Yanme'e

The Yanme ' e (Latin Turpis rex, translated to "dishonourable king" ), also referred to by Humans as Drones, are a race of aerial, intelligent, insectoid warriors which make up part of the unified conglomerate races of the Covenant.

They are informally referred to by UNSC infantry as "buggers". Although they have been part of the Covenant for some time, they have just recently been put to use as combatants in the war against the Humans. They are suited for flight and combat in a gravitational-pull like planets such as Earth. They usually travel in swarms of about 12 to 50.

Background
Drones are small, insectoid creatures that are covered in natural chitinous body armor, although it doesn't provide them much protection. If you look closely at a dead Drone, you can see small round technological/metal objects on its armor, assumed by some to be small anti-gravity generators, or shield generators employed to make up for the Drones' obvious weaknesses. It seems, like the other Covenant species, Drones share a ranking system in colored armor but it is unclear who is the leader in a swarm. They do not interact with other species except to trade and serve in a military capacity and their exact position in the Covenant Hierarchy is relatively unknown, although it is reasonable to believe that they are higher in rank than Grunts and Jackals, but lower rank than Elites and Brutes. They are usually used as mechanical crews on ships when Engineers are not available, though they aren't as effective as Engineers. In jealousy and the orders to do so, they even killed an Engineer named Lighter Than Some. After the Covenant Civil War began, almost all of the Drones took the side of the Covenant Loyalists. The Drones replace Jackal Rangers, as they are much more suited to fly.

The Drones, much like the Grunts and Hunters, are a conquered race that was forced into service by the Covenant. They strictly follow the Covenant religion and obey any command without question, yet do not partake in social norms due to communication difficulties with other species. They view the Prophets as "Queens", a remnant of their former hive lifestyle. The Queens of the Drones have been described as "enormous" and had to be supported by multiple wingless Drone workers. The Drones' language is a cacophony of high-pitched clicking from the rubbing of their waxy, leaf like wings.

History
Little is known of the Drones early history. They evolved on a planet much like Earth, but larger. Much like the hive minded insects of Earth (ants, bees, termites, flies, etc) they show a distinct social hierarchy, and this may have been why it was so easy for them to accept Covenant rule, because they were already used to a complex, militaristic hierarchy like the Covenant. They were one of the newest races to join the Covenant. They are respected by the other Covenant for their natural intelligence, obedience, and technological skill. Their skills with technology have brought them into an often violent rivalry with the Huragok, as seen in Halo: Contact Harvest. While they have been in the Covenant for hundreds of years, for unknown reasons, they were not intentionally used in any major Covenant campaigns until the First Battle of Earth.

The Drones fought for the Covenant Loyalists during the Covenant Civil War. Some may possibly have joined the Separatists after the Civil War, however, this is unknown.

Yanme'e Anatomy and Physiology
Yanme'e are an insectoid species, first encountered as a combatant by human forces during the Battle of Harvest. They are covered in a natural chitinous exoskeleton that provides some protection from ballistic and plasma based weaponry, but it doesn't work very well.

Yanme'e exoskeletons are covered with multiple bumps, grooves, indentations and markings. Many of the markings appear to be of use as camouflage. On close inspection these markings bear resemblance to a head. This is reminiscent of many Earth insect species that bear markings that confuse predators into attacking less vital parts of their anatomy. This is indicative of the evolutionary path the Yanme'e have taken, that they still bear the markings of their ancestry. They have the six limbs of an insect (although the last two appear vestigial), compound eyes and two furry antennae that jut forth from a small head. Yanme'e also have peculiar light green/light grey blood.

Yanme'e are fast airborne marksmen, and they athletically make a hard target to hit. Drones make aerial assaults and attack in groups. However, they are used in conjunction and as a distraction with other Covenant forces. Yanme'e are capable of powered flight and have hovering capabilities. Using two large wings stowed beneath a protective carapace, the Drone is able to take flight. However, they can only do so for short periods of time before clinging to walls or landing for a period of rest. Drones are used to much more limited flight, as their home world's gravitational pull is twice as strong as Earth's. Their small frame and agility make them greatly skilled as infiltrators.

Yanme'e are both fast, agile, and pose a serious threat to enemies unused to dealing with aerial infantry. Although they possess sharp claws on their hands and spikes across the majority of their body, Yanme'e stay away from close combat, preferring hit and run airborne attacks. The only time they attack you with their claws is when you're in a vehicle.

Due to their hard, chitinous, outer shells, Yanme'e would be difficult to infect by Flood Infection Forms. Also, perhaps because they lack large amounts of calcium, they would contribute little to the Flood's stockpiles of biomass. There has never been a sighting of a Flood infected Drone.

Like Earth-native hive-society insect species, the Yanme'e as a species seem to be comprised of several different castes that work together for the collective. Queens are extremely large, with long abdomens, presumably similar to insect hive queens in that they are the leaders of the hive, and is the mother all of its members. Males appear to be workers, and the only description given of them is that they are wingless. The majority of the Yanme'e seen, however, seem to be a soldier caste of unknown gender. Within this caste, there seem to be several different varieties - a copper-colored type, and two green varieties. Though physical details of the copper type are unknown, the first of the green varieties differs from the other in a different mandible structure, feathery antennae, and a lighter coloration. The second green type has a more insectile mandible structure, more simple antennae, and a darker coloration. Whether these traits are indicative of different tasks or functions, or simply a result of genetic variation, is unknown.

Intelligence
Drones probably operate under a collective hive mind, but there is little known about individual drone intelligence and emotional capability. They are able to feel jealousy (as seen when they killed Engineer Lighter Than Some because he usurped their role as technician on Rapid Conversion). In the level Crow's Nest, Thel 'Vadam can be seen trying to convince individual Drones (while fighting them) to reject the Prophets' lies and rebel. However, the Halo 3 Campaign Scoring description of Drone Majors states that Drones are incapable of feeling fear.

Capabilities
Yanme'e are deployed in battle situations, such as aerial insertions, among the Covenant, and during the Covenant Civil War, the Covenant Loyalists. They, unlike all other types of Covenant, can fly without using technology (such as jet packs). They're used for surprise aerial ambushes and assaults, such as catching Human troops off guard and causing them to shoot upwards as a diversion so that their allies may attack on the ground. This is a common Covenant tactic used to wipe out a whole squad of UNSC Marines.

In Halo 3, Yanme'e can be seen lifting UNSC Marines off the ground (Such as in Crow's Nest), to considerable heights considering a Yanme'e's thin, fragile-looking body. This suggests that Yanme'e are stronger than they seem, possessing incredible strength contrary to their appearance.

Combat
Drones prefer to stay at a distance and use long-range tactics; however, they are skilled close-range combatants as well if the need arises. They always appear in swarms which is why they are deadly and skilled from their strength in numbers, and usually in large, open areas, where, combined with their agility, they are hard to target effectively. Drones also have the distinction of being able to board vehicles. They do not seem capable of driving them, but will claw mercilessly at the driver until he is killed or gets out of the vehicle. However, their melee is weak, you can simply wait it out until someone shoots it down or simply crash into a structure, causing it to lose its grip on you. Their capability for limited flight allows them to easily weaken an enemy and retreat as necessary when in danger.

They wield lightweight weapons such as the Needler and Plasma Pistol, though they never charge up a shot of their Plasma Pistol to break a shield, as with Grunts and Jackals. They also enter battle in a swarm (the number differs depending on the difficulty); furthermore, they are not susceptible to headshots, though sniper weapons will always kill them with a single shot regardless of where it hits them. This is most likely due to a natural physical weakness, as the sniper rifle's shot would likely travel straight through the exoskeleton and cause the Drone to go into a state of shock. Drones never dual wield or have heavy weapons because they can only become airborne while lifting a small amount of weight. When fighting, they have to take frequent rests while in the air, probably due to the gravitational pull from Earth and High Charity. However it is unknown if they can last longer while in space. They are said to have replaced the Elite Rangers after the Covenant Civil War began, probably due to their inherent maneuverability, skill in Zero-G combat, and incredible aim. Even though their weapons aren't very effective, be weary of their incredible aim because too many hits even from a weak weapon can be fatal. It has been noticed that the Spiker,and Assault rifle are the best weapons against Drones, and when dual-wielding anything, you can literally shred your way through a swarm.

