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This article concerns new content for Gears 5. Information in this article may change often, as new features are announced by the developers. Please be aware that any information added to the article should be properly referenced. If it is not, it is likely to be removed. |
- "Should have seen what that shit did to those Swarm bastards. Total fuckin' annihilation."
- —Jeremiah Keegan[1]
The Venom Bomb is a chemical weapon of mass destruction developed by Hana Cole in 42 A.E. for the Swarm Invasion. It is used by Hivebusters to destroy Swarm Hives from within.
Despite its small size, these weapons could cover an incredibly wide area and cause immense disproportionate damage in a small time frame. Its contents derive from a toxic gas used at the New Hope Research Facility combined with the venom of the Wakaatu.
History[]
Pendulum Wars[]
During the early years of the Pendulum Wars, Imulsion miners and their families began to succumb to a fatal condition caused by Imulsion known as Rustlung. The Coalition of Ordered Governments, fearing the public's reaction to selling a toxic fuel source, built the New Hope Research Facility to house the children of Imulsion miners and research a cure for Rustlung.
The Director of the facility, Dr. Niles Samson, began experimenting on the children with transgenics by injecting them with Imulsion and splicing them with the DNA of Hollow Creatures to make them genetically immune to Rustlung. However, the transgenics only mutated them into aggressive and diseased creatures known as the Sires.
Dr. Niles Samson cared for the Sires but admitted they could be dangerous when not sedated. As a fail-safe in case the creatures escaped stasis, Dr. Niles Samson installed a toxic gas within the facility that would be able to suffocate the Sires to death. This security measure was known as the "final cleansing" and would fill the entire facility with this toxic gas. New Hope would receive numerous deliveries of this gas and placed in storage, but was never used.
Swarm Invasion[]
Second Mission to New Hope[]
The experiments at New Hope led to the creation of the Locust Horde who later evolved into the Swarm. In 42 A.E., over a century since New Hope was opened, Corporal Kait Diaz began to experience visions of the Hivemind and was able to control the Swarm. In addition to her grandmother's amulet bearing the symbol of the Locust Horde, Kait came to believe she was somehow connected to the Locust and Swarm. Sergeant Marcus Fenix, who had previously visited the New Hope Research Facility during the Locust War, guided her to the facility as he believed it would give her answers, being the origin place of the Locust.
Kait and Lt. Delmont Walker arrived at New Hope, which had deteriorated since its closing. After reactivating the Niles AI and downloading information from it that provided a clue pointing towards the Mount Kadar Laboratory, a Swarm Flock attacked Niles, destroying him. As he was destroyed, Niles released the gas as part of the "final cleansing," chemically purging New Hope.[2]
Hivebuster Offensive[]
After the events at New Hope, Colonel Victor Hoffman managed to get his hands on a sample of the gas and saw it as a way to destroy Swarm Hives. With First Minister Mina Jinn rejecting his plan, Hoffman began a rogue operation to destroy Swarm Hives. As part of this operation, Hoffman recruited Doctor Hana Cole due to his need for a scientist to help him utilize the gas.[3]
Hivebust of Sanctum[]
After Team Scorpio -- Corporal Jeremiah Keegan, Lieutenant Lahni Kaliso and Outsider Leslie "Mac" Macallister -- arrived on Galangi, Hoffman assigned them to utilize the Venom Bomb to destroy the Swarm Hive beneath the Sanctum doomsday bunker on the nearby island of Pahanu. During the mission, due to the extent of how far the Hive had spread throughout the bunker, Scorpio had a difficult time reaching the heart of the Hive. Out of frustration and impatience, Mac threw the bomb early before they even got close and the gas spread throughout Sanctum. However, while it killed the lesser Swarm forces such as Juvies and Drones, heavier Swarm forces such as Snatchers and Wardens were unaffected.[3]
Enhancing the Venom Bomb[]
After returning to the Hoffman Estate on Galangi, Scorpio reported on the bomb's failure and Mac sarcastically suggested using the "nightmare acid" that they had seen used by an unseen creature upon Swarm forces on Pahanu's beach following Scorpio's initial crash-landing upon the island. Hana realized that combining it and the gas could in fact create an effective weapon against the Swarm and Lahni recalled stories that her grandmother had told her of such a creature.
