Lekgolo: Difference between revisions

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One of the most successful and culturally enigmatic gestalt intelligences in the [[Orion Arm]] of the [[Milky Way]] galaxy,<ref name="bestiarum"/> the Lekgolo became the first species to be annexed into the [[Covenant]] in [[784 BCE]].<ref name="ENC 114"/>

==History== ~~dunno~~

==History==

The Lekgolo first evolved on one of the moons of the gas giant, [[Te]], and thrived by feeding off the rich metal deposits in its crust. The [[Forerunner]]s cataloged the Lekgolo in their time, albeit in considerably different assemblages than the ones that would be encountered later on.<ref name="bestiarum">'''[[Bestiarum]]'''</ref> Lekgolo specimens of the [[Thanolekgolo]] configuration were to be used in a failed plan undertaken by the Forerunners to defeat the [[Flood]].<ref name="Have S'moa">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-have-s-moa '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder: 2-20-15'']</ref> A number of these specimens were ultimately buried under the surface of [[Installation 04]] by the Forerunners for unknown reasons.<ref name="recon">'''[[Halo: Nightfall: RECON-14]]'''</ref> They survived on firing of the Array and continued to reproduce and exist as a population for many thousands of years.

Since their combined forms could potentially be highly intelligent, the Lekgolo were able to develop [[Technological Achievement Tiers|Tier 3]] technology on their own, though their space travel capabilities remained highly limited due to the high gravity of their homeworld.<ref name="bestiarum"/> At some point following the firing of the Halo Array and their [[Conservation Measure|reintroduction]] to the moons of [[Te]], a number of Lekgolo colonies settled in Forerunner installations orbiting the gas giant. These colonies developed distinct appetites; while many consumed the Forerunner structures themselves for food, others ate anything except Forerunner materials. After several millennia, the Forerunner constructs were almost completely broken down, with the debris forming rings in the planet's orbit.<ref name="ch">'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 269-271''</ref>

===Contact with the Covenant===

{{Quote|Our first encounter with the Lekgolo was an effort in futility. The blasphemous creatures had devoured a Forerunner orbital, shattering its remains into a trillion pieces.|[[Unidentified San'Shyuum scribe|A San'Shyuum Covenant scribe recalls the Taming of the Lekgolo]].}}

The Lekgolo first came into contact with the [[Covenant]] when the alien order arrived at [[Te]] in search of Forerunner artifacts in [[789 BCE]].<ref name="waypointarticle"/> It discovered that the rings of Te were in fact the remains of a Forerunner orbital construct and soon realized the Lekgolo were responsible for destroying it. The [[San'Shyuum]] viewed this as heresy, and declared war on the Lekgolo in what would later be called the [[Taming of the Lekgolo]].<ref name="ch"/> [[Covenant fleet]] commanders soon found that indiscriminate destruction would have unacceptable consequences: since the Lekgolo largely lived in and among sacred relics that the Sangheili were trying to preserve, simply annihilating the Lekgolo would have resulted in the destruction of those relics.<ref name="ch"/>

Likewise, carrying out a ground campaign against the Lekgolo proved difficult, as the Lekgolo were able to combine into powerful collectives, most notably the [[Mgalekgolo]];<ref name="waypointarticle"/> consequently, the Lekgolo won most, if not all, ground engagements.<ref name="bestiarum"/> The Covenant's forces were completely overwhelmed by the sheer size, ferocity and teamwork of their foes.<ref name="ch"/> As a result, the [[Unidentified Arbiter (Taming of the Lekgolo)|Arbiter]] that was created during this crisis suggested that they could be "tamed" and put to better uses as part of the Covenant. The San'Shyuum eventually agreed and decided to forge a pact with the Lekgolo, allowing them to join the Covenant despite their offenses against "sacred" Forerunner artifacts.<ref name="bestiarum"/><ref name="ch"/>

===Service in the Covenant===

Despite initial difficulties at contact due to the Lekgolo's alien methods of communication,<ref name="bestiarum"/> the Covenant incorporated the Lekgolo into their ranks in [[784 BCE]].<ref name="ENC 114">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 114''</ref> The Mgalekgolo gestalts, armed with thick armor plates and [[assault cannon]]s, would come to serve the Covenant as shock troops. Even larger Lekgolo colony assemblages were weaponized as Covenant assault platforms, [[Type-47B Scarab|Scarab]] and the [[Type-58 Harvester|Harvester]], the latter of which is operated by a meta-colony referred to as a [[Sbaolekgolo]].<ref>'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]'''</ref> Individual Lekgolo worms, specifically conditioned not to ingest Forerunner alloys, were employed by the [[Asceticism|ascetic priests]] studying the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] in ''[[High Charity]]''.<ref name="ch"/> A number of these Lekgolo stopped [[Mendicant Bias]] from taking off in the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] by short circuiting the ship's systems, themselves dying in the process.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 276''</ref>

