Hive Queen Quest Tech Tree List

Basic Hive Tech:

Basic Drone Adaptations:

	Drone Chassis:
		[Standard Drone Chassis]
		[Single-Purpose Chassis]
		[Vacuum-Sealed]

	Carapace:
		[Basic]
		[Combat]

	Sensory:
		[Sight]
		[Acoustic]
		[Radio]
		[Psionic]

	Mandible:
		[Construction]
		[Combat]

	Arms:
		[Dexterity Arm]
		[Strength Arm]

	Legs:
		[Endurance Legs]
		[Sprint Legs]

	Wings:
		[Basic Glider]
		[Moderate Flight]

	Blade:
		[Tool]
		[Combat]

	Weapons:
		[Thorn Launcher]
		[Sting Caster]
		[Fire Spray]
		[Thorn Cannon]
		[Rotary Stinger]
		[Plasma Spray]

	Auxiliary:
		[Acid Glands]
		[Explosive Glands]
		[Honey Pot]
		[Chemical Forge]
		[Egg Sac]

Basic Ship Adaptations:

	FTL Drive
		[Blink Drive]

	Sublight Drive
		[Chemical Thrusters]
		[Skid Drive]

	Ship Weapons
		[Consumption Beam]
		[Railgun]
		[Plasma Lance]
		[Auto Cannon]

	Ship Armor
		[Standard Ship Armor]
		[Combat Ship Armor]

	Ship Utility
		[Spinal Hangar]

	Ship Modules
		[Swarm Hangar]
		[Docking Bay]

Basic Hive Infrastructure:

	[Throne Room]
	[Storage Chamber]
	[Nursery]
	[Laboratory]
	[Advanced Laboratory]
	[Infrastucture]
	[Labyrinth]
	[Hangar facilities]
	[Docking Pylon]
	[Military Spaceport]

	[Hive Psionics]
-----------------------------------------

Researched Technology:

Drone Adaptations:

	Drone Chassis:
		[Large Land Drone]
		[Small Land Drone]
		[Aerodynamic Drone Chassis]
		[Hydrodynamic Drone Chassis]

	Carapace:
		[Peacock]
		[Conductive Carapace]
		[Reactive Carapace]
		[Heavy Armor]
		[Mimetic Skin]
		[Adaptive Camouflage]
		[Ballistic Carapace]
		[Barkskin Carapace]
		?[Bio-Electrical]?

	Sensory:
		[Electrical Sensitivity]
		[Olfactory Antennae]
		[Thermal Pits]
		[Psionic Disrupter]

	Mandible:
		[Vocalizer Mandibles]
		[Biological Interface]
		[Spitter Gland]
		[Stinger Whip]
		[Siren]

	Legs:
		[Bipedal Legs]
		[Hover]
		[Large Bipedal legs]

	Wings:
		[Rotary Wings]
		[Gravity Foil]

	Blade:
		[Hypodermic Claws]
		[Sledgehammer]
		[Photonic Projector]

	Weapons:
		[Seeker Pod]
		[Cylotron Particle Beam]
		[Particle Cannon]
		[Launcher Pods]
			[Swarm Missile]
			[Stinger Missile]
			[Cruise Missile]
		[Cryo Spray]
		[Acid Spray]
		[Lightning Gun]
		[Lightning Cannon]
		[Thumper]
		[Heavy Thumper]
		[Razor Mines]
		[Plasma Cannon]
		[Plasma Assault Cannon]

		[Ammo Types]:
			[Armor Piercing]
			[Acid]
			[Hollow Point]
			[Explosive]
			[Incendiary]
			[Dart]

		[Bioweapons]
			[Poison Gas]
			[Spore Strain]
			[Tetrochlorotoxin]

	Auxiliary:
		[Filter Lungs]
		[Oxygen Recycler]
		[Ramjet]
		[Quantum Brain]
		?[Radiator Tubes]?
		[Gills]
		[Tail]
		[Gunports]
		[Bored Chitin Slugs]
			- All kinetic weapons now deal more damage to armored targets.
		[Magnetized Slugs]
			-  All projectile weapons gain increased accuracy and armor penetration against targets utilizing metal armor.
		[Vibroblade]
			- By incorporating the vibroblade into your warriors, they now are capable of utilizing small micro muscles to vibrate the blade at a high enough frequency to assist in cutting through material, increasing their armor piercing capabilities.
		[Thermal Blade]
			- Conductive polymers are added to the combat blades of your drones. When an electrical current is passed through the blade it quickly increases in temperature until the blade itself begins to glow. All drones equipped with combat blades gain the capacity to penetrate thicker armor by allowing them to slowly burn through dense metal plating. This passive upgrade stacks with the Vibro-blade passive upgrade.


	Clone Equipment
		[Photon Saber]

Ship Adaptations:


	FTL Drive
		[Warp Drive]
		[Slip Drive]
		[Rip Drive]

	Sublight Drive
		[Ion Thrusters]
		[Gravity Drive]
		[Gravity Thruster]

	Ship Weapons
		[Cylotron Particle Beam]
		[Linear Particle Beam]

		[Immolator Warhead]
		[Molecular Disassembler Warhead]
		[Ion Cannon]
		[Blaster]
		[Singularity Projector]

	Ship Armor
		[Ballistic Armor]
		?[Heavy Armor]?
		[Reflex]
		[Conductive]

	Ship Power
		[Microfusion Power]
		[Fusion Core]

	Ship Utility
		[Rapid Damage Control]
		[Defensive Shields]
		[Multi-Layer Shields]

		?[Atomic Self-Destruct]?
		[Microfactory]

	Ship Modules
		[Bulkhead]
		[Drop Pod Launcher]
		[G-Field Sensors]
		[Solar Collector]
		[Artificial Gravity Plating]
		[Swarm Launcher]
		[Stinger Launcher]
		[Cruise Launcher]
		[Harpoon Launcher]
		[Ramming Keel]

	Misc. Ship Tech
		[Plasma Funneling]
		[Ventilation Ray]
		[Boarding Pods]
		[Spore Pod]
		[Micro-Rip Drive]

Infrastructure:

	Defensive Structures
		[Anti-orbital Battery]
			[Anti-orbital Pulse Cannon] - By altering the interior design of your anti-orbital batteries to utilize the design of the blaster, you have found that you can squeeze both more range and power from your defenses. While accuracy may be slightly hampered at longer ranges, the increase in the rate of fire and the improved range seems to more than make up for the marginal loss in accuracy.
		[Surface to Orbit Missile System]
		[Shield Dome Network]
		[Spore Caster Network]

	Military Structures
		[Psionic Shroud]
		[Psionic Sensor Tower]

	Economic Structures
		[Algae Farm]
			[Greenwall Research] - [Algae Farms] now grow in 1 day after construction is finished.
		[Film Harvester Dock]
		[Weather Spire]
		[Orbital Electroponic Station]
		[Orbital Solar Array]
		[Hydroponic Platform]
		[Filter Towers]
		[Capillary Tower]
			[Atmospheric Static Generator] - By utilizing the natural friction of a sufficiently dense atmosphere against the surface of a capillary tower, the tower can be made to generate energy to feed itself and reduce its upkeep cost. While having no effect on the initial construction costs, upkeep is reduced by 50% for any capillary tower built on a planet with an atmosphere.

	Misc. Infrastructure
		[Hive Creep]
			[Nanomachines] – Hive infrastructure now spreads autonomously without the need for workers to cultivate or build.
			[Greenwall Research] - [Hive Creep] now damages hostile units attempting to rest nearby.
			[Razor Mines] - [Hive Creep] now can grow [Razor Mines] in the form of bushes and small fields, aiding in defense against attack.
			[Barnacle] - [Hive Creep] now produces large growths along ceilings which lower a number of thin tendrils of thread intended to ensnare intruders. In addition, the surfaces of hive walls grow variants capable of firing similar tendrils at passing hostiles, ensnaring them and hampering movement.
		[Silence Chamber]
		[Space City Construction]
		[Gas Giant Superstructure Construction]

Industrial Tech:
	[Metal-to-Nutrient Conversion]
	[Gray Goo/Nutrient-to-Metal Conversion]
	[Overharvest]
	[Rapid Nano-Assembly]
	[Smart Mines]
	[Liquid Metal Sculpting]
	[Deep Core Mining]
	[Core Rejuvenation]

Biological Tech:
	[Regeneration Tanks]
	[Smart-Blood Transfusions]
	[Bio-Salve]
	[Perpetual Regeneration]
	[Cellular Acceleration]
	[Green Claw]
	[Clones]
		[Replicant]
		[Hybrid]
		[Chimera]
	[Flash Cloning]
	[Native Organ Adaptation]

Quantum Tech:
	[Solid State Teleportation]
	[Quantum Tuning]
	[Complex Matter Reconstruction]

Psionic Tech:
	[Psionic Jammer]
	[Psionic Fortification]
	[Crystalline Neural Structure]
	[Neural Crystal Fractals]
	[Nausea Field]
	[Psionic Imprinting]
	[Psionic Telekinesis]
	[Advanced Psionic Reading]
	[Empathetic Paralysis]
	[Advanced Psionic Imprinting]
	[Psionic Spores]

Voidcrafting:
	[Anti-Tachyonic Weapons]

Misc. Tech:
	[Cloaking Field]
	[Smart Scabs]
	[Privy Coat]
	[Predictive Combat Algorithms]
	[Kata]
	[Holo-simulation Training]
	[Entertainment Holo-Suite]
	[Cybernetic Memory Extraction]
-----------------------------------------

Thread 3
	[Lightning Gun] - Finished HQQ 30.2
	>Handheld personal weapon taken from dead Clarke Spaceman
	>Very slow
	>potential of failure and destruction of sample device
	>This powerful weapon appears to throw rapid bursts of highly conductive plasma in a manner not unlike natural lightning. The humans of the Union call it a “CIP Pistol” which seems to stand for “Concentrated Ionized Plasma”. From what you have seen of it in action, it appears to have devastating damage potential, but is difficult to aim and holds a very short effective range.
	>This short ranged weapon sends a harmless ray to the target, causing a buildup of charged particles before releasing a powerful bolt of energy, effectively simulating a natural lightning strike. In the hands of a drone, it is a short range weapon with poor accuracy but tremendous damage, in space, it is a short range weapon with high accuracy, as it is naturally attracted to the target’s hull, but does much lower damage. Critical hits have the chance of arcing to adjacent targets.
	>Unlocks [Ion Cannon] Research Option.
	>Unlocks [Lightning Gun] and [Lightning Cannon] drone adaptations.

	[Alien Biology] - Finished HQQ 4
	>Dead cenipede predator's corpse
	>Medium
	>studying samples of the predator’s corpse may yield basic understanding of local fauna’s chemical processes
	>unlocks [Olfactory] and [Electrical Sensitivity] senses
		>Legs – EM sensitivity, the small sensors on the legs of the dissected predator are adapted to detect and home in on electric fields to find food underground. Drones with this adaptation will be able to sense electric currents at a distance at the cost of speed.
		>Antennae – Olfactory enhancement, dissection of the alien predator has revealed that it is actually blind. Its head is covered in powerful olfactory receptors capable of following a scent at great distance. Drones with this adaptation would be able to follow the scent trail of known creatures or objects at great distances at the cost of other senses. By further dulling other senses the effect can be boosted.

	[Bi-Ped] - Finished HQQ 4
	>Observation of Lee
	>Very slow
	>observation of the alien being may yield insight as to their nature and intentions
	>Unlocks [Vocalizer] mandible adaptations
	>Mandibles – Vocalizer, observation of the human has granted the knowledge of creating a replica mouth capable of forming verbal speech. The mandibles have been reduced in size to form a single layer of chitin analogous to teeth, with the vocal chords and tongue needed to form language. Drones with this adaptation can speak verbally with other races in their own language at the cost of utility.

	[Study Samples] - Finished HQQ 6
	>Samples of random flora and fauna collected near the Hive on Leeland
	>Medium
	>Testing locally gathered food sources may yield insight into the nature of the local biology
	>Your thinkers announce they have completed work on the samples you have taken from the jungle. Most are strange weeds or wild creatures, but several interesting specimens were uncovered.
	>The first is a small bush covered in what at first glance appears to be a kind of berry, however upon ripening the berries unfold into small, leathery bird like creatures and take flight. The small bird holds no digestive organs, but seems chemically attracted to other birds from other bushes. After finding a mate, the creature dies and becomes a seed for a new bush.
	>The second is a bulbous fruit filled with a highly volatile substance that bursts when handled roughly or pierced. The seeds are small, sharp thorns embedded within that fly outwards like shrapnel when the fruit bursts. The fruit grows on a vine, apparently sucking nutrients directly from a host, and the seed seems to rapidly root itself in nearly anything it becomes embedded in.
	>The last is a small, thick algae that you have seen growing almost everywhere, regardless of sunlight. Your thinkers have found that the algae contains incredibly deep roots, going as far as six to seven feet into the soil. The roots are highly conductive, and respond to magnetic fields, while the soft mossy layer above ground is filled with nutrients in the form of tiny spores. The spores are perfectly non-toxic and edible, and when mixed with water become a thick nutrient rich paste. Your thinkers have come to the conclusion that the roots gain energy bu absorbing electrical currents in the ground, possibly caused by the same phenomenon that blocks the human's transmissions.
	>Unlocked [Algae Farm] construction
	>Unlocks [Grape Shot] and [Berry Birds] research options

	[Ocean Spores] - Finished HQQ 5
	>Strange spores covering the oceans of Leeland
	>This thick film covering the ocean is more comparable to an animal than a plant or fungus. It is composed primarily of three components, the toxic surface layer, the rich inner layer of sap, and a stringy layer of tendrils that drift along the ocean floor. The first layer emits spores which infect a host, causing large tumors to grow in the brain until the subject’s skull bursts open, releasing the spores and spreading the substance to other locations. The second layer is similar to blood in nature, and contains a dense network of decentralized organs which process energy into nutrients needed for the substance to grow. The last layer is a network of roots that extract energy from microbial life in the water.
	>Unlocks [Fungal Spores] research option
	>Unlocks [Filter Lungs] adaptation
		>A set of additional lungs mounted along the side of the abdomen filters spores and undesired particles from the air. The lungs inflate, pulling in the air through filters along the abdomen, and then slowly process it through a series of bladders as the air is slowly exhaled. In closed spaces this drone can serve to purify infected areas, or serve as scouts in areas of extreme biological hazards. The lungs are unarmored, and vulnerable to attack or accidental injury.


Thread 5
	[Human Environment Suit] - Finished HQQ 9
	>Strange suit that allows for frail humans to survive in otherwise hostile environments. Taken from dead Clarke Spaceman.
	>Very Slow
	>a bulky looking, yet light weight suit composed of tightly woven fabric and small metallic plating covering the chest and forearms. The suit seems to react to injury to the user, and contains a number of devices the humans use to make up for their frail physical structure and sensitive biology. Study of this technology could offer insight into any number of research fields.
	>The human environment suit appears to contain several layers. Unfortunately these layers have been heavily damaged from the previous user’s violent demise at the hands of local predators. The first layer appears to be some kind of constrictive fiber weave that quickly absorbs liquids. A number of microfibers sewn into the fabric seem designed to monitor the user’s vital signs, and several such fibers seem linked into the suits various functions, which seem to offer the user a limited form of control over the suit. When torn, the suit “bleeds” a thick black fluid that quickly hardens over the affected area, creating a vacuum seal and make-shift cast, while several secondary layers of fabric constrict and harden when exposed to sudden and violent blunt trauma. A small device on the back serves as an artificial lung and waste disposal system, filtering waste water to a drinkable state and processing carbon dioxide into oxygen using a small culture of micro-organisms.
	>Unlocks [Oxygen Recycler] and [Reactive Armor] research options

Thread 6
	[Human Technology Interfacing] - Finished HQQ 8
	>Data Storage Device taken from the Human Camp during the Unity attack.
	>finished concurrently with [Unity Technology Interface]
	>You have determined that the small device you retrieved from the human camp is some kind of artificial data storage. Physically it is worthless, but if you were to spend the time to develop a way to interface your thinkers with it the data within may prove well worth the effort.
	> It appears that the prototype developed to interface with the Unity drone is almost perfectly compatible with the Union technology as well. Either a result of the relation between them or some convergent design theory, but regardless this will cut down on the time needed for research. Your thinkers have already conducted tests, and feel they are ready to develop a final interface device, but they require the resources to do so.

	[Unity Drone Salvage] - Finished HQQ 9
	>Mostly intact remains of a Unity drone.
	>Medium
	>The physical components of the drone are quite interesting. Opening it up and taking a closer look would give you a much better idea of how the device works (grants small bonus against Unity drones, and unlocks weapon, armor, and propulsion research options)
	>Disassembly of the Unity drone has provided great insight into its operation. The drone itself is a very rudimentary intelligence that blindly obeys commands from its deploying ship in a manner not unlike your own thinkers. These commands can be interpreted poorly or with unexpected results if the drone encounters anything not detailed in its instructions, and will often react to such unforeseen events in a violent manner. The drone contains a number of powerful technology that should keep your thinkers busy for quite a while.
	>Unlocks [Ion Thrusters], [Cyclotron Particle Beams], and [Conductive Armor Plating] research topics.

	[Unity technology Interfacing] - Finished HQQ 8
	>Attempt to understand how and where the drone recieves commands
	>finished concurrently with [Human Technology Interface]
	>The drone itself appears to hold only a rudimentary intelligence, a study of how and where it received commands could help unlock the secrets to its behavior, and offer insight into the nature of the Unity
	> It appears that the prototype developed to interface with the Unity drone is almost perfectly compatible with the Union technology as well. Either a result of the relation between them or some convergent design theory, but regardless this will cut down on the time needed for research. Your thinkers have already conducted tests, and feel they are ready to develop a final interface device, but they require the resources to do so.

	[Flyer Dissection] - Finished HQQ 7
	>Strange flying predator that uses a form of natural jet propulsion
	>The strange flying predator uses a form of natural jet propulsion, and seems to hunt by using a natural radar system. Dissecting it could prove quite useful in understanding how these creatures function.
	>Your thinkers report with glee that they have completed the dissection of the predatory flyer. The creature is quite large, and supports it bulk in the air through a combination of air bladders in the wings and a series of methane fueled, naturally evolved ramjets. It would be a simple matter to create a drone with these, although it would make it rather large and totally remove its ground based effectiveness. Such a drone would be incredibly fast, but would have a poor turning radius, and would be unable to walk or climb, reducing it to purely an air based role. In addition, you have refined your methods of radar detection, increasing the effectiveness of your antenna.
	>Unlocks [Ramjet] and [Aerodynamic Chassis] Adaptation
		>[Ramjet] - This powerful and bulky organic engine offers massive forward thrust for airborne drones. Due to its size and weight, it is limited to Aerodynamic drones which are made to compensate for its inherent instability.
		>[Aerodynamic]: The chitin has been shaped to form large wings and a sleek profile. If it has legs or arms they are almost useless for anything but landing struts, and the body has been fused into a single fuselage. More a vehicle than a drone, drones with aerodynamic shapes require help from workers to move on the ground, and dedicated hangars to heal, feed, and rest. Their dedicated shape and purpose allows them to overcome the issue of mass with regards to powered flight, allowing for the use of heavy armor or large sizes.
	>improves Radar detection ability

Thread 8
	[Herd Beetle Dissection] - Finished HQQ 9
	>Corpse of the massive beetle covered in a thick, armored carapace.
	>Fast
	>This massive beetle can hardly even fit into your hive entrance. It’s face is covered in strange eyes and spikes, while its body is protected by a thick armored carapace. Study of its biology could offer insights into new theories on armor development.
	>The Herd Beetle’s biology seems to be built like a massive lawn mower, with a series of blunt teeth lining a long, flat mouth that runs under its body. The beetle’s carapace is a massive layer of hardened bone that is endlessly added to with more and more layers growing over it as the beetle ages. Judging by the number of layers on the current sample, you can guess this beetle was nearly a hundred years of age. The beetle’s carapace is incredibly durable, but also tremendously heavy. It would be useful on larger drones, and as a component in ship hulls and bunker defenses, but it is far too heavy to be used in your current drone designs.
	>Unlocks [Large Land Drone] and [Small Land Drone] research options.

	[Unity Computer] - Finished HQQ 15
	>Still-functioning Unity computer salvaged from a crashed Unity frigate.
	>Medium
	>This powerful computer is based on some form of quantum mechanics that so far eludes your understanding. While damaged, further research into this device may yield some understanding as to the nature of the Unity’s social structure, or insight into their reasoning. This may prove useful should you seek future agreements or bargains with them.
	>Through elaborate testing and examination you have been able to put together some of the Unity computer’s design. It operates as a series of interconnected entangled particles, providing the vast amount of computing power required for a fully sapient mind. A series of more conventional circuitry surrounds the quantum computer core, providing more precise computations than the more abstract quantum processor is capable of. While the computer itself is not enough to reverse engineer, it should help put you on the right track to designing your own such processors, which would offer thinkers a much more robust grasp of nature, increasing their adaptability to new situations without your guidance.
	>Unlocks [Quantum Calculations] Reseach option.

Thread 9
	[Ion Thrusters] - Finished HQQ 30.2
	>Unlocked by completing [Unity Drone Salvage]
	>Slow
	>These compact and highly efficient thrusters use a powerful electrical charge to ionize particles found in an atmosphere, or those collected in interstellar medium. Small, automatically refilled tanks provide the main source of propellant, allowing ships to discard the weighty fuel tanks required for chemical maneuvering thrusters.
	>All ships are now slightly more mobile, with smaller craft being affected to a greater degree, and space pods are now capable of powered flight within an atmosphere.
	>Unlocks [Ion Cannon] Research Option.
	>Unlocks [Ion Thrusters] sublight propulsion. Automatically upgrades [Chemical Thrusters]
		>[Ion thrusters] - Highly efficient and compact thrusters that offer immense efficiency at the cost of lower pure propulsion strength. Despite its decrease in thrust, the ion thrusters require far less mass and far less fuel, allowing ships to cut down on mass otherwise taken up by heavy tanks of reaction mass, leading to a net gain in maneuverability over chemical thrusters. In addition to this, small craft that once were unable to maneuver within an atmosphere due to mass constraints such as the space pod, are now fully capable of powered flight by utilizing the atmosphere itself as fuel. [Replaces chemical thrusters]

	[Cyclotron Particle Beams] - Finished HQQ 13 via tech trade with Theseus in exchange for Local Wildlife Samples
	>Unlocked by completing [Unity Drone Salvage]
	>Very slow: Runs a potential of failure and destruction of the sample device.
	>The Unity drone is equipped with four powerful cyclotrons, a ring of superconductors that use powerful magnetic fields to rapidly accelerate a series of particles to near-light speeds, which are each attached to one of the four main weapons. The cyclotron is both compact and efficient, but is relatively fragile as damaging any one component will disable the entire system. It also requires a short but noticeable amount of time for the cyclotron to accelerate a new shot. The drone fires them in sequence to account for this and provide more firepower.
	>The Cyclotron uses a ring of superconductive magnetic coils to accelerate a bolt of particles to near light speeds. Each shot requires a short charging time, and the weapon itself is frail and prone to failure when damaged. It makes up for these failings by offering a high powered, accurate long range weapon.
	>Unlocks [Cyclotron Particle Beam] Ship and drone weapon
	>Unlocks [Linear Particle Beam] research

	[Conductive Armor Plating] - Finished HQQ 13
	>Unlocked by completing [Unity Drone Salvage]
	>Medium
	>The Unity drone appears to have been designed with the energy based CIP pistol in mind. Layers of highly conductive struts frame the armor like a faraday cage, protecting the inner working components from electrical fields and directing harmful blasts of energy away from critical areas. It is much less effective against solid projectiles however, and is only as strong as the metal alloy plating covering its chassis.
	>Unlocks [Conductive Carapace] Adaptation
		>[Conductive Carapace]: An interlocked network of woven metal microfibers that direct electricity away from critical areas. It instinctively reacts to incoming damage to complete circuits and direct energy in ways that do not damage organs or cause a decrease in drone performance. It is lightweight and mitigates energy damage, but does nothing against physical or thermal damage.

	[Large Land Drone] - Finished HQQ 12.5
	>Unlocked by completing [Herd Beetle Dissection]
	>Very Slow
	>Dissection of the Herd Beetle has given rise to the question of making larger or smaller drones. Using the Beetle as inspiration you should be able to design a much larger land based drone that could prove highly effective in a number of roles and make use of much more powerful and bulky technology and devices.
	>Unlocks [Large Drone] size template

	[Small Land Drone] - Finished HQQ 12.5
	>Unlocked by completing [Herd Beetle Dissection]
	>Very slow
	>While scaling your current drones any smaller would cause all kinds of problems, you may be able to develop a new base drone design that is far smaller than your current drones. While such drones would be unable to perform most everyday tasks, they would be highly effective in a number of more subtle roles, such as surveillance.
	>Unlocks [Small Drone] Size Template

Thread 10
	[Taidaren Language]
	>Special Research Subject
	>Observation of the whistling language of the Taidaren twins.
	>Unlocks understanding of Taidaren Language

Thread 11
	[Oxygen Recycler] - Finished HQQ 15
	>Unlocked by completing [Human Environment Suit]
	>Slow, becomes Medium by Thread 13
	>In the process of disassembling the human environment suit, the thinkers found a culture of artificially mutated microorganisms. They were able to take several samples and have set them aside for further study and application. The humans appear to have used them in a small tank to turn CO2 into breathable oxygen, you may be able to do the same, reducing the rate at which your drones need to breath, allowing them to work in areas even a filter lung would not function such as underwater or in vacuum.
	>An artificially engineered culture of bacteria designed to replenish a drone’s oxygen supply, letting it hold its breath for extended periods of time while removing the need for bulky air tanks or breathing tubes.
	>Unlocks [Oxygen Recycler] Adaptation
		>[Oxygen Recycler] - A gland containing a culture of genetically altered microorganisms feeds on exhaled carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, permitting the drone to hold its breath for extended periods of time.

	[Reactive armor] - Finished HQQ 30
	>Unlocked by completing [Human Environment Suit]
	>Slow
	>While most of the human suit systems are designed to solve various failing of the human body, you may be able to learn from their chosen method of protection. The suit has a thin layer of microfibers that rapidly solidify into a dense shell when subjected to dangerous kinetic force, both serving as a cast for broken bones and protecting against blunt trauma. Developing a method of weaving a similar substance into your drones would greatly improve their resistance to impacts and ballistic attacks, however it would have no mitigating effect on directed energy weapons.
	>Through a series of reactive muscle fibers within the carapace your drone can absorb kinetic attacks with far greater efficiency than normal, but at the cost of being more vulnerable to energy attacks.

Thread 12
	[Human Dissection] - Finished HQQ 13
	>Corpses of the dead mercenaries accompanying Lyle.
	>The two human corpses taken from outside the Hel’s Angle are, between them, in good condition and could offer insight into human biology if dissected and studied fully.
	>Your study of the dead humans from the Angel has proven rather interesting. They appear to be incredibly sensitive to their local environment, and their bodies are regulated by a complex and fragile mixture of chemical and electrical impulses. While you can’t be sure until you can perform tests on a live specimen, and preferably a large number of them for control purposes, you theorize that manipulating these subtle balances of chemicals and electrical signals could grant some control over a human’s behavior. In addition, you have taken note of the various locations of critical organs, increasing your combat effectiveness against humans.

