List of Halo characters

This is a list of major fictional characters from the Halo franchise, including the video games Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, as well as the Halo novels: Halo: The Fall of Reach, Halo: The Flood, Halo: First Strike, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, and the Halo Graphic Novel. Characters are organized by faction in the Halo universe- the humans of the United Nations Space Command, the alien Covenant, the ancient Forerunner, and the parasitic Flood.

United Nations Space Command

Master Chief

Main article: Master Chief (Halo)

Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117, known as "Master Chief" or "John-117", is the protagonist and main playable character in all the Halo games. He is voiced by actor Steve Downes. One of the last SPARTAN-II supersoldiers still in active service, the Master Chief is awed and feared by even the Covenant, who see him as a demon. Assisted by the AI Cortana, he almost singlehandedly prevents the firing of Installation 04 in Halo: Combat Evolved, an event which the player is told would have destroyed all sentient life in the galaxy.

Avery Johnson

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Sergeant Major A.J. Johnson.

Main article: Sergeant Major A.J. Johnson

Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson, voiced by David Scully, is a Marine who leads human forces against Covenant and Flood assaults throughout the first and second games. Whereas Johnson played a minor role in Halo: Combat Evolved, the character plays a much larger role in Halo 2, by joining forces with the Arbiter to stop Tartarus from activating Delta Halo. Johnson is also the only human seen to survive a Flood infestation, due to a preexisting medical condition. In Halo 2, he is awarded the Colonial Cross for his heroic actions, and led UNSC forces to drive the Covenant from New Mombasa. Johnson is the sole character featured in the Halo Graphic Novel story, "Breaking Quarantine", which details Johnson's escape from the Flood in Halo: Combat Evolved.

Jacob Keyes

Main article: Captain Jacob Keyes

In Halo: Combat Evolved, Captain Jacob Keyes is the commander of the UNSC ship Pillar of Autumn. The ship was to undertake a mission with a complement of SPARTAN-IIs to capture a Prophet and end the war with the Covenant. However, the Covenant attack first, and the Autumn follows Cole Protocol and arrives at Halo. There, Keyes leads a guerilla insurgency against the Covenant, until he is captured and assimilated by the Flood in Halo's sixth mission, "343 Guilty Spark". He is posthumously awarded a medal for his bravery in Halo 2.

Miranda Keyes

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Cmdr. Miranda Keyes aboard the ship In Amber Clad.

Commander Miranda Keyes is the daughter of Captain Jacob Keyes and first appears in Halo 2. She is the commanding officer of UNSC frigate In Amber Clad, which is later taken over by the Flood. She is referred to by 343 Guilty Spark as a "Reclaimer", like the Master Chief was in Halo. Thus, she is able to retrieve the Index from the Delta Halo Library. Miranda is voiced by Julie Benz in Halo 2, but Bungie has stated they are recasting Miranda's voice actress because they want someone with an accent.

At the beginning of Halo 2, Keyes is present at an awards ceremony onboard the Cairo defense platform above Earth to accept a medal (Colonial Cross) posthumously for her father, who had been consumed by the Flood during the events of Halo. Soon after, a Covenant fleet launches an attack on Earth, and Commander Keyes links up with the rest of the fleet aboard the In Amber Clad. She is able to retrieve the Master Chief and deployed him, along with many of her marines, to assist in the defense of New Mombasa. When the High Prophet of Regret retreats from Earth by initiating a slipspace jump, Keyes orders the pilots of In Amber Clad to follow Regret's ship, resulting in the ship's arrival near Delta Halo.

Keyes decides to deploy two teams to the surface of Halo: one, led by the Master Chief, would locate and assassinate Regret, while Keyes and Sergeant Johnson would locate the Index before the Covenant. She and Johnson are able to reach the Index, but are captured by Tartarus. As a Reclaimer, only she can insert the Index into Halo's control panel, and Tartarus attempts to force her to do this. When the Arbiter tries to stop the firing, Tartarus forces Keyes to insert the Index, initiating Halo's firing sequence. After the Arbiter and Johnson engage and kill Tartarus, Keyes successfully removes the Index and prevents Halo from activating, but inadvertently causes all remaining Halo installations to enter standby mode, enabling the remote detonation of these installations from The Ark.

