XCOM: The Advent Directive

by Xabiar

Australia has been annexed, the United Nations is in chaos, the world is under siege and the Ethereals have taken the field. Facing the full might of the Ethereal Collective, the Commander must rally XCOM, the newly formed ADVENT, and several other allies and rivals to unite the divided nations by any means necessary, for failure now will mean the fall of humanity once and for all.

34. Autopsy

Autopsy

---

Archive of the Disprium, Disprium Base - Mars

12/1/2016 – 11:15 A.M.

It was past time that this conversation was had.

It was also past time that they begin making use of this surprisingly intact base which Cogitian had finally gotten around to cataloging. As the Battlemaster had suspected, it was undoubtedly one of the Disprium bases. Out of the ruins they had found in their exploration of the galaxy, theirs were often the most intact and usually possessed some form of useful information.

They had yet to find out exactly what had happened to them, but the Battlemaster already suspected they had befallen a similar fate to the Empire. As far as he knew, there was only one power which could take down one as expansive as the Disprium had controlled. Cogitian was still unsure if that was the correct translation, or if it was even the name of their species, or merely what they called their form of government.

At the moment, however, it was irrelevant.

No matter what they had called themselves, they had fallen into the same trap as the Empire and utilized the tainted element. There had been extensive amounts of it stored in the deeper vaults of the base, and after it had been safely packaged, it was moved to Revelean's Blacksite. There had been far more of it than previous bases, and given the contents of the archives, the Battlemaster could easily figure out why.

Originally, he had suspected it was an observation post to watch the Humans, but the archives were filled with various kinds of weapons. Not merely bombs and ranged rifles, but ones designed to kill planets and systems. Another curious thing that Cogitian had noticed was that a good portion of the weaponry had involved some measure of Sovereign technology.

That had not been encouraging.

It served as proof that the Sovereign Ones had likely been around when the Synthesized were attacking other species, and yet it seemed that even their extensive technology hadn't been enough. Then again, too much of it relied on the tainted element, so perhaps there was some hope to be taken in that. Although they would need to begin utilizing what they had right now, sooner than later.

The archives themselves had been moved to the Temple Ship, and the room itself had been converted into his own briefing center. While the Observation Station was useful, there was no reason not to make use of the established base. On his orders, the restoration had already begun and would firmly establish the Collective within the Solar System.

And now it was time to do the same to the rest of the Collective.

Hence why Revelean, Fectorian, Quisilia, and Sana'Ligna were with him right now. He had considered involving the Zar'Chon, but he would have a role to play in the future. This was a conversation which could only be had by the Ethereals.

Although a quick glance at Quisilia slightly disputed that.

Fine then. Ethereals and a cat.

All of them stood in a circle around the similarly shaped holographic table. "It is time to reevaluate our approach," he said slowly. "Not just concerning the Humans, but the Collective itself. Even without the assistance of Aegis until recently, the Humans have managed to hold their own, and in doing so, have exposed critical weaknesses in the Collective that cannot be ignored any longer."

"Or to put it more accurately," Quisilia interjected, placing the action figure of an XCOM soldier on the holotable. "This represents the Humans," he put the action figure of a Sectoid in front of the soldier. "This represents the Collective. And this represents what they are currently doing to us." He then made the soldier punch the Sectoid, and it fell over.

The Battlemaster was no longer surprised to see Quisilia playing with action figures. While a juvenile way of illustrating the problem, it was not completely inaccurate. "That is one way of showing it."

"On that, we agree," Fectorian said, crossing his upper arms as he turned the conversation more serious. "It is quite concerning that they are managing to not only hold against our forces, but also win."

"Our technological and military stagnation is only one aspect," the Battlemaster pointed out, looking around to each of them. "The other is that the Collective itself is not united, and it is quite obvious that it has never truly been. What exists now is merely a convenient alliance of species. It is not under a unified power."

"Debatable," Revelean said. "That is what our role is, and that of the Imperator. We allow the species…autonomy…and in return they follow our commands."

"Yes, because you and Fectorian have certainly been fine examples of leaders of the Collective," Quisilia said dryly. "I can certainly see why they would continue following us. I can't think of a single reason for why the Federation is threatening to withdraw, or the Hive Commanders and Aui'Vitakar are suitably angry."

"You are one to talk," Revelean hissed. "Your point is made. And the Battlemaster has admittedly done this better than any of us."

"Yes and no," Quisilia said, eyeing Revelean. "While I certainly keep my work…out of the public, I at least assist in the general affairs of the Collective. I don't spend my time exclusively in my Blacksite pursuing fruitless projects; blind to the outside galaxy."

"I am a scientist, not a diplomat," Revelean scoffed. "Of course I do not do this."

"Enough." The Battlemaster raised a fist. "We, as a species, have failed to do what was expected of us. We are supposed to be the leaders of the Collective, and we have failed as such. That will change."

"Is the Imperator aware of this?" Fectorian asked. "Knowing you, I suspect you will be making some…reforms. It might be wise to inform him of this."

"The Imperator has not led the Collective," the Battlemaster replied flatly. "While I cannot claim the same, I have been involved more than he has. He will be informed, but this will proceed with or without his approval."

"Hm," Quisilia stroked his cat, which purred loudly. "Battlemaster, while the Imperator certainly could have done better, I would advise not taking extensive liberties. Despite how it has seemed, he has been watching the Collective, though he has been…preoccupied."

Since Quisilia did interact with the Imperator more often, the Battlemaster suspected he was telling the truth. "If that is the case, he should make that clear. And refrain from keeping secrets. That is part of the reason this situation has deteriorated. There are too many who are pursuing their own goals and failing to properly inform those they work with. We are all guilty of this."

"Battlemaster," Sana interrupted, raising her hand; her melodic voice cutting through the others. "You have stated the need for reform. I am pleased you have realized it. But what are you specifically planning? It is why you have asked us here, yes?"

"Correct," he nodded. "Each of you will have a part in this. The rest are occupied or otherwise incompatible with what is needed. Macula and Nebulan are on Earth, and those on the Temple Ship are too occupied with what the Imperator is doing."

"Such a shame," Quisilia mocked. "Inviting the Creator and Isomnum would have certainly made this more interesting."

Sana shot him a disapproving look. "The ones you mentioned should be brought under tighter control. If not confined entirely. I have yet to hear a suitable reason for why Isomnum is allowed to roam freely. The Imperator may have forgotten what he has done, but I certainly have not."

"The illustrious Dread Lord has his flaws," Quisilia admitted, tapping them off on his lower hands. "Child experimentation, torture, and a questionable fascination with fear; but the thing is that even the Synthesized became terrified of him. He has a role to play, despite being such an…unsavory individual."

"As for the Creator, she will be dealt with in due time," the Battlemaster rumbled. "Her pets have caused trouble. I do not know what she is working on, but that will change shortly. I agree that she has been allowed far too much freedom."

"Ah, about that," Quisilia raised a hand. "That is directly being overseen by the Imperator. That, Battlemaster, is outside your jurisdiction."

"Then tell him to get the Creator under control," was the response. "If he does not, I will."

Quisilia just sighed. "He will not like that."

"Then he should be doing a better job."

The cat meowed.

"There are three aspects which need to be addressed," the Battlemaster said after a few moments, looking around at each of them. "Our military and technology, Ethereal leadership within the Collective, and this Sovereign One which appears to be hiding on Earth."

"That is a problem," Fectorian noted, looking up thoughtfully. "It raises certain questions. But it doesn't appear to have directly allied with the Humans yet, although since Quisilia threw the puppet into space, I doubt it will be friendly. A dangerous enemy to have."

"Indeed," the Battlemaster said. "Which I will use to segue into the first aspect. Our military is not properly prepared or equipped to fight on Earth. Our primarily infantry military does not hold against their kinds of warfare, and there are severe issues in regards to soldier training and stability."

"I can attest to this," Sana said with a sigh. "Too many of the Vitakara cannot handle the stresses of war. Many cannot psychologically handle it, through no fault of their own. They are just not innately capable of violence."

"With the exception of Oyariah and Borelians," Revelean corrected.

"That is true."

"The Vitakara are an issue," the Battlemaster agreed. "The entry requirements are too lax. And their paranoia regarding genetic modification is a hindrance and outdated notion."

"It almost killed their species," Sana reminded them. "I hardly think it to be unreasonable."

"Which we cured, if you recall," Revelean reminded her. "Modern modification is perfectly safe and effective."

"The point is that we have used Vitakara too broadly," the Battlemaster continued. "Not all are suitable for combat, and the ones that are cannot hope to effectively fight against many of the standard ADVENT soldiers, much less ADVENT Special Forces or XCOM. We need to provide similar advantages. We have the capability; and now we need to utilize it."

"Forcing genetic modification will not endear them to us," Sana cautioned. "Do you understand what you are asking them?"

"If they are part of the military, then they are subject to our regulations," the Battlemaster answered. "And that is why you and Revelean are going to help convince them."

"Excuse me?" Revelean asked.

"Yes," the Battlemaster repeated. "You, Revelean, are going to be a lead geneticist on the Collective Enhancement Initiative. You have stayed in your Blacksite for too long; it is time for you to show the galaxy what you can do. You will decide how our infantry forces will be enhanced and improved, and you will do this in conjunction with the Hive Commanders, and those from the Federation and Vitakara who wish to assist in this development."

"You want me to work with aliens," Revelean said, not so much in anger as in surprise. "You want to give them direct access to the most advanced techniques in this galaxy?"

"Yes." Was the answer. "Your immediate dismissal of aliens is one of the reasons we are in this situation. You will work with them, and I suspect they will surprise you. If you do not think you can do this, I will find someone who can."

"I can certainly do it," Revelean said quickly. "Though I am skeptical, nor particularly appreciate this being forced upon me."

The Battlemaster wasn't particularly offended. "We all do what we must for the Collective, like it or not."

He turned to Fectorian. "You will have a similar role, Fectorian. I am sure you can agree that our vehicles in the Collective are…lacking. You will come up with better ones, and you will do it in conjunction with the Federation and those from the Hive Commanders and Vitakara who wish to participate."

"Excellent," Fectorian said eagerly. "It has certainly taken long enough. I have many designs that will serve well against the Humans. And if the aliens can provide assistance, then they will be welcome. I assume the previous projects should be continued?"

"Yes."

"Good." He nodded. "I look forward to it."

"And I will be spending my time reorganizing the Collective military itself," the Battlemaster continued. "Quisilia, you will work with the Zar'Chon to refine and improve the Zararch. Be sure to listen to him."

"Certainly," Quisilia nodded. "I will say he will greatly appreciate these reforms."

"And now we should focus on smoothing over the issues caused by Aegis," the Battlemaster continued. "Every species is on some level demanding answers. We will have to provide those as best we can. Revelean, you will accompany me to speak with the Hive Commanders. Fectorian will go with the Zar'Chon to speak to the Federation, and I have already mentioned our visit to Vitakar. Combined with initiatives which will be led by Revelean and Fectorian, it should help to begin fostering some unity within the Collective, instead of the species only looking out for themselves."

"The Federation is demanding the Imperator himself explain the situation," Quisilia reminded him.

"I'm working on the assumption that the Imperator will not follow that request," the Battlemaster said. "However, that would be ideal and I will inquire about this. I would ask you do the same."

"If we wish to maintain the cooperation of the species, we will need to continue this," Sana said. "We cannot simply show up when we are facing criticism. That is too reactive, and will not build trust."

"Which is why you will be in charge of maintaining our diplomatic ties between the various species," the Battlemaster said. "I suspect your feelings on the Humans are unchanged, but I do not need you for that. I need you to keep the peace and demonstrate Ethereal leadership and cooperation."

"While I am more than happy to do this," Sana said slowly. "You have raised the question of why we must continue this war. Would it not make more sense to attempt to broker a peace between us and ADVENT? They have Caelior, and Aegis is allied with them. More fighting could lead to more of us dying or being captured."

"It is too late for that," the Battlemaster shook his head. "The Humans will not willingly be confined to their own world. They will treat peace as a means to keep advancing. They will wage war again one day; we cannot rely on them for that. The fault for this war is ours, but there is little that can be done about it now except finishing it."

"Aside from that, allowing a Sovereign One free reign will backfire," Quisilia added. "We would be fools to let that kind of being loose on a highly vengeful species. Aegis is bad enough, but a living Sovereign One is far worse. We cannot leave now."

"This Sovereign One will be a problem," Revelean agreed. "The question is how involved it plans to be. While it is certainly not our friend, if it was an ally to the Humans, it would have been clear."

"There are two things that need to be done," the Battlemaster said. "The first is to determine if there is a Sovereign One physically on Earth. If there is, it will almost certainly be in the deep oceans of Earth. We will need to transition part of our military to underwater combat."

"The Sar'Manda?" Sana asked.

"The Andromedon Aquatic Forces are better," the Battlemaster said. "The Sar'Manda would be more trouble than they're worth to corral them into following Collective orders. Transitioning part of the Vitakara and Andromedons will serve just as well. Fectorian, you will also provide assistance on this."

"Of course."

"We should also consult with the Sovereign Ones about how best to handle this one," he continued. "I would be surprised if this was the first time it had happened. The Voice should be informed of the situation. If anyone will know how to kill or subdue one, it will be her."

"Agreed," Fectorian said. "And I believe this is the perfect opportunity to begin the implementation of Sovereign Tech far more extensively. I can understand not using it on the Humans, but a Sovereign One, even a rogue one, is not one to take chances with."

"I was going to say that," the Battlemaster nodded. "It is time we take advantage of this gift and master it. Knowledge is useless without application. The Imperator's mandate regarding the technology is suppressed until further notice. Utilize it as you see fit."

Quisilia set his cat down, his voice not having any humor in it for once. "While I do think the Imperator will not take issue with the reforms you are proposing, that is something he will not approve of. Sovereign technology is something we do not fully understand-"

"Which is why we need to study it. The knowledge will not suddenly appear to us."

"Sovereign technology should not be utilized unless absolutely necessary," Quisilia insisted. "Neither I, nor the Imperator consider it the pinnacle of all things. We cannot become reliant on it; there is something we do not understand about it. Think about where we stand; what we found here. All the Sovereign weapons in the galaxy didn't ultimately help them, now, did it?"

"They used the tainted element."

Quisilia sighed. "Just consider this a warning. I do not fully trust the Sovereign Ones; certainly not those who offer technology to warp the galaxy freely."

"Warning acknowledged," the Battlemaster humored before dismissing it from his mind. The paranoia of the Imperator was not something he considered a major factor into his decision. The fact was that they were going to be facing this level of technology eventually, and they needed to match it. It certainly would not replace what already existed, but it would augment it.

"I will be sending out more specific details shortly," the Battlemaster said, looking around at all of them. "We all have our directives and plans. It is time to put them into action. Dismissed."

---

Operation Command, Zararch Wing – Mars Collective Base

12/2/2016 – 1:12 P.M.

It was only a matter of time until the Battlemaster was forced to actually do something. Granted, Ravarian would have preferred he did it some time ago, but better late than never. The Battlemaster was one of the few Ethereals he'd seen who would actually change his tactics if pressed, and it seemed that point had been reached.

The transition from the Observation Station to the alien base below had been a welcome change. He actually quite liked the layout, even if he had never stepped foot into a similar base before. He did know it was from the same species as other ruins he'd seen, but this was by far the most intact.

The downside to the Battlemaster reworking nearly everything was that he was now tasked, along with Quisilia, with reorganizing the Zararch, shoring up weaknesses, and coming up with an actual plan for dealing with the Humans. Of course, 'downside' was relative. It was more work, but he felt like he was able to properly do his job for the first time in a while.

"Our intelligence gathering capabilities need to be expanded," he told Quisilia. "We've seen the consequences of not understanding this. The personnel are not the problem per-se, but their equipment and protocols."

Quisilia paced around the room, with his cat trailing not too far behind. Although the Zar'Chon's own pet was intermittently meowing at him for attention, so he'd decided to just hold the blasted cat so it would stop pestering him. "We can certainly make better cloaking and sensor equipment, but the problem is infiltrating the cities themselves. While I certainly can do this, I am not the average Zararch agent."

"No, I've decided that is not an effective strategy," Ravarian interrupted, raising a hand as he looked down at the holomap. "We need eyes in the city. Human eyes and ears; ones who can pass the blood tests. Ethereal bioscience can't fully overhaul circulatory systems, and Nartha was a special case we can't replicate on a large scale."

"Oh, you have a proposal?" Quisilia asked.

Ravarian took a breath. That he did, but it was fairly radical. "Yes. If we are going through the trouble of reorganizing the Zararch, it might as well expand to include the rest of the Collective races; Sectoids and Andromedons included. The Special Operators in particular should be working for us, not the Federation."

Radical is an understatement, the thought immediately appeared, even as Quisilia stopped. Interesting. I presume you would use standard agents to capture Humans, then use Sectoids to tailor them to our needed spies?

"One usage, yes," Ravarian nodded. "While it is certainly a risk with ADVENT Priests, it will force them to always be distrusting of the population. It could serve for raising tensions." His palm flashed as holographic text began scrolling as he refreshed himself with additional details. "It does not even need to be so complex. Psionically-induced terrorism or sabotage will have the needed effect of damaging ADVENT, and destroying trust in psionics. ADVENT is attempting to make psions socially acceptable – we should try and minimize that."

"That-" Quisilia said, raising a finger. "Is not how you accomplish this goal. Having a bunch of ordinary Humans going around committing crimes does little, unless it is directly attributed to psionic influence. While I can't say I'd be opposed to having random Humans doing unpredictable things, like shooting up an armory or changing the stored names of all leaders to 'Quisilia', all you will do is make ADVENT crack down harder."

He took the critique in stride. "And what else do you propose."

"ADVENT, in their attempt to minimize giving psionics to people who shouldn't have them, has created a weak point we can exploit," he answered thoughtfully. "Poison the well, so to speak. Manipulate their data to allow candidates that fail their tests go through, and those who pass to fail. A calculated risk, but it is more likely to have the effect you want."

Ravarian nodded to himself. That was a good plan, although it relied on some degree of penetration, which they really did not have right now. "I'll begin an operational plan to implement that. We should also utilize the Zararch to…eliminate the issues being caused in our captured cities."

"I assume you refer to Seattle," Quisilia mused. "Problematic, yes. Interesting that they're sabotaging their own city to whittle our forces down."

