We are one powerful psion away from annihilating the Aui'Vitakar in a single strike. This is an unacceptable level of vulnerability.
We are working on solutions as of the submission of this report. Consultation is welcome.
- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary
Operation: Traitor Purge
Division: Counter-Terrorism
Report Author: Zar'pol'cambola
Authorization: Zar'Chon
To the Zar'Chon,
The operation against the Nulorian has largely concluded, and with the departure of the Chronicler and subsequent restoration of order, we can make a full appraisal of the aftermath. It will take some time to receive final numbers and there are certain pieces of information which will not be known until further examination, but we can draw some preliminary conclusions from the operations.
It must first be said that this operation was a success, in that it destroyed a significant portion of Nulorian assets, and the purge on Desolan will make the planet more secure than it has ever been. Of equal importance is that thanks to the information we recovered as well as observing the assets and individuals compromised, we have a better grasp on Nulorian subversion and radicalization, and can implement new countermeasures to make any rebuilding far more difficult.
At the same time, this was not necessarily the decapitation strike that we initially believed it was. While the Nulorian will have operations damaged for months, if not longer, the revelations learned and the failure to recover substantive information on Nulorian operations or eliminate key figures will ensure that the Nulorian will continue to be a problem if pressure is not sustained.
Nulorian Operations on Vitakar Crippled: Approximately fifty-two Nulorian hideouts, safe houses, bases, and outposts were attacked and each one was completed successfully, with acceptable casualties on average. These locations were never large, and designed to be as non-descript as possible. In some cases, the owners of the locations were unaware of Nulorian activity, though some were complicit in permitting activity while pretending ignorance.
Nearly one thousand informants, agents, and infiltrators were arrested and are currently in the process of being interrogated. These individuals were seeded throughout Vitakar and in all major cities and races (with the exception of the Sar'Manda), highlighting the extensive network of sources the Nulorian draw upon. In some cases, individuals were unaware that they had been co-opted or worked with Nulorian operatives.
We expect interrogation to lead to further operatives, though with how segmented information is within the Nulorian, we are doubtful that it will lead to substantive new leads or evidence to utilize against critical Nulorian infrastructure and personnel. However, we do have a far better handle on the lengths to which the Nulorian maintain their intelligence network, and will be increasing physical and covert surveillance as a result.
The number of actual Nulorian soldiers that were killed is estimated to be nearly one thousand, though none of them were capable of being taken alive, and used a multitude of methods to not only take their own lives, but also as many Vitakara as possible, in some cases causing significant collateral damage. However, the Nulorian have taken a significant hit to their manpower, and it will take a significant amount of time to rebuild their numbers, especially if they wish to maintain the long vetting process that has currently been employed under Miridian.
We estimate that the Nulorian will be unable to perform large-scale attacks on Vitakar for at least several months on their own. If they receive support this could lower the timetable substantially.
Miridian Almost Certainly Alive: Despite the best efforts of the operation, we were unable to confirm the elimination of Miridian or other high-ranking individuals within the Nulorian. While we cannot confirm that Miridian is alive, we have recovered or learned nothing to indicate that he was at the locations that were attacked, let alone a casualty.
Compounding this is the fact that we still do not know complete details of Miridian's race and physiology. While it is a possibility that we unknowing killed Miridian, we again agree that it is unlikely, and even if Miridian was killed, it would be unlikely to significantly affect operations in the near-term, though long-term strategy and effectiveness of the Nulorian will likely be reduced without the leadership of Miridian.
Do not assume Miridian is dead until we have direct confirmation.
Nulorian Contingency Plans Highly Sophisticated: Despite no prior warning, the Nulorian were clearly prepared for the scenario of exposure and thoroughly trained to execute contingency plans that were doubtless enacted by Miridian. It appears that information destruction was the highest priority, as all hardware was completely destroyed and even intact equipment was purged and subjected to magnetic wiping.
Almost all Nulorian locations were trapped, sabotaged, or otherwise designed to hinder any attackers, in some cases triggering self-destruct explosives that brought down the building, floor, or room. Doorways were outfitted with laser triggers in some cases, usually delaying and killing the front line of an invading force. More isolated Nulorian outposts employed flood controls, airlocks, acidic gas, and other highly lethal methods of defending their locations, all likely with the intent to delay attacking forces.