	[Ballistics] - Finished HQQ 13
	>Salvaged firearms taken from the dead mercenaries.
	>While the ranged weapons of the humans are not unlike your own, they do hold a variety of projectile types. Study of this ammunition variation could provide new kinds of projectiles to face new kinds of armors.
	>Study of the variety of projectiles used by the humans has granted insight into methods of developing new ammunition types for projectile weapons to mimic those you have faced.
	>Unlocks multiple ammo types.
		>[Armor Piercing]: Standard solid chitin slug deals raw kinetic damage.
		>[Acid]: Hollow slug filled with acid bursts on contact, coating the target in caustic acid to burn through armor and skin. Reduces target’s armor effectiveness and causes lasting chemical damage.
		>[Hollow Point]: A copy of the human ‘Hollow Point’, this slug expands and shatters in the wound, causing massive lacerations against unarmored targets, but is incapable of penetrating armor.
		>{LOCKED} [Explosive]: Grape Shot slugs explode on impact, causing explosive damage to the target and hitting adjacent targets with high impact shrapnel. Melee range AOE that causes heavy kinetic damage to unarmored or lightly armored targets. {REQUIRES GRAPE SHOT RESEARCH}
		>[Incendiary]: Hollow slug filled with volatile chemicals that ignite on impact, coating the target with a burning adhesive jelly. Ignites the target and does lasting thermal damage, but has little penetrating power.

	[Gravitic Materials] - Finished HQQ 18 by letting Theseus help finish reconstructing the ship.
	>Canderon stockpile taken from the crashed USV Clarke
	>Very slow/potentially dangerous: research and testing may result in unpredictable incidents
	>The strange exotic matter known as Canderon found within the Clarke appears to alter spacetime to some degree in the area around it when subjected to powerful electro-magnetic fields. While incredibly volatile, this material is clearly the key to Human Warp Drive technology, and research could lead to the replication of this technology if given time.
	>
	>Unlocks [Gravity Drive] Sublight propulsion and [Warp Drive] FTL drive.
		>[Gravity Drive]: By projecting an artificial singularity a short distance from the hull, a ship can create a continuous gravitational pull and effectively fall forward through space. Because the gravitational pull affects the entire ship at once, there is no detectable inertial force from acceleration, meaning the ship can accelerate in nearly any direction without fear of injury or death of the crew.
		>[Warp Drive]: Default FTL drive of Human vessels. The Warp Drive uses a ring of exotic matter to bend spacetime around the ship into a tight bubble. The ship itself never breaks light speed, but the encompassing warp bubble expands and contracts faster than light, carrying the ship with it. To construct a warp drive requires a form of exotic matter with negative mass capable of projecting the required warp effect, and a sizable amount of power. The material known as Canderon is unique in that it is the only known form of exotic matter that can be contained and controlled with relative ease, because of this it is the only known method of fueling a Warp Drive. To supply the immense power required to form a warp bubble, most Warp Drives include the highly unstable but nearly limitless Quantum power tap, a device capable of drawing power from vacuum using a pair of micro singularities orbiting each other at near light speed. The Power tap is, obviously, extremely dangerous, but without it a Warp Drive would be capable of little more than a light year per day or less using more conventional power generation.

	[Regeneration Tanks] - Finished HQQ 24
	>Functional units taken from the wreck of the USV Clarke
	>Very Slow
	>These large tanks appear to be designed to rapidly heal wounds in some way, and further research of the tank’s fluid and the mechanism of the tank itself should offer insight into its inner workings.
	>With your new understanding of both alien biology and the operation of the medical tank, you can now construct your own Regeneration Tanks. These large, protein filled membranes are capable of stimulating cellular regeneration to heal wounds and scaring, as well as perform extensive surgical procedures with a greatly reduced risk of injury. The tank can be prepared in a moment’s notice to accommodate any creature with a biology you are knowledgeable of. The tank can also be used to store bodies for later study, and perform autopsies and dissections at a rapid pace with far more detailed results.
	>Unlocks [Regeneration Tanks] technology.

Thread 12.5
	[Grape Shot] - Finished HQQ 14
	>Unlocked by completing [Study Samples]
	>Fast
	>This strange local fruit bursts open violently when disturbed, hurling sharp barbs in all directions. The potential weapon applications are obvious, but research must first be done to increase the explosive force to be effective in combat. The name, you note, is from one of Lee's few entries into the Union black box during their stay on the planet.
	This strange local fruit bursts open violently when disturbed, hurling sharp barbs in all directions. By isolating and altering the naturally explosive properties you have been able to produce a potent, compact explosive charge that can be delivered in projectile form.
	>Unlocks [Explosive] ammo type (Requires [Ballistics])
		>[Explosive]: Grape Shot slugs explode on impact, causing explosive damage to the target and hitting adjacent targets with high impact shrapnel. Melee range AOE that causes heavy kinetic damage to unarmored or lightly armored targets.

	[Berry Birds] - Finished HQQ 14
	>Unlocked by completing [Study Samples]
	>Fast
	>The strange animated fruit of the small bush found in the jungle are interesting specimens. You are curious what a more in-depth study may reveal of the creatures, which seem to be both plant and animal at once.
	>The animated seeds of the small jungle bush are capable of instinctively tracking and finding a suitable mate using complex chemical trails. By integrating these into new and more effective forms you have developed an effective medium ranged weapon system capable of homing in on a specified target species.
	>Unlocks [Seeker Pod] Adaptation.
		>[Seeker Pod] - A large, porous sack that grows and maintains a small swarm of semi-autonomous seekers.

	[Fungal Spores] - Finished HQQ 13 via Theseus research boost.
	>Unlocked by completing [Ocean Spores]
	>Fast/Potentially dangerous: Research and testing may result in unpredictable incidents or infection
	>The incredibly deadly spores of the ocean are a potential for further study, although grate care must be taken to avoid infection.
	>These spores infect and attack the bodies of nearly any life form and are astoundingly adaptive. They take root in and alter the behavior of the infected to assist in the spreading of the fungal spores to new locations.
	>Future drones will be immune to the spores.
	>Unlocks [Bioweapon Research] and [Biochemical Manipulation] research options


Thread 13
	[Ceph Slip Drive] - Finished HQQ 13 via Collaboration with Coil
	>The Hel's Angle's salvaged FTL drive after the battle against Lyle.
	>Very slow/Potentially dangerous
	>This strange device seems to be designed around four small black crystals referred to in the ship’s computer as Void Shards. Further research is required to unravel the inner workings of the device.
	>A deceptively simple device attached to the enigmatic crystalline Void Shard. You are still no closer to understanding the crystal itself, and in fact are now less certain that it is even possible to do so, but your understanding of its use now permits you to attach the Slip Drive to any single ship, as well as gaze into the twisted void of No Space.
	>Unlocks [Slip Drive] FTL drive.
		>[Slip Drive] - Default FTL drive of all Ceph vessels. The slip drive uses the mysterious Void Crystal to shape local spacetime into a malleable, four dimensional object, creating a gateway into what is commonly translated as No Space, and literally translated as “Waters of Creation”. It is unknown where the Ceph obtain these crystals, or how they are manufactured, or even if they are manufactured at all or simply a natural resource. When subjected to large amounts of energy, the Void Crystal will rapidly expand and amplify the energy in a manner that would at first seem to be in violation of physics. It is believed that the energy produced by the crystal in response to the energy sent into it emanates from No Space, although it is unclear how. When deployed, the Slip Drive can serve as a highly efficient maneuvering system in addition to its FTL function.

	[Drop Suit] - Finished HQQ 28.5
	>Salvaged remnants of Lyle's drop suit.
	>Slow
	>Lyle’s powerful suit has proven more than worthy of a thorough examination as to its inner workings. You will need to take it apart before you know just what you have to research.
	>This set of powered armor contains a wide range of weapons and equipment. Your thinkers are giddy with excitement as they review their findings. The suit itself uses a powerful set of artificial muscles to lift its great weight, imparting enhanced strength and durability. By mimicking the suit's strength enhancements you can now equip Heavy Armor carapace to normal sized drones, granting them extraordinary durability at the cost of speed and maneuverability.
	>Unlocks [Heavy Armor] drone adaptation and [Ultrasonic Sledgehammer] and [Grenade Launcher] research options.

	[Bioweapon Research] - Finished HQQ 18
	>Unlocked by completing [Fungal Spores]
	>Medium/very dangerous
	>The spores are deadly, and work to spread to new hosts. Making it into a weapon would require only time and effort to make it more durable to medical countermeasures.
	>While containment may be an issue, with your new research base under construction you doubt it will become much of an issue. The basics are quite simple. Use a contagion to attack the enemy, in practice it can be much more challenging.
	With your thinkers finished they present their initial findings. Humans and Ceph alike would be highly susceptible to biological attacks, but the Taidarens' immune system is far more robust than you initially estimated. With your current understanding of the limits of these alien biologies you should be able to assemble basic toxins and pathogens to target other species.
	>Unlocks [Dart] ammo type, [Hypodermic Claws] Adaptation, [Poison Gas] and [Spore Strain] technologies
		>[Dart] - this small slug is capable of injecting a dose of chemical or other biological substance into the target. It cannot puncture armor, but is useful for infecting soft targets at a distance
		>[Hypodermic claws] - These blades contain a small hollowed out section capable of holding a biological toxin or pathogen. While the blades themselves are made less effective against hardened armor, any attack that breaks the skin will inject the substance into the target.
		>[Poison gas] - this gas is highly toxic to breath, but will dissipate into the air quickly, making it most useful in closed spaces.
		>[Spore strain] - Essentially just the wild ocean spores, slightly modified to be more potent and more hardy. It is extremely lethal and difficult to contain once released.

	[Biochemical Manipulation/Engineering] - Finished HQQ 19
	>Unlocked by completing [Fungal Spores]
	>Slow
	>The method the spores use to control its subject is interesting, and with a proper research effort could potentially be used in your favor.
	>The study of how various substances interact and influence other life forms has given way to the possibility of developing new and more effective methods of biological manipulation.
	>The science and art of grafting and altering your drones is a well-practiced and simple task, grafting and altering other forms of life is far more difficult and unpredictable. With your new understanding of alien life you now feel confident in the potential of manipulating alien life to suit your needs. Instead of changing your drones to suit the situation, you can now force the situation to change to suit you.
	>Unlocks [Sedative Pheromone] and [Neurological Interfacing] research subjects and [Biological Interface] adaptation.
		>[Biological interface]: These sets of small spines are similar in function to your computer interface, but with organic life. The interface lets a drone attach itself to other organic beings, be it a drone or alien, and either sustain itself or sustain its host, as well as monitor vital signs and administer chemicals as needed.




Thread 14
	[Lyle’s Combat Armor] - Finished HQQ 27
	>Spoil of battle taken from the Hel's Angle.
	>Medium
	>Not as powerful or complex as the drop suit, the combat armor appears to be a delicate mix of survivability and combat capabilities, with many similarities to the Union environmental suit. It appears to contain a number of devices designed to be useful in the field.
	>This suit is a marvel of weapons technology, offering a compact, flexible, and lightweight platform capable of protecting the user from a wide range of dangers and damage, while holding all manner of deadly devices and useful gadgets. By using the multi-layered weave design the suit uses, you should be able to layer up to two kinds of armor on your drones, letting them make use of two kinds of carapace at once.
	>Unlocks [Thermal Blade], [Vibroblade], [Flak Jacket], and [Thermal Imaging] research options
	>Enables drones to use two Carapace armor types at once. Unlocks [Compact hull design] research option.


	[Ceph Cloaking Field] - Finished HQQ 15
	>Cloaking device of the Hel's Angle
	>Very Slow (Fast with the aid of Coil)
	>You think you have discovered the components of the ship that permits it to avoid detection. It is a complex system that observes and mimics forms of radiation, neutralizing sound, retaining heat, and bending light around the ship to render it nearly invisible.
	>Huey and Dewy have made excellent progress with the cloaking field, and your thinkers have gone over every inch of the device. It is a mixture of technologies designed to avoid detection. An array of projectors bend light slightly to curve around the ship instead of bouncing off, while heat sinks absorb radiant heat and match the background radiation and a complex system of speakers counter the sound waves of crew and ship activity while in the atmosphere, muting the sound of engines or equipment.
	>Unlocks [Cloaking Field] ship technology

	[Linear Particle Beam] - Finished HQQ 17
	>Unlocked by completing [Cyclotron Particle Beams]
	>Medium
	>Based on the Cyclotron, the linear particle beam is simply the previous design laid out into a single, long line. The longer the particle projector is the more powerful the weapon becomes, however because of the nature of the speed of light, lengthening the projector gains diminishing returns. It is most effective as a fixed mounted weapon of a ship, but powerful enough particle beams can be made to cut through an atmosphere, serving as a relatively effective anti-orbital weapon against ships in low orbit.
	>Unlock [Particle Cannon] adaptation and [Linear Particle Beam] Ship weapon
		>[Particle Cannon] – Similar to the method used in the drones of the Unity, this weapon holds a number of cyclotrons held in a tight stack, feeding into a set of quad-linked particle beams built on pivoting joints to automatically train in on a single target, and capable of staggered fire to offer increased rate of fire, or firing in single burst shots to break through heavier armored targets. Each cannon itself is similar to a tiny linear accelerator, which while too small to deal damage on its own, offers an added boost to the cyclotrons themselves. The weapon is incredibly powerful, offering the accuracy, range, and damage of the standard model, but bolstering its rate of fire by staggering its shots among the individual accelerators, allowing it to serve as an effective all-purpose weapon, equally effective against air or land targets. Its only major weakness is that it can be prone to overheating, and if not properly maintained can damage itself and even the drone it is equipped to.
		>[Linear Particle Beam] - The more simple and brutish cousin of the cyclotron, the linear accelerator fires a continuous stream of subatomic particles at near-light speed. They require far more space than their more compact cousins, but offer much greater power to compensate. The longer the barrel of the particle beam, the more powerful it is, making it an excellent spinal mount weapon.
	>Unlocks [Anti-Orbital Battery] Construction
		[Anti-Orbital Battery] - A bunker armed with a massive Particle beam capable of attacking ships in orbit from the ground. It includes the power and sensor systems required to operate it.

	[Mimetic skin] - Finished HQQ 17
	>Discarded Ceph limbs from Coil
	>Fast
	>Dissection of the discarded limbs from the injuries Coil suffered during your raid should offer a deeper understanding of Ceph language, and natural camouflage capabilities.
	>Unlocks [Mimetic Skin] and [Adaptive Camouflage] adaptations
		>[Mimetic skin]: A thin layer of crhomatophore cells develop along the surface of the carapace to create a thin membrane capable of shifting color at will. Because the membrane is grown over the carapace, it can be used in conjunction with any carapace type, although any damage sustained would rupture the membrane.
		>[Adaptive camouflage]: This carapace foregoes defense to develop a dense weave of muscle fibers capable of replicating the texture of surrounding objects, such as a hive wall, stone, or the trunk of a tree. It offers no resistance to any damage type, but when used in conjunction with Mimetic skin a drone is capable of hiding in plain sight, disguised as any number of mundane objects, granting a massive bonus to any attempt at stealth against visual, sonar, or radar based detection methods. It is only effective when not moving, and cannot prevent detection via thermal imaging or other such methods.

	[Magnetic Levitation] - Finished HQQ 29
	>Spoil of war taken after the battle against Lyle.
	>Medium
	>The small human buggy uses a series of superconducting magnets to glide along a planet’s surface a short distance from the ground. Apparently based off of Ceph technology, this device grants a great advantage to mobility.
	>These powerful magnetic pads use an intense electromagnetic field to ionize the surrounding air and provide thrust, allowing it to levitate just above the ground.
	>Unlocks [Hover] leg drone adaptation.
		>[Hover]: These legs are weak and frail physically, but can fold in under the drone’s body to create a layer of magnetic plates, allowing the drone to hover over rough terrain or bodies of water unhindered. The hover plates allow rapid movement and exceptional maneuverability, ignoring terrain conditions. The pads cannot be used to climb vertical surfaces, and are vulnerable to attacks from below.

	[Net Gun] - Finished HQQ 24
	>Spoil of war taken after the battle against Lyle.
	>This simple weapon uses compressed gas to silently fire a large cellophane slug. Upon hitting the target the slug bursts open, ensnaring the target in a half-liquid membrane that quickly hardens into a cocoon.

	[Cybernetics] - Finished HQQ 27
	>Lyle's cybernetic mods.
	>With an astounding breakthrough on the part of your thinkers, you have managed to unravel the various intricacies of Lyle's cybernetic limbs. Much of the tech involved is already understood by you with a fair amount of confidence, such as the crafting of artificial muscle, and the nature of interfacing with the human nervous system. With this you will be able to change the layout of your drones after their birth through surgery, or implant biomechanical alterations into not only your drones, but other life as well, including humans. Your cybernetics are built from a mixture of engineered organic materials and metallic machinery, and while they require nutrients to build, do not have an upkeep cost as they are maintained by the subject’s own metabolism, which may be accelerated as a result of augmentation.
	>Unlocks [Cloning] and [Cybernetic Augmentations] technologies.

Thread 15

	[Quantum Calculations] - Finished HQQ 16.5
	>Unlocked by completing [Unity Computer]
	>Very Slow
	>Using the complex process of quantum superposition to perform simultaneous and abstract calculations to augment your thinkers would give them a far greater range of thought, letting them perform calculations in ways that seem intuitive in nature. Such thinkers would be capable of more diverse thinking to boost research speed, and would be capable of guessing enemy actions with very little raw data, making them capable of re-structuring plans and interpreting your instructions in ways that better fit their situation, increasing their effectiveness when not under your direct control.
	>Unlocks [Quantum Brain] Adaptation
		>[Quantum Brain] - This complex collection of entangled particles permits the drone to perform rapid, intuitive calculations without consciously processing a problem, granting the drone an intuition capable of performing uncanny predictions or seemingly lucky guesses using data that is not inherently quantifiable.

	[Atomics] - Finished HQQ 29.2
	>Nukes taken from the Union observation satellite above Leeland
	>Very slow/Very dangerous, changed to >Medium after obtaining technical knowledge from parasited USV Hope crewman.
	>While the concept of nuclear fusion is understood by you, the method is costly and dangerous. Disassembly of the human warheads should let you use them freely, any may offer insight into methods of producing your own such warheads in a more feasible and cost effective manner.
	>This exceptionally powerful warhead is expensive to develop, but is absolutely devastating. Can be loaded into missiles, placed as bombs, or used as a self-destruct for ships or hives.
	>Unlocks [Fusion Power] Research option.

Thread 16.5

	[Skyl Dissection] - Finished HQQ 17
	>Bodies of fallen Skyl.
	>Medium
	>The ancient bodies of the fallen Skyl have been extensively altered in a frighteningly invasive manner. A more detailed dissection should offer some insight into how these procedures were done and what kind of technology was used.
	>These corpses are even more augmented than you had originally thought. Nearly every cell that remains is actually a microscopic machine that is completely intact. The bond holding them together has faded and the bodies are quickly disintegrating, but from your study you were able to recover a tiny chip from the skull of the body which appears to control the other cells, which in turn serve to repair and maintain the body. The cells are effectively dead now, but you suspect that they are somehow linked to the Void shards, as the corpse began to fall apart only after you had destroyed the Skyl wreckage.
	>While the Skyl biology is rather interesting, you focus your attention to the complex array of microscopic machines that hold it together. When the Skyl void crystal was destroyed it appears that the machines lost power and began to fall apart from their arrangement. While they are currently inert, you were able to salvage them from the bodies. Each mechanical cell appears to still be intact, but they have lost their structure like dried out sand. The skulls of the Skyl samples each have a larger device near the base of the skull which catches your interest.
	>Unlocks [Controller Chip] Research option

	[Skyl Data Cube] - Finished HQQ 25
	>Data cube given by the Skyl on Aral
	>Slow
	>The two clear cubes were somehow used by the ancient Skyl as data storage devices. While looking into the cube offers glimpses of images from events long ago, a more detailed study should offer a more reliable method of gathering the data within.
	>Using the broken one retrieved from the ship sped up the process to some degree, and allowed you to open it up without fear of damaging data. The cube appears to utilize a suspension of deliberately aligned and attuned semi-solid crystalline particles arranged in an intricate pattern to hold photons in place, releasing them only when the data is requested. The result is a highly complex device capable of storing data indefinitely, but once retrieved it cannot be accessed again, destroying whatever data it held upon retrieval. According to the data within, this was in response to their enemy’s incredibly effective methods of intelligence gathering. The cubes were used to store sensitive information that needed to be seen by only a single individual, or in this case, to be stored over an extended period of time without data loss. Your thinkers have analyzed the data within, erasing it from the cube in the process. It holds an overview of Skryl biology, society, and technology, as well as an overview of their history, rebellion, and subsequent destruction by beings they perceived as gods.
	>Unlocks [Plasma Funneling], [Psionic Disruptor], [Nanomachines], and [Immolator Warhead] research options.


Thread 17
	[Giant Crab Dissection] - Finished HQQ 19
	>Corpse of Giant Crab creature fought under the seas of Leeland
	>While you were unable to capture it alive, the corpse should offer enough information to learn and adapt from it, as well as the eggs, which seem fresh and perfectly healthy from what you can tell.
	>This large armored predator is capable of using its single long claw to attack from almost any direction. It possesses a single, large lung capable of filtering oxygen from water as well as breathing air to a limited degree.
	> Unlocks [Gills] and [Tail] adaptations.
		>[Gills]: These sensitive organs extract oxygen directly from water, permitting a drone to function under water as well as on land.
		>[Tail]: A long, whip-like tail formed from the end of the abdomen that can be used as a third claw. It can equip a single blade or melee weapon, as well as function as a rudimentary grasper. The resulting consolidation of body organs in the drone’s thorax results in a more easily injured drone, but the increase in balance and added utility make for an excellent ambush weapon.

	[Controller Chip] - Finished HQQ 34
	>Unlocked by completing [Skyl Dissection]
	>Slow
	>While much of the remains have dissolved, the small chip within the Skyll's skull remains intact and inert to sensory input. Further testing will be needed to determine more.
	>This small chip in the Skyl skull sample seems to be of some great importance. It no longer shows any sign of activity, but a full battery of tests should reveal something as to its nature.
	>This small chip in the Skyl skull is all that remains of the complex network of nanomachine based medical systems. The device itself works in a similar capacity to your own parasites, but offers the controller extensive control over rapidly reprogrammable nanomachines capable of a wide range of tasks.
	>Unlocks [Smart Mines], [Liquid Metal Sculpting], and [Cellular Acceleration] research options

	[Carbon liquid] - Finished HQQ 22
	>Strange animated liquid substance taken from planet P2 in OM-759/Desmond
	>Medium
	>This strange substance appears to be alive, and reshapes itself by assembling itself into various crystalline structures as needed. You're still not sure if it was trying to attack your ship or if it was simply reacting automatically in some fashion. An extensive battery of tests should reveal more regarding the substance.
	>This liquid substance appears to be a kind of carbon based crystal life form. The colony is capable of rapidly assembling their form to suit its needs, gathering data of its surrounds and food in a collective manner as one organism. You wonder if its abilities could improve your own if used properly.
	>Unlocks [Rapid Damage Control] ship adaptation.
		>[Rapid Damage Control]: Using what you learned from the colony liquid you have developed a thick compound that is pumped through the capillaries of your ships. When severe damage is sustained the capillaries burst and the substance quickly expands and hardens into a makeshift hull, allowing your ships to survive much larger amounts of damage and healing to a small extent while still in combat. The effect is limited, however, and is only intended to keep the ship in fighting shape until it can repair.

	[Space dust] - Finished HQQ 28.5
	>A thin ring of somewhat nutricious stellar dust found in OM-759/Desmond
	>Medium
	>While it was too minute to analyze in the field, this space dust contains trace amounts of nutrient contents. Testing should reveal if it is a form of life, or simply some strange natural phenomena, as well as how to make use of it.
	>This strange space borne microorganism seems to have infected what was once a rich debris field. Its unique chemical composition allows it to feed on various kinds of metals and produce a usable semi-organic material.
	>Unlocks [Metal-to-Nutrient Conversion] technology.


	[Tranquilizer Bioweapon]


Thread 19
	[Microbial Cultures] - Finished HQQ 29
	>Taken from the human research camp during the Raid on Raligha
	>Medium/mildly dangerous
	>These unknown samples of microbial life taken from the Union field lab may offer some practical applications after a battery of tests.
	>Unlocks additional bioweapon types.

	[Union culture] - Finished HQQ 22
	>Medium
	>Designate several thinkers to read through and disseminate the information within the samples of human literature found within the Clarke. With the wide range of topics covered this should reveal some bits of interesting information on all manner of subjects.
		>Photonic matrices for dummies – A large volume detailing the technology of 3D holographic projector displays.
		>A comprehensive guide to the Colony Wars – A detailed account of the war between the Earth Confederation and the Colonials who would found the Union of Independent Colonies. Features detailed accounts of major battles and events, as well as an analysis of the socio-economic forces that lead the human race into one of its most bloody conflicts, and the resulting repercussions.
		>Foundation – The book details the efforts of a small colony as it struggles with the collapse of the greater galactic government. The book is filled with awards and praise marking it as an example of great human literature of distant past, written before humans even left their home world.
		>2001: Space Odyssey – A work of historical fiction detailing the journey of a slower-than-light space craft as it drifts to an alien artifact in the human home system. The crew is tormented by an artificial intelligence, indicating that the human’s fear and disdain for sapient computers even pre-dates their creation of them.
		>Bettering yourself: A guide to galactic harmonics – An interesting yet highly unscientific “journey into the greater galactic consciousness.”
		>Ender's Game – Humanity is attacked by an unknown alien race called “Buggers” and are nearly driven to extinction. After many years of preparation the humans place their military in a brilliant young child named Ender who proceeds to exterminate the Buggers, destroying their home world in the process. You don't like this book very much…

	[Nature study] - Finished HQQ 21
	>Samples of Flora and Fauna taken from Raligha
	>Fast
	>Using your new drones you should be able to quickly cover the remaining areas of jungle and study the rest of the local life, especially the various forms of worm that seem to fill the soft soil of the area.
	>Unlocks [Paralytic Plower], [Hallucinogen Fungus], and [Panic Gas] Research options.

Thread 22

	[Paralytic Plower/Barb] - Finished HQQ 23
	>Unlocked by completing [Nature study]
	>Fast
	>Your detailed survey of the jungle revealed an interesting carnivorous plant that appears to utilize a set of pressurized barbs to fire a stinger at prey as it wanders nearby, where its roots then react reflexively to close around the prey, constricting it as it releases digestive juices. Study of the plant would yield a greater understanding of both its toxin, and its delivery method.
	>The powerful toxin of this flower is fired from a small barb like a dart gun. While the barb itself is useless against even basic protection, the toxin can be loaded into a projectile or hypodermic blade with ease. The toxin itself is fast acting and long lasting, knocking out the victim long enough for the plant to digest the prey, or in the case of your hive, long enough to retrieve and capture safely. The toxin is a venom, and must be injected directly into the blood stream for it to have any effect.

	[Hallucinogen Fungus] - Finished HQQ 23
	>Unlocked by completing [Nature study]
	>Fast
	>This small but potent fungal sample releases spores that can fill a short range before becoming inert. If they manage to enter a target’s system in time it causes powerful and overwhelming hallucinations, causing local animals set on eating it to run off in a confused stupor. The fungus uses it as a defensive mechanism, blowing the noxious gas from a small set of hollow stems growing from the fungus like thorns. Further research would yield a greater understanding of both the toxin and its delivery method.
	>This fungus is similar in nature to the deadly sea spores, but is far less lethal. While there may be some danger in overdose, the spores seem to cause a variety of vivid hallucinations from visions of nightmarish horrors to perceived visions of the future and everything in between. The spores are short lived, but are small enough to be invisible to the vision of most creatures, or appear as little more than dust.