"It's frustrating," Ravarian sighed. "They're not numerous enough to be a standard army, smart enough not to get caught, and only attack when they have the advantage. It doesn't help that they're creating choke points and cutting off entire units from each other. And sending in more forces has not helped. This is a guerilla force; we need intelligence operatives to destroy it."

"On that you have my agreement," Quisilia said. "Do what you must to solve this."

"And we need to discuss Nartha," Ravarian also said after a few moments. "I believe we've gotten what we need from him. Letting him run around is an unnecessary risk."

"I disagree with that assessment," Quisilia answered as his cat jumped into his arms. "Nartha is providing an excellent service. As one of the few known dissidents he is most certainly going to find additional sympathizers. Thanks to him we have the network of Muton smugglers mapped out, certain cells of the Nulorian known, and with the current situations in the Collective, I suspect there are going to be those more open to dissent. Send him to the Andromedons. Once he has done what he can, we can revisit this discussion."

He knew the Ethereal's mind was made up then. Well, as far as risks went, Nartha was one they could at least control to a degree. "Very well. And speaking of the Andromedons, I am not sure how well they will respond to the head of the Zararch, and an Ethereal they have likely never heard of."

"Andromedons are dispassionate engineers," Quisilia answered. "They respond well to logic, calculation, and reasonable explanations. Fectorian is ideally suited since he was the designer of the Spectres, which the Andromedons have taken issue with. You will be there to present the facts and solutions the Collective will be implementing. I trust you will be able to do this well."

The Zar'Chon pursed his lips. "They will not be happy the Imperator is not there."

"He may be," Quisilia said. "But the Imperator is focused on other matters. The Federation can make all the threats they wish, but they are empty."

Ravarian wasn't convinced. "I am not certain about that. The Imperator has not been in the Collective. He does not know them as well as he thinks. Andromedons in the past would have gone to war for less."

"I'll mention that," Quisilia sounded amused. "Do not take his lack of intervention for ignorance."

"Then he should formally hand the Collective over to someone who will actually oversee it," Ravarian kept his voice neutral, but he disliked the continuous insinuation that the Imperator somehow knew everything, but chose instead to be lazy. "It is fine if he has more important matters, but he should not claim to be something he is not."

Quisilia was silent for a few moments. Ravarian doubted anything would happen, but it was the first time he had verbally questioned the Imperator's authority. But he wasn't saying anything Quisilia hadn't already glimpsed from his mind. "Good answer!" Quisilia finally said with a brief laugh. "Perhaps you can tell him that."

Ravarian immediately stiffened. "The Imperator is coming here?"

"Here? No," Quisilia shook his head. "But he will be speaking to you at some point. He has…come to some similar conclusions. There is a reason he is not standing in the way of the Battlemaster even if he could. While I can't share the exact reasons he has been…absent…there are changes coming."

He was both relieved to hear that, and mildly concerned about the Imperator taking a direct interest in him. He preferred his involvement with Ethereals to be kept to as few as possible. Beings of that power had to be treated carefully and clearly were above those like him. Having their most powerful focused on him was not exactly an honor or blessing.

But that he would not vocalize. "In that case, I look forward to their implementation."

---

Holding Cell 3, Holding Cells – Mars Collective Base

12/2/2016 – 1:16 P.M.

There were two kinds of holding cells the Disprium seemed to repeatedly employ.

The first were standard cells which seemed to lack even basic necessities, and were seemingly just large metal boxes. Considering that they were literally stored in racks, and each one had an oxygen supply, they were likely treated as a kind of resource or at best a form of isolated confinement. The Zar'Chon was looking into using them as a form of psychological interrogation.

The second kind of cells were somehow worse. From what Cogitian had been able to determine, there were two stages: The first involved the victim being taken to a room with a glass-like box in it. Once inside, they would be secured by the ankles, knees, waist, and upper chest. The restraints would be connected to another computer and be turned on, activating a stasis field around the victim.

Then IV tubes were threaded through the restraints and into the prisoner, and it was completed by fitting them with some kind of helmet which directly interfaced with the brain. It was theoretically supposed to keep them awake and active without requiring sleep. Cogitian hadn't been able to confirm this, but was working on replicating it out of academic curiosity.

The second stage simply involved sticking the body in a coffin-like case, which also had an oxygen supply, and storing them in the vaults below the base. It was estimated that at the prime of this base, it could hold nearly five hundred prisoners stored like this.

Fortunately for the Hunter, the Collective had yet to recreate this form of imprisonment, and he had instead been thrown in one of the regular cells. The Battlemaster punched in the appropriate code and the cell door slid open, revealing the Hunter inside.

He appeared to be mostly recovered. He was bound at the wrists, ankles, and his head was secured to the wall via the neck. The Battlemaster clenched a fist and the restraints snapped. The Hunter smiled and slowly rose. "Battlemaster. Glad you decided to visit."

"I have still not decided if I am going to kill you or not," was the even reply. "Were you anyone else, the answer would be clear. But your connection to the Creator hinders this."

"Ah, right," the alien nodded sagely. "Assuming the Imperator doesn't want the Creator distracted from her little projects. Trying to kill me would get her attention; much as we both despise each other."

"The Imperator can make his recommendation," the Battlemaster said, unclasping his sword and letting it hang by his side. "But I will make the final judgement."

The Hunter did not seem overly concerned, simply throwing a sidelong glance at the silver weapon. "Oh no, death threats. Wow. Very convincing," he heaved dramatically. "Battlemaster, what exactly are you going to do? Stab me? Cut off my limbs? You can't kill me, and at this point I'm used to pain." He gave a ghoulish smirk. "And you can't do worse than what the bitch did when she was trying to figure out my limits."

The cocky alien was suddenly lifted slightly into the air and pulled forward to be impaled on the pointed blade of the Battlemaster. Anchoring him in place with telekinesis, the Battlemaster slowly drove the blade deep into his chest until it reached the hilt. "Perhaps I can't kill you this way," he said quietly. "But you don't like it. You still feel everything."

"And you wonder how I could possibly start shooting the mindless soldiers you order around," he hissed, as the blood spread and dripped to the ground. "This isn't exactly what inspires loyalty."

"Everything you experience is a consequence of your actions," the Battlemaster answered, turning the blade causing the Hunter to hiss. "You are a traitor, and I would prefer you were dealt with as one."

"But you can't do that, can you," the Hunter taunted, breathing heavily. "You can't risk making the bitch angry."

If the Battlemaster was in the mood, he would have smiled. Instead he placed a free hand on the Hunter's head, and began to apply pressure, while also telekinetically cracking his ribs to make it easier to remove the impaled sword. "Tell me, Hunter, if I were to crush your head, would you still come back?"

"Oh, I certainly will," he rasped. "It's not that easy. And it would be nicer than what you're doing right now."

It was almost a taunt. Perhaps a bluff. He was quite curious how badly the Hunter wanted him to avoid this outcome. "Curious. You would be exactly as you are, yes? Or would you…change?" He tightened his grip on the head. "I suspect that such a traumatic brain injury would change even you. That is an acceptable compromise, I believe."

"Fuck you, Battlemaster," the Hunter hissed, now sounding somewhat concerned. "Fine. What do you want? An apology?"

That was all he needed. Keeping the Hunter anchored in place he sliced his sword outward and released him, letting the Hunter fall into the pool of his own blood. "No," the Battlemaster said. "No apology would be sincere from you. But if you ever participate in any action which undermines Collective operations, then I will ensure that your brain is smashed beyond recognition. If such actions fail, I will condemn you to the Dead World. You have no warnings or chances. Leave now. You are not permitted to return without my express permission."

"Believe me," the Hunter coughed, still on the ground. "I never want to see you again."

"And when you return to the Creator, give her a message," the Battlemaster said, turning away. "If a similar incident happens again, I will hold her personally responsible."

All he received in return was a gurgled laugh. "I'll make sure she gets the message."

---

Tactical Briefing Room, Solar System Command Center – Mars Collective Base

12/2/2016 – 3:19 P.M.

Having a firm presence on Mars was the first important step to take. The Battlemaster was expecting ADVENT would pursue space travel more aggressively at some point, and it was obviously not going to take much to drive the Collective out of the system if the only major installation they possessed was the Observation Station.

No, they needed to expand. There wasn't a need to focus on Mercury or Venus, he could see very little of worth there, but definitely Mars, and establishing defenses before the Asteroid Belt and the edge of the system would be adequate. The conversion of Earth's moon to an industrial hangar was proceeding well, and perhaps establishing a base on Pluto would also be advisable. The defenses didn't need to be too extensive, but not everything could rest on the observation station.

A hologram of the system itself was before him. The problem with maintaining control over a solar system was that it was so big. It was extremely difficult to fully secure, and in the event that Humans achieved an interstellar navy, he was not convinced that the defenses were completely sound.

Perhaps he should authorize the construction of larger Gateways. Even if Humans were unlikely to field Dreadnoughts, it would pulverize any fleet they did develop.

Aegis once more threw a massive wrench into this. Any fleet Humanity wielded would be nearly invincible under his protection. In which case, the obvious counter was Deusian, though he hoped that the need for the Reaper would be unnecessary.

However, the Humans had a way of surprising him.

"Your plans are ambitious, but similar to what I had expected."

The Battlemaster looked up in surprise as the Imperator of the Ethereal Collective stood in front of him, towering even over him.

"Imperator," he greeted, inclining his head. In previous years he would have been more elaborate in his greeting, going so far as to fall to a knee in respect, as was traditional due for an Imperator or the Grandmaster. But times had changed, and the Imperator had made it clear he had little interest in that.

"Battlemaster," was the answer, as the Imperator looked around, before focusing on the hologram of the Solar System. "You have been busy."

"It is necessary," he answered. "Considering both Aegis and the rapid advancements of the Humans, it is imperative that we take the needed steps to prepare for the worst." He allowed a pause. "I presume you are here for a reason. You have not left the Temple Ship in…some time."

"Yes," the Imperator paced to the side, sounding thoughtful. "I have been focused on the Inner Galaxy, as well as those who inhabit it. However, it appears that I should begin returning to the Collective. It has not performed as hoped."

"The reasons for such have been identified and are being fixed," the Battlemaster replied tactfully. "I will restore stability to the Collective-"

"There is little need to mince words," the Imperator lifted one of his ornately detailed gauntlets. "You are displeased with my leadership. While I cannot read your mind or emotions, I understand how you think, and Quisilia is diligent in reporting your words. In this case, it is perhaps deserved."

That was refreshing to hear. The Imperator was no fool, which was why the Battlemaster had become more frustrated with him in recent months. The Imperator was smarter than he was, yet seemed to often make questionable or simply wrong decisions. "I am pleased to hear that. But both of us are in agreement that words are nothing without action."

"Indeed." The Imperator turned to him. "The presence of a Sovereign One Earth is now your priority. Maintain the war with the Humans, but that is the true danger on Earth."

"The Sovereign One should be dealt with after the Humans are taken care of," the Battlemaster disputed. "By directly attacking him we will likely force him to ally more openly with the Humans. That is not an ideal outcome."

The Imperator was silent for a few moments. "Very well. I will have another coordinate the strategy for the Sovereign One. I also believe it is time you are aware of some of what I have done and am planning."

"It would be appreciated."

"I will be removing Patricia Trask from the equation in the immediate future," the Imperator said. "She will be returned to the Temple Ship, and I will speak to her. I am confident I can convince her to be cooperative."

The Battlemaster stared at the Imperator in disbelief. "Imperator, what exactly are you thinking?"

"I am thinking in the long term," he answered. "It makes little sense to discard Trask. Not when I know she can be turned to us."

"And what happens if she can't?" He demanded. "And you know this will invite retaliation from XCOM."

"Then she will be released and the next time she appears, she will die," the Imperator answered. "But I am confident that she will be more useful to us alive than dead. Having one such as her openly allied with us will break the morale of the Humans and hasten their defeat."

"No," the Battlemaster shook his head. "You would not take such a risk for such a questionable reason. And you will certainly not let her go if she refuses to…work with us."

"Yes, I will," the Imperator stated, looking directly at him. "When I give my word, Battlemaster, I mean it. You would be, of course, free to kill her later. But it will not be until she safely returns to XCOM." A pause. "Revelean has made significant progress on the Avatar Project. Patricia Trask will be important to see it completed. That time is approaching."

Having made himself familiar with the details of the Avatar Project some time ago, he knew exactly what the Imperator was suggesting. "You are not serious."

"I am completely serious," the Imperator answered flatly. "And I think you agree."

"Her?"

"Yes."

The Battlemaster was not sure what to say at that moment. Even for the Imperator his implication was nigh-unfathomable. But then again…the Imperator was rather open-minded as far as Ethereals went. As much as it would take some getting used to, he had to concede that that the Avatar Project would only be successful with Humans.

Which meant that the Imperator had also likely found others. "She is not the only one, is she?"

"I see you are aware of the implication," the Imperator nodded approvingly. "No, she was not. Sicarius has also found one, as have the Overmind and Deusian."

That was surprising. "How did Deusian manage to do that?"

"With help."

The Imperator was being extremely helpful here. He would have to speak to her. From what he understood of the Avatar Project, it was not something that was lightly undertaken. "I have also taken the liberty of assisting for your own."

"No." The Battlemaster flatly disputed. "I have no interest in participating in the Avatar Project, nor would it work for me."

"Revelean disagrees," the Imperator countered. "But even if you discount that aspect, I believe it would be a benefit towards some larger Human integration. The future for our species and the Humans will be close, and it does not hurt to begin that relationship early."

His immediate reaction was to dismiss the Imperator's words. But at the same time, he had a point, and he would not bring this up without some kind of desired outcome. "Fine," he relented. "Who have you found? What is his name?"

"Not 'his' name. Hers."

---

Training Arena – Temple Ship of the Imperator of the Ethereal Collective

12/3/2016 – 12:00 P.M.

He was here.

The presence of the Imperator was the equivalent of a sun to a psion. She could only imagine what it was like for a telepath.

Interesting. He hadn't actually shown up to see her fight for some time. And honestly, she didn't really use these training sessions for anything more than a means of refinement and a way to relax. The days where she actually felt challenged by them were long-since passed, especially now that she had some help.

"The arena forces you will face today will likely be a mixture of Mutons, Berserkers, and a high probability of one to two compromised Zararch agents."

Yang Shuren, current resident of the Temple Ship, crossed her arms as she briefly considered what her Praetorian friend said. "And when you say 'high probability' that means…?"

"Between sixty and ninety percent probability,"

"And you base this on?"

"Zararch logs indicate four agents have recently been compromised by the Nulorian and other factors. Two have been fully interrogated and are awaiting execution. The remaining two are in various stages of interrogation."

At times she forgot she was talking to what was widely considered the most idiotic species in the Collective. Then again, 042 was not an ordinary Muton. It was like…comparing modern Humans to Neanderthals. Or apes. The difference was so vast they might as well be completely different species. "Thanks 042. Expected numbers?"

"You have requested the highest available setting. Expect between fifteen to twenty."

She nodded to herself. Reasonable numbers, and the arena was only so large. "If there are Zararch, what races?"

"Those being held are three Vitakarians and one Dath'Haram. They are unlikely to have been genetically enhanced."

She snorted. Even if they were, she could easily kill them. The trouble with any kind of non-Muton was that they typically fought smarter and with more intensity. Still, she disliked killing them. They reminded her too much of Humans.

"Are you prepared to begin?"

"One more thing," she said, not really expecting a straight answer as she walked into the center of the area. "Why is the Imperator here?"

There was a noticeable pause. "The Imperator has not made himself known to me. Previous encounters suggest he will allow you to complete your challenge before speaking. There is a moderate probability he will provide assistance to opposing forces."

Damn it. She did not really want to play the Imperator's mind games at the moment. Or maybe it was simpler and he just wanted to watch her kill something. Initially she'd assumed he'd wanted her to be some kind of psionic weapon, but she wasn't really convinced of that any longer. Not that she would have had much of a problem with it, but she'd figured out that he wasn't the type to invest in something so…mundane.

He wanted a tactician. Someone to perhaps compliment the Battlemaster.

That realization had certainly illuminated why she'd managed to get his attention over the others.

She was looking forward to seeing President Qin's face as she told him who she was, right before killing him.

Such was the way of life.

"I must call into question your lack of proper protection," 042 interjected. "When facing this many opponents, one shot could severely hurt you."

Yang smiled as she rubbed her bare forearms. "042, how much does this lower my chances of surviving?"

"Four percent."

"Exactly. Start it."

The arena was fairly large, with four solid gate openings at opposite ends of each other. It was comparable to one of the American Football fields, although those were rectangular, not circular. The metal was just a drab grey, but the overhead ceiling caught the attention of most who saw it for the first time. From what she understood, it depicted a space battle for some world, battling an enemy the Imperator called the Synthesized.

It was rather beautiful, in a stained-glass sort of way. Very distracting initially, but she was used to it by now.

"[Come on,]" she said quietly to herself as she drew upon the power. "[Let's give a show.]"

The gates slowly rose and Yang raised her hands in preparation. Knowing the standard tactics of Berserkers…if such a word could be applied to them, meant that…ah, here it was. One of the red-armored beasts charged forward, metallic blades gleaming in the light. Three of them. Unusual, and all coming from different gates.

Immediately multiple counters came to her mind, but she first settled on the easiest ones. She twisted both her wrists and was rewarded with the sound of the legs snapping of the two Berserkers to the side, and with a motion she caught the oncoming Berserker in a telekinetic grab, then lifted it into the air.

They just never learned.

The standard Mutons were coming out now, plasma rifles raised, and she thrust her left hand out and yanked, ripping the rifles from the hands of four of the aliens, while squeezing her right hand into a fist, compressing the hovering Berserker. That complete, she tossed the mangled heap of metal and flesh towards a trio of Mutons.

"There are three enemies behind you taking aim."

Without looking, Yang sent a telekinetic blast behind her and dashed towards the unarmed Mutons, sending more flying back with telekinesis. Green plasma flashed behind her, and in retaliation she picked up one of the hapless Mutons and threw them with terminal force towards their offending brethren.

She summoned one of the rifles to her hands, executed two of the Mutons on the ground before discarding it, and snapped the neck of one of the still-surviving berserkers. How many were still alive? Six? No Vitakara either yet, though they might have been biding their time.

Well, she might as well have some fun since they were proving to be even easier than expected. Walking slowly towards the group of Mutons she had previously blasted back, she encased them in her telekinetic grip, though decided to focus the pressure on their heads. She clearly misjudged her strength as instead of a slow compression, they simply turned to yellow explosions.

