Kig-yar

"Jackals may be superior marksmen and they're very sneaky, but that doesn't make them excellent snipers — they’re a little too bloodthirsty for that."

- Anonymous UNSC serviceman

The Kig-yar (Latin: Perosus latrunculus, translated to "Hateful Bandit" ) are a saurian species which serve the Covenant, and later the Covenant Loyalists, as mercenaries and privateers. Humans have termed the two races of these these vicious creatures Jackals and Skirmishers, as they are known for their swiftness, viciousness, and dexterity, despite their physical frailty. In combat, Kig-yar serve as either snipers or scouts within the Covenant due to their excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing.

History
Once, the Kig-yar culture was centered around rival clans sailing across Eayn's seas as pirates, raiding the encampments and settlements of rival clans. As the distances between the clans diminished, so too did the differences, and a united Kig-yar race reached out to the stars in spacecraft, beginning to populate small asteroids around Chu'ot. Some of these saw opportunity, and became pirates once more, raiding merchant ships. These were apparently the Kig-yar's only effective response to the overwhelming Covenant military juggernaut when they arrived in their home-system in 1342. The war between the two factions culminated around sieges of redoubts on the asteroids surrounding their world. Eventually, in order to survive, they accepted Letters of Marque: commissions from the Ministry of Tranquility to engage in the services of the Covenant, though often this was merely used as an excuse to continue raiding. The Kig-yar spent much of this time preying on the ships of the Covenant's enemies, such as the humans.

Though they theoretically stand as equals of the Unggoy, the Kig-yar are actually in an elevated position, as most of the other races ignore the Unggoy, while the Kig-yar are purposefully cruel to them to reassure themselves of their own superiority. This reached a boiling point in 2462, when some Kig-yar attempted to poison recreational narcotics the Unggoy enjoyed which would have left the Unggoy sterile, in retaliation for the Unggoy encroaching on their habitats and displacing Kig-yar nests. Although a junior staffer in the Ministry of Concert found evidence of this, the High Council failed to properly investigate the incident, culminating in the Unggoy Rebellion.

Following the outbreak of the Human-Covenant War, a group of Kig-yar under Reth made contact with the Rubble, made of human survivors of the glassing of Madrigal, trading Covenant weaponry in exchange for slipspace drives. Although the humans believe the Kig-yar were defying Covenant authority, they were in fact proceeding with the blessing of the High Prophet of Truth to use the weapons to map UNSC space and learn the location of Earth. The plan fell apart during due to the High Prophet of Regret sending Sangheili warriors to investigate the weapons, believing the Kig-yar to be heretics.

During the Great Schism, the Kig-yar sided with the Loyalists against the Covenant Separatists. This may be due to their resentment of their mistreatment by the Sangheili, or the Covenant Loyalists offered more payment for their service; alternatively, it may have been that the Separatists and UNSC simply wouldn't trust them because of their cruel, bloodthirsty nature and greedy behavior.

Anatomy and physiology


Kig-yar are saurian, but they have features similar to birds of prey as well as reptiles. Their legs are sinewy and have muscular thighs, and are triple-jointed and bend backward, in a similar fashion to birds. They have sharp, curved fingernails and toenails. Being carnivores, their sharp beaks are lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth; some have far more numerous teeth which bear a passing resemblance to baleen. Kig-yar have been known to eat the flesh of fallen enemies, as well as live prisoners. Kig-yar have extraordinary senses of sight, hearing, and smell. Male Kig-yar possess plumages of spiny quills at the back of the head and on the elbows; the color of this plumage indicates the Kig-yar's mood. Females lack these quill plumages, instead having calloused plates at the forearms and the rear of the head. This thick skin helps protect the female during courtship: when mating, the male will often bite, chew, and tear on the back of the female's head, neck, and arms. Kig-yar reproduce by laying eggs which the female incubates, similar to birds. When mating, the male can choose to fertilize the egg, in which a male is produced, whereas, if the eggs are not fertilized, a female is produced.

Kig-yar skin is rough, thick and scaly, and is tough enough to allow the Kig-yar to fight without wearing any kind of arm or foot protection, something even the Sangheili have. While Kig-yar have hollow bones and are physically frail, they are highly athletic, due to their muscular legs and predatory nature. It is likely they evolved from creatures that would have to have physical prowess to hunt. This is evidenced by their speed and agility on human planets, even though their homeworld has weaker gravity and would make them lighter. Their blood is bright purple in color, similar to that of the Sangheili, possibly showing a similar chemical makeup. The lack of calcium in their skeletons makes them a poor source of biomass for the Flood. Thus, Kig-yar that are infected by the Flood are typically turned into carrier forms rather than combats forms. However, they have been utilized as combat forms during at least one engagement. . This uncommonality seems to imply that the Kig-yar are deemed impractical for use as combat forms.

There is a great deal of physiological disparity among the Kig-yar. Some specimens, most notably the Skirmishers, possess a more squared cranial structure from typical Jackals, while others have slighter, more avian heads: in both cases, these Kig-yar lack the beak-like "overbite" shared by the majority of the species. Kig-yar eyes are also greatly varied, with Jackals having large, bulbous eyes and Skirmishers having narrow, slitted eyes. Kig-yar eye colors are known to include purple, pink, pale, yellow, gold, orange, brown and black. The Skirmishers, unlike most Kig-yar, are more heavily built, with powerful muscles, and feature feathery plumages on the head and elbows in lieu of fleshy quills. Among the Jackals and the Skirmishers, skin color is also greatly varied, including red, gray, green, pale brown, tan, yellow, and golden skin; Skirmishers often have similarly colored feather plumages. This physiological diversity is likely due to uneven distribution across many worlds and drastically varied environments.

