Locust Horde
The Locust Horde are a species that features in Gears of War.
Contents |
History
Locust War
The Locust Horde was a collection of beings that inhabited the planet Sera. Their origins were actually traced to the time of the Pendulum Wars when miners were exposed to Imulsion where they began to mutate following extended exposure. Infected individuals were taken by the Coalition of Ordered Governments where they were brought for study to the New Hope Research Facility in the hope of finding a cure. Among the chief researchers looking for a cure was Doctor Niles Samson that was studying the progress of the Rustlung infection by injecting children with doses of Imulsion. Most of the subjects died from the exposure except for one named Myrrah who was not only immune to but developed cellular regeneration that meant she aged only half the rate of a normal human child. Seeing this success, Dr. Samson sought to replicate the immunity among the other children but his attempts failed. In an effort to find a solution, he turned his attention to the creatures underground that inhabited the Hollow where he believed their close proximity to the Imulsion meant that they might have some immunity to it. He came to use cross-species genetic experimentation whereby he imparted in the child test subjects some of the DNA of the Hollow creatures thus creating a new hybrid species that were called the Sires. These beings proved to be difficult to control and led to a number of attack on staff members at the New Hope facility with this leading to departures as well as information leaks. In time, word of this came to reach the Chairman of the C.O.G. where the unethical experiments led to political forces in the COG fearing the media exposure and backlash from this project. Thus, the facility was ordered to be shutdown with all the scientists indicted though factions within the government continued to support Samson's work. They had him relocated along with his staff and subjects to a private hidden facility at Mount Kadar where he would be free from accountability so that he could continue his work. Once there, Dr. Samson continued the hybridization experiments in attempting to merge Myrrah's stem cells with that of the Sires. This led to the creation of a Drone that was the first member of the Locust race. Production began in making more such creations where the continued use of Myrrah's stem cells resulted in the creation of a hivemind that was under her control as she became their 'queen'. To better control the Locusts, the scientists used Myrrah's stem cells and the Sire DNA to create the first female Berserker that was known as the Matriarch. As the Locusts continued to grow, Myrrah began to see the species as her children and she began to care for them. Around this time, one of the geneticists at the facility named Dr. Torres who studied the Locusts developed a romantic relationship with Myrrah. This led to her conceiving a children named Reyna who inherited her mothers psychomagnetic link to the Locust. However, Dr. Torres grew disillusioned with the work the facility was conducting and decided to escape with his daughter Reyna. Dr. Samson was unable to recapture Reyna and instead told Myrrah that her daughter died in the attempted escape. This caused Myrrah to become distraught and she began to resent humans as she blamed them for killing her daughter. Similarly, she began to hate them for what they did to the Locust namely keeping them trapped, studied and experimented on underground. Thus, she staged a rebellion using her psychic link and the Lost Horde massacred the staff at the facility before escaping underground. For years, the Locust began to develop underground and grow in number till they became known as the Locust Horde. They lived in the subterranean regions of Sera and inhabited in the extensive underground tunnel network that was known as 'the Hollow'. To the humans on Sera, the origins of the Locust were shrouded in mystery. There were many theories that surrounded the Locust with some believing they came from another planet or moon with them feeding on Imulsion whilst others thought that they came from Hell.
Eventually, they openly invaded the surface and began to attack the human people of Sera in an event that was known as Emergence Day. The Horde began to swarm across the cities where they began killing every man, woman and child in their quest for dominance. To stop their attackers, humanity resorted to destroying their own cities in order to halt the Locust assault.
In an attempt to stop the Horde, COG made detonated a Lightmass Bomb within their tunnel network which wounded the Locusts. However, this simply slowed down their onslaught and only delayed the long war with mankind.
The Swarm
In the aftermath of the Locust War, the remains of the Locust began to crystalize and encase themselves in a hard substance that made it difficult to burn. Thus, the COG decided to bury the Locust remains in various sites and left their weapons in these locations. Unknown to anyone, the Locust were not in fact dead but had underwent a chrysalis state and emerged in new forms in the abandoned burial sites. The original Locusts became known as Scions that sought to increase their number and resume their war against mankind. To achieve that end, they used biological mutation and infections from various organisms to transform humans into a half-Locust hybrids known as the Swarm. From various settlements, creatures named Snatchers were sent to attack isolated settlements and abduct humans that were transformed into the Swarm within the burial sites that had been turned into hives.
Overview
In appearance, the Locust were a race of humanoids that were a collection of various species that were distinctively beastial whilst coming in a variety of sizes and shapes.
There were numerous types of Locust that included:
- Wretches :
- Drones : the most common form of Locust encountered by the enemies of the Locust Horde and play the role of standard infantry on the battlefield. They appear as muscular Humanoids with whiteskin due to their underground based lifestyle. These creatures are both born and bred for combat with them being fearless even if they are outnumbered by the enemy. They make use of the Sera's massive tunnel network for troop movement allowing them to emerge from emergence holes to ambush their enemies in a surprise attack. There are different variants of the Drone which include standard creatures, gunners and snipers.
- Boomers :
- Berserkers :
- Kantus :
Each of these many warriors make use of projectile weapons as well as their unique abilities to best their opponents. In terms of tactics, the Locust were not above sending swarms of their infantry to kill a single human soldier.
Among the organizations within the Horde included:
- Theron Guard : the elite foot soldiers of the Horde that were completely armored from head-to-toe who wore heavy-duty helmets immunizing them to headshots.
Locust Generals operated in a commanding role and acted under the guiding influence of the Locust Queen.
Weapons used by the Locusts included:
- Hammerburst II :
- Boomshot Grenade Launcher :
- Troika Heavy Machine Gun :
Numerous beasts are also employed to serve as living vehicles by the Horde with these animals included Locusts:
- Bloodmount :
- Seeders :
- Reavers :
- Corpsers :
- Brumak :
- Riftworm :
A key aspect of their belief system centred around the Trinity of Worms.
Members
- RAAM :
- Skorge :
- Karn :
- Sraak :
- Myrrah :
Notes
- The Locust Horde appeared as major antagonists in the setting of Gears of War.
Appearances
- Gears of War:
- Gears of War 2:
- Gears of War 3:
