Editing Maccabeus

{{Status|Canon}}
{{References}}
{{Character infobox
|variant=Cov
|name=Maccabeus
|image=[[File:HM-Maccabeus.png|300px]]
|homeworld=[[Doisac]]
|birth=
|death=[[2525|February 23, 2525]]
|causeofdeath=
|parents=
|siblings=
|spouses=
|children=
|species=[[Jiralhanae]]
|gender=Male
|height=
|mass=
|hair=Grey
|eyes=Orange<ref name="mythos">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page ???''</ref>
|affiliation=[[Covenant]]
|rank=[[Jiralhanae War Chieftain|War chieftain]], [[shipmaster]]
|sn=
|notable=
}}
{{Quote|What is the greater sin, disobedience or desecration?|Maccabeus to [[Dadab]]<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 307''</ref>}}

'''Maccabeus''' was a [[Jiralhanae]] [[Jiralhanae War Chieftain|war chieftain]] and one of the few Jiralhanae [[shipmaster]]s of the [[Covenant]] prior to the [[Great Schism]]. He was honored and respected by his pack for his unshakable faith in the [[Forerunners]]. He was also the uncle and precursor to the future [[Chieftain of the Jiralhanae]], [[Tartarus]].

==Biography==
===Early life and career===
Maccabeus ascended to the leadership of [[Maccabeus' clan|his pack]] the way all Jiralhanae did: by challenging his Chieftain, at the time his own father. In a mortal duel, Maccabeus's father submitted to his death, happy to die by the hands of a loved one. He thus gained the right to use the [[Fist of Rukt]], the ancestral weapon of his clan.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 344''</ref> With the war hammer, Maccabeus crushed all opponents that attempted to challenge his command.<ref name="waypointarticle">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/weapons/fist-of-rukt '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Fist of Rukt'']</ref> When the [[Covenant]] discovered Doisac, Maccabeus eagerly embraced the [[San'Shyuum]]'s promise of the [[Great Journey]].<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 260'': ''He knew the Prophets alone had access to the sacred Oracle on High Charity, and thus it was the height of hubris for him, a low and recent convert, to covet such communion.''</ref>

He was given command of the Covenant vessel, ''[[Rapid Conversion]]'', a ship that the [[Sangheili]] had "given" him, though the Sangheili did downgrade it severely, showing their distrust in the Jiralhanae. However, he upstaged the Sangheili by taking his rebuke in turn. He was not allowed to repair any weapon systems and he was not allowed to have a [[Huragok]] on board, instead having [[Yanme'e]] serve as maintenance. Although he was allowed to have a mechanical lift system on his ship, Maccabeus decided to remove it and replace them with multiple, crude ladders as a deliberate affront to the Sangheili, as the digitigrade structure of their legs gave them great difficulty when climbing.<ref name="ch200">'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 200''</ref> Another reason why he preferred the ladders as it enabled more of his crew to travel up ''and'' down simultaneously, and also humbled him.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 194''</ref>

===First contact on Harvest===
{{Main|First Battle of Harvest}}
[[File:HM-Jiralhanae.png|thumb|left|250px|Maccabeus with his clan on Harvest.]]
In [[2525|February 2525]], at the command of the [[Prophet of Regret|Vice-Minister of Tranquility]], Maccabeus took ''Rapid Conversion'' to the planet [[Harvest]], site of a supposed Forerunner reliquary. Recovering the [[Deacon]] [[Dadab]] and Huragok [[Lighter Than Some]], Maccabeus was shocked by the Huragok's ability to fix things and eagerly made it chief Engineer, relieving the Yanme'e.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 226''</ref> Maccabeus' assessment of the planet with the ship's [[Luminary]] showed thousands of relics, but the devout Chieftain was soon shocked to learn that Dadab believed that there was an [[Monitor|Oracle]] located on the planet.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 235''</ref> Recovering a pictogram message left by the humans, Maccabeus took four of his pack to the planet to meet with the humans.

