[center][B][h2]The Legion Collective[/h2][/B]
[img]http://91ef69bade70f992a001-b6054e05bb416c4c4b6f3b0ef3e0f71d.r93.cf3.rackcdn.com/white-circle-abstract-100191412.jpg[/img]

[hider=Nation Sheet][b]Species:[/b] Legion; Legiana or Legianans in their tongue.
[hider=Government]Due to the species' now communal mind, the Legion Collective is governed by what one might consider a true democracy. However, rather than vote for officials whom then govern the populace, Legion constantly runs hypothetical situations and relays multiple plans of actions throughout the Collective for mass review. As such all decisions can, more often than not, be considered the directive and intention of the race as a whole no matter their location in relation to one another. However, in addition to their democratic governance, the Legion Collective has established three caste designations. These castes help the Collective maintain a stable number of minds within their communal consciousness.

[i]1st Caste:[/i] Individuals within this caste are those who travel off-world to explore, contact and in general interact with what, in Legion's mind, amount to unknown variables. While members of this caste are considered equally important to the Collective as a whole, they have more or less been chosen for their role and accept it in their entirety. These individuals are those who explore new worlds, enter diplomatic relations with other nations, or go into dangerous areas of the galaxy. The 1st caste is the middle class in terms of overall nanite count.

[i]2nd Caste:[/i] The second caste is composed of 'swarms' who take part in the mining, harvesting and colonization of planets. This caste is the largest out of all three castes and is responsible for any form of industrialization or construction that does not simply utilize members of Legion as its components.

[i]3rd Caste:[/i] The third and smallest caste is made up of both biological and technological members of Legion. These individuals maintain fully colonized worlds, increase the mental population over time, and maintain the psyche of the entire race as a whole. Damage to this caste can damage the entire collective if the 1st caste is wiped out or damaged significantly. A small percentage of the biological individuals in this caste are sometimes utilized as representatives or envoys when interacting with other races, at least in theory since Legion has yet to encounter any new ones since the rather unfortunate incidents of their past.[/hider]
[hider=Military]Legion has no standardized ships due to the nature of their technology. As such, Legion spacecraft cannot truly be designated ship classes until formatted by Legion, unless such is done by size rather than function. Additionally, due to the fluid nature of Legion's technology whatever ship one sees may not remain in the same format for long depending on what resources are available and what is required of said vessel.

In terms of infantry and planetary combat, Legion's forces tend not to have any standardized form and must be categorized on a case-by-case basis. The fluidity and naturally synchronous movements of their military make them perhaps one of the most difficult nations to combat should one head down that route. Nonetheless, they do have their own weaknesses, such as the fact that all of their ships are composed of Legion's nanites. Seldom is this not the case thus meaning that the destruction of a single ship is far more costly to them than it would be to other spacefaring races.

For further information on their capabilities see their Cultural and Technological Overviews.

[i]Examples of Ship Designs that Legion prefers can be seen in the following links:[/i]

[url]http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/087/3/1/dns_vermilion_hope_by_tekka_croe-d4u8cwv.png[/url]
[url]http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/067/d/3/space_ship_by_funkychinaman-d4s5vaq.jpg[/url]
[url]http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/216/c/f/ship_by_genjihl-d44l2bl.jpg[/url]
[url]http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs43/i/2009/138/9/7/Space_Ship_concept_1_by_LucianP.jpg[/url]
[url]http://th05.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2013/130/a/f/koramund_by_mr__jack-d64rode.jpg[/url][/hider]
[hider=Technological Overview][i]Quantum Mastery:[/i] Legion has largely achieved mastery of the quantum realm, giving them dominion, to an extent over its forces and particles, allowing them to utilize a wide variety of incredibly advanced technology. Quantum entanglement relays and teleportation being only a fraction of their capabilities the Legion collective tends to focus on particle weaponry, absorption and/or deconstruction in warfare allowing them to take in different energies or disassemble unshielded matter and then reformat it for their own purposes.

[i]Nanites & Nanotechnology:[/i] Since the advent of quantum consciousness, Legion has housed itself in the many tiny bodies of nanites and as such have become deeply integrated with the construction of their technology, be it big or small. At their current point of development there are billions upon billions of nanites each of which is commanded by one member of Legion's now collective hivemind-like consciousness. While to some the utilization of nanotechnology and nanites would merely bolster their construction capabilities, they have literally [I]become[/I] the absolute standard for the Legion Collective as a people and thus as a nation. Rather than construct large machinery out of larger and bulkier parts, Legion utilizes its own body to skip the construction step that most utilize, composing their machinery, spacefaring and otherwise, with what amounts to their own bodies.

In fact, their five completed planets are primarily composed of, or at the least suffused with, Legion's nanites, a process, which naturally took them a great deal of time to accomplish. While there are some exceptions to this rule of nanites=their machinery, these exceptions are few and far between as they are only utilized in situations wherein utilizing the literal members of their species as composite parts would be more dangerous than beneficial regardless to the speed at which the construction would otherwise take place. In conclusion, their nanotechnology in tangent with their mastery of the quantum realm and lower forms such as atomic and molecular manipulation the Legion collective are capable of constructing essentially anything.

