Collector

The Collectors
Universe: Mass Effect

Creators: Reapers

Language: Probably electromagnetic transmission, Collector Language (unknown)

Sexes: It is unknown if the Collectors have seperate sexes

Background
The Collectors are an unusual race, in that they are very rarely seen, so few people have actually seen one most people believe they are a myth. The reason for this is because the Collectors live beyond the un-passable Omega 4 Relay, numerous ships have attempted to use the relay, but to no avail, remains of thousands of unfortunate ships litter the system.

Why the ships never return is mystery to the citizens on Omega, the huge spacestation-like city nearby, some speculate there is a giant black hole on the other side, raising the question of how the Collectors use it. Another myth is that there is a paradise of amazing brilliance on the other side so the curious people who have made the journey don't return to that hell-hole of Omega. The myth with the most truth in it is that the Collectors either detain or destroy any ships that enter their space.

Also the Collectors use Agents to collect interesting specimins to study, futher reducing their need to leave their home.

History
50,000 years before the events of Mass Effect it is believed that a hyper-intellegent race of machines (known as the "Reapers" by the Protheans) emerged into the Milky Way from the long sleep in Dark Space, they proceeded to attack the Citadel, the heart of the Prothean Empire which stretched across the stars. The Reapers killed the Prothean leaders before the rest of the Protheans knew they were at war, the Reapers now controlled the hub of the Prothean mass relay network, using the relays the Reapers spread through the galaxy, systematically wiping out all life and taking slaves, when the Protheans were finally extinguished the Reapers returned to Dark Space.

However there was some Prothean survivors on the planet Ilos, knowing there were far to few to sustain a populations and to revive the species, the Protheans conducted a suicide mission to stop the Reapers from wiping out the next Empire. They used a relay they had constructed on Ilos' surface which led to a secret relay on the Citadel (it would be known as the "Relay Monument" in the future) to re-programme the Keepers to ignore the Reaper signal when the time came for the Reapers to return, the Keepers would not open the relays to the Reapers, this worked, however the Protheans couldn't return and they starved and died.

The Protheans on Ilos believed the slaves were killed when the Reapers were finished with them, it turns out the Reapers used cybernetic implants to compensate for the lack of growth due to the indoctrination, and eventually this transformed them into Collectors. Some theorise that the Reapers did this to the Keepers.

After the Reapers left the Collectors began their current isolated lifestyle.

Biology
Collectors look like giant insects, they have wings which they use to ambush enemies without (or with very little) warning, increasing their chances of killing their enemies. They possess natural body armour that while slightly inferior in toughness to the manufactured armour of other races is capable of self-repair, they also make heavy use of thei natural biotic abilities to erect a biotic barrier around them, certian types also use this to create a stationary barrier field which allows collector weapons fire through but repels that of other races.. Every now and then the Collector General(harbinger) takes control of one of the Collectors, this makes the controlled warrior incredibly difficult to kill and grants the ability to fire multiple powerful biotic blasts from it's body.

For more information on the Collectors see: []