- "We can't stop them. We don't know where they come from. We don't know what they want. They don't even seem to want territory. All they do is kill. We can't even begin to negotiate with them, or work out their objectives, because we just don't know the first damn thing about them. That's not an enemy, Mr. Chairman. That's a monster."
- —Chief of the COG Defense Staff, General Bardry Salaman describing the Locust Army.
The Locust Army was the main military force of the Locust Horde. The Uzil, or High General, under the direct orders of the Queen, led the army as the commander-in-chief and representative in the Locust Council. The second-in-command was typically the Zamil, or General. The Locust Army played a decisive role in Sera's history in being responsible for nearly causing the extinction of the human race.
Founded in the mid to late Pendulum Wars, the Locust were created at the Mount Kadar Laboratory by a fringe political group of the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) to serve as obedient military force in the COG Army and fight the Union of Independent Republics (UIR) for the control of Imulsion, as opposed to using human Gears on the frontlines. The Locust were engineered using Myrrah's stem cells and Sire DNA. All members were psychomagnetically linked to each other through the Hivemind, which Myrrah was able to control. The Locust were trained by the COG Army for combat situations. Due to the conditions of Myrrah and the Locust at the lab, Myrrah compelled the Locust to rebel - slaughtering the scientists and escaping the facility deeper into the Hollow of Mount Kadar.
After building the city of Nexus in the Inner Hollow, the Locust Army was established, led by Uzil Sraak. The Locust Army defended the Hollow from human trespassers. Those found within the Hollow were either executed or captured to be enslaved or transformed into a Locust. By 7 A.E., the Imulsion was causing an infection, transforming the Locust and other Hollow creatures into the Lambent, resulting in an epidemic and eventually a war. By the end of the seventh cycle, Vold RAAM of the Bloodied Vanguard believed the Hollow to be lost to the Lambent, whereas Sraak believed the Hollow could be reclaimed. With the view that the Lambent War was futile, RAAM envisioned the Locust annihilating the humans of Sera and claiming the surface as their own. He arranged a coup alongside Acolyte Skorge and Vold Karn. Queen Myrrah, who also drew plans to colonize the surface, promoted RAAM to Uzil, demoting Sraak to Vold.
Uzil RAAM led the attacks on the surface known as Emergence Day, the beginning of the Locust War, and were successful in killing 25% of the human population in the initial invasion. RAAM had the Locust occupy cities as staging grounds and strip them for the spoils of war. Nearing Ephyra, the COG capital that was protected by the granite bedrock of the Jacinto Plateau, Chairman Richard Prescott launched the Hammer of Dawn Strikes to deny the Locust Army their control of Sera. The Locust Army retreated, but then returned by 5 A.E. by occupying cities on the Jacinto Plateau using Kryllstorms. By 10 A.E., RAAM was successful in taking Ephyra - forcing the humans to retreat to Jacinto City, and continued a campaign of assassinating squad leaders to scatter the remaining Gears. RAAM was then killed during the Lightmass Offensive, as the COG delivered the Lightmass Bomb to destroy the Outer Hollow.
Ketor Skorge was promoted to High General, while maintaining his status as High Priest of the Trinity of Worms. The Riftworm, a massive worm creature revered by the Locust Kantus, was awoken by the Lightmass Bomb. Myrrah renewed Professor Adam Fenix's original plan of eliminating the Lambent by sinking Jacinto City and using the surrounding seawater to flood the Hollow. Skorge used the Riftworm to sink surrounding cities on the plateau to weaken Jacinto's base. Recognizing their plans, the COG launched Operation: Hollow Storm to invade the Inner Hollow and stop the Locust Army. The COG was successful in destroying the Riftworm, invading Nexus, killing Skorge, and intercepting their plans from Adam Fenix. Before the Locust could evacuate, the COG intentionally sank Jacinto themselves, using the seawater to drown the Locust and the Lambent. The Locust Horde, and Army, was dissolved and reorganized into the Queen's Guard. Those not in the presence of Queen Myrrah reverted to a primal state and became part of the Savage Locust.
