Locust Horde (Dark Horse)

The Locust Horde was a collection of closely-related subterranean creatures which inhabited the innermost portion of the Hollows beneath Sera. Although multiple distinct subspecies of Locust existed, all Locust are originally derived from a drastically mutated form of the human genome.

The Locust are most notorious for waging a relentless genocidal campaign against the human race for fifteen years, driving humanity to the brink of extinction before they destroyed the Jacinto Plateau and flooded the Hollows, wiping out the majority of Locust race. The remaining Locust would then be eradicated alongside the Lambent roughly two years later when the last surviving remnants of the Coalition of Ordered Governments deployed an anti-Imulsion weapon in a last ditch attempt at survival. This weapon rendered the Locust all but extinct.

The majority of the Locust encountered during the Locust War are believed to have been the result of experiments conducted by COG scientists studying the effects of long-term Imulsion exposure at the New Hope Research Facility during the the Pendulum Wars. However, there is considerable historical evidence indicating that the Locust had already existed for thousands of years prior to these experiments, although not necessarily with the same vast population or impressive levels of societal infrastructure seen during the Locust War.

Biology & Physiology
The subject of Locust biology is poorly understood, something that is not helped by the species' recent extinction. However, it is known with relative certainty that no less than four definitive subspecies of Locust existed, and that all were the indirect result of heavy modification of human DNA caused by what is now believed to have been an early form of human lambency. As a result, Locust DNA was malleable and prone to mutation, and despite the Locust possessing a much lower level of technological advancement than humanity throughout their existence, they were quite well-versed in the art of selectively breeding and genetically modifying members of their own race. By contrast, humanity still has yet to fully master this practice despite presumably having been experimenting with such concepts long before the Locust ever did. However, their easily-altered genetics also makes them especially vulnerable to Lambency of their own, as does the fact that their bodies naturally contain minute quantities of inert Imulsion.

Due to the fact that they were genetically derived from humans, all variations of Locust shared a number of physiological traits with humans. They all retained the general shape of the human form in some capacity, and possessed roughly the same basic internal anatomy as a human. However, they typically possess much more brutish features, and most subspecies exhibit thick, rough, and leathery hides.

Drones
Drones, as they were nicknamed by COG soldiers during the Locust War due to their vast numbers and the common myth that Locust were hive-minded, represented the bulk of the Locust horde. Out of all of the Locust subspecies, Drones were also the ones who bore the greatest genetic resemblance to their human ancestors. Male drones were also incredibly similar to humans in terms of physiology, but there were of course key distinctions. The first and most prominent difference is their ghost-white reptilian skin, which is incredibly tough and resistant to penetration, providing drones with a form of limited natural protection from ballistic projectiles. Drones also possessed much more substantial musculature than a normal human, making them extremely strong and physically imposing when compared to all but the most well-built of Gears. When combined with their somewhat disproportionately large hands and sharp, durable claws, these powerful muscles allowed Drones to burrow through dense rock quite efficiently.

Female Drones (Berserkers)
Female Drones, nicknamed Berserkers, were considerably different from their male counterparts. Berserkers were far larger than male Drones, standing roughly ten to eleven feet tall on average, and possessing solid, carapace-like plates over their entire bodies. These plates were extremely tough, capable of allowing a Berserker survive incredible amounts of punishment, even artillery blasts. However, these solid plates caused a Berserker great discomfort, and this coupled with the fact that even the slightest amounts of light would blnd them near-completely resulted in Berserkers being stuck in a perpetual state of literal blind rage. Unable to ever escape lives of living hell except through death, Berserkers would seek out other living creatures to take out their intense anger on, giving them their nickname.

As a result of being virtually blind, Berserkers possessed extremely keen hearing and smell, relying on these senses in order to track down victims. Unfortunately, their enhanced hearing also made louder noises painful to them, only further exacerbating their rage.

Compared to male Drones, Berserkers were rare and deployed sparingly on the battlefield against strategically important targets, or to help weed out human survivors in newly occupied territory. Male Drones outnumbered Berserkers by an estimate of over one-hundred to one, and thus it was important that Berserkers were deployed sparingly as they were needed for breeding.

Due to their innately hostile disposition and tendency to fatally bludgeon anything within their reach, it is commonly theorized that in order to facilitate reproduction, Berserkers had to be tied down and raped in order to avoid her smashing the male into paste mid-coitus.

Boomers
Boomers, so named due to their tendency to carry heavy weapons on the battlefield, particularly the Boomshot grenade launcher, were, with the exception of Berserkers, the largest of all Locust subspecies. Resembling large, obese drones, Boomers were in fact selectively bred from drones, but were made distinct by several key features. Overall, Boomers were larger than Drones, being both heavier set and taller. While still possessing a large amount of muscle tissue for their size compared to a human, Boomers also possessed large deposits of adipose tissue. Boomers possessed redundant organs, allowing them to soak up many times the amount of damage than what their smaller Drone counterparts were capable of taking. Lastly, Boomers were drastically less intelligent than Drones, and, while possessing a greater level of self-awareness than Wretches, were the least intelligent of all Locust subspecies.