	[Panic Gas] - Finished HQQ 23
	>Unlocked by completing [Nature study]
	>Fast
	>Deep in the jungle you discovered a small, soft, pudgy animal that feeds on spore drifts. When threatened they constrict themselves violently, expelling a cloud of potent gas that causes immediate and violent reactions. The predator quickly flees in terror, often sending out its own defensive reaction ranging from camouflage to short range flight to even deliberate dismemberment of a tail or leg that is left writhing behind it. Further study of the chemical compound should yield a greater understanding of it and its potential applications.
	>This potent gas directly triggers a sense of overwhelming danger and dread in the subject to create a mind numbing desire to flee the area as quickly as possible. While your current research shows that it should be quite effective against a variety of life forms, you are unsure exactly how they would respond without first hand field testing. Results may vary widely depending on the targets state of mind, psychology, or training.

Thread 23

	[Ralighan Native language] - Finished HQQ 25
	>Language of the native Ralighans
	>The strange drumming language of the native creatures has been decoded, although until you can actually get some experience with it in conversation there are bound to be at least a few minor kinks in your translations. You doubt you could manage to put your claw in your mandibles too much though, after all, they seem to worship you.

	[Ancient Star chart] - Finished HQQ 26 with help from Elizabeth
	>Star chart found deep within the ruins of the Ark on Raligha
	>The ancient inscriptions clearly depict a vast number of star systems and galactic landmarks across the cosmos. With the limited translations provided by Dr. Elizabeth Vaughn has greatly sped up the translation. In a surprising turn of events, however, the language appears to be remarkably similar to the Skyl language recovered from within the salvaged data cube. The language itself is completely different, but the symbols are almost identical.

	[White Crystal] - Finished HQQ 32
	>Strange crystal found near the corpse of the Gardener.
	>Strange Crystal which gave Elizabeth psionic powers.
	>Very slow
	>This strange crystal gives off a slight glow, and a sense of warmth. It seems to react to your presence, although you can’t be sure. Sending it through a series of tests may yield some level of understanding, or at the very least give you an idea of what it is.
	>This device shows a number of uses. The most obvious is that it appears to serve as a kind of data storage similar in nature to the Skyl datacube, but through the use of tachyons, as well it appears to function as a kind of control system for some joint hive-skyl devices, and offers a translation between hive thought and skyl language. It also appears to have a slight side effect in that it appears to bolster the mental connection when held and connected to, although this feature will require more research, as it appears to be an unintentional effect.
	>Unlocks [Psionic Cannon Prototype], [Weather Spire], and [Psionic Fortification] research options.

	[Skyl Console]
	>Special Research Subject
	>Strange computer console found withing the Gardener's Hive on Raligha
	>Helps boosts [White Crystal] research.

Thread 25

	[Plasma Funneling] - Finished HQQ 27
	>Technical schematics taken from the Skyl Data Cube. Unlocked by completing [Skyl Data Cube]
	>Fast
	>By projecting a vortex of magnetic fields towards the target, plasma can be funneled into a more focused area at longer range, preventing plasma plumage. Increases range of the Plasma Lance
	>Increases range of the Plasma Lance from [Very Short] to [Short]

	[Psionic Disruptor] - Finished HQQ 27
	>Technical schematics taken from the Skyl Data Cube. Unlocked by completing [Skyl Data Cube]
	>Fast
	>In a rather disturbing discovery, the Skyl had spent a great deal of effort developing a method of disrupting psionic communication. The resulting device should be capable of blocking any psionic communication within its range, including your own. You find notes that indicate they had been advancing the technology into an offensive, directed weapon, but it seems they were destroyed before the efforts showed results.
	>This device, when activated, creates an overwhelming psionic signal that is capable of drowning out tachyon based communication, disrupting any drones and causing mass confusion to psionically sensitive subjects within its range. When attached to a standard relay, such as a drone, it can be broadcast in a cone with a range of several kilometers, with the effect decreasing in potency as the range increases.
	>Unlocks [Psionic Jammer] technology and [Psionic Disruptor] drone adaptation.
		>[Psionic Disruptor]: A set of advanced organs capable of transmitting a powerful psionic static, blocking transmission within its range.
			Basic: Releases a quick burst of static in a radius of 15 meters in all directions lasting for several seconds.
			Moderate: A powerful organ capable of broadcasting a powerful jamming signal in a 20 meter cone. The drone does not affect itself.
			Advanced: A large disruptor that broadcasts static with a radius of roughly 50 kilometers. If grafted to an advanced relay, the signal can be made to propagate along the relay’s own network.

	[Nanomachines] - Finished HQQ 32
	>Technical schematics taken from the Skyl Data Cube. Unlocked by completing [Skyl Data Cube]
	>Very slow
	>Your research indicates that the advanced technology that gave the Skyl their individual immortality was entirely alien to them, however, in the extensive time they had at their disposal they dedicated an enormous amount of effort into unlocking this advanced technology. They left extensive notes on the subject, giving you a tremendous head start on it, although it would still be a daunting research project.
	>Based on the scattered notes and few remains of skyl technology, these microscopic biomechanical devices are capable of being programmed to fulfill a wide range of tasks.
	>Unlocks [Rapid Nano-Assembly], [Molecular Disassembler Warhead], and [Medical Nanomachines] research options.
	>Unlocks [Smart Scabs], [Gray Goo], [Hive Creep], and [Overharvest] technologies.
		>[Smart Scabs] – All drones heal from wounds in 1 day if within a hive and all subcapital ship damage is repaired in 1 day if given access to a pylon
		>[Gray Goo] – Excess nutrients can be processed into metals at a rate of 2N to 1M
		>[Hive Creep] – Hive infrastructure now spreads autonomously without the need for workers to cultivate or build
		>[Overharvest] – Hive infrastructure can now be ordered to supplement nutrient income by spreading and devouring the surrounding landscape. Growth and income peak at 50% planet consumption.

	[Immolator warhead]
	>Technical schematics taken from the Skyl Data Cube. Unlocked by completing [Skyl Data Cube]
	>Very slow
	>Another technology obtained but not understood by the Skyl, this warhead is the focus of much idol worship and cult activity, as well as an extensive research effort. The weapon itself was reportedly capable of disrupting the surface of a planet, turning the surface to fields of molten slag. They never finished development, but their notes should be quite helpful.
	>This devastating and highly unstable warhead is capable of destabilizing the surface of a planet to cause planet wide destruction, triggering violent geothermal activity and weather patterns and rapidly turning the planet’s surface to molten slag and rendering it totally uninhabitable. The production of the weapon itself requires a lengthy and highly expensive process of condensing highly unstable exotic matter that is far too volatile for productive use and encasing it within a powerful magnetic field held within a shielded canister. Upon detonation, the canister releases the supply of anti-matter within the planet’s crust, causing a chain reaction of matter-anti-matter annihilation that ignites any atmosphere, immolates the surface, and obliterates any sign of infrastructure that may have existed.

Thread 26

	[Neurological Interfacing]
	>Unlocked by completing [Biochemical Manipulation/Engineering]
	>Medium
	>As your parasites dig into their hosts they have attached themselves to their circulatory system for nourishment, and their nervous system. As the drone takes root, you suspect that you may be able to place a much greater degree of control and manipulation over the host, with a bit of study.

Thread 27

	[Cryo Spray] - Finished HQQ 30.2
	>Slow
	>A stroke of inspiration has taken one of your quantum thinkers and you have been presented with the theory of applying the mechanics of your fire spray in reverse, using cryonics to create a pair of chemicals that, when mixed together and shot from a nozzle, would rapidly flash-freeze almost anything it touches.
	>This is now available as an alternate ammo for the chemical or plasma spray weapon.
	>Unlocks [Laser Cooling] Research Option.
	>unlocks [Cryo Spray] weapon graft

	[Acid Spray] - Finished HQQ 33
	>This alternate version to the fire and plasma spray spews a stream of caustic molecular acid over its foes, causing horrific chemical burns and melting through armor. Decreases the effectiveness of a target's armor and causes chemical damage over time, but otherwise holds the same statistics as the fire and plasma spray.
	>Unlocks [Acid Spray] weapon graft

Thread 28

	[Thermal Blade] - Finished HQQ 36
	>Unlocked by completing [Lyle’s Combat Armor]
	>Medium
	This dull loop of carefully crafted polymer quickly heats itself to deadly temperatures when exposed to an electrical current from within its gauntlet, quickly turning it from a blunt instrument to a deadly blade capable of burning through all manner of armor.
	>Conductive polymers are added to the combat blades of your drones. When an electrical current is passed through the blade it quickly increases in temperature until the blade itself begins to glow. All drones equipped with combat blades gain the capacity to penetrate thicker armor by allowing them to slowly burn through dense metal plating. This passive upgrade stacks with the Vibro-blade passive upgrade.

	[Vibroblade] - Finished HQQ 30
	>Unlocked by completing [Lyle’s Combat Armor]
	>Fast
	>This lightweight combat knife features a series of micro-motors placed within a mono-wire filament tipped blade. When the knife impacts a target, the motors vibrate the blade at an ultrasonic frequency, causing the blade to rapidly rip into the target like a tiny, jackhammer powered chainsaw. A quick study of its construction should allow you to easily grow and implant similar micro muscles within the blades of your warriors, increasing the cutting and piercing power of your drones' blade attacks.
	>By incorporating the vibroblade into your warriors, they now are capable of utilizing small micro muscles to vibrate the blade at a high enough frequency to assist in cutting through material, increasing their armor piercing capabilities.


	[Flak Jacket] - Finished HQQ 33.2
	>Unlocked by completing [Lyle’s Combat Armor]
	>Fast
	>During the disassembly of Lyle's suit, you found an interesting layer of dense fibers that are extraordinarily resilient to kinetic damage. You have it set aside to have your thinkers take a closer look at it later.
	>Unlocks [Ballistic Armor] and [Bulkhead] research options.
	>Unlocks [Ballistic Carapace] drone adaptation.
		>[Ballistic Carapace] - This dense layer of fibers is designed specifically to absorb high speed shrapnel and shock waves associated with explosive damage. It is highly effective against explosive and moderately effective against kinetic damage.

	[Thermal Imaging] - Finished HQQ 35
	>Unlocked by completing [Lyle’s Combat Armor]
	>Medium
	>This compact visor display built into the helmet of Lyle's suit is capable of detecting heat, turning it into a color-coded display to highlight sources of thermal energy. It is blinded in extreme temperatures, and can quickly become useless in certain situations, but when used in conjunction with other sensors it offers a powerful method of detecting and tracking a target.
	>This compact visor display built into the helmet of Lyle's suit is capable of detecting heat, turning it into a color-coded display to highlight sources of thermal energy. It is blinded in extreme temperatures, and can quickly become useless in certain situations, but when used in conjunction with other sensors it offers a powerful method of detecting and tracking a target.
	>Unlocks [Thermal Pit] drone adaptation.
		>[Thermal Pits]: An array of small sensory gland covered pits is positioned around the head in the form of a large, darkly colored and porous layer of chitin, giving the appearance of being eyeless. The IR sensitive chitin layer replaces the compound eyes and allows it to see in the infrared spectrum.

	[Ceph biology] - Finished HQQ 28.5
	>Thorough examination of Coil's Ceph biology.
	>Fast
	>Your study of Coil's biology is going surprisingly well, and after several quick scans you are able to make several interesting observations. Despite the large head of the Ceph, there is actually no real brain, instead the Ceph possesses a distributed nervous system made of small clusters of nerves within most of the major organs. What's more is that each cluster is itself sentient to some small degree, and is aware of itself and the other clusters. The head contains three such clusters, one controlling the skin pigmentation, the other internal buoyancy organs and water jets, and the last possessing the greatest amount of higher reasoning. The third cluster is attached directly to a series of porous plugs that seem to be used to interface with the shell, which is the next focus of your research efforts.

	[Ceph Thought shell] - Finished HQQ 29
	>Coil's Thought Shell which was briefly borrowed for examination.
	>Medium
	>This complex device contains a bundle of nerves running into the higher brain of the host Ceph and into a large central processor. The processor itself is mostly organic, and combines the sensory input of all the small brains within the Ceph body into a single consciousness. There are also several oddities within the shell. Your scans detect a tiny implant of unknown composition within the “brain” of the shell that seems to give off very low tachyon emissions. The shell itself is not all that dissimilar to the design of your own parasite, and you think that you could have a parasite drone fulfill the duties of the central brain of the shell without too much trouble.


Thread 28.5

	[Missiles] - Finished HQQ 30.2
	>Slow
	>These powerful guided warheads can be loaded with a variety of damage dealing systems.
	>These powerful guided missiles can be loaded with a wide range of deadly warheads. The missiles are loaded within disposable missile racks, and ammunition must be paid for after firing, however, they offer a wide range of powerful weapon systems.
	>Unlocks [Swarm Missile], [Light Missile], and [Cruise Missile] adaptations.
		>[Swarm Missile Pod]
		This missile pod is capable of holding a vast number of tiny short range missiles designed to overwhelm enemy point defenses with sheer numbers, dealing damage through a thousand cuts. They are highly maneuverable, and effective against smaller craft.
		>[Light Missile Pod]
		This pod holds a decent number of medium ranged missiles each capable of holding a modest payload, and is most effective against sub capital ships.
		>[Cruise Missile Pod]: This massive pod is capable of holding a select few massive long range missiles, each capable of potentially destroying anything short of a capital ship. They are extremely slow to accelerate, and are typically only useful against ships of capital class.
	>Unlocks [Surface to Orbit Missile Launcher] constuction option.
		>[Surface to Orbit Missile Launcher]: This anti-orbital weapon is capable of firing a planetary missile from a launch silo on the surface of a planet to intercept approaching or orbiting enemy craft.

	[Ultrasonic Sledgehammer] - Finished HQQ 32
	>Unlocked by completing [Drop Suit]
	>Slow
	>Designed to be used to breach doorways and walls, this fist-mounted device uses a burst of ultrasound to annihilate a physical object. While it is intended for use in demolition, it is frighteningly effective against live foes as well.
	>Designed to be used to breach doorways and walls, this fist-mounted device uses a burst of ultrasound to annihilate a physical object. While it is intended for use in demolition, it is frighteningly effective against live foes as well. The sledgehammer takes the form of a large chittinous piston on the arms of a drone, which pull back to ready for an attack, and then fire forward, causing a short ranged shockwave to erupt from the large ‘fist’. This replaces a drone’s blades.
	>Unlocks [Sledgehammer] weapon graft.

	[Grenade Launcher] - Finished HQQ 32
	>Unlocked by completing [Drop Suit]
	>Fast
	>This simple yet effective weapon system contains two components, an explosive device that can fit in the hand or claw, and a tube that can launch it reliably at a distance. The grenade can be thrown, tossed, rolled, or simply placed as opposed to shot from the launcher if needed. The grenade deals explosive damage, as well as an additional damage type depending on the type of grenade.
	>Unlocks [Thumper] and [Heavy Thumper] weapon grafts.

Thread 29

	[Drop Pod] - Finished HQQ 32
	>Unlocked by completing [Drop Suit]
	?>Taken from Lyle's memories as a drop trooper?
	>Medium
	>An aerodynamic heat shield equipped with a mixture of disposable retro rockets and airbrakes designed to allow a drone to survive being dropped from orbit to a planet bellow. Each pod is a single use, and is fired from a dedicated pod bay within the parent ship.
	>Unlocks [Drop Pod Launcher] ship module.
		>[Drop Pod Launcher] - A compact launch bay that manufactures and launches cheap, disposable heat shields capable of dropping a drone safely from orbit. Each drop bay contains 50 medium sized launch tubes, and 25 large, but is capable of making and storing enough pods to launch any number up to the maximum the ship hull can hold.

	[Compact hull design] - Finished HQQ 30
	>Unlocked by completing [Drop Suit]
	>Fast
	>The same principles of the multilayered carapace, but on a larger scale. This will allow your ships to be equipped with up to two armor types at once.


Thread 29.2

	[Fusion power] - Finished HQQ 33 via tech trade with Theseus in exchange for recovering lunar artifact from earth.
	>Unlocked by completing [Atomics]
	>Slow/dangerous
	>Another technology that you are aware of, but that you do not have as great a grasp of. While a fusion reactor does not offer the sheer power of a Power Tap, it is far more stable once built, and requires far less valuable materials to make and maintain
	>Unlocks [Microfusion Power] technology.
		[Microfusion Power] - This reasonably powerful but incredibly safe power source distributes a number of micro fusion reactors throughout the ship, decreasing the likelihood of a critical hit disabling a ship's power supply. In addition, increased power fed to railguns and accelerators alike increase the damage dealt by all weapons, and increased power to ion thrusters improve maneuvering of all ships. This replaced the default power supply of all ships passively.
	>Unlocks [Fusion Core] ship adaptation.
		[Fusion Core] - This large and powerful reactor core is more volatile and more potent than the standard microfusion power system. It is more concentrated, and thus offers no protection from critical hits, but it offers more power, and thus greater damage and maneuverability bonuses over micro-fusion. When the ship is destroyed, or when triggered with a self-destruct, the ship can detonate in a nuclear explosion to destroy any salvageable components and damage nearby vessels.
	>Unlocks [Orbital Electroponic Station] construction.
		>[Orbital Electroponic Station] – An orbital instillation built near a large source of hydrogen used to fuel a large fusion core, which in turn provides electrical power to a contained algae farm facility. Must be built in orbit of a gas giant. Provides +500N per day and doubles as a gas mining facility, refueling the tritium stores of any ships in the system.

	[Something about the relay from the WQ's hiveship, review later]

Thread 30.2

	[Laser Cooling] - Finished HQQ 36
	>Unlocked by completing [Cryo Spray]
	>Very Slow
	>This concept uses a laser to bounce particles in an object back into place, effectively nullifying the energy within the object, cooling it to potentially extreme temperatures at a distance.
	>Unlocks [Laser-Cooled Superconductors] Research Option
	>Unlocks [Ventilation Ray] ship technology.
		>[Ventilation Ray] – Improvements in ship construction passively reduce the heat signature of all hive space craft by allowing some of the heat to be beamed away from the direction of enemy sensors instead of radiated into space and increasing the amount of time it can spend under cloak.]

	[Bipedal Legs] - Finished HQQ 30.2
	>These legs are capable of folding into one another, posing naturally as four stable legs, or propping the drone up on its hind legs to appear nearly twice its normal height. While upright, the drone is extremely limited in its land speed, but by human standards it would appear to have an elegant and somewhat intimidating stature and stride.
	>Enables [Bipedal] Leg type drone adaptation.

	[Ion cannon] - Finished HQQ 36
	>Unlocked by completing [Lightning Gun] and [Ion Thrusters]
	>Slow
	>The next logical step in ion technology, the ion cannon uses a powerful magnetic funnel to channel ionized particles to a target, causing focused energy damage and EMP effects. Similar in nature to the CIP weapon, but based more on the Ion thruster technology.
	>Unlocks [Ion Cannon] Ship Weapon.
		>[Ion Cannon] – This focused energy weapon is in essence a combination of CIP technology, a plasma lance, and a particle beam rolled into one device. It utilized powerful magnetic fields to funnel a stream of high energy particles at a target to cause the effect of a highly focused EMP on enemy electronics and sensors, wreaking havoc on the target’s sensors and other systems. While shields and conductive armor are highly resistant to it, the Ion cannon can pass through other forms of armor undeterred.

	[Defense shields] - Finished HQQ 30.2
	>Tech traded from Theseus in exchange for sending a scouting mission to Earth
	>This powerful energy field is projected from a number of redundant generators to create a series of overlapping energy walls that protect the ship from damage. Technically the shields will stop any and all damage, however in practice, overwhelming damage can quickly do damage to the generators, knocking the field out for the remainder of combat. A kinetic strike may break the generators free of their housing, while an explosion or concentrated energy weapon may cause the generators to overheat, melting them to slag. Purely thermal weapons such as the Plasma Lance bypass the shields completely, roasting the ship within like a turkey in a pressure cooker.
	>Unlocks [Defensive Shields] ship adaptation.
		[Defensive Shields] – After comparing the two technologies, you are surprised to find that shields and cloaking fields are actually remarkably similar in nature, despite being drastically different in function. The shields use a network of energy projectors to weave a field of distorted particles around the ship, dissipating incoming damage across its surface evenly to block virtually all damage of incoming attacks. It is this absolute effectiveness that is, ironically, the shield’s greatest weakness. As it absorbs incoming damage, the emitters overheat or become stressed, eventually risking becoming damaged and failing. Thermal damage will pass through the shields and quickly overheat the ship, while kinetic damage can jostle the emitters out of position, however any external damage will be nullified. Because of this semi-disposable nature, your thinkers have designed a shield array that is capable of self-repair, requiring only an extended period of rest, or a visit to a pylon to bring back online. The placement requirements of the emitters are highly similar to that of the cloaking field, meaning that only a shield or cloak can be equipped to a ship, not both

Thread 32

	[Rapid Nano-Assembly] - Finished HQQ 34
	>Unlocked by completing [Nanomachines]
	>Fast
	>Advanced construction techniques utilizing nanomachine filled paste to bond materials together on a molecular level allows for the construction of ships and buildings at a much more rapid pace.
	>Unlocks [Smart Mines], [Liquid Metal Sculpting], and [Carbon Nanostructure Construction] research options.
	>Unlocks [Nano-Manufactory] technology.
		[Nano-Manufactory] – While your workers are capable of efficiently providing for any and all labor you require, construction is still dependent on the growing of tools and the shaping of small components normally created within vats or shaped by workers. By employing large amounts of biomechanical nanomachines held within large centralized vats, this limitation can be removed and construction projects rapidly accelerated. Passively reduces time of all surface construction to a minimum of 1 day, depending on worker availability.

	[Molecular Disassembler Warhead] - Finished HQQ 36
	>Unlocked by completing [Nanomachines]
	>Medium
	>This nanomachine filled warhead releases a cloud of semi organic disassemblers that quickly and voraciously feed on any and all available carbon or silicon based substances, reducing any and all sources of nutrients and metals into dust, which is used to construct more disassemblers. Each disassembler has a short lifespan, but with a rich enough target a chain reaction can be created with the potential to deal immense devastation to ships, station, and cities alike.
	>This warhead disperses a cloud of nano-disassemblers that promptly utilize all sources of metals and nutrients to replicate more disassemblers, which do the same. The process quickly reduces any infrastructure, ships, and life to dust in a chain reaction that can spread across entire cities. The nanomachines require a minimum amount to reach a critical mass before they begin to deactivate, but even a small warhead can potentially spread across a wide area.

	[Medical Nanomachines] - Finished HQQ 34
	>Unlocked by completing [Nanomachines]
	>Fast
	>Uses injectable nanomachines to assist in healing wounds or performing surgery, reducing the time required for medical procedures and allowing for far more advanced medical care in the field.
	>Unlocks [Cellular Acceleration] Research option.
	>Unlock [Smart-Blood Transfusions] and [Bio-Salve] technologies.
		>[Smart-Blood Transfusions] – Medical procedure times no longer accumulate with multiple procedures for non-hive life, and instead use the longest time.
		>[Bio-Salve] – The biological interface can now administer a regenerative salve capable of disinfecting and healing minor wounds, as well as stabilizing more serious wounds.

	[Broken Crystal] - Finished HQQ 33
	>Broken Void Shard found within the Builder's shattered Psionic Cannon prototype.
	>Very slow
	>This black crystal seems to be suspended in time, as if it was a still image of shattering glass. It gives off no signals or emissions of any kind, not even reflections. It has no measurable weight or mass, and does not react to your efforts to contain it within your vaults. Until you can examine it with more scrutiny it has been sealed away deep underground.
	>Unlocks [Psionic Shroud] research option.

	[Psionic Cannon Prototype]
	>Obtained from the research archives inside the Gardener's [White Crystal].
	>Very slow/Very dangerous, boosted to Slow/Very dangerous by data gleamed from the thinker on Farcast (Thread 66)
	>Detailed accounts of several experiments show the slow progress of Project Godsplitter. The cannon itself is highly volatile, and even the smallest miscalculation often results in the destruction of the ship, as well as any nearby craft. It can only be equipped to a Hive ship's spinal mount, and requires a functional Void Shard as ammunition. At least a dozen testing sizes were atomized in testing the weapon, and in the end it appears The Gardener never quite perfected it.
	>The vast complexity of this device alludes you. At your order, the thinkers have pried into the data, but in their shame they report it is incomprehensible, the references to lost technology and unknown physical laws make even the most rudimentary of instructions entirely useless. You will need to research this device with your existing information sources.

	[Weather Spire] - Finished HQQ 37
	>Obtained from the research archives inside the Gardener's [White Crystal].
	>Medium
	>A specialty of The Gardener, which was apparently shared with the Skyl to solidify their alliance. It is a massive spire capable of analyzing and altering the atmospheric composition of a planet over time, as well as altering localized conditions to alter weather patterns.
	>This massive spire is capable of adjusting and analyzing local weather patterns on planets with an atmosphere, and is capable of generating an atmosphere on planets capable of holding one. Its primary use is as a method of terraforming, adjusting a local planet to be more hospitable to life of the hive’s choosing, scrubbing the air of toxins, and balancing the oxygen and CO2 levels, as well as adjusting weather patterns to be less hostile, causing precipitation to fall at desired locations for desired amounts of time, breaking storm fronts before they can form, and adjusting for geological patterns and solar activity to maintain climate balance.
	>Unlocks [Weather Spire] Construction
		>[Weather Spire] - A networked collection of spires spread across a planet capable of studying and altering a planet’s climate and atmosphere. Construction includes the building of all spires needed to function.


	[Rejuvenation Gene Therapy] - Finished HQQ 37
	>Slow
	>After extensive research of the human genome, you have discovered that they suffer from a limitation to their life span based on a pre-set limit built into their cells that limits the number of times any one cell can divide. With some amount of effort, you think you could create a serum that would offer a temporary boost to that limit, allowing for extended periods of cell division.
	>Genetic immortality is something your kind often takes for granted, while many other races sprint to the grave. This serum injected directly into the spinal column raises the hayflick limit of the subject’s existing cells, allowing for the body to replenish body cells that would otherwise decay, effectively increasing the subject’s life span. Repeated injections or the implantation of a parasite are required, as new cells will not have the raised limit.
Extended use may cause minor cases of brain cancer. Your thinkers recommend more rejuvenation therapy for treatment in such rare cases.
	>Unlocks [Perpetual Regeneration] Technology
		>[Perpetual Regeneration] - Your parasites are now capable of halting the aging of an implanted subject, and can regenerate lost minor limbs such as digits, eyes, teeth, bones, and some organs. If the lost organ was a cybernetic of hive design, it regenerates instead of the original version, and does so in half the time. Supplementary metals may need to be ingested.


	[Quantum Communications] - Finished HQQ 35
	>Reverse engineering of Quantum Comm relay bought from the Valen black market
	>By utilizing a complex and highly delicate system of quantum entanglement between particles, a link can be built between two devices, allowing them to pass on data instantaneously regardless of distance. The device cannot be jammed, intercepted, or disrupted in any way, but holds a number of limitations in that it is both inefficient in its bandwidth, and highly expensive. The quantum communicator cannot transmit or receive psionic communications, and lacks the capacity and nuance to directly control a drone.
	>Unlocks [Quantum Entanglement Engineering] research option.


