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Given our recent developments – namely, going after certain researchers for their talents in the fields we will need if Revenant is to work – it occurred to me I had overlooked one piece of the Alliance that could cause issues if ignored.

That being Alliance R&D.

Like the AIS, Alliance R&D is not integrated directly into the Alliance military, although it is less tangential in at least working with them. Ostensibly, R&D forces are just like any other part of the Alliance Armed Forces, in practice, they observe their own chain of command which answers directly to the High Lords – unlike every other military, intelligence, or Commissariat unit.

Very odd.

Cerberus Message of the Day: An idle mind is best put to work.

History:

Brooks was almost unable to find out anything of the history of the R&D corps. R&D did not even appear on the books until 2160, and the first 'clear' delineation of it in any Alliance documentation already had it under the command of Rear Admiral Vandefar.

R&D ran oversight on several black projects – 'GIGAS,' research into Prothean genetic alteration packages, was one. 'THORIAN,' the study of the Tho'ian on Feros, was another. Brooks found a list of over six thousand black project designations… and some of them were listed as early as 2055.

Mr. Harper, I don't need to point out the fact that 2055 is the year the Manswell Solar Systems Alliance was founded. The project in question was code named 'Tlazolteotl,' which is an Aztec deity representing filth… and the idea of renewal through destruction and purification. This is a rather… ominous name, and makes me wonder exactly what Victor Manswell was thinking that early into his creation of the SSA.

[Update: Going back over my notes in the aftermath of what Shepard has revealed, I see I should have put two and two together much earlier, given what we now know about Jacen Manwell's manifesto.]

In any event, AR&D worked through the FCW and the years beyond to – on the surface – develop mankind's technology, coming up with the carrier program and many combat and commercial applications. They were a funnel for the information achieved by interviews with the Thorian as well as other, shall we say, dubious acquisitions of alien tech they changed into appearing human.

At no time was Alliance R&D ever directly answerable to Fleet Command or the High Admiral, although both manpower and general tasking were still controlled by Command. For direction of research, funding, and approvals, Admiral Vandefar reported directly to the High Lords of Sol – and had a standing Red Note authorizing her to ignore any order from Fleet Command, the Fleet Master, the High Admiral, or the Senate that countermanded the 'stated mandate' of R&D.

Notably, there is no stated mandate of R&D that is available. Brooks was unable to find any document relating to this.

Purpose:

Ostensibly, the AR&D group has three main goals, two of which are public, one of which is semi-secret.

The first goal is the development, refinement, and understanding of scientific principles that lead to technological advancement for the Alliance as a whole. This includes both 'pure' science such as astronomy and physics, as well as applied science and engineering such as weapons, starships, medical advances, and nanotechnology. This also includes grants and loans to human researchers or corporations and deals with corporations for exclusivity in regards to new technological inventions.

The second goal of the group is the understanding, acquisition, and reverse-engineering (where legal) of alien technology to aid or augment human technology. This includes administration of – but not fiddling with – the asari black-box system, as well as purchases of technology from the volus, turians, or asari.

The semi-secret goal is the acquisition of advanced technology via military strikes, bribery, criminal corporations, outright piracy, or any other method that can be achieved as long as it can be kept quiet. Along these lines R&D has its own military strike wing (hilariously named 'Forward Hostile Research') and does sponsor some pretty ugly groups.

Alliance R&D has several journals and publications it puts out, in which the public goals are usually connected to whatever public projects it is running.

Organization:

There are five 'sections' of R&D that Brooks was able to identify in her time infiltrating it, and a sixth 'section' that she knew existed but had no real facts to reveal to us, aside from its existence and leader.

She points out in her own report that some of these are composed of highly classified subgroups that she wasn't able to find much information on, even via gossip or her other… methods. Given how good she is at doing what she does, that's a bit alarming.

