darkwolf 687

## Part Two


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**Technological Overview:**

![enter image description here](http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/032/c/0/future_city_by_dongkyuni-d5tidbu.jpg "enter image title here")
*Habitat World Gaudium*


Seemingly eternally paranoid that someone will steal their technology, the Collective has taken to using biolocks on most of it's equipment, maintaining databases of DNA and other markers. Furthermore, some devices are able to self destruct, as most weapons do when their operator is deceased.


**Weaponry, Land Forces**

Land forces of the Collective use a variety of weapons, some of which are inbuilt and some of which are external

Electroshock Baton: This is used by Civilis Protectione to subdue escaping criminals. It is not, primarily, a military weapon but may be used by Civilis Protectione members who are fighting against invading forces. It has four settings: Off, which is self explanatory, Low, which delivers a small shock that is usually enough to make most human sized targets recoil, Medium, which produces an effect similar to a taser. The Final Setting is High, and this setting produces dangerous electric sparks and a large amount of heat capable of causing burns. A single strike from this should be enough to knock a human sized target into unconsciousness and just a few beatings from this mode can cause brain damage. Understandably, they can only use this mode when the suspect is extremely dangerous and posing a threat to life, under a Judgement Waiver or on authorisation from a High Command unit

Laser Attack Beam: A small laser that is mounted onto Equitem Scanners. It is relatively weak and serves more as a weak deterrent to give threatened scanners a chance to fall back

Laser pistol: An outdated weapon used by Civilis Protectione. Favoured over plasma for police work due to it's decreased collateral damage. Contains a short ranged stun feature used to incapacitate fleeing suspects by sending a burst of electricity through the subjects body.

Plasma Pistol: The basic side arm of the Collective. This weapon is mostly issued to Synth Infiltrators who are under cover, Stalkers and Civilis Protectione Units. The Plasma Pistol is incorporated into the 'Gauntlet'. While extremely deadly, it is also destructive and can cause damage to structures and the terrain. As such, Civilis Protectione units are discouraged from using it unless there are few other options and in some higher risk area's such as some occupied human worlds they are instead issued with less advanced 'native tech' for more widespread usage.

Gauntlet: The Gauntlet is deceptively named. It is wrist mounted and has a Plasma Pistol mounted and a Energy Dagger projector inside. When not in use, the Plasma Pistol recedes into the Gauntlet slightly so that it is not so bulky.

Light Plasma Rifle: The Light Plasma Rifle is generally considered the largest weapon a Triarii can use. It's Primary users are some Triarian Command Units, Mimics and sometimes Synth Infiltrators. It has less range and is weaker than the standard Plasma rifle, but is lighter, smaller and can be collapsed to hide it

Beam Rifle: The beam rifle is a designated marksman rifle. It is a semi automatic rifle that is able to engage targets at medium to long ranges with accuracy. It has two fire modes. The first is a burst of three shots, and the second is a focused shot. The focused shot is more powerful than the three shot burst, more accurate and with longer range, but the three bursts are better for shorter range engagements as it is quicker

Plasma Assault Rifle: The Plasma Assault Rifle, commonly referred to simply as the plasma rifle, is an assault rifle designed to combine the range of the Beam Rifle of with close range effectiveness of pervious plasma weaponry such as the Light Plasma Rifle. 

Light Plasma Machine Gun: This is the smaller cousin of the heavy plasma machine gun, it is used by Elite Synth Soldiers and some Elite Aerial Synth Soldiers. It may be used by Walkers and is also widely used by Spectre Synth Soldiers. It is wildly destructive and it's shots appear more like a stream. When fired for extended periods of time, the gun will automatically shut off in order to prevent damage to the mechanisms. This function can be overridden, which produces a risk of a detonation.

Heavy Plasma Machine Gun: This is the large cousin of the already formidable light plasma machine gun. It does not have the overheat mechanism due to being larger and thus having superior heat vents. It is used by Gunships and may be used by Walkers

Plasma Autocannon: This is the dreaded weapon used by Marchers. It destroys anything in it's path as the massive plasma shells smash their way through targets, burning as they go. It may also be used by some Walkers. It fires slower than most other pladma weapons, but makes up for it in the sheer mass of the plasma, enough to engulf man sized figures instantly

Fuel Rod Cannon: The Fuel Rod Cannon launches canisters of a special gel that explode upon impact, vapourising anything in the blast radius and causing a minor shockwave that is strong enough to knock nearby soldiers off their balance or sometimes to the floor. It is mounted on the shoulders of Walkers and there is a shoulder held version used by some Elite Synth Soldiers

Plasma Sniper Rifle: The plasma rifle is a sniper rifle that fires a bolt of super heated plasma contained within a field. Upon contact with a target, this field will be breached and release the plasma onto the target, boiling away blood and frying nearby organs. Shots are usually directed at either the head or heart.