Additionally, all Nulorian appeared to have access to some means of committing suicide or otherwise ensuring they are not captured. Multiple autopsies confirmed that all Nulorian soldiers had injected an unknown (and presumed lethal) drug into their system that is estimated to take one hour to spread throughout the body. Most were killed before this could take effect, but others succumbed and died quickly. Several died in custody, presumably due to this drug.
Other Nulorian employed unconventional tactics such as activating explosives strapped to their bodies when cornered, taking out nearby soldiers. Others performed similar measures in crowded spaces, and some even took hostages with limited success (all eventually were killed or committed suicide). While there may be a number that escaped, the vast majority of Nulorian operatives that we encountered are dead, though in death did their best to deny us as much as possible.
Nulorian Desolan Cell Completely Dismantled: While the Vitakar cell of the Nulorian will likely persist, we can confirm that the Nulorian cell on Desolan established by the traitor Nartha has been completely dismantled. While not every Nulorian operative has likely been captured due to incomplete information, the Muton smuggling operations have been stopped for good.
All involved individuals have been arrested and are being interrogated, revealing a wide and vast network of supposedly well-meaning individuals who were knowingly or unknowingly providing the Nulorian with Muton soldiers. Their fates have yet to be determined, though most will likely be executed once they have provided enough relevant information.
All Mutons that were currently being raised have been terminated, with a couple of exceptions Sargon Disciple-7 wishes to preserve to determine any baseline differences between them and standard Muton templates. While it is possible that the Nulorian managed to smuggle or transport Mutons off-world, their current source for Mutons has been completely severed and it is likely that they will either completely pull out of Desolan, or greatly reduce their operations.
XCOM Support Confirmed: While there are only singular examples of this, there were several Humans that were identified at a Nulorian outpost in the Borelian wastes, and the bodies of several were able to be recovered. Based on their technology, we can confirm that they are XCOM in origin, confirming that XCOM is working with the Nulorian and may have possibly taken control.
As a result, this means that XCOM will likely wish to ensure that the Nulorian quickly recover and have means of providing them with weapons, supplies, and soldiers. We suspect communication is primarily happening through teleportation, imposing some limits on the relationship, but nonetheless providing the Nulorian with a substantial lifeline to mitigate direct attacks on their resources.
While we can use this to further turn the population against the Nulorian and humanity as a whole, this poses extremely troubling implications for the future, as it is only a matter of time before ADVENT also becomes involved, and a mass movement of ADVENT soldiers to Vitakar with a strong contingent of psions is something Vitakar is not prepared to handle.
It is recommended that Vitakar be prepared for invasion immediately, as one will likely come, even if it is not from the stars.
Substantive and Detailed Information Not Recovered: Building off of the sophistication of Nulorian contingency plans, we were unable to recover information on what the Nulorian know, additional contacts they have, and internal communications, plans, and resources. We had hoped that we would be able to create a more thorough picture of Nulorian operations, but as it stands, we effectively know as much as we did before, minus the XCOM support.
There are likely Nulorian resources, outposts, and individuals we remain unaware of and who Nartha did not unwittingly identify. This provides a path to the Nulorian eventually rebuilding without significantly overhauling their process, and Miridian will likely see this as validation of stringent contingency plans and potentially expand them further and continue to segment the Nulorian to make it nearly impossible to completely dismantle.
Significant gaps of Nulorian structure, organization, and supply lines remain and significant effort should be made to fill them before the Nulorian recover.
Retaliation Strike Likely: While it should be unsurprising, Vitakar must be prepared for a near or long-term attack from the Nulorian. While the Nulorian may lack the resources to perform this safely or without risk, they may see a need to show strength and signal their ability to strike back despite significant losses, and demoralize the population and Runianarch forces.
It is possible that Miridian may also risk making a public address to demonstrate Nulorian resiliency, as well as exposing XCOM support (though equally possible is that both XCOM and Miridian want to keep news of their alliance under wraps, though if we expose this connection they may be forced to clarify).
Due to the damage caused by the duel between Quisilia and the Chronicler, we highly recommend that psionic counters be deployed on Vitakar for the foreseeable future in the event that Nulorian attacks are assisted by allied XCOM psions.
Short report submitted to the Internal Council by the Chronicler
Commander,
Following the attack against the Nulorian and the subsequent fight against Quisilia, I believe it is in both our interests to examine the aftermath and the implications. I will not cover the impact against the Nulorian as that is a separate topic, but will cover my encounter with Quisilia and the state of Vitakar.
