Tartarus

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Tartarus was the last known appointed Chieftain of the Jiralhanae to serve in the Covenant. He acted as the Hierarchs' chief enforcer and, more accurately, the Prophet of Truth's second-in-command.

Physical description and personality

Tartarus was easily recognized by his silver hair and fur, very deep voice, his distinctive "Mohawk" mane, and that his use of the Fist of Rukt as his primary weapon. His devotion and faithfulness to the Covenant religion and the Prophets is unwavering, but he strongly represents the general attitude of his entire race: rough, arrogant, and disdainful of the Sangheili. He was a powerful, aggressive, and intelligent leader who inspired both fear and respect in his Jiralhanae forces. Tartarus is also the nephew of Maccabeus, whom he killed on the bridge of Rapid Conversion in order to gain the position of Chieftain of the Jiralhanae.

Combat skills

Before he became Chieftain, Tartarus wielded the Type-25 Carbine with deadly force, with both its projectiles and fierce blades. Tartarus used an empty Carbine in his battle against his uncle Maccabeus. Eventually, he defeated Maccabeus and gained his new primary weapon, the Fist of Rukt. Tartarus was able to wield the Fist of Rukt with great strength, effortlessly decimating foes in a single blow. He also made use of a variety of "invincibility shield" used by other Jiralhanae Chieftains, although his was longer lasting. In the battle between the Arbiter during the Battle of Installation 05, his shield was so strong that only multiple direct hits from a Beam Rifle could penetrate it. The shield quickly recharged, making Tartarus invincible once more. Even without his shield, Tartarus was still able to take enormous amounts of damage and take on disproportionate numbers of his Sangheili foes and kill many before succumbing to his injuries, a trait all Jiralhanae share.

Biography

Early military career

Tartarus started life as the nephew of a venerable and religious pack leader known as Maccabeus. He took on the childhood nickname of "Tartar". Wearing the scarlet armor of a Brute Captain, the young Tartarus was part of his uncle's crew of one of the few Brute-controlled ships in the Covenant, the Rapid Conversion. The Sangheili did not approve of a Jiralhanae controlling a ship and had disabled many of its key features such as weaponry, gravity lifts, and other useful mechanics, but Maccabeus' faith in the Great Journey helped him turn a blind eye to this unfair treatment. Soon the Grunt Deacon Dadab and his companion Lighter Than Some found themselves on board the Rapid Conversion after escaping the destruction of their ship, the Minor Transgression, a Kig-yar pirate ship.

Maccabeus summoned Tartarus at the pair's explosive arrival and would later become a protector of the Engineer when the resentful Yanme'e on board set out to kill it for taking their job: repair and maintenance of the vessel. He journeyed to Harvest during the first contact between the Jiralhanae and the Humans, in a staged offer of peace that soon erupted into battle. Tartarus found himself aboard a DX-class Dropship that was soon destroyed, although he did not evacuate until he had tried everything to save Ritul, a young pack mate of his, from the destruction. Ritul burned to death before Tartarus could save him.

After being attacked by the Humans in a trap designed by Loki, the Rapid Conversion was left severely damaged with Maccabeus on board. After Tartarus returned to the crippled ship he confronted Maccabeus about the legitimacy of their search for holy artifacts. Tartarus then challenged his uncle in the ritualistic manner of Jiralhanae to a fight to the death. He made concession to his wounded opponent by allowing Maccabeus to keep his weapon and removing the ammunition from his own. He successfully killed Maccabeus by taking his uncle's weapon, The Fist of Rukt, and smashing his skull. Through this fight, Tartarus began his ascent to the upper echelons of power.^[1]

Later during the battle on the Tiara above Harvest, Tartarus was dealt the most insulting wound of his life when, after murdering Babap, Dadab shot him with a charged plasma pistol shot. After killing Dadab with the Fist of Rukt his injury forced him to retreat and abandon combat against Johnson and the militia.

Right hand of Truth

Even back before the Battle of Earth, the Prophet of Truth had trusted Tartarus enough to dismiss the Sangheili Honor Guardsman (that never left the Prophets unprotected) in order to speak to him alone. Tartarus had scoured the wreckage of the Covenant attack coordination station Unyielding Hierophant after its destruction at the hands of the SPARTANs during Operation: FIRST STRIKE. Tartarus reported the Covenant Fleet preparing to attack Earth was largely destroyed, and an artifact of the Forerunners that was able to bend time and disrupted Slipspace was almost entirely lost. The pilots had managed to recover three small chips of the crystal, (the rest of which were lost in Slipspace after Corporal Locklear destroyed it with C-7 Foaming Explosive) which Tartarus presented to Truth.

