Rtas 'Vadum: Difference between revisions

===Post-Covenant War===

After the [[Human-Covenant War]], in [[2553]], Rtas and Thel were invited by Lord Hood for a diplomatic mission to attend a ceremony at the [[Voi Memorial]], a tribute to the ones of both the UNSC and the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] who gave their lives during the Great War. Departing in ''Shadow of Intent'', he remained on the ship watching Lord Hood's speech while Thel made his presence on land. Shortly after the memorial, he gave the Arbiter the command of the ship and stated that he would like to see Sanghelios to know that it is safe. The assault carrier then departed for their homeworld.<ref name="H3H"/> After years of constant fighting, 'Vadum began to grow tired of battle and considered taking a break. Regardless, he continued to serve as a commander for the emerging Swords of Sanghelios.<ref name="soi12">'''Halo: Shadow of Intent''', ''pages 12-27'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

Several months after the war, ''Shadow of Intent'' investigated a distress call from the [[Sangheili colonies|frontier colony]] of [[Rahnelo]]. Upon arriving at the planet, 'Vadum, [[Blademaster]] [[Vul 'Soran]], and several other soldiers traveled to the planet's surface. The Sangheili soon discover that Rahnelo was [[Attack on Rahnelo|attacked]] by {{Class|CRS|light cruiser}} ''[[Spear of Light]]'', commanded by a San'Shyuum [[Prelate]] that survived the Covenant War—[[Tem'Bhetek]], who unbeknownst to 'Vadum blamed the shipmaster for the death of his family at High Charity as it was 'Vadum who glassed the city in an effort to quarantine the Flood. Rahnelo resident [[Tul 'Juran]], seeking to rescue [[Tulum 'Juranai|her father]] and brothers from the Prelate, requested 'Vadum for passage aboard his carrier and enlistment within his crew. Despite 'Soran's objections over her gender, 'Vadum agreed to 'Juran's request and the Sangheili returned to ''Shadow of Intent'' and departed Rahnelo.<ref name="soi12"/>

As the Prelate attacked [[Duraan]], ''Shadow of Intent'' traveled to the colony after receiving its distress call. Upon the carrier's arrival, ''Spear of Light'' began attacking the planet's largest settlements. In response, ''Shadow of Intent'' moved to [[Ambush at Duraan|engage]] the cruiser, though both ships' [[energy shielding]] were depleted by storms emitted from [[Duraan's red dwarf star|Duraan's unstable star]]. As the carrier moved to destroy the smaller cruiser, ''Spear of Light'' moved alongside ''Shadow of Intent'' and the Prelate had the cruiser's entire crew abandon the ship. Using [[Covenant escape pod|escape pods]], Tem and his Jiralhanae boarded ''Shadow of Intent'' and sought to take control of the carrier. As 'Vadum realized the Prelate's plan, he ordered the carrier's crew to prepare for combat.<ref name="soi41">'''Halo: Shadow of Intent''', ''pages 41-49'' (Google Play edition)</ref> 'Vadum and 'Soran moved to help eliminate the boarders. As they arrived at the carrier's main [[gravity lift]], they encountered Tem and several of his Jiralhanae, with 'Juran, [[Unggoy Ranger]] [[Stolt]], and several [[Sangheili Ranger]]s arriving behind the hostiles. While Tem and 'Juran dueled, the others eliminated the Jiralhanae. When the Prelate nearly succeeded in killing 'Juran, 'Vadum blocked the attack and engaged Tem in a duel. Though he was wounded, 'Vadum gained the upper hand and, with most of his Jiralhanae already dead, Tem attempted to flee the fight. However, as he tried to escape, he was knocked unconscious by Stolt and 'Soran.<ref name="soi57">'''Halo: Shadow of Intent''', ''pages 57-60'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

After the remaining Jiralhanae were eliminated, 'Vadum interrogated the Prelate and learned of his alliance with the [[Boru'a'Neem|Minister of Preparation]]. After the Prelate expressed his hatred for him, 'Vadum countered that he only had glassed High Charity to quell the Flood threat and would have saved Tem's family had he the opportunity. 'Vadum also revealed that Tem's family was almost certainly alive when the Minister of Preparation had convinced the Prelate to flee the battle and claimed that his family was already dead. While Tem contemplated the possible betrayal, 'Vadum analyzed the databases of ''Spear of Light'' and discovered the Minister's base of operations. Speaking with Stolt and 'Soran, they decided to lead a small team to venture to the Minister's location, despite the risk of it being a trap.<ref name="soi63">'''Halo: Shadow of Intent''', ''pages 63-67'' (Google Play edition)</ref> Arriving at the location, the selected teams—which also included 'Juran, and Tem as a hostage—boarded Phantoms and traveled to a local [[Prototype Halo installation|Forerunner installation]]. Suddenly, the installation released a pulse that wounded many Sangheili, including 'Soran. In the resulting confusion, the Prelate escaped his binds and used his thrusters to flee towards the installation; 'Vadum and 'Juran pursued the San'Shyuum.<ref name="soi70">'''Halo: Shadow of Intent''', ''pages 70-72'' (Google Play edition)</ref> By the time the two Sangheili had arrived at the installation, Tem had just been betrayed by the Minister of Preparation, who had a group of [[Yanme'e]] attack the Prelate. While the wounded Tem escaped from the fight, 'Juran disabled the Minister's energy shields and 'Vadum mortally wounded him. The Minister fled the battle and attempted to activate a prototype Halo located at the installation to kill all of its occupants. After 'Vadum and 'Juran eliminated most of the Yanme'e, they encountered Tem who resolved to sacrifice himself to destroy the installation by detonating a satchel of [[Type-1 plasma grenade|plasma grenades]] on the installation's power center. Thanking the Prelate, the two Sangheili fled the installation and returned to ''Shadow of Intent'' and the installation blew up shortly after, killing those still aboard.<ref name="soi77">'''Halo: Shadow of Intent''', ''pages 77-79'' (Google Play edition)</ref> Afterwards, ''Shadow of Intent'' returned to Duraan, where the crew's wounded were treated. 'Vadum spoke with the Arbiter to brief him on the events that transpired, and convinced the Arbiter to change the Swords of Sanghelios' military protocol to allow females to enlist with the military, allowing 'Juran to remain a permanent member of his crew. Though the Arbiter suggested for 'Vadum to rest, he sought to search for the galaxy's surviving San'Shyuum, having found within the databases of ''Spear of Light'' that possibly thousands of San'Shyuum survived High Charity's fall. 'Vadum was determined to discover which ones were merely misled like Tem and which ones deserved punishment for [[war criminal|war crimes]].<ref name="soi81">'''Halo: Shadow of Intent''', ''pages 81-83'' (Google Play edition)</ref>