Autel 'Vadam (AAO)

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"I do not believe in following my family's legacy. I believe in making my own."

- Autel 'Vadam

Autel 'Vadam is the son of the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and the older half brother of Taszar and Ryas 'Vadam. He is most well known for his contributions to end the Covenant conflict prior to the Covenant civil war.

Childhood (2531—2548)
Autel was born as one of the offspring to Thel 'Vadam in 2531, and was raised in the Vadam Keep alongside many of his bloodline. He was often cast out from the others because of his strange appearance; it was considered unusual because neither of his parents had skin or eyes as pale as his. He was not trained by an uncle from his mother's side (the Seer of Sanghelios, whose brothers had all died out), but instead by Thel's brother, Stel 'Vadam. Autel didn't know the relationship between the two Sangheili, but was very well-disciplined by his uncle. His combat skills and his serious nature began to attract the attention of the other Sangheili he grew up with, as well as some of the Vadam Keep's older kin, but they rarely spoke to him.

Stoic Courier
Autel completed his studies at the Sangheili Academy during his early years, and also had previous combat training with his relatives. He joined the mobile military city Stoic Courier during the 8th Age of Reclamation (2548 in human years) as a recruit, along with many other Sangheili around his age. He quickly became friends with a resourceful and quick-thinking Sangheili named Fira 'Demal, as they were both assigned to dormitory 774. Autel sympathized Fira for the loss of many of his lineage at the hands of the UNSC Spartans. When Randall-037 was brought to Stoic Courier for execution in 2551, Autel watched the SPARTAN-II trapped in an arena and take on a dozen Mgalekgolo, killing four of them. When Randall was at last killed, Autel felt shocked and thought that the human's death was wrong. He also noticed how Fira had seemed less troubled, and wondered if his friend thought the Spartan had deserved to die.

First Betrayal of the Jiralhanae
When Jiralhanae Chieftain Tartarus arrived at Stoic Courier with a platoon of Jiralhanae in 2552, and began killing Sangheili recruits in their sleep. Autel warned Field Master Bata 'Noromee, which began a massive battle between the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili. When Tartarus' cruiser was headed for Sanghelios, Autel was separated from Fira but managed to escape in a dropship with a wounded N'tho 'Sraomee. He then headed for High Charity, docked at Sanghelios, to warn the Hierarchs. However, it turned out the Prophet of Regret was spearheading the betrayal, and Autel and the escaped Sangheili were taken prisoner aboard High Charity. Autel managed to break out with a plasma ring given to him by the Seer of Sanghelios and having remembered something ominous Thel 'Vadamee had told him a long time ago, he planned to inform him of what had happened. Autel met up with then-Special Operations Officer Sesa 'Refumee, who was acting as commanding officer in the absence of Commander Rtas 'Vadumee (The Commander was at the time searching for the missing agricultural ship Infinite Succor). After making plans to stop the Jiralhanae, as well as ensure that Regret's intentions were brought to light, the Sangheili were surprised when 'Vadum had sent them a long-term transmission from the Soell System with news of the discovery of Halo. Autel headed for Threshold to find Thel 'Vadamee while 'Refumee led another team to Stoic Courier to free the imprisoned Sangheili there. Before they managed to leave High Charity, the Jiralhanae had caught wind of the transmission, and gave chase to the Sangheili. Autel was forced to put one of the Brutes' frigates on their trail so 'Refumee would not be hassled by the larger ship.

When Autel arrived at Threshold, he made a quick arrival onto Thel 'Vadamee's flagship, the Seeker of Truth, and told him what had happened. As Thel was trying to wipe out the UNSC forces on Halo at the moment, and bring the Flood under control too, he could not accompany him. During this time, Autel had saved the Supreme Commander's life from a Jiralhanae ambush which left him with two purple bayonet marks upon his right cheek. He later discovered that Thel was his father when seeing the mark of mating upon the future Arbiter's shoulder. Autel also took on the "ee" suffix in his last name as a representation of his military service, but dropped it again after the Great Schism.

