Tartarus

"The Great Journey has begun, and the Brutes, not the Elites, shall be the Prophets' escort!"

- Tartarus, to the Arbiter

Tartarus was the last known appointed Chieftain of the Jiralhanae to serve in the Covenant. He acted as the Hierarchs' chief enforcer and, more accurately, the Prophet of Truth's second-in-command.

Early military career
Tartarus started life as the nephew of a venerable and religious pack leader known as Maccabeus on Doisac and was a member of the Rh'tol skein. He took on the childhood nickname of "Tartar". Wearing the scarlet armor of a Jiralhanae Captain, the young Tartarus was part of his uncle's crew of one of the few Jiralhanae-controlled ships in the Covenant, the Rapid Conversion. The Sangheili did not approve of a Jiralhanae controlling a ship and had disabled many of its key features such as weaponry, gravity lifts, and other useful mechanics, but Maccabeus' faith in the Great Journey helped him turn a blind eye to this unfair treatment.

Soon the Unggoy Deacon Dadab and his companion Lighter Than Some found themselves on board the Rapid Conversion after escaping the destruction of their ship, the Minor Transgression, a Kig-Yar missionary ship.

Battle of Harvest
Maccabeus summoned Tartarus at the pair's explosive arrival and would later become a protector of the Engineer when the resentful Yanme'e on board set out to kill it for taking their job: repair and maintenance of the vessel. He journeyed to Harvest during the first contact between the Jiralhanae and the humans, in a staged offer of peace that soon erupted into battle after an Unggoy, Yull, nervously attacked a member of Harvest's Colonial Militia. Tartarus proceeded to kill Yull by throwing him down cascades of water. Later, Tartarus and Vorenus scouted out Harvest's orbiting platform Tiara. The two Jiralhanae remained at the station briefly, long enough to be sure that it was devoid of human life. They left Dadab in charge of sixty Unggoy on the station to protect it from human soldiers.

Tartarus found himself aboard a Type-25 Spirit that was soon destroyed, although he did not evacuate until he had tried everything to save Ritul, a young pack mate of his, from the destruction. Ritul burned to death before Tartarus could save him. When Tartarus, the injured Maccabeus, and others returned to the cruiser, they discovered that several Yanme'e that did not participate in the engagement were attempting to kill Lighter Than Some for "stealing" their engineering responsibilities. Vorenus and Tartarus attempted to defend the Huragok from the enraged Yanme'e and were eventually able to subdue them.

After being attacked by the humans in a trap designed by Loki, the Rapid Conversion was left severely damaged with Maccabeus on board. After Tartarus returned to the crippled ship he confronted Maccabeus about the legitimacy of their search for holy artifacts. Tartarus then challenged his uncle in the ritualistic manner of Jiralhanae to a fight to the death. He made concession to his wounded opponent by allowing Maccabeus to keep his weapon and removing the ammunition from his own. He successfully killed Maccabeus by taking his uncle's weapon, the Fist of Rukt, and smashing his skull. Through this fight, Tartarus began his ascent to the upper echelons of power. Later during the battle on the Tiara above Harvest, Tartarus was dealt the most insulting wound of his life when, after murdering Babap, Dadab shot him with a charged plasma pistol shot. After killing Dadab with the Fist of Rukt his injury forced him to retreat and abandon combat against Avery Johnson and the militia. In the following months, Tartarus and the crew managed to repair the Rapid Conversion and began to glass Harvest, eventually reducing the planet's surface to cinder. After the battle, Tartarus caught the eye of the High Prophet of Truth, who was attempting to replace the Sangheili with the Jiralhanae. Truth and Tartarus would work together throughout the Human-Covenant War, and the Prophet of Truth eventually elevated Tartarus to a position that put him in control of all Jiralhanae forces in the entire Covenant military late in the war.

Right hand of Truth
Even back before the Battle of Earth, the Prophet of Truth had trusted Tartarus enough to dismiss the Sangheili Honor Guardsman—that never left the Prophets unprotected—in order to speak to him alone. Tartarus had scoured the wreckage of the Covenant attack coordination station Unyielding Hierophant after its destruction at the hands of the SPARTANs during Operation: FIRST STRIKE. Tartarus reported the Covenant fleet preparing to attack Earth was largely destroyed, and an artifact of the Forerunners that was able to bend time and disrupted Slipspace was almost entirely lost. The pilots had managed to recover three small chips of the crystal, (the rest of which were lost in Slipspace after Corporal Locklear destroyed it with C-7 Foaming Explosive) which Tartarus presented to Truth.

He was instructed to reward the surviving pilots well, then execute them all quietly to ensure Truth's plans remained secret from the rest of the Covenant. He was also ordered to bring Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee, who was unable to stop the destruction of Installation 04, before the Council to let "his fate match the magnitude of his failure." Tartarus branded the Commander with the Mark of Shame and took him to the Mausoleum of the Arbiter for his execution. When the Sangheili was pardoned and promoted to Arbiter, Tartarus was obviously displeased, but kept silent out of respect for the Prophets. Tartarus provided aerial support for the Arbiter during his mission to assassinate Sesa 'Refumee on Threshold. The Arbiter encountered the Oracle during his duel with 'Refumee, and Tartarus quickly captured it and returned back to High Charity.