History[]
The Locust were created in the mid-Pendulum Wars by scientists employed by a fringe political group of the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) to continue the research of Doctor Niles Samson after Chairman Monroe shut down the New Hope Research Facility. The project was initially about curing Rustlung by using transgenic experiments, inserting Hollow animal DNA into the children of Imulsion miners afflicted with Rustlung - transforming them into chimeras called "Sires". The fringe political group saw promise in the Sires as military potential, especially when of the subjects Ukkon has accelerated healing. Another key subject, Myrrah, had complete genetic immunity and decelerated aging by 50% that of a normal child. Samson, his remaining loyal staff, and key subjects were relocated to a hidden lab in the underground caverns of Mount Kadar. At the facility, Samson combined Myrrah's embryonic stem cells with Sire DNA to create the Matriarch, a female hybrid that produced the first generation of Locust Drones.
Following the creation of the Matriarch, it was discovered that she and Myrrah shared a psychomagnetic bond. Myrrah was able to telepathically communicate with and command the Matriarch. After the Drones were born, they also shared this connection. Samson referred to this as the Hivemind, and believed it to be the ultimate tool for creating obedient, controllable soldiers. As they produced more Drones, they were taught to communicate through lexigram boards. They developed their own written language based on the lexigrams, and many were able to speak Tyran. However, only those with a higher intelligence could speak it fluently. The Gears stationed in the lab began teaching combat to the Locust. They found their strength, instinctually violent tendencies, and connectivity made them the perfect soldiers. All of which would be impossible without Myrrah, as the Hivemind required a gyne to enhance their intelligence and encourage them to grow. During this time, Myrrah had a relationship with geneticist Doctor Torres that resulted in the birth of their traditional human daughter, Reyna.
Studies confirmed that Reyna inherited most of her mother's gifts, including a connection to the Hivemind. Concerned for his daughter, Torres fled the facility with Reyna. Samson was unable to prevent their escape. In order to prevent Myrrah from pursuing them, Samson lied that they had perished in the escape attempt. Successful in containing Myrrah, she became distraught and disillusioned by the work they were doing. She found empathy for her other surviving "children", and saw that they too felt imprisoned and tortured by the scientists. She increasingly interacted with the Matriarch to test the full potential of her power. Samson and the other scientists observed that the more frequent their interactions, the more it affected the Locust and made them more mindful. While Samson tried to disconnect the two - fearing a violent outcome, Myrrah had already discovered her full potential. Rallying the Locust through Sraak and officially forming the Locust Army, Myrrah led the Locust to rebel and slaughter the scientists. Samson, mortally wounded, initiated lockdown and cryogenic purge of the facility to contain the Locust. While many were killed, Myrrah and the majority of the Locust managed to escape into the caverns of Mount Kadar.
Deeper in the Inner Hollow, Myrrah became Queen of the Horde. She rallied her people to begin building the cradle of their civilization known as Nexus. As they built their home, the Locust developed their culture. The Locust Army was fully organized with official rankings, with Sraak being made Uzil (High General). Kantus Droak developed a religion known as the Trinity of Worms, based on the Riftworms they believed brought them life, and was made Ketor (High Priest). Ukkon had established a science division dedicated to genetically enhancing both the Locust and Hollow animals to better serve them, and became the Horde's lead scientist. With Queen Myrrah, Uzil Sraak, Ketor Droak, and Ukkon - they established the Locust Council. It was designed to inform Myrrah of their respective branches and affairs relating to the armed forces, religion, and science. Droak died sometime later and was succeeded by Vrol. Sraak continued to grow the Locust Army by salvaging human technology and scrap from the landfills in the Hollow. They developed their own weapons such as the Hammerburst, Gorgon Submachine Gun, Boomshot Grenade Launcher, Breechshot, Torque Bow, and Boltok Pistol.
Structure[]
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
- Melee
- Rifle
- Shotgun
- Sidearm
- Grendade
- Heavy
- Artillery