Skitterer units are mechanized scouts piloted by Lekgolo. They are cheap, expendable vehicles, and their twin-linked beam cannons are surprisingly lethal for a vehicle of this size. Their most notable feature is that they can use a defend ability to set up a protective overwatch on other friendly units and act as a weapon turret and defense shield, increasing the health of the attached unit as well as providing additional firepower. Most units can have at least one Skitterer attached, including infantry and aircraft. The defensive link cannot be undone during a mission.
The harsh restrictions on AI research in the Covenant limited the development of autonomous weapon systems, though clever San’Shyuum technicians did find that carefully selected and pruned Lekgolo colonies could substitute for artificial minds in some applications. Though never widely used, combat machines such as the Skitterer proved this approach had merit, though the risk of aberrant gestalts in small colonies meant it never saw widespread use. Colony has adapted and perfected this technique, which allows for the integration of Lekgolo with the Banished Locust and mass production of Skitterers without the behavioral issues that plagued earlier work.