Reclaimer

A "Reclaimer" (Latin: Homo Sapiens Augeous) is an individual who, whether by chance or by precedent, has been placed in charge of retrieving an item known as the Index, returning it to, and subsequently placing it into a control panel within a control center on a Halo structure to activate a massive superweapon. The word is first used as a title bestowed upon a Staff Sergeant Marvin Mobuto in Halo: The Flood and Master Chief in Halo: Combat Evolved by an artificial intelligence construct, designated 343 Guilty Spark by its creators, the Forerunners. Also "Augeous" is Latin for augmented, so it is possible the Forerunners were basically human but stronger, smarter and faster, or in one one word better. This could also be refering to the fact that the Master Chief, the most recent reclaimer, is physically augmented. It is also possible (based on "augeous") that reclaimers could be of any species within a protective armor, based on 343 Guilty Spark's comment on Master Chief's "combat skin" not to an acceptable level.

History
The title of "Reclaimer" stems from the idea that one day Homo Sapiens will rise and claim the inheritance left by the Forerunner. It was established by the Forerunner who issued certain rules for what could be a reclaimer. The title is bestowed by the Forerunner's remaining AI constructs.

Chronologically the title of "Reclaimer" is first found in Contact Harvest and used by Mendicant Bias in his correction of the Covenant's misinterpretation of the Luminary's readings. Here it's applied to a large portion, if not all, of the human population on Harvest. Mendicant also claims that they are his makers which aligns with what 343 Guilty Spark says to the Master chief in Halo 3; "You are Forerunner, inheritor of everything my creators left behind." After Mendicant's use the next known use of the title is when Guilty Spark gives it to Sergeant Marvin Mobuto in Halo: The Flood. After this the Master Chief has the title bestowed upon him by Spark. 2401 Penitent Tangent also instantly recognized the Master Chief as a "Reclaimer." After the Chief both Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson are referred to as "Reclaimers" and seem to get the same respect from Spark that the Chief gets.

It is important to note when it is not applied as well. All Covenant species are looked at as intruders or "meddlers" and are unable to access and fully utilize the Forerunner weapon systems found in the Halo Rings and on the Ark. In Ghosts of Onyx when Onyx goes into full alert the Sentinels do not readily accept the humans present on the planet as "Reclaimers" but first ask for identification from the subject. This probably stems from their limited intelligence and programming, which forced them to rely on a password system to identify friend from foe. It is safe to speculate that the Monitors play an important role in helping local sentinels determine who is friendly and who is not.

The most widely known role of a Reclaimer, and perhaps the main reason the title is given at all, is to recover the "Index" and return it to the Halo Control Center. Doing this activates the Halo's ability to destroy all sentient life within twenty-five thousand light years of the ring. It also brings the 6 other Halo installations online into firing mode. The Reclaimer(s) too are supposed to journey to the Ark and fire the array from there.

It is speculated that 343 Guilty Spark does not recognize Reclaimers as separate beings. When talking with Master Chief in Installation 04's Control Room, Spark says, "Last time, you asked me, would I do it? Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed." It seems that Guilty Spark was referring to a question posed to him by a Forerunner prior to the activation of Installation 04 100,000 years ago. This may be more of a reflection of Spark's limited intelligence and design than an overall view of how all Forerunner AI see humans.