Ripa Moramee

**Ripa Moramee** is the main antagonist of *Halo Wars.* He was an Elite warrior and an Arbiter during the middle of the Human-Covenant war.

## History

### Background

 Ripa Moramee's first known military action was the suppression of the Sixteenth Grunt Disobedience and ending the heretical reign of a Jackal 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. Ripa would have died in the prison had it not have been the intervenation 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. The creation of a new Arbiter caused a split in the Covenant: an ever-growing faction of Elites, including one that supposedly contained a "key" of some sort. The Arbiter was sent by the Hierarchs to end this rebellion, resulting in a viscous battle that raged for days which ended with the destruction of many Heretics. The mysterious key, however, was never found.

### Halo Wars

 Ripa was present at the Harvest Campaign in 2531. The UNSC was aware of his presence but was unable to gather more cursory intelligence on him. Ripa oversaw the excavation of a Forerunner site in the planet's nothern polar region. The installation's entrance was uncovered by Field Master Re'gish Wamik, and the area was quickly investigated by the Covenant forces.

 Despite concerns by Wamik that the Humans would "defile" the installation, Ripa 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 was reluctant to destroy it but complied nonetheless upon the continued insistence of Regret. They attempt to destroy the installation but it failed when the demolition teams were thwarted by the UNSC ground forces deployed from the orbiting Spirit of Fire.

 The information from the Forerunner structure on Harvest led the Covenant to Arcaidia, where a collection of Forerunner ruins was discovered. These ruins, in turn, revealed the location of a Forerunner Shield World, which Ripa and Regret immediately travelled to.

 Ripa was involved in a Covenant attempt to activate a dormant fleet of Forerunner Dreadnought Forerunner ships from the Shield World. However, Ripa was concerned about why he was not fulfilling his task in 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 the Covenant attempts to interface with the Forerunner technology failed, Ripa was sent on a mission to capture Ellen Anders after the First Battle of Arcadia by Regret, as it was believed