Legion does tend to avoid the use of anti-matter weaponry or otherwise powered machinery due to the possibility of it violently reacting, and subsequently annihilating, with the nanites that compose their people. Instead of utilizing anti-matter they tend to create friction or sap radiation as a power source through creating what amount to absorption devices from their many tiny nanite bodies. This process is done both to power their ships and to power their industrial machines or any buildings required for their few remaining biological kin. They are not however limited to the absorption of thermal and radiation energy, and can absorb it from just about any source. This means that their weapons of choice also tend to be particle or energy weapons as such is the easiest for them to generate.
[img]http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2015/007/7/5/lymphocyte_by_batjorge-d8czvsp.jpg[/img][/hider]
[hider=Culture and Mentality]Having been integrated with their technology for an extended period of time has somewhat altered the mentality of Legion as a whole, making them very logical and if needed, cold and calculative to a fault. However, Legion is not unnecessary cruel and could be considered a very peaceful entity overall. They prefer to avoid war as it is less beneficial to their race than even to others as the destruction of a single Legion ship means the loss of literally thousands, if not millions, of lives. Despite their consciousnesses, which started biologically, being housed in mechanical constructs and connected by a wireless network facilitated by quantum entanglement relays Legion has an intense appreciation for biological and synthetic life, be it sentient or otherwise. They would rather relocate entire ecosystems from their home planet in order to harvest it, than simply wipe the species out, which would be far more cost effective for them overall.

Beyond their peaceful mentality and largely logical tendencies, Legion is, oddly, religious. The Collective actually worships the Architect, the now long dead scientist who brought about their understanding, and subsequent mastery, of quantum consciousness and the many applications gained by being capable of manipulating it.

[img]http://th03.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2014/029/6/4/alien_by_reiokami-d748g66.jpg[/img]
[i][b]A Biological Member of Legion:[/b][/i][/hider]
[hider=History]Once a biological race like the vast majority in the galaxy, Legion, as they are called, reached a level of technological and biological development wherein they concluded that it would be far more beneficial for their kind to become technologically synthetic, rather than remain in fleshy mortal vessels. So, an individual now only known as [I]the Architect[/I], who was the leading scientist on their home planet, Legianos I, began to explore the possibility of transplanting a consciousness from a biological body into a synthetic construct. After many years the Architect discovered a correlation between a group of quantum particles and consciousness. Having discovered this, the scientist went about isolating these specific particles and experimenting with them in other organisms. It took time, hundreds of years it is said, but the Architect was able to master these particles to an extent, allowing him to recreate, re-localize, or entangle them with structures that they would not have otherwise been related to.

While other scientists attempted to transplant brain matter or nerve tissue into a cybernetic body prepared to house and facilitate their continued existence, the Architect could circumvent these methods entirely. All that was necessary was the construction of a system which could properly support  and broaden, rather than stunt or limit the capacity of his kind's mental abilities. So while others strove to induce a state of biological immortality, or the considerably more foolish brain transplantation, the Architect began to work on what amounted to a technological, rather than biological, apparatus that could attract, hold, and amplify the quantum aspect of the mind. If he could succeed in this, all aspects linked to the mind's quantum manifestation would follow.

It took many decades to go through several prototype stages, testing only on animals possessing various levels of intelligence. With his knowledge of quantum intelligence the Architect eventually managed to construct a device able to warp quantum forces into a new consciousness. Through this method and given much time he managed to mold an advanced artificial intelligence. Having constructed the host body for this consciousness, he began his first attempt to migrate an advanced intelligence from one host to another without any sort of direct interface or physical connection.

It worked.

With this hurdle conquered the Architect began to extend certain propositions out into the public. His ideas and eventual demonstrations amazed the masses and after five years of debate among their political leaders of the time and what amounted to mutual consensus 

After much debate the first experiments on their own kind were conducted, and to great success. Gradually more and more of the general populace chose to undergo the process till eventually all but a seldom few had made the transition. Those who did not remained in their biological vessels. This was for the purpose of reproduction beyond anything else, allowing them to continue creating more minds as well as to preserve specimens of their own genetic make-up should something go awry.

It was a good thing that some decided as such to because not all of the quantum mind migrations were successful, in fact a large portion of the populace was wiped out either during the process due to incompatibilities, or in post when the apparatus malfunctioned even slightly. Improvements were thus made on the technology, facilitated by the incredibly amplified intellects of their already advanced race.

When they transferred their minds to the modified apparatus, which were not only more stable, but much smaller, they amplified their mental abilities to such an extent that their kind went from individuals to a linked collective of mind. This was when the entity, which now calls itself Legion came to be. Over time they acclimated to their newly attained psyche, and in the long run became massively more effective as a community and a species.

While some among Legion dissented or defected from the collective, the vast majority of adapted to their new vessels, and from the Great Transition to present have worked towards bettering their species' agenda as a whole.

Legion has been space faring for over five-hundred years, though only in the last two-hundred have they developed the technology and mentality, that leads them to believe it is time to come into contact with new races in their galaxy.

