Rtas 'Vadum: Difference between revisions

Rtas 'Vadumee was assigned to hunt down the [[Heretics|Heretic]] leader, [[Sesa 'Refumee]], on a [[Forerunner]] [[Threshold gas mine|gas mining facility]] above the gas giant [[Threshold]]. Joining him was [[Thel 'Vadamee|the newly assigned Arbiter]], formerly the Supreme Commander of the ''Fleet of Particular Justice''. Rtas 'Vadumee was to aid the Arbiter with his SpecOps Elites and Grunts to silence the Heretic. Aboard a Phantom for the majority of the mission, he provided valuable reinforcements to the Arbiter as he progressed through the facility. 'Vadumee joined the Arbiter in his search on foot as they closed in on the Heretic leader.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', [[campaign]] level ''[[The Arbiter (level)|The Arbiter]]''</ref>

Soon after the [[Battle of the Gas Mine]], Rtas was involved in the operation against the Flood and the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]], rendering aid to the Arbiter as he searched for the [[Activation Index|Sacred Icon]] deep inside the [[Quarantine Zone]] on [[Installation 05]]. Rtas landed inside the Quarantine Zone in an [[Orbital insertion pod]] but was separated from his squad during the fall. He held the Covenant camp at the foot of the [[Sentinel Wall]] alone until his squad and the Arbiter joined him. Afterward, Rtas left in a Phantom to command the Elite assault towards the Library. Later, he rejoined the Arbiter in a [[Type-46 Infantry Support Vehicle|Spectre]] and helped him push through a Flood barricade to access one of the Forerunner [[Anti-gravity gondola|gondolas]] that were the only way to enter the [[Library]]. Rtas stayed behind to hold off the Flood while the Arbiter took the second Gondola to reach the Sacred Icon.

There, Rtas 'Vadum again split up with the Arbiter to prevent any Jiralhanae reinforcements from attacking the Arbiter's rear, and was not present when the latter escorted [[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery Junior Johnson]] to the Control Room. It is unknown exactly what happened to 'Vadum, though it is assumed he attempted to take back a Covenant {{Class|CCS|Battlecruiser}} that was hovering a distance from the battle area, as the last line spoken by Rtas was "Then, I'm going to take the Cruiser back!"<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey (level)|The Great Journey]]''</ref> It is not known what became of that ship as he reappears with the {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}}, ''Shadow of Intent''.<ref name="floodgate">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref>

After learning the truth of the Halo rings, he changed his name to '''Rtas 'Vadum''', dropping the "ee" suffix and signifying his secession from the Covenant along with most (if not all) of his kind. Shortly after, during the late [[Battle of Earth]], 'Vadum, keeping his white armor (as opposed to wearing the golden armor as most Ship Masters do), took on the role of a Ship Master in the [[Covenant Separatist]] [[fleet]] ''[[Fleet of Retribution]]'', a branch of the [[Sangheilian Armed Forces]]. He went to [[Earth]] to the aid of the [[human]]s by glassing a large region of Voi to destroy the infestation of the Flood. Later, he joined the Arbiter, John-117, [[343 Guilty Spark]], [[Lord Terrence Hood]] and [[Lieutenant Commander|Lt. Commander]] [[Miranda Keyes]] when a message from the UNSC [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Cortana]] was found in the [[Unidentified Flood-captured battlecruiser|crashed Flood ship]].<ref name="floodgate"/>

Rtas and his fleet went through [[the Portal]] to lead the [[Battle of Installation 00]] in space, joining forces with Commander Keyes to destroy Truth's much larger fleet.<ref name="Ark">'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]''</ref> After devastating Truth's fleet and discovering that Truth was located on the Ark's surface, 'Vadum led the assault on the [[Barrier tower]]s from the ''Shadow of Intent'', bombarding the shield with plasma torpedoes. After the barrier was deactivated, 'Vadum moved the ship over the [[Citadel]] and prepared to destroy it, but was knocked off-course by High Charity appearing out of slipspace. 'Vadum's ship was incapacitated and left the task of killing Truth to the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and John-117.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]''</ref> After the death of Truth in the Arbiter's hands, 'Vadum gathered all surviving humans and Elite forces on the ship and returned to Earth through the Portal.<ref name="H3H">'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''</ref>

Rtas was last seen aboard the ''Shadow of Intent'' after the end of the war, where he gave the Arbiter the command of the ship and stated that he would like to see his own world to know that it is safe. The Assault Carrier then departed for Sanghelios.<ref name="H3H"/>

Rtas held great trust and respect for Thel 'Vadam after the events of the Battle of the Gas Mine. His trust was unwavering during the Changing of the Guard despite the fact that Thel (as the current Arbiter) answered only to the Prophets.<ref name="icon"/> Later during the Great Schism, Rtas and Thel became the catalysts who united the Sangheili against the Prophets and the Brutes. He acknowledged Thel's "counsel" enough to convince himself that the humans were worthy allies.

It is noted that 'Vadum becomes more calm in ''Halo 3'', possibly because he spends less time fighting on the ground and more time commanding ships. Though he pledges much respect for the humans, 'Vadum is still willing to argue with Hood on matters regarding both the Loyalist and Flood threats, as shown when he revealed that he originally planned to destroy Earth after the Flood ship crashed in Voi. However, this was not because of the general hatred 'Vadum once held towards the humans but to protect the rest of the galaxy from infection, as he did not want to gamble that even one [[Flood Spores|spore]] might survive the glassing, and most probably would have had humanity die with what dignity they had left than be used as tools by the [[Gravemind]]. His experience on the ''Infinite Succor'' gave him unique insight into the terrifying nature of the Flood and he takes any threat of infection very seriously.

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