On Easy and Normal difficulty, the Drones are easy to kill and present no real threat; however, on Legendary, they can be an extremely deadly enemy to face. Their ability to fly means that if you have cover, they can still fly over and around you, and due to their pack mentality they can outnumber and kill you very quickly. Individually, however, they are still rather weak in resistance. One tactic is to lead the pack into a narrow corridor and throw any kind of grenade at them. Most of the time this tactic will kill a majority of the swarm.

In Halo 3, Drones have the ability to lift Marines from the ground, similar to the Brutes. The only time this has been witnessed is during scripted events, and if you kill the Drone in question it will let the Marine go. They have also kept the ability to board vehicles and melee the driver.

There is a moment in the Halo 3 level Tsavo Highway where approximately twenty Drones swarm out and attack you and your passengers in whatever vehicle you currently have. On Easy, Normal, and sometimes Heroic, the Marines will shred through the Drones with minimal fuss, but on Legendary it is a battle to be reckoned with. In addition, on the level Crow's Nest after the bomb is activated, a huge swarm of fifteen or so clumped-together Drones will fly past you. If you throw a plasma grenade into their midst it will usually stick one and kill most, if not all, of them. This will incite the wrath of any nearby Grunts and the remaining Drones.

In Halo 3, Yanme'e can pull you and other team mates out of vehicles.

Tactics
Drones are weak, even more so than Major Grunts but about as strong as Minor Grunts. However, in large numbers (as they travel in swarms), they can be more deadly than Brutes. First, find cover. If you recklessly charge in headfirst, you may take out some of the buggers, but your shields will be overwhelmed, and you will be cursing your fate as you see the Drones shoot your corpse. Then, switch your Energy Sword (not too far, as it is quite useful against other enemies) for a SMG or Covenant Carbine. In addition, you may wish to get a Battle Rifle/Sniper Rifle. First, through a hole or crouching, snipe a few out the air. Then, duck and wait for them to forget about you. Repeat this as many times as necessary. Then, switch to your SMG for cleanup and pick off the few lone survivors (shouldn't be too arduous). Alternatively, you can employ the Plasma Pistol and overcharge each one out the air. Of course, after one or two overcharges, duck down to cover to allow your shields recharging time. Another tactic would be is to get a rocket launcher and wait for them to get in a group then fire or get dual wield SMG's or "plasma rifle".'s.

Halo 2


Drones were first seen in the game Halo 2, after a long period as combatants during the First Battle of Earth, and were featured often in overwhelming swarms in open spaces. They had less distinguished, shinier, chitinous armour, and much smaller, luminescent eyes and a less insectoid and more alien-like appearance. They are enemy combatants in the following levels:
 * Cairo Station
 * Outskirts
 * Delta Halo
 * Regret
 * Gravemind
 * Uprising
 * High Charity
 * The Great Journey

Drones were among the boarders on Cairo station, and one such swarm came upon Master Chief during his defence of the station. They also attacked Johnson's squad outside their crashed Pelican during the Battle of Mombasa. They also had several run-ins with Master Chief, during his fights on Delta Halo, on the way to the Prophet of Regret's temple, and on High Charity. On High Charity a swarm of Drones can be seen attacking a group of Combat Forms where the fast speed, flying capability and lethal accuracy with the Plasma Pistol results in the Drones quickly decimating the Flood forms. After the Covenant Civil War, the Drones sided with the Brutes and Jackals, causing them to attack the Arbiter's small party of Elites and Hunters outside the Control room of Installation 05.

