BETA Obscure Strains

There are additional, "obscure" strains of BETA, either not combat oriented, rare, or unconfirmed and/or undiscovered. Many parts of a BETA Hive's infrastructure is in fact a collection of various strains to regulate access to parts of the Hive and to refine and produce G-Elements.

The Creators

The sentient, silicon-based species which created the BETA, the Creators are technically not part of the BETA, but are regarded by the BETA (in particular the Superordinate) as the only possible state of life able to exist in the universe. It is unknown whether this species still exists or not, as the Superordinate gives no time reference to the creation of the BETA. It also states that they are not in direct contact with The Creators, so it is possible that this species is now extinct or abandoned the BETA, leaving their creations to mindlessly wander the cosmos; the Creators are advanced enough to monitor the BETA without requiring to communicate with them, or the Creators perception of time is different from the BETA due to the nature of their existence and such haven't seen it necessary yet to contact the BETA.

Hive Strains

Reactor-Class

Hive Reactors, while not initially recognized as such, are actually another strain of BETA. One can be found in each Hive's main hall. Its primary purpose is to recharge the various lower BETA strains' energy, and to act as a life support system for captured carbon-based life-forms as well. It relays orders from the Superordinate, and is the equivalent of a field commander for the BETA. While a Reactor is alive, the Hive that it is part of can be considered "alive" as well, as are the BETA under its command; killing all of the BETA under it does not change that fact, and a captured Reactor will continue to go through the same growth phases as a normal Reactor would during Hive expansion.

Gate-Class

Like Reactors, the Gate-class, also identified as Barriers, are another strain of BETA. As large, immobile organic gates usually present at various places in the Hive Stab to control access to the Hive's locations, at several hundred meters in diameter they are massive; even the @XG-70 Susanoo, with its maximum height of 200 meters, could pass through one of them easily.

The complete Gate-class BETA consists of three main parts; a body that functions like a barrier to prevent easy access to the Original Hive's main hall, opening from the middle to reveal the path forward only under certain conditions, connected by a biological conduit not unlike a spinal cord, to a node of biological matter roughly analogous to a human brain stem at the end of that conduit.

The brain stem is roughly equal in height to a TSF and operates the barrier body by secreting two distinct chemical compounds that control the opening and closing of the barrier when under stimulation from electrical pulses. It also contains extremely high voltage; enough to kill a TSF pilot within a TSF through voltage transfer via simple surface contact.

Superior-Class

The Superordinate, a unique strain of BETA, is known to humanity by several names; results from research on @Alternative IV proposed the use of Heavy Brain-class for the Superordinate, and Brain-class for Hive Reactors, while others simply refer to it as the Core. It is also known as "Target A" to those of the world's military in the know. General consensus of a BETA supreme commander had long been touted, but the strain can only definitively be confirmed during an attack on the @Kashgar Hive, Objective 01.

The Superordinate is also part of the Original Hive's Reactor; it is immobile, and resides in the main core chamber, surrounded by four halls. As the overarching commander of all BETA forces on Earth, it does so by communicating with each Hive Reactor present on Earth, using them as a proxy to relay orders to the common BETA, although the exact method of communication is not known.

The Superordinate is far from defenceless, however; it is able to produce and extend numerous tentacle-shaped appendages outwards from the vertical portion of its main body, and at high speeds and with enough force to destroy TSFs on contact. Each tentacle tip is capped with the same hard growth that covers Grappler forearms and constitutes Destroyer shells; the tentacles appear to have the capability to pierce the Rutherford Field, as well as force control upon both machines and human minds upon contact.

As the Original Hive is the only Phase 6 Hive on Earth, one possible theory is that this is the form reached by any Phase 6 Reactor. If this proves to be true, efforts to retake Luna and then Mars will be met with even stiffer resistance than that faced on Earth due to the existence of far more advanced Hives. Mars Zero is a prime example; a Phase 9 Hive and the largest on Mars, this gigantic Hive may prove to hold something far more terrible.

Undiscovered Strains

Carrier-Class

A BETA strain first theorized after numerous detections of concentrated, high level seismic activivty; this strain, capable of high-speed underground movement via large-scale excavation of its surrounding, has no official scientific/binomial name due to relatively recent human exposure to it. In it's singular encounter, the Carrier-Class measured at 176 meters tall, 1800 meters long and 176 meters wide, and carrying an extremely large number of other BETA strains inside of it, including Grappler, Destroyer, and even Fort-class BETA, which it disgorged from its interior by opening its frontal mouth. The seismic wave-form patterns picked up from it in Operation Ouka matched vibration patterns recorded during Operation 21st and the Defence of Yokohama Base, proof that the strain was not limited to Kashgar. During its first appearance, it was identified as "unconfirmed large strain".

It is entirely possible that the Carrier-Class is a late-stage Gate-Class found in Hives as it's mouth shares the same appearance as the gate when closed. Another possibility is that the Gate-class themselves are repurposed bodies of these massive strains, the calcified remains of their worm-like bodies forming the large tunnels within larger Hives, and their mouths forming the access gates.

Appearances of the Carrier are exceedingly rare; the first and only visual encounter was by allied fleets operating around the @Malaysian Peninsula, where the massive worm-like strain withstood multiple salvos from battleship caliber cannons. It's rarity has prevented tested tactics against it, but in theory, a @S-11 SD-System detonated within the creature could work.

Laser Fort-Class

A towering BETA strain with three sets of three Heavy Laser-Class "eyes" extended from a Fort-class' body. It also has two sets of the Fort-class' legs, making it dangerous to approach even for individual TSFs. This Super Heavy Laser-class also has what seems to be a green variation of the Fort-class' Mohs 15 tail stinger, which is likely connected to a similar 50-meter long tentacle, attached to its lower end. The Laser Fort-Class is developed and deployed by the BETA within a week of the @XG-70 Susanoo first successful Hive assault operation as a direct response to the Susanoo.

Unlike the two other Laser-class strains, the Laser Fort-class will shoot through other BETA. The variety of weapons makes it the first strain of BETA capable of both long-range and melee combat. Based on the @00 Unit's revelation about BETA data exchange methods and the information above, this strain may be the first BETA that was designed specifically to be a weapon from the outset, with humanity having unknowingly taught the BETA the concepts of weapons and warfare, rather than being a biological mining machine like the others.