DeeBees were robots created by DB Industries based on the JACK model after the Locust War to handle dangerous tasks like construction work and high-risk security details, but later assigned to combat roles. They are deployed via dodecahedron-shaped drop pods from Condors and Vultures, and occasionally assisted by Kestrels. Despite their heavy armor compared to Gears and the Swarm, they lack combat maneuverability and flexibility, since they were initially designed and programmed for security, causing them to perform poorly against the Swarm compared to the conventional Gears. Furthermore, their shock weapons in general deal less damage than conventional Gear or Locust weaponry, though this changed when they were armed with lethal weaponry. The name "DeeBee", just like the name of the company that manufactures them, comes from the initials of Damon Baird, the founder and CEO of DB Industries.
History[]
Creation of DeeBees[]
Following the end of the Locust War and Lambent Pandemic, Damon Baird founded DB Industries, a company that specialized in designing and producing new technologies, many of which proved vital when rebuilding the ruined human civilization - DeeBees being the most important one. The bots were helping with crucial tasks, such as guard duties, keeping public order, recovering rubble from devastated Seran metropolises in order to recycle it in the construction of new, automated cities, known as Settlements, taking part in the construction of said walled cities and more. When Mina Jinn became the First Minister of the reformed Coalition of Ordered Governments, her extreme policies of protecting the recovering population led even to replacing humans who performed tasks and activities that could cause any form of injury, including Thrashball, by DeeBees. In 42 A.E., the COG government armed DeeBees with lethal weaponry, thus violating its contract with DBi.
Outsider Movement[]
That same year, a classified incident occured at Settlement 2. Not much is known about that event, other than the fact that lieutenants James Dominic Fenix and Delmont Walker, who commanded security DeeBees at Settlement 2, were involved in it. That event caused said Gears to go AWOL and side with the Outsiders of Fort Umson.
Six months later, on the 25th anniversary of Victory Day, JD and Del, accompanied by Kait and Oscar Diaz raided Settlement 5, which at that time was still under construction. The four clashed with security DeeBees in the form of Peace Makers and Shock Trackers. As they made their way to the construction hub, they soon encountered DR-1s, DeeBees that was armed with lethal weapons. Jinn had deployed them, believing that the Outsiders were kidnapping COG citizens. Hours later, she ordered a large scale attack on Fort Umson, which dealt severe damage to the village. Finally, in the evening of that day, she deployed the lethaly-armed bots again, this time at the Stroud Estate, where she tried to capture JD, Del, Kait and Marcus Fenix. The assault ended with complete destruction of the estate and most if not all of the DeeBee units - Marcus and the Outsiders managed to escape.
Swarm War[]
The following morning, DeeBees were deployed in Speyer, where they encountered the Swarm for the first time. That operation also ended with the destruction of the detachment sent to the town. Before the skirmish began, a Command Bot used by Jinn to negotiate with Marcus' team was hit by pouncer quills, which infected it, turning the bot into a reject. The rogue bot attempted to kill JD. At that moment the group learned that the Swarm was able to possess DeeBees and turn them against humans.[1]
Two days later, the team accompanied by Baird, Augustus Cole and Samantha Byrne, who joined the mission to rescue Reyna from the Swarm, traveled to New Ephyra, where they met with Jinn to discuss the events that took place at Fort Umson and the Tollen Dam. Jinn informed them that she sent DeeBees to investigate both of those locations before they even arrived. Baird accused Jinn's government of violating the contract with DBI, which stated that only non-lethal weaponry would be built into the D-series subframe. Jinn corrected him, saying that the government technically did not violate the contract, as it meant preventing the use of lethal weapons against COG citizens, which Outsiders were not.
