Editing Setting:Halo/Covenant (section)

==Covenant Client Races==

[[File:Covenant_Army.png|400px|thumb|center|Most of the species, sub-species and client members in the Covenant]]
	
The Covenant coalition unites several different Xenos under one banner. The Covenant teems with brutality and cruelty, with the strong lording over the weak and the weak serving the strong. This by no means ensures a life of ease for the upper castes, for they must be at the forefront of every battle and the war grows more desperate every century. The Jiralhanae and the Sangheili consist almost exclusively of warrior societies, with labour either automated or performed by slaves of the lower castes. Covenant doctrine teaches that all the species must serve. Any rebellion or splinter group earns swift punishment. Indeed, the Covenant has waged many campaigns to track down and eliminate secessionists.

'''San'Shyuum:''' Once the foremost power in the Covenant, this fabled species vanished long before the rise of the Imperium. A special class of priestly Elites study their many prophecies in an attempt to divine things past, passing and not yet passed. Some of these priests receive dreams and visions of the San'Shyuum whilst ordinary pilgrims hope to glimpse their ghosts at holy sites.

'''Sangheili:''' The saurian warrior-caste which dominates the Covenant, noted for the four pairs of mandibles that comprise their lower jaw structure. Taller, stronger and more agile than a human, they are consumed by a ritualistic honour code of combat. They have been known both to spare a worthy defeated foe (though few are counted as such) and to throw away their lives rather than commit craven acts. Their tradition of taking trophies leaves them keen to engage with the most dangerous foes, such as the Adeptus Astartes. One-on-one, a Sangheili has little hope of besting a Space Marine, but their concept of honour does not depend on fairness. Rather, it revolves around a warrior displaying utmost courage and skill and respecting his enemies who do likewise. Thus, the Sangheili often 'soften up' Astartes with artillery bombardments and waves of lesser troops before moving in for the kill.
	
'''Jiralhanae:''' These ruthless savages have earned such moniker as Brutes, Kongs and Hairy Ogryns amongst those Imperial Forces which they have encountered. They are tougher, more cunning and better armed than Ork Boyz, if nowhere near as numerous. In such Imperial Stormtrooper schools that cover the Covenant in their curriculum, the Jiralhanae are considered comparable to Ork Nobs. They revel in carnage and fail in every artistic instinct except for crude tribal insignias and totems. They award importance only to those in their packs and status in Jiralhanae packs centres around constant brawls, so none of the other Covenant races (all physically weaker) can join. For this reason, they often despise the Sangheili, even sometimes rebelling against them, but never successfully. Their rivals simply understand warfare better.

Jiralhanae often strike out from the Covenant to find new worlds free from the rigid ritualistic influences of their peers. New High Charity sanctions many of these expeditions, with the theoretical understanding that the new holdings will rejoin the main Covenant when support fleets arrive. Other expeditions set out without permission and will fight to keep their independence.

For protracted conflicts, Covenant commanders often seed rugged regions with Jiralhanae warbands, expecting them to rampage, loot and generally disrupt the enemy over a wide terrain. Their opportunistic feeding patterns and durable constitution allows them to operate long term in such theatres. 

'''Huragok:''' Although seemingly organic, these silicon-based lifeforms are in fact artificial living computers. Covenant doctrine teaches they were gifts from the gods in ancient days and accords them religious reverence. The Huragok maintain the Covenant's technological base, even repairing equipment in of battle. They will not fight in any circumstances so deployed units require bodyguards. In the Nova Terra Interregnum, the Ordo Xenos procured a number of these strange creatures but learned they can only work with Covenant technology.

[[File:Hunter3.jpg|240px|thumb|right|M'galekgolo assaulting a enemy position]]

'''Lekgolo:''' These armoured behemoths fulfil both a long-ranged support role and a close-quarters attack role. Schola Progenium War Manuals recommend engaging these xenos with meltas, plasma weapons and flamers. Xenologist dissections reveal that the creatures consist of a bundle of worm-like creatures fused together by foul flesh alchemy to create a single sentient organism. They carry plasma cannons into battle--earlier classified as fuel rod weapons. Yeest's Apocrypha Aliena (M34) suggests the Sangheili created the Lekgolo from worm creatures rich in neural matter as a servant race but Covenant legend tells of them already having their own culture at the time of their introduction to the Xenos alliance.
	 
'''Sharquoi:''' Coming from an unknown world, the Sharquoi is a large massive behemoth of unimaginable strength. These Xenos have an uncanny appearance similar to that of the ancient, monstrous lizards called Dinosaurs of ancient Terra long passed by. What makes them stand out from the usual Covenant infantry, however, is their colossal size, massive natural occurring 'spike fists', a jaw-less head and one massively stubborn hide that could even shrug off blows from a [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons|Tyranid Bone-Scythe.]] Because of these attributes, the Covenant use them as living, breathing battering rams and walking siege-engines of gargantuan strength that could crumple an Imperial Tank without much impunity. However don't let their savage appearance fool you, they are still as intelligent as a fully grown man.
	