Warp Cannon: The Warp Cannon is insanely powerful. A single shot from it can destroy entire buildings. This cannon not only causes vast scenic destruction but also inflicts massive splash damage that will vaporise most organic and some inorganic matter in proximity to the area of impact. Prior to the warp cannon's discharge, a thin bluish beam is fired from the Cannon it's self, heading to a focal point around which the space becomes warped, bending light as the cannon fires. Anything in the area is torn apart by the warp, and the excess energies is able to destabilise and vapourise most substances nearby. There is also a shockwave resulting from the Warps sudden opening and closing, which can toss many tonnes around. 

Plasma Cannon: This is a variant of the ship based weapon that is mounted upon Assembly Walkers and Habitat Walkers. Since it is graded for destroying enemy battle ships, it is more than capable of destroying most land based targets with ease. It's shots are capable of creating the same effects as the ship based energy projector, glassing the terrain on impact

Energy Projector: This variant of the energy projector is mounted onto the habitat walker. Despite being of lower power than it's ship based equivilants, it is still extremely deadly and capable of widespread destruction


**Weaponry, Space Forces**

Point pulse laser Defences: The Point pulse laser guns are the basic point defence weapon of Collective Vessels. It's primary purpose is to shoot down incoming fighters or enemy weapons rather than attack enemy vessels.

Plasma Cannon: The Ship Mounted plasma Cannon is devastating indeed. If it hits an unshielded enemy ship, it will almost certainly melt a hole through the ship. It fires a large plasma round which will spread out upon impact, resulting in extreme damage to targeted ships

Energy Projector: This weapon fires a beam of energized matter which has a very long range and is extremely accurate and destructive, capable of scything through most materials with ease and "glassing" planets, systematically rendering them sterile and incapable of sustaining life as well as boiling away their atmosphere. Lower power variants have been designed for ground based combat and defence combat in order to prevent accidental damage to Collective worlds atmospheres, and the ship based ones can have power diverted away in order to produce a weaker beam.


**Weaponry, Defenses**

Turret AutoGun: The turret auto gun used by the Turrets deployed by ground forces. It fires unique crystalline rounds which are designed with impact in mind, tearing into and then shattering, scattering painful shards throughout the individuals body.

Plasma Cannons: The ground plasma cannons are constructed along defence grids. They function similarly like their ship mounted equivalents. They pack a huge punch and it is overlapping networks of these that give the defence grid it's backbone

Energy Projector: The Ground Energy Projector is similar in function to the ship based one.

**Other**

Interstellar drives able to move from system to system within seconds

Memory replacement, alteration, copying and transcribing machinary: Often used for 'flash training', so named because it allows the Collective to imprint decades of experience in a task onto an individual within a short time frame (Indeed, many Synth Soldiers have had centuries of combat experience imprinted onto their minds), it is also used for brainwashing, mind wipes and other such useful applications

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**Cultural Overview:**
![Description](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B0wUR_DCYAALNyo.jpg:small "For the greater good...?")

*"For the Greater Good...?" A political cartoon designed and published by Human refugee's from the Collective. The creator and publisher have since gone missing, presumed killed*