A few hours later, the detachment of DeeBees sent to Fort Umson reached its target in the middle of the night and was airdropped into the village. While making their way to the town hall, the bots discovered freshly killed Swarm bodies, which started to cause interference in communications upon inspection. The bots then proceeded to the town hall, where the entire unit was quickly destroyed by explosive traps set up by Mackenzie, a trader, who together with her twin brother, Eli, where not present at the village when most of its population was abducted. In the morning, another force was sent to the village and some time later dropped straight into a Swarm ambush, which ended with a swift destruction of the whole detachment. Baird, using a backdoor in the system, watched both arrivals from his secret lab. The failures caused him to visit Jinn, trying to convince her she should deploy Gears instead. Jinn refused and ordered Baird to improve the combat effectiveness of DeeBees instead.
Another unit of DeeBees was deployed outside South Village and engaged the Swarm forces occupying it, with Baird, Cole and Sam watching the feeds from the Control. That skirmish also ended with a Swarm victory. However, Baird noticed that thanks to their behavior patterns, such as riot control, DeeBees were doing decently fighting humanoid enemies such as drones. The experiences of the battles at Fort Umson and South Village allowed Baird to greatly improve the combat behavior of his bots, the airdropping tactics were also changed.
The improved DeeBees saw their first battle at the Orzabal Crater, when the COG sent a rescue force in order to save JD and Del, trapped in the crater by the Swarm forces emerging from a Locust burial site located there while the two were investigating the site. The bots, supported from the air by Vultures, managed to successfully hold off the advancing Swarm forces, while JD, Del and their bot, Dave, were being evacuated from the crater. Several hours later, another force was deployed to South Village as Baird, Cole, Sam, JD and Del tried to rescue Marcus and Kait, who they thought were still trapped in the village's cave system. The DeeBees were mostly successful until a Carrier joined the battle.
One week later, Jinn inspected one of the DB Industries factories, which vastly increased the levels of its DeeBee production in order to prepare the COG forces for the coming struggle against the Swarm.[2] Some time later, Baird and Del visited the training grounds located outside the ruined House of Sovereigns in Old Ephyra, where the latter helped the former with further improving the effectiveness of DeeBees.[3]
DeeBees that were not destroyed by the Swarm were instead corrupted by Leeches, turning them into abominations in the process. The Swarm relegated these corrupted DeeBees into Hives for further use, though this was usually done for Rejects. Stumps and Bastions had more use in the battlefield and often accompanied the Swarm on the battlefield.
During the evacuation of Settlement 2, the newly reformed Delta Squad searched the Palace Theater to search for survivors. Instead, they found an idle Stump and numerous Rejects which had massacred everyone inside. They attempted to sneak past them, only for theater music alert the corrupted DeeBees to their presence and destroyed them in a brief fight.
DeeBees were used by Jinn to guard the New Hope Research Facility. However, when Kait Diaz and Delmont Walker arrived, they found the guards corrupted by the Swarm. The two were able to disable several and avoid the rest in order to continue on with their mission.[4]
Baird later sent several Rejects and a Stump to Garron Paduk in the deserts of Vasgar, to which he showcased one of JACK's newest abilities by overriding the leech's control over the Stump, which destroyed several Rejects that attempted to attack it. A Bastion was later encountered by the new Delta while investigating a rocket silo, which attempted to protect its Scion master with a shield; the Bastion was quickly destroyed in the ensuing firefight.
Several Guardians later participated in the Battle of Old Ephyra, where they laid down suppressing fire on Swarm forces outside the gates of New Ephyra, before Baird had a Condor drop several DeeBee pods to destroy the remaining Swarm forces the Guardians missed. They were most likely destroyed when the Kraken attacked.
DeeBee Types[]
- Shepherd - Main Infantry
- Command Bot - Communication
- Deadeye - Sniper
- Tracker - Kamikaze (lethal)
- Shock Tracker - Kamikaze (non-lethal)
- DR-1 - Armored Support
- DR-1 Devastator
- DR-1 Oppressor
- DR-1 Protector
- Watcher - Scout/Patrol Drone
- Swarm
Appearances[]
- Gears of War 4 (First appearance)
- Ascendance
- Hivebusters
- Gears 5
References[]
- ↑ Gears of War 4
- ↑ Gears of War: Ascendance
- ↑ Gears 5: Boot Camp
- ↑ Gears 5: Forest for the Trees