[[File:Yanme_e_queen.png|240px|thumb|right|The Yanme'e Queen sketched by a Imperial Xenobiologist]]

'''Yanme'e:''' These aliens appear insectoid in nature but possess an internal skeletal 'lattice' structure. The exoskeleton only develops after the organism reaches maturity. In their natural state, they are capable of short hops but can attain flight when bolstered by carapace-mounted anti-gravity pods. Airborne drones will soar over the battlefield in teeming swarms, attacking and disorienting the enemy from multiple vertical directions. Their eusocial mental patterns tend towards extreme dogmatism and group mentality, making them easily the most fanatical race in the Covenant.

'''Kig-Yar:''' Opportunistic, aggressive and self-reliant--only extreme practicality keeps Kig-Yar within the Covenant, for they realize that without the muscle and technology of the upper castes, their kind faces ill odds in a hostile galaxy. The Kig-Yar practice terror attacks and an offensive version of scorched earth wherein they raze territory after looting as much as possible. They particularly seek out civilians for the slaughter, with the logic that 'burning the seed is easier than burning the stalk.' Many Kig-Yar set out as pirates or mercenaries where they have achieved several notable successes. Warlord Torrin Darkchance summoned the aliens to help him overthrow the Agri-World of Castor VI but, after executing the Imperial Governor, failed to pay the agreed price. The aliens responded by storming the governor's bliss-palace, kidnapping the new despotic administration (including Torrin), and selling them to the Dark Eldar. Like the Hyena species of Ancient Terra, Kig-Yar live in a female-dominated society, with females ruling as Queens, or Pirate Capitans in charge of raiding ships, Covenant, or Banished fleets. Males are never tolerated long by their female superiors, and most Males work as the soldiers encountered by the Imperial Guardsmen. Their gender differentiation is found on their heads and elbows, with males having feathers and quills that can change colour with their mood on the back of their heads and elbows. Females are taller than males, and have scales and bony plates on the back of their heads and elbows, as males are known to aggressively bite these areas during mating. The xenobiologist who gained this information has since been executed.

In combat, the Kig-Yar employ their species' natural agility and heightened senses to serve a litany of combat roles, be it scout, front-line defender, shock trooper or Sniper. The majority of Kig-Yar infantry are equipped with gauntlet-mounted energy shields, which provide protection analogous to carapace armour. Adjutants of the Ordo Xenos have documented the existence of three distinct Kig-Yar subspecies:

*'''Ruuhtian:''' Native to the supercontinent Ruuht, and the mainline Kig-Yar subspecies within the Covenant. Their comparatively frail biology has seen them gradually withdrawn from frontline combat in favour of the hardier Ibei'shan and T'vaoan, though they hold value as specialist infiltrators and marksman. A Ruuhtian Sniper armed with a Beam Rifle is considered a terrifying prospect for any regiment of the Imperial Guard, as the whisper-quiet operation of the weapon combined with the Ruuhtian's lithe frame makes it virtually impossible to track the Sniper with the naked eye, beyond the purple contrail of each undoubtedly lethal shot they take.
*'''Ibei'shan:''' Hailing from the isolated, volcanic continent of Ibie'sh, these Kig-Yar exhibit the more primitive traits of their ancient predecessors, sporting a more saurian appearance that one could easily confuse for a pygmy Sangheili. As such, their greater resilience has seen them subsume the Ruuhtians as frontline troops, and are most often seen accompanying Covenant patrols and assaults.
*'''T'vaoan:''' A distant Kig-Yar subspecies hailing from the asteroid-moon of T'vao, the T'vaoans have evolved to be much stronger, tougher and faster than their homeworld cousins, making them more arrogant in that regard. Sprouting a mane of feathers and plumage which covers their entire heads and bodies, as well as achieving a more well-formed beak with eagle-like eyes, they resemble more like actual Aves then the more saurian Kig-Yar; the resemblance in turn, cause some Xenobiologists to compare the T'vaoans with [[Dinosaur|Ancient Terra's earliest evolution of birds]] to the divergence of [[Abhuman|Abhumans]] from the evolutionary norm. Due to this, the T'vaoans are often nicknamed by Imperial Guardsmen as "Vultures", analogous to the Kig-Yar's "Turkeys". However, such 'humorous' nicknames are often not to be underestimated, being much more physically superior to the Kig-Yar, the T'vaoans are notorious for their blinding speed and agility, so much so that they can run circles around even the obscenely fast Astartes. This, coupled with the fact that T'vaoans are usually situated in infiltration and covert warfare within the Covenant, will cause chaos and distraught if they are not located and caught immediately.

'''Unggoy:''' Feeble-minded, cowardly and mentally weak, this slave race occupies the lowest place in the caste system. Little more than cannon fodder, Covenant commanders deploy vast numbers of Unggoy as meat shields to distract the attention of the enemy. Their natural cowardice leads them to prefer defensive combat. The Unggoy breed rapidly but more are always needed for the eternal war. They must wear complicated breathing apparatus to fulfil their unique methane respiration needs. In accordance with their honour code, Sangheili have been known to adopt the most promising Unggoy as 'shield-bearers,' in this way even allowing the slave race to rise to the rank of Special Operations. This distracts enemy fire from the Elites.