The Arbiter (Level)

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Summary
A Halo 2 campaign level in which, as the Elite Arbiter, you must assassinate the Heretic Leader on a Forerunner Gas Mine in Threshold's atmosphere.

The mission involves neutralising Heretic forces. Along the way, the player will have to open a hangar door for reinforcements, fight, for the first time in Halo 2, Sentinels, and fly a Banshee to escort a friendly Phantom that is looking for where the Heretic Leader escaped to.

This is the first time you are able to use the Carbine, the Sentinel Beam, and the Fuel Rod Cannon.

Enemies Encountered

 * Elites (Heretic)
 * Grunts (Heretic)
 * Sentinels

Drivable Vehicles

 * Banshee

Weapons

 * Plasma Pistol
 * Plasma Rifle
 * Needler
 * Carbine
 * Energy Sword
 * Sentinel Beam
 * Fuel Rod Gun
 * Beam Rifle

Mission Objectives

 * Locate the Heretic Leader
 * Pursue the Heretic Leader

Part 01: The Arbiter
(The scene opens up with a blurry camera shot focused on the floor, before clearing and focusing on the back of Tartarus. The shot then changes to show Tartarus walking down a hallway in High Charity, two Brutes behind him, carrying the Elite Commander on their shoulders. They are walking through a prison.)

Brute 1: How much further must we heft this baggage? Any cell will do. Why not toss him in with this lot?

(The Brutes pass a cell containing three Jackals, which hiss and reach out through the bars at the Brutes as they pass.)

Brute 1: They could use the meat.

Brute 2: Them? What about us? My belly aches, and his flesh is seared, just the way I like it.

Tartarus: Quiet! You two whimper like Grunts fresh off the teat. He's not meant for the jails. The Hierarchs have something special in mind.

(The Brutes and their cargo move out onto a platform overlooking the Mausoleum of the Arbiter. They ride a Gravity Lift down to the walkway leading up to it and pass dozens of Elite Honor Guards standing at attention, staves ready. They enter the Mausoleum, where the Prophets of Truth and Mercy await. The Brutes and Tartarus bow.)

Tartarus: Noble Prophets of Truth and Mercy, I have brought the incompetent.

Prophet of Truth: You may leave, Tartarus.

(Tartarus looks up, surprised.)

Tartarus: But I thought-

Prophet of Truth: And take your Brutes with you.

(Tartarus hesitates, and then bows again.)

Tartarus: Release the prisoner.

(The Brutes drop the Elite to his knees and rise, leaving the room. The Elite touches the Mark of Shame on his chest.)

Prophet of Truth: The Council decided to have you hung by your entrails and your corpse paraded through the city. But, ultimately, the terms of your execution are up to me.

Elite Commander: I am already dead.

Prophet of Truth: Indeed. Do you know where we are?

Elite Commander: The Mausoleum of the Arbiter.

Prophet of Truth: Quite so. Here rests the vanguard of the Great Journey. Every Arbiter, from first to last. Each one created and consumed in times of extraordinary crisis.

Prophet of Mercy: The Taming of the Hunters, the Grunt Rebellion... Were it not for the Arbiters, the Covenant would have broken long ago!

Elite Commander: Even on my knees I do not belong in their presence.

Prophet of Truth: Halo's destruction was your error, and you rightly bear the blame. But the Council was... overzealous. We know you are no heretic. This is the true face of heresy, one who would subvert our faith and incite rebellion against the High Council.

(Truth presses a button on his chair, and a miniature hologram of an Elite in different equipment appears.)

Sesa 'Refumee: Our Prophets are false! Open your eyes, my brothers! They would use the faith of our Forefathers to bring ruin to us all! The Great Journey is-

(Truth cuts off the hologram.)

Prophet of Truth: This heretic, and those who follow him, must be silenced.

Prophet of Mercy: Their slander offends all who walk the Path.

Elite Commander: What use am I? I can no longer command ships, lead troops into battle-

Prophet of Truth: Not as you are. But become the Arbiter... And you shall be set loose against this heresy, with our blessing.

(A large container pod floats into the center of the room, opening to reveal a suit of ancient armor surrounded by white light. The Elite stares at this for a moment, before turning back to Truth.) Elite Commander: What of the Council?

Prophet of Mercy: The tasks you must undertake as the Arbiter are perilous, suicidal. You will die, as each Arbiter has before you. The Council will have their corpse.

(The Elite rises, and walks toward the armor. He pauses before it, and looks to the pods containing the corpses of the Arbiters who fell before him. He reaches up and takes the helmet of the Arbiter, and places it upon his head, then looks to the Hierarchs.)

Arbiter: What would you have your Arbiter do?

