Jiralhanae Jumper

Jiralhanae Jumper
Function:	Aerial assault/support
Species:	Jiralhanae
Affiliation:	Covenant Covenant remnants Merg Vol's Covenant Banished

"Death from above!"

— Jiralhanae Jumpers during the Second Ark Conflict.

Jiralhanae Jumpers, also known as Jump-Pack Jiralhanae, were a specialist rank for Jiralhanae serving in the Covenant and are a specialist role in the Banished's military. They are airborne troops that utilize jump packs. The Jiralhanae believe that there are few honors higher than serving in a Jump Pack unit.

Overview

Jiralhanae Jumpers wear a specialized variant of Jiralhanae power armor, fitted with jump packs for increased mobility. They serve as the Jiralhanae counterpart to Sangheili Rangers, but unlike the Rangers, Jumpers are not capable of complete aerial tactical maneuvering. Instead, their jump packs propel them in one jump at a time across a great distance.

There are two main subclasses within this rank: Jumper Major and Jumper Ultra.

Operational history

"Jet Pack Brutes! Don't let 'em get behind us!"

— Edward Buck during the Battle of Mombasa

Jiralhanae Jumpers served as part of the Covenant's vast military during its genocidal campaign against the human race. Following their arrival at Trove on February 21, 2531, the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction deployed ground forces onto the surface of the shield world. A number of Jiralhanae Jumpers, along with several Choppers and other infantry, set up a defensive position near the location where the UNSC Spirit of Fire was deploying several Elephant reconnaissance teams. One of these teams, lead by Sergeant John Forge, soon engaged the Covenant position. Soon after, Spartan Red Team dropped in behind the Covenant forces. The combined UNSC attack soon resulted in the elimination of the Jumpers, along with their support.

During the Battle of Mombasa on October 20, 2552, following the departure of the Prophet of Regret from the city, Jiralhanae-led Covenant reinforcements sent by the Prophet of Truth arrived to assume control of the battle. A group of Jiralhanae Jumpers was deployed onto the roof of ONI Alpha Site as part of the Covenant attack on the facility. However, a group of NMPD officers—along with the ODSTs Taylor Miles and Michael Crespo—arrived on the rooftop via elevator after setting explosive charges throughout the base to deny the Covenant access to information pertaining to the Portal buried beneath the city. The Jumpers fought against the human forces, killing the remaining NMPD personnel before they were all slain by the ODSTs. Several more were deployed onto the rooftop of the NMPD headquarters but were wiped out by ODSTs Edward Buck and Kojo Agu as they made their way through the upper levels of the facility in order to rendezvous with the rest of their squad, whose Pelican had been shot down by Banshees. Using an array of heavy weaponry, Alpha-Nine furiously defended the Pelican crash site from waves of attacking Banshees and Phantoms. One Phantom attempted to deploy a force of Jumpers onto the rooftop, but they were promptly slain by the superior firepower of the ODSTs.

By nightfall on October 20, New Mombasa had been completely overrun by Covenant forces, with virtually no human resistance left. Jonathan Doherty, a lone ODST thought dead by the rest of his squad, awoke from his M8900 drop pod which had crash-landed into a building in the Mbaraki district of the city, knocking him unconscious six hours prior. While searching for clues as to the whereabouts of his squadmates, he encountered various Covenant patrols in the darkened streets of the city, including many Jumpers. After receiving a distress call from Captain Veronica Dare, the Rookie was forced to fight through a large group of Covenant infantry, including Jumpers and a War Chieftain in order to find the entrance to the city's data center. Shortly after Yanme'e in the data center raised the alarm in response to the human intruders, a squad of Jiralhanae Jumpers arrived to stop the humans. However, due to energy shielding provided by the defecting Huragok Quick to Adjust, the ODSTs were able to wipe out the Jumpers easily.

On the morning of October 21, Jiralhanae Jumpers were deployed onto the Waterfront Highway as part of the extensive array of defenses there. They were wiped out by the Rookie and Edward Buck, who commandeered several abandoned UNSC vehicles as they escorted Veronica Dare's Oliphant along the highway. During their holdout at the entrance of the Uplift Nature Reserve, the ODSTs held out against waves of Covenant forces as they waited to evacuate Quick to Adjust out of the city. A force of Jumpers were deployed along with a Jiralhanae Chieftain as part of a final offence against the ODSTs but they too fell, and Alpha-Nine was successful in leaving the city in a captured Phantom just as Covenant ships began to glass the area.

Many Jiralhanae Jumpers were present on the Prophet of Truth's Forerunner Dreadnought as it departed from High Charity during the fall of the Holy City amidst the chaos of the Great Schism. However, Spartan John-117 managed to infiltrate the ship via a conduit connecting the ship to High Charity. While the Dreadnought made its way to Earth, the Spartan made his way towards the Prophet of Truth, killing any Covenant he came across. After unsuccessfully attempting to assassinate the Hierarch with a Covenant Carbine, John-117 was forced to kill a massive group of Jiralhanae, including a number of Jumpers, to continue.

During the later stages of the Battle for Earth, Covenant forces invaded the UNSC base Crow's Nest in Kenya, Africa. The overwhelming nature of the attack forced Commander Miranda Keyes to issue an evacuation order for the base, while a bomb was prepared to destroy the base once all UNSC personnel had left. While waiting to evacuate personnel from the base, Pelican Kilo 023 was beset from all sides by Jiralhanae Jumpers, who tried to sabotage the thrusters of the stationary Pelican. Fortunately for Lieutenant Hocus and her crew, John-117 arrived with Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and several Marines. The Jumpers were soon wiped out by the surprise attack. A number of Jumpers were part of a Covenant force that attacked a UNSC outpost near the top of a rise near a pumping station along Tsavo Highway. The attacking Covenant were slain by a group of Marines led by John-117, who were using the highway to regroup with the embattled human forces in the nearby city of Voi. The Covenant sent several packs of Jiralhanae to attack the outpost, including a number of Jumpers. They attempted to use nearby rises to pick off humans with Carbines, and even a Wraith, but all of them were eliminated by the Master Chief and the Marines. A final blockade of Covenant including Jumpers defending a tunnel into Voi was later attacked and wiped out by the Chief, allowing the UNSC force passage into Voi.

During the Battle of Installation 00, a large Jiralhanae pack including Jumpers and Stalker units was deployed into one of the installation's Cartographer facilities. Led by Chieftain Cethegus, the pack was charged with halting the Master Chief's progress as the human left the facility. Even as the Spartan proceeded to attack the Stalkers of his pack, Cethegus taunted the human before retreating to an exterior platform where he regrouped with his Jumper packmates. As the Master Chief approached the Jiralhanae after wiping out the Stalkers in a previous room, the Prophet of Truth communicated with Cethegus via a nearby holo-pedestal; the Chieftain was to defeat the "Demon" by himself. The Jumpers retreated to the outer rim of the platform, allowing the two to do battle. Despite his best efforts, Chieftain Cethegus fell. The Jumpers sprang into action, vainly attempting to avenge their fallen commander, but they too were slain. A group of Jumpers were among the last remaining Covenant soldiers defending the Prophet of Truth within the Citadel. Unfortunately for them, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam made an alliance with the Flood forces that were simultaneously infiltrating the Citadel. This combined force spelled doom for the Covenant defenders; the Jumpers soon fell along with their comrades. The Prophet of Truth himself was slain by the Arbiter, bringing about the end of the Covenant.

Following the conclusion of the Human-Covenant War, the Jiralhanae and Sangheili typically did not work together, at least not as equals.