Halo 3


Drones appear a few times in the game but when they do, they are nearly always in swarms of thirty or more. Here is the list of levels that Drones appear in:
 * Crow's Nest
 * Tsavo Highway
 * The Storm
 * The Covenant

The best tactics for dealing with a Drone swarm is to hide behind cover and take the Drones down one at a time. Also, if a Drone boards a vehicle it will claw at the driver until they are killed, a certain amount of time has passed, or they themselves are killed. An effective, but dangerous way to remove them from vehicles is to ram the vehicle into a nearby wall or large structure. This does, however, risk the destruction of the vehicle and possibly death.

On the level Crow's Nest, if the player is vigilant enough, he/she can take and save a Deployable Cover from the hangar. After the Drones grab a Marine (seen through the mesh), run to the left and place it in front of the .50 Cal Turret. Doing so will enable one to shoot through and kill while avoiding the incoming Plasma Pistol shots from the Drones. Since Deployable Covers are commonplace on Crow's Nest, all the player needs to do is to seal up the pipes from which Drones enter, trapping them behind and suffocating them.

One more simple and effective tactic to deal with Drones is when they are in a swarm, all that is required is a sticky grenade to stick one of them in the center, or an explosive (such as the Rocket Launcher) and most, if not all of the swarm, should be wiped out.

Brute Choppers' projectiles they fire can easily kill drones in one or two hits. This tactic can be used while sitting outside the first blue energy field on the level Tsavo Highway.

Brute Shots are also very effective when the Drones are in a cluster. Rapid firing three will destroy most, if not all, of them. Rocket Launchers and Fuel Rod Guns are devastating on Drone swarms. If one takes the Fuel Rod Gun from the Brute Chieftain in the Ops Centre in Crows Nest, he can fire it at the swarm of Drones a little further ahead in the level and can kill almost the entire swarm in one hit.

Trivia

 * It is still unknown whether or not the Drones will make an appearance in Halo Wars.
 * In the multi-player map called Guardian, you can hear Drone screeches and the texture and layout is the same description as the Drones home world called Palamok, which means Guardian could be placed on the Drones' home world.
 * They are the only Covenant race that never serve as allies in campaign (The Brute Tartarus occasionally provides air support in some levels).
 * The nickname "buggers" is possibly a reference to Starship Troopers or Ender's Game.
 * Due to the fact that they were not seen in Halo: CE, it is commonly believed that they joined the Covenant after the first Halo ring was destroyed. However, Yanme'e were seen clearly in Halo: Contact Harvest, meaning that this isn't true. Also, it has been clearly stated that the Jiralhanae are the most recent addition to the Covenant, and it has been shown in Contact Harvest that the Jiralhanae have been a part of the Covenant since before the Human-Covenant War began, further confirming that the Drones must have been part of the Covenant before the events of the first game. Also in Contact Harvest, it is shown that the Yanme'e were used for engineering ships as a kind of substitute for Huragok when they were unavailable prior to the discovery of their usefulness in combat, which accounts for why they aren't used on Installation 04.
 * The markings on their outer shells are similar in appearance to the Plasma Pistol charge meter. They also resemble the camouflage markings on some real-life insects.
 * Despite their primitive appearance and mentality, Drones are actually an advanced race, and have attained "Tier 2" on the Forerunner Technological Advancement Scale.
 * They cannot be infected by Flood, since a Drone has no basic skeleton upon which the Flood organism grafts its biomass into. However, the chitinous shells may be used as a source of calcium.
 * Drones are very mysterious, even to the Covenant. There language cannot be understood, as it just sounds like screeches and insectoid screams to both Humans and Covenant alike.
 * In Halo 2, if a Drone is shot and killed in a certain way, their wings will jut out from their coverings like they were about to take off similar to that of a swatted fly or mosquito. The same thing happens in the third game. If you kill them, their wings will still be out on rare occasions.
 * Drones and Jackals are the only known Covenant species that are left handed. Rtas 'Vadum of the Sangheili is left handed however, which proves that although left seems to be the base hand for the Drones, there might be some right handed Drones too.
 * In the novel Halo: Contact Harvest, the Drones are described as copper colored, but they appear green in the games.
 * It is believed that the Drones with the needlers are ranked higher than other Drones.
 * The first ideas on what Prophets look like would later become what Drones look like.