Locust Horde (Dark Horse)

This article, Locust Horde (Dark Horse), was written by Anonymous ONI agent. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission.

The Locust Horde was a collection of closely-related subterranean creatures which inhabited the innermost portion of the Hollows beneath Sera. Although multiple distinct subspecies of Locust existed, all Locust are originally derived from a drastically mutated form of the human genome.

The Locust were most infamous for waging a relentless genocidal campaign against the human race for fifteen years, driving humanity to the brink of extinction before they destroyed the Jacinto Plateau and flooded the Hollows, wiping out the majority of Locust race. The remaining Locust would then be seemingly eradicated alongside the Lambent roughly two years later when the last surviving remnants of the Coalition of Ordered Governments deployed an anti-Imulsion weapon in a last ditch attempt at survival. This weapon was thought to have rendered the Locust all but extinct.

The majority of the Locust encountered during the Locust War are believed to have been the result of radical state-funded experiments conducted by COG scientists studying the effects of long-term Imulsion exposure at the New Hope Research Facility during the early days of the Pendulum Wars. However, there is considerable historical evidence indicating that certain primitive Locust phenotypes had already existed for thousands of years prior to these experiments, although not necessarily with the same vast population or impressive levels of societal infrastructure seen during the Locust War.

In 42 A.E., the previously thought extinct Locust Horde reawakened from what turned out to merely be an extended period of hibernation, having undergone significant biological metamorphosis during their dormancy, presumably in response to the destruction of the latent Imulsion within their bodies. This resurgent Locust Horde was dubbed "The Swarm" to distinguish them from their past incarnation.

History

Origins

"My work began as an effort to cure children ill with rustlung. But it grew into something far more significant. The COG wanted medicine. I gave them gods."

— The AI imprint of Professor Niles Samson speaking to Kait Diaz and Delmont Walker regarding the nature of his research.

The invention of the Lightmass Process in the decades preceding the outbreak of the Pendulum Wars quickly generated many drastic shifts in a vast number of facets of human society. But perhaps the most immediate and radical changes were felt in the field of industry, particularly that involving the production of energy itself. Massive corporate entities rose and fell almost overnight, as fossil fuels and renewable energy solutions were rendered inferior and obsolete almost instantly. Nations that had grown powerful through the monopolization of oil reserves crumbled as the value of these resources virtually evaporated, while those lucky enough to have possession of land claims containing large reserves of the previously worthless Imulsion found themselves in control of massive amounts of influence, as those interested in harvesting the precious golden liquid practically fought each other over the privilege of extracting it. Within months, brave souls had already begun venturing into vast tunnel networks beneath Sera's surface in hopes of being among the first to cultivate newfound fortune.

The hasty and haphazard nature of the establishment of this fledgling industry came at a price, however. The massive global shakeup left it dangerously unregulated, a problem exacerbated by the poorly understood nature of Imulsion and the caves from which it came. The early days of what would later become known as the Gold Rush were marked by worker mistreatment and unrest, with millions of workers and miners being exposed, unprotected, to Imulsion and its fumes inside of cramped, poorly ventilated, and often unstable tunnels. It was not uncommon for workers to go missing with little notice from their supervisors, only to turn up days, weeks, or even months later having been crushed, suffocated, starved, eviscerated, mangled, or worse.

Among the most poorly understood of the hazards faced by Imulsion miners was the Imulsion itself. Improper ventilation in these early, hastily constructed Imulsion mines led to outbreaks of what came to be known as "Rustlung": a potentially deadly respiratory illness resulting from long-term exposure to large quantities of the "fumes" which emanated off of Imulsion. Rustlung's primary symptom was a wet cough producing bloody, rust-colored sputum (the origin of the condition's name), and if left unchecked would eventually cause necrosis of the lung tissue and ultimately respiratory failure. And, as far as the general public knew, this was largely the extent of the illness.

Locust War

"My dearest children... I ask you: what good has humanity ever done?

The answer, of course, is nothing. They do nothing but wage petty wars over petty things; destroy lives over frivolities like fuel and money and ideals! Kill each other because they were born on different sides of imaginary lines! They burn the beauty of the surface with their weapons of war; spoil it with monstrosities of brick, steel, and concrete! They have all that we dream of: sunlight, fresh air, safety from the infectious taint of Imulsion, and yet they piddle it away! They are selfish, ungrateful, violent swine, nothing more!

And yet, they have the gall to call us monsters. To call us inferior! But we have done what humanity cannot: unite. We have united against the oppression of Mankind! We have assembled an army that can strike any position, breach any wall, take any fortress! And with this army, we shall cure Sera of the disease that is Man! We shall take what we deserve! We shall show them that we are the superior lifeforms! And shall we free ourselves, once and for all!

Go forth, my children! Give them no quarter! Show them no mercy!"

