Deacon

Deacon is a rank and title, for Unggoy serving in the Covenant. As the name suggests, a Deacon is used for religious reasons rather than combat. The rank of Deacon only exists within the Ministry of Tranquility, and is the lowest rank available.

Description
A Deacon is sent to help reinforce the spirituality of ships in which not much is present. They are taught in the religion of the Covenant and work to increase faith in others. Deacons are also learned in the "sacred glyphs" that the Forerunners use in their machines.

Deacon is the only title in the Ministry of Tranquility that is open to Unggoy, likely making the rank the only governmental position that Unggoy can hold. Deacon is also one of the few jobs Unggoy can get that does not involve hard manual labor or military service. It is noted that Unggoy Deacons are quite rare due to the intelligence that the job requires - whether other races can also hold the title is uncertain. Unggoy Deacons command more respect than the rank and file Unggoy, but are still held in low esteem. A Kig-Yar Shipmistress named Chur'R-Yar was even tempted to order a Deacon named Dadab to be pushed out of an airlock, despite the Unggoy being an official Ministry representative, and only restrained herself from doing so due to the Unggoy's ability to communicate with the Huragok Lighter Than Some. Unggoy Deacons do not command as much authority as even a Kig-Yar Minor, and so it is unlikely that they minister to any of the other races.

Another duty given to Unggoy Deacons is to ensure that the Kig-Yar crews of the Ministry missionary ships obey Ministry laws and regulation. Given their low rank, the piratical nature of the Kig-Yar, and the contempt in which Kig-Yar hold Unggoy, this is a largely hopeless endeavor.

Appearance-wise, Unggoy Deacons wear the white armor of Unggoy Ultras but are also garbed in a ceremonial orange tunic.

Gameplay
In Halo Wars, Deacons are available as the final upgrade for an Unggoy. They further bolster and strengthen the abilities of the Unggoy squads. Interestingly, they wear elongated helmets reminiscent of their Sangheili counterparts.

They "inspire" the other Grunts, resulting in the lance inflicting higher damage. However, because there is one per lance, which contradicts the prior rarity of Grunts becoming Deacons, it is more than likely that this is just to enhance gameplay and is regarded as non-canon (similar to the Spartan-IIs depicted in the game possessing energy shields, despite the fact that Mark IV MJOLNIR armor does not have energy shields).

Trivia

 * Deacons are mentioned in Halo: The Flood, Halo: Contact Harvest, and Halo: The Cole Protocol. The Unggoy Dadab and Pipit are the only known named Deacons.
 * A Grunt becoming a Deacon is very rare, presumably due to a Grunt's low intelligence and sometimes insincere belief in the "Great Journey".

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol
 * Halo Wars