Culture


Unlike other Covenant client races such as the Unggoy, Kig-yar were space-faring long before joining the Covenant. As such, the Kig-yar are unique among Covenant races: rather than being faithful followers of the Prophets' religion, they serve the Covenant due to the monetary rewards the Prophets pay them. However, due to the long time they have been in the Covenant, a large number of them have accepted the Covenant religion. Kig-yar have been known to coexist relatively peacefully with humans, as evidenced by the relationship between the Rubble and Reth's forces on Metisette. When the Kig-yar were finally ordered by the Prophets to attack and destroy the humans of the Rubble, many of them even regretted the order. This is likely due to the pragmatic, mercantile culture of their race: As long as it benefits them economically, Kig-yar will co-operate with nearly any group, even declared enemies of the Covenant.

Role within The Covenant
Kig-yar serve primarily as infantry, police forces and overseers. They also commonly crew Covenant Missionary Ships, such as the Minor Transgression. Originally, they were intended to replace the Unggoy as the foot soldiers of the Covenant, but their temperament made this impractical. Instead, they were assigned roles that were better suited to their natural abilities, such as scouts and snipers.

Within Covenant society, Kig-yar have little status and are subservient to all but the Unggoy. Because of this, Kig-yar frequently harass Unggoy to assert what little authority they have. In some cases, Sangheili or Jiralhanae dispose of criminals or prisoners by feeding them to Kig-yar convicts, who eat the victim alive.

Kig-yar are extremely cruel to members of other species; this is evidenced by their willingness to eat Unggoy and humans alive, and the way they abuse Yanme'e Unmutuals, as shown in Halo: Evolutions.

The Kig-yar are not represented on the High Council but are instead vetted by the Ministry of Concert. The Kig-yar do not vocally complain about their position but instead have selected to siphon off resources to their brethren. Whether the Covenant leadership was aware of this is currently unknown.

Government
The Kig-yar government is a post-industrial capitalist system, with a population of 978 million. It is also described as an ochlocracy, a system of government best described as a government by mob, or the intimidation of constitutional authorities. Presumably, this implies that whatever form of local government the Kig-yar possess is ineffective and ignored.

Naming
Kig-yar names usually consist of a single syllable, with two consonants and one vowel, such as Yeg, Jak and Bok. However, Chur'R-Yar and Chur'R-Mut, who were both Shipmistresses, have multiple syllables in their names. It is speculated that the Kig-yar naming system is at least partially based on sex, rank, or both. However, their naming system might not be the one of their own culture; it has been stated that Sangheili do not allow the Kig-yar to have more than one name. Alternatively, it may be that the Kig-yar language consists of single syllable words (their name for themselves, Kig-yar, actually is two single syllable words combined).

Homeworld
Eayn is the homeworld of the Kig-yar species and is the primary satellite of the planet Chu'ot. It is characterized by its single equatorial ocean, sparse volcanism, and almost total lack of glaciation. Only about one-third of all Kig-yar who still reside in the Y'deio system call Eayn their home; many have chosen to live among the minor planets within the asteroid belt since their initial contact with the Covenant. However, it is theorized that the Kig-yar have colonized many other planets, due to their physiological diversity.

Trivia

 * The Kig-yar were the first Covenant species fought by human beings. Staff Sergeants Avery Johnson and Nolan Byrne fought and killed two of them in the skirmish on Minor Transgression over Harvest, shortly before the First Battle of Harvest. Later, they became the first Covenant species encountered by the SPARTAN-IIs aboard Unrelenting at Chi Ceti IV.
 * The name "Jackal" comes from a wild dog that is similar to the coyote, and is a reference to their scavenger appearance and nature.
 * "Kig-yar" is Breton for "chicken" and Phonetic Welsh for "chicken meat".
 * Chur'R-Yar and Chur'R-Mut are the only known female Kig-yar, and were also the first two female Covenant characters to appear in Halo canon.
 * Although Jackals carry grenades in Halo 2, they are never seen using them. This is possibly because of the fact that, in terms of game mechanics, they 'dual-wield' their energy shield with whatever other weapon they are carrying.
 * In all games prior to Halo: Reach, all Jackals shoot left-handed and are the only Covenant species to do so, with the exception of Rtas 'Vadumee. However, in Halo: Reach Jackals shoot with their right hands and carry their shields with their left hands.
 * Kig-yar possess a strong salty, occasionally acrid stench.
 * Occasionally, Jackals can be seen without their usual bright spines on their heads. Canonically, these would likely be females, this appearance is probably the result of a glitch.
 * In game, Jackals do not use melee attacks.

Mistakes

 * In Halo: The Fall of Reach, Kig-yar blood is said to be blue, despite its actual purple coloration.
 * The first time Jackals are encountered in-game is in Halo: Combat Evolved on the level Halo. They do not appear in the first level, Pillar of Autumn, due to the Covenant's mistrust of them being on enemy vessels because of their pirating ways. However, in Halo: The Flood, they are mentioned as boarding the during their initial attack.

Related pages

 * Kig-yar in gameplay
 * Kig-yar Point Defense Gauntlet