Thread 32.2

	[Psionic Fortification] - Finished HQQ 37
	>Unlocked by completing [White Crystal].
	>Slow
	>Further research of the white crystal’s beneficial effects on your own psionic link to your drones could lead to some manner of defense against a Psionic Jammer.
	> A strange mixture of organic components assembled into a crystalline matrix, the strange white crystals not only can serve as a kind of memory storage device, but also as a component in a psionic relay. When incorporated into a drone, it replaces the portion of the brain maintaining the psionic link to the queen and serves as a mixture of fuse and signal booster, allowing the relay to broadcast to drones suffering from psionic jamming, and can protect itself from jamming by cutting off its ability to receive thoughts.
	>Unlocks [Crystalline Neural Structure] Research Option


Thread 33

	[Psionic Shroud] - Finished HQQ 37
	>Unlocked by completing [Broken Crystal]
	>Slow
	>Your thinkers have been working over the strange and unsettling silence of the broken crystals you have collected and several of your quantum thinkers have theorized of using them to develop a kind of mute effect. In theory it could offer a way to muffle the mental sounds of your hive's thoughts from other hives.
	> By utilizing the aura of silence given by the dead and lifeless remains of the void crystals recovered from hive battles, your drones have developed a way to mute psionic chatter. Drones within the same psionic network will still be able to communicate, however to any unrelated hive the thoughts and images become foggy and nondescript, easily blending in to the background noise of the universe.
The shroud itself requires extensive effort to extend the minor aura of the broken crystal to make it powerful enough to use. The resulting proposal is a building comparable to a docking pylon in size, capable of hiding the thoughts of every drone on an entire planet.
	>Unlocks [Thought Muffler] Research Option
	>Unlocks [Psionic Shroud] Construction
		>[Psionic Shroud] – A single building built around the shattered remains of a Void Shard, the shroud amplifies the unnatural mental silence of the broken crystal within to mask an entire planet from potential detection, preventing outside forces from easily detecting the thoughts of a hive.




Thread 33.2

	[Ballistic Armor] - Finished HQQ 35
	>Unlocked by completing [Flak Jacket]
	>Very fast
	>A scaled up application of the ballistic carapace to use on ships.
	>Unlocks [Ballistic Armor] Ship Adaptation.
		[Ballistic Armor] – A network of hollow compartments designed to muffle impacts and layers of detachable chitinous strips linked to complex sensor systems allow the ship to launch parts of its armor at incoming objects to cause missiles to detonate prematurely and absorb the blast. While it is designed to be most effective at stopping missile strikes, it is also decently effective against kinetic damage.

	[Bulkhead] - Finished HQQ 35
	>Unlocked by completing [Flak Jacket]
	>Fast
	>Filling space on ships normally reserved for tactical modules with super dense armor of varying types drastically increases a ship’s durability in combat.
	>Unlocks [Bulkhead] Ship adaptation.
		[Bulkhead] – Many ships poses space to hold a number of useful sub-systems, weapon systems, and other modules, however these are often too expensive to maintain on every ship in the hive. By filling these unused spaces with interconnected nets of metal plating, a ship can be made far more durable to damage without additional upkeep. The bulkheads are incredibly heavy, and will greatly decrease the acceleration of a ship. Increases the amount of damage a ship can take and can render the ship immune to critical hits if all modules are used.


Thread 34

	[Smart Mines] - Finished HQQ 40
	>Unlocked by completing [Rapid Nano-Assembly] and ?[Skyl Controller Chip]?
	>Medium
	>Replacing digger drones with programmable seeds of nanomachines allows the hive to effectively create metal trees. The nanomachines spread roots through the ground to locate ore veins, break them down and assemble them on the surface as metallic fruit-like bulbs for workers to gather.
	>Nanomachines work together to form into roots and vines made of metal that grow across a planet and sprout from your hive infrastructure. The roots seek out and disassemble any source of metals that are not a part of the hive, and pull them to the surface, using them to continue building the roots and to form gained metals into ripe, fruit-like bulbs ready for easy and convenient harvest by passing drones. Your hive infrastructure is now capable of very quickly extracting metals from the crust of a planet or planetoid at a rapid pace at no additional upkeep cost, replacing the need for dedicated mining drones. Overharvest will now also strip a planet of all metal.
	>Unlocks [Mantle Excavation] Research Option

	[Liquid Metal Sculpting] - Finished HQQ 37
	>Unlocked by completing [Rapid Nano-Assembly] and ?[Skyl Controller Chip]?
	>Medium
	>By using nanomachines to maintain metal in a liquid form regardless of temperatures and without diluting it with chemicals, you can improve the quality of the Hive’s metallurgy, decreasing the time it takes your workers to perform metal intensive work in cramped spaces and dramatically boosting ship construction times.
	> With the advent of new technology in metallurgy, your drones can quickly and easily shape the metals used in larger construction projects, greatly decreasing the time required to complete a capital class ship.

	[Carbon Nanostructure Construction] - Finished HQQ 40
	>Unlocked by completing [Rapid Nano-Assembly]
	>Medium
	>By using the ancient Raligha ship as a basis, and new construction techniques, you can implement more sturdy nanotubes and carbon based diamond filaments to slightly improve the stability and durability of your ships without impeding maneuverability or increasing cost.
	>A combination of carbon nanotube weave and diamond filaments are used to improve the durability of your armor, increasing the durability of your ship hulls passively. In addition, this has led to new avenues of construction techniques.
	>Unlocks [Ground-orbital Mega-Construction] research option.

	[Cellular Acceleration] - Finished HQQ 38 Critical Breakthrough.
	>Unlocked by completing [Medical Nanomachines] and ?[Skyl Controller Chip]?
	>Medium
	>By using advanced medical technologies to assist and boost the cellular metabolism of an organism, clones can be made to develop much faster than normal.
	>By using advanced medical technologies to assist and boost the cellular metabolism of an organism, clones can be made to develop much faster than normal. All cloning projects require half the time. In addition, the critical breakthrough of your thinkers has resulted in the boosting of related research efforts. The time requirement for [Genesis Project] and [Genetic Tapestry] have been reduced.

	[Gardener Genetic Autopsy]
	>Special Research Subject
	>Thorough examination of the Gardener's corpse in an attempt to retrieve any valuable genetic data.
	>Unlocks [Photosynthetic Cells] and [Genesis Project] research option.
	>Unlocks [Green Claw] trait
		>[Green Claw] - The target DCs for cloning projects are reduced.
	>Unlocks [Rotary Wings] and [Barkskin Carapace] drone adaptations.
		>[Rotary Wings] - What appears to be a set of wings based on the local life, these wings spin on a pair of counter rotating rotaries. They are too bulky to be mounted on a standard drone without causing dangerous instability in flight, but with aerodynamic drones it allows for improved thrust, allowing for double the carrying capacity when used with a Honey pot, although it sacrifices in speed.
		>[Barkskin Carapace] - Less a research project and more an item of interest, this carapace uses densely packed layers of bone and dead plant-like cells to create a layer of protective armor comparable to a combat carapace without the use of metals. The process can be applied to ships as well, and appeared to be the main source of construction material and metal substitute to fuel the Gardener's efforts. What it gains in metal efficiency it loses in upkeep efficiency, leading to expensive and high maintenance units, although with the rich and lush nature of the Gardener's worlds, that issue never became a problem, and she had always considered the natural and plant-like appearance to be worth the additional cost in the name of beauty, a stance your mother clearly never shared. With your abundance of metals the carapace is rendered obsolete, but the appearance can be mimicked through the peacock carapace.

	[Photosynthetic Cells] - Finished HQQ 37
	>Genetic data taken from the Gardener's corpse.
	>Fast
	>By implementing the same cells used in many of the local foliage in infrastructure, you can create stations and buildings that produce energy via solar radiation to produce energy in a manner more safe and stable than fusion, although less efficient.
	> By adapting the capacity most commonly found in fauna to produce nutrients from solar rays, you can now build stations in heliocentric orbits of local hive controlled systems capable of utilizing the radiation of stars to produce moderate amounts of power and generate a steady stream of nutrient income. Each station utilizes a thin membrane of photosynthetic cells several kilometers in diameter to collect and store energy, which is then processed into nutrients. The nutrients are then transported by shuttle or ship elsewhere to feed the hive’s many growing needs.
	>Unlocks [Solar Collector Miniaturization] Research option.
	>Unlocks [Orbital Solar Array] Construction
		[Orbital Solar Array] – A station placed in orbit of the local star equipped with a membrane of photosynthetic cells several kilometers in diameter capable of producing a steady stream of nutrient income. Provides 1000N per day total

	[Genesis Project] - Finished HQQ 39
	>Genetic data taken from the Gardener's corpse.
	>Medium. Completing [Cellular Acceleration] halves research time.
	>By studying the practices and techniques on top of the dedicated technologies of the Gardener's hive, you can develop a method that can be used to rapidly spread foliage and life on a planet with to develop a new biosphere. The process is time and resource intensive at the start, but with the use of weather spires the biosphere quickly takes root and becomes self-sufficient.
	>By seeding a world with specially designed plants, you can quickly jumpstart a planet’s ecosystem and make it habitable for a carbon based life. The process requires your drones to spread massive amounts of nutrients and place specialized seeds in strategic positions across the planet, taking up a massive nutrient upkeep. The upkeep tapers off as the ecosystem slowly becomes self-sustaining.


Thread 35

	[Gun Ports] - Finished HQQ 37
	>Fast
	>Your large drones offer a great increase in firepower in many situations, but in some cases can become vulnerable to smaller opponents. By developing a series of small muscle grafts along the sides of the drone’s thorax a number of medium sized weapons can be placed to offer increased firepower against smaller targets.

	[Genetic Tapestry] - Finished HQQ 39
	>Unlocked when finished first cloning project.
	>Medium. Completing [Cellular Acceleration] halves research time.
	>With the development of your recent clones, you have gained experience and knowledge in organizing alien DNA into effective and desirable formations to not only reproduce an alien subject, but also improve upon it. Now you feel you are ready to go even farther with your experiments in mixing and matching alien and drone DNA.
	>Mastery of the art of genetic engineering has reached an entirely new level for your hive. While you were always adept at the nuances of genetic alterations, this new level of understanding allows you to tamper with the genetic code of living creatures at a whim, mixing and matching genes of alien and drone DNA in ways that most would consider impossible. The Chimera is the result of this strange and terrible knowledge.
	>Unlocks [Malleable Genetics] technology.
		>Malleable Genetics]
		>By forcing chemical reactions through newly understood processes, you can force your drones to undergo a process of mutation, causing them to shed or grow adaptations even beyond the boundaries of your hive. Any drone within range of your psionic network can be made to pupate, encasing itself into a cocoon and undergo a metamorphosis. A drone can be changed from any drone type to any other drone type of the same size and chassis class in this way. The process takes a day, during which the drone’s upkeep is doubled. If the drone does not have access to hive nutrient reserves it must consume the needed resources.

		>Your mastery of genetics is not even bound to your own race. With your now total knowledge of genetic structures you can even force alterations in alien life. If a non-drone subject is implanted with a parasite that is connected to your psionic network, you can force the subject to mutate from one clone type to another, if it is not a clone it counts as a Replicant for statistical purposes. In this way, you can mutate a replicant into a hybrid, a hybrid into either a repicant or chimera, and a chimera into a hybrid. You can also force a chimera to shed or grow new drone adaptations as if it were a drone undergoing metamorphosis. The process takes a day, during which the subject’s upkeep is doubled. If it does not have access to the hive’s resources it must find the resources by other means.
	>Unlocks [Chimera] clone type
		>[Chimera] - Simply put, the chimera is an abomination of science. A horrendous mix of drone and alien DNA that results in a grotesque but highly effective and independent drone capable of functioning alone for long periods of time much like a hybrid, but with the genetic diversity to use adaptations from the drone adaptation list. Their general appearance and upkeep cost is determined by the alien DNA used to created, plus any adaptations added, rounded down.

	[G-Field Sensors] - Finished HQQ 35
	>Developed by Theseus and traded in exchange for [Skyl Data Cubes]
	>These powerful and intricate sensors measure the strength of gravitational fields of its surroundings and compare them to other multi-frequency sensor data to detect and locate unusual discrepancies in nearby space, effectively defeating the cloaking field. Unlike most other sensors G-field sensors do not suffer a delay at long ranges, as gravitational fields are not limited to light speed.

Thread 36

	[Laser Cooled Superconductors] - Finished HQQ 41
	>Unlocked by completing [Cooling Laser]
	>Medium
	>Utilizing powerful cooling rays to maintain a temperature of near absolute zero, superconductors can be constructed and maintained out of cheap and easily replicable materials and nearly no cost. This would allow for the construction and maintenance of various mass transport and logistical systems that would improve the efficiency of hive activity.
	>Utilizing powerful cooling rays to maintain a temperature of near absolute zero, superconductors can be constructed and maintained out of cheap and easily replaceable materials and nearly no cost, allowing the hive to construct and maintain efficient mass transport networks across a planet to increase the speed at which the hive spreads, and removing the need for shuttles to transport drones and resources across a planet.
	>Unlocks [Gravity Reflection] research Option.

	[Quantum Entanglement Engineering] - Finished HQQ 42
	>Unlocked by completing [Quantum Communications]
	>Slow
	Experimentation with the behavior of entangled particles could reveal potential uses beyond simple communication. Your thinkers have several tests ready to proceed to test the interaction of quantum entanglement with your own technology, although the tests will require the construction of multiple prototypes and test devices that will likely not survive the experiments.
	>By experimenting with the basic nature of quantum entanglement your thinkers have been able to unlock a more advanced understanding of the technology that holds together the fabric of local alien society, human and otherwise. While you suspect you are still catching up to some of the most advanced technology known to mankind, you have already surpassed what is widely available.
	>Unlocks [Solid State Teleportation] and [Quantum Tuning] Research options.

Thread 37

	[Crystalline Neural Structure] - Finished HQQ 41
	>Unlocked by completing [Psionic Fortification]
	>Medium
	>Further research and experimentation regarding the strange white crystals could lead to the ability to reproduce them, and even incorporate them in your hive’s biology.
	>With your new understanding of the memory crystals and their function, you have gained the ability to construct your own, as well as entered into the new field of crystal computing.
	>Unlocks [Advanced Psionics] and [Neural Crystal Fractals] Research Options.

	[Thought Muffler] - Finished HQQ 42
	>Unlocked by completing [Psionic Shroud]
	>Slow
	>While you are still unsure how to build replicas of the void shard remains needed to build the psionic shroud, you do think you may be able to recreate a similar effect. While the result would likely not be nearly as effective, it could be employed by individual drones or ships without the need for built infrastructure to support it.
	>By utilizing your new understanding of crystalline brains you have been able to adapt your understanding of the psionic shroud into a more compact and reproducible form. While it is nowhere near as effective, it is capable of muffling the thoughts of your drones to any psionic sensitive beings not attuned to the hive, causing them to blend in to the background noise of the universe and making them more difficult to detect mentally. This is a passive upgrade that affects all drones utilizing your newly created crystal neuron technology.

	[Solar Collector Miniaturization] - Finished HQQ 40
	>Unlocked by completing [Photosynthetic Cells]
	>Medium
	>This bloated and fragile module is a miniaturized application of the orbital solar array that can be mounted on a ship as a module. The ship is highly vulnerable to attack, making it a poor choice for a combat vessel, but it becomes a highly efficient mobile nutrient farm, capable of either supporting itself or a small fleet of others. Each module slot allows for a single solar collector dish. They must be retracted beneath the hull to perform a Blink or high-G maneuver, and while deployed the ship is treated statistically as unarmored and unshielded, regardless of design. A ship with a deployed solar collector cannot cloak.
	>This module allows a ship to serve as a mobile solar collector, gathering energy from a star to be converted to nutrients by way of photosynthesis. Each module unfurls into a multi-kilometer long, slender sail trailing from the hull of the ship, hindering movement and making the ship unable to blink, shield, or cloak. In adition, research in miniaturization technology has improved the efficiency with which you can build the larger and more stationary solar array.
	>Unlocks [Solar Collector] Ship module


Thread 38

	[Flash Cloning] - Finished HQQ 46
	>Unlocked by completing [Cellular Acceleration]
	>Medium
	While it may not be healthy for the clone in question, your mastery of biological technology allows you to accelerate the normal growth cycle of a clone, growing it to maturity within a single day, however clones are not as genetically robust as your own drones and doing so may cause undesirable genetic defects that may take time to reverse and result in a lower quality final product.
	>While it may not be as efficient or effective as waiting for a clone to grow naturally, sometimes you simply lack the time needed to develop a clone properly. When starting a clone project, you can pay the clone’s per day production cost x10 to rush its development. The clone’s production then takes only a single day, but a roll is required to avoid defects or errors in its genetic code that could result in decreases to its physical or mental abilities, disfigured physical traits, or even the loss of the clone. While some kind of error is highly likely, in most cases it will be a minor inconvenience. Regardless, such clones are best used as a temporary measure, to be replaced when a proper one is available, or to serve as expendable units.

	[Microfactory Chambers] - Finished HQQ 41
	>?Unlocked by completing [Cellular Acceleration]?
	>Fast
	>Improvements in culture growing and bio-forming should allow you to create more compact shipyards, allowing for specially designed ships to construct shuttle or pod sized craft within their hulls. This process is still highly inefficient, however, and research is required to develop a more feasible method of design.
	>Using advanced compact assembly designs lifted from human industry and combined with your own biological and nanomachine based assembly processes, you have developed a relatively effective method of manufacturing small craft within the hull of a ship. A ship equipped with a microfactory will automatically replenish any lost strike craft it carries, or if it is assigned to a fleet, it will automatically replace any lost strike craft within the fleet itself. Hive ships gain this ability for free, while other ships must be equipped with the chambers.
	>Unlocks [Microfactory] Ship Module

	[Leviathan Autopsy/Dissection] - Finished HQQ 39
	>Strange predator from Huron that can somehow paralyze drones.
	>Very Fast
	>Picking this vast creature apart should reveal insights into its strange capabilities.
	>A strange and vicious apex predator, the Leviathan likely feeds on massive filter feeders or other large aquatic animals judging by the contents of its stomach and the shape of its teeth. Interestingly, its body is not well suited to swimming by most accounts, and its muscles are poorly adapted for long term activity. The creature is covered in a thick hide of condensed blubber that forms into an armor-like hide, and seems to grind this shell of tissue against rocky surfaces for some purpose, possibly as a grooming ritual, a kind of mating dance, or simply to mark its territory. With its slow swimming speed and poor stamina, the creature relies on an interesting adaptation to hunt. A large cluster of twisted nerves, muscles, and bones in its head fires off a powerful combination of high-frequency sonic vibrations and intense electrical pulses to disorient and stun nearby creatures. To your drones, the shock overloads their finely tuned senses, causing them to black out as their bodies effectively reset, a defensive measure adapted to countering mental attacks from rival queens. In other life, you suspect the effect would be less potent but longer lasting, causing loss of balance, nausea, and muscle spasms, as well as other symptoms depending on the species.
	>Unlocks Siren [Research Option].


Thread 38.5

	[Greenwall Research]
	>Special Research Subject
	>While the substance is fast to grow, it is parasitic in nature, gathering most of its own food from whatever it can get its roots into while only gathering small amounts from the local star. Despite this, it does offer several interesting adaptations of note. It is, in fact, more hostile and aggressive then your own hive creep, and your thinker, at your request, has isolated the genetic code responsible. You have already gone to work weaving the newly found aggression into your hive creep, allowing it to not only spread, but to do so more quickly and more aggressively than ever before.
	As well as making your hive creep more potent, the weed's rapid growth has been incorporated into many of your selected crops of choice, and while it was not without some difficulty to do so, your algae now grows far faster then any natural plant on Leeland.
	You also note several markers indicative of a hive's tampering in the past. You had already suspected, but now it is certain, the Greenwall is not a naturally evolved plant, but an engineered experiment left behind by the Gardener. It speaks to her skill that it had outlived her.
	Fortunately, now that you have incorporated its own genetic structure into your own, your hive walls are able to contain it safely, as well as allow it to spread in a controlled manner. As it is, your Raligha hive keeps a large pit of the weed were refuse can be tossed in to be recycled
	>[Algae Farms] now grow in 1 day after construction is finished.
	>[Hive Creep] now damages hostile units attempting to rest nearby.

	[Blimp Walker Dissection] - Finished HQQ 39
	>Wildlife found on Zero-One
	>Very Fast
	>This strange creature not only uses organic helium balloons to aid its movement, but is also capable of deploying a mine field of razor sharp spines to cover its retreat. Dissecting this animal should help you learn more about its interesting defense mechanism.
	>This creature has found an interesting way to adapt to the high gravity of its native world, growing large sacs of helium to help support its weight. The air sacs used to float are of little importance with the hive’s more advanced methods of floatation, but you find the design and implications of these strange quills rather fascinating. The beast itself appears to be mostly supported by the air sacs, which it fills through a complex chemical process that produces helium from a mixture of food and by swallowing large amounts of air and filtering it through special glands in the head, while the legs contain several large vacuum-like mouths that uproot foliage as it walks.

	[Minesweeper dissection] - Finished HQQ 39
	>Wildlife found on Zero-One
	>Very Fast
	>An endurance hunter, the minesweeper is built for low speed, long distance moving. While incapable of high speeds, it can track a target to exhaustion, likely over several days. Despite its normal moda operandi, it possesses an ace up its sleeve in the form of a powerful gas-propelled barbed projectile that can be launched from a hollow tube running from the base of its throat, likely connected to its lungs. A detailed study of this animal should reveal more as to the nature of its strange trump card.
	>An endurance hunter, the minesweeper is built for low speed, long distance moving. While incapable of high speeds, it can track a target to exhaustion, likely over several days. Despite its normal moda operandi, it possesses an ace up its sleeve in the form of a powerful gas-propelled barbed projectile that can be launched from a hollow tube running from the base of its throat connected to a powerful third lung that runs the length of the creature’s body and typically serves as a method of maintaining buoyancy, filling it with helium stolen from killed Blimp Walkers which allows it to move quickly for long distances. After firing its barb it is nearly crippled, forcing it to quickly find a new source of helium, or suffer from the strenuous gravity.
	>unlocks [Razor Mine] research option.

	[Unknown Alien Dissection] - Finished HQQ 39
	>Unknown aliens that tried to board and steal a corvette
	>Very fast
	>At the moment you know next to nothing about these creature, other then that they are hostile. Dissecting the various remains of their dead should reveal more about them, and how to better kill them.
	>With the dissection of the fallen aliens you have learned much of their biology, and their technology. The creatures are purpose-built for combat, utilizing drastic and invasive implants to enhance their abilities with a great focus placed on mobility. What you perceive as the head is a simple collection of sensor clusters hidden beneath a protective armor plate composed of a substance similar to human Transparasteel, which functions similar to a large directional ear. The creatures themselves see primarily in the infrared spectrum and a highly sensitive method of echolocation with an incredibly complex hearing organ that takes up most of the head. They speak using a series of bones that line the back like a mane, and are decorated in vibrant paints that are composed of small traces of thermal pastes, apparently designed to reflect or absorb heat as a form of decoration or designation of rank. The bones themselves are hollow quills not unlike a feather, and are rooted by an anchor of small muscle fibers that allows each bone to move independently, bumping into one another to create complex melodies and rhythms like a wind chime. Their bodies have no detectable vulnerability to a vacuum, and are completely air-tight. They have no mouth or stomach, but several small mechanical glands indicate nutrients are introduced intravenously. The flight system, a series of pressurized air jets, are linked directly to an artificial cardiovascular system, using the same methane rich mixture that is within its own lungs as thruster fuel.
	>Unlocks [Alien Study] reasearch option.

	[Unknown Directed Energy Weapon/Photonic Blaster] - Finished HQQ 43
	>Energy weapon taken from unknown aliens
	>Medium
	>A mysterious weapon of unknown composition and capability, picking apart the various remaining samples should reveal more about its nature.
	>By utilizing a series of lenses and carefully adjusted electromagnetic pulses, a beam of intense light is chopped into pulses, forcing photons to collide and form into temporary molecules. These photonic molecules are capable of behaving as if they held mass, and interact with other matter, causing intense burns and localized radiation. The bolts of molecular light do not travel at the full speed of light so long as they hold together, but break up on contact, causing a bright multi-spectrum flash and small shockwave that burns and ruptures the target.
	>Unlocks [Blaster Cannon], [Anti-Orbital Pulse Cannon], and [Photonic Microstructures] Research options.
	>Unlocks [Photonic Blaster] drone weapon.
		>[Photonic Blaster] – The blaster utilizes an intense multi-frequency laser to produce a powerful beam of light that is then focused through a series of carefully calibrated lenses and electromagnetic fields to slow down the stream of light in intervals, forcing the photons to bump into one another and join into a molecule that is capable of interaction with matter, and then fired as a bolt of light. The photonic molecule acts as if it holds mass, and breaks apart back into individual photons upon contact, causing a burst of intense radiation that causes severe burns to the target as it super heats the air directly around it, creating a small shock wave that can rupture armor and soft targets alike. The weapon itself is highly stable, and is capable of firing continuously with little heat buildup and little to no recoil. The bolt can slowly loose photons as it travels, and moves much slower than light speed, which limits its effective range, but not by much. While the weapon has no outstanding features about it, it is a reliable weapon for many different uses that is never the perfect tool for the job, but is always an acceptable choice for just about any situation and improves in effectiveness the more it is used.

Thread 39

	[Alien Study] - Finished HQQ 40
	>Unlocked by completing [Unknown Alien Dissection]
	>Fast
	>With your knowledge of the alien genetics you can now perform more advanced procedures on your living captive, implanting a parasite and investigating the memories of the creature while studying its functioning organs.
	>With a parasite implanted and its mind open to you, you have been able to gather a variety of data from the living Scavenger.