Quisilia Capabilities: While the previous encounter with Quisilia demonstrated his capabilities, he was able to be isolated and outsmarted which would have resulted in his death had it not been for an ill-timed nuclear blast. Quisilia has since learned from that particular incident, and is far more offensive in an attempt to prevent similar circumstances from occurring.
He utilizes teleportation, telekinesis, and telepathy far more frequently to provide a much more consistent and lethal assault, preventing an easy means of cutting off access to the Psionosphere. It is very likely that most psions will be incapable of defending themselves against him without strong training.
This encounter will be used in the Dreamscape to properly prepare soldiers for fighting against Quisilia, and should improve the likelihood of survival and success. Knowing his current tactics, we can design a framework to exploit and eventually defeat him.
Vitakar Defenses: To put it simply, the defenses of Vitakar are inadequate. At best they are prepared for a conventional invasion from orbit, as the most common defense was anti-air and anti-space. There was very little that would significantly alter the invasion of a competent military force. The Vitakara are completely unprepared for a psionic-based attack and can be overwhelmed with a sufficient number of psions.
There appears to be no effective or standard defense doctrine, as most were caught out of position and were confused as to attack me or assist in evacuations. This is not a military that is prepared to defend their planet with any sense of adequacy. It is possible that I simply did not encounter more substantial defenses, but as it stands defenses are poor.
Anti-Psion Defenses (Or Lack Thereof): They do not have psionic defenses or any equivalent to mitigate psionic attacks. Why this is the case is unknown, but it is likely that they do not anticipate a direct attack, let alone a surprise one. I alone was able to cause significant damage while contending with Quisilia.
Vitakar would stand no chance against several junior XCOM psions, let alone someone like Geist, Iosif, any of the Agents of T'Leth, or an elite ADVENT psionic unit like the Pantheon.
In fact, I suspect that the Pantheon could conquer Vitakar itself if given the opportunity. It is highly recommended that we explore options to exploit this vulnerability.
Vitakar Environment: While we knew the diversity of the Vitakar biosphere, it is something that will definitely be important to keep in mind when planning any long-term operation, especially in the more extreme regions. The Borelian Wastes, while temperate this time of the year, will eventually drop to lethal levels (even with Earth-level protection), and the Dath'Haram jungles have a significant amount of dangers including wildlife, plants, and natural traps like quicksand.
For a brief time, I also fought Quisilia in a Vitakar storm, and it was indeed equivalent to at least a category four hurricane. Vitakar has designed their buildings to withstand the forces of nature, but it is clear that our own forces will be unprepared for extreme weather if we fail to take these realities into account.
This should be given priority.
Plans For Exploitation: Vitakar is a very large planet and not nearly as developed as would be expected from a species that are centuries ahead of us in terms of cultural and technological development. There is ample opportunity (something the Nulorian have also realized) to establish bases and outposts of our own independent of the Nulorian, though for alliance purposes this should be considered carefully.
As noted, there are significant gaps in their defensive capabilities, particularly surrounding psionic defenses (or lack thereof). We should plan for operations that utilize psionics, and keep conventional forces to a minimum until a more formal invasion can be performed. As a result of this attack, it is likely that Vitakar will undertake some efforts to modernize their defenses, but I suspect the Vitakar will be resistant to significant deployments of alien soldiers on their planet, particularly Sectoids which provide the most direct counter to psionic attacks.
While the Nulorian have been weakened, our operations on Vitakar are far from over. We have sufficient opportunities, and we should draw up plans for exploiting them. At best we trigger a civil war, and at worst we force the Collective to devote resources, personnel, and time to defending a planet we should not be touching at this stage of the war.
Recording log 104280928 stored within Siaru database:
[Siaru]: "PURGES HAVE REACHED CONCLUSION."
[Miridian]: "Are we compromised?"
[S]: "NEGATIVE. ASSETS HAVE BEEN TERMINATED. CONNECTIONS TO SAR'MANDA PRESERVED. COLLECTIVE FORCES HAVE NOT EXPANDED THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF NULORIAN OPERATIONS."
[M]: "Mmm. Good. A setback, but it could have been worse.'
[Sorras]: "Quisilia has taken an interest. That bodes poorly."
[S]: "ENTITY QUISILIA IS OCCUPIED WITH SUFFICIENTLY POWERFUL PSIONIC ENTITY. ENTITY IS IRRELEVANT WITH PROPER PLANNING."
