Bassus

"Spartans not so tough I think. Break open easy. Soft inside!"

- Bassus as he prepares to bash and kill John-117.

Bassus was an old high-ranking Jiralhanae Chieftain in the service of the Banished.

Wings of Rage
Bassus had long since been renowned for his brawn on the battlefield and his usage of cruelty over strategic wisdom. During the Siege of Dwarka, he ransacked several residential sectors, making crude displays of the deceased to demoralize the human forces that he viewed as wildly inferior to the Jiralhanae. His battlefield record would lead to his sudden rise to the rank of Chieftain, where he led multiple assaults on human colony worlds. The most notable of these was on Kroedis II where he had killed a Minor Prophet after having grown tired of his self-righteous manipulation and blamed it on the UNSC forces there, resulting in the planet being glassed by the Fleet of Particular Justice led by Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee.

Installation 07 conflict
On May 28, 2560, Bassus, now a member of the Banished, was in charge of security at Site Novem, the excavation site for the Conservatory, when it was attacked by Spartan John-117. After the Master Chief disabled the cooling pipes on the Banished's mining drill, Bassus was ordered to defend the site personally. When the Master Chief and the Weapon were about to destroy the drill completely, Bassus ambushed them, grabbing the Master Chief by the throat and tossing him across the room. Bassus admitted he was unimpressed with Spartans, describing them as "not so tough" and believing they break open easy. Aiming to prove the Master Chief Petty Officer is "soft inside", Bassus raised his hammer to execute him, but the Master Chief dodged the blow and engaged Bassus. After a brutal fight, the Master Chief managed to kill Bassus, allowing the Weapon to overload the mining drill and destroy it.

Personality and traits
Bassus appears to be a typical Jiralhanae who enjoys battle, chuckling in the heat of it, and demonstrated relatively low intellect in his speech. Like most Jiralhanae, Bassus appears to dislike the Sangheili as shown by his disdain for Chak 'Lok and delight upon learning of his death. He saw the battle with the John-117 as an opportunity to become a Spartan Killer if he was victorious, and considered himself to be a superior warrior than Tremonius. Bassus has a tendency to refer to himself in the third person. Bassus was also considerably agile, being able to leap great distances across the rooms during his battle with John-117.

Equipment
Bassus wore a resilient Chieftain power armor and was equipped with personal energy shields, albeit colored in gold and crimson, opposing typical black/grey and red (or sometimes blue) power armor used by regular Jiralhanae Chieftains, and similar to armors issued to Warlord Tremonius and Sangheili Warlord Chak 'Lok. Like many Chieftains, Bassus was equipped with a massive gravity hammer when confronting John-117. He also carried s.

Trivia

 * Bassus was portrayed by Christopher Swindle (credited as "Chris Swindle") in Halo Infinite.
 * Unlike other Jiralhanae in the game, Bassus throws plasma grenades instead of spike grenades.

List of appearances

 * Halo Infinite