Lekgolo (Earth-4001)/Mgalekgolo

The Mgalekgolo (Ophis congregatio, meaning "serpent union"), is a gestalt of Lekgolo, which are small worm-like creatures that group together to exponentially increase their intelligence, strength, and maneuverability. Of the myriad Lekgolo collectives, the best known is the Mgalekgolo or Hunter, a bipedal form that is used for heavy assault. Ironically, the Mgalekgolo is among the least common Lekgolo configurations, but due to their formidable combat capabilities they are most commonly fielded by the Covenant. While the term "Mgalekgolo" is formally limited to this particular type of Lekgolo gestalt with the other forms having different names, it is sometimes applied to other Lekgolo colonies as well, such as that used to operate the Type-47B Scarab.

History
The history of the Mgalekgolo is the same as their mainstream counterparts up until the end of the Human-Covenant War in 2553.

Biology

 * Main article: Lekgolo (Earth-4001)

Anatomy & Physiology
A Mgalekgolo is not a single organism, but rather a collective of small, orange, eel-like creatures called Lekgolo. In order to form a Mgalekgolo, dozens of individual Lekgolo bond with one another both physically and neurologically to form a single "hive-minded" community. The Mgalekgolo is the most common form seen in combat during the Human-Covenant War, but is actually one of the rarer and smaller forms in the Lekgolo society, used primarily in interaction with the Covenant hierarchy. Their primary combat tactic is an approximation of a hunter-killer formation, hence the name "Hunter". Because of their combined neural nets' sensitivity to their surroundings, Mgalekgolo can think and work as an effective combat unit without even using verbal communication. They can also locate their enemies even without directly "seeing" them, such as when they are facing the opposite direction.

Mgalekgolo do not use vocal chords to speak, but instead vibrate their bodies to make a low rumble to produce speech. They are capable of mimicking the language of other species, forming words and sentences that are "felt" rather than heard. Their quiet nature among other races of the Covenant is probably a result of difficulty speaking with other Covenant races. The known names of some Mgalekgolo seem to imply that they use very simple vowels and only a few consonants.

Mgalekgolo usually stand between twelve to thirteen feet tall, but during combat they hunch themselves over to protect their vulnerable neck and midsection, reducing their height to roughly eight feet. They fight using assault cannons integrated directly into their armor, and they carry an enormous two-ton pavise shield made of an alloy derived from the same material that forms Covenant warship hulls. Mgalekgolo body armor is eight centimeters thick, with the shield being even thicker. Their shields and armor protect them from almost every form of plasma-based or ballistic weaponry available to Covenant and human infantry alike, and the shield a powerful melee tool capable of crushing anything in its path and allowing the Mgalekgolo to neutralize most enemies in close combat. However their heavy protection is inadequate against dedicated anti-tank weapons, with 102mm HEAT warheads, 105mm recoiless rifles, and 90mm high-velocity tank cannons taking them out with ease. The M149 Magellan 105mm recoiless rifle is even capable of over-penetrating both the pavise and the armor with a delayed fuze round. There are a few weak spots in the armor however, such as the lower back where they are vulnerable to regular weaponry. However, due to their sheer size and speed, it is difficult for enemies to hit these spots.

The assault cannon the Mgalekgolo wields operates in two modes; one firing a single explosive capsule of incendiary fluid, the other spraying the fluid out like a beam.

Bond Brothers
When a single Mgalekgolo becomes too big, the colony will divide in half to create two independent Lekgolo colonies. These colonies will share an extremely close and mysterious bond, referred to only as being "bond brothers", or "mates". Mgalekgolo that have split into "bond brothers" are recognized by spiked appendages that rise from their shoulders, which means that they are bonded to another Mgalekgolo. Bonded Mgalekgolo colonies are dropped into battle together by the Covenant, as the Spartans learned: where you find a Mgalekgolo, there is always another close by. If one of the bonded colonies is killed, the other will go into a frenzied state, much like the berserk state of a Jiralhanae, or the suicidal charge of a desperate Unggoy. If left alone for a long period of time, however, they will adopt a "tactical split personality" of shooting followed by melee attacks.

Culture

 * Main article: Lekgolo (Earth-4001)

Mgalekgolo almost never associate or communicate with other species other than the Sangheili. They are dismissive, scornful, and arrogant to the "lesser" species, and are contemptuous to their foes.

Naming
Mgalekgolo have three names: a personal name, a bond name, and a line name. When written with the Roman or Latin alphabet, the three names can be transposed together as one single name or separated by spaces.
 * The personal name is given at their "birth."
 * The bond name, or their middle name, is taken between bonded pairs. Examples of some Mgalekgolo names include Igido Nosa Hurru and Ogada Nosa Fasu.
 * The line name represents the genetic heritage, being the name of the most successful Mgalekgolo of its ancestors. If one reaches a certain level of status, its offspring will have its personal name as their line name.

Ranking System
Unlike most Covenant forces, Mgalekgolo seem to possess no visible rank. As they are deployed more like equipment or weapons platforms rather than conventional troops, rank may simply not apply for them.

However, they can be deployed independently of other Covenant troops, which may indicate that a level of independence and responsibility may be granted, thus meaning that they may have a high enough rank to be trusted by themselves. During the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, Mgalekgolo are seen guarding the crystal in Côte d'Azur, which is retrieved by Blue Team. One of these Mgalekgolo killed a Kig-Yar by stepping on it, demonstrating the Lekgolo colonies' characteristic disregard for the lives of other species, whom they generally view as annoyances rather than allies. During the Onyx Conflict, some Mgalekgolo apparently had command of lower-ranking Sangheili, even killing one of them for failing to follow orders, signifying they may have a higher military rank in the Covenant military than previously indicated.

During the Battle of Mombasa, Mgalekgolo appeared in two different forms in two different colors: the normal blue-armored Mgalekgolo that are armed with an assault cannon that fires a continuous stream of radioactive incendiary gel, and a gold-armored Mgalekgolo armed with an assault cannon that fires a single bolt of radioactive incendiary gel.

Trivia

 * Halo: The Flood, mentions that Mgalekgolo have skin and a jutting spine. This is incorrect, as they were later revealed to be a compound of small worm-like creatures. However, this does not preclude the possibility that the worms may form a skin-like membrane on the outside of their colony for protection against more casual damage, and in Halo 3 a metal column can be seen after the back armor plating has been detached, perhaps forming an artificial "spine" for vertical support. Strangely, the reference to Mgalekgolo having spines was kept in the 2010 re-release of the novel.
 * No Mgalekgolo are ever seen supporting the Master Chief during the events of Halo 3. This is because in the making of Halo 3, Bungie did not want to confuse players by having them with both allies and enemies.
 * In the Halo Legends episode The Duel, the Mgalekgolo are shown to be at least 50 feet tall. This was explained by [Frank O'Connor] saying that a Hunter's appearance changes due to the gravity and environment.