— Queen Myrrah, addressing the Locust Horde on Emergence Day.

Biology & Physiology

Subspecies

Drones

A basic Locust Drone wielding a Type I Hammerburst rifle.

Main article: Drone

Drones, as they were nicknamed by COG soldiers during the Locust War due to their vast numbers and the common myth that Locust were hive-minded, represented the bulk of the Locust Horde. Out of all of the Locust subspecies, Drones were also the ones who bore the greatest physical and genetic resemblance to their human ancestors. Male drones were also incredibly similar to humans in terms of physiology, but there were of course key distinctions. The first and most prominent difference was their ghost-white reptilian skin, which was incredibly tough and resistant to penetration, providing drones with a form of limited natural protection from ballistic projectiles. Drones also possessed much more substantial musculature than a normal human, making them extremely strong and physically imposing when compared to all but the most well-built of Gears. When combined with their somewhat disproportionately large hands and sharp, durable claws, these powerful muscles allowed Drones to burrow through dense rock quite efficiently.

Grenadier phenotype

A Locust Grenadier.

Guard phenotype

A helmetless Theron Guard.

Female Drones (Berserkers)

A Berserker.

Main article: Berserker

Female Drones, nicknamed Berserkers, were considerably different from their male counterparts. Berserkers were far larger than male Drones, standing roughly ten to eleven feet tall on average, and possessing solid, carapace-like plates over their entire bodies. These plates were extremely tough, capable of allowing a Berserker survive incredible amounts of punishment, even artillery blasts. However, these solid plates caused a Berserker great discomfort, and this coupled with the fact that even the slightest amounts of light would blind them near-completely resulted in Berserkers being stuck in a perpetual state of literal blind rage. Unable to ever escape lives of living hell except through death, Berserkers would seek out other living creatures to take out their intense anger on, giving them their nickname.

As a result of being virtually blind, Berserkers possessed extremely keen hearing and smell, relying on these senses in order to track down victims. Unfortunately, their enhanced hearing also made louder noises painful to them, only further exacerbating their rage.

Compared to male Drones, Berserkers were rare and deployed sparingly on the battlefield against strategically or tactically important targets, or to help weed out human survivors in newly occupied territory with their prodigious sense of smell. Male Drones were estimated to outnumber Berserkers by well over one-hundred to one, and thus it was important that Berserkers were deployed sparingly as they were needed for breeding.

Due to their innately hostile disposition and tendency to fatally bludgeon anything within their reach, it is commonly theorized that in order to facilitate reproduction, Berserkers had to be tied down and raped in order to prevent them from smashing the male into paste mid-coitus.

Boomers

A Boomer carrying a Boomshot.

Main article: Boomer

Boomers, so named due to their tendency to carry heavy weapons on the battlefield, particularly the Boomshot grenade launcher, were, with the exception of Berserkers, the largest of all Locust subspecies. Resembling large, obese Drones, Boomers were in fact selectively bred from Drones, but were made distinct by several key features. Overall, Boomers were larger than Drones, being both heavier set and taller. While still possessing a large amount of muscle tissue for their size compared to a human, Boomers also sported large deposits of dense adipose tissue. Boomers possessed redundant organs, allowing them to soak up many times the amount of damage than what their smaller Drone counterparts were capable of taking. Lastly, Boomers were drastically less intelligent than Drones, and, while possessing a greater level of self-awareness than Wretches, were still the least intelligent of all Locust subspecies.

Kantus

A Kantus monk wearing traditional robes.

Main article: Kantus

Arguably the most unique of all the Locust subspecies, Kantus were for the most part the descendants of the original Locust tribes whom had inhabited the Hollow since ancient times. Respected heavily by the new Locust from New Hope, Kantus were the religious leaders of the Horde, bearing the ancient knowledge of the tunnels and of the Worms.

Ragers

A Rager in its enraged form.

Main article: Rager

Ragers were a poorly understood Locust subspecies. Normally slender and gaunt, preferring to stay far away from the thick of a fight and pick off enemies with long-ranged weapons from afar, when angered Ragers mutated into a larger, more muscular form, in which they would throw down their weapons and seek out foes to tear apart with their bare, clawed hands. The exact biological mechanism that enabled this drastic transformation is unknown, but it is assumed to have something to do with Imulsion.

Wretches

A Wretch.

Main article: Wretch

Wretches were small, animalistic creatures which the Locust used for reconnaissance, search and destroy missions, and terror tactics. Wretches were actually deformed Drones, resulting from a naturally-occurring genetic mutation which the Locust had isolated and used to purpose-breed the creatures. Wretches were pack hunters, and while the sentience of Wretches was debatable, there was no doubting their cunning nature, as they seemed to enjoy playing with their prey, luring them into tight spaces where they could be ambushed, swarmed, and easily defeated.