Rtas 'Vadum

"Though you leave this world, you will come on the Great Journey when the time comes... Die with honor."

- Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadum, aboard the Infinite Succor, to a fallen comrade

Rtas 'Vadum (formerly 'Vadumee) is a Sangheili Shipmaster of the carrier Shadow of Intent, prior to which he was the only known Special Operations Commander in the Covenant.

Crisis Aboard the Infinite Succor
When the agriculture ship Infinite Succor was boarded by an unknown threat, Rtas 'Vadumee lead a team there to investigate comprised of Elites and Grunts, along with securing a Legate known as the Minister of Etiology. They encountered the Flood for the first time there. It is during this time that 'Vadumee is depicted as expressing great care for the soldiers under his command, even grunts, telling them to get behind the Elites. The latter is particularly unusual for any elite.

In an attempt to kill the Flood, 'Vadumee used the Engineering station to set a Slipspace course to the sun. During that time, it was revealed that the Legate had become infected, and Rtas had to battle an infected Kusovai. He was able to make a mortal strike at the infected Kusovai by allowing Kusovai to strike him along his arm and face and it was at this time that Kusovai became vulnerable to Vadumees counter. It was there that an Energy sword cut off his left mandibles as well as severely wounding him. He managed to escape two minutes before the Slip space Jump occurred. He is believed to be the only survivor of the Infinite Succor mission.

Halo
It is unlikely that Vadumee was present on the first Halo, due to the extreme wounds he suffered on the Infinite Succor.

The Heretics
"You are the Arbiter, the will of the Prophets, but these are my Elites. Their lives matter to me. Yours does not."

- Rtas 'Vadumee to the Arbiter

'Vadumee was assigned to hunt down the Heretic leader, Sesa 'Refumee, on a gas mining platform over Threshold (it is during this first depiction of 'Vadumee that shows his color scheme is different from a standard Ultra). Joining him was the Arbiter, recently sentenced to this position by the High Council. Aboard a Phantom, he provided valuable reinforcements to the Arbiter as he progressed through the facility, including a greatly experienced Grunt Commander (Grunt Ultra). Eventually finding 'Refumee, they chased him into another part of the platform. 'Vadumee joined the Arbiter in his search on foot.

He was reminded of his previous encounters with the Flood by a familiar "stench", moments before running into a battle between the Heretics and the Flood (during this specific event, players can notice for the first time and 'Vadumee is an NPC that is immune from all harm and requires no special protection on the player's behalf). After clearing out the area of "parasites", he split up with the Arbiter to gain reinforcements. A short time later they further pursued 'Refumee until he locked himself behind an unbreakable energy barrier. Giving up, 'Vadumee was about to turn away when the Arbiter volunteered to cut the cables holding up the mine, possibly drawing out the fugitive. The Commander agreed, giving his partner his prized Energy Sword. Leaving the Arbiter to his work, 'Vadumee and his remaining forces evacuated in a Phantom, and returned to High Charity.

Changing of the Guard
Back in High Charity, the Brutes were taking over the position of Honor Guard to the High Prophets. Despite only being an Ultra, 'Vadumee's role as Special Operations Commander of The Covenant afford him the luxury of speaking directly to the High Prophets themselves. While speaking with them, he expressed his disdain to the Prophets of Truth and Mercy, 'Vadumee was disgusted by this radical switch in tradition and customs. However, Truth refused to hear any more complaints, and the Elite was sent away, swearing to relay the Prophets' decision to the council. As he left, Truth muttered to himself "Politics, how tiresome."

The Search for the Sacred Icon
Soon afterward, 'Vadumee was involved in the Covenant operation against the Flood and the UNSC Marines, to render aid to the Arbiter as he searched for the Activation Index deep inside the Quarantine Zone on Delta Halo. 'Vadumee landed to 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. Afterwards, 'Vadumee left in a Phantom to command the Elite assault towards the Library. Later, he rejoined the Arbiter in a Spectre and helped him push through a Flood barricade to access one of the Gondolas that were the only way to enter the Library. 'Vadumee stayed behind to hold off the Flood while the Arbiter took the Gondola to reach the Activation Index.

