The Covenant Īt first, the Covenant arrived in the Kig-Yar home system with small contingent fleets. When the overwhelming Covenant military juggernaut arrived in the Kig-Yar home system in 1342, the Kig-Yar pirates and militia joined forces in an attempt to fend off the alien intruders. The Commandos fought off the pirates in an extremely ruthless and precise fashion. The piracy and looting in the system led to the Kig-Yar government's militia recruiting selectively picked Commandos from sectarian societies from the asteroids that orbit Chu'ot. Some Kig-Yar continued their ancient ways of life and became pirates once more, preying upon merchant starships. The Kig-Yar on these asteroids were sustained by gray market trade and developed free from the government that dominated Eayn. Shortly afterward, they established colonies on many small asteroids and planetoids around Chu'ot. Eventually, the clans united, and the Kig-Yar species worked together in developing space-travel technology. These ancient Kig-Yar would hold inter-clan physical combat competitions in the largest population centers on Eayn's biggest continent. Ancient Kig-Yar once experienced a gladiatorial era, similar to humans. Development of civilization ĭuring their early history, Kig-Yar society was divided into clans that sailed across Eayn's seas as pirates, raiding the encampments and settlements of rival clans. They were subsequently returned to their homeworld, where they began rebuilding their culture. The Kig-Yar were one of many species indexed by the Librarian as part of the Conservation Measure and preserved on Installation 00 from the firing of the Halo Array. In combat, Kig-Yar typically served the Covenant as snipers and scouts due to their excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing. There are several distinct races of Kig-Yar, though humans have commonly identified two groupings ( Jackals and Skirmishers) based on encounters in the battlefield. Many went on to aid its remnants as mercenaries, privateers, and pirates, though the majority stayed independent of any such factions. Following their assimilation in 1342 CE, the Kig-Yar served the Covenant until its dissolution in 2552. The Kig-Yar (sometimes rendered as ' Kig-yar' Forerunner designation: Perosus latrunculus, Latin for 'hateful bandit' UNSC designation: Covenant secundarium carnivora prœdonis, Latin for 'Covenant secondary carnivorous combatant' ), are a dinosaur-like saurian species. ' 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 Marine Sinewy and slender dinosauroid features, tridactyl clawed hands and feet

190–210 cm (6 ft 2 in–6 ft 8 due to hunched over anatomy they appear shorter about 5ft or 155 cm)

Jackal art