Pain is only way to evolution

Little is known of the history of Reaper-17. It is known that Reaper-17 is a subsect of a wider religious phenomenon within the Scrin known as the "Cult of the Reaper", a violent religious sect that seek to destroy anything that stands in the way of the Scrin. It is also known that Reaper-17 are the most violent of subsect of the Cult. Their excessive self-mutilation led to them being treated as outcasts by the rest of Scrin society. Nevertheless, they are an important part of harvesting operations, due to their strength and brutality, in case the indigenous population resisted more than expected.

At least one contingent of Reaper-17 forces was sent to Earth during the Scrin invasion. Reaper-17 forces arrived in China just as Nod was about to recover the Tacitus from ZOCOM during Operation Tacitus Interruptus. Before the Reaper could lay waste to the area, however, Nod forces made their escape.