He was instructed to reward the surviving pilots well, then execute them all quietly to ensure Truth's plans remained secret from the rest of the Covenant. He was also ordered to bring Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee, who was unable to stop the destruction of Installation 04, before the Council to let "his fate match the magnitude of his failure." Tartarus branded the Commander with the Mark of Shame and took him to the Mausoleum of the Arbiter for his execution. When the Sangheili was pardoned and promoted to Arbiter, Tartarus was obviously displeased, but kept silent out of respect for the Prophets. Tartarus provided aerial support for the Arbiter during his mission to assassinate Sesa 'Refumee on Threshold. The Arbiter encountered the Oracle during his duel with 'Refumee, and Tartarus quickly captured it and returned back to High Charity.

The Sacred Icon

Using information gained from the Oracle, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy sent the Arbiter and Tartarus on a mission to obtain the Sacred Icon on Installation 05 ^[2]. However, as soon as the Index was obtained, Tartarus betrayed the Sangheili, apparently acting on orders from the Prophets. Also on the Prophets' orders, Tartarus captured four humans LCDR Miranda Keyes, SgtMaj. Avery Johnson, GySgt. Pete Stacker and SSgt. Marcus Banks, as they required a Reclaimer to activate the Installation. He chose Miranda Keyes to activate Delta Halo and then told his Brutes to kill the others.

Death

While trying to get Commander Miranda Keyes to cooperate in the Control Room to activate the ring, Tartarus was confronted by the Arbiter and Sergeant Johnson ^[3]. There was a brief standoff in which the Arbiter asked 343 Guilty Spark about Halo's true purpose. The Monitor explained that the Rings were weapons of last resort built by the Forerunners to destroy potential Flood hosts. Guilty Spark also revealed that the Forerunners, having exhausted all other means of stopping the Flood, activated the Halo Array, destroying themselves along with all sentient life in the galaxy. The truth having been revealed, the Arbiter attempted to convince Tartarus of the Prophets' betrayal.

Tartarus, however, remained blinded by loyalty to the Hierarchs, the promise of salvation, as well as his hatred for the Sangheili. He forced Keyes to unify the Index with Installation 05's control panel activating the ring. Tartarus declared that the Jiralhanae, not the Sangheili, would be the escorts of the Prophets to the Divine Beyond. It was in this instant that Tartarus demonstrated a key difference between the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili, and one of the main reasons that the Prophet of Truth chose them to replace the Sangheili. Truth knew that the Sangheili were more intelligent, and thus less easily manipulated. After learning the truth about Halo, the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam turned against the Prophets. Tartarus, however, even after being presented indisputable evidence of the Prophets' falseness, still chose to blindly follow them and activate Halo on their behalf. In the battle that followed, Tartarus used the Fist of Rukt to devastating effect, killing many of the attacking Elites. Eventually, the Brute Chieftain was brought down by the Arbiter after Johnson lowered Tartarus' shields with a Beam Rifle.

Fist of Rukt

Main article: Fist of Rukt

The Fist of Rukt is the personal weapon of Chieftain Tartarus. It not only serves as an excellent melee weapon, but can alter gravity to move objects and living beings around. It is passed down from generations to generations in his family, by killing the current chieftain in a battle. It is believed to be the first seen and most powerful Gravity Hammer in existence though this can be disputed. It was not mentioned after Tartarus's death, despite non-canon references by Grunts in Halo 3.

Trivia

Tartarus was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
Tartarus wielded the Fist of Rukt left-handed while in combat, though he carried it right-handed while apperaring before the Hierarchs.
Tartarus was the name of the deepest part of the underworld or "Hades" in Greek mythology, comparable to the Christian Hell, where the worst criminals were sent. This was where Zeus, the king of the gods, imprisoned the Titans. It was very well guarded, having triple walls, a river of flame surrounding it, and the three-headed hellhound Cerberus, ensuring that no sinner would escape.
It is possible that Tartarus was originally a captain, as during the First Battle of Harvest, he wore red armor and served as a security officer. Incidentally, a red armored variation of the Brute captain was cut from Halo 3.
In Halo: Contact Harvest, Tartarus received Maccabeus' helmet and his golden armor, but in Halo 2, he does not have a helmet or a full set of armor. However, he seems to have kept his left shoulder pauldron, which is visible in-game.
It is possible that Tartarus upgraded the Fist of Rukt, giving it the ability to alter magnetism and gravity, because it did not have this capability when it belonged to his uncle, Maccabeus. However, it is possible that Maccabeus may not have been aware of this ability or that he decided not to use it, instead relying on primitive Jiralhanae fighting styles.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Great Schism, Tartarus mounted the upper half of a Sangheili's skull on his shoulder pauldron.
During the battle with Tartarus, he can sometimes be heard saying "Hammer time!", a reference to the popular catchphrase of rapper MC Hammer.