Disappointed, she tossed their corpses towards the other few Mutons still alive. She was about to turn away when she heard something on the edge of her perception, and 042 confirmed it immediately. "Hostile behind you."

She jumped forward, twisting as she sent out a telekinetic blast behind her, and it just barely missed a Dath'Haram who also leapt out of the way. In his hand was a thin red-coated blade. A trained Bladedancer then, and if he was from the Zararch, a real one. She smiled. Time to see what he could do.

"Do you really think you can win?" She asked smugly, gesturing to the pile of corpses around her as the Dath'Haram began circling her, eyeing her with a predatory gaze. To punctuate the point she snapped the neck of the last living Berserker, and threw the corpse towards the Vitakara. He slid under it and dashed towards her with surprising speed.

She could see where he was aiming, and as he leapt towards her, she lifted a hand and he froze; suspended as she looked to where the poisoned blade would have landed. "Almost there," she chided quietly, as the look in his eyes turned to terror as she stepped so close that the blade almost touched the chest it had been aimed for. "The heart. Vital. Important. But see, that only works when your opponent can't throw you around with her mind."

Yang tapped her head with a smile. "You should have aimed for the head."

With that she telekinetically ripped the blade from his hands and stabbed the alien through the eye, then released him as he dropped to the floor with a thud. Placing a boot on the corpse, she withdrew the blade and flourished it briefly as she set out to kill what few were still alive. She'd always liked swords, and while the Dath'Haram were usually a bunch of idiot pacifists, they sure made exceptional weapons.

"All enemies are confirmed dead," 042 confirmed as she executed the last wounded Muton. "Elapsed time was four minutes and fifty-two seconds. It is your sixth-fastest run on these parameters, out of a total of twelve."

"Thank you," she said sarcastically. While 042 was helpful, he and all of his kind always felt the need to constantly state statistics and records as if she really cared about that. What she really cared about was refining her own abilities, and that just wasn't shown in the data 042 liked to reference so much.

But he either hadn't picked up on her sarcasm, or, more likely, he was aware she found it grating and did it anyway. Cheeky grunt.

"You have improved much," the Imperator's voice immediately attracted her attention, as it always did. She turned to see him standing a few feet from her. Teleported most likely. The sensation was almost overwhelming, even if she'd gotten better at controlling herself. But it was near-impossible to overcome the warm and adoring feeling that washed over her, leaving her a sightless puppet.

While it had felt great at the time, she hated how it felt later.

With effort, she shook her head to focus. "Thanks. Almost thought you'd forgotten me here. We haven't talked in some time."

"I've been…occupied," the Imperator answered, beginning to pace. "This is no longer challenging to you." It was not a question.

"Not especially."

"Good. You were not supposed to stay here forever. I see you have made a…friend in Praetorian 042."

She shrugged. "He has been helpful, surprising as that is."

"And you have taken a growing interest in war games, if Cogitian is to be believed."

"Are you getting to a point?"

"Your patience needs improvement," he said, raising a finger. "But yes, I am. The Battlemaster will be arriving at a point in the near future. Given your unique background and skills, I believe you would be an ideal…partner…to him. However, I will say he is not entirely convinced of the merit of such. You will need to show him."

Partner?

She raised an eyebrow. "That is…more than I was expecting. I figured you'd want me to fight on Earth, not, ah, work with the Battlemaster of all Ethereals. Given what Cogitian has said about him, he doesn't really do the apprentice-slash-partner thing."

"You have not seen it, but he has taken on such in the past," the Imperator said. "Disciples they were called. Both are long dead. I suspect the notion has not even entered his mind, but even he looks at his options from the perspective of one of the Empire. The times have changed, and we must look outside our species for worthy partners in our goals."

Yang crossed her arms. "And you want me to essentially be a surrogate Ethereal. Taking a role your kind would have had."

"A crude analogy, but not necessarily incorrect," was the answer. "But I suppose the question is if you believe you can achieve this, or if you want it in the first place."

"I can certainly do it," she stated with confidence. "I was just…surprised this was your end goal."

"I do not need a simple weapon, Miss Shuren," the Imperator said with a dismissive wave. "You can be more than that. Your potential is one I won't throw away."

Yang could never really figure out how the Imperator really saw her. He always sounded like he cared, even when he often referred to her in terms of a resource. But for someone who thought in that scale…she supposed it could be worse. "Then I guess I'd better prepare. He's going to challenge me to fight, isn't he."

The Imperator considered that. "Most likely, and you will lose. All you must do is fight intelligently, and that will be enough for him."

Which translated to "You're going to lose, but at least try not to die in a few seconds."

Fair enough.

"Alright," she looked at the discarded Dath'Haram blade and recalled it to her hand. "I have a lot of studying to do."

---

Grand Chambers, Hive 001 – Helion-7

12/6/2016 – 1:11 P.M.

And he was back here once again. The Hive Commanders, although not quite as…vocal about the recent developments as the Andromedons or Vitakara, had their own means of expressing their displeasure. Namely summoning the most influential and dangerous Hive Commanders at the Hive of 001.

It was for all intents and purposes, a trial, if not sentencing.

001 was certainly going to be hostile, but it was not necessarily a guarantee that the situation would go badly. The Sectoids had released few questions, but had insisted repeatedly on having Ethereals answer them. Curiously they had not requested the Imperator, though given the allegations about the tampering presumably ordered by him, it might be a subtle way of indicating he was not welcome.

It worked for him. The Battlemaster was not a diplomat, but neither were the Sectoids. The reason Revelean was at his side now was because out of them all, the geneticist was the one who could most relate to the species. If all went well, there would hopefully be a more firm scientific relationship established.

"The aliens are probing me," Revelean commented with some amusement as they walked down the gleaming white halls to the main chambers, even as they attracted the looks of the various drones and armored Vanguards who were quietly following them. "Poor technique. They are fortunate I do not wish conflict today."

"No fighting today," the Battlemaster agreed quietly as they approached the entrance. "They pose little threat to us, regardless."

They both stepped into the Grand Chambers of Hive Commander 001, which was a massive amphitheater-like room, with a domed white roof which was no surprise as this was at the top of the Hive. However, it did actually appear that the room was indeed filled to capacity with Hive Commanders and Vanguard bodyguards.

It wasn't the entirety of the Hive Commanders, but far more than he had anticipated.

Hundreds of pairs of golden bulbous eyes glared down upon both of them, and what made it more unnerving was that Hive Commanders looked very similar. Unlike the lesser Sectoids there was some variance in them, slight differences in height, girth, and cybernetics, but in a mass of orange and black, that distinction was harder to make.

The center of the room contained six elevated stands, inhabited by other Hive Commanders who were likely the limited few who were speaking to them. Fortunately they had their designations displayed on holographic projections before themselves. Unsurprisingly 001 was at the forefront, or at least who they were facing.

To his left was 029, and he was unsurprised to see the diplomat Hive Commander make an appearance. To the right was Hive Commander 666, which was interesting considering he was one of the few non-Helion-7 Hive Commanders, and primarily focused on terraforming and ship production on Olganar-2.

Continuing from 666, there were Hive Commanders 007, the closest thing the Hive Commanders had to an information collector and intelligence keeper; 100, a Hive Commander focused on cybernetic augmentation of Sectoids; and 099, who primarily specialized in experiments on psionically-sensitive aliens.

Not to mention there were hundreds of other Hive Commanders watching them. The only time the Battlemaster could recall this many in one place was the initial meeting between the Ethereals and Hive Commanders.

Once they reached the center of the circle, all six of the Hive Commander questioners rose. Ethereals Revelean and Battlemaster, 029 began, the telepathic voice sounding more intense than usual. Probably to reach the entirety of the room. You have been summoned to answer in regards to the information produced by Ethereal Aegis, as well as your failure to properly inform the Greater Hive Commanders about the reality of the situation on Earth.

We have expended significant resources on your war, 001 said, voice dangerously calm. Resources which were used in the service of a lie. There must be consequences.

"They were not expended in a lie," the Battlemaster stated. "The objective has always been the capture of Earth."

You knew of the Ethereal Aegis, 001 said, his voice close to the equivalent of a Sectoid growl. Your mission was to draw him out and kill him. The goals are irrelevant. You failed to inform us of the situation. Explain to us now why.

"A matter of not escalating the situation," the Battlemaster explained carefully. "As you have seen…Aegis is skilled and dangerous. He had not revealed himself and seemed to have resigned himself to providing verbal assistance and support. He is no tactician, and has likely convinced the Humans to take a less-escalatory approach."

"It is important to understand, honored Hive Commanders," Revelean continued, stepping forward. "That Aegis, for all his power, is a mere novice in the art of war, and ultimately did not desire this conflict. Had we revealed his existence, many would have simply wished to destroy Earth from orbit in terror. The Federation in particular would have demanded extensive military action, and as a consequence, Aegis would have been far more involved than he is now. By taking the unfortunate step of withholding this information, we have ensured that we have a foothold on Earth uncompromised by the less civilized aspects of the Collective who do not take into account the consequences of such actions."

The Battlemaster resisted the urge to look towards Revelean in surprise. He was a…surprisingly diplomatic speaker. "This is correct, Hive Commanders. It was a tactical move which allowed us to gauge Human defenses, tactics, and establish our own presence on Earth. The escalation that would have no doubt followed had we revealed this might have denied us even these victories."

This answer I find acceptable, 007 said, 'speaking' for the first time. However, such actions should be reconsidered in the future. Information of this magnitude is rarely justifiable to keep from the Greater Hive Commanders. As the first of the Ethereal Collective, we are entitled to such information, even if you must hide it from the Federation or Aui'Vitakar.

"Both the Imperator and I agree that such information will not be hidden in the future," the Battlemaster said. "However, withholding information from some, but not others is not possible."

"Consider, honored Hive Commanders, the ramifications of such a proposal," Revelean stepped forward. "As the leaders of the Ethereal Collective, showing favoritism to one side or another would be counter to the goals of unity we have for all the species within it. While we can privately agree that some may handle certain information better, what is the case if another finds out? It could lead to a schism of the Collective as a whole, and lead to countless deaths. You must also consider if we withhold information from your own kind? Would you truly understand?"

"We have been deliberately neutral with your quiet feud with the Federation," the Battlemaster said. "It is for this very reason. Both the Greater Hive Commanders and Andromedon Federation are focusing on what is not important."

No. 001 stated flatly and angrily. The Federation desires our eradication. They spy and threaten us. They have become a noted threat to the Greater Hive Commanders. If you wish to broach this subject, we will do it. The Ethereals must put the Andromedon Federation in check, and ensure they do not threaten our expansion, production, or experimentation again."

"The Andromedon Federation will not attack the Greater Hive Commanders," the Battlemaster promised. "On that you have my word. None of us desire such a conflict."

Words. 001 said with a wave. Promises. Neither I, nor any here, have forgotten the accusations Aegis revealed to the world. That you supposedly dared to twist our minds to serve you. There is only one way to answer such actions. You will bring the Overmind here, and let us look into his memories to determine the truth of this. We will not be manipulated against our will, and if it is true, we demand you will allow us to execute him.

If you do not follow these demands, 029 said slowly. I am afraid that the Greater Hive Commanders will formally leave the Ethereal Collective. I am sure you can understand the necessity of such demands, and the ease of which they can be proven false.

This was what he was afraid of. He was not sure how well the Hive Commanders would take him saying he would 'have to speak to the Imperator'. He was quite aware the Overmind would be mildly amused at such a proposal, and never follow through. It was something of a conundrum right now. Revelean stepped forward, surprisingly raising a hand, though his voice was somehow amused.

"Honored Hive Commanders, we can of course agree to these reasonable requests," he said. "Though first please consider the claims which Aegis puts forward. He has stated – in no uncertain terms – that our Overmind managed to not affect the minds of Hive Commander 001, 029, and the others he initially spoke too, but every single Hive Commander in the Collective. And this went unnoticed by all."

Revelean shook his head. "We are under no illusions as to the strength and skill of the Greater Hive Commanders. You were powerful when we met, and have only improved yourself, with a skill in genetic manipulation which rivals our own. Indulge my own curiosity – do you truly believe such a claim is possible?"

That was…an interesting twisting of the question. Flat out lying to the Collective was not something he had really considered. But Revelean had clearly had a plan coming in, and it made the Battlemaster somewhat suspicious. But now it was on the Hive Commanders to answer.

I have seen all manner of psionic specimens, 099 mused. Your kind are more powerful than we are. But to the extent Aegis has proposed is…questionable. It is one proposal to dominate the minds of a lesser planet, but to do so in the presence of all Hive Commanders does not seem feasible without at least one detecting the manipulation.

Then examining his memories will show that, 001 said bluntly. This changes nothing.

In that instance, 099 said, directly addressing 001. If we are truly dealing with a psion of such power and skill, there is little to prevent us from succumbing to a repeat.

"The question that needs to be asked," Revelean said. "Is how much you believe the word of one who has turned his back on his own kind in favor of protecting aliens. If you wish to continue this line of proof, then we will oblige, but it suggests to us that your own skills are…lesser than we have anticipated."

I have little desire for an answer, 666 interjected. We have benefitted from our alliance with the Ethereals, and arguing about the past is pointless. Even if such claims were true, we are no longer under such manipulation. I am more concerned about how the Ethereals will address the Federation, and their true plans for the Humans.

At least this was a situation he could properly address. "You are concerned with being replaced."

You are expending far more energy on this species than any other before, 001 pointed out. You have clear plans for them. We demand to know what they are.

"They are requiring more resources because they are fighting," the Battlemaster answered slowly. "And unlike previous species in this situation, they are intelligent, resourceful, psionically sensitive, and have the support of an Ethereal traitor. There are many reasons why they require more direct attention."

Answer the question.

"I can certainly confirm we are not planning to replace the Greater Hive Commanders," the Battlemaster said. "Your species provides the Collective with ships, soldiers, and resources. While such an action would not only cause a conflict, it is a logistical impossibility. We intend for humanity to be integrated into the Collective as previous species have been, a task which will be far easier once Earth is secure. We would not, and never have planned to simply discard a cooperative species of the Ethereal Collective."

As should be expected, 029 nodded. Such a proposal should be considered paranoia. Yet I believe all parties could agree that the…involvement of the Ethereals has been lacking. While you have made efforts, Battlemaster, I believe those should be expanded beyond the military.

"One reason I have accompanied the Battlemaster today," Revelean said. "The Greater Hive Commanders have some of the finest scientists in this galaxy, and it is past time the Collective has a dedicated centralization of such experiments and knowledge. I have been gifted the privilege of overseeing such work, which will of course not interfere in your personal projects, but provide all in the Collective the opportunity to work together to improve it, regardless of species or specialization."

An effort which can be supported. 099 looked to the other Hive Commanders. The Ethereals have made mistakes. However, they appear to make efforts to repair the damage they have caused. I propose we allow them to work to achieve this.

As do I, 029 interjected. The words of a traitor Ethereal should not collapse such a long-standing alliance.

001 glared down at the Ethereals. Very well. We shall see if your actions follow your words. This gathering is adjourned.

All of the Hive Commanders sat back down.

That had gone much better than he expected.

And because of that, he was suspicious. Glancing to the noticeably smug Revelean, he would definitely have some questions for the Imperator later. But for now, the Hive Commanders were placated. That would have to do.

---

Union Chambers, Federation Command – Andromeda Prime

12/6/2016 – 12:00 P.M.

The amount of times Ravarian could say that he had actually been in Federation Space could be counted on one hand. The amount of times he had actually visited the capital world of the Federation was approximately twice, the first to establish some kind of relationship with the Federation itself, and the second time to acquaint himself with intelligence gathered on the city.

Andromeda Prime was the closest thing to a homeworld the Andromedons had. For a homeworld though, it was surprisingly sparse. There was one major city, which was formally Federation land, and then there were small installations distributed all across the planet managed by the various Unions. Federation Command managed land distribution, but otherwise there was no formal 'law' the Unions had to abide by. There were implied suggestions and consequences, but hard and firm law within the Federation was exceptionally rare.

The ones that were implanted were simple and straightforward:

The creation of Special Operators was illegal.

Any and all Union disputes were to be brought before Federation Command.

Any action taken against the Federation would result in the offending individuals and Unions being completely destroyed.

Ravarian had always found it interesting that Special Operators were banned, but the Federation maintained the program regardless. Probably as a final failsafe to take action against Unions that threatened stability. And the Ethereals certainly had some hand in the project – although the details he was somewhat murky on.

The only thing he knew for certain was that the Special Operators fell within Union Omega, which was completely unknown to everyone but Chief Overseer Chernior. For a fairly mild Andromedon, Ravarian was surprised he seemed to continually be expanding it every year. Curious, but given the growing tensions between the Federation and Hive Commanders, perhaps it was as simple as it looked.

Still, he would have thought that the Andromedons would at least have some appreciation for aesthetics. Federation Command was one of the most utilitarian and dull worlds he had visited. The species had an obsession with cubes and based pretty much everything off them. Buildings were straight rectangles, sharp angles dominated what little aesthetics they bothered with, and it was so symmetrically designed it was disturbing.

Andromedon cities were designed on square patches, and they built in the inverse. The outer layers would typically be defenses of some kind, then there would be a ring of houses, perhaps intermixed with an even number of shops (Which sold the exact same things), another ring of defenses, and so on until it reached the centerpiece, which was the only unique non-copied thing in the city itself.

From what Ravarian knew about Andromedon culture, for acquiring different resources, foods, and so on, you had to go to the appropriate Union's territory. The layout would generally be the same, but what was inside it would be different. There really was no all-purpose shop, as Federation Command only had basic necessities. For weapons, clothing, or even fuel, he would have to go to another Union's territory.

He was quite thankful he didn't actually live here.

Not just because he couldn't breathe the air.

The full-body suit he had to wear wasn't especially uncomfortable, but the HUD wasn't that great at seeing that far into the yellow mist that permeated the city. He could see a short distance ahead, but not much further. Going inside buildings was better, but they still pumped it inside them so there was always a yellow-tinged view.

However, this was one of the places where one could see Andromedons in their natural habitat, without the suits. The species itself was fairly unremarkable, and ironically resembled Sectoids in many ways. Their skin was a deep grey, their physiology was fairly weak, and they almost never wore actual clothes.

