In the
Halo science fiction universe, the
Arbiter is a ceremonial, religious, and political rank bestowed upon alien
Covenant Elites. In the 2004 video game
Halo 2, the rank is given to a disgraced commander as a way to atone for his failures. Although the Arbiter is intended to die serving the Covenant leadership, the
High Prophets, he survives his missions and the Prophets' subsequent betrayal of his kind. When he learns that the Prophets' plans would doom all sentient life in the galaxy to extinction, the Arbiter allies with the Covenant's enemies—humanity—and stops the ringworld
Halo from being activated. The Arbiter is a
playable character in
Halo 2 and its 2007 sequel
Halo 3; a different Arbiter appears in the 2009
real-time strategy game
Halo Wars, which takes place 20 years before the events of the main trilogy.