While this is the case, it is not accurate to call any interaction between the Legion Collective and other species Legion's first alien contact. This is because Legion has encountered several races in the past one-hundred years, sadly their synthetic status has led these now largely extinct races to war out of what amounts to xenophobia or other irrational fears. In lieu of these unfortunate encounters, Legion has since decided to utilize a small portion of their biological brethren as envoys so as to ease the suspicion and worry of whatever species they encounter next, be they biological or otherwise.[/hider]
[hider=Other]Over the two hundred years that Legion has been capable of Interstellar travel they have acquired a total of 24 planets, not including their home planet, Legianos I. Of these worlds only five are fully inhabited by members of both the 2nd and 3rd Castes. Due to Legion's infrequent tendency to truly colonize worlds, the presence of both of these castes is significant as it essentially means that the aforementioned planets are fully colonized expansions from the Legion home world. However, due to Legion tendencies, these [I]colonized[/I] worlds can more accurately be referred to as [i]harvested[/i] planets. Now, these massive spheres are actually composed of the same nanites that make up the majority of the Legion Collective. Over time the Collective's still biological kin will fill each nanite with consciousness. When the entire planet is sentient the world is considered complete. As such these 4 worlds, and their home world, are the only completed/fully colonized worlds among those Legion has under its sway.

[img]http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/206/6/9/core_world_by_elementj21-d2i7yyu.jpg[/img]
[b][i]Legianos I[/I] aka [I]The Cradle[/i][/b]

The other 20 worlds are primarily inhabited by a number of 2nd Caste nanite swarms, 'commanded' and protected by three swarms of 1st Caste members. All of the worlds currently held by Legion are located in strategic positions. Their 5 completed worlds, this including their home world, are positioned inside of a 'sphere' if you draw lines between the surrounding planets within their control. This allows the Legion to use their out worlds as defensive outposts of a sort should another race attempt to attack them.

Each of these five worlds is less than a light year away from a massive space-station as seen below:
[img]http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/206/b/a/stellar_engine_by_elementj21-d20iyav.jpg[/img]
These Space Stations are referred to as [i][b]Spires[/b][/i], but are actually Quantum Entanglement Transportation Arrays which allow Legion to either transport themselves to a a remote location instantaneously without the use of a FTL drive in a ship, or to travel between Spires quickly so as to deliver resources and the like between planets. A single spire is typically 10 miles in length, primarily so its surface area is enough to absorb solar, thermal, and any other energy source it can. These energies are utilized to maintain its systems which are primarily geared towards the stabilization and creation of quantum entanglement passages. Additionally, Spires are capable of [I]jamming[/I] spatial or quantum transportation systems, causing them to abruptly "dump" craft off before their destination, typically just at the edge of Legion space. Spires do this by detecting quantum or spatial anomalies that are moving in a trajectory aimed in the direction of Legion space. Once these are detected the Spires safely reverse the effects exhibited by the noted forms of FTL drives causing their function to cease. More accurately an effected FTL drive will be incapable of warping space or interacting properly with their surrounding quantum field due to the greater force/control being exerted by the local Spire.

While a Spire can shut down perhaps one medium sized fleet with this capability, anything larger will be ineffective, only working on several ships or diverting their trajectory somewhat causing them to end up slightly off in their coordinates. Similarly a single Spire cannot effect multiple fleets of even small size and doing so on even one small fleet will decrease their ability to properly transport Legion vessels. The last notable capability of Spires is what Legion refers to as their Null Field. This field is created through the Spire's ability to manipulate the quantum field, thus allowing them to essentially divert energy and matter around themselves. A Spire can however not do this permanently and while it works as an incredible defense it requires that the Spire leave its "arms" open thus exposing it to enemy fire upon the time that the Null field fails. Conversely Spires can close their "arms" creating a defensive shell over their surface, which absorbs most forms of energy and uses it to gradually create a Spatial pocket. Once this spatial pocket is formed the Spire will phase into it, vanishing completely. At this point the Spire is typically unreachable unless it can be pried from this pocket.

Spires are one of the few constructs that Legion's nanites does not entirely compose as it requires portions of anti-matter to power. The stations are also taxing to resources, almost regardless to the amount of such, and thus must only be constructed when absolutely necessary. Construction of a Spire takes, at the very least, seven earth days.

The Legion Collective's Homeworld, once known as Legianos I, is now simply referred to as The Cradle.[/hider][/hider]
[hider=Current Information]This section will be regularly updated.

Legion has recently sent out eight separate fleets of ships, each composed of what would initially appear to be one super-capital ship. This ship is essentially the entire fleet combined into one single vessel that has travel capabilities comparable to a Spire, but limited to its own form. Each ship is 5 miles in length making them utterly massive constructs, each of which possesses a large store of super condensed lead for conversion purposes only. None of these ships are armed with weaponry, but all are currently equipped with energy absorption apparatus and displacement fields, which tend to curve projectiles and the like around the vessel. Each vessel is currently home to 5 biological members of Legion, 4 of which are guards and servants, and 1 of which is a trained ambassador. These individuals are currently in a form of stasis so as to ignore the passage of time while they wait for first contact.[/hider][/center]