With that said, there were obvious differences. The average Andromedon stood nearly as tall as a Vitakarian, their diamond-shaped heads were proportional to their bodies, and every single one of them walked on two legs, not scampering around on all fours. Their thin mouths also set them apart, and they certainly sounded less deep without their suits.

With that said, it wasn't uncommon to see Andromedons lumber around in their suits. It seemed to typically be military that kept them on, and the civilians who went without.

Fectorian seemed to find the city fascinating though, and had been verbally making what Ravarian could only assume was random comments. The Ethereal was certainly… different than many he had spoken to. He didn't seem to particularly care much about the Collective per-se, but was especially eager to be apparently let off the chain to do things.

Having been shown some of his work, Ravarian was wondering just where the hell he had been for this entire situation. The Ethereal was brilliant, and did have a very…excitable personality when it came to subjects he was passionate about. He was no diplomat, but that was likely what the Battlemaster had sent him for.

"You've never been here before," Ravarian commented as Fectorian took a look at one of the general electronic part shops, with the Andromedon overseeing the store watching in disbelief.

"Andromeda Prime? Never," Fectorian swiftly turned away and kept walking to the Union Chamber. "Little time; I have been very occupied with other projects. They are an intelligent species, and I have always intended to see their cities. Efficient and clean, I approve."

The Andromedons in front of the Union Chambers moved in front of the door upon their approach. These were in their suits and towered over him, and were at least equal to Fectorian in size. "State your authorization." Ravarian suspected that the only reason they were being difficult was because the Federation didn't especially like the Ethereals at the moment.

He wasn't looking forward to explaining why they were here, and not the Imperator.

"Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary of the Zararch, and Engineer Fectorian of the Ethereals," Ravarian answered. "And we both know that this is not a surprise."

The Andromedon didn't say anything, but stepped aside as the door slid open. Fectorian took the initiative and began walking further, Ravarian following close behind as the door closed behind them. Given that there was only one long, bare hallway, he assumed it would lead directly to the central chamber.

Once they stepped into the shining white light, Ravarian could see he was correct. The design was just as utilitarian as the rest of Andromedon architecture, which was a small square depression where they would presumably stand, and there was a higher row which went around the perimeter, with sections for each Union leader to inhabit.

This ascended for five rows, with the yellow mist making it difficult to see the upper levels. But in the grand scheme, the only Unions that mattered were the ones in the first row. Some of them were wearing their suits, while others were not. On the second row there was a brief extension which housed the Chief Overseer of the Andromedon Federation, Chernior, who was wearing his suit.

There were no guards or automated systems Ravarian could see, but he knew they existed thanks to Zararch reports, and there were plenty of suited and unsuited Andromedons who held some kind of plasma or laser weapon. Starting a fight was certainly not advised, and there were likely Federation soldiers just waiting to be deployed.

Here went nothing.

"Zar'Chon, Ethereal Fectorian," Chernior's voice boomed through the Chambers. "You stand before the assembled Unions of the Andromedon Federation. You are to provide answers to any member of this body; the Federation is fully prepared to divest itself from the Ethereal Collective if the answers received are not satisfactory. Is this understood?"

"Yes, Chief Overseer," Ravarian answered. "We will answer them to the best of our ability."

"The Unions may begin presenting questions," Chernior stated. "A'Intellior, of Union Apear."

An Andromedon with what appeared to be a cybernetic left arm rose, and further inspection noted that there were clear implants around his head. "The development of the Spectre unit has raised significant concerns. Not only with how the unit operates, but also because none in the Federation were informed such a project existed, let alone was near deployment. On behalf of the Federation we demand that you provide an answer to why we were not informed, and an independent examination of the Spectre itself."

"As the one who created the Spectre, I can certainly assure you that there are appropriate failsafes to prevent uncontrolled spread," Fectorian said, lifting a hand. "Prior to deployment, Spectres are programmed with very specific parameters, which they cannot override under any circumstances. At any time all Spectres can be disabled remotely by an owner, and will automatically self-destruct if they detect they are acting outside their parameters. There is no risk of Spectres being hacked or turned against the Collective."

"We will also allow specific members of the Andromedon Federation to examine the schematics themselves, as well as request demonstrations," Ravarian added. "The Federation must submit a list of qualified individuals and it will be processed as soon as possible. Is this acceptable?"

"It is a start," A'Intellior said. "And what of failing to inform us?"

"Just as your Unions do not inform the Collective as to every single project, neither do I," Fectorian stated. "I designed a weapon and thought little more of it when the Battlemaster wished to deploy it. However, I am now more cognizant of your need to be informed on more dangerous projects, and steps will be taken to ensure it doesn't happen again."

"Indeed," Ravarian nodded. "Ethereal Fectorian will, after the conclusion of this gathering, be officially initiating a centralized Collective Engineering and Development branch. All major projects of the Collective will no longer be done by individual species, but as a collaborative effort overseen by Fectorian himself. This is to prevent such situations from arising again, and to allow concerns and feedback to be given during development."

There was some muttering and rasps of filters as the Andromedons discussed that among themselves. Ravarian hadn't thought they would be getting to this immediately, but it certainly couldn't make things worse. As far as questions went, this was one they were able to handle easily. "J'Vailan," Chernior said. "Of Union Jamoiar."

A very plain Andromedon stood. "It is one thing to say this will not happen again for weapons projects. But you also kept the knowledge of an Ethereal defector from us. This is important information to know. If such is kept from us, then how can we trust there is not more you have neglected to tell us?"

"I can assure you that there are no more traitor Ethereals," Ravarian began. "It was a complicated matter-"

"I want to hear it from the Ethereal," J'Vailan interrupted. "Not you."

"Aegis disagreed with the direction of the war," Fectorian sounded highly disinterested. "I am not aware of the details, but he was growing disillusioned with the Imperator, and in a drastic move, even for him, left. We have not considered it more than him making the equivalent of a statement to us. His actual appearance in the war was not expected."

"You were a fool to believe that, Ethereal," J'Vailan said. "That does not explain why you did not immediately inform the Federation so we could account for this."

"Because there isn't a reason you would be satisfied with," Fectorian crossed his arms. "I suspect it had to do with placating Aegis. If we forced him out, the situation would be worse. We did not want to provoke him unnecessarily. This was an internal matter the Imperator did not want to become public unless necessary, and if that sounds unreasonable, I suspect that you do not inform the Federation of every internal Union dispute."

"Your kind are not comparable," J'Vailan insisted. "Ethereals are not like us. Your kind have highly destructive and dangerous powers. This is in no way comparable to an internal Union problem, especially when it involves other species."

"This was a mistake we learned from," Fectorian shrugged. "We can avoid it in the future. But suggesting that the logic is not able to be followed is absurd and does not reflect well on your reasoning capabilities."

"You would do well not to insult us, Ethereal."

"It is only an insult if you believe it to be so. Your species is intelligent, which is why I know you can understand the reasoning of the Imperator, even if you do not agree with it."

J'Vailan did not appear to be happy with that, but didn't immediately respond for a few moments. "Is the Imperator deliberately holding information of this level of magnitude?"

"Not to my knowledge," Fectorian said.

"But you do not know."

"No," Fectorian said. "I am not always included in the Imperator's inner circle. He may be keeping his secrets, and most assuredly is. However, neither I nor the Zar'Chon or Battlemaster are aware of such."

"This is why we requested the Imperator," J'Vailan said, looking to address the other Union members. "We will not get satisfactory answers regarding this from an underling. Your kind have failed to do as you promised. The only one who has even made an attempt has been the Battlemaster, but I fail to see why the Federation should acquiesce to the will of the Ethereals when your leader does not bother to show himself."

Fectorian considered that. "Such a move would not be wise."

"The situation is frustrating, we all agree," Ravarian quickly interjected before anyone could respond to Fectorian's highly questionable comment. "However, the Ethereals are realizing that more direct leadership is needed. It is why they are taking a more involved role, along with the Battlemaster, to put forth a more united and strong Collective."

"Then prove it," J'Vailan essentially spat. "Not I, nor many of the other Unions, are interested in dedicating resources to your spat with a traitor Ethereal. If you actually consider this an 'internal matter', then you clearly do not need Federation support. Furthermore, your incompetence on Earth has not gone unnoticed. Ethereal or not, you have been recently and constantly beaten by a species who is inexplicably advancing faster than you are."

"The strategy towards dealing with the Humans is being reworked-" Ravarian began.

"No." The suited figure of S'Starina stood. "You have treated the Humans with far too much leniency. It is only a matter of time before they master space travel and begin their expansion. Your soldiers are ill-disciplined, idiotic, and easily broken. Your machines are little more than targets for the Humans. Your tactics are simple enough that a child could counter them. I will not support a Collective which does not treat war as a serious matter. I will not send my soldiers to fight for your Ethereals, not when led by such incompetent leaders."

"Yes, because your soldiers would certainly do better," Fectorian answered back, surprisingly sarcastic. "The Collective military is quite flawed, any reasonable being agrees, and is in the process of reformation. But to suggest your people would fare as well or better is equally questionable. You, like we have, underestimate the Humans. That was our mistake, and it will be yours as well."

Fectorian clasped his lower hands together as he held a holoprojector in his right upper one. "But that will change. We adapt, as we always have. There are projects in place which will demonstrate the superiority of the Collective," the holoprojector flashed through several different projects. Ravarian only recognized the Executor, Archon, and Custodian models, but there were a few he didn't recognize. "There is no more playing nice with the Humans," Fectorian finished. "But if you wish to hide while this is done, your Union is certainly welcome."

"Then you will be fighting with the intent to win?" S'Starina asked.

"I can confirm that is the case," Ravarian said. "Any restrictions that the Imperator wished are gone. Whatever he wished to learn from the Humans, he did. It is our job to bring Earth under the control of the Ethereal Collective."

"And why-"

Anything the Andromedon was going to say was cut off as Ravarian tangibly felt the atmosphere of the room change. He felt stronger; his purpose clearer. He had been around enough Ethereals to know what was going on, but this was a completely different experience that he could only think of one it could belong to.

The air in the middle of the chamber shimmered and out stepped the largest Ethereal that Ravarian had ever seen. Clad in gleaming and ornate armor, with a billowing golden cape, and an upside-down triangular helmet, he was tall enough to be eye level with the second row. Ravarian immediately fell to one knee in an immediate sign of submission. With the arrival of the Imperator, there could be no risks taken.

Several of the Andromedons had their weapons aimed, though lowered them once they saw who it was. "Andromedons of the Federation," the Imperator said, his rich voice easily reaching even the highest of rows. "You have requested my presence. While you might be under the impression that I am ignorant to the state of the Collective, this is not the case. There are answers you wish for, and I can directly provide them."

"Welcome, Imperator," Chief Overseer Chernior said slowly. "We were not informed-"

"No," the Imperator raised a hand. "You were not. I previously did not plan to indulge your demands. However, considering recent events, the Federation needs a goal. It needs purpose to continue as an effective part of the Collective. You have failed to find that on your own. I will provide one to you. One you may be able to better understand than most."

"Then continue."

The Imperator stepped forward, as Fectorian and Ravarian moved out of the way. "I will tell you why you have reason to care about Earth. This is more than an internal matter. Why we continue to fight is because the Humans are in danger of being dominated by an extremely dangerous species – known to us as a Sovereign One."

"Some elaboration is required," V'Zarrah of Union Viarior said. "Just what is a Sovereign One?"

"A being older than the evolution of many of our own species," the Imperator explained. "These are the few, but powerful, aliens who wander the galaxy in pursuit of unimaginable goals. They find planets, they watch and wait, they fall into deep slumbers and rest, and when they awaken, they fight. They manipulate the aliens they can, and kill all who oppose them."

He gestured around him. "There is one such of these aliens on Earth, and now he is awake. I am familiar with how they operate. The purpose of such tactics was to determine if there was one…and I have confirmed there is. As for how they operate…" he motioned and a deep blue sphere, with visible and moving distortions on it, appeared and floated before him. "They use these. I know several have seen them before. They are the means by which Sovereign Ones exert their influence. They are dangerous. And more of them are appearing on Earth."

The Imperator made eye – or helmet – contact with various Andromedons. "You fear what my kind can do. But we cannot individually match a Sovereign One. Not yet. If Humanity is not pacified, and the most useful tool of this Sovereign is allowed to flourish, then it is not only the Collective who will be threatened, but the Federation as well. That is why this is more than an internal matter for my species. This concerns all who reside in this little pocket of the galaxy."

In his Imperator-fueled haze, Ravarian was pondering the ramifications of what was being said. Even if he suspected the Imperator was twisting the truth, these Sovereign Ones did very much appear to be real. If that was the case…there were aspects and decisions that made a lot more sense.

"And do you have more proof besides a floating orb?" One unknown Andromedon demanded.

The Imperator pulled out a data cube and telekinetically passed it to the Chief Overseer. "Watch what is on there. That is an Avatar of a Sovereign One fighting one of my most powerful Ethereals. See the proof with your own eyes."

"Why wait to tell us this?" Another Andromedon demanded.

"Because the galaxy is not prepared for the knowledge of Sovereign Ones," the Imperator answered. "And this is not the only one. These are aliens beyond even our comprehension. They see our species as primitive; as children. And the more that know, the more dangerous they become. By sharing this with you, I have provided context for my actions – but you are also now targets. That is the price, but you wished to know. But you will not share this with anyone else outside this room."

He turned to face the Andromedons behind him, as well as Fectorian and Ravarian. "The Ethereals have been negligent in their actions. I have watched for long enough. Change to the Collective is coming, and the age of Ethereal apathy will die. The initiatives of the Battlemaster are the beginning, and I will ensure they are maintained. Humanity will be subjected under the might of the Collective, augmented with the soldiers and engineers of the Andromedon Federation. You species has proven their worth to us, now it is our turn to maintain what we have built."

He turned back to the Chief Overseer. "Is what I have said satisfactory?"

Chernior pressed several buttons on his podium. "We shall put this to a vote concerning re-instating military support for the Ethereal Collective."

There was a few minutes of Andromedons pressing buttons on their podiums. "By vote of sixty-two to thirty-seven, the motion passes. Due to the closeness of the vote, we will begin a limited restoration of military support for the Ethereal Collective, and will discuss full restoration in approximately three weeks."

That was admittedly better than nothing, though it was still a bit too close for comfort. But it was definitely a start, and the Andromedons respected results. If the reforms continued, there was little reason for the Federation to continue to oppose military support. They definitely should not push the issue.

"Your support is appreciated," the Imperator said. "The actions of the Collective will reaffirm our words, and I can assure you that while the war for Earth will be difficult, it is one we will win. The time of Ethereal apathy has ended, and it is time to raise the Collective to that of a power to challenge any in the galaxy."

"Your clarifications are appreciated, Imperator," Chernior said. "All of the Federation will be watching to see your promises come to fruition."

"Then that is all," the Imperator motioned and the air in front of them rippled. The concept of teleportation was not one that Ravarian was entirely comfortable with, but it appeared that he was going to have to go through it anyway.

Resigned, he closed his eyes.

The Federation seemed to be placated for now.

But the actual ramifications of what had been said were a different matter entirely.

---

Desolan Orbital Station 3 – Desolan Orbit

12/10/2016 – 10:11 A.M.

An Ethereal.

An actual Ethereal had been working for XCOM.

Nartha was positive this had happened after he had left. There was no chance that XCOM could – or would – have kept that a secret from him. There was no better recruiting weapon than this. The divisions between the Ethereals must have been much worse than he had, in his most optimistic projections, suspected.

Aegis. Interesting. He'd never heard of that one.

Well, it was going to make his life a lot easier. All he needed to do was point to the Ethereal and say "That's their ally!" Taking Caelior into captivity was also a major incentive. Nartha was fairly sure this would cause the Imperator to actually do something, and everything would eventually be under control – but in the meantime…the seeds were planted.

He was very curious as to what would happen next.

As for himself, he needed to figure out how to handle the Muton situation. The Nulorian had received his message, and were working on 'handling it', but at the same time he knew he needed to have something for the Zar'Chon. The good news was that recent events had completely taken up the Zar'Chon's time and interest.

Sitting alone in his quarters on one of the orbital stations, sipping some water, he pondered the dilemma. He had enough names to completely dismantle the Muton smuggling ring, but doing so would severely hurt their chances of getting some kind of usable army. Even revealing part of it would likely lead loyal Zararch agents to compromising the entire thing, since these Muton smugglers had no idea how to properly combat an organization like the Zararch.

However, revealing part of it would give the Nulorian more time, and he had informed them of the possible necessity of such actions. If nothing else, the Nulorian were pragmatic and understood the need to sacrifice pieces for a greater gain.

Still, a one-man resistance was proving to be tiring. He really wished there was some means of communication with XCOM. The Nulorian were a means to an end, and the ones on Desolan were useful pawns. He didn't really have any partner to help with this, and he could admit that it would be a lot easier with one.

Because if he died, it was over. And the Zar'Chon was not an idiot. Worst case scenario there was an Ethereal watching him. That would be bad. If that were the case, anything he did was doomed from the start.

Could Ethereals manage that?

Well…psionics. Telepathy.

He frowned.

A more paranoid person might wonder if the only reason he hadn't actually been caught was because he was being used. The Zar'Chon was certainly one who would vastly prefer letting a traitor run around and find every single traitor in the Collective, and then killing them all in one fell swoop. The damages he caused would be nothing compared to any hope of the Collective falling being crushed forever.

He set his cup on the metal table, pondering that. It might not be a bad idea to begin thinking of contingencies in that case. A decentralized network might be preferable, but to do that properly, he needed allies. And the problem was he had none, and if he was ever targeted…it didn't really matter, because through him they would know everything.

As much as he hated to admit it, the Sectoids would likely be his best option. If anyone could detect if he was under some kind of…observation…it would be them. They certainly had the technological capabilities. The problem was that, of all the species in the Collective, the Greater Hive Commanders would never even consider such action against the Ethereals. They were as homogenous as a species could get, and he couldn't see any of them giving that up to actually rebel. Not that they would care about the word of a Vitakarian anyway. Xenophobic bastards.

So, a problem.

He knew he was running on a ticking clock, only he didn't know how much time was left. He was going to be discovered eventually, the Zar'Chon would put the pieces together at some point, it was a matter of what he could accomplish beforehand. Knowing how the Zar'Chon operated was useful, as he was sure that at the beginning he wouldn't notice anything. Once he had fulfilled whatever purpose the Zar'Chon wanted, he would most likely be killed without him ever seeing it coming.