When Autel returned to Sanghelios with a greater force of Sangheili, he successfully boarded the Jiralhanae cruiser CCS-U572 and realized that the Jiralhanae Captain Major Othreus had held his mother, the Seer of Sanghelios captive. The following skirmish had resulted in the Seer's death, to which Autel felt great sadness from. She had warned him to leave the cruiser prior to her death, which he did along with the surviving Sangheili. Moments later, CCS-U572 was forced into Slipstream space due to a high-priority crisis (the destruction of Halo). Autel's ship had remained at Sanghelios due to a damaged Slipspace drive.

Battle of Installation 05 and Covenant Civil War
When Autel reported what had happened at Sanghelios to the Prophets of Truth and Mercy, Regret had already headed for Earth to find the Ark. Truth had been apparently surprised at what the Jiralhanae had done and assured him that they were once again under his control. Autel was then transferred to the Special Operations unit for his services. He later witnessed Thel 'Vadam's trial and his apparent death, but later realized that he had been given the rank of Arbiter, and helped him on a mission to kill Heretic Sangheili. Autel was greatly shocked when he discovered that their leader was Sesa 'Refumee.

When Regret was forced to retreat from Earth and sent a transmission to Threshold, the Covenant fleet headed for Substance. They later discovered a second Halo ring was in the system the Prophet had arrived in, but on Truth's orders had not stopped SPARTAN-117 from killing the Hierarch. Autel also discovered that Fira, along with a small group of Sangheili recruits had been stranded in the system and taken refuge on the ring for a while.

A virus had been detected in High Charity, and Autel eventually traced it to the Jiralhanae. Around the same time, Rtas 'Vadumee sent a message announcing that Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee had been killed by Tartarus, and a war erupted in the city. Autel and a group of Sangheili led by Usze 'Tahamee managed to make it to the surface, and linked up with the Commander. When Autel and 'Vadumee met Thel at the Control Centre, who was very much alive, the former helped him find and kill Tartarus. After the Arbiter headed for Earth with Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson and Commander Miranda Keyes, he remained on Halo to deal with the Flood and gather Sangheili and human forces.

Autel, along with 'Vadumee, First Lieutenant Joseph Forenson, and a platoon of Marines, launched an assault on the Jiralhanae cruiser Tenacious Predator, and planned to take control of it, gather forces in space, and head to Earth. Meanwhile, a signal was discovered from High Charity, which the humans recognized as an AI's signature. After taking the ship successfully, Autel had gone with a team of Sangheili to trace it and found Cortana. She recorded a message for them, which the squad took back to the Predator. The was set to leave for Earth when it was attacked unexpectedly by a Flood-controlled frigate, and the Sangheili and humans were forced to abandon it. The Predator later jumped to Earth and eventually crash-landed on New Mombassa with Cortana's message.

Battle of Installation 00
Autel was one of the Special Operations Sangheili who were deployed from the carrier, and was among the Sangheili that found the Ark's Cartographer, venturing on a high-risk recon mission to do so. He was part of the team that attacked the second shield generator, and was part of the assault on the Citadel. Just like with Randall's demise, he had felt remorse for the Master Chief's apparent death.

Conflict With the Fallen
When Fleet Master Rtas 'Vadum found SPARTAN-116 in space, Autel 'Vadam was assumed to be on board the Shadow of Intent, although he was never seen on board.

Autel was with Thel when the Cessation arrived at the rebuilt planet Reach. He had hurriedly returned to the Sangheili camp established there to warn the other Elites.

When the Spartans, Cephaus, and a Special Operations unit scouted out Reach's surface, Autel accompanied them. They had come across a group of Covenant Loyalists led by the Brute Chieftain Othrys, and had a massive battle. Autel survived, and aided Thel in the battle against Othrys.

After the death of Oberion the Great, Autel went with Thel and SPARTAN-116 to the downed Cessation to destroy it, and succeeded in overloading its core. He then returned to the Shadow of Intent with Thel.

Autel became Special Operations Major and married Cyla 'Cazal at some point between 2556 and 2559, and had 3 offspring. However, they, along with thousands of other newborns, were kidnapped by the Sangheili separatist group, The Fallen. Thel asked the UNSC to help them track down the leader, and 19 Spartans were sent. When a Vadam elder found out that the Fallen leader, Isto 'Vadum, was headed to Earth, the humans were taken into custody, and forced to run a trial. Autel became greatly resentful of this, stating that they were very distrustful of the UNSC after theyd helped the Sangheili so much, and suffered so much at the hands of the Covenant. He did everything he could to prove that the humans didn't have anything to do with the Fallen, and was successful.

