Hmmm...

by zumphry , Sunday, May 12, 2013, 00:32 (4003 days ago) @ Mr Daax

On another note, are the Fallen Dregs growing new arms? The small canister tanks below each armpit might be evidence.

Woah, I didn't notice the canisters/arm stubs. Either that, or they're a "lower" form of Fallen who never fully developed the extra set.

My guesses: if they aren't a lower form of Fallen like you said, maybe these are the females, or, what I think is a cooler idea, they are some sort of shamed Fallen who have had their two arms removed and are forced to fight on the front-lines as cannon fodder. Maybe their form of shame is to be condemned to die looking like a human, ie, with two arms instead of four.

Yeah, I think your "shamed" theory could work with their description:

These relentless thieves seem driven by desperation and rage.

Especially the "human part", in relation to Fallen Captains:

There is this sense of tattered nobility to them. You can see it in the way they carry themselves. They think they're better than us. They believe that Earth belongs to them.

So, yeah, I really hope you're right and that they were forced to have their arms cut off as retribution (either through being a lower class, or because they stole from a higher class), desperate because they're cannon fodder, and angry because they're been reduced to canon fodder/four armed losers.

...or to go with the whole "alien pirate" thing The Fallen have, they only have two arms because those stubs are sockets for robo-arms/Space Pegs, and they were drafted because they needed more thieves on the USS Scurvy Dog!

but really yours sounds cooler and i hope that's similar to whatever the in-universe explanation is instead of some lame "oh we needed fallen without four arms" cop-out