Talk:Rtas 'Vadum

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Special Operations Commander

Is there a source that asserts he was in charge of all Covenant special forces? I came to doubt this because the Essential Visual Guide states he was merely Special Operations commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice. It's possible he was promoted after the events of Installation 04, but if so, it's not mentioned in the visual guide.

That, and "Special Operations Commander of the Covenant" seems like it could be a fanon title - I recall he's only been called "Special Operations Commander". --Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 13:55, 29 August 2011 (EDT)

Seems like we're starting to reconsider the way we view the Covenant's armed forces. Perhaps you should start a forum on this?--The All-knowing Sith'ari 13:57, 29 August 2011 (EDT)

During the Halo 3: Essentials commentary for the opening cutscene of Sacred Icon, Jason Jones says something to the effect of, "There he is... Half-Jaw, the special operations commander of the Covenant." Jason Jones has never had much involvement with the Halo series' story, especially not since Halo 2's release. He has always been far more concerned with gameplay than with canon, and he has a bad habit of saying things simply because they sound cool. At no point has it been stated or even suggested that "Special Operations Commander of the Covenant" is a canon title. On a related note, when/where has Tartarus ever been called the "Chieftain of the Jiralhanae"?. —This unsigned comment was made by Braidenvl (talk • contribs). Please sign your posts with ~~~~

Tartarus' rank is seemingly derived from the final cinematic of Sacred Icon, where he proclaims himself to be "Chieftain of the Brutes" ("And I, Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes will send you to it") It does seem odd that such a tribal and disorganized species would have a proper leader, but perhaps it's a position born out of necessity to have someone represent them in the Covenant.

Coming back to the original subject, we could take Jones' comment at face value or not. It just seems a little strange if he was indeed in command of all Covenant special operations forces and the visual guide makes no mention of it. Still, he was apparently in an important position during the events of Halo 2, given his involvement in high-level politics. Either way, it's apparent that "Special Operations Commander of the Covenant" is merely a descriptor used by Jones and Rtas' actual rank is "Special Operations Commander".

As for a forum post on Covenant military restructuring, I'll get working on that. --Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 11:43, 30 August 2011 (EDT)

On a side note, according to the Tartarus page on the Essential Visual Guide, he is "Chieftain of the Jiralhanae". Looking forward to the end of this discussion in the forums. —S331 _{(When I played Halo: CE, we didn't have any fancy-shmancy armor abilities...)} 12:00, 31 August 2011 (EDT)

Put his alternate name "Half-Jaw" in the first sentence or the info box

His nick name "Half-Jaw" is now canon as shown in Halo: Shadow of Intent's description “ After decades of grim combat against the humans and then the traitorous Covenant Prophets, the Sangheili warrior Rtas ‘Vadum—the Half-Jaw—has earned a long rest. But not all of the Prophets perished in their holy city, High Charity, and now one of their fearsome Prelates has sworn his vengeance. This powerful threat has set a cataclysmic plan in motion—a plan to lure the Half-Jaw into a trap that will herald the utter destruction of the entire Sangheili race…[4] ” —This unsigned comment was made by Editorguy (talk • contribs). Please sign your posts with ~~~~

Half-Jaw is just used because anyone who just plays the games won't know him by any other name. The nickname "Half-Jaw" has been canon since Halo 2 and we mention it in the "Physical appearance" section, so it should be covered well enough. --NightHammer^{(talk)(contribs)} 21:50, 4 October 2015 (EDT)