How could he possibly prevent that without help?

Now he was in a completely different conundrum.

By actively creating a resistance within the Collective, he might actually doom it. The more people he met, the more were marked for death. Then again, what was the choice? Do nothing?

"Sitting there is certainly not going to help your situation."

Nartha instantly had a pistol in his hand and aimed at the voice from the corner of the dimly lit quarters. He had brought almost nothing with him, and short of a small pack at the foot of his bed, the room was completely bare. The chances of someone being able to hide in his room were completely impossible, and remaining unnoticed even more so.

Yet inexplicably, there was someone in the corner of his room. Had he not known better, he would have guessed it was XCOM. But upon closer inspection, it definitely wasn't one of the soldiers. The armor was almost stony, grey, and had a strange symbol on the chest. However, the figure was somehow a Human.

"Put that down," the man said, his voice stronger than his aged features implied. Nartha was confused as to how there was an elderly Human standing in front of him. "You can't kill me with that anyway."

Nartha narrowed his eyes, pistol unwavering. He was not unconvinced he was dreaming, as there were no Humans here of all places. He had been tired, and having dreams was not uncommon. They were usually never this vivid or strange, though. Still, he could try and play along. "Who are you, and how did you get here?"

The old man smiled and waved a hand. Nartha saw the air briefly shimmer and the man disappeared only to reappear on the other side of the room. His pistol followed. "A psionic trick," the man said dismissively. "Not easy to perform for most, but I've gotten exceptionally better at it recently." He looked at the bare room. "As for who I am, you may call me the Chronicler."

Nartha was less sure he was dreaming. It was a stretch but… "I don't suppose you know XCOM?" As far as he'd known, there had been no Chronicler. He'd never heard of the name before now, which was why he doubted this odd Human psion was connected.

"Oh, I certainly do," he nodded. "I'm not…part of them, but instead represent another party. One who the Ethereals have…questionably…decided to make an enemy of." He tapped the side of his head. "The Imperator has quite curious plans. Ambitious, but he has very little idea of what he is toying with. Making the one I represent an enemy will not end well for him. Hence why I'm here now. XCOM informed me of certain things, including your mission. Admirable, but it is only a matter of time until your capture without contact with XCOM. This is assuming you haven't been compromised already."

Nartha pursed his lips, and lowered his pistol. Even if this Chronicler was lying, he knew that a psion of that power would easily kill him. Although he certainly didn't understand a lot of what was being referred to. "I don't suppose you can determine that?"

"Unfortunately no," the Chronicler shook his head, eyeing him curiously. "However, I can help prevent something like that from happening in the future." He pulled something from a pouch on his belt and walked over to Nartha, placing it in his hand. It was a small black-blue orb no bigger than a marble. It almost seemed to be rippling the more he looked at it; hypnotic in a way.

"Keep this on you at all times," the Chronicler said. "Don't ask how it works, but it will prevent anyone from unknowingly influencing you."

The little orb was shockingly cold, but he placed it in his pocket. "Thank you," he said, looking at the Chronicler carefully. "I suspect you want something as well. If you aren't with XCOM-"

"The only thing at this point I am working towards is the destruction of the Ethereal Collective," the Chronicler interrupted with a surprisingly flat voice as his face went still. "Your work will assist in achieving this. I do not care what happens afterward, but the Ethereals and their…ally…they will die. To that end, I, and several others, will provide assistance where applicable.

He pointed to the ground. "My people have moved the entirety of the Mutons to another remote world. We left behind a skeleton crew for you to tip off to the Zar'Chon. Collapse the network, it serves no purpose and the Nulorian are working to establish another one with our assistance." The hand moved up to his side again. "We will be initiating contact within the coming days with XCOM. When the time comes, I can take you to speak to them, and then return you."

Nartha blinked. "You…can do that?"

The Chronicler gave a razor-thin smile. "There is very little that cannot be done. The Imperator has decided to reveal his intentions towards us. That invites retaliation." He held out a hand and the air above his hand simmered and out came another of the orbs, although this one was much larger – the size of a Human basketball.

"Take this with you," he said. "Place it on your ship. This will prevent your actions from being watched by the Imperator and…certain other parties," he face wrinkled at that. "I am rather surprised at the risks the Imperator has taken. But as I said, he has very little idea what he is involved in."

Nartha took the orb, which was similarly freezing and carefully set it on the bed. He had questions, but wasn't sure if they should be spoken. Yet he needed to know something. "Who are you actually working for?"

The Chronicler seemed to consider that. "Do you know what a Sovereign One is?"

"No."

"Well," he mused. "I…work with one, although that is a poor description of my role. But he is very old, and has only recently been fully awakened by the actions of the Ethereals." He eyed Nartha pointedly. "He also does not like to answer many questions, not to you, not yet. Do your work well and you will learn more."

He stepped back. "I will be in contact soon. Give your report to the Zararch, and do not let the orbs be discovered."

"And what if they are?"

The Chronicler chuckled, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Then the rebellion may be kickstarted ahead of schedule." With that the air shimmered around him and with a step back, he vanished, leaving Nartha alone with the mysterious artifacts.

This day had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting.

---

Tactical Briefing Room, Solar System Command Center – Mars Collective Base

12/11/2016 – 12:09 P.M.

It was not ideal to reform the majority of the Collective military, but in light of the recent performances, it was something which was necessary.

The Battlemaster stood alone in the Command Center, over a dark holotable as he pondered the issue. He had outlines of what to do, and he would be appointing those who he knew could help achieve this change. But for now he was alone and needed to think through it once more. Much of what he was considering was close to shattering conventions and norms that had existed from the days of the Empire.

And that was the problem.

They were no longer in the Empire. They were in a new, dangerous, galaxy. They needed to be open to changes to meet new threats. Privately, the Battlemaster wondered if they'd be in this situation if the Empire hadn't been the galactic power it had been. None had been able or willing to challenge them, and as a result they had never had reason to improve. The first true war they had faced had been the Synthesized…and it had ended badly.

The Collective as it stood was far too reliant on infantry. This was extremely apparent, and something the Humans had been capitalizing on. With the developments of psionics, heavy weapons, armored vehicles, and the incorporation of the trench lines and melee units, they were easily answering the superior numbers of the Collective.

That was the first priority to be addressed. The lack of useful vehicles. The Cyberdisks were practically useless now, and the Humans knew how to deal with them easily. The Sectopods were powerful, but too slow, unwieldy, too large a target. The designs were not inherently bad, and he knew that Fectorian and his new division of engineers were looking to improve all current designs.

But there were completely new designs that he had also drawn up. Not an absurd amount, but it would allow them to answer the siege tactics of the Humans, and withstand even their brutal punishments. However, the simulations and projects might not necessarily work as well in reality.

He had also come to the grim conclusion that no matter what they did, they were likely going to help the Humans in some way. XCOM had come this far by managing to reverse engineer their technology and research their corpses. They had taken the strengths of the Collective and made them their own. That was most likely not going to change unless they immediately won.

Well, while reverse-engineering their more primitive technology would not yield much that was useful, he could take pointers from their tactics and strategies.

There was going to have to be a massive revision of water tactics. That was one area the Humans were dominant in. Their undersea net of submarines needed to be purged, and for that he would need the Andromedon Aquatic Forces. He was considering the Sar'Manda, but not until the Vitakara were calmed down.

The Vitakara.

Yes, there would need to be changes. Some races, such as the Borelians and Oyariah, they would not need much change. They were experienced and competent. They did not generally break, and were at minimum equal to the standard ADVENT soldier. However, standard was not good enough. They needed to be better.

The Vitakara aversion to genetic modification needed to end. He did not personally care what the civilians did; if they wished to cling to their outdated beliefs on the subject, he would not impose such on them. But in the military, that would no longer be acceptable. They had the resources and capability to turn their soldiers into the equal of an XCOM soldier.

That is what he would do.

However, that was only solving part of the problem. The other aspect being the ugly truth that most Vitakara were not suited for war. They were too passive; too affected by what they heard and saw. There were too many who were facing mental issues from even a brief time on Earth. That was not acceptable.

There would need to be stricter screening, or at worst, perhaps a less-radical version of the procedure Zararch agents underwent. Some could perhaps be retained as a support team, but the soldiers could no longer be any who wished to join. It was also time to directly involve the races themselves in the conflict. The Vitakarian Republic, Borelian Authoritative Council, and Oyariah Hegemony would all be useful in such a pursuit.

Something to discuss when he arrived on Vitakar.

The Andromedons he felt needed little improvement. Out of all the Collective forces they were the most experienced, intelligent, and useful. They were being hindered by strategies, politics, and poor leadership. Should those be fixed, they would be able to realize their true capabilities. But aside from external reasons, the Andromedons he felt no need to change significantly.

He could not say the same about the Mutons.

They were now a billion-unit problem.

They would be phased out…eventually. But until then, they were essentially walking cannon fodder. While Revelean was working on a better template, it would not change the billions that still existed. He couldn't throw them all out, so the best that could happen was they were chipped or conditioned against psionic interference, but he had ordered the production of Muton soldiers ceased until further notice.

It wasn't as though they would be running out anytime soon.

The Sectoids were in a difficult spot as well. Their Vanguards worked…to an extent. However, against psions they were useless. The Hive Commanders would need to do better, and that essentially amounted to a more powerful and independent unit. They had little choice here. The basic Sectoids had been filtered out long ago, but perhaps the Vanguards could serve as a base template.

Aside from reforming those aspects, there was the matter of contingencies. While he never intended to let it reach the point where the Humans left Earth, it never hurt to be prepared. The Solar System was ripe for fortification. Mars was already underway, and establishing defenses, outposts, and forces at certain points would give a fallback plan should the unthinkable happen.

On that note, Fectorian needed to improve the Gateways. The entire Gateway network needed to be secured so that Aegis and XCOM couldn't suddenly storm Gateways on Vitakar or Desolan, and the size restrictions hampered the Collective ability to properly respond to certain threats. While he knew it would take time, he was certain it could be done.

There was, of course, the eventual integration of the Avatar Project to consider.

One he was still uncertain of; including the Imperator already determining a candidate for him.

Yang Shuren. He would have to see her in motion to make an accurate judgement, but he could not fault the Imperator from taking the initiative. She had a natural tactical mindset thanks to her upbringing, weapon training and martial skills, thanks to her family connections with the Chinese military, and a reason to fight her own kind.

Yang Fen was, on paper, retired. In practice he was the equivalent of an exile too prominent to openly kill, and for reasons the Battlemaster didn't know, had been shipped to Australia to live out his days under constant Chinese watch. An unfortunate victim of the cutthroat military politics of China, although what exactly Yang Fen had done was knowledge he was not privy to.

Fortunate that the exile of him and his family had led to them being some of the first captured during the initial invasion of Australia. How the Imperator had managed to pick her out of the thousands was not something he had shared, but he was not surprised. The Imperator had a skill for picking out certain people, and Humans were no exception.

It appeared Yang Shuren had been given a similar offer the Imperator was going to make to Patricia. She was psionically sensitive, and seemed to have equal intellectual capabilities. Too useful to throw away, but the Imperator liked giving choices. And thanks to them, Yang Fen and his family were now living in Taiwan with no memory of being captured, but knowing Shuren was safe.

On her request, it seemed. Curious how she had only ensured the safety of her family and none else. Based on her psychological report it wasn't surprising. Yang Shuren didn't necessarily dislike Humans, she disliked Humans in authority. She had a very tainted view of every single government institution, and especially hated the Chinese government, and the Chinese people for continuing to enable them.

She certainly seemed incapable of caring about ordinary Humans though, civilians or otherwise. Or at least she didn't lose sleep over how many were no doubt dead; ones she had likely been with as a captive.

However, she seemed somewhat competent. If the Imperator wished him to…work…with her, he could likely do something. If she was to keep a place by him, she would have to earn it.

And his current plan for that was not going to be pleasant for her.

---

Zararch Solar System Command, Solar System Command Center – Mars Collective Base

12/11/2016 – 4:12 P.M.

It was certainly an interesting group he had put together. As he was considering how best to improve and reform the Zararch, having separate divisions per species seemed like a reasonable first step. A Zararch Command Circle, as it would have been known. Such a formation had only happened once, upon the creation of the Aui'Vitakar as it was still unknown if the other races were hostile or not.

After seeing that such was unneeded, the Command Circle was eventually retired and command was placed exclusively on the Zar'Chon, whose power was continuously limited as the Vitakara saw little use for an intelligence service, even if his predecessor had made several arguments for the need, especially concerning the Borelians, Oyariah, and Sar'Manda.

All of which had been ignored, but in the end it had turned out alright.

The Ethereals understood the usefulness of such services, and one of the first things they had done was expanded the Zararch significantly, mostly leaving it up to him, although Quisilia had provided some help. However, it was clear he hadn't done it entirely correctly, but that was simply a mistake. One he was correcting now.

There were two major additions, that of the Sectoids and Andromedons in the Zararch. He was satisfied with the quality of Vitakara agents, and didn't see reasons to change them much. Their issue was how to use them, not if they were competent or not. But the Sectoids provided much-needed psionic utility, and the Andromedon Special Operators would answer directly to the Zararch now, and by extension, the Ethereals.

Finding a Hive Commander who would fill the role was fairly easy, as the Zararch had conducted several investigations on the various Hive Commanders, and Hive Commander 007 seemed to be the natural fit. His Hive largely consisted of various data centers, genetic vaults, and every single important document of the history and plans of the Greater Hive Commanders.

007 also had many connections through the Hives, and it would likely be easy to have him leverage them for the needs of the Zararch. 007 was certainly interested, and didn't necessarily seem opposed to working with aliens, especially as he would be working with the Zararch in turn. Although, even standing on his legs, the ruddy orange alien was easily the shortest, only coming up to his waist.

The Andromedon was none other than Union Omega Project Director Rilianor. A complete unknown to the vast majority of the Federation, he oversaw the Union that did not exist – Omega. Having now been granted access to that little secret, Ravarian was impressed that the Federation had the foresight to put together such a group and keep it under wraps.

Union Omega was, of course, the source of the unknown Andromedon Special Operators. Rilianor was the one who oversaw their creation, deployment, and reported anything relevant to the Chief Overseer. No other Andromedon in the Federation was aware, and it would be a simple matter to keep it that way.

With that said, Rilianor had been less than enthused about bringing Union Omega into the Zararch, but given how much the Ethereals were also involved in Omega, there was little choice. Ravarian was still not sure of the extent of Ethereal influence, but it was clearly more significant than just authorization.

And to round out their little group was Quisilia. Now all clustered around the holotable, it was time to get down to business. "The capabilities of the Zararch have previous been blunted," he began. "Both due to a failure to properly adapt to the Humans and restrictions placed upon the Zararch concerning operational parameters. With the latter lifted, we can plan more freely."

"Penetration of ADVENT is a priority," Rilianor stated, his voice more echoey than most Andromedons for some reason. "However, with their spreading use of psionics and counter-intelligence methods, there are more limited options."

"Any alien will stand out," Ravarian agreed. "And while those operations can be conducted, there is a far higher risk of failure."

"The Special Operators can easily perform surveillance work, and are more than capable of killing anything ADVENT can throw at them," Rilianor stated. "However, it will make future operations more difficult if such missions turn violent."

"Which is why we need to take a more methodical approach," Ravarian motioned to 007. "Which is where the Hive Commanders come in. 007, you have said the Vanguard template can be modified."

With ease, 007 projected into their minds. It is a matter of what you wish. I would not recommend Sectoids for any kind of complex work. But conditioning, psionic aptitude, and physical characteristics can be shaped.

"Excellent," Ravarian said, inclining his head. "We cannot plant agents in ADVENT conventionally. None of our own will pass a blood test, and the amount of psions embedded in their sensitive organizations will also make long-term operations difficult, if not impossible. I see the Sectoids performing two distinct services."

He held up a finger. "The first as passive observation. If you wish specifics, there will be Sectoids transported into cities through civilian agents, and they will telepathically observe the area around them and report back if they learn anything of interest. Much of what they hear will be useless, but through it we can gauge important information such as citizen morale, political stability, as well as a host of sensitive personal information we can use to leverage the population against them."

Another finger joined the first. "The second involves psionic psychological modification, both in the field and in a controlled environment. We have a large number of Human captives, and it is time we put them to further use than as fodder for Revelean and whatever the Creator does. We need to convert these Humans to sleeper agents and embed them back into ADVENT. The same tactic would apply in the field; a Human will be briefly abducted, modified, and returned to their original position until we need them."

007 blinked, the Sectoid equivalent of thought. It is doable, he finally said. The brains will need to be inclined towards telepathy, and I would recommend lowering their size slightly to maintain a lower profile. However, they can be made to do exactly what you ask.

"Is the psionic conditioning in addition to traditional conditioning?" Rilianor asked.

"Correct," Ravarian confirmed. "Traditional conditioning will ensure the subject does what we need, when we need it. Psionic conditioning will prevent undue panic, nervousness, or other emotions which might tip off an ADVENT psion. It might also be easier to simply wipe the mind of the target of the incident, as the standard conditioning is what is important."

Yes, 007 mused, the raspy voice almost gleeful. You will need our scientists to apply the standard conditioning. They need not be specialized; our scientists can be easily trained for such.

"How long would you expect the application to take?" Ravarian asked.

Such conditioning depends on the complexity and quality requested, 007 answered. For what you require, no fewer than twelve hours. I would recommend a full day to ensure the conditioning is in place correctly and does not malfunction.

"This is all very fascinating," Quisilia finally looked up, and Ravarian almost sighed as it seemed that Quisilia had spent the past few minutes scrolling on his phone. Wonderful. "Inserting Humans into ADVENT is an excellent idea. I am not convinced on these passive observation Sectoids. All it takes is for one psion to be caught and ADVENT Intelligence is locking the place down."

There are solutions, 007 addressed the Ethereal directly. We can condition these observers to die should a psion detect them, preventing any chance of them learning damaging information. With the advancements in nanotechnology, they could be reduced to nothing to make even a body impossible to find.

"And then we are down a Sectoid," Rilianor rumbled. "Considering how many seem to be embedded in ADVENT, we will be losing too many to be worth it."

These units are useful pawns and easily replaced, 007 made a dismissive motion, eyelids narrowing as he looked at the Andromedon. It is unlikely that it would be as frequent as you suggest. The saturation of psions is a weakness. They do not know if such a presence is Human or not, if they bother feeling it in the first place. It is a simple enough matter to prevent these Sectoids from attempting to read any kind of psion. Your concern is misplaced.

