Swarmer

The Swarmer was the smallest of the Necromorphs, a scrap of reanimated flesh that posed little danger alone but became lethal in numbers. Swarmers attacked in coordinated masses, latching onto a victim and draining them within seconds. They spilled most often from ruptured Pregnants, but were found throughout the outbreaks aboard the USG Ishimura, on the Sprawl, and beyond.

Form and origin#

Swarmers appeared to be composed only of re-animated bits of flesh, the smallest of all the Necromorph forms. What exactly formed a Swarmer was never certain, though they were observed leaving the corpse of Sally Hennen during the outbreak, and were thought to be made of small bones and connecting tissue or fragments of the Corruption that reanimated near a Marker''s signal. When they had no target in sight, Swarmers stayed in place and flailed their bodies, and they emitted high-pitched screeching and barking despite having no obvious means to make sound.

Behavior#

A single Swarmer was a minor threat, but their danger lay in their numbers; a few latched onto a victim could drain them very quickly, often killing within seconds. They most often resided inside Pregnants and emerged only when the host''s stomach was ruptured, though they also appeared in independent swarms and, on occasion, burst from corpses, leaving only the head and limbs behind. Swarmers moved in a coordinated direction as a single group rather than breaking apart. On rare occasions they attached themselves to larger Necromorphs, riding them to reach prey faster, which made an encounter with such a host far more dangerous.

Movement through the Ishimura#

Swarmers were able to travel through a ship''s septic lines, a means by which they crossed great distances much as other Necromorphs used air vents. Aboard the Ishimura one was seen leaping from a toilet, and in the outbreaks that followed they continued to surface in unexpected places, lurking inside containers to spring upon survivors who passed too close.