Those with Coup will roll their eyes at me with this but anyway. Big post and no tl;dr version. I was browsing around some old archived interviews and various Haloverse lore related articles, which is when I found [url=http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=HGNInterview]this[/url]. It is an interview with Lee Hammock and Simon Bislay, the creators and writers of the story called [i]The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor[/i] found in the Halo Graphic Novel. I want to draw your attention to the fourth paragraph in the article: [quote][i]Simon Bisley (artist) and Lee Hammock (writer) are responsible for "The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor", the largest of the four stories that make up the Halo Graphic Novel. This is a 44 page tale of the Elite Spec Ops Commander, [b]Rtas 'Vadumee[/b], [u]who has been exiled by the Covenant for failing to kill Master Chief during the events of Halo 1[/u].[/i][/quote] There it is right there. The creator of the story is saying that Rtas is an exile. However, you would never guess this from the Novel unless you had read that interview first. Also, if Rtas is an exile, then I do not see how he would: A) Be allowed to stand before the Heirarchs in Halo 2. B) Have such a high role in political affairs, as he is seen relaying messages between the Heirarchs and the Sangheili High Council. C) Attain command of the Shadow of Intent, and a fleet of 14 CCS-Battlecruisers. Exile=dishonour. The only way to redeem honour in Sangheilian culture as seen in [i]The Cole Protocol[/i] and in [i]Halo: Legends, The Package[/i] is to be killed in battle or by Arbiter, which is still fundamentally being killed in battle. So it is unlikely that he would be given such things. Back to the HGN, there is a line from Thel at the start that may support the Exile statement. [quote][b]HGN:[/b] Page 15 [i]"It is good to see that the softness of others in the Covenant has not weakened your discipline."[/i][/quote] Who are are these others? Evidently not Sangheili, otherwise that would mean Thel was calling his own kind weak. It is most likely that he is referring to the lesser races of the Covenant, in which case it might support the fact that Rtas was indeed exiled, possibly by his own Sangheili brethren. So one might think that this "[url=http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx283/Anton1792/Games/ShipmasterRtasVadum8.jpg]Rtas[/url]" is not the same character as this [url=http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx283/Anton1792/Games/HGN4b.jpg]Rtas[/url]. That simply cannot be the case. Not only is it explicitly stated in the introduction to the story and in the Encyclopaedia that they are indeed one and the same, there are too many powerful coincidences between the two. ~Rtas from the games is missing both of his left mandibles. Rtas from the HGN loses both left Mandibles in a sword duel. ~Game Rtas is first seen as a special operations Commander. HGN Rtas is also a Special Operations Commander. ~Both have encountered the Flood. ~Both familiar with Thel 'Vadamee. So I think it is safe to assume that [url=http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx283/Anton1792/Games/ShipmasterRtasVadum8.jpg]Rtas[/url]=[url=http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx283/Anton1792/Games/HGN4b.jpg]Rtas[/url]. So if they are not different, they are the same. If they are the same, then [url=http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx283/Anton1792/Games/ShipmasterRtasVadum8.jpg]he[/url] is an exile, despite the inconsistencies that that would bring. Also, another problem arises. Before his mission to [i]The Infinite Succor[/i], he had never been to Halo. [quote][b]HGN:[/b] Page 14 [i]"Hopefully we will at last go to Halo and get to test ourselves against the Humans and their Demon.[/i][/quote] So he has not been to Halo, and he appears to have never fought with Humans or the Master Chief before, yet he is described as an exile for failing to kill him. Unless he failed to even find the Master Chief to fight with in the first place, at a date prior to Halo, I cannot see how this works, at all. Usually, I would discard such a statement as non-canon if it came from anyone else, but these are the people who made the HGN, who wrote it. Also, this interview was released before the HGN I believe, which leads me to believe that they where never meant to be one and the same in the first place, but in a situation similar to Thel Lodamee, was changed at the last minute. Without this interview everything works fine. Rtas is not exiled (which I think sucks anyway but w/e) meaning he acquired his roles and career within what we know to be Sangheilian culture. He then goes to The Infinite Succor, encounters the Flood, loses mandibles, then goes to Halo (fitting with the Encyclopaedia description) and then onto Halo 2 and Halo 3 events. With the Interview, the Game Rtas cannot be the HGN Rtas. It even contradicts the HGN itself, and the only way it can fit is if it implies that HGN Rtas has been tasked to find the Chief before Halo 04, but did not, and so was exiled. The introduction to the story was linking the two together then was stuck on to make it look cool, similar to what they did in [i]The Package[/i] when they made that Major=Thel 'Vadamee. So, what is going on, was this story retconned; changed in places, or is the statement just a screw up? Personally I hope the statement. If not, the story and one of my favourite characters just looked a whole lot more tacky.