Forerunner Combat Suit

The Forerunners were an ancient race of enlightened beings whose empire -- known as the ecumene -- encompassed three million fertile worlds in the Milky Way Galaxy approximately 100,000 years ago. "Forerunner" is a literal translation of the species' name for themselves; they identified themselves as such because they believed that they held an impermanent place in the universe's Living Time and that they would be succeeded by other, better races. The Forerunners were the creators and builders of many significant installations, including the Halo Array, the Ark, and the Shield Worlds, as well as numerous lesser artifacts later found on many worlds. The Forerunners were preceded by another, even more powerful race, the Precursors. The alien faction known as the Covenant worshiped the Forerunners as gods, deriving much of their technology from Forerunner artifacts found throughout the galaxy, and believing any who defaced these relics to be heretics.

The Forerunners were a bipedal species slightly resembling humans, and they possessed hair on their heads and fur of some kind on their shoulder area. Their skin color ranged greatly, including gray, blue, pink, or a mixture thereof. The Forerunners may have possessed five-fingered hands, but this may have been Cortana's interpretation of the evidence available to her. Form-Zero Manipulars such as Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting resembled humans to some degree. They also had a genetic code that was remarkably similar to humans, though they were not known to be genetically related.

All Forerunners wore personal body armor which featured many functions, including protection from harm and medical assistance. This armor also eliminated their need to sleep, and made their lifespans basically indefinite; the Librarian, for example, was over eleven thousand years old.