===Post-Covenant===

During the [[Great Schism]], the species was divided between those that remained loyal to the Covenant, led by the [[Prophet of Truth|High Prophet of Truth]], and those that supported the sided with the [[Sangheili]] at the time. During the [[Post-Covenant War conflicts|further human-Covenant conflicts]] in the wake of the [[Human-Covenant War]], the Lekgolo largely stayed with the Sangheili they had served prior to the Great Schism. A number of these colonies would side with the [[Swords of Sanghelios]], and many would end up fighting alongside the UNSC on occasion.<ref>'''[[Halo: New Blood]]''', ''Chapter 16''</ref> However, many would fight on behalf of other [[Covenant remnants]], including [[Jul 'Mdama]]'s [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|new Covenant order]], [[Vata 'Gajat's mercenary group]], and [[the Banished]].<ref>'''Halo 4'''</ref>

After the destruction of [[Installation 04]], feral [[Thanolekgolo]] swarms that had been sealed beneath the ring's surface by the Forerunners were able to break free in certain sections of the ring, namely [[Alpha Shard]], a fragment propelled through slipspace into a close orbit around a red giant. Because of their extremophilic nature and ability to burrow underground, the Lekgolo were able to survive on the fragment for years despite the extreme daytime temperatures.<ref name="recon"/> These Lekgolo were highly aggressive, and significantly faster and more agile than their more commonly-encountered brethren.<ref name="hnf2">'''Halo: Nightfall''', ''Chapter 2''</ref> During a joint [[ONI]]-[[Sedran Colonial Guard]] [[Mission to Alpha Shard|expedition to Alpha Shard]], these Lekgolo swarms hunted and consumed almost the entire group, leaving only two survivors.<ref name="hnf2"/>