The command segment of R&D is called, sensibly enough, the 'Research Command Directorate.' It is headed by Admiral of the Green Synthia Vandefar, the only known member of a non-combat branch to achieve an N-rating (N3, in her case). Technically Vandefar could qualify for Admiral of the Red, but has been denied such a thing due to her 'use' in commanding R&D. The Directorate is composed of mid-level officers with training in science backgrounds who coordinate with the other groups and write up command summaries, handle the paperwork, and liaison with the clerks of the High Lords.

Brooks says the majority of the Directorate is highly political smokescreens and that most of the real decision-making is done between Vandefar and her command chiefs directly.

R&D is then broken down into two 'branches' – Research and Development.

The 'Research' Branch has two working groups that are codename projects. Project Eudaemon is 'conventional' research, and is the largest group. It hosts some six hundred military scientists and over two thousand civilian contractors and consultants on six worlds and two bases in Sol, as well as a few hundred on Arcturus Station. Most of Eudaemon's work is in physics applications, mass effect studies, eezo studies, and work on materials science. Eudaemon itself has a small applications team that works with asari and salarian scientists, and an engineering team that liaisons with Development to put discoveries into practice. It is led by Doctor Vincent Upail, a well-known and brilliant astrophysicist who got 'bored' with it and then went on to win the Sinclair-T'Shora prize in microbiology and is now attempting to master reactive nanochemistry. A brilliant man – I've read several of his papers and remain stunned at his sheer insight – and probably the only 'real' scientist elite we've produced in the past decade.

The word Eudaemon is classical Greek for an attendant helpful spirit which has, over time, come to mean replete with knowledge.

The other working group – one Brooks was not able to get much hard info on – was Project Ahaltocob. On the surface, Ahaltocob works with more tangible stuff – cybernetic and augmetic research primarily, with some biological and neurological study groups that would make sense. But Ahaltocob's ranks – fifty military scientists and about two hundred 'support personnel' – are all black-banded and hidden from the main registry. Assignment to Ahaltocob is a black hole where no one can determine what is being worked on.

Brooks suspects Ahaltocob works on black projects, possibly Reaper tech or the like, as well as 'deniable' actions. Most of the two hundred 'support personnel' are hardened Marine vets with heavy cybernetics, no relatives, and sealed military records, while almost all of the science staff are also trained combatants. To top it off, Ahaltocob is led by Colonel Nyomba Sahu, well known as the 'Iron Bitch' who held out with a small team on Arcturus during the FCW. She's not a scientist and calling her an engineer is only true in the technical sense. She's a warrior and (having met the lady in question) terrifying.

It doesn't help that the word Ahaltocob isn't uplifting. Ahaltocob is one of the Lords of Xibalba in Mayan mythology, specifically a stabbing demon who hides in houses and stabs people to death for information.

Subtle.

Development is broken into two groups, both named after mythical figures, and a third group of science-trained Commissars known as Black Rendition.

The primary engineering group and the source of most Alliance hardware design is Project Luchtaine. They work on omni-design, vehicle design and testing, engine specifications, weapons construction, and the like. BuShips and BuLogs work closely with Luchtaine on most Alliance military equipment, but the Alliance Safety Board and the Civilian Safety Initiative, as well as the Citadel Council Safety Group, all have representatives in this group. Luchtaine has some six thousand scientists, engineers, designers, and other functionaries as well as a sub-group (Creidhne) that works specifically on arcology tech. It is led by General Ryan Ashland, who also is a VP at Ashland-Eldfell Enterprises, a specific dispensation allowed for this.

Luchtaine and Creidhne are from Irish mythology, forgers of weapons and defenses against the Fomorian demons of that lore.

The other engineering group, if you can call it that, is Project Ache Lameo. Being familiar with Cambodian mythology I was immediately not expecting anything remotely good from that name, and I was right.