	[Bored Chitin Slugs] - Finished HQQ 41
	>Fast
	>By improving the shape of your kinetic slugs, as well as increasing the spin imparted to them as they leave the weapon, you can improve the armor penetration potential of your kinetic weapons. [passive upgrade]
	>By improving the shape of your kinetic slugs, as well as increasing the spin imparted to them as they leave the weapon, you can improve the armor penetration potential of your kinetic weapons. All kinetic weapons now deal more damage to armored targets. [passive upgrade]

	[Razor Mine] - Finished HQQ 40
	>Unlocked by completing [Minesweeper Dissection]
	>Very Fast
	>Your thinkers are eager to start on the application of the quills into your hive biology, and several quantum thinkers already have the beginnings of interesting ideas. This adaptation will allow a drone to store razor sharp barbs on its back, or implanted within a tail like a weapon, and allow the drone to fire them into the ground to lay traps, or launch them directly at an enemy. Upon contact, the barb will embed into soft tissue like a harpoon and detonate into a cloud of deadly razor sharp shrapnel as a shaped charge within the barb sends microscopic blades scattering in all directions. As a bonus, your thinkers believe they can easily incorporate your creep to grow patches of the barbs, creating deadly hazards for intruders.
	>Fitted to either the back like a utility adaptation, or to an equipped tail like a blade, the Razor Mine fires a harpoon of chitin lined with a shaped explosive. Upon contact with an enemy, the barb will detonate and send spinning microscopic blades in all directions to deal massive amounts of damage to soft targets. The harpoon itself is armor piercing, but the blast cannot harm armored targets. A tail can hold 5 barbs bundled together, and can be fired at short range. A medium drone can hold 10 barbs on its back, and can fire them in an arc to deploy them at very short range to create an anti-personnel minefield. Large drones can carry 2x as much in both cases. A drone can be equipped with both a tail and back mounted Razor Mine, and it pays the upkeep for both as individual adaptations. Small drones cannot equipped this due to size limitations.
	In addition, hive creep now can grow Razor Mines in the form of bushes and small fields, aiding in defense against attack.
	>Unlocks [Razor Mine] drone adaptation.
		[Razor Mine]: This adaptation is unique in that it is the only blade type that does not fit to the arms, and thus can be stacked with any other blade type. Fitted to either the back like a utility adaptation, or to an equipped tail like a blade, the Razor Mine fires a harpoon of chitin lined with a shaped explosive. Upon contact with an enemy, the barb will detonate and send spinning microscopic blades in all directions to deal massive amounts of damage to soft targets. The harpoon itself is armor piercing, but the blast cannot harm armored targets. A tail can hold 5 barbs bundled together, and can be fired at short range. A medium drone can hold 10 barbs on its back, and can fire them in an arc to deploy them at very short range to create an anti-personnel minefield. Large drones can carry 2x as much in both cases. A drone can be equipped with both a tail and back mounted Razor Mine, and it pays the upkeep for both as individual adaptations. Small drones cannot equipped this due to size limitations

	[Siren] - Finished HQQ 41
	>Unlocked by completing [Leviathan Autopsy/Dissection]
	>Fast
	>Taking the form of an elaborately shaped head similar to a radar dish, this adaptation allows a drone to emit a powerful mixture of sonic frequencies and directed electrical pulses to cause severe disorientation to a target. The effect causes blackouts to your own drones, but the drone is immune to its own effect, and the pulses are shaped to prevent friendly fire. Causes nausea, loss of balance, and muscle spasms to subjects in a 45 degree cone in front of the drone with an effective range of roughly ten meters, depending on atmospheric conditions. Long term exposure can cause seizures, irregular heartbeat, and may lead to cardiomyopathy.
	>Unlocks [Siren] Drone Adaptation
		[Siren]: A series of directed sonic frequencies and electrical pulses from this large and elaborate looking adaptation causes severe disorientation in most species. The adaptation itself appears as a radar dish mounted on the drone's head to amplify and direct the signal. It effects everything in a 45 degree angle in front of it with a range of 10 meters, and causes nausea, loss of balance, and muscle spasms to most subjects effected, and causes drones to briefly black out momentarily. It does not effect the drone emitting the signal. If equipped to a large drone the range is doubled. Small drones cannot use this adaptation due to size limitations.


	[Sea Stalker Dissection] - Finished HQQ 40
	>Dissection of Sea Stalker specimen taken from Huron
	>Very Fast
	>Apparently some manner of scavenger, this skittish creature uses its amazing speed in the water to steal bites from right under the noses of larger and slower animals. You wouldn't be surprised to see them stealing food from a Leviathan's mouth. They seem to use echolocation to see in the dark waters of Huron, although you are unsure if they are any better then what your more advanced drones are capable of. What you are interested in, however, is their impressive swimming speed. A proper study if anatomy and genetic structure should reveal a method of easily reproducing its excellent aquatic agility.
	>Through a mixture of high performance hydrodynamics and water jets, this creature is capable of evading and pursuing targets for long periods of time, but it does not hunt, instead following slower predators at a distance until they make a kill, and then stealing the spoils and discarded refuse. You should be able to easily mimic the shape and mechanics of this creature in your own drones.
	>Unlocks [Hydrodynamic Carapace] Drone adaptation.
		[Hydrodynamic Carapace]: With several areas softened to improve flexibility, and others altered to serve as water jets and fins, this body type allows for high speed maneuvering in a liquid environment. The legs are replaced with flipper-like fins capable of aiding in maneuvering or propulsion, and the body itself is elongated and made smoother to reduce drag. A tail adaptation can be added for additional performance, but is not needed.

Thread 40

	[Ground-orbital Mega-Construction] - Finished HQQ 48
	>Unlocked by completing [Carbon Nanostructure Construction]
	>Slow
	>By using new construction systems to improve efficiency, the hive can build new projects capable of reaching orbit, using the rotation of the planet to remove the requirements of a free standing structure and instead essentially hang a station in orbit from the surface of the planet. Such a construction project would double as a docking pylon capable of constructing capital ships at a much faster rate, and replace the need for shuttles to ferry goods to and from orbit.
	>By constructing a station in orbit of a planet, and stringing a cable between it and a ground station, you can create a tower spanning from the surface of a planet into orbit. Such a structure is expensive and fragile, but offers a number of excellent benefits.
	>Unlocks [Capillary Tower] construction.
		>[Capillary Tower] – This massive organic space elevator offers a number of logistical and economic advantages, despite its drastic up front cost and fragile nature. Shuttles or space craft are no longer needed to move resources from the surface to orbital structures, freeing shuttles for more important tasks. The counterweight station serves as a center for construction, with 4 docking pylons included on the structure to repair and build ships, while gaining a bonus to capital ship construction time due to the speedy nature with which resources arrive from the surface. The Capillary Tower can also spread hive creep and extract resources at an increased rate, spreading roots deep into the crust to bring up resources directly into orbit, allowing you to consume a planet much more quickly than normal.

	[Mantle Excavation] - Finished HQQ 47
	>Unlocked by completing [Smart Mines]
	>Slow
	>By using advancements in the operation and function of the metal trees, you can force them to focus their attention past the rocky crust of a world and have them dive their roots clear into the mantle of a planet, tapping into a vast wealth of metals
	>Using a mixture of powerful nanotechnology and expansive, global hive creep, you are now able to dig past the crust of a world to reach the metal rich mantle beneath. This process can bring in vast amounts of metals, but can lead to damage to the planet’s ecosystem.
	>Unlocks [Deep Core Mining] Research option.

Thread 41

	[Gravity Reflection] - Finished HQQ 45
	>Unlocked by completing [Laser-Cooled Superconductors]
	>Slow
	>Using superconducting polymers at near zero temperatures, you can interact and direct gravitational forces. Further research could lead to interesting applications of this new discovery.
	>By using layers of super-cooled metallic foils of a highly precise composition and a strong electrical current, you are able to adjust and alter gravitational fields, if only slightly. This technology has opened a wide range of potential applications, from new thruster designs to artificial gravity and more.
	>Unlocks [Gravity Foils], [Artificial Gravity Plating], and [Gravity Thrusters] Research options

	[Advanced Psionics] - Finished HQQ 42
	>Unlocked by completing [Crystalline Neural Structure]
	>Medium, Completed by opening the White Queen's Advanced Relay found on Luna.
	>With your understanding of your own mental capabilities expanding and recent discoveries hinting at even more applications, you feel that a full and detailed study using your new knowledge may reveal even more avenues of research.
	>Your new understanding of your own psionic nature has reached a level you previously though not possible. With the proper techniques, and the right adaptations, you have found a way to influence non-tachyonic matter using your own psionic signals. While in retrospect this comes as no surprise, given the nature of your Blink drive, the implications of this technology could change the way the hive functions.
	>Unlocks [Psionic Implantation], [Enhanced Psionic Sensitivity], and [Nausea Field] Research Options.

	[Neural Crystal Fractals] - Finished HQQ 44
	>Unlocked by completing [Crystalline Neural Structure]
	>Medium
	>Further experimentation into the advantages of crystalline neural structures over your simpler organic computing has led to a potential breakthrough. By creating redundant designs the method of interaction with psionic signals can be adjusted, potentially leading to a sturdier defense against psionic based attacks.
	>The crystalline structure of your newly adapted neural computers can be altered even further to hold a fractal design, offering new benefits to your thinkers, and opening up new options for other drones.
	>Unlocks [Predictive Combat Algorithms]

Thread 42

	[Solid State Teleportation] - Finished HQQ 50
	>Unlocked by completing [Quantum Entanglement Engineering]
	Slow
	While standard quantum systems allow for instantaneous transportation of data, this technology would allow for essentially the instantaneous transport of matter. The matter in question would be disassembled into individual particles and transported in much the same way as bits of data through a quantum relay, and then assembled on the other side. Due to the nature of the process, only simple objects such as raw resources could survive teleportation. This should allow for the transportation of resources across hive space without the need to delegate ships to serve as trade vessels.
	>By disassembling matter into its base atoms, you can transmit simple materials from one hive to another, allowing all hives under your control to transmit and receive resources without the use of your ships, which can now focus on defense and drone transport. It will take a short while for your thinkers to become fully capable of utilizing this new ability to the maximum benefit possible, but they are already hard at work assembling a hive-wide economy to ensure all of your facilities are properly fed and maintained.
	>Unlocks [Complex Matter Reconstruction] research option.

	[Quantum Tuning] - Finished HQQ 50
	>Unlocked by completing [Quantum Entanglement Engineering]
	Medium
	While current quantum computing technology requires the relays be built to accommodate one another, this technology should allow you to quickly attune pre-existing devices for one another when in proximity. Your thinkers suspect more opportunities to open up after further research is done. You suspect Theseus would greatly appreciate such a technology, if he does not already poses it.
	>By utilizing new advancements in quantum science, you can alter the particles of pre-existing hive made quantum relays to have them attune to another when it is within close proximity, allowing you to reuse relays that have been damaged or had their companion lost. While you feel this is not the greatest of technologies for the hive, you suspect it would be of great worth to any non-psionic life.

	[Psionic Implantation] - Finished HQQ 45
	>Unlocked by completing [Advanced Psionics]
	>Medium
	>By implanting neural crystals within a non-psionic subject you can deliberately cause a mutation within the subject, forcing it to grow the organs necessary to influence and interact with psionic networks. You now recognize this technology as the most likely cause of Vaugn's own alterations, indicating the relic found on Raligha to be a form of prototype of this technology, or perhaps it was left by the Gardener as a gift to the natives.
	>Part genetic mutation, part cybernetic implant, this procedure injects a solution of psionic sensitive neural crystals into the subjects brain, where they take root in the occipital lobe, and then spread from there to form into the equivalent of a moderate relay. The relay is sensitive to, but not included in the network of the hive, meaning the subject cannot be used to pass orders to drones or extend hive network range, but the subject is sensitive to psionic activity, and can pass on orders through the queen, should they be permitted, as well as gaining the other benefits of the enhanced moderate relay. The alteration causes minor mutations and deformations in the skull and skin, generating small quill-like spines used to conduct, receive, and transmit psionic signals that sprout from the skull. Small scab-like layers of hardened skin grow around the quills to protect it, and the quills themselves are hinged, and can be folded flush against the scalp. May also cause minor skin discoloration near the eyes and temples, and pronounced veins visible under the skin due to an increase in blood flow to the head. Apart from direct visual confirmation, the modification is not otherwise detectable by medical testing, and does not impart any control over the subject by a hive network.

	[Enhanced Psionic Sensitivity] - Finished HQQ 45
	>Unlocked by completing [Advanced Psionics]
	>Slow
	>By putting your new knowledge into practice, you should be able to enhance the abilities of your medium and advanced relays to be able to detect, and with further research, influence non-psionic creatures in proximity.
	>While until now you had no idea of the practical implications, with the help of Dr. Vaughn and the remains of the White Queen’s relay, your own hive’s technology has been given an unfathomable leap. The process seems simple now, as even in its state of quasi-existence, the tachyonic particle that is used to transmit the thoughts of the hive can and does interact with normal matter, albeit in a nearly undetectable and infinitesimal way. By using these nearly nonexistent markers, your medium and advanced relays can now detect the faint echoes of other sapient beings near the relay. Any medium or advanced relay can now detect the presence of sapient life up to a kilometer away, and can detect its general position within fifty meters up to two hundred and fifty meters away. At ten meters or less, you can gleam faint hints of the creature’s intent and general disposition, allowing you to determine hostility, as well as a vague notion to its state of mind.
	>Unlocks [Psionic Reading] Research option.

	[Nausea Field] - Finished HQQ 51
	>Unlocked by completing [Advanced Psionics]
	>Slow
	>A rather interesting side effect first noticed with your Blink drive, but now weaponized to great effect as a defensive measure. You should be able to enhance your medium and advanced relays to emit a wave of sickening nausea in a radius around it, causing effected subjects to feel increasing levels of both physical and mental uneasiness, causing feelings of dread and queasiness.
	>A potent defensive measure, the nausea field is a simple and effective method of affecting the mind of non-psionic life without a direct physical connection using a medium or advanced relay. At a range of 50 meters, you can target any detected individual or group of individuals and attempt to cause a growing feeling of discomfort. The mind of the subject may fill in excuses or reasons for the feeling, potentially leading to the sensation of being watched, hallucinations of movement in darkened areas, and other such delusions and hallucinations. These symptoms are not controlled or caused by the emitted signal, but are created by the subject’s mind in an attempt to make sense of the sudden sensation of panic and unease. The result is the subject feels compelled to leave the area, and will gradually become sick and panicked if they remain within the area of effect for long. Prolonged exposure or exposure at a distance of 10 meters or less causes acute nausea, vomiting, and headaches.


Thread 43

	[Blaster Cannon] - Finished HQQ 44
	>Unlocked by completing [Photonic Blaster]
	>Fast
	>Immediately after studying the alien blaster your thinkers have proposed methods of altering the design to increase its size for large drone and ship use. The general reliability of the blaster promises to offer a weapon option capable of filling general combat or support roles with great effectiveness, although it would leave niche roles unfilled.
	>Simply a scaled up blaster, the blaster cannon offers a heavy direct fire weapon capable of being deployed by a large drone.
	>Unlocks [Blaster Cannon] Large Drone weapon and [Blaster] Ship weapon
		>[Blaster Cannon] - A scaled up blaster that offers large drones a heavy direct fire weapon system capable of targeting a large variety of hostiles at nearly any range. Due to the increased size, it requires more time between shots to assemble a photonic particle, but it is still capable of continuous fire with little recoil or heat buildup.
		>[Blaster] - A well balanced energy weapon that deals damage through the force of the rapid decay of photonic particles against the target. The weapon is very well balanced, making it a suitable choice for nearly any weapon mount, and due to the nature of the weapon it does benefit, if only slightly, from a spinal mount. It is a decent weapon in all areas, but lacks any major area of expertise, making it best suited for use in cheap, disposable support craft and picket forces, or as a mortar to fill in any cracks within a fleet's composition.

	[Anti-orbital Pulse Cannon] - Finished HQQ 46
	>Unlocked by completing [Photonic Blaster]
	>Medium
	The major drawback of the anti-orbital battery is the inefficiency with which it punches through the atmosphere with its particle beam, losing both range and damage. By adapting the blaster’s design to ‘pulse’ the beam of the battery weapon, your anti-orbital defenses could potentially increase both their range and average damage per shot.
	>By altering the interior design of your anti-orbital batteries to utilize the design of the blaster, you have found that you can squeeze both more range and power from your defenses. While accuracy may be slightly hampered at longer ranges, the increase in the rate of fire and the improved range seems to more than make up for the marginal loss in accuracy. Your anti-orbital batteries are now capable of firing on targets in medium range orbits, and can fire at targets in high orbits with decreased accuracy, as well as dealing improved damage to targets in low orbits or at sub-orbital altitudes.

	[Photonic microstructures] - Finished HQQ 52
	>Unlocked by completing [Photonic Blaster]
	>Slow
	>The useful applications of manipulating massive photonic molecules are many, and your preliminary studies indicate that you may be able to develop more practical uses beyond the blaster, especially in the field of energy shielding.
	>By utilizing advanced techniques in particle physics to force photons to become temporarily massive particles, not only are you capable of utilizing the resulting massive photon as a weapon, but also in a wide range of other purposes. The primary hurdle you have faced in this field is the ability to interact with the massive photons in a non-destructive manner. Now, you are capable of forcing these photons to interact in ways similar to normal matter, forcing them into connected fields or tiny structures. The next step is the manipulation of these simple structures to create more complex systems. Your thinkers already have a number of ideas.
	>Unlocks [Photon Blade], [Photonic Armor], and [Holographic Haptic Feedback] research options.


Thread 44

	[Predictive Combat Algorithms] - Finished HQQ 47
	>Unlocked by completing [Neural Crystal Fractals]
	>Medium
	>Your drones are always watching the enemy, either in person or through your network, and the hive grows more accustomed to certain quirks and common tactics employed by specific species or individuals. With the powerful calculations made possible by fractal based crystal brains, your drones, and clones with either psionic capabilities or hybrid or chimera types will be able to predict the vast number of variables in any single fight, allowing it to know what the enemy will do in the heat of the moment and act accordingly. Grants a bonus to combat rolls against known and researched enemies.
	>By using the vast network of the hive to analyze the fine movements and instinctive quirks of your enemies, your drones and clones can anticipate the movements and actions of well-known opponents, allowing them to position themselves in such a way as to be the least likely to be hit with incoming fire while gaining an advantageous position from which to return fire. There are limitations, however you only gain an advantage against enemies with training and biology that is familiar to you and you must be aware of the enemy to predict its actions. Replicants or non-drone agents must be connected to the hive network via parasite or psionic implant to receive any benefits.
	>Unlocks [Kata] Research Option

Thread 44.7

	[Graystalk Research]
	>Special Research Subject
	>After carefully examining its genetic data, you found a number of similarities to the black-leaf covered fruit bearing stalk the Gardener had used as an artificial food supply. The Greystalk itself appears to be the result of the engineered food source after having incorporated itself into the wild. By adjusting its genetic data, you have returned its color from its diluted dark grey to a mate black along the leaves, with the stalk a milky light grey. The dark leaves offer a far more efficient method of absorbing light, while the roots grow deep and wide enough to entangle each other, creating a network of shared resources, allowing only a few to need water or sunlight as the others share. In the wild, this was quickly lost due to being counter to the survival of each stalk, but in the care of a farm, it is quite useful.
	>The stalk itself offers two kinds of fruits, a layer of seeds embedded in the stalk, and a nutrient filled seedless fruit that grows among the leaves. The stalk itself is incredibly strong, and even its wild cousin is used as a high quality building material among the natives, and it needs to be to support the large, melon sized fruit rapidly produced by the engineered super-crop. The only down side is that it requires lots of open space and sunlight without foliage blocking the sun. Your understanding of the Gardener’s hive from your visions of it reveal that the Greystalk is highly adaptive and suited for hydroponic farm techniques.
	>Unlocks [Hydroponic Platform] Constuction
		>[Hydroponic Platform] - (Must be built on or near water: cannot be built underground or in shade)
		A floating greenhouse platform used to grow farmland through hydroponics. Each greenhouse platform supports roughly one hectare and requires a single worker to tend the crop and maintain the platform. Multiple platforms can be connected together to create fields of floating farmland.

	[Pillar Lung] - Finished HQQ 45
	>Aquatic wildlife from Huron
	>Very fast
	>Sending your workers to crack open and dissect one of these massive filter feeders may unlock more efficient ways of extracting food from the local planet's biosphere.
	>In areas where microbial life is abnormally abundant, such as the deep oceans of Huron, filter feeding can be a beneficial thing, and the Pillar lung has evolved to do just that on an almost industrial scale, sifting through sand and silicate for refuse and remains, and water for bacteria and microbes alike. They seem capable of detaching from the ground, although they rarely do this, and using their filter mouths like jets to move through the water. When an area is devoid of food for too long, it will erupt from the ground like a rocket and launch itself to new pastures, where it will drill into the ground and begin filtering. In a way, the Pillar lung’s survival strategy is not unlike a giant, jet powered Roomba.
	>Unlocks [Filter Towers] construction.
		>[Filter Towers] - A large underwater pylon built to extract raw nutrients from the microbial life of the surrounding ecosystem. Can only be used on planets with bountiful biospheres and deep oceans capable of supporting large amounts of microbes.

	[Ballast Stalk] - Finished HQQ 45
	>Aquatic wildlife from Huron
	>Very fast
	>It's hard to tell if it is plant, animal, or both, but this buoyant creature produces threads of hair-like strands that seem to stick to living creatures, although they have no effect on their symbiotic minions. You can have your workers collect samples of the thread to study it.
	>The thin, wispy strands that drift from these large stalks are built like straws, hollow within and covered in tiny, razor sharp barbs. When the threads make contact with something two things happen, the first is that the barbs fire out, unfolding themselves from an inverted resting position by inflating with a potent toxin borrowed from the Strider and driving the barb deep into the skin of the prey like a drill, and the thread itself contracts along the side that made contact, causing it to wrap around the prey and make contact with as many barbs as possible while ensnaring it in a tangle of toxic thread. The stalk does not produce this toxin, but it has become immune to it, allowing it and its symbiotic spider-like inhabitants to capture and kill passing striders to harvest the toxin.
	>Unlocks [Stinger Whip] drone adaptation and [Barnacle] Hive Creep upgrade
		[Stinger Whip]: A long, high strength thread is held behind the mandibles like a tongue, allowing it to be aimed easily and fired quickly. When fired, it unravels at once and stretches to a length of three meters for medium drones, or ten meters for large drones, and can pull up to two tons before breaking, although it can be cut or torn easily by other forces. Coating the whip is a layer of millions of tiny barbs that trigger on contact. The whip will attempt to wrap around anything it hits, and if the barbs are able to pierce the object, it will stick to it by anchoring the barbs within it, and inject any applicable bioweapon. Once deployed, the drone can reel in the whip, or detach it if needed. A detached whip will continue to wrap around and sting any applicable target that it comes into contact with for several hours, before dissolving.
		[Barnacle]: Your hive now produces large growths along ceilings in areas of high traffic which lower a number of thin tendrils of thread intended to ensnare intruders. In addition, the surfaces of hive walls grow variants capable of firing similar tendrils at passing hostiles, ensnaring them and hampering movement, even if it is too well armored to inject its toxin.


	[Strider] - Finished HQQ 45
	>Aquatic wildlife from Huron
	>Very fast
	>You have seen little of this animal's abilities, so you won't know if it holds anything worth your time until after you have researched it. Traces of fluids from the eaten corpse seem to indicate the presence of a potent neurotoxin, but there is not enough to determine its effects.
	>This large creature is slow and clumsy on the ocean floor of Huron, and while its shell is thick, it still is very vulnerable to attack. To help protect itself from most predators, and to help it catch prey, it has developed a rather interesting adaptation. Across its body, and along its tentacles are a number of glands that construct to fire a potent neurotoxin. The toxin itself can be injected via a number of spines along the tentacles, but can also be absorbed through the skin, or inhaled. In small doses, it causes the rapid decay of muscle control, searing pain in the area of contact, and a comatose state. At higher doses, although not much at all is needed, the toxin causes violent muscle spasms and seizures before leading to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest, causing death in minutes and loss of motor control in mere seconds. In addition to the potent toxin, the Strider utilizes a high pressure gland and dexterous nozzle to aim and fire clouds of the toxin.
	>Unlocks [Tetrochlorotoxin] bioweapon and [Spitter Gland] Drone Adaptation
		>[Tetrochlorotoxin]: A potent, highly evolved form of neurotoxin that holds far more potency than normal, less refined forms of neurotoxins found in the natural environments of most worlds. It possesses potent side effects in addition to the usual paralysis, including muscle cramping, seizures, and cardiovascular failure. It can be absorbed through the skin, or by injection, and is lethal even in small doses if not treated immediately.
		>[Spitter Gland]: A small gland located beneath the mandibles of a drone that allows it to spit gaseous or liquid toxins, allowing it to deliver acidic or biological weapons intended to be inhaled or absorbed through contact. If firing a liquid such as neurotoxin or acid, it can fire a fine misty stream up to a meter away, if firing a gas, it can fill a meter cubed area with a single deployment. The gland requires time to refill its payload between shots, but is undetectable via visual inspection. Range and area of effect is 5 meters for large drones. Small drones can equip this adaptation, but cannot store payloads capable of inflicting lethal injury or major harm on most creatures alone.

	[Obsidian Queen Aggressive Hive Creep] - Finished HQQ 48
	>Special Research Subject
	>The strange abnormalities discovered within the Obsidian Queen’s ships seem connected to a kind of hive creep, based on what seems to be a highly aggressive form of alien flora. In a manner that seems to be almost reminiscent of the spores of Leeland, but in a far more advanced and weaponized fashion, the ships of the Obsidian Queen contain clusters of potent spores which, when mixed with any non-hive life, will begin to consume, spread, and assimilate any found nutrients into hive structure, spreading creep in a fully autonomous and aggressive manner that seems programmed to automatically overharvest a planet. Integrating this new technology into your own hive would take some time to do safely, but it has also revealed new avenues of research that you thinkers were previously stumped on, or had outright missed.
	>Unlocks [Auto-Harvest Pods] research option.

Thread 45

	[Gravity Foils] - Finished HQQ 48
	>Unlocked by completing [Gravity Reflection]
	>Fast
	>The most obvious and direct application of gravity deflection technology utilizes the surrounding ambient gravitational forces to allow a drone to create thrust using a complex arrangement of thin metallic sheets, allowing the drone to hover or fly in any direction. While it can technically function in a vacuum, most such situations would be in space, where the foils would be far less effective due to a lack of strong gravity fields to manipulate.
	>These metallic wings are able to alter gravity fields directly around the drone, granting a silent, fast, and highly maneuverable method of flight. Large or heavy drones can make equal use of it, although they are slower and less maneuverable.
	>Unlocks [Gravity Foil] drone adaptation.

	[Artificial Gravity Plating] - Finished HQQ 52
	>Unlocked by completing [Gravity Reflection]
	>Medium
	>By utilizing insignificant amounts of antimatter to create unfocused gravitational fields, and then directing them through the gravity plating into a single direction, the internal structure of a ship can be granted a small amount of artificial gravity. White the direction of the gravity can be changed at will, or turned off, it lacks the resources and energy to project a field capable of directly causing injury
	>A network of conduits and specialized semi-metallic plates laced with infinitesimal amounts of exotic matter gathered passively through space travel are spread across the internal structure of a ship. When power is sent through the specialized plates they bend gravity locally to attract matter along its plane. The effect is a very light artificial gravity at low cost. The plates are incapable of creating a gravity field strong enough to directly cause harm, but can be altered or turned off at will.
	>Unlocks [Artificial Gravity Plating] ship module

	[Gravity Thrusters]
	>Unlocked by completing [Gravity Reflection] - Finished HQQ 64
	>Slow
	>Similar in function to your Skid drive, the Gravity thrusters essentially surf along pre-existing gravity fields, increasing their performance when in close proximity to major sources of gravitational pull, be it a large celestial body, a star, a planet, an exceptionally large structure or group of structures, or the core of a gravity drive. While in deep space it becomes less effective, the law of universal gravitation means it never becomes totally useless, and when in close proximity to a powerful gravity source it should outperform most other thruster designs with ease.
	>Unlocks [Swarm Drive] and [Gravity Thruster Optimization] research option
	>Unlocks [Gravity Thruster] sublight propulsion
		>[Gravity Thruster] – The maneuvering thrusts of corvette sized ships and larger are replaced with gravity foils. Corvette ships and larger now receive increasing maneuvering bonus when operating within gravity wells. Larger gravity wells increase the bonus received. Capital ships can now operate within a planet's atmosphere to a limited degree. Operational Gravity Drives within Short range provide a minor bonus as well which increases with proximity.