Catherine Halsey

Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey is a civilian scientist in the UNSC, in which she holds a prominent position. A flash-clone of her brain tissue was the basis for the construction of the "smart" AI Cortana. As the creator of the SPARTAN-II Project, she was responsible for the kidnapping of the seventy-five Spartan children, along with their training and the subsequent death of thirty of them due to the dangerous augmentation process. She is viewed by the SPARTAN-IIs as a "mother" figure. Because of the overnight success of the project, she quickly rose through the ranks of the UNSC, despite quarrels with one or two members of the Admiralty.

Halsey enjoys the time she spends with her Spartans, each of whom she addresses by first name rather than designation. Little is known of her personal life, but it is implied that she is a lonely workaholic, and highly criticized for her involvement with the SPARTAN-II project. Halsey justifies her actions through her belief that the suffering of a few is acceptable for the benefit of many. Sergeant Johnson, however, unknowingly causes Halsey to rethink her position, and she decides to "save each and every member of humanity beginning with herself".

During First Strike Dr. Halsey hijacks a shuttle for her own private mission to the planet Onyx. There, she assists in deciphering the surrounding Forerunner ruins on the planet and leads the surviving humans within a Dyson Sphere contained within the spatially compressed core of the planet, in actuality a "shield-world" construct left unused by the Forerunners.

James Ackerson

Colonel James Ackerson is a high ranking officer in the Office of Naval Intelligence, who has seen many years of service and has survived several battles with the Covenant. Such is his influence that he dominates the Security Committee and can talk down most higher-ranking officers without fear of reprisal. Due to the competition between Ackerson and other departments, most notably Section Three and the SPARTAN-II project, Ackerson harbors a strong resentment toward his opponents and toward the Spartans in particular. In Halo: The Fall of Reach, he attempted to sabotage the MJOLNIR Mark V testing process by using ordnance far above the established guidelines, including Lotus anti-tank mines, a full squad of ODSTs ordered to shoot to kill, automated gun turrets, and an airstrike with a Skyhawk jump jet fighter. However, Cortana soon got back at Ackerson by forging a letter requesting a reassignment to the front lines, following planting evidence of illicit activities in his bank records. In Halo: First Strike, it is revealed that Ackerson managed to weasel his way out of Cortana's mess, and is in charge of the SPARTAN-III program.

Franklin Mendez

Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez was the SPARTAN-II's trainer on Reach. He provided them with excellent weapons and physical lessons, as well as tactical and mental training. He is not very talkative, but possesses a brilliant mind for warfare, and this shows through in the Master Chief's abilities. He is described as neither tall nor muscular, with close-cut hair that has a dash of gray at the temples. Also, he looks very ordinary for a man who has seen such extensive combat. His walk is described as being slow and graceful, as though he were not bound by gravity as much as others. He leaves after the discovery of the Covenant to train the next batch of Spartans. Before he leaves, he gives the Master Chief the quarter John won from Dr. Halsey during her original examination of him as a child on Eridanus Two.

Chief Mendez was recruited by Colonel Ackerson to assist Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose with training the SPARTAN-III supersoldiers at the secret world of Onyx after a few years of combat duty (receiving two Purple Hearts in the process). He trained three companies of Spartan-IIIs. During Ghosts of Onyx he participated in the events that occurred on the planet between October 31 and November 4, 2552 and was sealed inside the Forerunner Dyson Sphere at the heart of the planet, with the remaining human survivors.

Sir Terrence Hood

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Admiral Hood aboard the ODP Cairo

Fleet Admiral Sir Terrence Hood (voiced by Ron Perlman) first appears in the novel, Halo: First Strike. He is a member of the UNSC Security Committee and is the Chief of Naval Operations. He greatly respects the Spartans, not only because of their record, but on two occasions his life has been saved by the Spartans.

When Halo 2 begins Admiral Hood presents the Master Chief, Sergeant Johnson, and Miranda Keyes with medals aboard the Cairo Station. Captain Keyes' medal is posthumous and thus presented to his daughter, Miranda. Lord Hood was in overall command of the battle when Prophet of Regret's fleet attacked Earth (this is made clear when he orders Fleet Admiral Harper to defend the Cairo, Athens, and Malta MAC stations instead of attacking the Covenant ships directly). Later, at the end of Halo 2, he is seen commanding the defense of Earth aboard the Cairo as he finds out that Master Chief is aboard the High Prophet of Truth's Forerunner flagship. In Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Hood receives an urgent message by Dr. Halsey requesting for him to send Spartans to assist her, and obliges by ordering Fred-104, Will-043, and Linda-058 to Onyx.