[SR]: "Well good, I guess we just need to ask XCOM to loan us the Chronicler. I'm sure they'll more than willingly comply."
[M]: "XCOM has a stake in ensuring our survival. They are more amenable than your sarcasm would suggest."
[SR]: "We should not become reliant on them."
[M]: "Of course not, but they can serve a purpose."
[SR]: "I don't think the Commander of XCOM would appreciate the sentiment."
Miridian appears amused.
[M]: "We are both using each other, Sorras. We are useful to the Humans just as they are useful to us. Both me and the Commander know where we stand. We have mutual interests, and we don't pretend it's out of some misconceived sense of justice, loyalty, or morality. XCOM serves a purpose for us, and we serve a purpose to them. It's a matter of ensuring that neither entity becomes entirely manipulated by the other."
[SR]: "All the same…let XCOM propose that. We should not seek out help unnecessarily."
[M]: "They very likely will. Siaru, how did the Vitakara fare against the Chronicler?"
[S]: "RUNIANARCH ENTITIES PERFORMED EXCEPTIONALLY POORLY AGAINST PSIONIC ENTITY IDENTIFIED AS THE CHRONICLER. RUNIANARCH FORCES PERFORMED WITHIN EXPECTATIONS. VITAKARA PLANET DEFENSES INADEQUATE AGAINST PSIONIC ASSAULT."
[M]: "Exactly. XCOM will be salivating over this…vulnerability. They will willingly provide us with psions to utilize. It is a non-issue."
[SR]: "All the same, we lost a significant number of cleared operatives. We can't rebuild that easily. There are a few contacts that we were looking to elevated but…"
[M]: "Eliminated. Unfortunate. What a useful pawn Nartha turned out to be for them."
[SR]: "Speaking of him, what will we do with him."
[M]: "Nothing."
[SR]: "Excuse me? This was his fault!"
[M]: "Correct, but he was a useful idiot, not a willing traitor. Something I should have seen, but I underestimated how willing the Collective would be to wait for plans and cells to mature. Admirable. Some competency from the Zararch. Besides, Nartha is effectively an XCOM operative, and taking action against him would serve no one but satisfy a pointless desire for vengeance."
[SR]: "The men won't like that when they hear it was because of him."
[M]: "Tell them to devote that energy to killing some Collective soldiers. Set them loose on the Cobrarian nests if they want to vent. Let them skin the reptiles for all I care. But Nartha is off-limits. We have a real enemy, not an unwitting weak link. We're lucky he didn't compromise our links to the Sar'Manda."
[SR]: "Very well. This demands a proper retaliation though, not sanctioned venting."
[M]: "No doubt. I have a plan."
[SR]: "A plan, or a contingency?"
[M]: "Both. Siaru, we have had our network broken. We need new contacts, spies, and infiltrators as soon as possible. State a solution."
[S]: "STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION OF INDOCTRINATION PYRAMIDS IN HIGH-TRAFFIC AND SENSITIVE AREAS WILL ELICIT DESIRED RESPONSE AND MAKE AFFECTED POPULATION MORE VULNERABLE TO SUGGESTION. PYRAMIDS CAN BE ALTERED FOR LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM INDOCTRINATION."
[SR]: "I dislike this. That is something the Collective would do. Unwilling coercion isn't how we recruit."
[M]: "Morality Sorras? I'm surprised."
[SR]: "It's a matter of reliance as well, Miridian. We have no idea how those pyramids work. The last thing we need is to spread them when they could eventually be used against us. It could rebuild our network, but I doubt it would be as effective."
[M]: "Fine. We will do a test run, with precautions taken. Someplace disposable. The Hierarchy perhaps."
[SR]: "I don't think XCOM will approve."
[M]: "Which is why we don't tell them. They don't need to be aware of all our operations at all times, and they will be sufficiently distracted that they will not probe too deeply. As it stands…there will be a meeting of all major resistance figures shortly. I suspect that will not be postponed. We have not been reduced that much."
[SR]: "The Desolan cell is gone."
[M]: "I am aware. Unfortunate, but we existed without them long before Nartha helped establish it. We acquired what is most important, anyway. Once we acquire cloning equipment, Desolan can be rendered obsolete."
[SR]: "Outside of the pyramid scheme, is there something we could actually present to XCOM to retaliate?"
[M]: "That we do. Siaru, pull up what we've discussed regarding the Aui'Vitakar, and the Crypt."