[Hierarchy] Cipritine Announces Legion/Cabal Integration

Cipritine Announces Legion/Cabal Integration

Via Claria Artin, Hierarchy Colonial Feed

Cipritine, PALAVEN - A number of legions, depleted from harsh fighting on the homeworld just one year ago, have seen new blood from a very unexpected source - cabalists. A recent decision from the Hierarchy has begun a radical new experiment: biotic integration into existing legions. Spearheaded by the Office of Strategic Studies and put forward by a number of planning groups, this is what many have declared the next step in a systematic review of Hierarchy military principles.

Fewer are happier to hear about the news than those legions chosen for the experiment - legions most bloodied by harsh fighting on Palaven, such as the 23rd Dirisin Legion.

“I’ll admit, I’m not too sure about biotics. None of us ever talked much to any who don’t have tentacles growing out of their heads, but we’ve taken too many losses and seen too many things to say no,” stated Legion Corporal Artanis Rederix. The sentiment was largely echoed by the rest of his legion.

At the time of writing, details are largely classified, although it’s known that at least sixteen legions are participating in integration - with joint exercises expected to begin as soon as possible. It’s unclear how many cabals have been involved in this integration; however, officials stress that it is merely a minority, with involvement of biotic trainees being reviewed by strategic planning groups.

Not all are so happy with this experiment, however. General Vana Ramius expressed her dissatisfaction over this movement in a short interview with the Hierarchy Colonial Feed.

“Frankly, this is absurd. None of us, least of all our soldiers, know how to deal with this. The division has existed for longer than most asari live lives, and we’ve all been trained under the assumption of that division,” she declared. “Retraining our soldiers and unmaking drilled instincts will cost us time and energy I doubt we actually need to spend. This isn’t a question of biotic prejudice, this is a question of necessity.”

This was a concern that the Office of Strategic Studies was quick to respond to.

“This will not be an easy transition," admitted an OSS representative. "Legions and cabals have existed as mutually exclusive entities for more than a thousand years. Barriers need to be broken down. We need to understand the best way to develop synergy between our soldiers and the unique abilities of these former cabalists, and implement those changes. There will be growing pains, but the committee has decided this is a transition best dealt with sooner rather than later.”

The timeline proposed by the Office of Strategic Studies has suggested that these controlled integrations will continue in stages for the next five to seven years. A secondary Strategic Review Committee is scheduled to convene over its effectiveness shortly thereafter.

This= good move on the Heirachy's part. Biotics being on hand when you need them can only help.

skhash always thought that whole put biotics in own unit thing was stupid.

should have happened long time ago.

Moron.

Bitch.

Well, before the squids came, it really wasn't much of an issue, in the Hierarchy's eyes at least since there weren't that many biotics to begin with. But now that Palaven's soaking in eezo, there's going to be a lot more turian biotics in the next few years, so it makes sense they start transitioning now.

Sundowners never had very many biotics - not a lot of opportunity for eezo exposure on such a rural world - but the ones we did, they were like any other guys. Guys with special skills, maybe, but you could say the same about surgeons or aerospace engineers. We all worked together and divided jobs according to ability.

...I'm gonna go check on Battis.

Times are changing, I guess. Dunno if this is the right move, but I guess that's what the trials are for in the first place.

Biotics... theoretically they can work well integrated into troops. This will require a new training regimen for both the legions and the cabals, but I could see positive things come from this.

There are benefits and costs to doing it either way. For a somewhat silly but real example of a problem in a mixed unit: Rations. Biotics require more calories than a regular soldier, this means they get more food. Ordinarily this is a non-issue, but in situations with limited supplies where you need to restrict rations, soldiers will see their biotic comrades receiving larger portions. This can lead to envy, loss of unit cohesion, and infighting. It's a manageable problem, but one that I've had to deal with on occasion.

And let's not forget the envy of seeing two people out of your entire legion being able to bend the fundamental forces of the universe with their minds.

Ugh. This whole thing is a mess, a huge politically motivated mess. It's all about making the Hierarchy look good to the outside observer, all about concessions to the biotics. Maybe I'll get reprimanded for this message, but this is just too much to keep within me.