Danforth Whitcomb

Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb is deputy chief of naval operations in the UNSC. When Reach falls under Covenant attack before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, he is rescued by Gamma Team, a division of the Spartans sent to defend Reach from the Covenant invasion. He is later picked up by the Master Chief and escaped in Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice. Whitcomb sacrifices himself to destroy the bulk of the Covenant invasion fleet near the Unyielding Hierophant. Broadcasting a challenge to fight along with a picture of a Forerunner artifact the Covenant had been searching for, Whitcomb uses the captured Covenant cruiser Ascendant Justice to cluster the Covenant around the Hierophant, whose reactors are going critical. The station explodes, destroying almost all of the Covenant fleet.

Carol "Foehammer" Rawley

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Rawley's dropship, picking up UNSC survivors on Alpha Halo.

Captain Carol Rawley, referred to in-game by the callsigns Foehammer or Echo 419, is the pilot of a dropship on the UNSC cruiser Pillar of Autumn. She assists the protagonist in Halo: Combat Evolved numerous times, providing troop extractions and dropped reinforcements. Foehammer is voiced by Tanya Pettiford-Wates. She is technically an unseen character, as players can only see her ship and not the pilot inside.

Not long after the Pillar of Autumn makes a blind jump to Threshold, Covenant forces descend once upon the ship. Foehammer, along with a group of fellow pilots, escape the Autumn by taking some of the Pelican dropships to the surface of the ring. There, she helps Spartan-117 and Cortana pick up scattered Marines and rescue Captain Jacob Keyes, allowing the humans to wage a guerilla war against the Covenant. She inserts the Master Chief and Marines into several tough spots, including an assault to find Halo's control room. Later, she is killed after her ship is hit by a Covenant Banshee, as she attempts to aid the Master Chief in escaping the Autumn before its imminent detonation.

Antonio Silva

Major Antonio Silva was commander of the Marine Helljumper battalion on the Pillar of Autumn when it crashed on Halo in Halo: Combat Evolved. An Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, Silva harbors little love for the SPARTAN-II program, bearing a grudge from when several of his fellow Helljumpers were killed as a test of a Spartan's willingness to obey orders. Though a brilliant tactical commander, Silva is ambitious to a fault, and is also very protective of his own troops. and his subordinates feel his ambition clouds his judgement. At the end of Halo: The Flood, he led the assault and capture of the Covenant ship Truth and Reconciliation, and, blinded by his own ambitions, refused to exterminate the remaining Flood specimens on board, believing that humanity needed to see live specimens of the parasite. He is killed when his subordinate, Lieutenant McKay, destroys the cruiser rather than let the Flood escape.

Melissa McKay

Lieutenant Melissa McKay was Major Silva's executive officer during the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo: The Flood. A brave and stalwart officer who fought in several battles on the Halo construct, McKay was driven close to the breaking point as the battle wore on and the Flood parasite began to emerge. At the end of the novel, McKay attempted to convince Silva that they could not leave Halo with live Flood specimens on board their captured ship, but Silva refused to listen to her. Taking matters into her own hands, McKay destroyed a critical control line to the cruiser's bridge, causing the ship to crash and killing everyone on board to contain the spread of the Flood.

Wallace Jenkins

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Footage from Jenkin's helmet camera, showing his squad being overrun by Flood Infection forms.

Private Wallace A Jenkins is one of many UNSC forces that survives the initial Covenant attack in Halo: Combat Evolved. In Halo: The Flood, Jenkins assists in defending the human stronghold under the command of Major Antonio Silva. He is also part of an assault team led by Sergeant Avery Johnson and Captain Jacob Keyes, sent to recover a Covenant arms cache during Halo: Combat Evolved. The team is overwhelmed by the Flood, leaving the entire squad except Sergeant Johnson infected and resulting in the eventual death of Captain Keyes. In the video game, the Master Chief recovers Jenkins' helmet, and reviews the recording of the mission that it contained, introducing the Flood to the player through the soldier's eyes. In Halo, the soldier's fate is left unknown.