(The scene changes to show the outside of High Charity, the fleet surrounding it. Three Phantoms fly past the camera and swoop past the ruins of Halo, a large piece of it still intact and with landscape and clouds still visible. As it flies, the voice of the Spec Ops Leader can be heard.)

Rtas 'Vadumee: When we joined the Covenant, we took an oath!

(The scene cuts to the inside of the phantom, where Special Ops Elites, along with the new Arbiter, line the walls, with a line of Special Ops Grunts in the center. An Ultra Elite, the SpecOps Leader Rtas 'Vadumee, walks among them.)

SpecOps Elites: According to our station! All without exception!

Rtas 'Vadumee: On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons, we swore to uphold the Covenant!

SpecOps Elites: Even to our dying breath!

Rtas 'Vadumee: Those who would break this oath are heretics, worthy of neither pity, nor mercy! Even now they use our lords' creations to broadcast their lies!

(a Grunt fumbles with the methane tank of another Grunt, some air is released, the second Grunt mutters angrily at the first)

SpecOps Elites: We shall grind them into dust!

(Note: the Hidden Subtitle appears here.)

('Vadumee turns his head to face the camera, revealing he is missing the mandibles on the left side of his head.)

Rtas 'Vadumee: And continue our march to glorious salvation!

(Spec Ops Leader approaches the Arbiter. They stare each other down.)

Rtas 'Vadumee: This armor suits you. But it cannot hide that mark.

Arbiter: Nothing ever will.

Rtas 'Vadumee: You are the Arbiter, the will of the Prophets. But these are my Elites. Their lives matter to me. Yours does not.

Arbiter: That makes two of us.

(Spec Ops Leader responds to this with a respectful "hmm.")

(The Phantoms fly over a Forerunner structure and descend toward another structure dangling below it on a long cable, a Gas Mine. An intense storm swirls below the structure.)

Phantom Pilot: Leader, there is no doubt: the storm will strike the facility!

Rtas 'Vadumee: We'll be long gone before it arrives.

(The Phantoms fly lower, near the top of one of several towers sticking out from the center of the main structure. One deposits a group of Grunts and an Elite, followed by a second one that drops two Elites and the Arbiter.)

Rtas 'Vadumee: Warriors, prepare for combat!

(The Arbiter ignites his Energy Sword and looks down at it, before the mission begins.)

Part 02: "A Whisper in the Storm
Rtas 'Vadumee (Radio): We are the arm of the prophets, Arbiter, and you are the blade. Be silent and swift, and we shall quell this heresy without incident.

(as the Arbiter approaches the doors where the rest of the team is waiting to enter)

Rtas 'Vadumee (Radio): The storm has masked our approach, and has their local Battlenet in disarray. We have the element of surprise. .. For now."

(the Arbiter enters the airlock beyond, with a team of SpecOps Grunts and Elites.)

SpecOps Elite: Engage Active Camouflage! Reveal yourselves only after the Arbiter has joined battle with the enemy!

(The Grunts and Elites "dissappear" as their camouflage is engaged.)

Rtas 'Vadumee: You may wish to do the same, Arbiter, but take heed: your armor's system is not as...new as ours. Your camouflage will not last forever.

(The team enters the next room. If you wait without being seen for a moment, the two heretic Elites in this room will talk to one another.)

Heretic Elite 1: Any word on our missing brothers?

Heretic Elite 2: Still nothing. Given what we have learned, I fear they are lost.

Heretic Elite 1: Maybe the Oracle will protect us...

Heretic Elite 2: Perhaps. But his Sentinels are too few. Better we protect ourselves!

(Later, the team enters an elevator and descends into a hangar containing a Seraph. A new enemy appears: the familiar Sentinels.)

SpecOps Elite: Sentinels, the holy warriors of the Sacred Rings. Why have they sided with these heretics?

(during the battle in the hangar)

Phantom Pilot (Radio): Arbiter, clear the hangar and open this door, so I may drop the second lance!

(The Arbiter opens the door.)

Phantom Pilot (Radio): Hold position, I am making my approach.

(The Arbiter descends through the facility, eventually entering a room featuring a window looking out onto a landing pad with three Banshees. The Heretic Leader, Sesa 'Refumee appears.)

Sesa 'Refumee: Deal with him, my brothers! I will defend the Oracle.

(He hops onto a Banshee and flies off.)

Heretic Elite 3: This truth must not be silenced!

Part 03: To The Hunt
Rtas 'Vadumee (radio): The heretics are mobilizing their air forces, Arbiter. Get after their leader, but watch your back. I'm sending one of our Phantoms to support you.

