Sesa 'Refumee

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"The Elites are blind, Arbiter, but I will make them see."

- Sesa 'Refumee

"This Heretic, and those who follow him, must be silenced."

- Prophet of Truth

Sesa 'Refumee (referred to in Halo 2 simply as The Heretic Leader) was the leader of the Heretics, who had taken control of the Gas Mine of Threshold and on Basis, the gas giant and its moon of which Installation 04 rests between.

Summary
"I wondered who the Prophets would send to silence me. An Arbiter? I'm flattered."

- The Heretic Leader to The Arbiter.

The Heretic Leader commanded an Artifact Retrieval Group attached to the Covenant fleet at the first Halo ring, Installation 04. Busy investigating a Forerunner mining facility in the upper atmosphere of the Gas-giant, Threshold, 'Refumee was fortunate enough not to be on the Ringworld when Master Chief destroyed it. Sesa 'Refumee first encountered Halo's monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, a few days after Halo’s destruction. The Monitor "edified" him about the true nature of Halo, the fate of the Forerunners and the origins of the Flood. This knowledge inspired 'Refumee and his Elites to revolt against the Prophets, a decision that led to outright civil war amongst them.

The Heretic Leader was branded as a traitor and Heretic by the High Prophet of Truth, and for that reason, sent the Arbiter to execute 'Refumee. As he attempted to make his escape in a Seraph Starfighter the Arbiter found him and engaged him in combat. Despite his clever use of Holo-Drones, the Arbiter successfully murdered 'Refumee and purged the expendable Heretic uprising. Any Heretics that were not killed by Rtas 'Vadumee's strike team were killed by the Flood, or plunged to their deaths by the Arbiter slashing the cables that held up the Gas Mine station.

Interestingly, when the Arbiter kills Tartarus and joins the Sanghelli Separatists, he becomes a traitor too, similar to the assassinated 'Refumee. It is unknown whether or not the cast out Elites would have joined forces with 'Refumee's Heretics. Another interesting point to note is that while Rtas 'Vadum and others removed the "ee" suffix from their names after leaving the Covenant, 'Refumee did not.

With the Heretic Leader’s death at the hands of the Arbiter and the Guilty Spark's destruction by the Master Chief, the specifics of the Monitor’s revelations may be lost forever.

Combat
For all intents and purposes, the Heretic Leader, on his own, is just a Ranger Elite (he changed his color of armor as a sign of rebellion, you will also notice that the Elites and Grunts in the Heretic faction have also changed armor as a sign of rebellion) with differently-colored armor and shields that can withstand two Energy Sword lunges, making him accurately comparable to an Ultra Elite.

However, what makes the fight with him difficult is that he does not fight alone. As seen in the pre-battle cutscene, he creates two holographic clones to fight alongside him. While these doubles are holographic images, their damage is real, and will present as much as a threat as the Heretic leader himself. When you "kill" the holo-drones, the 3-D image of the Heretic leader vanishes and the basic drone falls to the floor.

On Easy and Normal difficulties it is enough just to ignore the drones on the floor and kill him when he takes off from the top of the fighter, but on Heroic and Legendary, you have to pay attention.

On Heroic difficulty, the easiest option is to just wipe out each Heretic Leader individually, using the Energy Sword and Active Camo to sneak up on them, taking cover when you need to. Note: You can find an Energy Sword off to the right at the side of the hangar if you haven't got one already. An interesting point of note is that the Heretic Leader is invincible when he is escaping from the player using the top ducts located throughout the room; his shield can be taken down, but no amount of blasting with any weapon can kill him. On Legendary, there is no easy option, as only a few plasma bolts will kill you, sometimes in a second or so. Dual Needlers are very effective at long ranges, and watching the motion sensor and spraying the holos and the Heretic Leader as they spill out of the ducts near the ceiling are the best ways. It only takes a few needles to destroy the holo drones and/or hurt the boss. The Energy Sword can work with only a few holos, but as time goes as many as 4+ holograms can attack you. Active Camouflage and hiding at the bottom of the level are key. Without cover, you are a sitting duck. Even running is not enough to escape the plasma bolts of the Heretic Leader and his clones.

Another, easier way to kill the Heretic Leader on Legendary is to use the glitch giving you unlimited sword battery life in conjunction with a Fuel Rod Cannon. Simply collect a Fuel Rod Cannon and Energy Sword in the level 'The Arbiter', use up the entire battery of the Sword, and then proceed through the level 'The Oracle' using only the Energy Sword. This feat is possible, even on Legendary. When you come up against the Heretic Leader, you should still have an Energy Sword with unlimited ammo and a Fuel Rod Cannon with (hopefully) 25 shots. Then you simply empty your clip whenever you see the Heretic Leader emerge from the ducts on the ceiling.