Halo: The Flood reveals the fate of Jenkins; the Private is transformed into a Combat Form of the Flood along with the rest of his squad, but he is able to exercise a certain degree of control over the infection, due to the mind of the parasite being weakened by its long hibernation. He uses this limited control in an attempt to end his own life, charging at UNSC Marines in the hope that they would shoot him. Instead he is captured, as a live specimen for study. He is brought aboard the Covenant cruiser Truth and Reconciliation as part of a mission under ODST Major Silva to capture a Covenant vessel and return it to Earth intact. Jenkins successfully convinces Silva's second-in-command, Lieutenant McKay, that such a mission would spread the Flood to Earth, and she destroys the conduit connecting the ship's controls to the engines, destroying the vessel as it crashed into Halo.

Corporal Locklear

Corporal Locklear is an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper who was involved in the battle on Installation 04 in Halo: Combat Evolved. Not much is known of his efforts or achievements in the fight. In Halo: First Strike, it is revealed that he escaped Halo on a Pelican with Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, Lieutenant Elias Haverson, and Warrant Officer Shiela Polaski, who he seems to have been attracted to. He meets his death when he blows up Dr. Halsey's Slipspace-altering crystal in grief of the death of Polaski, destroying himself and protecting the rest of the crew on the Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice from the Covenant, who would have tracked the crystal's radioactive emissions in Slipspace.

SPARTAN-IIs

The SPARTAN-II Project is a top-secret project to create human super-soldiers who were originally planned to crush revolts in the human colonies. After the Covenant attack, the Spartans experience a priority shift. In an effort to boost support for a war humanity is losing, the UNSC High Command reveals the existence of the Spartans to the general public. While the Master Chief is the only soldier of the SPARTAN-II Project seen in the game, many others are featured or mentioned in the Halo novels. In the books, all Spartans are recorded as MIA even if they are dead; this is because the UNSC High Command does not want civilians to think that Spartans can be killed, in an effort to boost morale.

Most Spartans are now listed as Missing in Action; only a handful remain on active duty. John-117, the Master Chief, is at Earth following the events of Halo 2. Linda-058, Kelly-087, and Frederic-104 are inside a Dyson Sphere after the events of Ghosts of Onyx. ; Kurt-051 is killed after staying behind to stop the Covenant from following his comrades into the Sphere.

Li-008 is killed covering those repairing the Ascendant Justice in slipspace during Halo: First Strike, as is Anton-044. Later on, Grace-093 is killed by Brutes on board the Unyielding Hierophant in an effort to destroy the station. William-043 is killed in Onyx by a Hunter. Other Spartans mentioned (and now MIA) include Joshua-029, Vinh-030, Sam-034, Isaac-039, and Malcolm-059.

Kurt-051

Kurt-051 is one of the primary characters of Halo: Ghosts of Onyx. Kurt originally graduated with the original class of SPARTAN-IIs. Kurt was much more social than the other Spartans, going to lengths to be friends with not only his fellow Spartans but also the support personnel who trained and aided them. Although some (particularly John-117, the leader of the Spartans) found this quality to be detrimental to his duties, he proved to be an able leader and often led the Green Team in training exercises. After the death of Sam-034 in 2531, Kurt was assigned to replace him as a member of Blue Team under the command of John-117. Later that year, on a mission in the Groombridge 34 system, his thruster pack apparently malfunctioned while EVA. He was recovered by the UNSC Prowler Point of No Return, unbeknownst to his teammates. In actuality, the "accident" had been elaborately staged by Colonel James Ackerson of the Office of Naval Intelligence in order to recruit Kurt to head up the SPARTAN-III program without anyone else knowing. He is given a new name and an officer's commission, effectively starting a new life as Lieutenant Kurt Ambrose.

