Editing Zeretus

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Character infobox
|variant=Ban
|name=Zeretus
|image=[[File:HINF Zeretus2.png|300px]]
|homeworld=[[Doisac]]{{Ref/Book|Id=EN|Enc22|Page=458}}
|birth=[[2506#May|May 21, 2506]]{{Ref/Reuse|EN}}
|death=During or after [[2560#May|May 28, 2560]]{{Ref/Quest|Id=Hi|HI|Reformation|Zeretus}}
|causeofdeath=Killed in battle by [[John-117]]{{Ref/Reuse|Hi}}
|parents=
|siblings=
|spouses=
|children=
|species=[[Jiralhanae]]
|gender=Male
|height=261.6 centimetres {{C|8 ft 7 in}}{{Ref/Reuse|EN}}
|mass=679.5 kilograms {{C|1498 lbs}}{{Ref/Reuse|EN}}
|hair=Dark gray{{Ref/Reuse|Hi}}
|eyes=
|affiliation=*[[Banished]]{{Ref/Reuse|TargetZeretus}}
**[[Lance of the Writhing Star]]{{Ref/Reuse|TargetZeretus}}
|rank=*[[Jiralhanae Captain|Captain]] {{C|formerly}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=Sacrifice|SoR|Detail= Adjunct - [[Sacrifice]]}}
*[[Jiralhanae Battle Officier|Battle Officer]]{{Ref/Game|Id=TargetZeretus|HINF|[[High Value Target]] dossier, Zeretus, Battle Officer}}
|sn=
|notable=
}}

'''Zeretus''', also known as the '''Scourgemaker''' to those under his command, was a [[Jiralhanae]] [[Jiralhanae Battle Officer|Battle Officer]] and one of the most senior members within the [[Banished]].{{Ref/Reuse|TargetZeretus}}{{Ref/Reuse|Sacrifice}} He was among the first to join [[Atriox]] in his rebellion against the [[Covenant]]. During the [[Second Ark Conflict]], Atriox selected him for [[Raid on Anodyne Spirit|a mission]] led by [[Chieftain]] [[Minas]] to retrieve [[Menachite Forerunner crystal|a]] [[slipspace]] [[slipspace flake|flake]] from the ''[[Anodyne Spirit]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|Sacrifice}} Zeretus accompanied the [[warmaster]] when he used the crystal to return to the [[Milky Way|galaxy]] months later.{{Ref/Novel|Id=SOR21|SoR|Chapter=21}} Zeretus was part of Eta Pack in the Third Combat Element of the [[Lance of the Writhing Star]]. He was killed by [[John-117]] during the [[Battle for Zeta Halo]].{{Ref/Reuse|Hi}}

==Biography==
===Warrior of the Banished===
Zeretus was one of the first to join the [[Banished]] after [[Atriox]] rebelled against the [[Covenant]]. After joining the mercenary organization, Zeretus would be a critical component of Banished exploration efforts. He personally led numerous operations tasked with scouring [[Forerunner]] relic sites in search of highly important assets, destroying anything that stood in his way. During one notable operation on the [[Natural satellite|ocean-moon]] [[Lagolim]], Zeretus ordered the sinking of a large [[UEG]] research colony as they searched for an ancient Forerunner facility beneath the sea. This action killed all 1,244 scientists and analysts stationed there.{{Ref/Reuse|TargetZeretus}} Zeretus served Atriox faithfully for at least a decade, and was even among those chosen to accompany him to the [[Installation 00|Ark]] in late [[2558]].{{Ref/Reuse|Sacrifice}}

In the midst of the [[Second Ark Conflict]], Atriox charged [[Chieftain]] [[Minas]] with the [[Raid on Anodyne Spirit|recovery]] of a [[slipspace]] [[Menachite Forerunner crystal|flake]] from the interior of the Forerunner [[Anodyne Spirit|Dreadnought]], which had been [[Battle of Installation 00|abandoned]] by the [[High Prophet of Truth]] years earlier. The remaining shards of this crystal would be used to open a [[slipspace portal]] to the [[human]] [[human colonies|colony]] of [[Reach]]. Zeretus led one of the three small strike teams that were sent on this mission, with the other two being led by [[Blademaster]] [[Okro 'Vagaduun]] and Minas himself. Each team rode in a separate [[Banished Phantom|Phantom]] [[dropship]] to where the [[keyship]] rested in a presently uncontested region of the Ark they had dubbed [[Mahsko]]. After they had breached the vessel, a Jiralhanae warrior named Choros guided them to their destination. Early in the mission, Zeretus declared that the ship did in fact appear abandoned. However, the teams would soon be ambushed by surviving [[Covenant loyalists]] that stayed behind to defend the keyship, even after nearly [[seven]] years had passed since their empire had fell.{{Ref/Reuse|Sacrifice}}

