Ripa 'Moramee

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

— Ripa 'Moramee

Ripa 'Moramee was a Sangheili Commander of the Covenant Army during the third Battle of Harvest and other Outer Colony campaigns in 2531.

Biography

Ripa 'Moramee 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. A while later, the Hierarchs, specifically the Prophet of Regret, appointed him as the Arbiter, and tasked him with conducting the war of extermination against humanity. It was a decision that led to concerned mumblings amongst the Prophets' Honor Guards who had no prior knowledge of this plan. 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. The creation of a new Arbiter caused a rift in the Covenant: an ever-growing faction of Elites, who were opposed to the new Prophets, seized control of several Forerunner relics, including one that supposedly contained a "key". The Arbiter was sent to this relic, and killed his former brethren in a battle that raged for days. A key was never found.

Halo Wars

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'Moramee was present at the Third Battle of Harvest in 2531. The UNSC was aware of his presence but was unable to gather more than cursory intelligence on him. Ripa 'Moramee 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, 'Moramee 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. Ripa 'Moramee was reluctant to destroy the Forerunner construction but complied.

Later that year, 'Moramee 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 UNSC Spirit of Fire pursued the Arbiter through slipspace and finally into the Shield World itself. 'Moramee 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 engaged in mortal combat with Ripa 'Moramee. The struggle was uneven in physical terms and Forge prevailed only through skill. Seemingly disarmed and feigning defeat the human challenged the Sangheili to look him in the eye before striking the killing blow. 'Moramee complied and dragged the sergeant up with one arm while unwittingly bringing his neck within arm's reach of the human. Forge drove his Lucky combat knife "Lucy" into his adversary's neck and then used the Arbiter's dropped Energy Sword to impale him through the chest. Ripa 'Moramee's dead body was rolled off the platform by a SPARTAN of Red Team. Template:Spoiler End

In-Game Information

Abilities

• "Defiant Rage": receive 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 Suicide Grunts (available at the Command Center).

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 and equips the Arbiter with active camouflage.

Leader Ability- Rage Mode

When activated, you go into 3rd person view and move the Arbiter with the Left thumbstick and attack with the Right.

Trivia

• 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 while in 3rd person mode.
• Out of all the Arbiters that have served the Covenant, only four have been mentioned; this Arbiter is second to be seen on-screen, the first being Thel 'Vadamee.
• As an apparent Easter Egg, hint text in the Halo Wars demo claims, "Few people know that the Arbiter's given birth 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 don't call me Shirley!" and "Surely, you cant be serious!?" "I'm serious, and don't 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, presumably knocking him unconscious, 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.
• 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. Also, it was said in Halo 2 that every Arbiter from first to last was interred in the Mausoleum. This is impossible for the same reason, However it could be that since the missions given to the Arbiters are suicidal and their armor may not be in repairable condition if the body is recovered, intact or in peices; the Prophets may have just created the lie of their "graves" and armor, similar to ONI's directive to list Spartan II's as MIA even when they are known to have died, to make them legends and boost morale. A likely explanation is that Ensemble Studios simply made a mistake on the games canon.
• The armor that the Prophets give Thel seems to be a downgraded version of the Arbiter Armor, since although it does have an energy shield, its camouflage is not as permanent as Ripa's armor, but this is probably due to the fact that the power system of the armor was split between powering the shield and the camo.
• The ornate metal peices on his armor seem to serve a defensive purpose; protecting him from gunfire.
• His mandibles seem to hang like loose flaps of skin instead of closing in or opening when speaking, giving him an evil, angry, and crazed look.
• He is voiced by David Sobolov.
• He is the only Elite that has used two Energy Swords in any game, not counting cutscenes.
• In the Commander profiles that come with the limited edition of halo wars, the Arbiter's height is listed as 8'1", but the average elite height is 8'6" and 'Moramee appears taller then other elites. Sergeant Forge even described him as "monsterous". This is most likely just a typo, a discrepancy, or a simple misunderstanding in the card.
• He acts in a manner atypical of most elites, with utter disregard for most 'honorable' Sangheili customs, such as never brandishing a sword one does not intend to use.

Gallery

• The Arbiter overseeing an operation.png

  The Arbiter overseeing an operation.

• Arbiter & Zealot.jpg

  The Arbiter and a Zealot.

• HalowarsBoardingAction.jpg

  The Arbiter in-game seen dual wielding two energy swords, in "Rage" mode.

• Vlcsnap-126689.png

  The Arbiter.

• Vlcsnap-126257.png

  Talking to the Prophet of Regret.

• HW13.png

  The Arbiter preaching after the activation of a Forerunner Artifact.

• HW3.png

  The Arbiter, with Ellen Anders as a hostage, confronts Sergeant Forge.

• The Arbiter - Halo Wars.png

  Searching for a target.