Kurt is assigned to head up the selection and training of the next generation of Spartans, training three companies of approximately three hundred SPARTAN-IIIs each at Onyx, and for his efforts and the success of the program, he was eventually promoted to Lieutenant Commander. Driven by the guilt of watching two generations of his SPARTAN-IIIs die in combat, he worked to protect them at any cost, taking extreme measures to ensure their survival. When the Forerunner Sentinels began attacking in Zone 67, Kurt withdrew to the camp armory and his house, where he retrieved his suit of SPI armor, consciously choosing it instead of his vastly superior MJOLNIR armor in a show of solidarity with his troops. After the arrival of Dr. Halsey and the SPARTAN-II Blue Team, Kurt along with the remaining 7 SPARTAN-IIIs accompanied them to the center of Zone 67 - a recently unearthed Forerunner city - to protect the Forerunner technology from falling to the Covenant forces who had just entered orbit. Eventually, he realized that Dr. Halsey's actual plan was to take the remaining Spartans into the safety of the core of Onyx, an advanced Forerunner shelter which existed in slipspace. He led the Spartans in defending the core against the Covenant forces, but ordered the rest of the Spartans into the shelter along with Dr. Halsey and Chief Mendez when it was clear that they could no longer hold their position. Kurt was killed at the end of Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by detonating a series of FENRIS nuclear warheads to prevent the Covenant from pursuing his comrades.

Maria-062

A SPARTAN-II who chose to retire from the SPARTAN-II program to start a family. After doing so she had tested out a new model of MJOLNIR Mark VI armor before it was sent to be used by the Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan John-117 in Halo 2. This event is depicted in the Halo Graphic Novel, entitled Armor Testing, by W. Andrew Robinson (pencils), Ed Lee (colors), and Jay Faerber (Story).

AIs

A common presence on UNSC worlds and fleets, advanced artificial intelligences serve as highly capable computerized assistants in everything from naval warfare and military planning to accounting. UNSC AIs come in two types, "dumb" and "smart." "Dumb" AIs are specialized in one specific field and cannot improve their knowledge in regards to any other field or grow in terms of processing power. "Smart" AIs are unlimited in their ability to expand and learn, though their rapid rate of self-advancement results in a cognitive "death" after roughly seven operational years, due to critical system functions being used up by the AI to think and process, analogous to a human using so much of their brain to think that they no longer breathe.

Cortana

Main article: Cortana

Cortana, voiced in the games by Jen Taylor, is the AI who assists the Master Chief throughout Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. She is one of many smart AIs, and is based on Dr. Halsey. Her actions during Halo: Combat Evolved help prevent the activation of the ringworld. She escapes Halo along with the Master Chief in a fighter, and is instrumental in helping the UNSC survivors capture the Covenant flagship Ascendant Justice during the events of Halo: First Strike. During Halo 2 Cortana is put in charge of the MAC defense platform Cairo over Earth when the Covenant attack; she then follows the Chief on In Amber Clad to Delta Halo, where she further assists in intelligence work. Cortana stays behind on High Charity to detonate In Amber Clad's engines in case Halo is activated; she is last seen in the clutches of Gravemind.

Kalmiya

Kalmiya was Dr. Catherine Halsey's "test" experiment, to see whether an AI could handle the code-breaking abilities that were required for the Spartan II's mission. Kalmiya is a "smart" AI - copied directly from the neural patterns of a human brain. She also contributes a portion of her core programming to the making of Cortana. She is erased according to UNSC protocol when the ONI Castle Base on Reach self-destructs to prevent the Covenant from discovering any human secrets, such as the location of Earth.

Wellsley

Wellsley is- a Class-C Military A.I. who assisted Helljumpers Major Silva and Lt. McKay on Halo to set up and operate Alpha Base, the center of the human resistance on the ringworld. He is only mentioned in Halo: The Flood and is effectively erased when Lt. McKay destroys the Truth and Reconciliation in an attempt to stop her superior's plans to capture and examine the Flood. He is also a "dumb" A.I. - meaning he was only created for one type of position, in this case being a military assistant. His name and personality come from the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley (original, correct spelling), who won the Battle of Waterloo. The A.I. Wellsley often refers to victories that the Duke made as though he was the Duke and not an artificial recreation.

Araqiel

Araqiel is the personal AI of Colonel James Ackerson, a rival of Dr. Catherine Halsey and strong critic of the Spartan-II program. Since the overnight success of the program threatened Ackerson, he deployed Araqiel to attack the files of Dr. Halsey, stealing data (such as every Spartan's DNA) for the SPARTAN-III program's study. Araqiel is only mentioned in the book, Halo: First Strike, and is erased by Dr. Halsey and Kalmiya during the Covenant assault on the planet Reach after threatening to report Halsey to the ONI for treason. His appearance is that of an elongated skull with long, demon-like horns, fire-filled eyes and jagged teeth. His voice is a low bestial growl or rumble containing a trace of far-off thunder, probably evoking the demon for which he is named.

