Shu'ulathoi

The Shu'ulathoi, commonly referred to as Combine Advisors, are one of the species that serve the Universal Union. They appear to occupy high-ranking positions, usually advising the occupation of planets like Earth. They possses powerful psychic and telekinetic abilities, able to fly themselves and tear apart buildings with little effort.

It is speculated that Shu'ulathoi are bioengineered and grown in vats, where important individuals to the Combine have their intelligence transferred to.

Anatomy
The Shu'ulathoi are grublike beings with a strong resemblance to insect larvae on Earth. They are roughly twice as long as a human.

They have no visible organs or senses, and rely on cybernetic implants to give them vision. Similarly, they possess no natural appendages or limbs, and have robotic arms instead. A Shu'ulathoi feeds through a large, prehensile proboscis that originates from a small mouth in the center of their head. This mouth is presumably where they breathe as well, as they require gas masks when in oxygenated atmospheres. Their diet is unknown but is assumed to be predatory, since they have killed humans to drink their blood on multiple occasions.

Shu'ulathoi communicate psychically, and thus only vocalize when they are injured or angry. Their vocal range usually consists of high-pitched shrieks and cries when they are hurt, and guttural clicking and croaks when violent.

Powers and abilities
The most notable ability of the Shu'ulathoi is their powerful telekinesis. They primarily use this to fly themselves instead of crawling, and can communicate psychically to both other shu'ulathoi and even humans.

However, their telekinetic abilities can also be used in battle. They have demonstrated the ability to destroy with their psychic abilities, tearing down structurally sound buildings with no visible effort.

When using their abilities, they display no physical effort. Their powers do, however, distort light and can therefore be vaguely seen.

Personality
Shu'ulathoi possess an inquisitive, cowardly and cruel demeanour, especially towards weaker life like humans. A newly awakened Shu'ulathoi first experimented with its telekinesis, and then toyed with several floating objects before eating humans. They also have strong self-preservation instinct bordering on cowardice, as they tend to flee immediately after being injured in any way.

Culture
Whatever culture the Shu'ulathoi originally possessed has been integrated in the Combine empire. It is speculated that they are the founding species, in which case their culture is the Combine.

Personality
Shu'ulathoi possess an inquisitive, cowardly and cruel demeanour, especially towards weaker life like humans. A newly awakened Shu'ulathoi first experimented with its telekinesis, and then toyed with several floating objects before eating humans. They also have strong self-preservation instinct bordering on cowardice, as they tend to flee immediately after being injured in any way.

Physical Decor
Advisors have several cybernetic implants - namely an eyepiece and two powerful and extendible arms. They also wear a tight olive-green bodysuit covering everything except their face. The collar of these suits are decorated with strange golden symbols, possibly in the intergalactic language of the Combine.

Technology
The Shu'ulathoi, being part of the Combine, are incredibly advanced technologically. They are masters of bioengineering, commonly cloning and modifying alien species they come across to serve their needs. They generally tend to use bioengineered creatures instead of inorganic machines when possible - for instance, their ships are usually alive and sapient.