Imperial Admiral

Imperial Admiral is the highest non-political rank a Covenant Elite can obtain. There is a very popular belief that this rank is higher than Supreme Commander, though proof one way or another has never been put forward.

Rank
An Imperial Admiral operates on a very high-ranking Covenant Flagship in the Covenant Navy such as an Assault Carrier, Supercarrier or other very powerful capital ships within the Covenant Navy. They are of a much higher rank than a Zealot, as Xytan 'Jar Wattinree promoted Voro Nar 'Mantakree to the position of Fleet Master. It is revealed in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx that Imperial Admirals controls entire Fleets of warships. Little else is known about the rank itself. It is unknown how many of these Imperial Admirals there actually were and only Xytan 'Jar Wattinree is named as an Admiral - so it is likely that the rank is very unique and rare. He is often referred to as 'Lord Xytan'.

Appearance
Imperial Admiral's armor is silver, similar to that of an Spec Ops Elite and a Ultra Elite, and covered with the gold Forerunner glyphs of Sacred Mystery, much like the Arbiter's. Such silver-and-gold Elite armor has been mentioned in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx as superior in quality to the gold armor of a Zealot. When Xytan 'Jar Wattinree spoke to his Ship Masters, he did so by way of a massive holographic representation of himself, over 30 feet tall. It is not clear if this was a choice peculiar to Xytan or if all Imperial Admirals, if there is ever more than one at a time, have similar holograms.

Weapons
It is likely that, due to their high ranks, they are allowed to wield Energy Swords. Though, their positions mean they likely rarely see combat, so nothing can be known. Also, rather than weapon skill, they are requested to be tactically excellent, and to hold a great influence over the troops they command.

Appearances

 * Halo:Ghosts of Onyx (Xytan 'Jar Wattinree)

Trivia

 * Xytan 'Jar Wattinree is the only known Imperial Admiral.
 * Since no other rank is higher than his, it is likely that he took orders directly from the Hierarchs themselves before the Great Schism.  Even then, respected more than the Prophets by most.