The Flagship was the Ascendant Justice and its captain was The Guardian of the Lumious Key. the arbiter before he was the arbiter?

The Fleet of Particular Justice's flagship was not the Ascendant Justice. The flagships name was told in the first story in the Halo Graphic Novel.

Still, the Ascendant Justice was the head ship of the fleet

The Seeker of Truth appears to be the flagship of the Fleet of Particular Justice, but the Ascendant Justice was indeed a flagship. I think it was the flagship of Regret's fleet to investigate Forerunner artifacts on Earth. The Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice was on board the Ascendant Justice because the fleet was destroyed.

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They're the same class

The Guardian of the Luminous Key was a reference to 343 Guilty Spark. The Arbiter was the supreme commander of the Seeker of Truth.

Actually, I believe it was a reference to the Supreme Commander (the Luminous Key being the energy sword he weilded). I might be wrong though.

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You are. They don't give that sort of title to an elite, a supreme commander none the less. His or its importance on that ship was on the level of a Prophet.

Well, they call Guilty Spark the Oracle, so I don't think the Guardian of the Luminous Key is him either..I'l go scrounge Halopedia for info (which, of course, might not be 100% accurate, so don't bite my head off)

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Not sure about the whole fleet.. but in the last paragraph of "halo - first strike",
tartarus asks the prophet: "and what of the incompetent, The one who lost the ascendant justice?"
To which the prophet responds:  "bring him before the council. Let his fate match the magnitude of his failure."

Its relatively safe to assume that they were talking about the arbiter in that sence, as the arbiters trial and punishment seem to fit with this sentance.
The only problem with this theory is that in the entire halo 2 game.. there is no mention of the events in the book first strike, so we dont know for sure if the arbiter really is that ship commander.

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Slavish Devotion To Rules Is A Sign One Has Nothing Better To Do With His Time. :P

I do tend to like that theory the best, though it is not concretely supported (yet, Ghosts of Onyx may answer this question).

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well, I dont think bungie themselves have confirmed whether or not the arbiter was the ascendant justice ship commander, but Wikipedia seems to think so..  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbiter_%28Halo%29

Go figure?  o.O

 

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Slavish Devotion To Rules Is A Sign One Has Nothing Better To Do With His Time. :P

halopedia says that it is widely accepted that the Arbiter is the Elite on the Ascendant Justice, but it does mention that some believe the Arbiter is Orna 'Fulsamee though it notes there is little proof to support it. The only reason anyone thinks that is because Orna is not confirmed dead, only assumed (the Zealot you fight on the deck of the Truth and Reconciliation.

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why would the arbitar be on the ship that arrives after halo was destroyed? unless he left to tell the prophets. wouldnt the prophets keep him in a holding cell until his trial?

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Well, the capturing of the Ascendant Justicecould easily have taken place before the Arbiter was put on trial. If you remember, the Elite that John fights weilds an energy sword and a plasma pistol. He is very pompous, throwing aside his helmet (and thus is shield as his armor is no longer complete) and his plasma pistol, and he takes on John (who is out of ammo). It takes all of John's strength and wit, plus Locklear and Johnson to injur the Elite and then send it into an escape pod (which is probably intercepted by the other ships that are firing on the Ascendant Justice while this fight takes place. The Elite wore black armor, and had stealth capabilities yet shields (perhaps signifying higher rank, as most stealth Elites don't have armor that supports shields). The Elite came away with minor injuries (a deformed shoulder, a bullet wound in the chest, some other bullets probably did damage...nothing beyond Covenant medical technology) and was probably very discgraced for having been defeated by a single human with no ammo (and a few cheap shots from some Marines) when he was weilding an energy sword. Later, in the book, it talks about the incompetent one. Now think about it, the Arbiter is aboard a flagship at Reach. He oversees the battle, and then sends a group after the Pillar of Autumn. When Reach is basically under Covenant control, he switches ships (probably because of damage sustained to his previous ship) and takes a small force to investigate why his forces haven't reported in recently. He arrives and finds the place deserted. He might even see the Truth and Reconciliation flounder into space and then explode. He is then set upon by a Pelican and a Longsword. Normally, whole groups of these are slaughtered by Covenant ships, but these get away after quick consecutive strikes. The flagship and its escort give chase, not expecting two ships to make such an up front attack the way John had planned. His ship is boarded, and his forces are being decimated by a small group of scummy humans. Humans! He stealths himself and has an Elite try to hold the door shut after a plasma blast on the other side deactivates the locks. That Elite is wasted, as is the rest of the crew. He still has his ace in hole, his energy sword. When he unstealths, John tries to shoot him, and it only takes to rounds to take out his shields. The third hits him in the shoulder. He shoots at Haverson, then takes John on (who has no ammo) with an energy sword. John doesn't kill him, but he is now disgraced for allowing the ring to be destroyed (since it was his ships that were responsible for the ring) and then later the rest of his fleet around Reach is destroyed by the captured Covenant ship. He just can't win. That is what I call pwnd. He is then branded with the Mark of Shame and becomes the Arbiter.

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