Deactivating Halo
Word got out that the Prophet of Truth had his hands on the Sacred Icon and the Oracle and was going to begin the Great Journey. Commandeering a Wraith, 'Vadumee spotted a Scarab walker outside a Brutes encampment. Making his way along the coast, a surprised 'Vadumee met up with the Arbiter, this time on a quest to find the Icon before Installation 05 could be activated. From the Arbiter, he learned of the murder of the Council and the treachery of the Brutes. The Elites were interrupted by the arrival of Tartarus' Phantom and its escorts as they entered the Control Room. Wishing to avenge their fallen brothers, 'Vadumee and the Arbiter attacked the surprised Brutes and met up with a squad of Hunters and other Elites. There, 'Vadumee split up with the Arbiter again, and was not present when he escorted Sgt. Johnson to the Control Room. It is unknown exactly what happened to him, though it is assumed he attempted to take back a Covenant CCS-class Battlecruiser that was hovering a distance from the battle area, as the last line spoken by 'Vadumee was "Then, I'm going to take the Cruiser back!" It may be that he gave the command of the Cruiser to another high-ranking Elite.

Afterwards
After the Great Schism, 'Vadumee apparently removed the "ee" suffix from his name, signifying his departure from the Covenant military. He became known as "Rtas 'Vadum".

Second Battle of Earth
"Were it not for the Arbiter's counsel, I would have glassed your entire planet!"

- Rtas 'Vadum to Lord Hood

Rtas 'Vadum took on the role of a Ship Master in the Separatist fleet during the Second Battle of Earth. He came to the aid of the Humans by glassing "half a continent", as put by Lord Terrence Hood, to destroy the infestation of the Flood. He later joined the Arbiter, John-117, 343 Guilty Spark, Lord Terrence Hood, and Miranda Keyes when a message from Cortana was found in the crashed Flood ship. He argued with Hood during the incident, stating that he would've destroyed all of Earth had the Arbiter not counseled him into helping the Humans instead (During his first appearance in Halo 3, players can notice 'Vadum wearing a combination of armors, with the helmet of the combat armor and the rest of the body as assault armor).

Battle of Installation 00
"Brute ships! Staggered line! Shipmaster. They outnumber us, three to one!" "Then it is an even fight. All cruisers fire at-will. Burn their mongrel hides!"

- A Major Elite and Rtas 'Vadum

'Vadum went through the portal to participate in the Battle of Installation 00 in space, fighting off Brute ships while the Arbiter, John-117 and Sgt. Johnson searched for the Cartographer of the Ark (it's during this time that 'Vadum is depicted as one of the only Elites to address John-117 as "Spartan", instead of "Demon"). After locating Truth, 'Vadum led the assault on the Barrier Towers from the Shadow of Intent, bombarding the shield with plasma torpedoes. After the barrier was deactivated, he moved the ship over the Citadel and prepared to destroy it, but was knocked off-course by High Charity appearing out of slipspace. 'Vadum then gathered all human and Elite forces on the ship and returned to Earth through the Portal. 'Vadum 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 carrier then departed for Sanghelios.

Trivia

 * Rtas Vadum is often called "Half-Jaw", because he only has half of his jaw.
 * 'Vadum is one of only three Elite NPC shown carrying his weapon in his left hand, at least once (The others are an Elite Minor in the level "The Oracle" and the Arbiter in a cut scene also from the Oracle). This occurs during the level Quarantine Zone, in which he leaves the Arbiter to do battle with the Flood, saying "On your way, Arbiter. I'll deal with these beasts."
 * 'Vadum is the only Elite to feature the "Eye Glitch", when he uses Active Camo, his green eyes are still visible even though his body is not. It is only seen on the Arbiter level titled, The Oracle.
 * It is possible to have Rtas 'Vadum fight with you when you fight the Brutes on the bridge, the prison area and all those places up to the battle before you enter a Banshee, just melee him a few times with a weapon and use something to block his path. He will then join you. If not then melee him to the areas.
 * If you get the Grunt Birthday Party Skull and take down Rtas 'Vadum's shields and aim a weapon at his head, he won't die but will jump up and down in every explosion. The same is true for Sergeant Johnson.
 * An Elite body identical to that of Rtas 'Vadum can be found just inside the crashed, Flood-infested ship on the level Floodgate in Halo 3, with the same white armor permutations and missing both his left mandibles. There is also one missing three mandibles, and a third with assault armor on but with the fins of Combat armor as well.
 * There is also an Elite who looks like Rtas 'Vadum in Halo 2 in the level Gravemind. This Elite is also known as the Honor Guard Councilor.
 * Joyride Studios had originally planned to produce Rtas 'Vadumee Action Figures in the eighth series of the Halo 2 8-inch figures, but the production was canceled because they felt it was pointless to release another Elite figure with a different paint job.
 * Because he was such a distinctive character in Halo 2 and Halo 3, he has became the most famous Elite character after the Arbiter.

Production Notes

 * "Rtas 'Vadum" was voiced by Robert Davi in Halo 2 and also in Halo 3.


 * The Rtas 'Vadum model for Halo 2 was created by Marcus R. Lehto.