The Collective

The Collective are a sentient species who came to the galaxy when they were forced to leave their own after a major war. They are a highly secretive race who have not told the rest of the galaxy much of their history. They are unique in the galaxy for their ability to inhabit almost any planet, though they do attempt to terraform planets in order to be comfortable on them. They currently control roughly 20% of the galaxy.

History
Little is known about the history of the Collective due to their secrecy. It is alleged that they come from a galaxy where they had more enemies than friends, and after losing a war to various rebels and other enemies they were forced to leave the galaxy. It is unknown how they traveled the distance between the galaxies, or why they chose to come to this one.

Appearance
Not much can be said of the appearance of the Collective. They are surrounded by a tangible shadow which emanates from them, nicknamed a shroud, making it difficult to determine their appearance. Their dark visage often causes other species be suspicious of them, and it can easily intimidate, especially when there is little light.

When deceased, they quite rapidly decompose, making autopsies very difficult for those who wish to conduct research on them.

They have three glowing eyes, two smaller and one larger one, which is usually around the middle of their shroud.They also have two rows of glowing 'teeth', though these as well as the eyes, are the first to decompose - usually within ten to thirty seconds.

Behaviour
The Collective have the ability to communicate with one another telepathically. They are sometimes said to have a hive mind, though others disagree and say that they have individual minds which are able to communicate very efficiently with one another, giving the appearance of having a hive mind when they agree with each other about something, which is most of the time, except in heated debates they call Vedka.

A Vedka is a strange sight to behold for anyone uninformed. Two disagreeing Collective will stand facing each other for possibly hours until one agrees with the other, all the while forming tendrils of shroud towards other Collective and even buildings composed of Umbrim, or Shadowglass. It is theorised that this draws more telepathic power to the debating Collective, allowing them to gain input from a number of others. Why buildings are included remains a mystery, though it is possible that these buildings are a conduit of telepathic power also.

Relationship with Other Species
The Collective are generally trustworthy in spite of their history, but they are still rather disliked. When they have a mutual trust with another group, they are very quick to offer help.

One reason that other species tend to dislike The Collective is their attitude to colonization. They will occupy any planet that isn't clearly controlled by someone else, including planets which are under dispute. They then terraform these planets, which means that it's extremely difficult for other species to live on the planet.