	[Shield Miniaturization] - Finished HQQ 51
	>Unlocked by completing [Gravity Reflection]
	>Medium
	>With your new understanding, previously unknown aspects of standard shield technology can be seen in a new light, indicating a small overlap between it and gravitational manipulation technology. By using newly developed technology, your thinkers suspect that they may be able to create a more compact, but less powerful shield system.
	>This new breakthrough has led to a number of potential research options opening to you. By altering the way in which shield emitters interact with each other, a shield can be made to alter its form in order to not only take up less space, but also function in a more efficient manner, using many overlapping smaller and weaker shields to create a stronger defensive field. In addition to this, your thinkers suspect that they can further improve the compact nature of the shield emitters, or scale them up further and build them into ground based structures. In addition to new research options, the discoveries made have also accidentally solved a number of problems that had previously been hindering your thinkers’ work on Photonic Microstructures, boosting the research.
	>Boosts [Photonic Microstructures] research upon completion.
	>Unlocks [Personal Shielding] and [Shield Dome] research options
	>Unlocks [Multi-Layer Shields] Ship Adaptation
		>[Multi-Layer Shields] – By shrinking the emitters on a ship’s hull and altering the shape of the energy fields, a ship can replace its singular defensive shield with many overlapping layers of redundant shielding. With this new design, each shield layer only covers a small portion of the ship, and is itself far more likely to fail, however unlike with the standard defensive shielding failure results in the next layer of shields becoming exposed, not the failure of the entire shield. The multi-layer shield still suffers the same weaknesses of the standard shields, but it mitigates the absorbed damage across multiple, weaker layers, creating an ablative effect to greatly increase overall protection at the cost of increased resource requirements.

	[Scavenger Gunship] - Finished HQQ 46
	>Scavenger gunship captured within the Builder's abandoned dockyard.
	>Fast
	>Dedicating a number of thinkers and a few workers to disassembling and properly cataloging the contents of the captured Scavenger gunship should give you a proper account of what technology and researchable equipment exists while taking the time and care to ensure no potential samples are damaged or destroyed in the process.
	>While you had expected to spend several days scouring the ship’s interior, you quickly find everything to be surprisingly familiar to you. With the memories of the captured officer, the layout and design of the gunship comes to you with the familiarity of years of use, and while he had no direct knowledge of the technology within, you do know how everything is operated at the very least, granting you a small boost to any efforts to research the technology within.
	>Unlocks [Boarding Pods], [Ship Grapple], and [Ram] research options.

	[Psionic Reading] - Finished HQQ 49
	>Unlocked by completing [Enhanced Psionic Sensitivity]
	>Medium
	>You are already aware of this growing ability in Elizabeth, and with her help, and more research into the remains of the dead relay, you should be able to continue to fine tune your new, more powerful psionic senses to be able to not only detect the presence of sapient thought, but to read it in more detail.
	>By further tuning your senses to ambient tachyonic fields and focusing small bursts of psionics, you can actually gather meaningful data from a creatures mind from a distance. Any creature you are aware of within 50 meters of a medium or advanced relay can be targeted, gathering surface thoughts and emotions from the creature. There is a chance the target will sense the reading, manifesting as a feeling of paranoia and the illusion of distant sounds and voices. The more aware the target is of your attempt, the greater the chance for the target to sense the reading. If the target is fully aware of your capability and intent, it may attempt to resist the reading.
	>Unlocks [Advanced Psionic Reading] and [Psionic Imprinting] research options.

	[Suncaster] - Finished HQQ 48
	>Part of several pieces of weapons and equipment Lyle brought to Leeland upon his return from Lee's rescue.
	>Fast
	>This large and powerful weapon seems to use a mixture of plasma and solid slug projectiles to gain both damage and range. Disassembling it should allow you to build similar weapon systems yourself.
	>By wrapping a metal slug in an envelope of magnetic fields containing a layer of super-heated plasma, this weapon is capable of dealing a tremendous amount of damage. It specializes in armor penetration, but is heavy and unwieldly, inferring penalties to the drone that equips it.
	>Unlocks [Plasma Assault Cannon] research option.
	>Unlocks [Plasma Cannon] Drone Weapon
		>[Plasma Cannon] - A hybrid of slug thrower and energy weapon, this weapon utilizes a magnetically charged bullet to contain a payload of super-heated plasma, permitting a drastic increase in range over other plasma based weapons. It is bulky and unwieldly in combat, and any drone not equipped with a heavy carapace cannot move while firing the weapon. While it is perfectly adept at obliterating soft targets, it is designed to be most effective against heavy armor, and is considered a support weapon, fired from fixed positions, heavy drones, or from the backs or tails of large drones.

	[Variable Strike Weapon] - Finished HQQ 48
	>Part of several pieces of weapons and equipment Lyle brought to Leeland upon his return from Lee's rescue.
	>Fast
	>A patented weapon technology in the Union, this device is capable of switching between a large number of ammunition types in the middle of combat.
	>By utilizing a complex and highly compact compartmentalized ammo storage system within a the weapon, a projectile weapon can be made to switch rapidly between multiple different ammunition types. As your thinkers take apart the device, they recover and isolate samples of some of these different ammo types for further study. Projectile weapons can now hold a total of three alternate ammunition types in addition to the default.

	[Magnetized Slugs] - Finished HQQ 48
	>Part of several pieces of weapons and equipment Lyle brought to Leeland upon his return from Lee's rescue.
	>Fast
	>This technology appears to use a powerful magnetic charge to alter the trajectory of a fired projectile after leaving the weapon, improving accuracy.
	>By utilizing a complex array of electromagnets to subtly adjust and polarize the metals within a fired projectile, your weapons are able to reduce the effects of various conditions that impede accuracy, such as recoil, weather conditions, or to help zero in on vulnerable locations in armor. All projectile weapons gain increased accuracy and armor penetration against targets utilizing metal armor.

	[Privy Coat] - Finished HQQ 48
	>Part of several pieces of weapons and equipment Lyle brought to Leeland upon his return from Lee's rescue.
	>Fast
	>This article of clothing utilizes some manner of micro-fiber to block, or at least interfere with the signals of modern weapon scanners in an attempt to prevent weapons from tripping customs alarms or security checkpoints. The device is not fool proof, and typically is only considered reliable on older, less well maintained checkpoints.
	>By integrating the technology of the specially designed smuggler device into your own drones and technology, you can adapt the hive to be more difficult to detect with standard security scanners, obscuring cybernetics, mutations, and weapons carried by drones, clones, or agents of the hive. This effect is passive, but stealth oriented adaptations and augments, such as mimetic skin or semi-fluid bone tissue greatly improves the effect. The specialized stealth suit provided with the mimic skin augment now also functions as a privy coat.

Thread 46

	[Boarding Pods] - Finished HQQ 48
	>Unlocked by completing [Scavenger Gunship]
	>Fast
	>While strikingly similar in nature to the drop pods, a number of critical alterations are made to the design to allow this pod to be fired from a specialized tube like a missile and penetrate the hull of a target vessel. It then opens to allow the deadly contents to enter the ship and engage the crew without needing to dock with the target, allowing boarding attempts without disabling a ship’s drive, although the shields still need to be deactivated.
	>This simple pod launcher is a modified version of the drop pod launcher, and is capable of firing specially designed pods capable of penetrating the hull of a space craft, allowing the drones within to enter and assault the crew within. The target ship’s shields must be down first, and there is a risk of missing the target and losing the drones if the ship’s engines are still operational. An unshielded ship that is tethered to the launching ship via a ship grapple will automatically succeed.

	[Ship Grapple] - Finished HQQ 53
	>Unlocked by completing [Scavenger Gunship]
	>Medium
	>A simple idea at heart; throw a hook at the target and reel it in. When you take into account the relative speeds and raw kinetic forces involved in such an action, however, it quickly stops being so simple. Complex and highly durable cables and pulleys must be developed, as well as specialized bulkheads to prevent ripping the ship in two. The result, however, should be interesting, if a bit insane.
	>Despite being little more than a tow cable with a grappling hook on the end, this device holds all manner of engineering nightmares involved in its design. The problem of making a grapple secure the target hull reliably, the ability to prevent the line from breaking, or worse, the hull from sheering off. To overcome these limitations, you have developed a specialized system modeled after the salvaged grapples found in the Scavenger gunship.
	>Unlocks [Harpoon Launcher] ship module
		[Harpoon Launcher]: Built to fire the ship grapple, the harpoon launcher utilizes a harpoon-like hook tipped with a non-Newtonian fluid warhead that punctures the target hull, then dissolves into a liquid seal only to become rigid again once the line becomes taught, anchoring the harpoon in place. The line is made of an elastic ligament made of a carbon nano-tube weave with a semi-liquid crystal carbon suspension within which replenishes damaged segments of the tether and can be pumped into the harpoon to create a solid diamond anchor within the target hull. The harpoon is launched from a specialized launch tube, and can maneuver itself to a limited degree like a missile, and is linked to a segmented superstructure that distributes the strain equally across the ship’s hull, but includes a failsafe allowing the launch tube to be jettisoned in an emergency to cut the line. A Harpoon Launcher holds a single launch tube and roughly a kilometer of compact tether. The launch tube requires careful preparation to load, and cannot be reloaded in combat. Scoring a hit with a tether will prevent the target from exiting melee range and allow the ship to attempt to reel in the target, after which the relative speed of the ship and its target is reduced to zero and any attack, be it weapon, boarding pod, or additional harpoons, is an automatic hit, and both ships are forced to follow a velocity equal to their combined acceleration. The more tethers connect the two ships, the less likely it is for the harpoons to break loose or sheer the target’s hull. The harpoon cannot penetrate shields, and the harpooning ship must lower its shields to fire. If the ship has multi-layer shields, only the side of the ship facing the target is rendered vulnerable

	[Ram] - Finished HQQ 53
	>Unlocked by completing [Scavenger Gunship]
	>Medium
	>The concept of ramming in ship to ship combat is simple and straight forward. Doing so without obliterating your own ship, however, is a far more complex skill to master that requires numerous alterations to ship design philosophy and a willful lack of common sense. The Scavengers appear to be insane enough to have thought such a strategy useful in space combat, and are stubborn enough to perfect it. The study and extensive testing of the design of the ram should allow you to develop something similar for your own ships.
	>What was once the most basic and simple form of naval combat, when translated into space combat, becomes a nightmarish and suicidal undertaking that is just as likely to kill you as it is to kill your enemy. The complexity of the science is not in the process of ramming; anyone can do it once. The trick is to learn how to do it again. The ability to ram a space craft and not share its fate requires a mixture of application of complex velocity control, strategic hull reinforcing, reactive armor plating, and a dash of madness. Madness can be used as a substitute for the rest rather easily, but it does hamper the ship’s rate of survival.
	>Unlocks [Ramming Keel] ship module
		[Ramming Keel]: While at first glance it looks like a simple bow from a naval ship, it is much more than that. The surface holds a shaped ram laminated in a carbon lattice with a semi-liquid crystal suspension within designed to plow through debris, but not puncture a target hull. This imparts the ship with a bonus against damage from space debris and attacks against its bow, but hampers its targeting and logistical sensors, reducing its accuracy with weapons at medium and long range, and reducing its ability to perform scans of a system. The critical components are held deep within the ship in the form of a reinforced nanostructure of superconducting coils surrounding a ferrous metal core which runs the length of the ship, replacing one spinal mount slot. This accomplishes two things, the first is that it prevents the hull from buckling under the force of the impact; the second is that it allows the ship to crack the target’s hull immediately prior to the actual impact by driving the core out from the spinal mount and into the target ship, imparting additional impact force into the target’s hull and creating a wedge for the ram to drive into while cushioning the ramming ship from the impact. The ferrus core is then driven back into the mount and the system reloaded.



Thread 47

	[Ralighan Biology Study]
	>Special Research Subject
	>The biology of the natives of Raligha seems to be rooted in a predatory role, likely adapting as pack hunters before growing in intelligence. Interestingly enough, you find signs of the Gardener’s own genetic data within the native, indicating some level of alterations or experimentation, possibly even leftovers from past research in psionic implantation, although no native seems naturally psionic.
	>Unlocks [Survivalist] and [Spiral Warrior] Clone specializations.

	[Kata] - Finished HQQ 49
	>Unlocked by completing [Predictive Combat Algorithms]
	>Fast
	>By studying and testing the data granted by your predictive algorithms and your knowledge of alien biology, your thinkers believe that they can create a number of potent combat maneuvers to bolster the combat potential of your clones and non-drone agents, allowing them to fight with similar instinctive aggression as your warriors, but adapted to the limitations and abilities of the individual’s biology.
	>Using the data gathered from your thinkers observations of enemy actions, your clones and non-hive agents implanted with a parasite or connected to your network can now respond instinctively to a wide range of combat situations with the same reflexes and devastating efficiency of your warriors, granting a boost to general performance in combat.

	[Deep Core Mining] - Finished HQQ 58
	>Unlocked by completing [Mantle Excavation]
	>Slow
	>Taking planetary mining to the logical extreme, your thinkers believe that your hive infrastructure, if spread across the surface of a world and given enough time, would be able to consume the ferrous metal core of a planet itself.
	>By drilling through the crust and mantle of a planet, the hive can devour the ferrous metal core of a world, accessing metals that would otherwise be inaccessible. The process causes vast amounts of damage to the planet, causing it to loose much of its atmosphere if it has one. Geological activity stops, and the crust begins to crumble inward, causing vast fissures across the surface. The planet becomes barren, instantly reducing its Nutrient score to 0 permanently while granting a vast amount of Metals. The drilling project damages the surface, but does not otherwise deplete its metal deposits, allowing for standard metal mining to continue. Damage to local hive installations cause the planet's Development score to reduce by half, and the planet is no longer eligible for terraforming projects.

	[Rip Drive] - Finished HQQ 57
	>Experimental Skyl FTL technology. Traded in exchange for growing the first living generation of free Skyl.
	>Medium
	>A powerful, and accurate drive system, it does not move the equipped ship, but allows the ship to rip open a hole in spacetime, creating something akin to an artificial wormhole that bridges the ship's current location with a location of its choosing within its range. This allows not only the ship to move through the rupture, but also allows it to open ruptures for other craft, allowing for the deployment of sub-light craft over vast interstellar distances.
	>Unlocks [Rip Drive] FTL engine and [Micro-Rip Drive] ship module
		>[Rip Drive] – The full rip drive is a potent support technology, capable of allowing ships without their own method of travel to traverse interstellar distances. In effect a kind of compact and portable hypergate, the technologies accomplish a similar result through different means. By utilizing what could only be described as a psionic drill, the ship fires a focused and intense multi-spectrum radiation beam to a specific point in space, using a mixture of finely tuned subatomic interactions and tachyonic physics to tear a hole in spacetime leading to the target destination. Navigation is accomplished in a similar manner as a Blink drive, however the range itself is limited to fifteen light years per jump for a one-sided jump, with accuracy and danger increasing exponentially with greater ranges. If another Rip drive equipped ship is at the location, the safe travel range can be doubled. The tear opened holds an accuracy of roughly a light hour but can be shortened to a light minute if guided by ships already at the destination, and exists long enough for a fleet of ships to pass through, its size slowly shrinking from its initial radius over time. The maximum size of the rift created is dependent on the ship using it, and is large enough in its initial size to provide passage for an object of equal size or smaller.
		>[Micro-Rip Drive] – With some modifications to make the drive more compact in order to fit aboard an otherwise unmodified ship, the micro-rip drive is capable of being installed in the spinal mount of a ship. While still quite large of a device, the micro-rip drive is compact enough to only require a single spinal mounting, and can project a tear in spacetime capable of transporting any ship smaller than itself although the reduction in size prevents it from being used to transport itself or ships of equal size. Range has also suffered slightly due to the reduction in size compared to a ship using it as its main drive, allowing a ship to target its spacetime tear to any location within five light years, roughly half that of a full sized drive. The Rip Drive is capable of reliably targeting a location within a light day, although it can project a tear within the same system as its target with far greater accuracy, bringing it down to a mere light minute or less.

Thread 48

	[Plasma Assault Cannon] - Finished HQQ 51
	>Unlocked by completing [Suncaster]
	>Fast
	>Your thinkers believe it would be rather easy to scale up the plasma cannon, using the same principles, but on a similar scale as the Rotary Stinger or Thorn Cannon, turning a powerful anti-armor weapon into a direct fire siege weapon that would likely make for a powerful bunker buster and anti-structure weapon.
	>In what has become practically an experiment of extremes, your thinkers have created a weapon to surpass the Lightning Cannon in pure destructive potential. Using a focused ball of charged plasma held within a condensed magnetic field, your large drones would be able to obliterate virtually anything within its range, creating a direct fire siege weapon capable of defeating all but the most excessive of defenses with a display of firepower so great, the next step up is orbital bombardment.
	>Unlocks [Plasma Assault Cannon] drone weapon
		>[Plasma Assault Cannon] –This devastating siege weapon collects plasma into a large magnetized field and fires it at a target. The resulting bubble of plasma bursts on contact, burning and obliterating anything near the target with a blast comparable to a low yield strategic strike, devastating anything from buildings to armored vehicles. The amount of thermal energy stored within a single blast of the weapon is too great to be contained for any extended period of time, forcing the drone to charge each shot just prior to firing. The result is a highly telegraphed attack that is so destructive no warning would matter. The weapon can fire before being fully charged in order to attack mobile targets, but it is most effective against stationary targets, such as buildings, docked ships, or bunkers. Like the Thorn Cannon, it is forced to be equipped in a specific way due to its design, forcing it to be equipped to a large drone’s forward facing weapon graft. Ventilation tubes and plasma condensers are implanted along the sides and abdomen of the drone, resulting in collected plasma to glow from beneath the armored carapace as it charges an attack, and causing thermal damage to anything nearby from the venting heat after a shot is fired.

	[Micro Rocket] - Finished HQQ 50
	??>Unlocked by completing [Variable Strike Weapon]??
	>Fast
	>A miniaturized, unguided missile that utilizes a small amount of propellant to maintain its trajectory and boost its velocity before embedding itself within the target and detonating for maximum damage. The rocket itself is a form of smart ordinance, and can be set to detonate at a predetermined time, such as after penetrating a wall or door, or within a certain range of a target, or within the target. The rocket deals more damage at longer range, but infers a penalty to accuracy and rate of fire.
	>A miniaturized, unguided missile that utilizes a small amount of propellant to maintain its trajectory and boost its velocity before embedding itself within the target and detonating for maximum damage. The rocket itself is a form of smart ordinance, and can be set to detonate at a predetermined time, such as after penetrating a wall or door, or within a certain range of a target, or within the target. The rocket deals more damage at longer range, but infers a penalty to accuracy and rate of fire.
	>Unlocks [Heavy Thumper] drone weapon
		>[Heavy Thumper] - An advanced version of the thumper grenade launcher, this version fills the ranged weapon slot and is in many ways a more robust, higher caliber Thorn Launcher that fires self-propelled chitin warheads capable of dispersing shrapnel after penetrating a target’s armor or cover. Because the weapon uses complex ammunition, the drone’s weapon cannot quickly or easily regenerate additional munitions in the field, forcing the drone to carry a larger supply at once. Because of this, the Heavy Thumper occupies both the weapon graft slot and the drone’s blade slot for that arm, reducing its melee capabilities. A drone with a Honey Pot does not suffer this drawback, as ammo can be stored in the Honey Pot and fed to the weapon as needed. The micro-rockets can be made to hold chemical, biological, thermal, or other similar ammo types in the same way as the normal Thumper. Each rocket deals a small amount of splash damage to any adjacent units upon detonation.

	[Auto-Harvest Pods] - Finished HQQ 52
	??>Unlocked by completing [Obsidian Queen Aggressive Hive Creep]??
	>Medium
	>A number of pods that can be placed within some ships, allowing them to spread hive spores over an enemy planet when destroyed. These pods could, theoretically, also be launched from drop pods for a similar effect.
	>By using a mixture of a modified drop pod design and a payload of specialized hive spores, a ship can be equipped with a number of pods designed to survive entry into a planet’s atmosphere and penetrate the ground’s surface, where the pod quickly sprouts roots and begins to spread, feeding on the nutrients and metals of the planet to support itself and gathering excess resources into a central location near the crash site as it spreads and automatically constructs hive creep and infrastructure, eventually forming a hive structure over the pod’s location. Each spore pod counts as a large sized drop pod, and can be launched from large sized drop pod bays at a cost of 100N per pod in addition to normal costs. Each pod functions independently from your hive, but is tuned to your network and will link to you just as your own hive infrastructure does. The pod itself holds a basic psionic relay, but it is capable of relaying to other pods outside of its range by growing together and making physical contact. The pod will construct a basic hive center, including a resource teleporter to begin resource extraction if left alone, but can be ordered to build one of any hive building over its landing site instead, including a capillary tower, if it is in the proper location on the surface, or an advanced relay. The hive creep will act to defend itself and aggressively spread over the target planet, but is not capable of fighting armed and organized resistance. The creep will continue to grow so long as it is within physical contact with a spore pod. Neither the creep nor the pod is capable of decision making, and their independence is through simple, animalistic programming.
	>Unlocks [Spore Pod] ship module

	[High-altitude Spore Dispersal] - Finished HQQ 56
	??>Unlocked by completing [Obsidian Queen Aggressive Hive Creep]??
	>Medium
	>By spraying modified hive spores from a capillary tower at high altitude, the tower gains the ability to spread hive creep several magnitudes faster than any other method you have, contaminating the surface of an entire hemisphere in a mere day, although the creep itself grows at normal speed. The spores are visible as a greenish fog that permeates the atmosphere, especially around the tower itself, and is toxic to non-hive life, forcing any enemies of the hive to make use of rebreathers or air filters. The spores can be made to carry other chemicals or biological agents.
	>Unlocks [Hive Dusting] research option.

	[Atmospheric Static Generator] - Finished HQQ 64
	>Unlocked by completing [Ground-Orbital Mega-Construction]
	>Medium
	>By utilizing the natural friction of a sufficiently dense atmosphere against the surface of a capillary tower, the tower can be made to generate energy to feed itself and reduce its upkeep cost.
	>By utilizing the natural friction of a sufficiently dense atmosphere against the surface of a capillary tower, the tower can be made to generate energy to feed itself and reduce its upkeep cost. While having no effect on the initial construction costs, upkeep is reduced by 50% for any capillary tower built on a planet with an atmosphere.
	>Unlocks [Gas Giant Superstructure Construction] research option.


Thread 49

	[Advanced Psionic Reading] - Finished HQQ 64
	>Unlocked by completing [Psionic Reading]
	Slow
	With your new abilities growing, you continue to hone and develop more advanced methods of using your psionic network. Your thinkers believe that with more practice they should be able to delve deeper into the minds of non-hive life, digging past surface thoughts and emotions and into more detailed pieces of information without resorting to invasive neural interfaces.
	>By utilizing a recently practiced deeper understanding of alien thought, and more nuanced psionic signals to trace the neural structure of a living mind, it is possible to create a far more detailed picture of the thought process of non-hive entities beyond the ability to skim surface thoughts and emotions. This process is more invasive, however, as it requires the target mind to recall thoughts to be examined, using psionic signals to stimulate particular neural pathways and forcibly recall the targeted memories. The attempt will always be detected, however it is possible to block out the target's perception of the event, resulting in a momentary gap in memory. The target is incapable of any action, mental or otherwise as their mind is mentally probed. The target can attempt to resist the initial attempt, and there is a chance they may hold some memory of the event itself, although a successful reading will be perceived as a momentary time lapse accompanying a felling of Déjà vu. Additional symptoms may include nose bleeds caused by temporary micro-hemorrhaging within the brain, dizziness, bloodshot eyes, and fatigue, although after an initial field test you suspect many of these symptoms are either random or dependent on the target individual, as well as the length of the mental probing itself, its severity, and how much resistance the target is capable of. The target must be within 5 meters of a medium or advanced relay to make an advanced reading attempt, can only target one individual at a time, and any other individual within range not targeted will sense the attempt, including vague imprints of the information being probed, especially if the target resists the attempt.
	>Unlocks [Empathetic Paralysis]

	[Psionic Imprinting] - Finished HQQ 55
	>Unlocked by completing [Psionic Reading]
	>Medium
	>The next logical step from psionic reading, your thinkers believe that if you can detect the thoughts of others, you may be able to alter them as well. Further study is needed to determine the extent of this potential ability.
	>Careful and very deliberate pulses of psionic energy can, under the right conditions, slightly alter the properties of real matter on the molecular level. Through this process of slight nudging, and by using Psionic Reading to develop an image of the mind being worked on, you can essentially trigger instinctive mental states or implant simple ideas into the target mind. The more simple the idea, the easier it is to implant, such as the overwhelming notion that something is a bad idea, suppressing a fight or flight response to calm a target down, or confusing the mind's perception of its surroundings to manipulate its perceived navigation of an environment, sending them in circles they could swear is a straight path. Such ideas can be implanted within a range of 5 meters and requires a direct line of sight. More complex ideas require greater effort, requiring some focus or distraction to help nudge the target's thought process, such as a speaker or agent stating the idea verbally in conjunction with the impressed sensation of agreement. Such complex manipulations allow for the adjustment of a target's opinion of a subject or other target, the erasing of a recent memory, or a detailed verbal command instructing the target to perform some non-dangerous action. Failure to imprint on a target may result in the target becoming aware of the attempted influence.
	>Unlocks [Advanced Psionic Imprinting] and [Psionic Telekinesis] research options.

Thread 50

	[Complex Matter Reconstruction] - Finished HQQ 56
	>Unlocked by completing [Solid State Teleportation]
	>Slow
	>Your thinkers suspect that by utilizing and combining advancements in quantum theory with your teleportation technology it may be possible to increase the threshold of items that can be transmitted from pure substances and elements, to more complex alloys and objects of more complex shape and size, potentially allowing for the transmission of equipment, weapons, or mechanical components.
	>While the teleportation of life still stands locked behind a mixture of technical and philosophical dilemmas, your hives are now capable of transmitting complex molecular structures across vast spacial distances instantaneously, allowing the transport of materials that would normally require extensive industrial effort to refine and produce, further improving the efficiency of your hives and allowing hidden hives to further reduce their needed local manufacturing efforts, lowering their emissions and in turn making them that much more difficult to detect without hampering their abilities to equip its agents.

Thread 50.3

	[Singularity Projector] - Finished HQQ 52
	>Tech traded with Theseus in exchange for [Quantum Tuning]
	>Fast
	>A tremendously powerful weapon capable of literally annihilating anything within range, devouring it within the event horizon of an artificial black hole. The weapon lacks in range, but is so devastating in its function that it is as much a deterrent as it is an actual weapon, forcing enemy ships to flee from any ship known to have such a device. Can only be equipped to a battleship or Hive ship sized hull, and requires canderon to function properly. Canderon not included.
	>Unlocks [Singularity Projector] Ship Weapon
		[Singularity Projector] – A network of gravetic projectors spread across the ship’s weapon ports allow the creation of artificial singularities a short distance from the ship’s hull. Accuracy and range are limited, however even a glancing blow can sheer the hull from a passing ship in an instant, swallow incoming warheads whole, or spaghettify attacking strike craft before there is any chance of evasion. With luck and proper forewarning, but mostly luck, even energy weapons can be negated, or at least redirected as it loops around the event horizon. The range makes this a purely defensive weapon, and its devastation makes it an equally excellent deterrent, as few pilots are willing to knowingly leap into the gaping maw of oblivion itself. A ship can have multiple singularities projected at once; however they are limited in the amount of time each singularity can exist, and at the rate at which they can be created.

Thread 51

	[Personal Shielding]
	>Unlocked by completing [Shield Miniaturization]
	>Slow
	>By further shrinking the emitters, your thinkers believe they may be able to eventually make them small enough to be equipped to the carapace of a drone, or to the surface of an armored suit. At this time it is mostly speculation and an eagerness to please mother beyond all reason, and you cannot be sure what the limitations may be, but the thinkers are sure they can do it.

