Xenomorph Drones are the "worker bees" of an Alien hive and are loyal servants to the Xenomorph Queen. They are responsible for collecting hosts, further building the hive, and caring for the Queen's eggs.
Appearance
Being one of the smaller variations of Xenomorph, they vary in sizes that are much larger than the hosts they spawn from. They are usually in between the heights of 7-9ft tall when upright, which is sometimes much larger than their Runner counterparts. The Xenomorph Drone encountered on the Nostromo had a maximum height of 7'2" tall. The initial Drone seen on the Sevastopol station was shown to have been 9-10' tall.
The most common colors of the Drones are mostly black with some grey, however there are some that have been known to sometimes appear with a slight hint of brown but mostly can come in black. Warriors can be brown but not often and are stronger than a drone, this could mean that particular Drone is somewhere between a Warrior and a Drone or they are simply stronger than their other siblings. The cloned Xenomorph Drones are known to have a more brown-green skin color which is possible due to it's hybridization with human DNA.
Drones are known to have hands with a various number of digits. The maximum amount of digits vary from 3-6 on each hand, despite their hosts having a maximum of 5 on each hand. The Drone on the Nostromo was shown to have a maximum of 6 fingers per hand. Later variations have shown to have less such as 3-4 digits per hand or some with 2 longer inward digits.
Behavior & Abilities
Despite being born into a species with a hive mind functionality, Drones can be just as deadly on their own. It is unknown if they have their own form of individuality when on their own, but it is quite possible. It's usually when one individual drone establishes its nest and spawns more of its kind, that drone is usually in charge.
Drones are more calm Xenomorphs, able to plan and would rather sneak attack an enemy than run into the line of fire and face them head on. This method of killing doesn't always apply to drones as they have demonstrated their ability to attack their prey head on rather than take their time. The Drones aboard the Sevastopol Station demonstrate this behavior when attacking their victims after catching them. Drones have also been known to spit cysts of acid at their prey, primarily to disable them for easy retrieval. In Alien: Resurrection a cloned Drone spat a cyst of acid at Christie's face in order to immobilize him but was unable to retrieve him due to being killed by Johner.
They are one of the most common Xenomorph, even more so than the Warrior. When the Hives main defense of Hive Warriors and Normal Warriors have been killed, Drones will fill their places as the main defense.
Drones were one of the first castes to demonstrate the Xenomorph's ability to survive the vacuum of space, however it is uncertain as to whether or not there is a certain amount of time they have before having to re-enter a spacecraft. The drones on the Sevastopol were shown to have the ability to crawl on the outside of the station without any problem. The Drone from the Nostromo also demonstrated it's ability to survive out in space as well, however it's uncertain if it actually died from being out in space too long after being blown out the airlock.
A unique technique that Drones have been shown to exercise is the ability of Eggmorphing. This is usually considered an alternative means of reproduction and therefore allow them to capture hosts, bring them back to an already established nest, cocoon them and begin converting their organic material into new generation Ovomorphs. This was demonstrated by the original Xenomorph in the first film however only seen in the director's cut of the film. Ellen Ripley discovered Capt. Arthur Dallas and the corpse of Engineer Samuel Brett cocooned in the creature's nest, Dallas was alive and Brett was in the process of becoming a new Ovomorph. This process was ceased when Ripley torched the nest with her flamethrower before leaving the Nostromo. It would be 15 years later that Ellen's daughter Amanda encountered a drone on the Sevastopol Station which was killed after the station jettisoned its Gemini Exoplanets Solutions Module. Despite having dispatched the creature, it was Amanda who later on discovered a whole nest while entering the bowels of the station to investigate an irregularity in the station's reactor core. She discovered that there were crew members cocooned in the nest and made to be hosts for more Xenomorphs. So far the Drones have been the only known Caste to demonstrate this ability, however it is possible for other castes to perform this as well.
In Alien: Resurrection, the cloned Drones were known to have remarkable agility and sharp reflexes that enabled them to dodge oncoming gunfire at point blank ranges. It's also shown that the cloned variation drone is much smarter than that of the normal drone, which is shown throughout the course of the movie. They have also been shown to be fast learners as well, which was shown when dowsed with liquid nitrogen spray by Dr. Jonathon Gediman which enraged the creature and almost broke out at the doctor, however stopped to avoid another hit of the spray. They are also showed to have learned how to use the same device which was shown when one clone hit the button when a security guard entered the compromised holding cell. The clones were also shown to utilize opportunity to their advantage which was shown when one killed mercenary Capt. Frank Elgyn who was picking up an abandoned Lacrima 99 Shockrifle.
Evolution
Drones are capable of evolving into Praetorians and even Queens by pheromones released by the former Queen herself; or sometimes, when a queen is not present, drone xenomorphs go into a rage and start fighting amongst themselves to see which one is the strongest. The winner molts into the Queen and becomes the new hive ruler.
Facts
- According to H.R. Giger, all Drones are genderless, but this is debatable.
- A Warrior can have a smooth and ridged dome but a Drone can only have a smooth dome.
- When its prey is cornered, a Drone will sometimes inexplicably "savor" the experience, often waiting a few seconds before killing/incapacitating its captive; almost as if it enjoys the fear its prey shows. However, it will not do this if the action would place itself at risk, instead going for a quick kill or abduction. For example, when the Drone on the Nostromo cornered Lambert it seemed to enjoy every moment of her fear (It is implied that the Alien sodomized Lambert with its tail, though it is questionable). This is also seen when right before it head bites Parker, taking its time and possibly enjoying every moment of his fear.
- The Runner in Alien³ was technically a drone, due to its smooth dome. Nearly all fans tend to separate the two however.
Gallery
See also
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