Quotes

 * "Our Prophets are false! Open your eyes, my brothers! They would use the faith of our Forefathers to bring ruin to us all! The Great Journey is a-"- Sesa 'Refumee's hologram being cut off by the prophet of Truth.
 * Deal with him, my brothers! I will defend the Oracle."- In the level The Arbiter.
 * "I wondered who the Prophets would send to silence me. An Arbiter?... I'm flattered."- Sesa 'Refumee's hologram in the level The Oracle.
 * "Hahaha... Get in line."
 * "This will save me from the storm, but you will be consumed."- To the Arbiter, behind the shielded door.
 * "Arbiter. I would rather die by your hands than let the Prophets lead me to slaughter."- In a hangar.
 * "Ask the Oracle about Halo. How they would sacrifice us all for nothing!"- To the Arbiter.
 * "The Elites are blind, Arbiter! But I, will make them see..."- Activating two holo-drones.
 * "How did the Prophets buy your loyalty, Arbiter? With a new command, a new fleet, ...or was it the promise ... their "Great Journey"?
 * "Look around you, Arbiter. This facility and dozens like it resulted in the study of the Parasite, but where are the weapons, Arbiter?!! What was the result?!! All that time and effort and the best the Forerunners could do was put these foul creatures on ice."
 * "And now where are these "gods" the Prophets would have us worship! Transcended? Haha! Hardly. Come, Arbiter, let me show you where they went."
 * "I see the Prophets have chosen poorly, Arbiter!"- If you missed him with your shot.
 * "Damn your stubborn ears!"
 * "Arbiter! Show yourself."
 * "Come on, Arbiter, let us finish it!"- When heavily wounded.
 * "I will give you a moment to rest, then we begin again."- If the Arbiter takes cover after his shields are drained for the first time in combat.
 * "Come, Oracle, we have much work to do."- If he kills the Arbiter.
 * "I take no pleasure in spilling a brother's blood."- If he kills the Arbiter, or during combat.
 * "That will send a message to the Prophets."- If he kills the Arbiter.

Production Notes
Sesa 'Refumee was voiced by Miguel Ferrer in Halo 2.

He appeared in the following Halo 2 levels:
 * Halo 2
 * The Arbiter
 * The Oracle

Joyride Studios released a Heretic Leader Action Figure in series 8 of their Halo 2 8 inch action figure collection.

WizKids produced a miniature figure of Sesa 'Refumee in their first set of Halo ActionClix products wielding dual Plasma Rifles. 'Refumee is one of the most powerful units in the initial release, being worth 200 points.

Trivia

 * Sesa 'Refumee is one of the least used bipeds in the Halo trilogy, as he only appears on two levels.
 * Sesa 'Refumee is the first Halo 2 "Boss" that you fight.
 * Sesa 'Refumee is the leader of the Heretics, as he left the Covenant and started a rebellion.
 * The Heretic Leader's favored weapons are dual-wielded Plasma Rifles, even though his Heretic warriors wield Covenant Carbines not Plasma Rifles.
 * When you fight him, he uses two holo-drones to confuse you. You can destroy these, but if damaged you can tell which is a holo-drone and which is the real Sesa 'Refumee.
 * It is unknown why he did not drop the 'ee suffix when leaving the Covenant, as most of the Separatists Elites did. Most likely it was not decided that Elites should drop the "ee" suffix until all the Elites dropped out of the Covenant, creating the Covenant Separatists.
 * He has different armor than that of a normal Elite. This was probably meant to show his separation from the Covenant.
 * He is one of three "bosses" that you fight in Halo 2, the others are the Prophet of Regret, and Tartarus. (unless you count the Scarab)
 * Sesa 'Refumee was in some way the first of the separatists.
 * He can only use four weapons: plasma rifle, energy sword, covenant carbine, and the sentinel beam.
 * The easy way to win the battle is, to keep an eye on the real one then kill him.
 * Despite the fact Sesa was only in Halo 2, he was released with the Halo Action Clix which were made to promote Halo 3. The figure is "Super Rare" according to the series key.

Related Links

 * Heretic Elite
 * Heretic Grunt
 * Heretic Banshee
 * Heretics
 * Elites