Collier

Through rescuing and befriending the alien subject designated "Collier," X-Com has come to learn much information about the Collective and their mission here on Earth.

Collier is a rogue Sectoid of the "Medic" caste. Collier describes herself as a female, and when conversing with other humans, uses and responds to feminine pronouns (she, her, etc.) She proves that Sectoids are indeed able to speak, and that it is enhanced by latent Psionic abilities; the language that comes out of her mouth is not English or any other terrestrial language, but it can be understood by any listener, not just those few around the bunker with a universal translator augment.

Collier was assigned to a "Harvester," that was tracked from Brazil to London by X-Com tracking stations. This was only possible because the UFO she was on was "towing" the Firestorm. Task Force Rampage was dispatched for a recovery/rescue mission, but the interventions from Collier rendered the mission unnecessary.

Seeing the human forces oppose and defy her masters, Collier was able to draw inspiration from it enough to disable her own NOI. This allowed her to work at cross-purposes to their plan, and she was able to eventually free Task Force Menace from the Sim into which they had been placed. However, she was unable to prevent or disobey certain other orders she was given, and was forced to perform surgeries on many of the human captives. This resulted in several members of Menace returning with alien augments implanted without their consent or knowledge.

When Menace was freed, Collier assisted in their escape and asked to be rescued as well, since she saw herself as a slave to the Collective, and claimed that she did not share their goals. She was taken in as a captive at that point, and potential live interrogation subject.

When eventually returned to Bunker November, Collier was placed on probationary status with several restrictions. She was forced to wear a hat to differentiate her from any other Sectoids and to prevent a possible panic. She was required to have a human escort wherever she went through the Bunker (this service was primarily provided by Corporal Ethan Kitrick of the resident US Army infantry company). Over time, and through the course of multiple interviews conducted by Lillian Kjelstad, Ian Church and Dean Vickers, Collier's goals and motivations became better understood, and her restrictions were drastically reduced. She was allowed to assist with X-Com's research department, and is proving invaluable in the effort to unlock the secrets behind some alien technologies and providing intel regarding their plans and tactics. Unfortunately, she only knows so much (even the Collective seems to utilize informational compartmentalization), so she cannot provide every detail her interviewers would like to know.

Collier resides in an unused cell in the ACF (Alien Containment Facility). Initially, this was used to imprison her, whereas now, it is simply her "home." She opted to remain there because it puts her close to the area she has been allowed to work (the ACF is part of the laboratory wing of the bunker), and it puts her closer to her "others," the Sectoid equivalent of peers or "friends," since the Sectoids don't seem to recognize the concept of friendship. This may not be entirely true anymore, however, since observations have shown that she is actually quite friendly to most people she meets, and many of the scientists and engineers consider her a friend, now. Some of the humans she works with do not treat her so kindly, and in return, her observed interactions with them are a bit cooler, as well. This implies to observers that she seems to understand the concept of friendship perfectly well.

As an aid to her socialization efforts, Collier requested a pet, and a small, orange tabby cat was found for her. Collier did not comprehend the idea of giving the animal a name (similar to how Mal'K'Rettt's mutated canine companion was simply called "Dog"), so staff in the labs have jokingly named the cat "Jonesy," the ship cat on the Nostromo, from the 1979 film "Alien."

In her free time, Collier likes to play darts (she has a dart board set up in her room) and billiards. She can often be found in the lounge hustling the Rangers. She usually doesn't take money for her winnings, but bets for beers. With the Sectoids' simple digestive system, beer is a human food item she can actually process and seems to enjoy. It does not get her drunk, however, no matter how many beers the Rangers give her to try and deteriorate her gaming skills. She will also sometimes make special bets with some of the Rangers where if they lose a game, they agree to spend the night with her in her quarters. The Rangers have dubbed this "Getting Probed," though those who have gone through the process claim that all she did was talk to them all night long, have them help teach her to read, and ask to sleep in close proximity to them (because that's what humans do, and she is curious as to why). For the purpose of humor, though, no one chooses to believe this.

Possibly due to a quirk in the way the Sectoid Mind functions, Collier tends to reply in conversation very quickly, without the natural pauses for thought and formulation of ideas that people are used to hearing. This may give a listener the impression that Collier is not listening, or is just speaking hastily, but this is not the case. It is suspected that this quirk has something to do with the Psionic nature of her language comprehension and projection, though it may just be that she and her kind can think very quickly in certain regards, and are able to verbally respond rapidly without having to take a lot of time to think about what they are going to say.

Collier also enjoys some human music, string instruments especially. She goes nuts for classical music that favors strings over horns and piano, and has even procured a violin and is attempting to learn how to play it. She is not very good, yet, as her efforts are hampered by the fact that she only has three fingers, but this is offset somewhat by the fact that the fingers she does have each have an extra phalange bone and joint.

While she was forced to wear a hat initially as a term of her probation, she has become enough of a fixture at the bunker that this is no longer required. She never opposed this measure, but in subsequent interviews and conversations, it has been revealed that she is glad this requirement has lapsed as she felt it looked ridiculous and was demeaning (and also because none of the other people she worked with wore hats, and she just wanted to "fit in"). In that vein, someone did gift her a white lab coat, tailored for her diminutive size and stature, and a pair of high-heeled shoes. Collier likes the shoes because she considers herself "a lady," and it also makes her a bit taller, even if she is still the shortest person in the lab. It also serves to hide her feet a bit. Her feet have no toes, and can sometimes be off-putting to those who meet her.