Despite having minor democratic aspects and a semi-noble goal, the Collective of Civilised Species is often described as authoritarian. The cultures of long standing members are conjoined with each other to produce one large mesh, though it isn't uncommon fir species to celebrate its own ways. Looking at these older member species, one might conclude that the state was paranoid but benign. It is only when you look at how they handle the collectivization process, such as with the humans, that one begins to see the true picture. Unfair laws, cruel punishments and a general laissez-faire legal system that transforms the prosecuting officers into judge, jury and executioner.
Outside of their... questionable measures and their general disdain for anything they consider even slightly uncivilised, their cultures can be remarkably diverse and in some cases protected under law. Even apparently primitive idea's can pass as civilised under the Collective, which suggests it has at least some degree of willingness to allow multiculturalism. Indeed, the idea of 'combing our strengths' has led to the sharing of works and products among the various species within the collective, including but not limited to remakes of older films from the human and Hara-Ka culture.
Human worlds show the slow process of collectivisation. Although what was the human inner worlds have now been 'renovated', many outer colony worlds have extreme contrasts, with older, graffiti ridden buildings standing next to the new towering giants and structures erected by the Collective. Those who the Collective decides are trustworthy are often housed in the [newer sections of these worlds](http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/027/8/d/city_of_the_night_by_meckanicalmind-d3870ww.jpg), where life is comparatively good and slowly improving, while those deemed untrustworthy are relegated to the '[slums](http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090113000549/half-life/en/images/9/97/City_17_buildings_and_inner_wall.jpg)', the old areas that have become run down. Even within these slums, conditions can vary from [tolerable](http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091012192844/half-life/en/images/f/f7/Train_city_17.jpg) to [squalor](http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/14/13049/thumb_620x2000/apartment2.jpg)
Their culture in it's self is arrogant and condescending to others. The education system defines religion as "A series of fictional tales believed only by the stupid or the insane" and their national prides it's self on enforcing a strict meritocracy. Imperfections (eg: Disabilities), whether they be physical or mental are either corrected or, if they cannot be corrected, the individual will be restricted from reproduction should the imperfection be considered inheritable. An obsession with eugenics is common; In their eyes only positive traits should be propagated and the Collective enforces this with strict rules. Any reproductive activity without the express permission of the government is a crime on par with assault.
They have a very black and white view of criminal activity, you are either with the state or you are a criminal. Some laws can be rather silly; For instance, to combat uncivilised behaviour and prevent disputes it is illegal to insult anyone else... unless the insult is true, in which case it is completely legal.
The Collective doesn't have a formal currency. Instead, your work earns you 'Civic Work Points' which are used to redeem certain 'rewards'. The idea of their Collective generally works on the idea that all should look out for each other and function as one, living being. This has both good and bad effects. The biggest effect being that they they find trade with other empires difficult because of this lack of currency (and indeed, for some a lack of understanding of the idea of commercialism all together)

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**History:**

**The Birth of the Collective; The Hara-ka Triarii War and the Union of the species**
![enter image description here](http://teambeyond.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/brutes-halo-2-anniversary.png "enter image title here")


From the Triarian city states arose the acts of collectivisation, beginning the short lived United Triarian Collective. This new nation began its exploration into the stars with a bloody chapter. Their first contact, the Hara-Ka, was a warlike race. They had already reached the nuclear age, only to bomb themselves back to a primitive status, painstakingly claw their way back up and appeared to have learnt nothing from the experience.
At this time, true laser weaponry was in its infancy inside the UTC and the Hara-Ka tribes were similarly equipped to the Triarii. A land based invasion of the Hara-Ka's homeworld proved futile, the gravity was several times that of Triarius and the Triarii themselves could simply not be effective within it. As such, they began a campaign of orbital bombardment and, after three months of continuous systematic bombing, the Hara-Ka finally conceaded defeat and were annexed. As a name, UTC was decided to no longer be relevant, and was changed to the United Collective

**Expansion: Ziatri ascension into the Collective, the Twilight Flame and the 'Great Agreement'**

![enter image description here](http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140127000855/xcom/images/thumb/a/a8/XComEU_Outsider_Shard.png/500px-XComEU_Outsider_Shard.png "enter image title here")

The Ziatri were the first nation to join the Collective willingly (Though some scholars argue they joined to avoid invasion and oppression rather than out of genuine feelings at the time). The unusually long four centuries of peace between the Collective and the Ziatri was a necessary part of this process, and it's argued that the Collective, weak at the time, was concerned about invading due to reports about the deeper area's of the Ziatri swamp worlds being extremely inhospitable. None the less, the Ziatri elders eventually united their race with the Collective and took up seats as Primicerii, assisting in command of the growing Empire.
It was at this point that the gift of the Twilight Flame was bestowed upon the Collective by the Ziatri elders. The Twilight Flame is the name of a type of crystal, mined from within the deepest swamps of the Ziatri homeworld. Possessing the ability to act as a relay for psionic energy, the most important usage of this device has been to allow the projection of the Triarii (and any other psionic capable being, given the right equipment and training) in the form of an energy being, known as a "[mimic](http://pieromacgowan.com/images/Outsider.jpg)".
The Corruptelae Insectum first met with the Collective when an exploration team arrived. Although the first contact was filled with fighting, the Corruptelae Insectum Empress, the dominant Queen, made an agreement with the Primicerii of the Collective. The Corruptelae Insectum would become a client race of the Collective and would give members of it's worker caste to the Collective for military service, and in return the Collective would grant the Corruptelae Insectum access to it's space ways and would assist in propagating their species to various worlds.

