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The Arbiter is a new mini-figure that was released with the Phantom set; so far it is the only set with s arbiter.
the figure is the Arbiter of Halo Wars, Ripa 'Moramee. The figure comes with a new translucent purple Energy Sword that differs from others released that were blue/cyan in colour. It also has peg holes in the back, along with the Phantom pilot, similar to the ones on Brute, Spartan, and Marine mini-figures.
A gold Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam, is also in the Halo CE rockethog which is limited to 5000 made and was PAX/Halo Fest exclusive.
Arbiters
Ripa 'Moramee
Arbiter 'Moramee.
"Do you enjoy the slaughter?" -Prophet of Regret
"I feel the joy of doing what I was born to. I have no regrets, save that I will not die fighting." -Ripa 'Moramee
Ripa 'Moramee, included with the Covenant Phantom, was the 17th Arbiter in the Line of Immaculate Succession. Before becoming Arbiter, he led a brutal uprising against his own clan, which ultimately failed, leading to his imprisonment. His skill and tenacity was recognized by the High Prophet of Regret, who made him Arbiter and tasked him with the annihilation of the human race. Ripa was given complete control of the Covenant forces attacking humanity immediately following the First Battle of Harvest in late 2525.
'Moramee's behavior was unusually violent for an Elite. He was hotheaded and egotistical, which often crippled his otherwise brilliant tactical mind. He regarded humans as wholly unworthy of respect or honorable treatment, simply viewing them as vermin to be ruthlessly slaughtered with utmost prejudice.
"My face will be the last thing your pathetic eyes ever see."
-Ripa 'Moramee's last words.
Ripa's inflated ego and underestimation of humans was ultimately his downfall in 2531, as he was tricked into letting his guard down by Sergeant John Forge, who then stabbed him in the neck and chest.
Thel 'Vadam
Arbiter 'Vadam.
"There was honor in our Covenant once... and there shall be again!" -Thel 'Vadam
The most famous Arbiter was Thel 'Vadam, included with the CE Warthog from Halo Fest. Formerly known as Imperial Admiral Thel 'Vadamee, Fleet Master of The Fleet of Particular Justice, the massive Covenant fleet that glassed Reach in the summer of 2552, Thel had failed to prevent the destruction of Installation 04, AKA Alpha Halo, at the hands of the Master Chief. Branded a Heretic for his failure, he was sentenced to death. However, instead of a normal execution, the High Prophet of Truth decided Thel would die as Arbiter, and was tasked with the elimination of a Heretic uprising in the Forerunner Gas Mines on Threshold, the gas giant that installation 04 had once orbited. 'Vadamee, accompanied by a special forces unit led by Rtas 'Vadumee, succesfully dismantled the uprising and killed the Heretics' leader, Sesa 'Refumee, but Thel did not die as planned.
The Prophets issued 'Vadamee a new task, the retrieval of the Index of Installation 05 (which is required to activate the Halos), which was being pursued by the humans, whom had followed the Prophet of Regret to Installation 05. This time, 'Vadamee was assisted by Brutes led by Tartarus, who had taken the place of the Elites as the military leaders of the Covenant after the Elites had failed to save the Prophet of Regret from being killed by the Master Chief. Thel once again accomplished his mission without dying, so Tartarus betrayed him, as he had been ordered to do by the Prophets if Thel survived.
However, the Gravemind on Installation 05 saved and captured both the Master Chief and the Arbiter, tasking them with preventing the activation of the Halos. While the Master Chief attacked the Prophets aboard High Charity, Thel was sent back to the Halo's surface, where he met up with other Elites and began slaughtering the Brutes and their followers.
Soon, Tartarus arrived with the Index intent on activating Halo, and Thel made a truce with the human Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson. Together, the Arbiter and Sgt. Johnson managed to kill Tartarus and stop the activation of the Halos, which led to the creation of an uneasy alliance between the Covenant Separatists and the humans.
Now known as Thel 'Vadam, the Arbiter would meet up and do battle with the Master Chief on Earth, before accompanying him to the Ark, where 'Vadam would ultimately kill the High Prophet of Truth, finally ending the Human-Covenant War after more than a quarter-century of death and bitter conflict.
Other Arbiters
There have been far more Arbiters than just the two above, however, these Arbiters have not been featured in Mega Bloks sets, and likely never will due to the fact they are rarely mentioned or even shown in the Halo expanded universe.
One such Arbiter is Fal 'Chavamee, an Arbiter during the early years of the Covenant Empire. At this time, the position of Arbiter was given to honorable Elites, rather than those who were dishonored but battle-hardened criminals. This changed when 'Chavamee expressed dislike for the newly formed Covenant. He ws branded a heretic, and Haka 'Chavamee set out to kill him. Haka forced Roh 'Chavam, Fal's closest friend, to brutally murder Fal's wife, Han, before killing Roh as well. Fal returned home to find the broken bodies of his wife and friend lying on the floor. Furious and wracked with grief, Fal swore to kill Haka and avenge the deaths of Roh and Han. Fal went to Haka to find a massive army defending him, something which Fal had anticipated. Fal defeated this army and confronted Haka. They engaged in a duel, which resulted in both of their deaths. After this, the position of Arbiter was given to dishonored but skilled Elites during times of crisis, and by dying in battle to protect the Covenant the Arbiter would regain their honor.
There were also Arbiters besides Ripa 'Moramee and Thel 'Vadam who fought in the Human-Covenant War. In 2535, an unnamed Arbiter fought and possibly died in the Jericho VII theatre of operations. Another Arbiter (possibly the same one from Jericho VII) fought and died in the Battle of Reach in 2552, coincidentally under the command of his successor, Imperial Admiral Thel 'Vadamee.
Other Arbiters played key roles in ending the Taming of the Lekgolo and the Unggoy Disobediences.
Photos
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Trivia
- The first Arbiter figure to be released was Ripa 'Moramee, and the second being Thel 'Vadam as an exclusive figure.
- Both Arbiter figures come with Purple Energy Swords, different than the common Cyan/Blue Sword.
- There are some differences between the armor of Ripa 'Moramee and Thel 'Vadam, particularily the size, due to the fact 'Moramee was one of the tallest Elites in the Halo Series (second only to Xytan Jar 'Wattinree from Halo: Ghosts of Onyx), meaning that the armor of all Arbiters would in fact be tailored to their height and size. Another fact pointing towards the armor being tailored to certain members would be that recovering the bodies of the Arbiter at the time would be impossible at times, Ripa 'Moramee's body was pushed off of the Apex platform on Shield 0459 just before its destruction, meaning that the Covenant would have extreme difficulty recovering it.
- When stabbed in the neck by John Forge, Ripa seemed only shocked, rather than wounded, though clearly in pain, realizing that a human had so easily out-smarted him due to his own arrogance. Forge then stabbed him in the chest with his own Energy Sword, killing him.
- While the Arbiter's armor may look simple, it is actually highly advanced, though not as much as contemporary Elite armor. It has energy shields, limited regenerating Active Camo, and a heads-up-display.
- Ripa 'Moramee regularly had violent outbursts during the Harvest campaign, the Battle of the Shield 0459, and the various other Outer Colony campaigns. Ripa even drew his weapon before a Prophet; a grave crime that would of had him killed instantly if not for his position as the Arbiter. Also, when the Prophet of Regret met Ripa in prison, Ripa mused over how easily he could kill "the noisemaker".
- Ripa had very little respect for his own troops, ignoring Re'gish Wamiks concerns for the Relic on Harvest and insulting him. Ripa even knocked down a Zealot when he gave the report on the Spirit of Fire entering Shield 0459, knocking him unconscious.
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