- "JD, kill it."
- —Kait Diaz, after seeing the Hive Beast collapse.
The Assault on the Tollen Dam was the first major encounter of the Swarm War. The clash between the human force consisting of the surviving Delta-One members as well as a group of Outsiders: Two former Gears, James Dominic Fenix and Delmont Walker and Kait Diaz, born as an Outsider and the Swarm was aimed at saving Kait's mother, Reyna Diaz who was abducted with the rest of their Outsider community a few hours earlier. The attack took place hours after the discovery of the Swarm's existence at the Tollen Dam and it's surroundings.
Order of Battle
Storming the Hive
The Hive Beast
Equipped with Baird's construction DeeBees, JD and Kait began making their way to the Tollen Dam. The numerous Swarm forces are between them and the destination site including several Carriers, Snatchers and Swarmaks, but all of the opposition was destroyed by numerous industrial staples and missile barrages from Sam's King Raven.
In a matter of minutes, JD and Kait, supported by Sam's KR managed to break through the base of the dam at 09:11 and entered the drained reservoir where after repelling a few barrages of Cankers, a large creature attacked them, capable of launching the quills from it's tentacles as well as gestating the Cankers in it's chest. As they tore it's tentacles off, the beast managed to shoot the King Raven down. All on the King Raven escaped in time, though they had to deal with the Swarm forces on the ledge that they are on. JD asked Baird about the status of the rotors, quickly using the King Raven's main rotor as a slicing shield against the beast's Cankers. After putting it on it's last legs, JD killed the beast by ramming the rotor onto the beast's head, causing it to slump down the hole that it came out of.
Finding Reyna
Gears discover Reyna's fate.
The Gears regrouped outside the cave and entered the heart of the hive only to find Reyna attached to the Swarm's biomass and partially transformed. Kait asked Marcus if he knew which he confirmed, but did not know that she would be like this. Reyna told them that if she was freed from the network, she would die and asked her daughter to euthanize her. JD objected by saying that Reyna could not ask Kait to kill her, but Kait stopped him and asked him to leave so she could have a final goodbye with her mother. When Kait and Reyna are alone, Reyna asked her daughter to take her necklace. Kait started to cut her mother off the biomass and as she continued, she broke down. Reyna begged Kait to continue and Kait was able to finally euthanize her mother. Unknown to either of them, Reyna was fully connected to the Swarm's hive mind by the time that they arrived, although she was left dormant due to Kait's actions.
Kait learns her mother's secret.
As Kait exited the cave crying, JD and the others rushed to comfort her. Marcus remarked that this war was only beginning and JD should take Kait to some safe place. She responded by saying that she did not need protection and Marcus, knowing the pain of loss and the trauma caused by it told her that she needed time to deal with the death of Reyna, not protection. She showed them her mother's necklace and declared that it belonged to her grandmother, a woman that she never met. Only Kait was able to see the medallion's reverse, the symbol of the Locust Horde.[1]
Aftermath
Following the battle, the group buried Reyna and decided to look for shelter, supplies and communications equipment in an old Outsider stash that Kait visited once with her uncle, Oscar.[2] Two days after the assault, First Minister Mina Jinn sent a detachment of DeeBees to the Tollen Dam in order to investigate the site after discussing the events of the Tollen Dam with Delta and the Outsiders in New Ephyra.[3]
References
- ↑ Gears of War 4: Act V: Gate Crashers, Release
- ↑ Gears of War: Ascendance: Act 1: Chapter 1 "An Invitation"
- ↑ Gears of War: Ascendance: Act 1: Chapter 3 "Bad Memories"
| Battles of the Swarm Invasion | ||
|---|---|---|
| 42 A.E. | Rescue of Fort Umson (Ambush of Fort Umson · Assault on the Stroud Estate · Mission to Fort Reval · Battle of Osmium Mine Bravo · Mission to the Tollen Dam · Skirmish in Speyer · Assault on the Tollen Dam) · Skirmish in the Wilds · Ambush on South Village · Mission to Fort Umson · Mission to Orzabal Crater · Mission to South Village · Mission to Azura Research Facility · Evacuation of Settlement 2 · Ambush of Bravelle · Ambush of Croya · Ambush of Holdstead Croft · Ambush of Five Pines · Ambush of Pasco's Village · Mission to Great Seran Rend · Skirmish on the Jacinto Plateau · Ambush of Riftworm Village · Second Mission to New Hope · Incursions in Kadar Valley · Mission to Mount Kadar Laboratory · Mission to OZP-11 · Battle of Old Ephyra · Skirmish in Pahanu · Hivebuster Offensive (Hivebust of Sanctum · Mission to Weilehi · Mission to the Wakaatu Nest · Hivebust of Pahanu · Mission to Croya · Hivebust of Bravelle) | |