Forerunner personal armor
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
All Forerunners wore personal body armor through most of their lives. The armor protected its user both physically and medically, granted them immunity to most diseases, and was one of the reasons for their long lifespans. In emergency situations, the armor could suspend its user until they were rescued, and even provide nourishment for a time.[1] Armor suits specifically designed for combat were known as combat skins.
Description
A suit of personal armor typically had smoothly curved features, and consisted of a ribbon-like main component,[2] shoulder and arm guards, leg guards and boots.[3] Instead of physical armor, the face and the hands were typically covered in a thin, adjustable film of energy.[4] Forerunner armor was colored according to one's rate and position. Typically, their primary coloration varied from light gray to black, with trim-lines of white and various colors.[2] For example, Council advisors wore black armor with green highlights, while the armor worn by Council security was colored black and red.[5] The lavishness and overall decoration of Forerunner armor varied between rates; higher rates, such as Builders, wore more ornate armor than Warrior-Servants.[6]
Forerunner ships typically had facilities that could produce a suit of armor at will, using small engineering units, some barely visible, to "grow" the armor around the user.[7] The suits were also adaptable, and could be constructed to fit any other species, including the various species of humans. The appearance of the suit's ancilla would also be modeled according to the user's species.[8]
Capabilities and effects
Forerunner armor suits were also equipped with ancillae, personal artificial intelligence constructs. Mature Forerunners could connect to the Domain through their armor.[1] Most if not all Forerunner body armor possessed N-barriers and lenses among other systems to protect the user from harm. Other systems include automatic hardening, which would harden into a tough surface at the moment of impact by a projectile, similar to the properties exhibited by corn starch. The armor could also mitigate the effects of plasma bolts by “cooling off” to temperatures of negative 200 degrees a fraction of a second before the plasma impacts the armor, which would cancel out the effects of the superheated plasma, though these properties only came into play after the ancillla was depleted. Unfortunately, the armor didn’t protect against the sharp spines of the flood infection forms used to take over a host body, leaving the forerunners defenseless against the infection forms. [9] A suit of armor was sealed against vacuum or the lack of atmosphere.[10] While wearing the armor, sleep was not required.[11] Forerunners could also transfer enormous amounts of information to one another through the armor at the touch of each other's fingertips.[12]
Though the body armor provided the user with certain advantages, it also caused the user to lose sensitivity to the world around them. For example, when Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting decided to remove his body armor on Earth, he found himself exceedingly vulnerable; a simple touch from Chakas caused him to react.
List of appearances
- Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
- Soma the Painter (Mentioned only)
- The Forerunner Saga
- Halo Legends
- Origins (First appearance)
Sources
- ^ a b Halo: Cryptum, page 13
- ^ a b Halo: Cryptum, page 107
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 18
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 116, 121
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 256
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 81-82
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 106
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 108
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Soma the Painter"
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 116
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 32
- ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 140