Brooks found that this group was basically every black and dirty development and engineering task you could imagine. Half of what Richard cooked up in the labs was funneled to this group. Slaves that the Alliance buys or captures get routed here for experiments. Ache Lameo has worked in the design of medical plagues, cortex bombs, nano-poisons, black nano, and medi-gel sabotage – among other things.

From what Brooks could discover, Ache Lameo has had some setbacks over the years, including rogue AI incidents and a disastrous clash with the STG that left half their operatives dead. Ache Lameo is 'led' by a civilian, Director Sandra Colqua. Colqua was expelled from the University of Arcturus for using live humans in experimentation on nanotech tolerance levels and slated for execution, but was pardoned by the High Lords. I suspect Colqua is overseen by some form of Commissar, and she's hardly the worst figure. Both Doctor Gareth von Alte (famous for being convicted of live vivisection and an old favorite of Richard) and Doctor Markus Creen (a frequent collaborator with Golo of Omega and Okeer) are high-level researchers.

Ache Lameo is a very obscure demon in Cambodian Hinduism, a sub-type of a Daitya Asura. More specifically, Ache Lameo is a demonic corrupting influence that utilizes any possible means to gain twisted understandings and to twist the purity of the Daeva. Not very reassuring.

The last group in Development is a Commissariat team known only as 'Black Rendition.' It is not immediately clear what role they play, but one thing stands out: Black Rendition is composed entirely of Flight I (cybernetic non-biotic) Commissars, some of them of recent construction. Commissars in Black Rendition do not answer to the Commissariat as a whole, although they do brief the Behavioral Cadre. Black Rendition has two charges: to ensure that R&D does not go 'off the rails'… and to authorize any activity in Human Space that R&D has to undertake.

Black Rendition led the raid on the Sol branch of the Sirta Corporation that resulted in the liquidation of almost the entire staff, as well as raids on firms conducting illegal research on AI or nanotechnology. It is unknown what else they do – Brooks said everyone in R&D was frankly terrified of them.

Under these broad groups are a number of smaller 'focus teams.' From what we can gather, a focus team is usually between two and five scientists or researchers and roughly two platoons of combatants, sometimes augmented by AIS agents or forward-deployed Alliance Engineering Group techs with downlinks to the Silver Legions. Focus teams are codenamed – Brooks identified two as examples.

FT-091, codenamed 'Gort's Grifters,' was a team designed to find, buy, or steal salarian technology in the area of polymorphic code extenders and reverse-engineer the technology. FT-074, 'Lovecraft was an Optimist,' was designated to pursue archeological evidence of previous Reaper activity and retrieve Reaper technology, particularly in the area of hull composition and sensor tech (which, incidentally, are two elements of Reaper tech we have confirmed are not spreaders of Thanoptis Syndrome).

From what I've been able to put together, Research conducts broad swaths of actual science with one hand, and appalling investigations into black projects – Reaper tech, anomalous tech, and outright theft – with the other. The Development groups then turn this into actual working human technology and repackage it, where it is usually either rolled out directly into the Alliance military or carefully sold and introduced to humanity through cooperative corporate entities.

There's also one, final group that is completely off the books – Brooks stumbled across evidence of it only by chance. It is a small team of heavy infantry commandos, led by a Major Alec Ryder. Ryder is not a new name in certain circles, tied up with AI research, Synthetic Insights, and tight with the Grissom family as well as House Anderson. Ryder is VERY controversial and basically dropped out of sight about midway through the Halycon Insurrection, for reasons unknown.

Ryder's group is so black project-level it doesn't even exist formally, and they have three Red Notes exempting them from Commissariat interference, interference from other Lords of Sol, and retroactive immunity to any criminal act they may commit. Via hacking (with assistance from Vigil), we've managed to ID most of the unit – all of them were shown as KIA at least two to five years prior to the Benezia Incident, around the same time Ryder did.

