Hive Fleet Zephyr

"Get those munitions moving lads! First frost is nearly upon us- and with it comes the Zephyr!"

Hive Fleet Zephyr is a peculiar strain of Tyranid. Their connection to the Hive Mind seems to be completely severed. They are only found on a handful of planets across a couple of systems. These factors combined with their predictable, animalistic behavior leaves them a low priority on the Imperium's vast list of fires to extinguish.

Appearance

The Zephyr have deep black exoskeletons with bright yellow carapaces. The carapaces are adorned with black markings. Their venomous claws, talons, and stingers are a vibrant green color. The Magos Biologis proclaim this unusual appearance to be aposematism- a warning sign to potential adversaries that they pose a significant threat and are best left alone.

Hives

The swarm lives in clusters of bulbous, ribbed structures erected from mulched biomass. Locals refer to these clusters as 'Hives'. The constructs are arranged in hexagonal patterns surrounding a single 'Nexus'. Within this nexus hive is the Brood Queen- a highly powerful and intelligent synaptic anchor that directs the brood.

Brood Queen

The Brood Queen is a Tyrannic pattern unique to the Zephyr. The Zephyr appear to be entirely cut off from the Hive Mind. The Brood Queen acts as a pseudo Hive Mind, consuming vast amounts of energy to psychically link and coordinate the various members of the cluster. There is only ever one Brood Queen to a hive, and hives cannot interface with a queen that's not their own.

If the Brood Queen dies, the entire hive's synaptic link is severed at once. The members turn feral and attack anything around them. Despite the immense difficulty, this stands as the only way to ensure a hive is permanently wiped out.

Behavior

The Zephyr are highly territorial, but rarely venture further than than a handful of miles from their hives. They pray on local flora and fauna, and take the assimilated biomass back to the hives.

When fall arrives, the Brood Queen is spent and will soon die. Before it does, it will birth the next queens. Several Brood Queens are spawned and venture out, seeking a new home. This marks the end of the colony.

The new queens require many months to develop, and initially can only synaptically link to a handful of allies. This poses a great danger to the Hive- should the current Brood Queen die, most of the Hive will turn feral. They will attack each other and, more importantly, the next generation of queens. Thus, the Brood Queen's final action each autumn is to send the Hive as far away from the cluster as possible.

This wandering horde of Zephyr has no further use to the queen, so it commands them aggressively. They rampage across the planet's surface and are often attracted to settlements. They fight to the last, and grow increasingly feral as the Brood Queen's life-force wanes.

When the current Brood Queen dies, the young successor queens begin to hibernate. A small retinue of combat-capable spawn are linked to the queens, and protect them throughout the fall and winter seasons. Come spring, the queens will leave the decaying Hive Cluster. They will travel for dozens of miles to establish a new nesting site.

War-Swarms

Occasionally, Brood Queens of disparate hives will link together. Doing so substantially increases the strain placed on each queen, but allows them to coordinate in significant ways. This coordination often results in vast swarms of Zephyr moving and acting as one. These hordes are known as 'War-Swarms', and are the only times that Hive Fleet Zephyr appears to act in ways that resemble its peers.