The Sacred Icon
Using information gained from the Oracle, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy sent the Arbiter and Tartarus on a mission to obtain the Sacred Icon on Installation 05. However, as soon as the Index was obtained, Tartarus betrayed the Sangheili, apparently acting on orders from the Prophets. Also on the Prophets' orders, Tartarus captured four humans LCDR Miranda Keyes, SgtMaj. Avery Johnson, GySgt. Stacker and SSgt. Banks, as they required a Reclaimer to activate the Installation. He chose Miranda Keyes to activate Delta Halo and then told the Jiralhanae under his command to kill the others. Prior to his departure for Installation 05 with Miranda and Johnson in tow, Tartarus and his Jiralhanae held off a Flood ambush of the High Prophets. However, they were only successful in saving Truth, and Mercy was mauled by a Flood infection form that Tartarus proceeded to remove before Truth ordered that he be left for dead. Tartarus reluctantly complied out of respect for Truth and carried on with his mission to activate Halo.

Death
While trying to get Commander Miranda Keyes to cooperate in the Control Room to activate the ring, Tartarus was confronted by the Arbiter and Sergeant Johnson. There was a brief standoff in which the Arbiter asked 343 Guilty Spark about Halo's true purpose. The Monitor explained that the Rings were weapons of last resort built by the Forerunners to destroy potential Flood hosts. Guilty Spark also revealed that the Forerunners, having exhausted all other means of stopping the Flood, activated the Halo Array, destroying themselves along with all sentient life in the galaxy. The truth having been revealed, the Arbiter attempted to convince Tartarus of the Prophets' betrayal.

Tartarus, however, remained blinded by loyalty to the Hierarchs, the promise of salvation, as well as his hatred for the Sangheili. He forced Keyes to unify the Index with Installation 05's control panel activating the ring. Tartarus declared that the Jiralhanae, not the Sangheili, would be the escorts of the Prophets to the Divine Beyond. It was in this instant that Tartarus demonstrated a key difference between the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili, and one of the main reasons that the Prophet of Truth chose them to replace the Sangheili. Truth knew that the Sangheili were more intelligent, and thus less easily manipulated. After learning the truth about Halo, the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam turned against the Prophets. Tartarus, however, even after being presented indisputable evidence of the Prophets' falseness, still chose to blindly follow them and activate Halo on their behalf. In the battle that followed, Tartarus used the Fist of Rukt to devastating effect, killing many of the attacking Elites. Eventually, the Jiralhanae Chieftain was brought down by the Arbiter after Johnson lowered Tartarus' shields with a Beam Rifle.

Personality and traits
Tartarus was easily recognized by his silver hair and fur, distinctive "mohawk" mane, and his use of the Fist of Rukt as his primary weapon. His devotion and faithfulness to the Covenant religion and the Prophets was unwavering, but he nevertheless strongly represented the general attitude of his entire race: rough, arrogant, and disdainful of the Sangheili. The Prophet of Clarity noted that he "radiated a sense of his own importance". Although Tartarus generally disliked most species, he held some respect for the San'Shyuum. Despite his typically rude attitude, he was always polite and respectful when around the Prophet of Truth. Tartarus enjoyed a beverage that Truth reserved for high-ranking Jiralhanae. The drink was a thick, red, noxious liquid that was rumored to be toxic to other species. He was a powerful, aggressive, and intelligent leader who inspired both fear and respect in his Jiralhanae forces. Tartarus is also the nephew of Maccabeus, whom he killed on the bridge of Rapid Conversion in order to gain the position of Chieftain of the Jiralhanae.

Combat skills
Before he became Chieftain, Tartarus wielded the Type-25 Carbine with deadly force, with both its projectiles and fierce blades. Tartarus used an empty Carbine in his battle against his uncle Maccabeus. Eventually, he defeated Maccabeus and gained his new primary weapon, the Fist of Rukt. Tartarus was able to wield the Fist of Rukt with great strength, effortlessly decimating foes in a single blow. He also made use of a variety of "invincibility shield" used by other Jiralhanae Chieftains, although his was longer lasting. In the battle between the Arbiter during the Battle of Installation 05, his shield was so strong that only multiple direct hits from a Beam Rifle could penetrate it. The shield quickly recharged, making Tartarus invincible once more. Even without his shield, Tartarus was still able to take enormous amounts of damage and take on disproportionate numbers of his Sangheili foes and kill many before succumbing to his injuries, a trait all Jiralhanae share.

Equipment
The Fist of Rukt is the personal weapon of Chieftain Tartarus. It not only serves as an excellent melee weapon, but can alter gravity to move objects and living beings around. It is passed down from generations to generations in his family, by killing the current chieftain in a battle. It is believed to be the first seen and most powerful Gravity Hammer in existence though this can be disputed.

Trivia

 * Tartarus was portrayed by the renowned voice over artist Kevin Michael Richardson.
 * Tartarus is the deepest part of the underworld in Greek mythology. It is a place of torment for the wicked, analogous to the Christian hell. The abyss is guarded by the three-headed "hellhound" known as Cerberus.
 * During the battle with Tartarus, he can sometimes be heard saying "Hammer time!", a reference to the popular catchphrase of rapper MC Hammer.
 * Despite using the Fist of Rukt left-handed during combat, Tartarus is seen wielding in his right hand in most cutscenes.

List of appearances

 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo: Broken Circle
 * Halo 2 Anniversary