Maccabeus

Maccabeus was a Jiralhanae Chieftain and one of the few Jiralhanae Ship Masters prior to the Great Schism. He commanded the Covenant vessel, Rapid Conversion, a ship that the Sangheili had "given" him, though the Sangheili did downgrade it severely, showing their distrust in the Jiralhanae. However, he upstaged the Sangheili by insulting them and taking his rebuke in turn. He was not allowed to repair any weapon systems and he was not allowed to have a Huragok on board. Although he was allowed to have a mechanical lift system on his ship, Maccabeus decided to remove it and replace them with multiple, crude ladders as a deliberate affront to the Sangheili (as the shape of their knees gave them great difficulty when climbing). He was honored and respected by his pack for his unshakable faith in the Forerunners. He was also the uncle to the future Chieftain of the Jiralhanae, Tartarus. Maccabeus was one of the first official representatives of the Covenant to meet with the humans. However, the talks went sour when some overeager Unggoy, lead by Tartarus, broke rank and made an early attack on a group of militia recruits. One Unggoy attacked a recruit named Osmo. When Osmo caught a glimpse of his attacker, he attempted to open fire, but it was already too late. The Unggoy split Osmo open across his belly. Maccabeus, angered by the shooting, drew his Spiker and shot the Attorney General Rol Pedersen in the chest, killing him instantly. Maccabeus is also known as the first Jiralhanae to use the vehicle known as the "Chopper", which was one of four created by the Huragok Lighter Than Some, which were originally created as a peace offering for the humans. Maccabeus was severely injured in battle when he was hit by Sergeant Johnson's Warthog and was greatly dishonored in this way. After he had bungled the assault on Harvest, his nephew Tartarus challenged him to a duel because Maccabeus had disobeyed orders from the Prophets about glassing Harvest and all it contained, but had instead continued his search for relics and a possible Oracle, and had caused the deaths of several Jiralhanae, one of which was a friend of Tartarus. He was then defeated by Tartarus, who became the new Chieftain of the pack.

Maccabeus' weapon of choice is the Fist of Rukt, a large hammer with a stone head. He used this ancient cudgel in his duel with Tartarus, who eventually got a hold of it and used it to smash Maccabeus' skull in while he was clinging to a ladder. Maccabeus' last words to Tartarus before the finishing blow were: "Never forget the meaning of this Age, nephew." (The Age of Doubt).

Trivia

 * Maccabeus wielded the Fist of Rukt before it was outfitted with gravity technology.
 * His name may be a reference to the legendary Jewish military hero Judah Maccabee, who's last name is derived from the Aramaic word for hammer.
 * His favorite food was the smallest thorn of the Thorn Beast when it was properly cooked because once the Chieftain worked the thorn back and forth in its socket, it would bring a muscle-bed with it along with a tender ball of meat on a crisp and oily cone which was called an appetizer and a dessert.
 * In Halo: Contact Harvest, his energy shields were powerful enough to withstand fire from about 30 marines wielding MA5B assault rifles and two with battle rifles without even failing