Armiger

"Looks like some kind of Forerunner defensive machine, but I've never encountered anything like it before in my work."

- Henry Lamb, referring to armigers

An armiger is a robotic Forerunner construct that is proficient in combat. Originally serving a supporting role to Forerunner soldiers, armigers are now charged with the elimination of hostiles and the defense of Forerunner structures on valuable Forerunner sites, such as Installation 00. The Soldier is a notable type of armiger, utilized by the Prometheans.

Description
"There were these machines, these biped Forerunner creations. They were armed with weapons and moving around like... well, like humans. Or perhaps Forerunners."

- Henry Lamb

Armigers are nearly entirely composed of a metallic alloy-like substance and stand at approximately three meters tall. The bipedal armigers are robotic constructs that bear a similar posture and frame as a human; even the orientation of their plated musculature resembles that of a human. Despite this resemblance, armigers distinctly display the design aesthetics of the Forerunners. The design of the armigers displays unconventional angles, angular apertures, and floating items of dress. Though their bodies are thin and lithe, the armigers are heavily armored across their entire body. The face of an armiger is composed of symmetrical plates—made of the same alloy as their body—and noticeable "eyes" that glow the same color as other lights found in breaches in and around their armor. Henry Lamb suspected that a rigid hard light composition holds the components of an armiger together. Armigers are quick and agile, and have the capability to easily avoid incoming weapons fire. Pistons and servomotors within an armiger aid with the motion of the constructs. Armigers let out a variety of calls and sounds, such as roars, hisses, and ear-splitting death cries. A certain deafening noise used by armigers indicates the presence of hostiles nearby to other armigers in the area. The vocalization of an armiger sounds almost human.

Armigers are armed with an assortment of weapons. Some use energy staves that have a geometrical blade of hard light at the end. These staves are capable of blocking projectile fire from weapons. Armigers also arm themselves with powerful, marksman-like energy rifles that fire hard light-like ammunition. An armiger is able to "call" any weapon into its hand by having various pieces of its arm form into the weapon itself.

Roles
"I think he's saying that these Forerunner machines are defensive drones that supported Forerunner warriors. Now they guard this place."

- Doctor Luther Mann, translating for Drifts Randomly upon sighting armigers on Installation 00

Classified as combat platforms, armigers were originally utilized in boarding actions against hostile ships and as defense drones that supported Forerunner warriors. After the constructs were recommissioned during the Forerunner-Flood war, armigers were used to bolster the ranks of Builder Security and Promethean forces. During the fall of the ecumene, remaining armigers were charged with the protection of valuable Forerunner sites. These armigers were tasked with the elimination of targets that proved to be a threat to the Forerunner structures they were defending. Numerous armiger constructs were tasked with defending Installation 00 from threats.

Armigers are intelligent enough to use the environment and their surroundings to their advantage, such as knocking a giant tree down a mountain or setting a giant rockslide in motion to trample opponents. In battle, an armiger is willing to use the weapons of its enemies in combat. Armigers have the ability to utilize Installation 00's local teleportation grid to quickly travel across the installation. Armigers can be controlled by a monitor.

Prehistory
Armigers were first utilized by the Didact's Warrior-Servants during the human-Forerunner wars, from approximately 107,445 to 106,445 BCE. The constructs proved incredibly useful in boarding actions against prehistoric human warships, particularly when attempting to infiltrate the confined spaces of human vessels.

Following the end of the conflict, the Didact was exiled during the ecumene Council's diminishment of the Warrior-Servant rate and production of the armigers ceased. When the arrival of the Flood threatened the ecumene, Faber—the Master Builder—recommissioned the production of the armigers to bolster the defenses of the empire. The newly commissioned armigers supported the ranks of both Builder Security and remaining Warrior-Servant forces. The Soldier was a type of armiger used by the Prometheans of the Warrior-Servants during the war. The conflict against the Flood saw the destruction of most armigers, either destroyed by the Flood itself or compromised by the logic plague. After many Armigers were subverted by the logic plague, most of the remaining units were placed into dormancy to prevent further corruption. However, some were covertly left to protect valuable Forerunner sites, such as Installation 00.

Post-Covenant War
"It's hard to say what purpose they were previously designed for, but it's clear that the monitor was controlling them as well, along with the Sentinels we encountered, and even the incredibly hostile weather conditions."

- Doctor Luther Mann, referring to the armigers under 000 Tragic Solitude's control

After Installation 00 was heavily damaged in 2552, monitor 000 Tragic Solitude took control of the armigers, along with other constructs. During a mission to Installation 00 to prevent the activation of the Halo Array, four armigers were sent to a fraction of the expedition party's location and attacked Henry Lamb, Spartan Elias Holt, and Usze 'Taham. As the three fired upon the charging armigers, two of the constructs teleported to safety, while the other two were destroyed by the Spartan and Sangheili. Shortly after, the two armigers that had fled the earlier conflict attempted to kill their opponents by knocking a giant tree down a nearby mountain, and later initiated a massive rockslide. When both attempts failed, the two armigers confronted their targets, though they were eventually destroyed. A dozen other armigers immediately teleported in and attacked the group, but the skills of the Spartan and Sangheili allowed them to eliminate most of the constructs. The surviving armigers ran away and promptly teleported elsewhere.

After the entire party of Sangheili and humans managed to prevent the activation of the Halo installations in the Citadel of the Ark, two dozen armigers arrived and, after a brief stand-off, both groups charged at each other. As the team fought through the initial wave of armigers, several more continued to teleport into the area. The increasing waves of armigers soon outnumbered the group; while half of the team escaped down an elevator shaft, the other half fled the engagement by entering a translocation portal created by an armiger. Later, dozens of armigers attacked Usze 'Taham and Kola 'Baoth outside of the chamber containing Installation 00's interior systems. Ultimately, the two Sangheili proved to be victorious and defeated all constructs, though they both suffered prominent injuries.

In 2558, armigers of the Soldier "class" resurfaced alongside the Forerunner Guardians. Utilized by Jul 'Mdama's reformed Covenant, the secret of their manufacture has apparently been uncovered by the remnant faction.

Trivia
An armiger is an individual entitled to use a coat of arms, in heraldry. In Latin, the word "armiger" literally means "arms-bearer". In medieval England, it referred to an esquire attendant upon a knight, but bearing his own unique armorial device.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Hunters in the Dark
 * ''Halo 5: Guardians