Deep Winter

Deep Winter became the functioning A.I. for the training camp of the new Spartan III soldiers. He replaced Eternal Spring. Deep Winter became aware of illegal drugs being used on the new soldiers and tried to warn Spartan Kurt-051, even though Kurt-051 was the one responsible for them being used in the first place. Fortunately for Kurt, the A.I. was at the end of its lifespan. Deep Winter appeared as an old man with snow blowing around him.

The Covenant

The High Prophets

Main article: Hierarchs (Halo)

The High Prophets or Hierarchs are the supreme leaders of the theocratic Covenant. In Halo 2, there are shown to be only three; the Prophets of Mercy, Truth, and Regret (voiced by Hamilton Camp, Michael Wincott and Robin Atkin Downes, respectively). During the course of Halo 2, Regret attacks Earth, then retreats to Delta Halo. There, he calls for reinforcements, but is killed by the Master Chief. Later, Mercy is attacked by Flood, and abandoned by Truth. Based on Gravemind's comments during the level "High Charity", both Mercy and Regret have been assimilated into the Flood intelligence.

Arbiter

Main article: Arbiter (Halo)

The Arbiter is a rank given to special Covenant Elite soldiers, who undertake suicidal missions on behalf of the Hierarchs. They are revered amongst the Covenant for their bravery and skill. In Halo 2, the rank of Arbiter is given to a disgraced former Fleet Commander. Under his watch the Ascendant Justice was captured by the Master Chief and Installation 04 was destroyed. Rather than killing him, the Prophets allow the Commander to become the Arbiter, and to carry on his missions.

The Arbiter succeeds in silencing the heretic leader Sesa ‘Refumee before traveling to Delta Halo. Here, he succeeds in capturing the Index, vital for the Covenant's "Great Journey" to occur. However he is betrayed by the Brutes and the Prophets, sparking the Covenant Civil War, and subsequently learns from Gravemind that the Halos are weapons of destruction, not salvation. The Arbiter then leads fellow Elites and other Separatist forces against the Brutes, joining forces with Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson in stopping Tartarus from activating Delta Halo.

Tartarus

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Chieftain Tartarus

Tartarus (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is the most prominent of the Jiralhanae (also known as Brute) commanders of the Covenant, easily recognized by his albinism and distinctive mohawk. He is named for the deepest part of the Ancient Greek underworld, where the Titans are imprisoned. He represents his entire species as their Chieftain: rough, arrogant and disdainful of the Covenant Elite, and totally dedicated to the Prophets' "Great Journey".

Tartarus made his first chronological appearance in the novel Halo: First Strike, in the chamber of the High Prophet of Truth. Tartarus reports that the Covenant Fleet preparing to attack Earth has been destroyed. He had scoured the wreckage of the Covenant attack coordination station Unyielding Hierophant after its destruction at the hands of the Master Chief, and recovered an artifact that had almost been lost but for three small chips, which he presented to Truth. He is instructed to reward the surviving pilots well, and then to "execute them all. Quickly. Quietly."

In Halo 2, Tartarus brands the Elite who would later become the Arbiter with the "Mark of Shame", and takes him to the Mausoleum of the Arbiters to carry out his execution. When the Prophets give the same Elite the role of the Arbiter, Tartarus is displeased, but does not openly voice his objections to the Prophets. He later appears when the Arbiter tries to retrieve the Index of Delta Halo. On the Prophets' orders, Tartarus takes the Index and pushes the Arbiter to what was intended to be his death in the deep central chasm of the Library. The Brute then returns to High Charity with the Index with captives Commander Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Avery Johnson in his possession.

While trying to get the Reclaimer (Miranda Keyes) to activate Halo, Tartarus is confronted by the Arbiter. Blind to the Prophets' deception, he activates Delta Halo and guards the Index from all comers. Tartarus is ultimately killed by the Arbiter and Sergeant Johnson, successfully preventing the firing of Delta Halo.

Rtas 'Vadumee

Main article: Rtas 'Vadumee

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Rtas 'Vadumee (right) consulting with the Arbiter.

