Te
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Te | |
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| Astrographical | |
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System: |
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Orbiting: |
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Orbital position: |
Fifth planet[1] |
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Moon(s): |
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| Physical | |
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Diameter: |
87,168 kilometers (54,164 mi)[4] |
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Gravity: |
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Length of day: |
13.4 hours[2] |
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Length of year: |
4,380.7 days[2] |
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Atmosphere: |
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Surface temperature: |
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Species: |
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Population: |
1.98 trillion[1] |
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Government: |
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Te is a gas giant and the fifth planet orbiting the star Svir. It is the homeworld of the Lekgolo species.[1][5]
Overview[edit]
Environmental features[edit]
Te is a high-gravity, massive, blue gas giant with an atmosphere primarily composed of nitrogen, helium, and methane. The gas giant is the fifth planet in orbit in the Svir system. It is orbited by twenty-five natural satellites, only three of which, Uhtua, Rantu,[1][2] and Rentus,[3] are known to be named. It has a temperature range of -20°C to 95°C (-4°F to 203°F) and is a quite large, planet with a thick, gaseous atmosphere. This planet is known to have very high concentrations of rare metals in orbit, many of which serve as food for the Lekgolo worms.[1] All of the intact Forerunner artifacts were removed from Te by the Covenant. Few non-natives of Te journey to the planet, due to its crushing high gravity and atmosphere.[6]
Rings of Te[edit]
- "The blasphemous creatures had devoured a Forerunner orbital, shattering its remains into a trillion pieces. What was left became the Rings of Te."
- — A San'Shyuum scribe referring to the rings[7]
The Rings of Te are the planetary rings that orbit the gas giant. They consist of both natural ice debris (similar to the rings of Saturn)[2] and the artificial debris of a space station that was once constructed by the Forerunners in orbit of the planet, before it was slowly devoured and disassembled by the Lekgolo over millennia. Several of Te's natural satellites, including Rantu, were in close orbit with these rings.[7] The Lekgolo's extremophilic nature allowed the species to comfortably live in the Rings of Te for vast periods of time. Some colonies of Lekgolo feasted upon the rings' metal and slowly destroyed most of the installation after many years of living in the rings.[8][9]
A Luminary discovered by the Covenant led them to the Rings of Te. The Covenant was horrified when they discovered the damage done to the rings and declared war on the Lekgolo when they realized that the species was responsible. However, the Covenant realized that they could not win a war against the Lekgolo fortified within the Forerunner structures they wished to preserve.[10][8] After the Lekgolo's induction into the Covenant, the Covenant utilized the Lekgolo's expertise and resources to mine rare metals and minerals from the rings.[1][9]
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
The Forerunners once had a presence on Te and constructed platforms in orbit around the planet; at this time the Lekgolo had not yet evolved into sapience. The orbital platforms formed a ring around Te and these installations would later be known as the "Rings of Te".[6] At some point in the Forerunner-Flood war, the Forerunners took the Thanolekgolo forms off of Te and used them in a failed plan to defeat the Flood.[11]
After the firing of the Halo Array, the Lekgolo were able to develop Tier 3 technology on their own, although the Lekgolo's development of space travel was severely hampered by Te's high gravity. Despite this impediment, the Lekgolo managed to venture to Te's orbit and colonized several Forerunner installations there a number of millennia before their contact with the Covenant.[1] Many of these Lekgolo fed on the Forerunner alloys and had eventually demolished the constructs almost completely.[10]
The Covenant[edit]
- Main article: Taming of the Lekgolo
In 789 BCE, a Luminary led the Covenant to Te, the gas giant being relatively close to the Sangheili's native Urs system.[10] In 784 BCE[3] Te became the first world home to a sapient species discovered by the Covenant since the empire's formati