	[Shield Dome] - Finished HQQ 65
	>Unlocked by completing [Shield Miniaturization]
	>Slow
	>The opposite way of thinking as personal shielding, by scaling the shield emitters up further to a size that would be impossible to hold and power on a ship, your thinkers suspect they should be able to construct a defensive perimeter around a hive center protected by a powerful defensive shield. The thinkers that have proposed the idea seem to be certain in the failure of the other project, as they are of this one, and you have had to separate the quantum thinkers as they attempted to disprove each others’ theories more than develop their own.
	>By expanding the power and emitter systems of a shield's primary infrastructure and spreading it across a facility, it becomes possible to project a protective dome over ground based facilities. Due to the increase in size, the shield dome is capable of protecting against far greater amounts of damage than a typical starship shield, however like all shields, the biggest enemy is thermal energy, which will continue to build up beneath the dome for as long as it is active, cooking the inhabitants if the shield does not fail first.
	>Unlocks [Planetary Shielding] Research option.
	>Unlocks [Shield Dome Network] construction
		>[Shield Dome Network] – An overlapping network of bunkers crisscross the landscape of a planet offering emergency shelters for any local inhabitants to survive orbital attack, as well as shield emitters placed in overlapping layers set around important infrastructure and planetary installations. Like all shields, heat quickly becomes a problem as it sustains fire, as such a mixture of ventilation towers and subterranean heat sinks, turning a small facility into a massive, sprawling network of infrastructure. If the planet suffers orbital bombardment, this planetary installation will absorb all damage first.

Thread 52

	[Photon Blade] - Finished HQQ 54
	>Unlocked by completing [Photonic microstructures]
	>Medium
	>A beam of massive photons arranged in a linear pattern and emitted from a palm sized projector, creating a semi-solid line of photons that quickly return to their normal, non-massive state at an adjustable distance of a meter or less from the projector. The result is a glowing beam capable of being used as a blade. Upon contact with matter, the beam has a similar effect as a blaster, sublimating or melting the material nearly instantly. While it actually has less overall cutting power when compared to the larger and more damaging thermal and vibro blade options, the photon blade is smaller, lighter weight, and cannot be broken by virtue of not actually being made of solid matter to begin with.
	>A beam of massive photons arranged in a linear pattern and emitted from a palm sized projector, creating a semi-solid line of photons that quickly return to their normal, non-massive state at an adjustable distance of a meter or less from the projector. The result is a glowing beam capable of being used as a blade. Upon contact with matter, the beam has a similar effect as a blaster, sublimating or melting the material nearly instantly. While it actually has less overall cutting power when compared to the larger and more damaging thermal and vibro blade options, the photon blade is smaller, lighter weight, and cannot be broken by virtue of not actually being made of solid matter to begin with. The blade can be easily used by non-hive life, where the light weight nature of the blade can be used to its full advantage.
	>Unlocks [Photon Saber] equipment
		>[Photon Saber] – An adjustable beam of hard light emitted from a small hand held hilt shaped device. The saber is capable of penetrating most armors with relative ease, although thicker and more heavy armor requires sustained contact with the blade. While it deals less damage compared to more time tested melee weapons, its small size and light weight mean it can be wielded by individuals without a full drop suit, and can be concealed easily when not in use. Due to the dangerous nature of the weapon, the user must either have extensive specialist training, or a hive parasite to assist in its use to avoid injury.

	[Photonic Armor] - Finished HQQ 60
	>Unlocked by completing [Photonic microstructures]
	>Medium
	>While it is not nearly as robust as what your thinkers promise from the miniaturization of shield technology, these small plates of massive photons are solid enough to deflect weapons fire and absorb energy for a brief period of time. Less a portable defensive shield and more of a temporary deployable cover, this technology, in theory, would offer drones or agents a way to quickly protect themselves during a momentary lack of cover before the photons dissipate.
	>While weak and quick to decay, the photonic armor still offers a potent defensive capability in that it is capable of rapidly repairing itself and any damage it sustains, making it an invaluable tool for maneuvering over terrain with poor cover for short periods, or offering additional protection from attacks to nearby units.
	>Unlocks [Isolation Fields] research option
	>Unlocks [Photonic Projector] equipment and drone adaptation.
		>[Photonic Projector]: A hardlight projector mounted on the drone's arm in place of a blade, the projector is designed for rugged combat situations and thus lacks the definition of haptic holograms or hardlight furnishings of hive structures, and is limited to creating very crudely shaped simple constructs. These constructs, practically speaking, are limited in function to that of a defensive shield, or an offensive Photon Blade. While the blade is less effective than a standard combat blade, the added benefit of being able to reform into a shield grants it an advantage in a firefight when lacking cover. The shield itself is in effect unbreakable, as it will reform if penetrated by an attack, although it is not invulnerable, and can be broken down with concentrated fire. The shield projected is large enough for the equipped drone to conceal itself, and if both arms are used, can extend into any projected shields adjacent to create a temporary shield wall.

	[Holographic Haptic Feedback] - Finished HQQ 54
	>Unlocked by completing [Photonic microstructures]
	>Fast
	>By altering the nature of the photons emitted from a standard hologram, your thinkers claim to be able to give the projected images a texture. While the image itself still won’t full much of anyone with its subtle glow and slight flicker, the ability to touch the hologram itself does offer a number of advantages with regards to user interfacing.
	>With a mixture of basic hard light technology application and minor advancements in holographic technology, this new holo projector is capable of creating holograms capable of providing the sensation of touch. While the image itself is still an obvious projection, the provided haptic feedback offers a number of advantages in entertainment, usability, and training potential.
	>Unlocks [Holo-Simulation Training] and [Entertainment Holo-suite] research options

Thread 53.2

	[Space City Construction] - Finished HQQ 56
	>Obtained after inspecting the Builder's dockyards in Wonder
	>Medium
	>By examining the details of how such a massive structure is formed and stabilized within its orbit, as well as techniques on laying out life support and logistical systems on a scale far larger then any ship, you should eventually be able to design and build space born stationary structures to rival even the works of the Builder herself.
	>A truly massive construction endeavor, a space city offers an excellent way to claim influence over a region of space, exploit otherwise remote resources, and even offer residence to biological life or perform dangerous research in the safety of remote space. While not capable of altering its velocity with any ease, a space city is capable of being equipped with a wide range of weapons and ship components that make it a cornerstone of any critical star system or deep space location.

	[Psionic Sensors] - Finished HQQ 58
	>Obtained from the Builder's abandoned research.
	>Slow
	>This is a strange project indeed, and a concept that should not work at first assumption. It utilizes a basic concept of quantum mechanics, that being that the future of a particle effects it present state, and applies it to a mass scale. The hypothesis is a sensor that does not sense a target, but predicts it. The project is still in its infancy, however, and there is hardly any work finished beyond some basic mathematics and theories.
	>By utilizing the temporal idiosyncrasies of quantum mechanics interacting under relativity, the behavior of certain subatomic particles can be predicted with surprising accuracy in a laboratory environment. The quantum state of a particle is effected by both observation, and its immediate future. With tachyonic particles, these strange and counter intuitive behaviors can be measured in a controlled and easily interpreted way. The Psionic sensors accomplish this by examining not individual particles, but by measuring the general state of the space arround it, which should be inherently random, with only the tortuous energies of certain FTL drive functions creating a momentary uniformity to the quantum state of surround particles. In this way, a Psionic scanner can predict the arrival of ships utilizing FTL with moderate accuracy, although the incredibly complex nature of it and the inherent unreliability of the involved particles means it is in no way perfect.

	[Tachyonic Insulators] - Finished HQQ 58
	>Obtained from the Builder's abandoned research.
	>Medium
	>You did not find any thinker alive that was working on this strange project, with all of them nearby fossilized long ago. You did, however, find a small sample of prototype material which seems to absorb tachyonic particles and then disperse them in random directions, scrambling psionic signals and making them appear as universal background noise.
	>Utilizing a modified variation to the materials used in the construction and growth of your own relays, the Tachyonic Insulator disperses incoming psionic signals instead of collecting and interpreting them. The effect is highly effective, rendering any psionic signal that passes through the material inert, meaningless, and harmless. While not a structure itself, the material is cheap to produce and easy to work with, allowing you to include it in the construction of all manner of devices and buildings. While it would be debilitating to your hive to use it on a large scale, they can be easily utilized to shield individual rooms or individuals.
	>Unlocks [Mind Shield] equipment and [Silence Chamber] and [Psionic Sensor Tower] constuction
		>[Mind Shield] - A simple helmet made from tachyonic insinuative material. While it alone offers no physical protection, the mind shield protects the wearer from any and all mental attacks or monitoring attempts, blocking any attempt to detect the user's thoughts, disposition, location, or intentions as well as causing any attempt to manipulate their state of mind to fail automatically. The helmet also prevents the user from using any psionic abilities, including basic telepathic communication regardless of range. The helmet has no effect when the user is observed through non-psionic methods.

		>[Silence Chamber] - Regardless of if it is built as a prison, or a quiet place to think, these chambers are small psionically shielded rooms that prevent the passage of psionic signals in or out that can be easily built at request in your hives for negligible cost, offering both a place for psionically sensitive non-hive allies to rest away from the constant noise of the hive, or a secure place to store psionically active materials and hostile psionic entities where they can do no harm to the hive.

		>[Psionic Sensor Tower] – A massive spire composed of highly psionically sensitive instruments and material focused on the detection and measurement of wide range quantum states in a vacuum directed at the space around the planet. Grants a chance to predict the arrival of ships approaching the system via certain FTL methods. The effectiveness depends on the method used and the size of the incoming fleet, granting a base chance to detect incoming Blink drive ships at 75%, Space-fold and Rip drive at 50%, Warp drive at 25%, and Flicker drive at 10%. Gatecasting ships from Hypergates and Slip drive is not effected.

Thread 54

	[Holo-simulation Training] - Finished HQQ 55
	>Unlocked by completing [Holographic Haptic Feedback]
	>While the hive is fully capable of imprinting false memories or running mental simulations within an individual's mind, there is still some level of fidelity lost in translation. By combining mental imprinting with an immersive holographic simulation, non hive life forms can be made to quickly gain and test new skills and abilities, greatly boosting performance as well as running simulations for specific missions to increase the odds of success.
	>An addition to imprinted memory training, but not a total replacement for it, this new holo-simulation training facility allows for agents to practice the skills imprinted in their minds in a high fidelity simulation in relative safety. Weapons that would normally kill are reduced to a painful bruise or burn that can be easily and quickly treated. The addition of simulation training can boost the competence of agents before deployment, or help to speed up the training process of individuals seeking to improve their abilities. The holo-chamber is compact and efficient, and can be easily grown in a hive of almost any size, offering a place for agents and clones to be quickly trained prior to deployment, improving the odds of success for any clone or agent related espionage and improving the quality of clones in general.

	[Entertainment Holo-Suite] - Finished HQQ 55
	>Unlocked by completing [Holographic Haptic Feedback]
	>A technology that offers no real value to the hive itself, a dedicated entertainment system built from the advanced holographic technology of the hive could prove greatly profitable during inter-species relations.
	>While technologically similar to the simulation center, the holo-suite required a number of alterations to ensure a greater degree of comfort and safety for the user, allowing for a wider range of less violent experiences beyond the range of typical combat exorcises. While it could be possible to sell this technology for great profit in non-hive space, your hives could also easily use this as a form of attraction and civilian pacification, improving the morale of any non-hive population living within hive space.

Thread 54.2

	[Phantom Language]
	>Special Research Subject
	>Unlocks understanding of the Phantoms' language.

Thread 55

	[Psionic Cloaking] - Finished HQQ 63
	>Study of the Phantoms' natural ability to remain psionically hidden.
	>Medium, boosted by the Barren Queen.
	>A complex practice naturally accomplished by the Phantoms under the care of the Barren Queen, you have been instructed in the basics, and now all that is left is practice and application. In theory it is simple, using carefully woven mental signals to broadcast a sense of non-existence. While this process is most effective against being sensitive to tachyonic radiation, it can be used against virtually any organic being. A psionic race may find entire patches of planet voided from their minds like a mass-induced psychosis, while less attuned or mentally blind species find details of the cloaked unit impossible to remember or describe, or may simply not notice the unit unless it is alone and obvious in appearance. Simply turning around or standing among a small crowd is enough to become virtually invisible. Unfortunately, this invisibility comes at a cost, as it is omni-directional, and any unit enveloped in such a shroud would be unable to mentally communicate with others, effectively cutting itself off from any hive network. This ability requires at least a moderate relay or implant to accomplish, although no drone would do so willingly and cut itself off from the Queen without a direct command to do so.
	>A complex practice naturally accomplished by the Phantoms under the care of the Barren Queen, you have been instructed in the basics, and extensive practice among the Phantom locals has made you exceedingly efficient in the process, using carefully woven mental signals to broadcast a sense of non-existence. While this process is most effective against beings sensitive to tachyonic radiation, it can be used against virtually any organic being. A psionic race may find entire patches of planet voided from their minds like a mass-induced psychosis, while less attuned or mentally blind species find details of the cloaked unit impossible to remember or describe, or may simply not notice the unit unless it is alone and obvious in appearance. Simply turning around or standing among a small crowd is enough to become virtually invisible. Unfortunately, this invisibility comes at a cost, as it is omni-directional, and any unit enveloped in such a shroud would be unable to mentally communicate with others, effectively cutting itself off from any hive network. This ability requires at least a moderate relay or implant to accomplish, although no drone would do so willingly and cut itself off from the Queen without a direct command to do so.

	[Advanced Psionic Imprinting] - Finished HQQ 69
	>Unlocked by completing [Psionic Imprinting]
	>Slow
	>With the application of psionic imprinting you are able to influence and alter the state of matter using only focused and precise mental signals. Your thinkers believe this can be taken further, using more accurate signals and more precise manipulation methods to imprint more complex thoughts and ideas more quickly and easily, and at a greater range.
	>More a matter of careful practice than deliberate scientific discovery, careful examination of the interaction between tachyonic waves and the neurological activity of living beings has lead to the improvement of your psionic imprinting, allowing for the standard effects to be applied to a target at up to 20 meters with a direct line of sight, or 10 meters without a line of sight, even through solid objects. In addition, willing minds who accept the imprinting of the hive's mind upon their own can receive or transmit information as if connected to the hive network directly, including sensory information. The effects become more potent at shorter ranges, and within 5 meters, the hive may attempt to force the Queen's will upon an unwilling or unaware target, briefly commandeering the target's somatic nervous system, or enforcing a potent but simple delusion or compulsion, so long as it is in some way within the individual's capacity to do and is not too far outside the individual's character. Such internally conflicting orders grant the target a much higher chance of resisting the psionic imprint, while imprints that are more in line with the target's normal thoughts and actions are more likely to suceed.
	>Unlocks [Neural Reconfiguration] Research Option.

	[Psionic Telekinesis] - Finished HQQ 62
	>Unlocked by completing [Psionic Imprinting]
	>Very Slow
	>With the development of psionic imprinting it is now clear to the hive that tachyons can effect real matter in a very real way. While normally so minuscule in nature the forces of tachyonic radiation offers no force whatsoever, a focused, maintained wave of psionics could, in theory, impart a real and measurable physical force. The success of Psionic Imprinting seems to offer prove of the concept in theory, and the only limiting factor now is how efficiently the imparted force from tachyonic particles scales up from the molecular level.
	>By using a concentrated and highly adapted psionic signal emanating from a moderate or advanced relay and their equivalent cybernetics, it is now possible to alter the energy state of molecules at a distance, permitting the deliberate application of force remotely. The effect itself has an optimum range of 15 feet, however its efficiency seems to scale down exponentially as opposed to be entirely limited, and manipulating more distant objects is possible, but far more difficult. The effect can be used to target the user, offering a limited and rather inefficient method of movement in the form of levitation, although this requires tremendous concentration and prevents the use of other psionic abilities, but permits the user to adjust their momentum in zero gravity as well as effectively lift themselves into the air by the seat of their own pants, if slowly and with great effort.
	>Unlocks [Psionic Thermokineses] and [Psionic Conduction] research options.

Thread 56

	[Hive-Dusting]
	>Unlocked by completing [High-Altitude Spore Dispersal]
	>Fast
	>Alternative methods of hive creep spore dispersal is investigated, using a mixture of the semi-automated hive expansion methods already in use and altering the genetic composition to be more autonomous in nature, allowing spores to be deployed from non-stationary sources such as aerial dispersal from drones or spacecraft, as well as air-burst spore bombs launched from orbit, allowing for hive creep to be deployed in a more aggressive manner, effectively weaponizing the self-replicating infrastructure. The process is slower and more localized than the work of a Capillary Tower, however with no need for a tower to be present, the process can be undertaken more readily in the presence of hostile forces.

	[Psionic Spores] - Finished HQQ 69
	>Slow
	>While normally the hive spores used to spread infrastructure are little more than genetically engineered nanomachines, replicating and performing their function alone until their built structure is complex enough to receive mental signals, your mixture of psionic research and advancements in spore related genetic programming has made the idea of a psionically sensitive spore seem not nearly as far fetched as it once did. With a mixture of distributed networking and complex cellular reconstruction methods, it could be possible to create a spore strain that would respond to mental signals.
	>By improving the hive's spores to be psionically conductive, not only can they be used to spread hive creep via airborne means and attack enemies with toxins, but they also now become a potent psionic medium for the hive network, extending the range of any relay to include any area covered with the same contiguous spore cloud. In addition the cloud serves to amplify existing psionic abilities, meaning any range-limited psionic powers are removed against targets that have inhaled or are otherwise are effected by the spores. Inhaling the spores also provides direct effects to a living creature, as the psionic spores influence the target's nervous system, temporarily connecting the individual to the hive network. While this connection does not offer direct control over the individual, the hive may use this connection as a substitute for a medium or advanced relay, so long as a basic relay or other hive network connection is within range. In addition, Psion agents who inhale the spores enjoy a drastic improvement in their abilities for a short duration, although using the spores in this way for extended periods at its full potential is taxing to the body and mind.

	[Complex Organ Splicing] - Finished HQQ 62
	>Medium
	>While it is easy to pull a string of genetic data from most carbon based life and infuse it into the hive, making the inefficient genetic structure of other life accept the more efficient and deliberately programmed hive genetic data is far more challenging. In an ironic way, much of the solution seems to involve the utilization of controlled flaws, rendering the mutations deliberately inefficient in order to be more compatible with the host life so as to avoid dominating the host's genetic structure in the same way as the Hive hybrids and chimeras. Such subtle alterations could offer better, more difficult methods of infiltrating or manipulating non-hive life.
	>While altering the genetic structure of life comes naturally to a Queen, merging it with the less efficient and often flawed genetic structure is often far more difficult than building your own from scratch. To remedy this, you have found yourself ironically having to develop new, less efficient, and somewhat intentionally flawed genetic traits in order to properly merge with the inherently imperfect genetic foundation of non-hive life. The end result, however, is a net gain in performance by improving the overall synergy of non-hive life and any implanted hive-made biological implants or mutations, allowing implants and mutations to be produced from the subject's own genetic foundation and in a way that permits the alterations to more seamlessly integrate into the host body.
	>Unlocks [Native Organ Adaptation] technology.
		>[Native Organ Adaptation] – Clones and non-hive agents, when in a situation that would permit triggering a metamorphosis, can now grow cybernetics in addition to or instead of altering their clone type. If the subject has lost a limb or other component that typically does not naturally regrow, it can be replaced with a new natural limb or prosthetic. The process is unpleasant, giving the feeling of severe illness as the cybernetic forms within the body and pushes outward to the surface, and its capabilities will slowly develop over several days.


Thread 57

	[Tribble Dissection] - Finished HQQ 59
	>Purchased on Deep Song and brought back to Leeland by the Orphan
	>Very Fast
	>These small creatures are more like a fist-sized bacteria than any kind of typical multi-cellular life form. They seem to be capable of reproduction moments after birth, and are capable of asexual reproduction. In a word, they are born pregnant, and the astounding speed with which they can infest a starship gives your thinkers dastardly ideas of their own.
	>A small, fur covered fist sized ball, the Tribble uses a collection of thorny antennae to help perceive its surroundings, giving it the ability to sense possible food sources, and run from possible predators. Its collection of muscles and tiny claws along its underside allow it to scoot along the ground or cling to surfaces, climbing or scampering with surprising speed while its small mouth of grinding plates can quickly gnaw through nearly anything, edible or not. The Tribble has no notable defense mechanism, save one. Its reproductive system is capable of passively gathering genetic material from other Tribbles through casual contact, but can also give birth to clones of the mother, reproducing without any mates very shortly after its own birth. All Tribbles are hermaphrodites, meaning a population can very quickly multiply in almost any situation. Their reproductive organs are highly adaptive, consisting of a number of small, seed-like organs surrounded by a hard shell and capable of continuing to function after death. When a Tribble is eaten in the wild, it's reproductive organs grow a thick mucus lining that causes it to stick to the insides of the new host creature's digestive track, where it absorbs nutrients to continue to produce the tiny, sesame seed sized eggs which are passed through the host's system harmlessly, causing the predator to help spread the now dead Tribble's prodigy long after it had been eaten, leading to situations where Tribble infestations are known to occur seemingly out of nowhere wherever other meat eating animals are held. The Tribble itself is rather sweet and tender in taste and texture, making it a prime meal among poor or those who work with animals and have regular contact with them, which only serves to help spread the Tribble infestation and ensure it is never fully extinguished.
	>Unlocks [Ovipositor] drone adaptation
		>[Ovipositor]: Superficially identical to a tail with a hypodermic blade, the ovipositor is heavily altered internally, dedicating the majority of the internal organs of the tail to hold a miniaturized and highly specialized small sized egg layer. The eggs it produces are further modified, possessing a highly adaptable and durable shell that secretes a healing salve designed to help secure it within the host and quickly heal the wound made in the target upon entry. With these alterations, the ovipositor is capable of quickly lashing out much like a tail using a built-in retractable stinger based largely on a modified hypodermic blade an implanting a specialized parasite or other small drone egg within the target.

	[Carnotar Dissection] - Finished HQQ 59
	>Purchased on Deep Song and brought back to Leeland by the Orphan
	>Very Fast
	>This massive beast is a terrifying example of the powers of evolution to overcome physical limitations. It is astoundingly sure footed for such a large beast, and a careful examination of its biological architecture should be quite revealing in that regard.
	>A massive, highly territorial bipedal predator, the Carnatar is actually largely a kind of bullying scavenger, lumbering in on a smaller feeding predator and driving it away from its kill, however it is perfectly capable of hunting on its own, using its two powerful legs to sprint short distances and allow it to kill the large herd animals that wander its planet's grasslands. The Carnitar is a lone hunter, only interacting with others of its kind to fight for territory or to mate, with mating almost always ending in violence afterwards as the female attempts to kill her mate. The female Carnatar has little to no observable motherly instinct, and will readily feed upon her own children if they gain her attention. Because of this, the Carnatar has evolved to only give birth upon death, or serious injury or stress. The female collects embryos over time as it mates, with each offspring remaining dormant within specialized sacs within the back identified by discolored spots on its skin. When the Carnatar's body is subjected to severe injury, the babies become active and almost immediately begin to claw and eat their way out of the body, where they begin to feed on the mother, whatever killed or harmed her, and each other. The body of the Carnatar is highly muscular and almost perfectly evolved for its function, with two massive, log sized legs that allow it to hold its head far over the open savannas of its home world where its excellent eyes can track prey at long distances. It is easily the largest land dwelling biped to be found living on a world with a gravity comparable to earth, and its bones are among the most durable and efficient structural materials to have evolved in nature.
	>Unlocks [Large Bipedal Legs] drone adaptation.
		>[Large Bipedal Legs]: Using slight adjustments in internal design, these legs are capable of permitting a large sized drone to stand upright, fusing both of its hind legs into two powerful muscular limbs, granting it the ability to stand well above obstacles or enemy cover to grant it a much greater vantage point in combat, as well as freeing its two front legs, allowing it to equip additional weapons, allowing it to equip large sized blade and weapons on its newly opened arm slots.

Thread 58

	[Human Possessed Disection] - Finished HQQ 59
	>Possesed human researchers that were working on the Tartarus Reactor on Tenebris
	>Very Fast
	>While still apparently human, these once-research staff have strange crystallization within the brain, and could hold other interesting alterations within their biology. A brief comparison of their biology and genetic composition with that of a base human should prove illuminating as to what caused these alterations and how.
	>While still outwardly human in every superficial way, these human bodies have been altered both internally and genetically. The process, upon further investigation, is not at all dissimilar from your own method of human hybridization. Genetic alterations have been made that grant the individual enhanced speed and strength, although physical examination indicates that the bodies did not have enough time for the genetic alterations to fully effect their physical structure. In addition to the genetic alterations, the physical structure of the brain has also been severely altered, becoming a crystallized solid substance. While your initial observation in the field lead to fears of a more ethereal composition, the crystalline structure's dark color appears to have been caused by blood cells and remaining components of the brain lodged within the structure itself. The structure upon further study indicates that it is not only psionically sensitive, but capable of manipulating tachyonic signals, although all samples taken from the site indicate the substance is capable only of reception and alteration, and is incapable of broadcasting a tachyonic signal of its own, rendering it dependent on a nearby source of psionic energy directed to it in order for it to function as natural background static appears too soft for the crystalline material to manipulate.
	>nother interesting observation is in the areas of the brain that were the most affected, nearly entirely replacing the occipital lobe as well as various centers of the brain that together assist in the human brain's ability to reason and experience complex thought. The crystals are themselves electrically conductive, holding pathways within capable of holding far more neural connections than a natural human brain. While you are unsure if these pathways are dedicated to processing psionic signals or used in the human's own thought patterns, it is clear that the structure, which is similar in function despite a number of differences in design as your own neural crystals within your drones, would be capable of granting the host human a dramatic increase in intelligence, reasoning, and speed of learning, as well as dramatically boosting the human's response to stimuli. How or if this potential is used is still up for debate, as much of the samples have already begun to deteriorate, rendering attempts to gather detailed information or memories from them useless. The only remaining fragment that does not crumble to dust within the day, is a small fragment of material you find embedded within the back of each human's skull.
	>Unlocks [Crystal Neural Jack Implant] Research option.

	[Lithovore Dissection] - Finished HQQ 60
	>Strange silicon-based wildlife found on Tenebris.
	>Fast
	>Astoundingly, these beasts seem to come in a number of shapes and sizes, living and consuming just as normal carbon based life, only with silicon as a base. You have no idea what further research could hold, or even if you will be able to manage to bring them into compatibility with your hive's genetics, or even what their genetic structure looks like. Before you can even examine each species as individual entities, you must first figure out the basics of their evolutionary structure. As it is, you can't quite tell if they are even all of the same species or not.
	>Astoundingly, these beasts seem to come in a number of shapes and sizes, living and consuming just as normal carbon based life, only with silicon as a base. Frustratingly, your thinkers have hit a wall unlike any previous research attempt. All methods of genetic decryption and analysis have met with failure, and all attempts to deconstruct the component materials into a properly researchable pseudo-protein compound has also met with failure. The closest thing to a genetic structure, something more similar to a series of interconnected chemical laden viruses and bacteria, offer no real hints to their internal code commanding them. Structurally, the chemical compounds react in a manner that results in a similar behavior as genetic code, but through a more complex process of relaying chemical compounds from one substance to another. A strain of virus-like cells transfer substances back and forth between a more complex chain of silicon bacterium which seems to perform cell division on behalf of the smaller cells. The process is convoluted and confusing, and you are still unsure of the reasoning behind their actions on a cellular level, or even if there is any. As it is, the dead beasts offer little clues, and their genetics, if you can call it that, is glaringly incompatible to your own.
	If you are to study these beasts further, you fear you will need a live subject.