Honestly, they want to toss people with who knows what training in the middle of elite Empire infantry? I don't know what sort of a training the Cabals have, and neither does anyone else. My point is that are the Cabals honestly as competent as our regular servicemen? I can't know that, because they haven't gone through any of the same training I have. I wanted to be one of the elite just because I knew that when the shit hit the fan, all the guys next to me would be elite too. They know what to do. These biotics? I can't trust them. They've been trained by who knows how, by who knows who. And then there's the fact that they are biotics, able to affect the physical laws of the universe. Do we know for certain that the condition doesn't affect their mental capabilities?

I don't want a person like that next to me in a foxhole. The Cabals seem to like each other, let them play with their own, and let me do the same.

The only way anyone's going to get past the prejudices in the first place is if we actually work at it instead of standing around being too afraid to try.

Good move, I say.

Well, well, well. I suppose this is the "big news" that everyone's been telling me to expect.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. Ramius is an ass but she has a valid point - the cabal system works because it deploys concentrated biotic power where it is most effective. Tactics-wise having my cabal stationed to a frigate that deployed immediately where we were needed was far more effective than having two or three biotics per unit. I'm a bit concerned that the non-biotic CO's are going to put all of the soldiers in that test program on barrier support because they just don't know the beautiful things we can get up to when there's twenty or thirty of us all clustered together.

On the other claw in about 15 years we're going to have a boom of new biotics entering the force so perhaps the percentages will be large enough that they can be effective in the normal units. And maybe by then biotics might not be marginalized. But things are going to be very hard for the members of that legion.



Victus, people like you are the ones that make life hell for people like me. We "like" each other for two reasons:

1) If you are born biotic you serve in a cabal. I looked it up once, my scores qualified me for several positions including elite infantry but the cabal is literally my only legal options.
2) Socially the distrust and prejudice is horrible to live with. I don't blame anybody who stays in the system. Cabal messes are the only places nobody looks at you funny for eating a lot. Cabal dorms nobody cares if you get bad news from home and glow blue for a bit.

Do your research, to even enter boot potential cabalists have to pass a battery of physical and mental health tests as well as prove they have control of their abilities. The damaged ones are in hospitals and assisted living centers where they belong. You don't get any more effective at delivering results than a cabal, even the ones who think we're all secretly insane say so. I'm honestly quite shocked at your comments.

Victus, get bit, people like you are why I'm a separatist. Was. Whatever.

Jovina, how do you stand these people? If I were you I'd be in jail by now for tossing a guy like Victus through a wall or ten.

Screaming about them when they're gone, meditation, liquor, taking covert photos with my omni-tool and uploading their face onto the holo targets in my target practice sim...

The usual.

No disrespect intended, and if such was taken, I'm sorry. Cabals are an extremely valuable resource. I wouldn't allow any of my subordinates to pick on Cabals, because we all serve the Empire.

But the fact just is that we can't trust you. Maybe the fault is ours, and if so, I'm sorry again. I hope we'll see the light. Till then, I think it's best to keep us separate, for both our sakes.

victus not very smart.


that whole not trust biotics thing just not make sense. why not trust?

Because people who glow blue are so scary! They might eat you or something.

that's just silly, skhash never glow blue.

You want the biotics more integrted but you don't want to take away their supports or the support they get when dealing with biogted shit, and it's clear from this thread that they do have to deal with a lot of shit.

You ever feel like you're on the verge of understanding something REALLY important?

Battis is easy to trust. He does his job, works hard, is a good husband and father, cheers us all up, and only tosses through walls the people who ask for it. I have lived with the man for over a year and never found any reason not to trust him.

You could as easily say you don't want to trust me because I can put a bullet in you from two miles away. It doesn't mean I will, unless I have good reason, but I somehow don't see turians giving their special forces commandos the same crap they give cabalists, even though the commandos are equally dangerous (I would say more so, in the case of my general.)

Yes, the blue glow thing is a bit odd, but funny enough, the more you see it, the more normal it gets.