Zeretus expressed his utter disbelief at this discovery, but still led his team to victory against their assailants. As Minas's team and then 'Vagaduun's ascended the final [[elevator|lift]] leading to their prize, he received word from the chieftain that he and his team should not follow them up and that they should instead cover their exit. The Covenant defenders had attacked them one last time, hoping to repel them from the holy vessel. When Minas and 'Vagaduun returned alone with the crystal shards, Zeretus and his remaining men quickly escorted them out of the ship and back to their Phantoms.{{Ref/Reuse|Sacrifice}}

===Return from Installation 00===
With the crystal secured, Atriox sent word to [[Escharum]]—the appointed leader of all Banished forces still in the galaxy—that a [[Menachite portal complex|portal facility]] on Reach must be found and activated so that he could return from the Ark.{{Ref/Novel|Id=SOR3|SoR|Chapter=3}} Primarily due to the efforts of the allied [[Dokab]] [[Castor]] and his [[Keepers of the One Freedom]], the facility was found and activated. Atriox brought Zeretus along with him to Reach, and he was one of the officers that [[Inslaan 'Gadogai]] introduced to Castor as he stepped off the [[Eklon'Dal Workshop Lich]] that had carried them through the portal. Upon seeing [[Ferret|the humans]] that the Keepers employed, he was overtly disgusted. Shortly after arriving on Reach, Zeretus escaped the planet along with the rest of the loyal Banished forces aboard Escharum's [[intrusion corvette]].{{Ref/Reuse|SOR21}}

===Zeta Halo conflict===
{{Quote|That's the end of Zeretus the Scourgemaker. May his stupid nickname die with him.|[[The Weapon]], after [[John-117]] eliminates Zeretus and his crew}}{{Ref/Reuse|Hi}}
{{Main|Installation 07 conflict}}
In [[2560#May|May 2560]], Zeretus served within Eta Pack in the Third Combat Element of the [[Lance of the Writhing Star]] and was [[Battle for Zeta Halo|stationed]] on [[Installation 07]], having been in command of [[Annex Ridge]].{{Ref/Game|HI|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Outpost Intel 3|Banished Audio log|Detail=Outpost Intel #12 - Whispers from the Past}} [[The Weapon]] discovered his location and passed the information on to [[Spartan-II]] [[John-117]]. After tracking him down, the Spartan attacked and killed both Zeretus and the other Banished forces accompanying him.{{Ref/Reuse|Hi}}

==Equipment==
During the Banished's raid on the ''Anodyne Spirit'', Zeretus was seen wielding a [[Type-2 gravity hammer]]. When fighting humans, he was known to regularly take weapons from fallen enemies and use them against others of their kind, thinking it to be more shameful for a human to be killed by an ally's weapon.{{Ref/Reuse|Sacrifice}} Fittingly, Zeretus wielded a unique [[UNSC]] [[M41 SPNKR]] referred to as the [[M41 Tracker]] during the Installation 07 conflict.{{Ref/Reuse|Hi}}{{Ref/Reuse|TargetZeretus}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HINF ZeretusTarget.png|Zeretus, as seen in his target profile.
File:HINF Zeretus.png|Zeretus with his shields activated.
File:HINF ZeretusUpClose.jpg|Zeretus up close.
File:HINF ZeretusFace.jpg|A look at Zeretus without his helmet.
File:Enc22-Zeretus.png|Zeretus as he appears in the [[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)]].
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
**''[[Sacrifice]]''
*''[[Halo Infinite]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Levels/HI}}
[[Category:Jiralhanae characters]]
[[Category:Banished members]]