Afterward, Autel accompanied the Spartans and a group of Sangheili back to Earth, launching an assault on Isto's corvette, and found the newborns. He later returned to Sanghelios with them.

Zeta-9 and Meeting with Phoenix Team
"After I witnessed a mass slaughter of Sangheili recruits by the Jiralhanae, I told myself I would help any warrior I deemed worth the effort."

- Autel to Wings-D339

A Covenant outpost world where Autel, now a commando (Special Operations officer) assisted a young Phoenix team in destroying a Covenant outpost. Autel quickly came to admire Wings-D339's genius ability to intuitively pick out the proper targets and the path to get there. During the battle Wings was grievously wounded, and Autel and his team, along with the remaining Spartans, held the line long enough for medevac to arrive. This event ensured Phoenix team's trust in Autel.

Siege of Alpha-Alpha-Golf and the Battle for Kennedy Space Port
Autel and his team were flown in with Phoenix and Hawk Teams. The three special operations teams were assigned to disrupt a series of convoys that were transporting weapons to the Covenant Loyalist forces on the front line. They succeeded, and the Interspecies Union Forces were able to push through. It was on a small, unnamed planet that Autel and Wings saved each others' lives. While Wings was being throttled by the Judicator, Autel threw himself at the huge Brute, and was wounded when it hit him with a gravity hammer. Wings immediately disengaged and carried Autel to safety while Peec and Fira held the Judicator off.

Later, when Wings attempted to get Autel off the battle field, one of the officers, who had a strong prejudice against Sangheili, and disregarding the agreements of the Interspecies Union, denied Wings' request to bring his friend to safety. The Spartan injured him in order to gain access to the proper medical equipment needed to save Autel's life.

Autel was later sent on a mission with Wings to infiltrate a small Covenant research base. The AI Deep Ocean had discovered basic blueprints for some kind of new Covenant super weapon. After sneaking their way through the base Autel and Wings uncovered plans on the new Covenant weapon, a Graviton Cannon, which could potentially severely damage or destroy entire planets. During this Covenant base raid Autel and Fira assisted Phoenix Team in grabbing more information on the Graviton Cannon, as well as collecting samples of its technology.

Autel 'Vadam fought alongside Phoenix Team yet again during several Fallen attacks on Sanghelios. He helped to stop a convoy of Fallen heavy armor dead in its tracks and prevent the deaths of dozens of Sangheili warriors and destroyed a major vehicle depot. During the Battle for Kennedy Space Port, Autel and his squad held one of three major streets that led to the heart of the city against an onslaught of Covenant foot soldiers and armor. They were supported by four squads of ODSTs and a company of Marines.

Path Walkers
In 2572, Autel was promoted to Special Operations Commander of the Sangheili after his predecessor Tico 'Serul was killed in action. He immediately adjusts to fight against a new enemy, the Path Walkers.



Appearance and Personality
"You weren't raised like most Sangheili."

- Wings-D339

"No, I wasn't."

- Autel 'Vadam

At Autel's first appearance on Reach, he was described as being "pale-skinned".

In 2552, Autel was very innovative. He hid his feelings well, and was able to quickly adapt to the situation when he realized what the Jiralhanae were doing. He made a few mistakes in combat, although this was because he did not graduate yet and had never fought Jiralhanae before. In a battle against a group of Jiralhanae Autel sustained wounds from the blades of a Type-25 Carbine (Spiker), leaving his face scarred. The scars are only visible when he removes his helmet.

By 2556, Autel seems to have matured and is very quiet, becoming more careful with his emotions. He had joined the Sangheili Special Operations unit more or less in 2552. While other Elites may taunt their enemies and gloat, he would merely remain silent. This differs from Thel's personality in the canon novel Halo: The Cole Protocol. He is a very disciplined and excellent soldier. Autel is also very obedient and honourable, but also tends to see things in hindsight.

Autel is considerably more friendly towards humans than most Sangheili, whom still had hostile feelings towards them even after the Human-Covenant war. His eyes tend to deepen to a shade of red when he is angry.


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