Lekgolo

See also Mgalekgolo for more information on Lekgolo assemblages.

The Lekgolo (Latin Ophis congregatio, meaning "Assembly of snakes" ) are a species of small colonial worm-like creatures that can join together to form purpose specific assemblages, such as Mgalekgolo, commonly referred to by humans as Hunters. Every worm-like creature is an individual eel, about 1.4 meters long, with its own central nervous system. Lekgolo are also able to combine themselves within machinery such as the Scarab and use their combined intelligence to pilot, or control, the vehicle or machinery.

History
The Lekgolo evolved on their homeworld of Te, and thrived by feeding off the rich metal deposits in the planet's crust. Since their combined forms could potentially be highly intelligent, the Lekgolo species were able to develop Tier 3 technology on their own, though their space travel capabilities remained highly limited due to the high gravity of their homeworld. At some point in their history, a number of Lekgolo colonies settled in Forerunner installations orbiting a gas giant near the Sangheili home system. 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 gas giant's orbit.

The Lekgolo first came into contact with the Covenant when the alien order arrived in search of Forerunner artifacts. They discovered that the rings of the gas giant were the remains of Forerunner constructs, soon realizing the Lekgolo were responsible for destroying them. The San 'Shyuum viewed this as heresy, and declared war on the Lekgolo in what would later be called the Taming of the Lekgolo. Covenant fleet commanders soon found that indiscriminate destruction would have unacceptable consequences, however: since the Lekgolo lived in the sacred relics that the Elites were trying to preserve, simply annihilating the Lekgolo would have resulted in the destruction of those relics.

Likewise, carrying out a ground campaign on the Lekgolo homeworld Te proved difficult, as the Lekgolo were able to combine into powerful collectives, most notably Mgalekgolo; consequently, the Lekgolo won most, if not all, ground engagements. The Covenant's forces were completely overwhelmed by the sheer size, ferocity and teamwork of their foes. As a result, the 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.

Despite initial difficulties at contact due to the Lekgolo's alien methods of communication, the Covenant incorporated the Lekgolo into their ranks in 784 BCE. The Mgalekgolo gestalts, armed with thick armor plates and assault cannons, would come to serve the Covenant as shock troops. Even larger Lekgolo colony assemblages were weaponized as Covenant assault platforms, Scarab and the Harvester, the latter of which is operated by a meta-colony referred to as a Sbaolekgolo. Individual Lekgolo worms, specifically conditioned not to ingest Forerunner alloys, were employed by the ascetic priests studying the Forerunner Dreadnought in High Charity. 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.

During the Great Schism, the species was divided between those that remained loyal to the Covenant, led by the Prophet of Truth, and those that supported the Covenant separatists. During the further human-Covenant conflicts in the wake of the Human-Covenant War many would fight on behalf of Jul 'Mdama's new Covenant order against humanity.

Trivia

 * "Lekgolo" is Tswana for "one hundred", probably a reference to their hive-like physiology.
 * The Lekgolo share many similarities with the alien species known as "Brothers" from the 1992 novel Anvil of Stars by Greg Bear, who coincidentally later wrote the Forerunner Saga. Both are eel-like creatures which are non-sapient by themselves, but can join together to form intelligent gestalt assemblages with their own individual identities.
 * Lekgolo blood is a luminescent orange, and supposedly smells like burnt plastic.
 * In Halo 3, Scarabs are controlled by the Lekgolo, proven by the fact that they appear around the reactor of the vehicle. They also make up the joints of the legs of the Scarab.
 * The Lekgolo are the most plentiful members of the Covenant, numbering in the trillions.
 * Upon shooting a Hunter in Halo 3, a Lekgolo worm will fly out of the main colony, wriggle, squirm, and then disappear, as if it is going underground; the Lekgolo probably vanish due to technical reasons in order to avoid framerate problems.
 * On the Halo 3 multiplayer map Assembly, an "aquarium" filled with Lekgolo waiting to be integrated into a Scarab can be seen.
 * The only times that individual Lekgolo can be seen are in Halo 3 (on Assembly), Halo: Contact Harvest (used to explore the Forerunner Dreadnought), Halo 3: ODST and Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (following John-117s elimination of a Mgalekgolo).

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo 3
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo Wars: Genesis
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo Legends
 * The Duel
 * Prototype
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: Fall of Reach
 * Covenant
 * Invasion
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
 * Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops

Related pages

 * Mgalekgolo
 * Sbaolekgolo
 * Taming of the Lekgolo
 * Assault cannon
 * Scarab
 * Assembly