Ripa 'Moramee

Ripa 'MorameePrima's Halo Wars Official Game Guide, page 48 was a Sangheili Commander of the Covenant Army during the Harvest Campaign and other Outer Colony campaigns until his demise in 2531. After being punished for leading a coup against his clan leadership and failing on Decided Heart, he was named the seventeenth Arbiter in the Immaculate Line of Succession by the Hierarchs, mainly at the urging of the Prophet of Regret.
In his new role, he led the Covenant attack on Harvest and the excavations of a Forerunner artifact on the planet's surface. Shortly afterward, he assisted the Prophet of Regret in an attempt to reactivate a dormant Forerunner fleet on Shield 0459, for which purpose he kidnapped the human scientist Ellen Anders on Arcadia. This led to a series of violent engagements against forces led by Captain Cutter of the , and the eventual death of 'Moramee at the hands of Sergeant Forge during the Covenant assault on SPARTAN Red Team, who were attempting to destroy the artificial planet with the Spirit of Fire's removed FTL Reactor.
==Biography==
===Early career===
Ripa 'Moramee's first known military action was the suppression of the Sixteenth Unggoy Disobedience and ending 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, for both his insubordination and failure. 'Moramee would have died in the prison had it not been for the intervention of the Hierarchs - specifically the Prophet of Regret - who appointed him as the Arbiter, and tasked him with conducting the war of extermination against humanity and uncovering Forerunner artifacts. 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 alone; the Covenant leaders believed that he, as the new Arbiter, would not ask politically inconvenient questions (an important factor given the secret status of humanity as Forerunner-designated Reclaimers).E3 2008: Five Long Years Cinematic Part 2. Halo Wars Movies. Accessed on 2008-16-12 The creation of a new Arbiter caused a split in the Covenant: an ever-growing faction of Sangheili, who were opposed to the new Prophets, seized control of several Forerunner relics, including one that supposedly contained a "key" of some sort. The Arbiter was sent by the Hierarchs to end this rebellion, resulting in a vicious battle that raged for days which ended with the destruction of many heretics. The mysterious key, however, was never found.Halo Wars Timeline
=== Harvest ===
 
'Moramee was present at the Harvest Campaign in 2531. The UNSC was aware of his presence but was unable to gather more than cursory intelligence on him.Halo Wars: Collectors Edition Leader Cards Ripa 'Moramee oversaw the excavation of a Forerunner site in the planet's northern polar region. The installation's entrance was uncovered by Field Master Re'gish Wamik, and the area was quickly investigated by Covenant forces.
Despite concerns by Field Master Wamik that the humans would "defile" the installation, 'Moramee pressed on due to the impatience and pressure of the Hierarchs. With the UNSC closing in, the Prophet of Regret ordered him to destroy the installation and return to the Covenant with the information he had gathered. Ripa 'Moramee was reluctant to destroy the Forerunner construction but complied nonetheless upon the continued insistence of the Prophet.2008-04-11, Gamereactor VT: TGS08 Halo Wars Gameplay Presentation. Accessed on 2008-16-12 The attempt to destroy the relic failed when the demolition teams were thwarted by UNSC ground forces deployed from the orbiting Spirit of Fire.
=== The Shield World ===
The information from the Forerunner structure on Harvest led the Covenant to Arcadia, where a collection of Forerunner ruins was discovered. These ruins, in turn, revealed the location of a Forerunner Shield World, which 'Moramee and the Prophet of Regret immediately traveled to.