(after the first wave of Banshees is eliminated)

Phantom Pilot (Radio): The heretics have weapons emplacements all over the facility, Arbiter. We'll take them out, one by one, until we find the heretic leader.

(If you take too long to head for the final emplacement)

Rtas 'Vadumee (Radio): No sign of the heretic leader - or his banshee. We must keep searching!

(Alternately:)

Phantom Pilot (Radio): That was the last of them - but there are more ahead.

(The Arbiter nears the final emplacement.)

Rtas 'Vadumee (Radio): We've tracked the leader to this part of the station. Clear that landing platform, and get inside.

(The level ends once you clear the platform and arrive at the door.)

Walkthrough
You will start off with an Energy Sword and Plasma Rifle, swap weapon to the Plasma Rifle. You are now the Arbiter and can use your Active Camoflauge by pressing white. Travel down the ramp to your right and walk left. Remember, you are now an Elite so don't kill the other Covenant. There is a Special Ops Elites at a control panel near a door. Eventually the door will open and you can walk in. If youre in a hurry kill the Elite opening the door and it will open. Either way once youre in and your comrades are in the door will close and lock. You will have to wait a while as the Special Ops Elites with the Beam Rifle talks and the other Covenant turn invisible. Once you hear the door open turn your active camo on and walk behind the furthest Heretic Elite and hit him on the back with a melee attack. Unless youre noticed kill the other Heretic Elite near the door way. If you are noticed swap to the Energy Sword and kill the Elite. Swap back to the Plasma Rifle and kill the Heretic Grunts.

The following is for Heroic or Legendary difficulty. After fighting (or sneaking) your way through the long room (You should have obtained a Needler in the process, but you can get one later), go down the elevator, and run for the other side with the hangar door control, occasionally hiding in the canister drop belt tunnels. (These also provide great cover from most enemy attack, unless they start throwing plasma grenades.) Before you get to the control, you should have fully charged active camoflauge. Activate the control, then your camoflauge, the head out to the dock, where the Phantom will fly up, and hide behind one of the walls until the Phantom actually enters the room. Hopefully, by this point, you have a needler, because the enemies will fire on the Phantom's guns, and you will need to kill some, so your arriving allies are not overwhelmed by them. After emptying your gun (Not completely, just until you must reload) Head to the right (That is, if your back is to the open hangar door.) head up the ramp, and wait for two Grunts to appear, armed with Fuel Rod Cannons. Kill them with the Energy Sword (Don't worry about running out of ammo, you will get a new sword soon) and give the cannon(s) to your allies, provided they survive. If not, gather the ammo, and set it someplace obvious, because you may need it a bit later. Cautiously head to the door below the elevator that took you here, beccause it may open, revealing some Grunts, and 2 or 3 Elites (One with an Energy Sword.) If you already killed them, continue, and hide behind a pillar. You should see an Elite or two standing on the lower surface (Down the ramp.) If you still have your Needler, aim at the Elite with the targeting reticle red, but not actually on the Elite. Fire with the Needler, and if you did it right, the needles will home onto the Elite, but the Elite's Carbine will not be able to reach you. Continue down the tunnel, making absolutely sure you are not detected. Once you reach another large room, activate your camoflauge and hide behind the first large box. wait for it to recharge, then reactivate it, and run into the first canister transport tunnel. wait to recharge, activate, and dash to the next tunnel. Repeat the process, but when you exit, turn right. You should see two large boxes next to each other. Go in between them, then hide behind the one that was closest to you as you ran by them. The enemies should not notice you, so wait to recharge your camoflauge, then recharge it and dash through the door. You must be quick, because the enemies may come through the door you did. Do not immediately enter the tunnel, as an Elite will walk by. Assassinate him, making sure you don't wake the Grunts, because you stealthily kill them next. Continue down the tunnel, avoiding detection and assassinating when necessary. This works until you reach the room where you finally see the Heretic Leader. Before the troops come out, head up the ramp on the left side, and hide behind the large wall section. (It's like another box, kinda.) Activate your camoflauge and head to the next one. Repeat this until you reach the door that leads out to the Banshees.

The following is for Legendary only.

Why not get the Grunt's Birthday Party skull as well? Get in a Banshee, fly down below the first pillar, and you should see the propulsion engines keeping the station in the air. Fly right by the tops of the engines, below the connecting beam. Look very carefully in the gaps between the engines and the beam. (If you fly straight down withhout turning, it is between the second and third engine.) You should find moving blue glowing lights. These are the Grunts dancing around the skull. Simply walk up and take the skull, the Grunts will just keep dancing. Maybe if you have a headshotting weapon, you can see the hilarity of a Grunt sent flying because of a headshot. It is even better when used in conjuntion with the Sputnik Skull.