"Juvie" is the term given to juvenile Swarm Drones in the Gears of War universe. When a human is captured by the Swarm, they are placed within an organic pod that rewrites the victim's genetic structure, breaking the body down and reassembling it into this new form.
Biology[]
The standard Juvie is about 3 feet tall, though they generally assume a hunched posture. Their bodies are lean and wiry, covered in white skin with patches of grey scales on their arms, legs and midsections. They have milky-white eyes, though this does not necessarily mean they are blind. They have five digits on their hands and three clawed toes on each foot.
A Juvie is considered combat-ready as soon as it emerges from its pod, though if not needed to fight, it will crawl into a special nest mound where it will complete its development into a full-fledged Swarm Drone. Once fully matured, the new drone will emerge and scavenge whatever weaponry is available to use against the Swarm's enemies.
Behaviour[]
Juvies act as scouts and frontline cannon fodder for the Swarm, much like how Wretches were utilized by the Locust. In combat, they will attack their prey as a group, scampering about and avoiding gunfire as they close the gap between them and their targets. Not yet dexterous enough to handle firearms, Juvies will use their claws to maul victims to death. Some Juvies even act as suicide bombers; they have frag grenades attached to them and will run up to enemy cover points and detonate, killing themselves and any human soldier near them. These kamikaze Juvies are referred to as Poppers by the COG.