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

- The Arbiter

The Seventeenth Arbiter was a Sangheili Commander of the Covenant Army during the Second Battle of Harvest and other Outer Colony campaigns in 2531. He was the Seventeenth Arbiter in the Line of Immaculate Succession.

Biography
As a regular soldier, he 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. In 2524 (UNSC Military Calendar) the Hierarchs appointed him as the Arbiter and tasked him with conducting the war of extermination against humanity. 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.

He was present at the Second Battle of Harvest. 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. Thrall was reluctant to destroy the Forerunner construction but complied.

Later in the war, 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 a combat knife 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 - recieve 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 Kamikaze 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, but also equips the Arbiter with active camouflage.

Trivia

 * When the Arbiter is killed, his body is rolled off of a narrow causeway into the depths below. Later, the Shield World he was killed on is destroyed. Given that there was no opportunity for the Covenant to recover his Arbiter armor, each Arbiter must therefore recieve a new set upon creation. This does not explain why the Covenant choose to intentionally keep the armors technological level at a less advanced level than the standard Sangheili Combat Harness.
 * 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 will be the second one 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 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 dont call me Shirley!" and "Surely, you cant be serious!?" "Im serious, and dont 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.