"Or you can use them to play ADVENT," Quisilia added, now looking back down at his phone. "At some point ADVENT will suspect there are hostile cells. In which case, one of these units could accidentally tip off one of the Priests, and bring ADVENT down on a cell of Zararch – which so happens to have ten or so Sectoids. ADVENT believes they have won, and their guard will be lessened. In the meantime, we have lost very little."

"Agreed," Ravarian nodded. "That I believe will be our strategy for infiltrating ADVENT. XCOM is impossible with Aegis, and we should not waste resources attempting such."

"What of the non-ADVENT nations?" Rilianor asked.

"South America and Africa are under the purview of Nebulan and Macula," Ravarian said. "However, I would avoid antagonizing the European Union. Meddling too heavily will spur them to join ADVENT. We should limit our efforts to simple observation."

"And China?"

Ravarian curled his lips. "They are a problem, and we should take appropriate action. The Chinese do not pose a threat to us like ADVENT. They have no interest in ADVENT, but they are an enemy. I will have you prepare your Special Operators to recover or destroy their intelligence, and at the same time we will begin culling their population."

He looked towards 007. "The Hive Commanders have identified a potential weakness, correct?"

We have, 007 said. Based on an extensive overview of Human diseases and plagues, as well as contrasting with potential synthesized ones, I believe there is a useful candidate to cull the Chinese in a way ADVENT will not immediately pin towards us. The disease of smallpox.

"And why is this useful?" Rilianor asked.

"It is a highly contagious and lethal disease," Ravarian answered. "Given how tightly the Chinese are packed into cities, anything introduced would spread quickly. The Humans managed to almost entirely eradicate this disease through vaccinations, but have largely stopped doing such in recent years. Should it be reintroduced, they will be unable to stop it immediately."

There is the issue of recreation, 007 added. While we can attempt to synthesize it, working with an original sample is advised. However, the number of original samples are…limited. There is speculation that they are potentially under guard in Russia or United States Blacksites. As devastating as such a disease is, the Humans have not used it against each other.

"Hm," Quisilia looked up again. "Don't concern yourself with an operation to find this, I'll handle it myself. I don't believe I've visited Russia yet. It would be an educational trip."

However it is acquired, it would likely be easy to replicate in larger quantities, 007 said. Then China will be crippled for their defiance.

"Why target China?" Rilianor asked, the question clear in his voice. "While their defiance cannot be tolerated, ADVENT is the larger threat. Why show our hand in this?"

"Because ADVENT is more useful to us," Quisilia answered. "We should not be killing off their populations unless necessary. China is irrelevant and overpopulated. Their preservation is not important, and they will serve as an example of what happens to nations who believe themselves capable of challenging us." Quisilia looked up thoughtfully. "And I wouldn't worry. I am sure that ADVENT will face their share of biowarfare shortly."

"To conclude with China," Ravarian steered them back on topic. "We will identify all prominent Chinese politicians and either assassinate, poison, or abduct some of their family. While we shouldn't remove all our leverage, killing a spouse or child will serve as an appropriate punishment."

"The Battlemaster will not like that," Quisilia warned. "While yes, unleashing a disease is going to kill a lot of Humans, it's retaliatory. The Battlemaster is not going to like that either, but it is indiscriminate to a degree. Deliberately targeting associates of actual targets might get you executed. Especially if you kill kids."

Ravarian pursed his lips. "It serves a purpose-"

"Take my advice," Quisilia said. "If you absolutely must order someone assassinated, kill the politicians themselves. Or just threaten their families. But don't touch them." The Ethereal shrugged. "Now, I don't necessarily care. But the Battlemaster does. Up to all of you how much you want to risk."

Ravarian rubbed his forehead. The Battlemaster and his damn code of conduct. "Change parameters. We don't want to throw the government into disarray, otherwise ADVENT will step in."

"Then make their lives miserable," Rilianor suggested. "Sabotage their electricity, water, and internet. Cripple them. Turn their country into a nightmare, and it will not take long for a diseased population to start fighting. The world will watch as the aspiring superpower falls to pieces and becomes a disease-ridden nation."

Ravarian heard a click and turned to see that Quisilia had just taken a picture with his smartphone. "Well said!"

He resisted the urge to facepalm, and instead shook his head. "007, begin design and production of these units. Rilianor, prepare the Special Operators for action against China. That will be all for today, dismissed." Once they left, he shot Quisilia a look, then activated the holoprojector in his palm and navigated to Twitter.

Sure enough, Quisilia was posting pictures of their highly classified meeting for the entire world to see.

Quisilia TheGreatQ - Dec 11, 2016

In a very important meeting where we're discussing the #future of the Zararch! Very exciting plans ahead! Looking forward to seeing the reaction :) #planning #zararch #xcom #vaccines #cooperation #china

And of course there was a picture attached which showed him, Rilianor, and 007 standing around a holotable looking like they were having a serious conversation. Which they were, until Quisilia decided to…be Quisilia. With some trepidation he realized he hadn't checked some of Quisilia's recent posts.

Mentally steeling himself, he scrolled up and was both extremely disappointed, and extremely unsurprised, not the least of which was because two of them were pictures of him, definitely taken without him knowing. The first was a picture of him looking at something on a datapad, as serious as he always was.

Quisilia TheGreatQ – Dec 6, 2016

Give some support for my good old friend, he's going through some difficult times. #support #friendshipismagic #depression #zar'chon #mentalhealthawareness

Ravarian would have almost found that touching, had it not been laced with sarcasm and the picture itself had the caption "MFW I realize that I'm losing to a bunch of primitive aliens and can't figure out why."

Ha ha. So funny. And of course the damn tweet had several hundred thousand likes. The next one was just as inane.

Quisilia TheGreatQ - Sep 6, 2016

We all have these days, don't we. #longday #reform #cats #zar'chon

This time the picture Quisilia had so helpfully attached was one of him standing and looking contemplatively out of the window of the Mars Observation Station, and also holding his cat. Great. Now the world had this image of the leader of the Zararch holding a cat in his arms.

The caption didn't help either: "When I have to conquer an alien species, but all I really want to do is hold my cat."

Ravarian didn't really want to look at any more and just shut it off, looking up at Quisilia as he did so. "I am amazed that no one has ever killed you."

"Oh believe me, many certainly wanted to," Quisilia gave a light laugh. "But sadly, I'm a bit too important, and more importantly, smarter than they are." He put his phone away. "Now, I think I have to track down an eradicated disease. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck," he said flatly, before turning away. Sure enough, Quisilia was gone when he glanced around. Well, all things considered, everything that needed to be done was being done. Plans were being set in motion, and the shackles were gone.

He allowed himself a smile as he thought about what was coming to China.

They would wish they had just stayed out of it.

---

The Hall of Steel, Blacksite 05 – Unknown

12/12/2016 – 8:22 P.M.

"You want to create an AI."

Fectorian practically sniffed at that as he led the Battlemaster down one of the grey hallways. "No, I do not. However, the Chinese Humans have shown the benefits of a battlefield intelligence, and I am planning to adapt the CODEX system to such. Working in conjunction with Sargons, local commanders, and yourself, I estimate it will greatly improve our efficiency."

The concept still sounded dangerously close, but if there was one who could make such a system, the Battlemaster had to admit it would be Fectorian. "That will take time to overhaul our communications network. As well as establish protocols."

"Yes, yes," Fectorian pressed a button to the door of a room, which slid open. "However, since I am now working with the illustrious species of the Collective, such implementation should not take as much time. However, I have applied that to another project I have been working on for some time."

Both of them stepped inside a large square room, which was brightly lit and filled with motionless humanoid figures. They were roughly the size of a tall Vitakarian, with no visible eyes, sensors, or other things indicating their likely mechanical nature. However, closer inspection could show that the bodily proportions were too small for it to be a soldier wearing armor, even if there were no obvious lines indicating mechanics.

The faceplates were black, along with the rest of their body, and the overall design was extremely sleek and streamlined. The chest had silver patterns on it which culminated in a symbol of the Ethereals on the chest. "I showed the initial workings of the REPLICA project to several Andromedon and Vitakara engineers," Fectorian said. "Based on those conversations, the Custodian Project was born. Am ultimate soldier, without equal."

He pressed a button on his wrist and two of the figures stepped forward. "These were designed to be able to withstand Lancers in strength and melee combat," Fectorian said, as the machine soldiers ejected nearly-invisible blades from their wrists. "Single-use nanoblades to penetrate their Iron Skin modifications, and CQC programming."

"Durable as well, I suspect," the Battlemaster noted. "How extensively have they been tested?"

"They have performed exceptionally in damage tests," Fectorian motioned another armed Custodian forward, holding a heavy plasma weapon with ease. "Observe." The Custodian unleashed a green barrage of plasma into the chest of the other motionless Custodian. Once it stopped, the chest was very much damaged and it was several layers deep into the unit itself. However, a few seconds later the sections began reforming until it was fully repaired. The aesthetic lines and symbol were sadly not preserved, but protection had been restored.

"While they are unlikely to hold up against an artillery strike, they are more than capable of sustaining damage," Fectorian said. "This was designed for two reasons – the first to provide a unit that cannot be dominated by psions. The second is to take advantage of the Battlefield CODEX. These units will be managed and maintained by the respective CODEX in combat."

The Battlemaster eyed the units. "And what happens if the CODEX is not available?"

"They will proceed with standard battlefield programming," Fectorian answered, as they began walking through the lines. "Which essentially is the elimination of enemy personnel until further notice. The authority of the CODEX can also be superseded by yourself, or whoever you designate."

The Battlemaster nodded, finding himself more open to the idea of expanding the CODEX capabilities. Up ahead he saw one of the Custodians, standing before five seemingly unmodified Mutons. "I have given some thought to the Muton issue," Fectorian said. "I believe I have a solution. We cannot simply discard them, but we can utilize them as simple tools. In pursuit of this, these Mutons are chipped and slaved to a Custodian."

"Why?"

"The Custodian is a tool of the CODEX," Fectorian explained. "And the CODEX knows optimal deployments and strategies. It also is aware of how psionic manipulation operates. If Mutons are psionically compromised it can have the Custodian secure a certain number before they can be used against us. Alternatively, it will allow the Custodians to effectively micromanage small numbers of Mutons while allowing command to focus on overall strategy."

"Is that your proposal?" The Battlemaster turned to the engineer. "Chip and slave our remaining Mutons to these Custodians?"

"Exactly," Fectorian nodded. "I cannot find a better solution. Even if Mutons are ultimately restrained by biology, machines are more efficient, coordinated, and decisive than the mind can ever hope to be, and are far more durable. While it cannot emulate complex strategies effectively, it can certainly put the Mutons to better use than an organic commander."

The Battlemaster considered that. "We will test that in combat. I will not convert the entirety of the Mutons until this has been shown to be effective."

"Reasonable," Fectorian lifted a holoprojector in his hand, and another image appeared. This one looked like a scaled-up Custodian, but with far bulkier arms and legs. "We have already begun designs on a larger-model Custodian. This is intended to fill the same roles of psionic deterrence and command, as well as counter ADVENT MDUs, and XCOM MECs. Prototypes are being designed at this moment."

"What of the ARCHON Project?" The Battlemaster asked.

"That," Fectorian said with some smugness. "Is something that I wish to be a surprise for the time being. Suffice to say that the prototypes are being refined and will be shown shortly. I believe you will be pleased."

That Battlemaster decided to tolerate that for now. He had done good work so far. "And anything else of note?"

"Ah, yes." The hologram changed to show a vehicle the Battlemaster had read the concepts for. The Herald, as it was being called. As Fectorian had initially described it, it was an answer to the armored tanks many Human nations employed. The base of the Herald appeared at first glance to be inspired by the Sectopod center chassis, but had been elongated and had armor 'fins' sloping towards the ground on the sides of the main chassis. "The Herald is being prepared for prototype testing. I believe it should perform exceptionally well."

Given the specifications, the Battlemaster agreed. The biggest flaw he could see was the limited mobility in terms of speed, but since it employed hover engines, it made up for that by being multi-directional. Plasma and railgun weapons, point-laser defenses, grenade launchers, short-term engine boosts to avoid missiles, limited Andromedon kinetic barriers, and an improved Sectopod beam on the front. Easily a match for any Human armor unit.

"Considering the cost, I should hope so," the Battlemaster said. "I assume these will be also slaved to the Battlefield CODEX?"

"I am undecided," Fectorian said thoughtfully. "I had designed such functionality into it, but there are several Andromedons who wish to incorporate a tailored machine intelligence into it instead. I will likely have multiple trial runs to determine what is most effective."

"Good." The Battlemaster liked it, and was pleased that it was far enough along where prototypes were being planned. "However, this will be of limited use against the cities. The trenches must be bypassed first."

"Luckily, I have designed a solution to that," Fectorian changed the hologram to something the Battlemaster had only seen the code name of. "The Executor, designed to break the trenches and end sieges."

The size was estimated to be massive, at least four times the size of a standard Sectopod. However, the design was almost nothing like the preceding unit. Instead of two legs, it had six which supported a much larger chassis. On the top was a massive railgun, and right next to it was the hatch for the blaster launcher.

Massive plasma and coilgun cannons were attached to the sides, and below the chassis, and the Battlemaster also recalled that the legs had Andromedon barriers built into them to mitigate that weakness. "This will be refined more," Fectorian said. "But the Executor will be more than capable of firing at ADVENT from a safe distance. As with the Herald, how it will be run is undecided. Given that this unit is not even out of the design phase, it will be some time before it is deployed."

"You will have it," the Battlemaster nodded. "This is promising. Excellent work. Is there more?"

"Yes, actually," Fectorian said, turning to him. "Turn around."

The Battlemaster did and found himself facing one of the floating Seekers. But this was not a standard Seeker. It was at least twice as big, and appeared to be more heavily armored with a long-barreled rifle poking out from the mouth. It unnervingly made no sound at all. "I have also improved the Seeker unit," Fectorian continued. "You are seeing the one that will be deployed on the battlefield. They were designed for close and long range priority target elimination, capable of being connected to a CODEX network, and retain their cloaking capabilities. Their weapon loadouts can vary between plasma, physical, and nanoweaponry. Quite useful, if I do say so myself."

"Indeed," the Battlemaster mused as he looked at the unit. "Extremely. I believe the Humans will not be able to easily defend against your creations."

"I almost hope they manage it," Fectorian said wistfully as he pressed several buttons, as the Seeker disappeared from view. "Having a challenge is exciting. However, I do agree that no matter what they attempt, my work will always exceed theirs."

"Continue your work," the Battlemaster said as he turned around. "You will receive additional instructions shortly on production numbers."

"Yes, Battlemaster."

---

Aui'Vitakar Assembly Chambers – Vitakar

12/14/2016 – 11:23 A.M.

It had been quite a long time since Ravarian had actually set foot in the Aui'Vitakar Assembly Chambers. The entire organization had been one he had slowly and gradually excised from his mind in levels of importance. They were a necessary government body, but one who had little authority or purpose outside of providing the Vitakara a sense of safety and freedom.

However, when they became angry, they could cause problems.

Thus, steps needed to be taken. Which was why he led the trio of Ethereals through the white streets to the Assembly Chambers. The Battlemaster, Revelean, and Sana'Ligna made an interesting group, and had attracted the attention of pretty much every single Vitakara in the vicinity. He'd had the Zararch lock off their route, but had designed it in such a way that the majority of Vitakara in the city would see them.

He had initially thought that it would restore some faith in the Ethereals, seeing three of them at once, but in the end it had largely turned out to take much, much longer than he had anticipated thanks to him deciding to go past the main medical ward. Sana had taken it upon herself to stop at it, saying she could 'catch up later'.

None of them really liked that, and so all of them had made a stop at Vitiary's Medical Ward. Ravarian actually didn't believe Sana had intended it as a PR stunt, but if nothing else it was going to restore trust in the Ethereals. Revelean had offered to take a look at some of their medicines and limited genetic research and had (while making various amused noises) improved, fixed, or replaced these entirely.

While Revelean was doing that, Ravarian and the Battlemaster had stood around rather awkwardly. The Battlemaster had finally decided to speak to some of the wounded soldiers, what few of them there were here, and Ravarian had watched Sana work.

It was a decidedly unnerving experience.

It was not normal that she could somehow place one hand on the forehead of an ill Vitakarian and they would stand up, cured, in a matter of a few minutes. It was not normal that he literally watched the skin of all three Vitakara who had been in a small crash heal in real time, simultaneously. If he didn't know better, it would look to the passive observer like magic.

Truthfully, he had no idea how she was doing it. Nanotech was a possibility…but that didn't seem to really match with how she carried herself. He didn't know how this was possible psionically…if that was even remotely related. The mysterious Sovereign technology was a possibility, but one he could not really prove.

So while the patients cried and thanked the Ethereal healer, he watched in a mix of fascination and concern.

Even for an Ethereal, she was not normal. Even Isomnum seemed more easily understood. As distasteful as the Dread Lord was, there was a clear source of his powers. There were clear and obvious answers. For Sana, whatever she did raised more questions.

It wasn't her strange abilities, her very persona was so different from every other Ethereal it was difficult to believe she was even of the same species. She was too…nice, caring, and gentle. You felt good just being around her, yet she was absurdly humble in anything she did.

But it didn't feel right or natural.

Perhaps he was being too cynical, but Sana seemed to inhabit a dimension of reality separate from the rest of them.

In the end, it had eventually been finished, and while the Aui'Vitakar were understanding in what the Elders had been doing, he knew that many were short on patience. Preparing for this gathering, Ravarian had identified it was the Dath'Haram and Borelians who would have the most questions. Perhaps the Vitakarians as well, and maybe the Sar'Manda if they bothered to show up. The Cobrarians were under enough threat from the Zararch that they would probably hold their tongues.

Now inside the center of the gleaming amphitheater, it was time to see what would happen. The Assembly was divided into sixths, one bloc per race. Surprisingly, all representatives – including the Sar'Manda – were present. Extending from each section was a small platform, where the chosen speaker of the race would make a motion or ask a question. All six species had one of their own ready to ask questions, and in the center was another elevated platform where the Overseer of the Assembly ran the proceedings.