Making his debut in Halo 2, the Special Ops Commander is never named in the game itself, leading to the unofficial nickname of "Half-Jaw" by fans. With the release of the Halo Graphic Novel however, the character was finally named in the story Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor as Rtas 'Vadumee. 'Vadumee is voiced by Robert Davi.

'Vadumee is a veteran Covenant Elite who is missing half of both his left mandibles. The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor explains how he incurs this injury; he is injured after fighting one of his friends, who has been infested by the Flood. 'Vadumee frequently fights beside the Arbiter throughout Halo 2. However, he often leaves the Arbiter with lesser Elites to go fight other battles on his own throughout the game. At one point Tartarus references this pattern of behavior and calls 'Vadumee a coward.

During the early events of Halo 2 'Vadumee also serves as a messenger between the Hierarchs and the Elite Council, as he is seen relaying messages between the two parties in the Prophets' chamber. The player as the Arbiter encounters 'Vadumee again after being betrayed by Tartarus. 'Vadumee helps the Arbiter break into the control chamber of Delta Halo to stop Halo from being fired. 'Vadumee is last seen in game going off to capture a Covenant cruiser which had been taken over by the Brutes.

Sesa ‘Refumee

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Sesa ‘Refumee shortly before fighting the Arbiter.

Sesa ‘Refumee (voiced by Miguel Ferrer) is an enemy and 'boss' present in Halo 2 fought by the Arbiter. He commanded an Artifact Retrieval Group attached to the Covenant fleet at the first Halo. Busy investigating a retrofitted Forerunner mining facility in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant, Threshold, ‘Refumee was fortunate not to be on the ring when the Master Chief detonated the Pillar of Autumn's fusion engines, destroying the ring and everything on it.

‘Refumee first encounters Halo’s monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, a few days after Halo’s destruction. The Monitor informs him about the true nature of Halo, the fate of the Forerunners and the origins of the Flood. This knowledge inspires ‘Refumee and his Elites to rebel against the Prophets – a decision that led to outright civil war. The Arbiter is sent on his first mission as the "blade of the Prophets" to silence the leader, braving not only Heretic soldiers but also Flood forms. ‘Refumee attempts hiding behind a shield, but the Arbiter causes the facillity to go into a free fall into Threshold's atmosphere. ‘Refumee is driven into the open and eventually is killed by the Arbiter. In the course of his defeat, ‘Refumee gives the Arbiter hints that Halo's purpose is destruction, not salvation, a truth the Arbiter finally confirms for himself upon meeting both Gravemind and the Master Chief.

Zuka 'Zamamee

Appearing in the book Halo: The Flood, Zuka 'Zamamee is an Elite who is wounded aboard the Pillar of Autumn and is saved by Yayap the Grunt. After recovering, 'Zamamee is granted permission by the Prophets to hunt down and kill the Master Chief. With Yayap, 'Zamamee attempts to assassinate the Master Chief several times throughout the course of The Flood. After a failed raid on the human encampment on Halo, 'Zamamee is forced to leave the scene by Yayap, impersonating another Elite at the Autumn's crash site.

'Zamamee is seen only once in Halo: Combat Evolved. After the Master Chief sets off the Autumn's engines, he prepares to take an elevator to a maintenance corridor. On this elevator is a Shade turret, a few Grunts who helped wrestle it aboard and one Spec Ops Elite, who is 'Zamamee. In the novel, 'Zamamee meets his demise when Cortana drops the lift he is on, which is followed by a rain of grenades by the Chief. This kills the Grunts and sends the Elite out of the turret and into the air, giving him one last look at the Chief before falling to his death.

Voro 'Mantakree

Voro 'Mantakree is a Major Domo Covenant Elite who is forced to kill his Ship Master when the superior officer goes mad from the "glory" of the ring world known as Delta Halo. When Voro assumes control of the Covenant destroyer, he engages several Brute vessels and narrowly escapes. Voro is then summoned to a meeting, along with his fellow Ship Masters. Once there, Xytan 'Jar Watinree, a high-ranking Elite, promotes him for his wisdom.

The newly promoted Voro assembles a Covenant armada, and invades the planet known as Onyx. Once he lands, Voro summons his ground troops and invades the entrance to the core of Onyx. There he encounters Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose a.k.a. Spartan Kurt-051. Kurt is injured from previous fighting, and is on the verge of death. 'Mantakree treats him honorably and respectfully, allowing him to stand and fight one last time, and die a warrior's death. Kurt activates a pair of FENRIS warheads, annihilating himself along with all the Covenant present, including Voro, in order to stop them from reaching Onyx's core, and threatening the surviving humans.