Traveling to Weilehi, Scorpio and Hana discovered that the island had already been devastated by the Swarm. However, they found a carving in the village hall identifying the creature as the Wakaatu, a giant bird-like beast that the Weilehan had used in their rite of passage known as the Awakening. After escaping from both the Swarm and the Wakaatu itself, Scorpio and Hana learned that they were in fact a part of a rogue operation, but dedicated themselves to continuing it nonetheless. With Hana only needing one sample of the Wakaatu's venom, Scorpio agreed to get it for her.
Returning to Pahanu, Scorpio embarked upon a mission to the Wakaatu Nest by following the path of the Awakening, battling both Swarm forces and DeeBees from a crashed Vulture. Reaching the Wakaatu's Nest, Scorpio defeated the creature and succeeded in taking a sample of its venom. Upon their return to Galangi, Hana was able to synthesize a new, more effective Venom Bomb by combining the Wakaatu's venom with the New Hope gas.[3]
Hivebust of Pahanu[]
Armed with their new Venom Bombs and the Adrenaline Injectors created by Hana, Scorpio allowed themselves to be captured by Snatchers in order to be taken into the heart of the Hive on Pahanu.[3] After escaping from their pods in the heart of the Hive, Scorpio planted their new bombs, but inadvertently woke the Hive as they tried to escape. As Scorpio battled the Swarm, the three Venom Bombs detonated, killing all of the Swarm that it came into contact with. Scorpio was extracted by Tak in a King Raven Mark 2 as the Pahanu Hive was successfully destroyed by the Venom Bombs.[1]
A New Mission[]
With all evidence pointing towards the new Venom Bombs being successful, Hana theorized that the Swarm still on the surface would die due to the destruction of their Hive and intended to monitor the situation with Hoffman. Hoffman then offered Mac a new mission: destroy the Swarm Hive in his home village of Bravelle which Mac accepted and Lahni and Keegan agreed to join him in doing.[1]
Hivebust of Bravelle[]
After eventually arriving in Bravelle, Team Scorpio once again allowed themselves to be captured by Snatchers and taken into the heart of the Hive. Scorpio deployed their Venom Bombs and fought their way to the surface, but encountered a Warden near the exit. Mac managed to kill the Warden with the help of a Rat Truck and Scorpio escaped just before the entire COG bunker where the Hive was located was engulfed by the gas. However, upon their return to Croya for extraction, Scorpio discovered that destroying a Swarm Hive did not kill all of the Swarm connected to it as Hana theorized. Nevertheless, they all committed themselves to continuing their mission of destroying Swarm Hives.[4]
Description[]
The effects of inhaling the gas released by a venom bomb
Venom Bombs are portable chemical weapons that are attached to the chest plates of COG Armor worn by Hivebusters. After a Hivebuster is taken by a Snatcher to the center of a Hive and podded, they are awoken by an Adrenaline Injector and cut their way out of the pod before they can be dissolved and reformed into a Juvie. The Venom Bomb's countdown timer is then activated and the device is planted. The timer is variable and can be set for as little as 30 seconds or as much as two minutes, giving the Hivebuster a short time to get ahead of the detonation and hopefully escape the Hive before it is fully fumigated.
While the timer is counting down, the venom in the bomb is mixed. When the timer reaches zero, the bomb detonates, creating a lethal, inexorably expanding cloud of gas. Although prolonged exposure proves fatal to humans, the gas is especially dangerous for Swarm organisms. To them physical contact with or inhalation of high concentrations of the gas is fatal within seconds of exposure, causing suffocation, large blisters, and finally death as the body explodes through means unknown.
The first version of the venom bomb was shown to be not strong enough to take down elite Swarm creatures like Snatchers or Wardens. As the result, the deadly venom of the beast called the Wakaatu native to Pahanu island was used to perfect the formula resulting in a highly destructive venom bomb that can destroy any organism.
Behind the scenes[]
- The Venom Bomb is featured in the Escape mode in Gears 5.
- The origin of the gas used in New Hope is unknown, however it is speculated that they are the same components of the Cytostatic Gas used during the Assassination of Ukkon.
Appearances[]
- Gears 5
- Gears: Hivebusters
- Hivebusters (First appearance)