"Honored Elders Revelean, Sana'Ligna, and the Battlemaster, we welcome you," the Overseer began, inclining his head towards the trio. "We are thankful you have chosen to come and address this body, and are optimistic that the Collective and the Elders will provide clear and satisfactory answers concerning recent events."

Ravarian did not fail to notice he had been excluded. Fair. The Aui'Vitakar had never especially liked the Zararch, and the feeling was mutual. He had decided that, with three Ethereals here, he would keep his own additions limited. They were not interested in the words of the Zar'Chon, but of the Elders.

"We are honored to be here," Sana took the lead, her layered and melodic voice easily echoing through the Chambers. "And on behalf of the Imperator, we wish to commend the Aui'Vitakar for wisely and carefully leading the Vitakara to prosperity." There were some nods and brief applause at that. Such was fairly normal, and expected, even if he noticed the Borelians were completely still.

"I will begin this Assembly with recognizing the designated representative from the Vitakarian Republic," the Overseer said. "Aui'charalla'vitiary, please step forward."

The Vitakarian male was the expected representative. Neutral in most matters, he tended to focus more on Vitakar and not external or interspecies politics. As a result he maintained good relations with the races, even the Sar'Manda, even if he wasn't looked on as a radical or charismatic leader. He was also one who didn't ask dangerous or provocative questions. If the Republic was choosing him, then this was more of a formality than anything.

"Honored Elders, welcome," he began. "I believe I speak for the Aui'Vitakar when I ask for an explanation regarding the documented fact that the Elder, who has been identified as Aegis, is seemingly working against the Collective."

None of them were considering that a hostile question. It was fair and expected, even from the friendliest of Vitakara. "I can confirm this is accurate," the Battlemaster stepped forward. "There were reasons why this was kept for the Collective. The first was that the first appearance of Aegis was the first we had seen since his departure. We suspected he was aiding XCOM, but it was in miniscule ways. As you are aware, if it was shared that there was an Ethereal who defected, it would cause panic. We wanted to keep this contained unless necessary. We did not expect this."

"I see," Charalla said neutrally. "And what do you plan to do to handle this traitor Ethereal?"

"Capture him if possible, and return him to the Imperator," the Battlemaster answered. "But he is dangerous. If necessary he will be killed. There are few chances to be taken with one such as him."

"Then you do not have a plan," the Vitakarian said evenly. "Just a goal. Based on our limited knowledge, it does not appear that a non-psion can challenge him. As a second Ethereal was captured as well, are you certain your own kind can protect our soldiers and even yourselves?"

"Yes," the Battlemaster's voice was absolute. "I know Aegis' strengths and weaknesses. I know how he thinks. Caelior did not. The reforms currently being implemented through the military will help mitigate the damage he can cause. In principle, Aegis is not a violent Ethereal. But if pressed, he can be. However, if you wish for specifics, it would likely involve a combination of telepathic assaults, kinetic bombardment and multiple armies converging on him, along with supporting psions."

"Very well," Charalla said. "This will be my last question posed. While your reasons for withholding this information can be seen, it is quite clear that even if we were notified of the danger, much of this could not be prevented. Even if you are acting in our best interests, it does little to build or maintain trust between our people. It appears the Humans have exploited this weakness in an attempt to weaken the bonds of our alliance. One which has worked to some capacity. Does the Imperator plan to change the policies regarding the sharing of such information?"

"Yes," the Battlemaster said, making a wide gesture with one of his arms. "In the future, such information will be disseminated to respective government and military officials to avoid such incidents. The interconnectivity of the Collective itself is also being addressed, as many of you have likely discovered. I can confirm that there are no similar pieces of information to share."

"Thank you, Battlemaster," the Vitakarian said. "The Vitakarian Republic has no further questions."

"We shall move to the Oyariah Hegemony," the Overseer said, motioning to an Oyariah whose stone skin was more elaborate and thinner than most. "Representative Aui'farrai'hegemon."

"Honored Elders," the Oyariah began, a female judging by the lighter voice – the genders were nearly impossible to differentiate without speech. "The Hegemony is satisfied with the answers provided in response to the questions posed by the representative from the Republic. The Hegemony has no further questions."

Not unexpected. The Hegemony had no reason to cause issues, especially since they shared the closest relationship with the Ethereals out of all the races. No one else seemed surprised either. The Overseer looked to the delegation of Sar'Manda. "We shall move to the Sar'Manda Empire. Representative Aui'sariah'manda."

There were times where Ravarian felt slightly bad for the fish. They had to constantly wear their silver suits above water, which constantly circulated water through them. The suits themselves were actually fairly decorative, incorporating silvers and blues, etched with lettering that seemed random, but the Zararch had been trying to determine for years.

However, the suits suppressed their fins, and the helmets were shaded since bright light made them uncomfortable. It also didn't help that the Sar'Manda had a significant language barrier that they'd never attempted to overcome. Very little of the Sar'Manda language involved speech, but a complicated series of facial motions, physical gestures, and movements.

All Sar'Manda were accompanied by interpreter devices, which allowed some level of communication, although if any Sar'Manda spent a reasonable amount of time above water, they could usually understand and learn the standard languages. But there was always an air of annoyance around them when speaking, as if constantly irritated.

In this case, the Sar'Manda representative simply pressed a button and the translator device spoke, in a heavily synthesized tone. "The Sar'Manda Empire has no questions this day. We would inform the Overseer of the Assembly to only mandate our presence in the event that Vitakar faces imminent danger. Do not presume to summon the Empire again without due cause. So is the command of the Manda'sarthoria."

At the conclusion of the device's speech, the entire Sar'Manda delegation rose and immediately filed out without a word, leaving the rest of the Assembly in various stages of outrage, shock, or amusement. Ravarian widened an eye in mild surprise. Well, it explained why the entire delegation had been here. Making a statement here was interesting, but it only reinforced the fact that the Sar'Manda genuinely did not care about any but themselves.

However, the fact that this had come from the Manda'sarthoria himself was interesting. The reclusive leader of the Sar'Manda Empire had never been seen above the water, but on the rare times the Sar'Manda actually did something, it was always on his orders.

"We will now move to the Borelian Authoritative Council," the Overseer said, clearly wanting to restore normalcy to the room. "Representative Aui'luraian'borelia."

That was definitely an indication of where things were headed. Luraian was one of the closest friends of the entire Authoritative Council, and the mate to the Sector Commander of the Borelian Military. As the entire Authoritative Council had expressed dissatisfaction with the Collective, this was likely not going to be taken as well as the Vitakarians.

"Elders, welcome," he began cordially. "I first request a complete status update on the state of the war on Earth. We have been assured – multiple times – that this would be a short-lived conflict, but has so far left thousands without family, provoked an Ethereal to treason, and led to the situation we are in now. The Collective has been directly lying to us, and we are owed the truth. State it before this body now."

Well, this was somewhat expected, but still slightly irritating. "The Humans are more resourceful than we originally anticipated," the Battlemaster answered. "We have been unable to handle them correctly, and are currently reevaluating our tactics and plans. They are enhanced by their ability to use psionics, and have embraced genetic modification. With Aegis now firmly on their side, they have become an entrenched threat."

"Acceptable," Luraian folded his arms. "That was easy, was it not? Why was none of this shared with the Authoritative Council? Or even the Aui'Vitakar? If our soldiers are fighting in your wars, we are owed an explanation as to why."

"Because of a tendency for the less-upstanding of all species to upset the order of things," Ravarian spoke for the first time. "Representative, you are aware that the Nulorian enjoy operating in Borelia. They are no amateurs, and would easily engage in disinformation should they find information to exploit. There have been victories and losses on Earth, but few remember the victories when the losses are in the mix. It is a price to pay for the stability of Vitakar, which all here have enjoyed."

"I did not ask your opinion, Zar'Chon," Luraian growled. "I wish to hear it from the Elders themselves."

"I agree," the Battlemaster said, causing some surprise murmurings. "That previous policy is outdated and inefficient. It was put in place because of traditional separation of the various governments and the Collective military, and I simply never bothered to change it. This will no longer be the case. All governments who have citizens in the Runianarch and Lurainian will have a direct line and representation in the Collective Military moving forward."

That seemed to somewhat placate the Borelian. "Then you will not oppose the Authoritative Council sending independent investigators to Earth?"

"No."

"Very well." The Borelian stepped back. "The Authoritative Council is satisfied for now. Our representatives will be in contact shortly."

"We will now move to the Cobrarian Hierarchy," the Overseer said, gesturing to the Cobrarian at the podium. "Representative Aui'hissariah'dassi."

"The Cobrarian Hierarchy is satisfied with the answers which have been provided," she hissed. "The Hierarchy has no further questions at this time."

That was quick. Good, one less thing to worry about.

"We will conclude with the Council of Dath'Haram," the Overseer said, motioning to the robed alien as he eyed the Ethereals with clear suspicion. "Representative Aui'trudian'Dathaira."

"Elders," the Dath'Haram said with forced neutrality. "You have spoken at great length over your wish to improve the transparency of the Ethereals. Is this correct?"

"It is," Sana said. "We can recognize the need to improve."

"Good." Trudian narrowed his eyes. "Then like the Authoritative Council, we would request to send our own investigative units to places of our choosing."

"We can certainly accommodate another unit on Earth," the Battlemaster said. "However, you are entering a war. It will not be pleasant."

"Earth is one area, yes," the Dath'Haram said. "The other will be sent to Desolan."

Ravarian kept his face still. That…was not expected. At all. "What relevance does Desolan have here?" He asked.

"This is not simply about the war," the representative said. "But about the conduct of the Collective and Elders themselves. Information has come to us in regards to the atrocities committed on that world, which were and are shielded from us. I suspect you understand what I am referring to, Zar'Chon."

This was something of a conundrum. It appeared that the Dath'Haram needed to be handled appropriately, although not before determining just how they might have acquired such knowledge. "The Muton species, and Desolan is under the command of the Ethereal Collective military," the Battlemaster stated, stepping forward. "Operations conducted on the planet are not authorized to be shared to civilians."

"That does not matter," Trudian answered firmly. "This body has the right to know the truth. If necessary I will share it myself, or have you accept our investigators."

The Battlemaster hesitated, and Revelean stepped forward. "They will be allowed," he said slowly. "We will let the Aui'Vitakar determine how to interpret the results."

A simple solution. Given what he knew about the planet, and how he would deal with the Dath'Haram, that subject would be killed over time. "Now, there is also a question none of my colleagues have asked. You have started this war against a pre-spaceflight species, but you have not provided a reason as to why. Did you even attempt diplomatic communication, or did you simply wish to conquer an innocent and unknown species?"

Ravarian pursed his lips. The damn Dath'Haram were surprisingly growing a spine and asking some fairly troublesome questions. "Humans captured and interrogated our initial scouting teams," Revelean said. "Before any sort of diplomatic channels could be established, XCOM had effectively strong-armed the majority of Humans to fight any aliens who entered Earth and declared war on us. The one we sent to negotiate with them was brutally killed by XCOM. The death of an Elder was one we cannot tolerate, and we resolved to end this conflict, even if it is not our fault. This is not an innocent species, representative, otherwise we would not be at war, would we?"

Revelean could lie quite easily it seemed. Were circumstances different, Ravarian would have had a good laugh at the thought of the Ravaged One being a negotiator. Let alone one interested in peace. The Dath'Haram still looked skeptical, but he didn't contest the point. "And the same question for Aegis – why did he defect?"

"Aegis is…an idealist," Sana said sadly. "He, like you feel now, prefers to view the best in people and species. He did not agree with our actions and left as a statement to the Imperator. His reasons are not complicated, even if they are mired in idealism rather than practicality."

Sana calling anyone idealistic seemed rather ironic. No, Aegis had left for other reasons. Perhaps those included what she mentioned, but he did know that Aegis was far more practical than Sana could ever be.

"I will conclude with this," Trudian said. "Both the Runianarch and Lurainian should be officially returned to us. The Collective may maintain control of the Zararch, but we are entitled to dictating our own military. Your words may have blinded the others at the time, but it is clear now that it has made us toothless against you. If you truly desire to reform, allow us this once more."

Well, the Dath'Haram were certainly being combative today. He had not expected this level of hostility. Although the Battlemaster seemed to have no issue with confronting this. "No. The Runianarch and Lurainian are under acceptable management and placing them under the Aui'Vitakar is an unnecessary waste of resources, and your inexperience will lead to avoidable mistakes and issues. This will not be granted."

"However," Sana interjected softly. "There is nothing that stops you from forming such an organization yourselves. You only need to look to the Borelians and Oyariah for inspiration, as they have and maintain local militaries. It will not be the storied names of the Runianarch and Lurainian, but it will be the beginning of a new chapter."

Trudian narrowed his eyes. "Would this be allowed?"

"It would be," Sana nodded sagely. "You have my word on this."

"Then the Council will be proposing such an organization in the future," he said with a nod. "With that, the Council has no further questions."

A few moments passed, and the Overseer looked around, and back down at them. "There are no further questions, and this gathering is concluded. We thank you for your participation, honored Elders, and are looking towards a brighter future."

It would definitely be bright, Ravarian mused. But the Dath'Haram were going to be facing quite a lot of questioning over the next few weeks.

Such dissent was dangerous, and would not be tolerated. But they would have to be careful.

If they had acquired information about Desolan, perhaps there were rebel elements Nartha had not yet encountered. If so, then he would have to destroy those first. But that would come in time. For now, the Collective was finally stable.

---

Fighting Arenas, Hegemon – Vitakar

12/15/2016 – 11:22 A.M.

The Battlemaster considered the Oyariah facing him, unable to determine if she was going to maintain the defensive posture or launch into another attack. The Ravager of the Hegemony was known to be the most dangerous alive, only rivaled by the Stalker himself, and the Battlemaster had been forced to put some effort into fighting her.

While he maintained the height advantage, the Oyariah in question was by no means small. And the fact that she could carry the sculpted shield and warhammer with very little effort allowed her a certain quickness he could not naturally match.

When coming down to the Hegemony, he had originally only intended to speak to the Stalker and Ravager, but when the latter expressed a desire to face him in combat, he had felt like obliging as he knew they would consider it an honor. It appeared that they really only considered a few as having the qualifications to challenge him, as no additional Oyariah had expressed similar interest.

The arena was rather small, with a black stone floor and poorly lit, like most Oyariah cities. It proved to be a minor handicap, as the Ravager had no issue with the poor lighting. Around the arena were the stands, packed with Oyariah eager to see the famed Battlemaster in a duel with their champion. Stalker Heg'tretiga'hegemon also sat in one of the upper rows, flanked by his six advisors, all of which were watching in rapt attention.

Out of respect, he was refraining from using psionics in this fight. While the Oyariah would likely not care, it was an advantage he would not exploit. The Ravager dashed forward, swinging her warhammer in a swift arc while thrusting her shield towards him in a bash. He redirected her swing to the ground, and used two of his hands to grab the shield, and followed up by kicking her backwards.

She was forced to let go of the shield as she was thrown backwards, which he immediately tossed aside and began his own offensive. Both Ethereal and Oyariah traded strikes with each other, the Ravager opting in favor of pure strength and resistance than dodging. All of his strikes were met with a firm parry, although applying a considerable amount of pressure did force her arms to move.

Her strength was impressive, and she was fast enough to take most of his strikes. Granted, he was not necessarily trying his hardest, but it was far more than most he dueled. A shame that the Oyariah were not psionically sensitive, for she would make an excellent Avatar candidate. Still, he had business to take care of and he had allowed the fight to go on long enough.

Using his strength he lashed out with his blade and once she caught it, forced her to a knee, where he used his free hands to grab the warhammer itself, and lifted her into the air while applying selective punches to the face and arms until she was forced to let go. The Battlemaster threw aside the weapon, grabbed the Oyariah by the arm and slammed her into the nearby wall.

Flourishing his blade, he prepared to continue, but instead raised a hand. "I conclude this battle."

The Oyariah equivalent of yielding. The Battlemaster nodded as the crowd cheered at the statement, which lasted for several minutes as the Ravager collected her weapons and both departed into the smaller arenas outside, which were clear for them. "You fought well," he told her. "Your rank is well-earned."

"The privilege is mine, honored Battlemaster," she said, her head inclined low in respect. "I am simply pleased you accepted. All would have understood if you had not, for all know they cannot be your equal."

"That does not mean they cannot strive for such," the Battlemaster said as he saw the Stalker and his entourage approaching. "None improve without challenging those who are their superior."

She looked up at him, black eyes glittering in the blue light. "If I may ask, honored Battlemaster, do you still find those who can provide such to you?"

"Yes and no," was the answer. "I have no equal in combat. It is the battles of mind which I face today. I will conquer such eventually, but it will be many years."

The Ravager appeared to be considering a response, but closed her mouth as the Stalker himself approached, with his advisors waiting some distance behind. Ever since the Ethereals had arrived, the Stalker of the Hegemony had been Tretiga, one of the most steadfast allies of the Ethereal Collective. Standing as tall as the Ravager, with the ceremonial crimson cape which hung off his left shoulder, and the traditional stone sword strapped to his back.

Oyariah rarely felt the need to wear armor, but there were a few that made exceptions. The Stalker was one, though aside from there being no obvious cracks where the joints would be, most would usually not know it due to the lack of any obvious markings. Both the sword and shoulder cape were enough.

The faceplates were more elaborate than most Oyariah as well. The plates visibly covered the top and back of his skull, cheeks, and there were a few plate extensions that gave the illusion of wearing a helmet than it being a connected part of his body. "Well fought, honored Battlemaster," he stated. "The Hegemony will not forget the privilege you have bestowed upon us."

"It was an experience I hope to repeat someday," the Battlemaster said. "However, there were reasons I wished to speak to you."

"Of course," he said. "Is this between us or may the Ravager stay as well."

"She will stay," the Battlemaster said, glancing to the second Oyariah. "This concerns her as well."

"Then what do you wish?" Tretiga asked.

"I want to integrate the Hegemony Titans and leadership into the Collective military," he said. "The Oyariah have been loyal to the Ethereals, and the Hegemony deserves more representation in the Collective. Your ambitions may not have led to this goal, but the Oyariah can do more than reside in your cities forever."

Both Oyariah seemed somewhat surprised at that, both exchanging a look. "You honor us with such a proposal," Tretiga said slowly. "If I may inquire, the Hegemony itself would be retained but we would have a presence beyond it?"