Yayap

A cowardly but smart Grunt file leader, Yayap always tried to steer his squad away from danger by avoiding combat. After saving Zuka 'Zamamee aboard the Pillar of Autumn, the Elite conscripted Yayap to accompany him on a mission to assassinate the Master Chief. Yayap infiltrated the UNSC base camp on Halo, posing as a wounded Grunt in order to be captured. During the ensuing Covenant assault on the camp, Yayap confronted 'Zamamee with a plasma pistol and forced him to commandeer a captured Banshee to escape. Later, he deserted his post at the Pillar of Autumn's crash site, taking a Ghost, a day's worth of food and a spare methane tank. On the run, he finally discovered the sense of peace he'd sought. He died on Halo after the Master Chief detonated the Autumn's engines, destroying the ship and much of Halo.

Forerunner

343 Guilty Spark

Main article: 343 Guilty Spark

343 Guilty Spark is the Monitor of Installation 04. He is first encountered by the player at the end of Halo's sixth level, "343 Guilty Spark", after the Flood breach containment. He enlists the help of the Master Chief, whom he calls a "Reclaimer", to activate Halo's defenses- neglecting to tell the protagonist that Halo's "defenses" would cause the destruction of all sentient life in the galaxy. He attempts to stop the Master Chief and Cortana from disabling Halo and from destroying the Pillar of Autumn, but is ultimately thwarted (though his goal of preventing the Flood's escape was fulfilled.) He escapes the ring's destruction, and informs the Covenant Hierarchs of how to access Installation 05 in Halo 2.

2401 Penitent Tangent

File:2401penitent.jpg

2401 Penitent Tangent, captured by Gravemind.

2401 Penitent Tangent, voiced by John Michael Higgins, first appears in Halo 2 as the Monitor of Installation 05, referred to by humans as "Delta" Halo. Although the construct is only shown briefly during the encounter with the Flood Gravemind deep in the bowels of Halo, 2401 Penitent Tangent (pronounced "twenty four-oh-one") is nearly identical to the 343 Guilty Spark, another Monitor from the original Halo. It speaks with a similar voice and the same style as Guilty Spark, as well. Penitent Tangent expresses excitement at the sight of the Master Chief, because a "Reclaimer" can activate the facility and contain the outbreak of the Flood. A short argument with the "deceased" (brought back to life through the Gravemind, and unaware he's dead) High Prophet of Regret demonstrates that Penitent Tangent employs the same amount of regulation and protocol when it comes to dealing with the threat of the Parasite (the Flood) as Guilty Spark does. This is much to the dismay of Regret, who insists that "...of all the objects our lords [the Forerunners] left behind, there are none so worthless as these Oracles [Monitors]! They know nothing of The Great Journey!!"

2401 Penitent Tangent is also seen in the Halo 2 multiplayer map "Backwash" (obtained in the multiplayer map pack Maptacular Pack) which can be obtained via Xbox Live, or the Halo Multiplayer Map Pack. Here he simply flies around the sky, occasionally humming cheerily. He is invincible to gunfire on this map and never ceases movement.

Flood

Gravemind

File:Gravemind h2.jpg

Gravemind, during the Halo 2 cutscene, "Inside Job".

Main article: Gravemind

The Gravemind is a large sentient creature of Flood origin, introduced during the events of Halo 2. The creature saves both the Master Chief and Arbiter from their deaths, bringing the two face to face in the bowels of Delta Halo. Gravemind reveals to the Arbiter that the "sacred rings" are actually weapons of last resort; a fact the Master Chief confirms. In order to stop Halo from being fired, Gravemind teleports each character away to "stop the key from turning". He sends the Master Chief to High Charity in an attempt to capture the key necessary to fire Halo; likewise, Gravemind sends the Arbiter to the location of Halo's control room to stop the firing of the ring, which the Arbiter does. However at the same time, Gravemind infects the human ship In Amber Clad, using the ship to invade High Charity. As of the end of Halo 2, Gravemind has appeared on the alien ship and is questioning Cortana.