Ripa 'Moramee

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"The Hierarchs grow impatient! We can delay no longer!"

- Ripa 'Moramee

Ripa 'Moramee was a Sangheili Commander of the Covenant Army during the third Battle of Harvest and other Outer Colony campaigns in 2531.

Biography
Ripa 'Moramee suppressed the Sixteenth Unggoy Disobedience and ended the heretical reign of a Kig-Yar Pirate Prince. Later he attempted a coup within his clan on Decided Heart; the coup failed and he was imprisoned in the Weeping Shadows of Sorrow penitentiary. A while later, the Hierarchs, specifically the Prophet of Regret, appointed him as the Arbiter, and tasked him with conducting the war of extermination against humanity. It was a decision that led to concerned mumblings amongst the Prophets' Honor Guards who had no prior knowledge of this plan. He was not selected just for his combat record. The Covenant leaders believed the new Arbiter would not ask politically inconvenient questions, an important factor given the secret status of humanity as Forerunner-designated Reclaimers. The creation of a new Arbiter caused a rift in the Covenant: an ever-growing faction of Elites, who were opposed to the new Prophets, seized control of several Forerunner relics, including one that supposedly contained a "key". The Arbiter was sent to this relic, and killed his former brethren in a battle that raged for days. A key was never found.

He was present at the Third Battle of Harvest in 2531. The UNSC was aware of his presence but was unable to gather more than cursory intelligence on him. The Arbiter oversaw the excavation of a Forerunner installation in the planet's northern polar region. When the installation's entrance was uncovered by Field Master Re'gish Wamik, the Arbiter personally ordered it to be opened. Although there were concerns humans would "defile" the installation, he knew the Hierarchs were growing impatient and pressed ahead. With the humans closing in, the Prophet of Regret ordered him to destroy the installation and return to the Covenant with the information gathered. The Arbiter was reluctant to destroy the Forerunner construction but complied.

Later that year, he was involved in a Covenant attempt to acquire Forerunner ships from a Shield World. He was sent to capture Ellen Anders after the Battle of Arcadia to aid that effort. The Arbiter captured the scientist despite Sergeant John Forge's intervention and escaped by Spirit to a waiting ship. The pursued the Arbiter through slipspace and finally into the Shield World itself. The Arbiter brought Anders to the The Apex and forced her to begin activating the Forerunner fleet.

Anders ultimately escaped and alerted the UNSC. Forge and SPARTAN-II Red Team arrived at the Apex to sabotage and destroy the Shield World. While Red Team held off the Sangheili Honor Guard, Forge and he engaged in mortal combat. The struggle was uneven in physical terms and Forge prevailed only through cunning. Seemingly disarmed and feigning defeat the human challenged the Sangheili to look him in the eye before striking the killing blow. The Arbiter complied and dragged the sergeant up with one arm while unwittingly bringing his neck within arm's reach of the human. Forge drove his combat knife "Lucy" into his adversary's neck and then used the dropped Energy Sword to impale him through the stomach. The Arbiter's dead body was rolled off the platform by one of the SPARTANs.

Abilities

 * "Defiant Rage": receive additional health for damage inflicted.
 * "Spiteful Rage": ability costs less resources.
 * "Blinding Rage": increases the Arbiter's and the Covenant's attack power.
 * Additionally, the Arbiter can also summon Suicide Grunts.

Upgrades

 * "Fiendish Return": allows the Arbiter to reflect attacks back at the enemy.
 * "Vicious Blades": increases damage inflicted by the Arbiter.
 * "Ghastly Vision": increases Fiendish Return reflection and equips the Arbiter with active camouflage.

Trivia

 * He appears as a Hero Unit in Halo Wars, with a special ability called "Rage mode," which allows him to kill several nearby enemies with dual Energy Swords.
 * Out of all the Arbiters that have served the Covenant, only four have been mentioned; this Arbiter is second to be seen on-screen.
 * As an apparent Easter Egg, hint text in the Halo Wars demo claims, "Few people know that the Arbiter's given birth name is Shirley," referring to the phrase spoken by the Arbiter, "Surely you jest!" in the first level. This Easter Egg refers to a running gag in the Naked Gun series or from the movie Airplane and from the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare; "Surely you're kidding!?" "I am not, and don't call me Shirley!" and "Surely, you cant be serious!?" "I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley!".
 * At the beginning of the level Alpha Base, he lashes out at a Zealot, telling him "I care not for your little life!." Later he struck a Zealot, on the Apex, who was informing him the Spirit of Fire had followed them there. These are examples of his violent and arrogant behavior that led to his imprisonment and subsequently assuming the role of the Arbiter tasked to eradicate Humankind on Harvest.
 * His Energy swords seem to have basket hand guards similar to that of Human fencing swords, over a thousand years in the past.
 * How his armor returned to the Covenant for the next Arbiter is still unknown, as the Shield World's sun exploded destroying the entire construct. It is possible however that the next Arbiter simply wore a new set, thus explaining the differences between the pair, i.e. the mandible guards. Also, it was said in Halo 2 that every Arbiter from first to last was interred in the Mausoleum. This is impossible for the same reason, However it could be that since the missions given to the Arbiters are suicidal not all the bodies and armor were recovered and the Prophets just created the lie of their "graves" and armor, similar to ONI's directive to list Spartan II's as MIA even when they are known to have died, to make them legends and boost morale. A likely explanation is that Ensemble Studios simply made a mistake on the games canon.
 * His armor has a somewhat metallic chrome despite being silver in Halo 2 and bronze/golden in Halo 3; this may be since his body was never recovered, and a new set of the armor was created.
 * The idea that a new set of armor was created when the previous Arbiter died may be proven false when Rtas 'Vadumee tells the Arbiter on The Arbiter (Level) that his armor system is not as new as the rest of his squad, and that his Active Camouflage will not last forever. Since the Sangheili armor system during the Harvest campaign had prolonged active camoufage capabilities, it is strange that they would not incorporate that technology into the Arbiter's armor had it actually been remade after Ripa 'Moramee's death. However this may be to help hold to the idea of it being the same armour.
 * His mandibles seem to hang like loose flaps of skin instead of closing in or opening when speaking, giving him an evil, angry, and crazed look, even more so than the Prophet of Truth.
 * He is voiced by David Sobolov.
 * He is the only Elite that has used two Energy Swords in-game.