There are hints of a group – 'Intercession' – and tentative ID on who's in charge above Ryder – former Rear Admiral Jacek Kurgan, the handler of Project Payback and Tyriun no Kage. Kurgan was, last I knew, a condemned Z2 criminal in chemical-coma incarceration on Titan, and the hints that he's in charge of Intercession – in combination with an amoral operator like Ryder, under the aegis of groups that contain 'researchers' like Creen, von Alte, and the never-very-subtle Colqua – worries me intently.

Operations:

Unfortunately, Brooks was not able to penetrate deeply enough into any of the black teams to determine exactly what kind of op tempo AR&D utilizes. All the black-ops segments go through intensive background scrutiny and cortex bomb implantation, which was not desirable.

From what we do know, however, usually the process is fairly straightforward. For public research goals, funding is obtained from the High Lords via a bill submitted to the Senate. R&D Command provides a prospectus and a summary of the research, benefits, costs, and likely timeline, and it's voted up or down. Successful projects are funded and then Eudaemon gets to work.

Once Eudaemon produces a line of prototypes or tests, the results are handed off to Luchtaine for actual development. Typically, this involves testing, subgroup research, and then a partnership or contract with single or multiple corporations, external science departments at major universities, or, occasionally, communication with asari research and development teams.

When the technology or application is finished, it is presented to the Lords of Sol and the Senate in a codeword-level briefing before public dissemination. If the result is instead scientific theories or research, the leading researchers will publish in AR&D's research journal 'Newton: Alliance Science and Theory Journal.' If the development is an engineering process, it is published instead by the Alliance Engineering Group's manifest journal, 'Tesla: Applied Engineering of the Alliance Engineering Group and Alliance Research and Development.'

Publication in either journal is very prestigious, and lesser discoveries are often sub-published in other scientific or engineering journals.

For private or classified research, black project funds are obtained by the High Lord via the AIS and provided directly to the research leads. Usually, initial investigation and research is done by Project Ahaltocob, with feasibility studies and proposals written up and submitted to the High Lords. If such looks promising, it is handed off to Ache Lameo for actual development, testing, and processing.

Sometimes a classified project requires initial materials, information, test subjects, or worse. It's my belief that Intercession is sent out to obtain these, and that they work closely with Ache Lamao in doing so.

All black project research is overseen by Black Rendition who also maintain security.

It is a simple process, with a clear bifurcation between legitimate science and the sort of thing the Shadow Cell indulged in all too often. There's no real method to 'penetrate' the black project if you don't know they exist, and even Brooks, our most skilled infiltration expert, was not able to coerce or break anyone involved without leaving a trace.

Given we have broken STG agents, Commissars, and a turian, I find this very difficult to believe. I suspect, although I can't prove, that Black Rendition has something to do with this level of nearly anomalous security.

Locations:

All the public research and development facilities are on Earth, Titan, or Arcturus. Most of them work alongside various universities or corporations and there are even study scholarships available to asari, salarian, turian, and volus participants.

The main research facility is at the Lavoisier Academy of Science and Engineering, in the Ciridian Reclaimed Zone near the Denver Arcology. With labs, test facilities, dormitories, schools, support buildings, and defenses, this mini-arcology is home to some ten thousand R&D personnel and their families, as well as support personnel. The Lavoisier Academy is guarded by two Regimental Combat Units from the Second Solguard Army Group, Semper Laurifer.

There's a large R&D base on Arcturus as well, sunk into the main asteroid section near the rear of the Sphere, that is suspected to be R&D Command. This is a locked down secure facility that you'd have to get to through the main Alliance military base on the station, and has biometric, genetic, retinal, and ID card scan systems just to get to the building.

Brooks was able to identify several asteroids in the Solian asteroid belt as well as minor facilities on Bekenstein, the Citadel, and Terra Nova that appear to be facilities used by either Ache Lameo or Ahaltocob. Some of these are probably legitimate – for example, the Ahaltocob facility on Terra Nova is the official Alliance Cybernetics and Augmetics Laboratory, where eighty percent of authorized military cybernetic implants or conversions are produced. But some of them – including a stealthed blacked-out asteroid in Sol with live black nano security, are probably isolation facilities.