Ripa 'Moramee was involved in a Covenant attempt to activate a dormant fleet of Forerunner ships from the Shield World. However, 'Moramee was concerned about why he was not fulfilling his task of destroying humanity, when he should command all their forces for a frontal assault; Regret stated that they need the Forerunner ships to increase the size of their fleets, so that the Covenant won't have to dedicate all their forces for the war effort and thus leave themselves defenseless. After Covenant attempts to interface with the Forerunner technology failed, 'Moramee was sent on a mission to capture Ellen Anders after the First Battle of Arcadia by the Prophet of Regret, as it was believed she would have information and knowledge of how to interface with Forerunner structures that the Covenant did not. The Arbiter successfully captured her despite Sergeant John Forge's intervention and escaped in a Spirit to an awaiting ship.Halo Wars - Level: Scarab
The pursued them through Slipspace, deeming Anders's capture to be a "significant security breach."Halo Wars - Level: Anders' Signal 'Moramee reached the Shield World first, brought Anders to the Apex site,Halo Wars - Level: Shield World and forced her to interface with the Forerunner controls and begin activating the Forerunner fleet.Halo Wars - Level: Beachhead Soon afterward the arrived on station over the artificial planet surface and began to organize a rescue mission.
===Death and Legacy===
Anders managed to escape from 'Moramee through the Apex's teleportation system and alerted the UNSC of the Covenant's intentions. Sergeant Forge and Spartan Red Team were quickly dispatched to Apex site with orders to destroy the Shield World using the Spirit of Fire's removed FTL Reactor by causing its core to overheat, thereby causing the Shield World's internal sun to go supernova.Halo Wars - Level: Reactor An engagement ensued in which Red Team held off the Sangheili Honor Guard assault and Forge engaged 'Moramee, who had used his cloak to ambush and kill the Marine officer in charge of opening the Apex's entrance. In the beginning, Forge managed to disarm his opponent despite the physical disparity between himself and the Arbiter, relying on combat skill rather than raw strength. However, 'Moramee quickly fought off Forge and proceeded to taunt him and injure him with a punch to the stomach. Feigning defeat, Forge challenged 'Moramee to look him in the eye before killing him. The Arbiter complied and lifted the sergeant by his neck while unwittingly bringing his own neck within the reach of his opponent. Forge drove his combat knife, "Lucy," into his adversary's neck, then used the incapacitated Arbiter's dropped Energy Sword to stab him through the chest. Ripa 'Moramee's corpse was rolled off the platform by Alice-130 of Red Team shortly before the FTL Reactor overheated and destroyed the Shield World.
==Personality==
Ripa 'Moramee was a brutal and ruthless commander. Despite being a Sangheili, he showed an uncharacteristic disregard for Sangheili traditional values such as honor and arrogantly underestimated his foes, ignoring the advice of his subordinates. He is also extremely tall and muscular compared to most Sangheili. He has proved himself to be fanatically loyal to the Hierarchs, especially the Prophet of Regret, and carried out his task to eradicate humanity with fervent zeal and efficiency as a means to secure his place in the Great Journey. His fearsome reputation was known to all in the Covenant, including Atriox.
He was also unusually violent and quick to anger. Prior to his service as the Arbiter, during Regret's visit to Ripa in his prison, he thought of how easy it would be to kill "the noisemaker." When his orders to open the Forerunner relic on Harvest were questioned by Re'gish Wamik, he verbally lashed out at his subordinate, telling him "I care not for your little life!"Halo Wars - Level: Relic Approach During a visit to the Apex, Regret pondered on how to open the Apex. Ripa's response was that he would "Take what we have!" in regards to the Covenant Fleet; during this outburst, he made the considerably foolish decision of activating his Energy Swords in the presence of the Prophet of Regret, which startled the Honor Guards watching over the Prophet. This is a blatant disregard of both Covenant laws (drawing a weapon in the presence of a Hierarch) and traditional Sangheili customs (a drawn weapon is said to "demand blood" before it can be stowed again, although this could be because he was demanding the blood of humanity). His status as Arbiter most likely kept the Honor Guard present from attempting to kill him on the spot. While at the Apex during an attempted interrogation of Ellen Anders, he struck a Zealot - throwing him to the ground and presumably knocking him unconscious - upon being informed that the Spirit of Fire had followed them to the Shield World. This is clearly unacceptable behavior, as the Elite who was knocked down not only did nothing wrong but also held a very high rank.
