Rtas 'Vadum

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

- Rtas 'Vadumee, aboard the Infinite Succor, to a fallen comrade

Rtas 'Vadum, formerly known as Rtas 'Vadumee before the Great Schism, is a Sangheili Commander of the Covenant Special Operations forces. He is mostly recognizible because he is missing both his left mandibles, hence the fan-name, "Half-Jaw". His name is not actually spoken at any point in Halo 2. During the events between Halo 2 and Halo 3, he became Ship Master of the Assault Carrier, Shadow of Intent.

Contact with the Flood
When the agriculture ship Infinite Succor was boarded by an unknown threat, Rtas 'Vadum lead a team there to investigate, along with securing a Legate known as the Minister of Etiology. They encountered the Flood for the first time there. In an attempt to kill the Flood, 'Vadum 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. It was there that an Energy sword cut off his left mandibles. He managed to escape two minutes before the Slipspace Jump occurred. He is believed to be the only survivor of the Infinite Succor mission.

Pillar of Autumn
'Vadumee was present when the Pillar of Autumn crashed on Halo, leading the Covenant Special Ops struggle against the Demon and the Flood. He managed to escape before the ring was destroyed.

The Heretics
'Vadumee was assigned to hunt down the Heretic leader, Sesa 'Refumee, on a gas mining platform over Threshold. 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. 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 past with the Flood by a familiar "stench", moments before running into a battle between the Heretics and the Flood. 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 Jiralhanae were taking over the position of Honor Guard to the High Prophets. Expressing 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 inside the Quarantine Zone on Delta Halo.

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 Jiralhanae 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's Phantom and its escorts as they entered the Control Room. Wishing to avenge their fallen brothers, 'Vadumee and the Arbiter attacked the surprised Jiralhanae 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 Sargeant Johnson to the Control Room. It is unknown 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 said by 'Vadumee was "Then, I'm going to take the Cruiser back!"

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".

Rtas came to the aid of his old comrade the Arbiter during the battle of Voi. When the Flood crash-landed a Covenant cruiser in the city, 'Vadum, newly promoted to Ship Master, commanded the Sangheili fleet that glassed Voi. He also sent several of his dropships to assist in the attack on the Ark, him being on one as well. At the end of Halo 3, he speaks with the Arbiter, and expresses a wish to go back to Sanghelios, the Elite homeworld, to make sure it is safe from harm. The Arbiter complies, and the ship leaves the Sol System to head home.

Trivia

 * 'Vadum seems to express great care for those under his command, even Grunts. The latter is particularly unusual for an Elite. During the events of Succor, he is shown telling the Grunts to get behind the Elites. Most Elite commanders would have sent the Grunts on ahead as cannon fodder. In his first shown conversation with the Arbiter, he tells him "These are my Elites. Their lives matter to me..."
 * 'Vadum is also one of the first Elites to address John-117 as "Spartan", rather than "Demon" in Halo 3.
 * '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 cutscene 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 Ultra featured that does not have black/steel as his secondary armor color. This may hint that secondary colors play an important role in an Elite's armor, much like modern day function badges play on military uniforms. Black may hint at infantry or ground combat positions while olive, as in 'Vadum's case, may hint at SpecOps, or, it may simply imply that 'Vadum is a slightly higher/lower rank or position than a normal Ultra.
 * 'Vadum is the only Covenant NPC that is immune from all harm in game, much like his human counterparts, Sergeant Avery Johnson and Commander Miranda Keyes.
 * Despite being an Ultra, 'Vadum is seen answering directly to the High Prophets, not a Zealot. It may be that his position of Spec Ops Commander may be a special rank, somewhere between Ultra and Zealot (Like a Colonel General).
 * '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 'Vadumees shields and aim a weapon at his head, he won't die but will jump up and down in every explosion.
 * He will reappear in Halo 3 with the same voice actor but in the Halo 3 credits,instead of saying SpecOps Commander like in Halo 2's end credits,it says "Shipmaster" meaning he got promoted to Ship Master in between Halo 2 and Halo 3. He commands the ships that destroy the flood in Voi by glassing it.

Production Notes
"Rtas 'Vadumee" was voiced by Robert Davi in Halo 2.

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

'Vadumee appears during the following levels:
 * Halo 2
 * The Arbiter
 * The Oracle
 * Sacred Icon
 * Quarantine Zone
 * Uprising (Cutscene)
 * The Great Journey

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 cancelled because they felt it was pointless to release another Elite figure with a different paint job.