**The dark times: The Sector Black 4 Resonance Cascade and the subjugation of the Aru'Shumi**

![enter image description here](http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140608194204/legoland7/images/f/f1/Citadel_core_near_explosion_by_qwerty_cody-d6hrq94.jpg "enter image title here")

The Resonance Cascade in Sector Black 4, often times referred to as the "Sector Black 4 Incident", was a disasterous event that resulted in several (presumed) million deaths and the (presumed) destruction of a planet. During a standard test of a new generator, an entire planet disappeared into nothingness. The outer colony world and everything on it was consumed by a disastrous explosion from an experimental generator and transferred into heat energy or torn apart by rifts and scattered across the void. Since the Incident, Collective law mandates that most research be done aboard dedicated research stations or research planets. The theoretical dark energy had not just been proven to exist, but proven to have insane properties. This would overtime become the standard for Collective energy production. The reactor locally increases the intensity of space-time fluctuations , creating a sphere of volatile space-time in the reactor core that has a high concentration of Dark Energy. An anti-mass condenser field converts the Dark Energy into particles of exotic matter, from which energy is harnessed as the particles are transferred back into the core, being converted back into dark energy and beginning the cycle again. Although the initial start-up process for reactors requires an immense amount of power, the exotic properties further amplify the quantum fluctuations and cause a chain reaction within the core that makes the reactor self-sustaining and capable of producing near-astronomical amounts of power. (Techno-babble over)
The Aru'Shumi were found during the expansion into Sector White 1. After a bloody invasion the Aru'Shumi Emperor surrendered to the Collective might, decreeing that all the honour in the world could not save the from destruction. After 200 years of classless occupation, the Aru'Shumi monarchy was restored and permitted to take part in the decisions of the Primicerii, elevating Aru'Shumi from occupied status to client race.
The name is changed to the "Collective of Civilised Species" by the Primicerii.

**As luck would have it: An accident, human expansion and discovery by the Collective**

![enter image description here](http://screenshots.filesnetwork.com/31/potd/1150423709_0.jpg "enter image title here")

An accident with hyperspace technology on Earth resulted in a displacement of a human colonist ship to Andromeda. From here they restarted their society, struggling with their lack of resources which would have of course been delivered from the other human worlds. Regardless, through perseverance they were able to establish themselves and set up a functioning society. Obviously, this struggle had meant they hadn't focussed so much on technological achievement as just surviving and rebuilding. After hundreds of years, the stranded humans had established a chain of several planets, with a small fleet. Their weaponry was not far removed from the 21st century however. Corvette from the Collective encountered a human colony world. A curbstomp war began in which the forces of the new human nation was destroyed. They put up a courageous fight but were inevitably crushed. The occupation had begun; Police and military forces were quickly absorbed into their successors and used to maintain order while propaganda and educational techniques slowly began to drill in the ideals of the Collective.


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**Other**

![enter image description here](http://mgnews.ru/post/newsimage/1555/Escape-From-City-17-Part-One-1.jpg "enter image title here")


*Members of a human resistance group on the former human outer colony of New Pluto, which is generally considered to be the most rebellious colony. Note the extremely outdated equipment used by the two, including old ballistic weapons and FM radio's.

Resistance within the Collective: Resistance is rarely a large scale movement as these are too easily uncovered and would lead to mass arrests. Most resistance is passive or 'grumbling'. Few have the guts to take up arms against the vastly superior forces of the Collective, and those who do often use inferior ballistic weapons that were hidden away during the invasion. More choose to throw their lot in with Civilis Protectione for additional benefits than throw their lot in with the Resistance. Resistance within the older species ranges from non-existent to extremely rare. None the less, it remains a thorn in the side of the Collective on certain human worlds, particularly the outlying colonies who were taken over later than the inner human worlds. Wherever they appear, they are usually dealt with brutally and quickly, and as such have become adept at disappearing efficiently and quickly... Which is no small feat considering the Collective is Orwells nightmare. They mostly remain within the run down area's of slums as the other area's are too heavily monitored.
To add further problems to the resistance, it is generally at war with it's self. Different resistance groups have rivalries and even outright hostilities with each other for whatever reason. This has damaged the overall image of the resistance in the eyes of some loyalists, and propagandists have taken to exploiting this image as one of "Gang Warfare" rooted in the "Darker times of hatred and violence"
Affiliated with but not part of the resistance are the refugee's. The few which manage to escape the Collective are endlessly hunted by GHOST and more rarely SPECTRE. Many tell stories about brutality within the slums, though few can speak of the Collectives technology as they have not been within the more modern parts of the cities due to their status. Most merely describe it as both advanced and terrifying. The majority of refugee's go into hiding once they escape the Collective. Usually, they fail and are recovered by the Collective; A grizzly fate often awaits these poor souls.