From-Sky-Falling Swarm

Faction: Covenant

Rank: Yanme'e Ultra

Name: Driftsoar

Race: Yanme’e

Height: 5’ 10” (Driftsoar)

Weight: 150 lbs (Driftsoar) Age: 5 (Driftsoar)

Note: Due to the fact that her name is unpronounceable in common Covenant tongue, Swarm Leader Driftsoar is known by the translation of her name into the Covenant language, rather than the series of chirps and screeches her fellow Yanme’e use.

Appearance:  Driftsoar is a thin and lanky Yanme’e, with large, diaphanous wings, like all of her people. While her own appearance may be unique enough for other Yanme’e to take note, other species honestly couldn’t pick her out from a crowd if there was a halogen sign pointing to him—other species simply can’t discern the differences between most Yanme’e. Fortunately, Driftsoar herself stands out thanks to her teal Ultra's carapace, which is slightly streaked with scars, earned from a long history (for a Yanme'e) of military service.

Strengths: Driftsoar is a believer in endurance and the extended, low-risk strategy. There is a saying—the Yanme’e live short but see long. Driftsoar is an exemplar of this adage—she is preternaturally patient and calm, and leads her Swarm like an implacable and overwhelming force—her patience serves him well when it comes to the micromanagement of her soldiers. She also has had some mechanical training, and is well acquainted with Covenant ship maintenance.

Weaknesses: This slow patience, while a crucial advantage, is also a disadvantage. It slows her down, and often, she will pause to think rather than use instinct and reflex to full efficiency. Driftsoar is also prone to paranoia—if she fears a trap, she will probe it carefully, regardless of whether or not there is cause to fear a trap at all.

Bio:

Driftsoar was born on Palamok, the Yanme’e homeworld, in the great hives of her people. Life as a Yanme’e is simple and predictable, and she more or less simply grew, studied, and trained as all of the hatchlings in her colony did until she reached the age of three. At three, she first pursued a career in ship design, thinking to be a mechanic, like many of her people. However, she switched to combat cartography and reconnaissance classes (CCR) at the late age of three and a half, by which time most Yanme’e would already be professionals. As CCR classes are a requirement for direct combat positions in the Covenant, it looked as if Driftsoar was planning to be one of the few front-line soldiers of the Yanme’e position—a scout.

Driftsoar then proceeded to spend another half-year with the Far-Flight-Beckons Swarm, a group of recon experts in the Covenant, where she was imbued with the cautious yet unrelenting flight-and-fight tactics she uses today. Her stint on the front lines brought out her innate talent for leadership, and as such traits are rare in Yanme’e, her superiors were quick to promote her to Swarm Leader of the From-Sky-Falling Swarm. Even by Yanme'e standards, her promotion was swift--she had molted to her blue carapace with less than a year of combat experience.

Together with her Swarm, Driftsoar participated in numerous front-line engagements with Human forces. Primarily utilized as swift-moving shock troops, the From-Sky-Falling Swarm has seen action on five different worlds. In this time, much of the Swarm has been killed and replaced, with only three individuals, Driftsoar among them, still remaining since the Swarm's organization. Recently, the Swarm's Sangheili handler was killed, meaning that a young Minor Domo by the name of Geidr 'Hojiree was assigned as the Swarm's liaison with the rest of the Covenant military.

The young Minor did not consider the task to be an honorable one, and chafed at having to "babysit" a Swarm of Yanme'e. For awhile, he dealt with his duties perfunctorily, until such time as he was privileged to see the From-Sky-Falling Swarm in action. In a rare instance of open-battlefield deployment, the Swarm had been assigned to harass and scatter a Human infantry deployment. The Humans were bivouacked in a wide valley, with a clear line of sight to the sky. Not ideal conditions for a Yanme'e fight-and-flight attack. Yet the Swarm followed orders. They were to scatter the Humans, so that the rest of the Covenant forces could eliminate them.

'Hojiree watched with the other lances of soldiery as the Yanme'e fearlessly dove into the Human encampment. They did not just do so bravely--that implied that they conquered their fear, which was not the case. The Yanme'e simply did not feel it. Fear was an alien emotion to them. So he watched, with awe, as the Yanme'e--for lack of a better word--swarmed the Humans. It did not matter to him that they lost more than they killed. They earned his respect by simply being fearless in such a way that not even he could fully comprehend.

 NPCs:'''

Minor Domo Geidr 'Hojiree-born on the ancient Sangheili colony of Templar's Rest, Geidr was raised in relative opulence. As the son of an old and wealthy family, Geidr possessed both opportunity and obligation. Thanks to his family's influence, he was sent all the way to Sangheilios to attend the War Academy. While there, he squeaked by on less-then-stellar marks, before signing on with the Covenant navy. It was not because of lack of talent that he is sometimes regarded as an incompetent, but rather because he is somewhat lazy, having been raised in the lap of luxury.

From-Sky-Falling Swarm

The From-Sky-Falling Swarm is composed primarily of Yanme’e from Palamok, with only a few colonials in the mix. As Yanme’e are, by default, utterly loyal to their leaders, Driftsoar commands their absolute obedience. Well drilled and well trained, all two dozen of the From-Sky-Falling Swarm are armed with Needlers, marking them as one of the few of the Covenant’s Yanme’e shock troop swarms. Often deployed in hit-and-fly guerilla raids, the From-Sky-Falling Swarm has a distinguished history of vicious and constant harassment, although they have never fought a defensive battle.

Breezily-an odd name for an odd Yanme'e. Breezily is one of the three "originals" besides Driftsoar and Risewind. Having spent so much time together, the three function within the hivemind as something even closer to a single entity. Thusly, Breezily is one of the core members of the Swarm. Possessed of a calmer and more lackadaisical temperament, she provides a complementary mindset to Driftsoar's contentiousness.

Risewind-the last of the "originals", Risewind is the oldest among the Swarm. Se was one of the first members of the From-Sky-Falling Swarm, having served previously with the Storm-From-Above Swarm. When the Storm-From-Above Swarm was annihilated by a Human Demon, Risewind was the sole survivor, and serves now as the most experienced member of her Swarm.