"Correct," the Battlemaster confirmed. "I am assembling the best of the Collective as I reorganize the military. The Titans would be fully integrated into the Collective, and either you or the Ravager would have a place on the War Council of the Collective."

"I assume we would fight in conflicts as well," the Ravager said. "You are not one to command from afar."

"When appropriate," the Battlemaster said. "I have little interested in leaders who do not participate. Having the Stalker or Ravager of the Hegemony would be sure to inspire allies and make enemies hesitate."

"That can be arranged," the Stalker sounded grimly happy. "I would not hesitate to test myself against the Humans and traitors. None have dared test me for decades, even if the infernal Sar'Manda have come close."

"Their actions were highly disrespectful," the Ravager agreed grimly. "I am surprised they were simply allowed to leave for such a grave insult."

The Battlemaster raised a hand. "The Sar'Manda do not matter. In time they will be forgotten in their oceans while the Oyariah expand to the stars as the champions of the Elders. Do not focus on the irrelevant actions of a few in light of what is required. I presume such a proposition is acceptable to you?"

"I will consult with my advisors, and the One Encased," the Stalker said. "But it will be little more than a formality. On behalf of the Hegemony, we are once more honored by this offer."

"I look forward to the integration," the Battlemaster said. "But do not become overconfident. Our enemies are dangerous and intelligent, and we need to be better in order to overcome them. That is the standard that must be held to, but I believe your race can achieve it."

"On that, honored Battlemaster," the Ravager said with an inclined head. "You have my word."

---

Training Arena – The Temple Ship of the Ethereal Collective

12/16/2016 – 10:01 A.M.

Yang held out the sword in front of her, completely vertical to the ground. Drawing upon her power, she focused her telekinetic grip around the weapon itself, and then slowly released her hand, letting the blade hang in the air. She then slowly walked around it, seeing if there were any dips or slips in her control.

She twisted her wrist and the short sword flew back towards her hand, landing squarely in her palm.

Well, at least she had that down.

She personally didn't see much use in melee weapons, as they would always be inferior to psionics, but the Battlemaster was likely going to expect such a skill. Or maybe he wouldn't, and would be more impressed. Looking at the footage of his skills, Yang was quite certain that whenever he actually met her, she would be utterly destroyed.

In which case, she could at least try and be a little creative with her fighting style. One of the historical documents regarding the Battlemasters had focused on the various fighting styles, and one that had caught her eye was one Battlemaster who had interwoven telekinesis into his fighting style, resulting in him being able to fight off or harass opponents from a relatively safe distance.

It had been regarded as one of the most difficult to actually learn and perform, as well as an increased risk of friendly fire. And if the psion ever lost control, they were usually left weaponless. Still, it was something to investigate and she had decided to try it out.

As she had found out, it was somehow harder than she had anticipated.

One slip of the mind and the grip was loosened and lost. One penetrating distraction and she might be dead. She had just needed to acquaint her mind to always maintaining a passive grip on something, and then not letting anything disrupt it. On that front, she believed she had almost gotten it. She could perform all kinds of physical feats while not losing control.

Of course, this was just keeping the sword in one place. The next hurdle was actually manipulating it.

Holding the blade horizontally, she sent it back out several meters and froze it by making her palm flat. Damn, she shouldn't be doing that. The document had specifically stated that physical gestures should only accompany the manipulation of the object if absolutely necessary. Physical limbs were a limitation, and one she had to avoid falling into.

She took a breath, and let her arm fall to the side. Focusing intently on the weapon, she thought of what to try first. Probably a few swipes and swings. The blade began to move and she consciously gripped her own arm to prevent herself from making the motion. As a result, the blade slammed into the ground, though quickly bounced up since her grip was maintained.

Alright, it was a start.

Yang was now eternally thankful that Battlemaster Quiarma had the foresight to actually write down his techniques and perform them properly. The documents had said that the Ethereal could, when focused, wield up to twelve regular-sized weapons simultaneously. She didn't know if she could surpass that, but she was certainly going to try.

The swipes were severely overcompensating, slow, and otherwise mockeries of the real thing, but she persevered nonetheless. She barely noticed the temperature rising and her panting breath as she struggled to maintain her mental grip on the weapon. But it eventually slipped, and on a swing she sneezed and the blade went clattering to the ground.

Yang grimaced, and instinctively reached out, then stopped and kept her arm at her side. Instead she took another deep breath and mentally directed her telekinetic grip towards the weapon. It took a few minutes, but it rose and floated towards her. Once close enough, she grabbed it, pommel up and flipped it upright.

"I have to admit," Nico said from the entrance of the training area. "I didn't take you for a sword person."

Yang eyed him with no small amount of suspicion. The cheeky teen had an unsettling habit of showing up out of nowhere and otherwise acting like a spy. Given how she was very adept at knowing if she was being watched, someone who could manage to surprise her was unwelcome. However, she suspected Sicarius was training him, as well as talking to him so much.

Still, she couldn't really stay irritated at him. If there was one person who had drawn an even shorter straw in life, it was him. Her own issues seemed smaller compared to what he had gone through. Her family was still alive, mostly, but he had no one.

The Ethereals certainly had a knack for finding damaged people. She wasn't exactly ignorant as to why that was. Soldiers fought better when they were motivated, even if it was manipulative. However, she didn't care and she doubted Nico did either. Humanity was too violent, selfish, greedy, and stupid to do anything more than eventually blow themselves up.

If the Collective was better was up for debate, but it couldn't really be worse. And while some considered ADVENT as the turning point for the species, they were far from it. ADVENT was exceptionally good at propaganda, but the truth was there were still Humans in charge of it. They were a more competent and dangerous China, only concerned with world subjugation before all else.

They were not the good guys. The Imperator had quite openly revealed the lengths ADVENT and XCOM had taken to assume power. Anyone who believed they were any better than the so-called 'brutal' aliens was either lying, stupid, or a victim of either of those. It wasn't as though the aliens were much better, the Sectoids certainly showed that, but that was just how the galaxy worked.

No black and white, only varying shades of grey. As far as she was concerned, ADVENT and the aliens were at roughly the same place.

She realized Nico was awaiting an answer. "Didn't think I was," she shrugged. "But the Battlemaster likely has expectations. Best to try and meet them."

Nico nodded. "Ah, he still hasn't come?"

"He's busy fixing the mess that is the Collective," Yang said, telekinetically summoning a water bottle. "I'm definitely not on his priority list. I doubt he really wants to deal with me either. Works for me, more time means I might actually survive a few seconds before he beats me to a pulp."

Nico smirked. "You'll last longer than that."

Yang looked at him incredulously. "Maybe if he's feeling generous. Did you see how quickly he took apart that XCOM squad in DC?"

The young man winced at the memory. "Fair point."

"Yeah," Yang took another gulp. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Sicarius want something?"

"Not today," he said, shaking his head. "Just curious what you think of the newest resident of the Temple Ship."

Yang shot him a look. "The Imperator found another one?"

"Yep," Nico raised an eyebrow. "And I'm pretty sure she's the one he's been looking for."

Well, that was extremely interesting. She'd only heard she was a candidate for an "Avatar Project", but didn't know any details. It was clear that there were different candidates per Ethereal. Nico was obviously one for Sicarius, and she suspected she would be one for the Battlemaster. There were probably others as well, but the Imperator seemed to have not chosen one for himself yet.

"Huh," she said thoughtfully. "You know who she is?"

A retrospectively stupid question. Of course Nico would know her fucking name. He had likely been the guide the first time she'd arrived. "Oh yeah," Nico sounded rather amused. "And you'll never guess who it is."

The Chinese woman narrowed her ice-blue eyes. "Just tell me, I really don't care about playing a guessing game right now."

"Alright, alright," he smiled. "Patricia Trask."

Her eyes widened in shock and the water bottle in her hand crumpled. "I'm sorry," she said slowly. "Who did you say?"

"You heard me right," Nico said, getting far too much amusement out of this. "Patricia Trask. The Patricia Trask."

"From XCOM?!"

"The one and only."

Yang took a deep breath. "I don't suppose you'd…" she paused, thinking about how best to articulate what she wanted to say. "…know just what the fuck the Imperator is thinking?"

"Not a clue," Nico shook his head. "But he's apparently been in contact with her for some time. I would just ask him, because I don't know what he would want with her of all psions. Well, she is powerful-"

"But she was with XCOM," Yang finished. "Not exactly prime ally material. Much less for whatever the hell this Avatar Project is."

"I'm going with the assumption he knows what he is doing," Nico shrugged. "If he can somehow make Patricia Trask an ally, then I'm not going to question it."

Oh, she most certainly was going to question it. But when she was calmer, and with more time to think. Why did the Collective keep making such idiotic decisions? Without saying goodbye, she walked back out into the arena and threw her sword in front of her, freezing it in place once again.

At least this had given her some energy. She wished there was a dummy somewhere. Preferably one with Patricia's face on it. That would be cathartic.

---

Desolan Orbital Station 3 – Desolan Orbit

12/19/2016 – 12:01 P.M.

"I have received your report," the hologram of the Zar'Chon said. "Good work. The network was much more extensive than we imagined, although there were surprisingly few Mutons we were able to recover."

"Not really," Nartha shook his head in mock disgust, and didn't fail to note the Zar'Chon's grudging approval. "I detailed such in the report. They played it safe above all else, and only took a few. They occasionally had to dump some of them to avoid detection. There were many, but their skill was limited."

"Regardless, your actions have ended a constant annoyance on Desolan," the Zar'Chon commended. "We will take appropriate precautions to ensure this does not happen again."

Hopefully the Chronicler and Nulorian would be able to deal with that. "I'm glad to hear it. What is my next assignment?"

The Zar'Chon pursed his lips as he looked at something from his holoprojector prosthetic. "The Andromedon Federation has recently moved to resume combat operations. However, it was not unanimous with several major and minor Unions rejecting such a proposal. Considering your recent successes, you are best suited for investigating the largest culprit."

The Andromedons. Perfect. The Zar'Chon was sending him exactly where he needed to be. "Which Union?"

"Union Viarior," the Zar'Chon answered. "You might have heard of them."

He had, although his knowledge was extremely limited. The Zararch had conducted a report on the major Unions years ago, which was still being updated as new information emerged. "The financial Union," he recalled. "Not really the power they used to be, but still maintain tight bonds with every major Union and are the main suppliers?"

"An acceptable overview," the Zar'Chon said grimly. "Many of the larger Unions are attempting to become more self-sufficient, but Union Viarior still maintains a resource lock on nearly every minor Union, and still supplies basic resources to the larger ones. They managed to survive the Union Wars relatively unscathed because of this. That they are flagrantly resisting is…concerning."

Concerning for the Ethereals, excellent news for him. "I'll depart soon," he said. "Any direct orders?"

"No," the Zar'Chon gave a thin smile. "They cannot openly kill a Zararch agent. If they refuse to give you what you wish, report it. I doubt they will, but be prepared to have an escape plan."

"And what evidence do you want?" He asked. "Their word will not be enough."

"If you discover suspicious or incriminating data, save it immediately and return," the Zar'Chon paused. "If you find nothing obvious, acquire a copy of their databases and return. The analysts will go through it to be sure."

Easy enough. "Understood."

Good work again, Agent," the Zar'Chon gave a brief nod. "I await your results."

The holoprojector blinked off, leaving him alone…well…

He glanced around to see if there was anyone who had snuck in. No, he really was alone.

Nice of the Zar'Chon to provide such a clear roadmap. This was likely going to be much easier and straightforward than Desolan, and he felt that was deserved. Convincing an entire Union wouldn't be the easiest thing, but he could be persuasive when he needed.

And with such an influential Union behind them, this entire resistance might be gradually forming into a threat. They were still some ways off from that, but at last, the endgame was in sight.

---

The Prism Command Center, Blacksite 009 – Unknown Location

12/19/2016 – 1:11 P.M.

The newly reformed Collective War Council was ultimately much better than his previous attempt at such. All of those he'd chosen were skilled, intelligent, and were capable of thinking for themselves. They would also have far more responsibility than before, as he had decided to begin the delegation of certain aspects of the Collective Military.

The Ravager of the Hegemony was the first, who could be substituted with the Stalker himself when he wished, and she was primarily in charge of managing and coordinating close-ranged units, city conquests, and determining training regimes and tactics of the Collective. She also directly managed all Oyariah forces and was responsible for establishing, then maintaining, lines of communication between the Hegemony and Collective.

Lur'galitai'borelia was one of the highest-ranked Borelians in the Lurainian, and until recently on the Borelian Authoritative Council as a consultant and trainer. Older for a Borelian, with some of her fur beginning to turn silver, she was still in peak physical form. She would be in charge of all aspects of the Lurainian, and have a similar role to the Ravager in terms of setting up lines of communication between the Council and Collective.

Her responsibilities also included managing the Borelians in the military, and was the primary authority on special forces strikes and general battlefield command if needed. He was confident she could handle it, even if it was a far larger workload than she had experienced before.

Then there was Zar'vacialla'intha, the representative from the Zararch, who could be substituted for the Zar'Chon if needed. As expected, her role was to provide combat intelligence on any defenses, targets, and personnel they would face. The Vitakarian would also oversee sabotage and target prioritization, as well as ensure unit morale was within acceptable limits.

The Zar'Chon had assured him she was capable, and he expected such.

Sci'darolo'vititay was another Vitakarian, a scientist who would oversee the genetic modification programs, applications, and recruiting efforts. He had some authority over the Vitakarians in the military, but only if others were not available. He was not a soldier, but he was one of the more open-minded when it came to self-improvement. Having a direct connection to both the Republic and Revelean's science team was also an added benefit.

There was J'Loran, who had command of Andromedon forces now, and served as the primary link to both the Collective and Fectorian's engineering teams. Disciple-7 had similarly retained his role and was tentatively overseeing Muton deployment, training, and improvement, as well as serving as a tactical consultant.

The final member was somewhat controversial, and it was Hive Commander 801, the one whose Hive was the primary designer for all Sectoid spacecraft. While usually an architect and designer, 801 was also knowledgeable about space combat and would serve as both the naval coordinator, and link to the Hive Commanders themselves. While some were not thrilled, it was important that all species have at least some representation here.

"Custodian integration will take some time," J'Loran said, as they were finishing discussing Fectorian's improvements. "There is the question of how we handle such integration, especially in regards to publicity. These are not sentient machines."

"There is little point in keeping it a secret," the Ravager said. "It will not take ADVENT or XCOM long to notice what is happening."

"Agreed," Vacialla said thoughtfully. "It is important the soldiers know what they are working with, and the contingencies in place in the event of psionic interference."

"There is no reason to keep this secret," the Battlemaster said. "Allow the soldiers this knowledge, unless there are objections."

There were none, so he moved on. "Concerning the genetic enhancement, it is something which needs to be refined, as well as ensuring the soldiers are psychologically able to properly fight."

"This will take time," Darolo said slowly. "Even working with the Hive Commanders and Revelean, it will take some time to prepare the appropriate modifications, as there are multiple species. Progress is being made, but it will take longer to actually fully improve what is left of the Runianarch and Lurainian. Keep in mind that there are many Vitakara who have an aversion of genetic modification, and it is better to slowly introduce this idea."

"The amount of soldiers which are needed on Earth are small in comparison to the greater Collective," Disciple-7 stated. "There is no need to rush, and the enhanced Mutons and Custodians will provide the needed infantry power. Upon the deployment of the Herald and Executor, this needed number will further decrease."

The modifications will likely take less time than expected, 801 interjected. With the full capabilities of the Hive Commanders behind it, there is more than enough time to enhance an army for Earth.

"Regardless of that, there is still the issue of what to do with the Vitakara not cleared for combat," Darolo added. "It would be a waste to return them to Vitakar, but they are not suited for the battlefield."

"Two options present themselves," Disciple-7 said. "Either as support, medical duty, or suppliers for standard operations, or colony and homeworld defense. It will provide the colonies with additional support, as well as give Vitakar an armed presence besides the Zararch. Perhaps this can be what the Aui'Vitakar establish."

Darolo rubbed his forehead. "It will take…a significant amount of time to cover the entirety of the Runianarch."

"We have time," the Battlemaster said. "We control the pace of this war, and I will not have us rush into it hastily again. When we strike next, it will result in a victory. Anything else will be a failure." At the nods and affirmations around him, he looked down to the holotable and activated it. "The Prism will now be used as the main simulation, which I expect to be used frequently. But to do that, all of you need to be briefed on its capabilities."

As he explained it to them, he was fairly confident that they were once more moving in the right direction. He wouldn't know for sure until he stepped foot on Earth again, but it was promising.

---

Patricia's Quarters – The Temple Ship of the Imperator of the Ethereal Collective

12/19/2018 – 11:12 A.M.

Patricia sat on her bed, oblivious to the world around her as she finally decided to accept what she had been avoiding the past couple of days. She knew what she should do. She should flatly refuse the Imperator's offer, do whatever it took to return to Earth, even if it meant her death. But she didn't even think the Imperator was lying to her about that.

She could return to XCOM and…she didn't think much would change.

And things had to change. With what she'd learned from the Imperator, things couldn't be the same. The war on Earth didn't seem as important in comparison, nor the Imperator an unreasonable Ethereal. But she didn't know if she could actually convince the Commander, let alone Aegis about even considering hearing the Imperator out, or herself for that matter.

If she left, and failed to convince them, she would likely die for nothing or see Humanity fall under the influence of a Sovereign One. And with the Commander's desire to implement the Manchurian Restraints, it would kill any attempt to stop his plans. What had seemed a responsible means to ensuring psions didn't turn on Humanity might very well be their downfall.

Ironic how her views on that had completely changed. But it wasn't for the reasons like most would say. It had nothing to do with freedom, liberty, or ethics, but instead because it would make them incapable to following a path not dictated by the Commander or ADVENT. They were leading humanity down a misguided path, but one they simply didn't know about.

They thought, she had thought, they were in the right. And from their perspective, they were. But the Imperator had filled in the gaps, and she couldn't easily dispute his words. Was there different ways he could have accomplished this goal? Likely, but he was treading a fine and dangerous line with being of such power.

She would go back to XCOM, but not now.

For now she would stay here, learn everything she could. Find enough to definitively prove that the Imperator was correct in what he said, then return and present it to the Commander. He was not unreasonable, but even so she feared that he would be too blinded by what had already happened to consider that the Imperator might not be the enemy.

So that was her plan for now.

What she did not know was if it was the right one.

But knowing what the Imperator had told her, there seemed no other acceptable path.