==Biology==

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 One of the most successful and culturally enigmatic gestalt intelligences in the [[Orion Arm]] of the [[Milky Way]] galaxy,<ref name="bestiarum"/> the Lekgolo became the first species to be annexed into the [[Covenant]] in [[784 BCE]].<ref name="ENC 114"/>
-==History== dunno
+==History==
+The Lekgolo first evolved on one of the moons of the gas giant, [[Te]], and thrived by feeding off the rich metal deposits in its crust. The [[Forerunner]]s cataloged the Lekgolo in their time, albeit in considerably different assemblages than the ones that would be encountered later on.<ref name="bestiarum">'''[[Bestiarum]]'''</ref> Lekgolo specimens of the [[Thanolekgolo]] configuration were to be used in a failed plan undertaken by the Forerunners to defeat the [[Flood]].<ref name="Have S'moa">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-have-s-moa '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder: 2-20-15'']</ref> A number of these specimens were ultimately buried under the surface of [[Installation 04]] by the Forerunners for unknown reasons.<ref name="recon">'''[[Halo: Nightfall: RECON-14]]'''</ref> They survived on firing of the Array and continued to reproduce and exist as a population for many thousands of years.
+Since their combined forms could potentially be highly intelligent, the Lekgolo were able to develop [[Technological Achievement Tiers|Tier 3]] technology on their own, though their space travel capabilities remained highly limited due to the high gravity of their homeworld.<ref name="bestiarum"/> At some point following the firing of the Halo Array and their [[Conservation Measure|reintroduction]] to the moons of [[Te]], a number of Lekgolo colonies settled in Forerunner installations orbiting the gas giant. These colonies developed distinct appetites; while many consumed the Forerunner structures themselves for food, others ate anything except Forerunner materials. After several millennia, the Forerunner constructs were almost completely broken down, with the debris forming rings in the planet's orbit.<ref name="ch">'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 269-271''</ref>
+===Contact with the Covenant===
+{{Main|Taming of the Lekgolo}}
+{{Quote|Our first encounter with the Lekgolo was an effort in futility. The blasphemous creatures had devoured a Forerunner orbital, shattering its remains into a trillion pieces.|[[Unidentified San'Shyuum scribe|A San'Shyuum Covenant scribe recalls the Taming of the Lekgolo]].}}
+The Lekgolo first came into contact with the [[Covenant]] when the alien order arrived at [[Te]] in search of Forerunner artifacts in [[789 BCE]].<ref name="waypointarticle"/> It discovered that the rings of Te were in fact the remains of a Forerunner orbital construct and soon realized the Lekgolo were responsible for destroying it. The [[San'Shyuum]] viewed this as heresy, and declared war on the Lekgolo in what would later be called the [[Taming of the Lekgolo]].<ref name="ch"/> [[Covenant fleet]] commanders soon found that indiscriminate destruction would have unacceptable consequences: since the Lekgolo largely lived in and among sacred relics that the Sangheili were trying to preserve, simply annihilating the Lekgolo would have resulted in the destruction of those relics.<ref name="ch"/>
+Likewise, carrying out a ground campaign against the Lekgolo proved difficult, as the Lekgolo were able to combine into powerful collectives, most notably the [[Mgalekgolo]];<ref name="waypointarticle"/> consequently, the Lekgolo won most, if not all, ground engagements.<ref name="bestiarum"/> The Covenant's forces were completely overwhelmed by the sheer size, ferocity and teamwork of their foes.<ref name="ch"/> As a result, the [[Unidentified Arbiter (Taming of the Lekgolo)|Arbiter]] that was created during this crisis suggested that they could be "tamed" and put to better uses as part of the Covenant. The San'Shyuum eventually agreed and decided to forge a pact with the Lekgolo, allowing them to join the Covenant despite their offenses against "sacred" Forerunner artifacts.<ref name="bestiarum"/><ref name="ch"/>
+===Service in the Covenant===
+Despite initial difficulties at contact due to the Lekgolo's alien methods of communication,<ref name="bestiarum"/> the Covenant incorporated the Lekgolo into their ranks in [[784 BCE]].<ref name="ENC 114">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 114''</ref> The Mgalekgolo gestalts, armed with thick armor plates and [[assault cannon]]s, would come to serve the Covenant as shock troops. Even larger Lekgolo colony assemblages were weaponized as Covenant assault platforms, [[Type-47B Scarab|Scarab]] and the [[Type-58 Harvester|Harvester]], the latter of which is operated by a meta-colony referred to as a [[Sbaolekgolo]].<ref>'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]'''</ref> Individual Lekgolo worms, specifically conditioned not to ingest Forerunner alloys, were employed by the [[Asceticism|ascetic priests]] studying the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] in ''[[High Charity]]''.<ref name="ch"/> A number of these Lekgolo stopped [[Mendicant Bias]] from taking off in the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] by short circuiting the ship's systems, themselves dying in the process.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 276''</ref>
+===Post-Covenant===
+During the [[Great Schism]], the species was divided between those that remained loyal to the Covenant, led by the [[Prophet of Truth|High Prophet of Truth]], and those that supported the sided with the [[Sangheili]] at the time. During the [[Post-Covenant War conflicts|further human-Covenant conflicts]] in the wake of the [[Human-Covenant War]], the Lekgolo largely stayed with the Sangheili they had served prior to the Great Schism. A number of these colonies would side with the [[Swords of Sanghelios]], and many would end up fighting alongside the UNSC on occasion.<ref>'''[[Halo: New Blood]]''', ''Chapter 16''</ref> However, many would fight on behalf of other [[Covenant remnants]], including [[Jul 'Mdama]]'s [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|new Covenant order]], [[Vata 'Gajat's mercenary group]], and [[the Banished]].<ref>'''Halo 4'''</ref>
+After the destruction of [[Installation 04]], feral [[Thanolekgolo]] swarms that had been sealed beneath the ring's surface by the Forerunners were able to break free in certain sections of the ring, namely [[Alpha Shard]], a fragment propelled through slipspace into a close orbit around a red giant. Because of their extremophilic nature and ability to burrow underground, the Lekgolo were able to survive on the fragment for years despite the extreme daytime temperatures.<ref name="recon"/> These Lekgolo were highly aggressive, and significantly faster and more agile than their more commonly-encountered brethren.<ref name="hnf2">'''Halo: Nightfall''', ''Chapter 2''</ref> During a joint [[ONI]]-[[Sedran Colonial Guard]] [[Mission to Alpha Shard|expedition to Alpha Shard]], these Lekgolo swarms hunted and consumed almost the entire group, leaving only two survivors.<ref name="hnf2"/>
 ==Biology==