The Arbiter also showed a particular fondness for grabbing humans by the neck, as seen several times in his interactions with Ellen Anders and John Forge, at one point lifting and dragging Anders by the throat despite orders to capture her unharmed. This is probably an expression of his cruel and dominating behavior, as it is likely that 'Moramee would take pleasure in demonstrating his physical superiority over the humans.
Ripa is known to toy with his enemies, fighting more to cause pain than to kill. When he fights Sergeant Forge, he takes the time to taunt the human at several points, which included insulting the rest of the human species at the same time. Considering his strength, he also could have easily killed Forge outright with the punch to his stomach, but instead opted to hold back so as to make Forge suffer for his last few moments. This arrogance and sadism is what led to his death as it gave Forge enough time to use his Combat knife on Moramee.Halo Wars - Level: Escape, Cutscene ({Monsters})
Since he cared very little for tradition and honor, it is possible that had Ripa 'Moramee survived, he could have ended up joining The Banished. He would have inspired awe and fear in those he would have commanded.
==Gameplay==
===Halo Wars===
====Leader====
The Arbiter's unique unit is the Suicide Grunt.
====Hero Unit====
=====Abilities=====
*"Defiant Rage": receive additional health for casualties inflicted.
*"Spiteful Rage": abilities cost less resources.
*"Blinding Rage": increases the Arbiter's and nearby allied units' attack power.
=====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.
=====Hero Ability - Rage Mode=====
When activated, the camera locks onto the Arbiter, whom you control with the left thumbstick and attack with the right. It will use up resources every second it is in use and can be upgraded in the Temple. Rage Mode allows the Arbiter to single out enemy units, lunge at them, and deal damage on them. When the player presses X and Y at the same time, the Arbiter will run extremely fast and perform "finishing moves" on enemy units but can also lunge while doing so. If he has Defiant rage he will still get more health in this mode.
A fully upgraded Rage allows it to target aerial units and increases your units' damage while the Rage is still active. This also affects other allies, including allied UNSC units, boosting their damage.
===Halo Wars 2===
The Arbiter is a Banished leader in Halo Wars 2. He has two unique units: the Enforcer and a specialized Phantom.Halo Waypoint: Community Update - Know-Scope
==Trivia==
*A trivia in the Halo Wars menu jokingly states that Ripa's birth name is Shirley; referencing his line ""Surely you jest!" from Relic Approach.Halo Wars- Menu - Tips & Trivia ( Screenshot)
==Gallery==
===Concept art===
File:arbiter-leader.jpg|Early concept art of Ripa 'Moramee.
===Halo Wars===
Arbiter.png|Full-body render of Ripa 'Moramee.
0Cov Arbiter Render v2 3.jpg|Concept Arbiter armor study for Ripa 'Moramee.
File:cov arbiter render v6 3.jpg|A side preview of Ripa 'Moramee.
HW-Arbiter-Front.jpg|A front preview of Ripa 'Moramee.
File:IMG 0007.jpg|Front of Arbiter's Leader Card.
File:IMG 0008.jpg|Back of Arbiter's Leader Card.
File:Arbiter Closeup_Apex.png|Ripa 'Moramee at the Apex.
File:The Arbiter - Halo Wars.png|Ripa 'Moramee at the Forerunner relic on Harvest.
File:HalowarsBoardingAction.jpg|The Arbiter in-game seen dual wielding two Energy Swords, in "Rage" mode.
0hw-prima-blog-03-01.jpg|Ripa 'Moramee facing John Forge.
HW_Arbiter1.jpg
HW_Arbiter2.jpg
===Other===
File:Series 8 Halo Wars Arbiter figure.jpg|An action figure of Ripa Moramee released by McFarlane Toys.
File:0halo-wars-arbiter-mcfarlane-toy.jpg|Another figure of Ripa 'Moramee by Mcfarlane Toys.
==Sources==
ru:Рипа_'Морами
Category:Arbiters
Category:Deceased characters