Cabals

The Cabals are a military organisation overseen by the Turian Empire's *Dicasterum Mutarius* ('Ministry of Biotics'), which exists to train and protect turian biotics from both others and themselves. The organisation has absolute legal authority when it comes to the incarceration of biotics, granted by the Council of Hierarchs, allowing them to forcefully take any turian found to have biotic potential, regardless of their biotic strength, hierarchical rank or bloodline. In some cases, biotic potential does not show until late adolescence, but for most turian biotics life in the Cabals starts between the ages of 8 and 12, coinciding with the start of puberty. Upon the discovery of their biotic potential, biotic children are taken from their homes and families and enrolled in the Cabals to begin their initial training. Being a member of a Cabal has a steep price to pay, however - once enrolled biotics are there for life, effectively incarcerated in remote fortresses, constantly surrounded by heavy security, and not permitted to enter or have any contact with the outside world (except when on supervised military assignments).

This harsh and seemingly unorthodox treatment of biotics stems from a 3000-year-old stigma which was created during the Unification War. During the Unification War, military black-ops would often recruit turian biotics as infiltrators, planting them anonymously in the regular infantry as “observers” or using them as assassins. This historical practice has left a cultural bias against biotic soldiers amongst the turian rank-and-file. In many cases, even the parents of biotic children will disown them once their biotic potential has been recognised, as it is a mark of shame on a family. The propaganda of the Cabals uses this stigma to its strength - they teach their charges that the world outside is a dangerous place for those with biotic power, and thus being segregated from the rest of society is a necessary evil to protect them, one that still allows them to serve the Hierarchy in their own way. The ExtraNet and objects from the outside world are thus strictly forbidden to maintain this facade and limit temptation for escape.

Those that do attempt to escape are either “re-educated” after being recaptured, or simply culled if there is a genuine fear that they will turn the rest of the unit against their supervisors. Due to the potent danger of biotic power, if a Cabal goes rogue, supervisors are permitted to terminate all biotics within that Cabal. One of the most infamous cullings occurred in the War on Taetrus in 2186 CE, where multiple Cabal units went rogue to side with the Separatist movement in a bid for freedom and self-governance. One Cabal was reportedly executed after refusing to carry out orders to kill civilians suspected of being Separatists. Another was penned in by armoured Hierarchy auxiliary units, which then flooded the area with antipersonnel grenades, killing all but two of its members instantly.

Despite the restrictions imposed on its members, the Cabals are not considered a system of slavery, and biotics themselves - while not “free” - are not owned by the Hierarchy and are not forced into servitude on its behalf. Biotics are given the choice, after passing their boot camp training, to serve as part of the military or not. Most do choose to serve, as it means having a practical purpose, and is a chance to serve the Hierarchy and see the galaxy. Those who do not often become techs or medics for the fortress and never see any live combat situations. It is this rule that places the Cabals in accordance with the Citadel Conventions, in which slavery is forbidden, though some believe it is simply a convenient loophole that exists solely because the Turian Hierarchy makes up the majority force of the military arm of the Citadel Council.

The fact is, however, that other Council races technically have this institutionalised quasi-slavery, namely the asari, who imprison those afflicted with a neurological disease which makes them Ardat-Yakshi. The choice is quite literally “imprisonment or death” - to look at it bluntly they are prepared to kill and enslave another being simply because they are born with a brain abnormality. The human definition of slavery is as follows: “Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.” Humans officially recognise four kinds of slavery: Chattel slavery (where people are bought and sold as if they were commodities), bonded labour (otherwise known as debt bondage, when a person pledges himself or herself against a loan), forced labour (occurs when an individual is forced to work against his or her will, under threat of violence or other punishment - includes child labour and prostitution), and forced marriage (self-explanatory - includes child marriage and marriage by abduction). Not one of these definitions can be used to adequately describe the imprisonment of either Ardat-Yakshi or turian biotics, and thus, by human definition, the two cannot be considered slavery. Turian biotics are not owned by the Hierarchy, and they are not forced to serve the Hierarchy - their imprisonment is more comparable to the incarceration of people with dangerous mental illnesses, such as schizophrenics, which is completely legal and serves to protect the subject from both themselves and the general populace. The most common form of institutionalised slavery is in fact wage slavery (a byproduct of capitalism) which most Council-affiliated civilisation, including humanity’s, subscribes to.

Nevertheless, due to the limitations on personal freedoms, the Cabals are tantamount to a prison. By law, each Cabal is supposed to respect certain rights of the biotics. However, ambiguity or inadequacy in regulations, a weak kabalim failing to advocate a Cabal’s rights, and the local supervisors’ penchant for corruption and abuse can affect how much these laws are respected. Aside from the restrictions on physical freedom and the right to own property, Cabals are also forbidden from marriage and having children. While romantic unions are not discouraged, should such a union produce offspring, any child born to a biotic is taken away before the mother has time to bond with her child (the father never sees the child at all). The child would then be sent to social services for adoption into a regular non-biotic family, with no knowledge of who their real parents are. There have also been isolated cases of biotics being sexually abused by their supervisors, and it is unknown how prevalent this crime is within the entire organisation. While some supervisors take advantage of their power, others carry themselves with great dignity and restraint. Some even come to see their charges as friends rather than prisoners, which can be dangerous. As such, friendly relations between a Cabal and its supervisors are discouraged by the Hierarchy, as it may interfere with a supervisor’s duty of care.

Because turian biotics are relatively rare, Cabals tend to be small and only comprised of 10 to 15 individuals, led by a commanding officer called a kabalim. Kabalims are trained from a very young age, often chosen because of their higher-than-average power aptitude scores in biotics training, and are usually vanguards, though powerful sentinels have been known to take on the role as well. Compared to biotics from other species, turians are relatively weak in power - most average out as a Level 2 at most. Level 3s are normally trained to become kabalims. A candidate for training however retains the right to refuse the position.

Cabals are often deployed covertly as shock troops or saboteurs, or sent on long reconnaissance missions for the Hierarchy. In addition to advanced biotic training, all Cabal soldiers are highly skilled in small arms, explosives, infiltration tactics, and the driving of infantry vehicles (while supervised).