Maccabeus was one of the first official representatives of the Covenant to meet with the humans. However, the talks went sour when an overeager [[Yull|Unggoy]], led by Tartarus, broke rank and made an early attack on a group of militia recruits. One Unggoy attacked a recruit named [[Osmo]]. When Osmo caught a glimpse of his attacker, he attempted to open fire, but it was already too late. The Unggoy split Osmo open across his belly.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 257''</ref> After confirming that there was an Oracle on the planet, Maccabeus sent a message to the Vice-Minister. However, the response the Chieftain received said that there were no relics or Oracle, and that the aliens were to be destroyed.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 277''</ref> 

Unable to reconcile the orders of the Prophets with his own faith in the Forerunner's Luminary, Maccabeus decided to continue his search for relics, something which the rest of the pack disagreed with. Descending to [[Gladsheim]] to begin their search, Maccabeus was severely injured in battle when he was hit by [[Avery Johnson|Staff Sergeant Johnson]]'s [[Warthog]] and suffered a broken thigh bone.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 310''</ref> Returning to the ship, Maccabeus found that Lighter Than Some, who wanted to make peace between the Covenant and the humans, had built some plows from a [[Spirit]] damaged when it and Dadab had been brought aboard. Having feared he would be killed for the Huragok's disobedience, Dadab said that they were [[Type-25 Chopper|vehicles of war]] for the Jiralhanae.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 316''</ref> After Dadab took the Huragok to the [[Tiara]] for safekeeping when the [[Yanme'e]] attacked it, Lighter Than Some made contact with [[Loki]] and set a trap to help the humans escape Harvest.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 330''</ref>

===Death===
Being lead to believe that the humans were surrendering the Oracle, Maccabeus took the ''Rapid Conversion'' to Harvest's capital city of [[Utgard]]. However, the ''Rapid Conversion'' was damaged by the planet's [[mass driver]] as the humans fled aboard the Tiara.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 335''</ref> Believing this was enough, Tartarus challenged Maccabeus for dominance of the pack. Having yet to fully heal from his injury, Maccabeus was overwhelmed. Maccabeus' last words to Tartarus were: "Never forget the meaning of this [[Age of Doubt|Age]], nephew." Tartarus then crushed Maccabeus' skull with the Fist of Rukt while he clung onto a ladder. Maccabeus' body plummeted into the explosions and fires below. Tartarus returned to Maccabeus' body and stripped him of his Chieftain armor.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 346''</ref>

==Personality and traits==
Maccabeus was deeply religious, often quoting religious scripts. Maccabeus thought that it was belief that made a warrior, not skill.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 196''</ref> When ''[[Rapid Conversion]]'''s [[Luminary]] stated that oracles were located on Harvest's surface, Maccabeus scoured the planet in search for them. Even after most of his pack wished to [[glass]] the planet from orbit to destroy the [[human]]s, he refused to do so as he believed the oracles would get destroyed. Like most [[Jiralhanae]], Maccabeus held a hatred for the [[Sangheili]]. When the Sangheili stripped his ship of most technology, Maccabeus removed the elevator and replaced it with stairs to make it harder for the Sangheili to traverse across the ship.{{Ref/Reuse|ch200}} 

He often had the [[Unggoy]] aboard the ship prepare a [[Thorn Beast]] meal for him and the other Jiralhanae. His favorite portion of a Thorn Beast was the smallest spine on its back when properly cooked.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 197''</ref>

== Trivia ==
*Maccabeus wielded the Fist of Rukt before it was outfitted with gravity technology.
*His name may be a reference to the legendary Jewish military hero [[Wikipedia:Judas Maccabeus|Judas Maccabeus]], whose last name is derived from the Aramaic word for hammer. His ceremonial weapon would become all the more appropriate considering the origin of his name.
*His [[energy shields]] were powerful enough to withstand fire from about 30 members of the [[Colonial Militia of Harvest]] wielding [[MA5B assault rifle]]s, and two with [[Prototype BR-55]]s without failing. This may be due to weaker weapons from the Colonial Militia, or that Maccabeus had an early version of the shielding that Tartarus used in his final battle.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

[[Category:Jiralhanae characters]]
[[Category:Covenant military personnel]]