	[Core Rejuvenation] - Finished HQQ 62
	>Unlocked by completing [Deep Core Mining]
	>Slow
	>The inverse of Core Mining, this process utilizing powerful planetary scale electromagnets drilled deep beneath the planet to artificially force the core to begin to spin. The process causes mild geological and ecological damage, but the resulting effects can be maintained for hundreds of years with negligible disruption to the planet's environment to maintain once the core is rotating. Once the planet's core is active, the planet gains a magnetosphere, allowing it to hold a denser atmosphere capable of supporting life, and the surface becomes geologically active. Allows the terraforming of barren planets.
	>By drilling powerful electromagnets deep within the planet's crust, a massive geoengineering project can be undertaken to rapidly rejuvenate the solid core of a barren world and force it to begin to spin. The spin of the now molten core creates a feedback loop that generates a planet wide magnetosphere, which in turn permits the formation of an atmosphere by blocking out the local solar wind, all while generating friction and heat to make the planet once more geologically active. The process must be maintained, and the drilling installations must remain active to monitor and maintain the effect as the world is still not stable, however most worlds can maintain the effect unaided for centuries.

	[Smith Dissection] - Finished HQQ 62
	>Remains of "Gile Smith" that Dillon and Jackob fought on Aral
	>Medium
	>A cyborg of still largely unknown details and specifications, the "smith" as they are referred, are among the most potent black ops agents within the Union, using advanced robotics technology that is otherwise highly illegal for civilian use.
	>While you have only a head to study, the contents of the titanium reinforced carbon nano-lattice skull is still rather fascinating. The brain itself, obviously, dominates the contents of the skull, and has clearly undergone a number of highly illegal alterations to the logic and reasoning centers, especially in areas responsible for the human's self preservation instinct and sense of fear, as well as the pleasure center and a number of high end cognitive enhancements that go far beyond what is legally or commercially available. In effect, the subject holds no concept of fear or sense of danger beyond what is likely a very cold and practical sense of self damage, while holding no greater feeling of joy than accomplishing its task. Its occipital lobe is entirely artificial, composed of enhanced augments linked to equally impressive multi-spectrum sensors including a multi-zoom lens in each eye and a number of thermal scanners set in the bridge of the nose within the artificial skin, and a small two way radio is infused into the inner ear linked directly into the areas of the brain in charge of human speech. The areas of the brain in charge of higher reasoning are altered with various but relatively minor implants that seem designed to control certain neural signals, while the various neural pathways composing the brain's memory are held within a matrix of microscopic fiber optics which impede your efforts to accurately draw data from the brain, however the matrix itself seems to offer a more long term survivability for data within than an organic brain.
	>Unlocks [Cybernetic Memory Extraction] research option.

Thread 59

	[Crystal Neural Jack Implant] - Finished HQQ 62
	>Unlocked by completing [Human Possessed Disection]
	Fast
	While you doubt it will uncover any new fundamental technology, a more detailed and in depth study of the remaining cerebral implants found within the possessed humans should at least grant you insight into its design, function, and hopefully, weaknesses.
	>Your research into the small implants within the brains of the infected humans has revealed a number of interesting if minor discoveries regarding their construction and design, the most astounding of which is that it seems organic, or partially organic in nature. The structure of the implants themselves have appeared to fossilize upon death, likely in some manner of self destruct, and the internal components have entered a kind of rapid deterioration that has rendered your samples little more than shells filled with dust, however study during their deterioration revealed that they were composed of a rare carbon alloy latticed with a protein mesh and a phosphate material similar in composition to human bone. You suspect the implants were somehow grown within the hosts using the hosts' own biological functions, however the material itself has been greatly improved upon in its molecular architecture, giving it similar durability to your own lightweight armor composites. Study of the interior structure prior to full degradation revealed a complex fractal lattice of crystallized nerve cells formed into a kind of carbon based circuit board. While any data held on them were likely wiped the moment the hosts died, it promises some interesting application according to your quantum thinkers.
	>Unlocks [Memory Seed] research option.

Thread 60

	[Isolation Fields] - Finished HQQ 62
	>Unlocked by completing [Photonic Armor]
	>Very fast
	>A simple application of known technology, photonic armor projectors are installed in ships and hive facilities to permit the rapid deployment of fields to stop the progress of attackers and assist in damage control, isolating contagions, momentarily halting decompression, and stifling fires and other potential dangers just long enough for a more measured response to solve the issue. In theory, such a collection of simple stop-gap temporary solutions would drastically improve a ship's survivability in combat, allowing it to sustain far more damage than ever before and still continue to function.
	>A simple application of known technology, photonic armor projectors are installed in ships and hive facilities to permit the rapid deployment of fields to stop the progress of attackers and assist in damage control, isolating contagions, momentarily halting decompression, and stifling fires and other potential dangers just long enough for a more measured response to solve the issue. While only a momentary fix, these fields can mean the difference between sustaining heavy damage, and suffering a chain reaction that destroys an entire ship.
	>Unlocks [Hardlight Interiors] technology and [Containment Fields] ship adaptation.
		>[Hardlight Interiors] – Hive architecture is now capable of utilizing hardlight as both aesthetic enhancements and furniture to interior facilities, and as militarized defense systems to halt the progress, or prevent the escape of intruders within the hive. The fields projected by the hardlight emitters are not powerful, and are only capable of temporarily staving off a concerted effort to pass through with any suitable weapon system, but can serve as a moderate obstacle to enhance and already overwhelming defense, or stall until such a defense can be mounted. The projectors can create holograms of any shape or form, however they lack any weight behind them and cannot outright harm intruders by themselves.
		>[Containment Fields] – Using a network of hardlight projectors spread throughout the ship in strategic points, the ship is capable of isolating any given location nearly instantly in the event of damage or attack, quickly sealed depressurized hull sections, choking out fires, isolating explosions, and even impeding the movement of intruders. The ship gains the potential to survive otherwise catastrophic damage over a very short period, in some cases staving off the inevitable just long enough to return fire, or in less extreme cases reach a port for repairs. The ship temporarily ignores damage that would otherwise destroy it. The amount of time the ship can continue to function is based on the size of the ship, and the amount of damage sustained past its point of typical destruction.

Thread 62

	[Psionic Thermokinesis]
	>Unlocked by completing [Psionic Telekinesis]
	>Slow/Mildly dangerous
	>An even more finely tuned execution of known tachyonic physics, thermokinesis is the practice of altering the energy state of atoms, but instead of altering their velocity, it utilizes a less uniform alteration to increase or decrease atomic vibration, quickly increasing or decreasing the ambient temperature of the target. It may take some time for your thinkers to successfully accomplish this feat, however, without also igniting the laboratory.

	[Psionic Conduction]
	>Unlocked by completing [Psionic Telekinesis]
	>Slow/Mildly dangerous
	>While altering the physical nature of particles has become possible, using highly controlled tachyonic signals it may also be possible to use the projected psionic energy to subtly alter and transfer other forms of energy in a more direct process than kinetic force. Your thinkers believe it may be possible to use alternate sources of energy outside of the target and potentially use tachyonic signals in order to carry that energy to the target. The early experiments have already proven promising, however it may be some time before the thinkers are capable of producing results without causing spontaneous detonations within the laboratory.

	[Cybernetic Memory Extraction] - Finished HQQ 65
	>Unlocked by completing [Smith Dissection]
	>Fast
	>With the continued assistance of Theseus and his extensive mechanical research systems, you feel confident in your ability to extract at least partial memory fragments from the largely cybernetic brain of the killed Smith agent. It is too soon to determine if the data is of any use, but it could offer further clues regarding their origin and capabilities.
	>Unlocks [Data Decryption] Research option.

	[Memory Seed]
	>Unlocked by completing [Crystal Neural Jack Implant] and ??[Smith Dissection]??
	>Slow
	>By creating a miniaturized and less overtly useful memory crystal similar in overall function to the white crystals used to record thought by your elders, and modifying it into a neural implant, you believe it may be possible to create a kind of constantly updating backup memory for clones, agents, and even drones that would potentially hold its information after death. The memory seed would theoretically be capable of retaining the full memories of the host individual up to and including the very moment of death, and be able to preserve those memories long after the brain itself has physically deteriorated, a process that typically drastically limits the time frame in which memories can be gathered.

Thread 64

	[Empathetic Paralysis] - Finished HQQ 66
	>Unlocked by completing [Advanced Psionic Reading]
	>Fast
	>In essence an attempt to weaponise the side effect of psionic probing, empathetic paralysis uses finely tuned and precisely targeted psionic signals to effectively jam the target's somatic nervous system temporarily.
	>By using a carefully tuned psionic signal focused into a concentrated area, it is possible to momentarily interfere with the proper functioning of the somatic nervous system, causing paralysis and interfering with higher thought functions, causing a momentary lapse in memory in the target's mind for the duration of the effect.
	>Unlocks [Empathetic Compulsion] research option


	[Gas Giant Superstructure Construction] - Finished HQQ 69
	>Unlocked by completing [Atmospheric Static Generator]
	>Medium
	>Using a mixture of space station technology and modified, miniaturized capillary towers, it may be possible to create semi-permanent or fully permanent hives within the upper atmospheres of gas giants, where a mixture of atmospheric static, wind farming, and gas mining can provide a more constant and bountiful resource income while providing a more robust frame with which to construct infrastructure.
	>While gas giants have been colonized by the single-minded using small, roving airship settlements for many generations, these small, often makeshift mobile structures are not capable of economic scale production, and thus despite being a decent choice for non-hive settlers living in small numbers, are not economically viable for a hive's more efficient industrial scale organization. In response to this, research has been done to produce far larger city-sized mega-structures held within the upper atmosphere of a gas giant consisting of interconnected floating platforms in which all manner of planetary infrastructure can be built. With this technology, gas giants can now be more properly surveyed and colonized on a large scale. A gas giant's Development score will represent the construction of these platforms spread across the planet and connected via cables supported by floating way stations as needed, providing places for both non-hive life to live, and room to build planetary facilities.


	[Swarm Drive Tuning]
	>Unlocked by completing [Gravity Thrusters]
	>Slow
	>By configuring the gravity thrusters to respond to the foils of other ships within the same formation, performance can be increased outside of a gravity well by taking advantage of a kind of gravitational slipstream created from the foil's unique gravitational effects.

	[Gravity Thruster Optimization]
	>Unlocked by completing [Gravity Thrusters]
	>Medium
	>Miniaturization to the gravity thruster itself, as well as optimizing the layout of the foils across the hull allow for smaller strike craft sized ships to make use of the thrusters both when operating in atmosphere and when performing evasive maneuvers.

Thread 65

	[Data Decryption]
	>Unlocked by completing [Cybernetic Memory Extraction]
	>Medium (Very Fast with Theseus assistance)
	>While much of the data within the Smith mind was corrupted during the experimental extraction process or the trauma of the agent's death, there is still a good deal of encrypted data still intact. The data itself could be anything, from a revolutionary discovery to the agent's personal preference in music, or anything between. There is now way to know without decryption of the data, and the total randomness of the mystery has your thinkers begging to go to work.

	[Planetary Shielding]
	>Unlocked by completing [Shield Dome]
	>Slow
	>By adding further scale to the shield dome, it is believed that an overlapping network of shields can be expanded from a series of clustered protective areas defending a planet's critical infrastructure to a vast, near total coverage shield stretching entire continents so as to protect a planet's biosphere and widespread population in addition to its military and industrial zones.

Thread 66

	[Empathetic Compulsion]
	>Unlocked by completing [Empathetic Paralysis]
	>Slow
	>A step further from the disruption of the nervous system, with additional fine tuning it may be possible to exert some limited control over an individual mind without the use of direct contact.

	[Void Projection]
	>Unlocked by opening the White Queen's Archive within the Void Crystal
	>Medium/Dangerous
	>You begin to realize the methods by which Seiner's mind has been expanded. The process can be replicated, although without a human subject to receive it, any attempt at such a projection comes at great risk of unwanted attention. A Queen's mind is far too vibrant and powerful to remain hidden in the Void, but, with this understanding, you realize it is possible for a human's unique designed psyche to survive unseen while projected within the void. Further study of this process on your part will hopefully not only allow you to gift such powers to other humans, but also to assist Seiner and any other such individuals to master these abilities.

	[Multidimensional Physics]
	>Unlocked by opening the White Queen's Archive within the Void Crystal
	>Slow/Slightly dangerous
	>Until now you have been entirely ignorant to the workings of the Void and the self proclaimed gods that rule this mysterious space. Now you realize some semblance of the truth, although any proper understanding comes with its own inherent risks of attracting unwanted attention, such understanding, you realize now, was the backbone of the galaxy spanning civilization of the ancient Hives of the Golden Age, long before the Schism began. Regaining such lost knowledge would be a great step towards rebuilding your race as the galactic superpower it once was.

	[Non-euclidean Architecture]
	>Unlocked by opening the White Queen's Archive within the Void Crystal
	>Very Slow/Dangerous
	>The basis of the very crystal you now posses, as well as the hostile Void Shards, the process of compressing spacetime along the axis of a fourth spacial dimension is a key component to many technological devices of the Ancients in their prime. Such technologies explain the process by which the void shards function, as well as allow for the vast complexity of the memory archive you hold, compressing vast amounts of energy and matter into a pocket space where such terms are interchangeable and largely meaningless.

	[Psionic Thought Construction]
	>Unlocked by opening the White Queen's Archive within the Void Crystal
	>Very Slow
	>The brief understanding granted to you by your examination of the contents of the white crystal given to you by your late mother, you realize that tachyons, like nearly any other form of particle, can be used in the construction of physical objects. Such constructs are inherently unstable outside of the multidimensional space of the Void, however, but allow for the construction machines of immeasurable complexity with relatively little effort by constructing them in a space where thoughts can be projected as concrete materials.

Thread 66.3

	[Artillery Spore] - Finished HQQ 66
	>Research option given by the Scarred Queen
	>Very Fast
	>While the use of anti-orbital weapons has traditionally been limited in the Hive to atmospheric saturation fire by surface gun platforms, with any actual orbital threats handled by picket fleets, there are a few notable exceptions. One such exception, which was considered a mainstay of the defenses of throne worlds in its time, was the Artillery Spore. Launched from a large Spore Caster set along the surface, each spore was a large, roughly Space Pod sized device composed of a diamond lattice shell ending in a tapered point etched with sensor ports along the diameter, and a body consisting of a specialized sub-brain and a miniaturized and heavily altered Skid Drive. The Skid Drive itself is modified for enhanced acceleration and performance within a gravity well at the cost of drastically reducing overall maneuverability and stability. It is so unstable, in fact, that the acceleration is not entirely uniform and suffers from extreme inertia. The resulting G-forces are terminal for the spore itself, and in fact any life form known to exist, with the spore possessing no actual life support functions, and enough oxygenated blood within its sub-brain to reach the target, and nothing more. The result is a Skid Drive that effectively pushes off against the planet not unlike a standard rocket, but with far, far more potency. Once in the air, the pod will guide itself to its target until it reaches a determined distance, at which point the drive wings will deliberately offset by seventeen degrees, resulting in a sudden and ever increasing spin that will eviscerate the internal organs of the spore in less than two seconds. From this moment, the spore is an unguided rocket, its drive functioning on a dead-man's switch as its spin causes its tapered shell to drill into the target's hull, at which point one of two things will happen: the drive wings will be pulled off by the impact with the target, or will be torn off by the increasing centripetal force. In either case, the drive itself is triggered as a makeshift warhead, and it immediately performs what could only be described as a kind of impotent blink, wherein the drive expels a massive radiation burst, hopefully inside the target's hull and destroying it from within, or in the event of a miss, blinding it and nearby vessels with a sudden burst of both tachyons and multi-spectrum radiation capable of damaging or destroying smaller craft akin to a kind of flak.
	>Unlocks [Spore Caster Network] Construction.
		>[Spore Caster Network] – A network of Spore Castors placed across the planet's surface capable of targeting orbiting enemy vessels in conjunction with additional anti-orbital weapon systems.

Thread 68

	[Psionic Cloak Amplification]
	>Suggested by the Scarred Queen to expand on the effects of the Phantoms' [Psionic Cloaking]
	>Fast
	>Your vassal has proposed a new scientific effort to study a means to more accurately replicate the psionic cloaking of the Phantoms in order to potentially mimic their capacity to focus their cloaking abilities over larger areas, potentially allowing a Hive world to mimic the planetary scale mental blurring caused by their population centers' major centers of worship.

	[Silicate Hybrid Study] - Finished HQQ 70
	>From the investigation of P2 in Desmond
	>Slow
	>This obelisk remains would seem to be composed of semi-organic psionically conductive carbon polymer fused with a silicate genetic lattice, in effect making it a kind of hybrid between two, as yet diametrically opposed forms of life. A detailed study is required to determine its qualities with any certainty, but its nature is truly confounding.
	>By utilizing a series of carbon based polymer materials formed using organic compounds, a small level of psionic potential is established, and by infusing these root organs into a silicate life form, the silicate in question in effect gains psionic potential. The resulting psionics is weak, predicable, and uninspired, but as a tool more than capable of fulfilling whatever parameters it was designed for. The resulting organism is less a hybrid, and more a symbiosis of conflicting engineering principals.
	The greatest issue you have is that the alien technology goes to great lengths to apparently avoid utilizing any genetic encoding, instead encoding its biological compositions and commands into the silicate genetic analog lattice, while the carbon based psionic component is left as only an organic compound which lacks its own genetic structure, but is instead built with a series of interconnected chemical chains. It is in effect a non-living device built from organic substances, relying on the surrounding silicate cells to replace worn out components instead of utilizing any cellular reproduction. A similar comparison would be that of a virus in reverse, relying on an outside structure to reproduce instead of invading hosts itself.
	What is more interesting is that this function does not seem to be a requirement of its design, but a deliberate complication, as if made to be deliberately obtuse to Hive thinkers. In replicating the technology, it would be just as easy to reverse the engineering, and in fact more easy for yourself, as you still lack the understanding to “grow” silicate life. Instead, your thinkers have proposed a method of utilizing a core of psionic organs to assemble and maintain a shell of sorts made of silicate components capable of additional functionality.
	Without further understanding of silicate technology, the vast potential of this merging is limited to existing silicon based technology of more simplistic design, such as digital or mechanical devices, improving the overall capacity of interaction between organic psionics and non-hive technology, but this is also a foundational milestone that will hopefully unlock further possibilities with further study of silicate technology.
	Until then, however, you are left with what is in essence a faster data cable. Your own mental interactions with digital and quantum based technology should be improved, and you suspect that any faction that more widely uses digital and quantum technology in their infrastructure would benefit greatly from its implementation.
	>Unlocks

	[Living Stone]
	>From the investigation of P2 in Desmond
	Medium
	Structures made of living silicate matter has never occured to you, but it makes sense, as despite being applied to the natural inverse of organic life, it would seem to apply similar benefits to any structure using the material. All the same, you are not by far not an expert on silicate life forms, and anything it the field will be difficult to make headway with.

	[Silicate Computing]
	>From the investigation of P2 in Desmond
	Slow
	A far cry from the rudimentary silicon computer chips of the single-minded, proper silicate computing seems to comprise of a sentient or near-sentient mind on a similar level to that of a hive thinker housed within an efficient solid state slab of living silicate flesh using the DNA analog mesh it is composed of as circuitry. The power efficiency is near perfect, allowing it to function as its own battery for extended periods of time while giving off almost no waste heat.

	[Silicate Defenders Dissection]
	>From the investigation of P2 in Desmond
	Medium
	A clearly artificially designed silicon based life form, this devout defender is capable of projecting hardlight constructs in battle, as well as possessing multiple blasters within its body. Its internal organs are arranged in a gyroscope, allowing for rapid movement with or without the use of its projected limbs. In many ways, they seem almost purpose built for countering traditional hive tactics and weaponry.

Thread 69

	[Neural Reconfiguration]
	>Unlocked by completing [Advanced Psionic Imprinting]
	>Medium
	>The potent abilities of your psionics and the precise and efficient capacity of your biological medical technology has begun to merge more fully, blurring the line between where one ends and the other begins. As a result of this, your thinkers have conceived of the possible ability to utilize very short range tachyon micro-pulses in order to use psionics to examine, rearrange, or remove aspects of an individual's memories without the use of an invasive parasite or other neural connection.

Thread 69.3

	[Anti-Tachyonic Weapons] - Finished HQQ 70
	>Discovered incidentally while fighting off Emmerich at Builder's Gift
	>Very Fast
	>While even Lyle has the engineering capacity to form a piece of psionic insulation into a weapon, as his new set of home-made knuckle dusters attest, a proper arsenal of weapons, no matter their material component, requires a keen sense of material engineering and a great degree of effort to optimize. You are still unaware of the details, drawbacks, or necessary additional steps needed to fully utilize psionic insulation in a weapon. The material is not inherently magnetic, and thus ranged weapons may become an issue if it is not possible to properly allow the material. Likewise, in its pure form it is often more brittle than the typical materials used in melee weapons, and you suspect such weapons would lack much of the penetrative power of standard equipment, but you will not know the full details until you have finished a proper study.
	>While at first simply modified standard weapons made to fire psionic insulative material, the brittle material and complex nature of the modification makes it quickly apparent that such designs are simply not tenable. Instead, a more simple, elegant, and rustic method has proven the most efficient. Railgun technology is simply not feasable with anti-tachyonic munitions, at least not without some consideration.
	The result is a callback to ancient earth technology taken on new life, with the development of the anti-tachyon shell, a small, disposable, single use electromagnetic device capable of catapulting the munition held within at extreme velocity. The same breakthrough in engineering that lead to its development also lead to a number of other improvements, including a method of efficiently merging powered blade technology with insulative material, as well as more crude, yet effective equipment. Unfortunately, the common thread between all of the resulting weapons is that their anti-tachyonic nature is inherently disruptive to your drones, causing mild discomfort with their handling, and throwing off their aim due to their reliance on data input from nearby drones observing combat from different directions. As a result, your own drones suffer from drastically lowered combat effectiveness when equipped with any of these weapons, meaning for all practical purposes, they are limited in use to your agents.
	Just as well, since you suspect it would be unwise for you to engage in combat with any Void related entity using your drones in open combat anyways, at least for anything other than a distraction.
	>Unlocks [Void Sword], [Thought-Dusters], [Void Knife], [Crossbow], [Blunderbuss], [Breach Pistol] and  [Certainty Grenade] equipment.
		>[Void Sword] - A standard powered sword lined with tachyonic insulation along its bladed edges, which gives the blade a black, almost obsidian look to it. Standard powered sword technology is less effective when applied to tachyonic material due to its brittle nature, and as a result this sword's design has been altered to "grow" new material, utilizing the micro-servos within to instead of vibrating the weapon to cut through the target, maintain a mono-molecular edge. Under normal circumstances such an edge would be impossible to maintain between cuts, but due to the semi-organic nature of the insulative material in the blade, the weapon in essence sharpens itself over time, breaking off microscopic fragments into the target at deliberate angles so as to expose equally dangerous cutting edges as the blade wears down, and then build itself back up over time outside of combat.
		>[Thought-Dusters] - A more elaborate version of Lyle's own home-made knuckle dusters, these anti-tachyonic gauntlets are fitted with micro-muscles capable of folding or unfolding the weapon over the fist or onto the forearm. When fully deployed, the weapon functions along a similar principal to an industrial jackhammer, firing its muscles to impact the target with additional force upon contact, however due to this feature, it must be mounted to a medium or heavy carapace to prevent breaking the arm of the user.
		>[Void Knife] - A shortened version of the void sword, this knife is a standard issue weapon for any who expect to face void related phenomena, and can be equipped to any and all non-hive agents without detracting from their standard compliment of weapons.
		>[Crossbow] - Surprisingly, the more simple the weapon, the less modification is needed. Lyle's personal crossbow has proven to be perfectly capable of firing specially made anti-tachyonic bolts without modification, and as such the design as been pushed into full production with only minor improvements, such as variable muscular pivots to improve accuracy. The crossbow can fold itself up into a small, compact form for travel, allowing it to take up no more room than a typical sidearm.
		>[Blunderbuss] - A crude, ancient weapon given new life, this large bore shotgun uses a disposable electromagnetic shell to catapult a large chunk of fragile anti-tachyonic insulation, filling the space in front of it with a wall of razor sharp fragmentation that disrupts tachyonic activity painfully and quickly. The weapon is breach loaded, and requires reloading after each shot, however it comes with two barrels, allowing it to be fired twice before reloading, a feature common in the ancient era of earth, but fell out of common use as caseless ammunition became ubiquitous with the use of railgun technology. The weapon's barrel is incredibly short, allowing it to be strapped to the leg like a sidearm, and making up for its lack of accuracy and range with the fact that everything in the room ahead will likely be hit, and anything within short range will likely no longer exist.
		>[Breach Pistol] - A crude and simple pistol which fires anti-tachyonic shells from a breach loading barrel. The weapon is single shot, but fires a massive slug of tachyonic insulation designed to break up upon contact with the target.
		>[Certainty Grenade] - A crude explosive designed to scatter fragments of anti-tachyonic material throughout the air, sending fragmentation in a wide radius and filling the atmosphere around the site with tachyonic insulative powder. To Void Crafters, the explosion appears like a massive collapse of quantum probability, collapsing the passageways in spacetime with which a void crafter manipulates the environment, and establishing a temporary area of quantum certainty. In addition, anyone within its radius is certain to have a very bad day.

Thread 70

	[Antimatter Reactor]
	>Salvaged from the captured Scavenger Cruiser during the Battle of Argos
	>Medium/Dangerous
	>While technically an archaic technology long ago abandoned by most of human space for the Quantum Power Tap, antimatter reactors remain a highly effective power source that does not require a supply of canderon capable of providing power levels magnitudes beyond that of a fusion reactor. While in its heyday, ships often used it for both power, and fuel, utilizing antimatter to operate the main drive of their ships. These were highly dangerous, often deadly if anything went even slightly wrong, and were quickly abandoned with the development of reactionless propulsion with the gravity drive. With the added technology removing the need for rocket propulsion, a ship is able to carry far less antimatter for longer distances, meaning the devastating destruction of any malfunction in its core will be only slightly less horrendous.

	[Scavenger Flicker Drive]
	>Salvaged from the captured Scavenger Cruiser during the Battle of Argos
	>Slow
	>The more you examine this alien device, the more familiar it seems to be, and the more convinced you are that it is not what the scavengers seem to use it for. Under normal circumstances, you would suspect you would be able to develop any psionic research far more quickly than normal, but between the unknown alien language, and the scavengers' own dismal misunderstanding of the device, you feel as if you are starting at a point worse than zero to research it.

	[Watcher Language Script]
	>Salvaged from the captured Scavenger Cruiser during the Battle of Argos
	>Very Fast
	>The crude looking heat-displays haphazardly attached to the original control terminals of the Flicker Drive core seem to be capable of translating between the ancient script of the enigmatic species the scavengers call the Old Ones, and their own thermal script. By running the translation through your scavenger knowledge, you should be able to translate the alien script yourself, although you are a bit annoyed that the Scavengers somehow managed to figure it out in their own right. You are starting to believe that any solution that doesn't involve hitting it with a stick, or gluing it to scrap metal is beyond them, and this little display of competence seems uncharacteristic of them.