Focus:

Without a clear ability to infiltrate the more secure projects, a great deal of trying to determine the pursuits of R&D is somewhat theoretical and assumptory in nature. On the other hand, I have been involved with black project research myself, and given the Systems Alliance's position in galactic terms, generalities are not hard to define.

The public research group focuses mostly on industrial and commercial science (30% of funding), weapons and military equipment (38% of funding), exploratory science (20% of funding), and a mix of social studies, corporate-sponsored requests, and archeology (remaining 12% of funding.)

Public engineering and development focuses almost entirely on military applications and testing (70% of funding) and commercial application (25% of funding), with remaining funds expended on a mix of STEM programs for education and exploration of the Mars Archives.

The black-ops research is harder to quantify. In general, though, it is split evenly between reverse-engineering alien tech and exploratory studies of Prothean and Reaper technology. The Development group is more diversified, meddling in Reaper and Prothean tech, proscripted AI and nanotech studies, batarian biotechnology studies, and anomalous science – typically Arcann or other pre-Inusannon archeological discoveries.

Ultimately, based on what public policy decisions and votes are available, Alliance R&D is being transitioned from purely military applications to mixed-use studies, with an increase into exploratory science such as astrophysics, planetary exploration, and math increased by 15% since 2150. Conversely, the Development wing is moving more towards pure military application, outsourcing the majority of civilian or commercial applications to partnerships with corporations or, in some cases, asari or turian firms.

There's a certain level of policy discongruence with this sort of spread, which is likely due to the fact that some of the research methods for acquisition of technology is pretty illegal – some of it is probably very illegal. It's easier to spin this if you make research cleaner and use development to 'humanize' your stolen bits of tech and put them in a new shape.

Final Notes:

Unless you decide to request some information about government directorates, the main points of the Systems Alliance have been gone over. The Court of Corporations could use an examination, I suppose, as could several other pieces – let me know if you wish an investigation undertaken.

As for the R&D group itself… I find myself unsurprised they are as unethical as the Shadow Cell ever was. I am not going to faint at the realization that ugly times call for ugly deeds, or suggest that I am an ethical paragon when it comes to science. I would suggest, though, that it is very disturbing the lack of accountability and control R&D has when compared to most other research groups in the galaxy.

This is not me quibbling, Mr. Harper. There's no end of black projects out there, but that's the entire point – usually they're quite isolated and highly deniable. Alliance R&D is intertwining clear clean science with things that could draw Citadel censure, and I don't grasp why they did not divide things cleanly.

I suspect, based on what General Florez shared as well as some of Mr. Williams more… incoherent rants… that there was a highly secretive and secure science division – that somehow either got exposed or destroyed, perhaps by what it was studying.

The technology basis for the Silver Legions did NOT come entirely from R&D, this we know. Synthetic Insights shares a disturbing number of similarities to R&D, including the use of mythological demons as project names and – most tellingly – the fact that a James Vandefar, Admiral Vandefar's nephew, is Director of Research and Development at Synthetic Insights.

It's possible that SI was a research team or group for the Alliance. Brooks found fragmentary references to 'Research Station Sixteen' amid several old telelinks, and Synthetic Insights has sixteen departments. (Brooks also finds Synthia to be an odd spelling for a first name and wonders if there is a connection – Synthia – Synthetic. I think the girl is brain damaged from the appalling horrors inflicted on her by Rasa, but she may have a point.)

It is impossible at this juncture to verify anything, and my strong recommendation is to steer clear of whatever the black projects are doing. While it may be interesting or useful, it is also likely to involve High Lord interest, and you don't need me to tell you we cannot afford discovery at this juncture.

We'll keep an eye on R&D for now, Mr. Harper. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.