Mgalekgolo

The Mgalekgolo are assemblages of colonies of Lekgolo, a species of small colonial worm like creatures, into a larger, more powerful organism. They are commonly referred to by Humans as Hunters.

The most common type of Mgalekgolo is known as a "Hunter", in which the individual Lekgolo form into a vaguely human-shaped creature approximately twelve feet tall, which can then be armed with a Fuel Rod Cannon, armored, and turned into an extremely powerful ground unit. This Mgalekgolo form is commonly employed by the Covenant. When a single colony of Mgalekgolo becomes too big, the colony will divide in half to create two independant Mgalekgolo colonies. These colonies will share an extremely close and mysterious bond, referred to only as being "bond brothers". Mgalekgolo that have split into "bond brothers" are recognized by spiked appendages that rise from their shoulders, which signify the fact that they are bonded to another Mgalekgolo.

It is unclear what other types of Mgalekgolo exist, as Lekgolo colonies have yet to be directly observed outside of combat. However, a strange, orange structure which closely resembles a group of Lekgolo worms has been observed in the core of Scarab walkers in Halo 3, making it a possibility that a Mgalekgolo colony is at the heart of every Scarab walker, though this type of colony has yet to recieve a name

Background
Hunters take a hulking bipedal form in the Covenant military which is, in truth, the least common assemblage of the creatures. In this form, they are the strongest species in the Covenant. These forms stand anywhere from nine and a half to twelve feet tall, but when in their combat state they crouch to approximately eight feet, making their weak spots smaller. Hunters fight with Fuel Rod Guns (Halo: Combat Evolved) or modified Fuel Rod Cannons (Halo 2 and Halo 3) integrated directly into their armor, and they carry an enormous and nearly-impervious metal shield made of an unknown alloy, which they sometimes use as a melee weapon. The modified Fuel Rod Cannon used in Halo 2 is more beam-like, similar to that of the Gravity Cannon. The fire is more sustained, and more devastating. With these weapons and charactaristics it seems that the Hunters are more like equipment then soldiers.

The Hunters' religious, political and philosophical affiliation with the Covenant was based on their need for viable space travel and see little need for religion. When their homeworld of Te was visited by an advanced alien culture who were intent on mining the world, they faced heavy resistance from the Hunters whose physiology gave them a tremendous advantage in combat. Hunters were later forced into the Covenant by the superior starship technology of the Elites - on the ground they were mostly, if not always, victorious. Faced with extinction by orbital bombardment, they joined the Covenant. It is assumed that this is when an Arbiter was killed, and that this was the time of the Taming of the Hunters. Terms for their induction into the Covenant were eventually met despite communication difficulties which hampered the process. As part of joining their conquerors, the Covenant would use local labor and expertise to mine resources from rare metals to minerals. In exchange for this, the Hunters were given free access to the Covenant's spaceways.

Hunters almost never associate, or even communicate, with other Covenant client races, save for the Elites. They are dismissive, scornful, and arrogant to the "lesser" Covenant races, and are utterly contemptuous of their foes. Hunters have three names: personal name, bond name, and line name. The personal name is given at birth. The line name represents the genetic heritage, being the name of the most successful Hunter of his ancestors. If one reaches a certain level of status, his offspring will have his personal name as their line name. The bond name is taken between bonded pairs, a relationship about which little is known, but it appears to be something like a lifelong brother. Examples of names include Igido Nosa Hurru, and Ogada Nosa Fasu.

In Halo: Contact Harvest, it is stated that Mgalekgolo "Brothers" are two pieces of the same colony of Lekgolo that have formed two Mgalekgolo. One that has lost its partner can and will become extremely aggressive. Bonded Mgalekgolo consider themselves brothers and are fiercely protective of each other.

During the Covenant Civil War, most Hunter pairs sided with the Sangheili and the Covenant Separatists. No reason for this is known yet, but it is likely due to their deep respect for the Elites, or possibly because the Jiralhanae struck them first, betraying them. Sadly, the Mgalekgolo are not seen following the Sangheili into battle against the Brutes during their support of the UNSC on Earth and at Installation 00. It has been noted that the Hunters' political motivation is unknown, although it is thought that if the Lekgolo seceded from the Covenant, their homeworld would be glassed.

During the Battle of Onyx, some Hunters had command of lower ranking Sangheili, possibly signifying some sort of leadership or rank level.

They are called mysteries by an Elite Fleet Commander. It is stated that the Hunters were mysteries, and that the commander had known them to tear opponents apart with their "hands" whilst in a blood frenzy, and then pause to recite war poetry.