Seal Vladaam

"There are some things in this world, Jason, that we can never understand. It takes time, years... but we should never stop fighting for what's right."

- Seal to Jason (Service Unavailable)

Dr. Seal Vladaam is a main character in the machinima Sandguardians. Known to be very curious, brave, and intellectual, Seal first appeared, very briefly, in Welcome to Sandbox! and again made another brief appearance in Reese's Pieces. Seal made his prominent appearance in Strange Encounters with a much larger role.

Seal was once a prominent scientist in the ONC, specializing in invention, engineering, and theory. He had strong relationships with other scientists as well, especially with his partner Dr. Arthur McGrath, in which the two created the Life Saver. Following their separation, Seal and several other ONC scientists formed a group called the Guardians, in order to bring the ONC to justice for their crimes of prejudice, poor working conditions, and abusive treatment.

Seal was a strong warrior of the Guardians and was not afraid to put himself in harms to protect their cause.

Personality
Seal seems to be a very brave soldier and the most mature character in the series. During the flashback in Episode 10, he is revealed to be trustworthy as he stood by McGrath while they were under attack. As the two became overwhelmed, Seal wanted to stay with McGrath, despite being told to leave while in possession of a powerful piece of equipment, but McGrath pleaded him to escape. Seal did so and promised McGrath that he would come back for him, an action that has haunted him from that point on.

As a result of this, Seal has shown to become very rash in his actions, specifically when they concern McGrath. For example, in High in the Sky Seal was impatient and eagerly wanted to go investigate the Phantom, disregarding the dangers that it may hold. He revealed in Service Unavailable, that he disbanded his objective of going to the Guardian rendezvous meeting to go rescue McGrath at his old lab. Unfortunately, his plans went awry as his ship was attacked and the incident led to the death of his pilot, and fellow Guardian, Goon. With Goon's help, Seal managed to escape on a Banshee but eventually crash-landed in Sandbox. In Insight to the Past, after viewing McGrath's video message, Seal desperately wanted to go rescue him, believing that his friend may still be alive. Seal went so far as to make Nash feel guilty by stating that McGrath loved her and it would be wrong for her to not want to go save him, in order to save his friend.

Seal has also shown a great deal of respect towards his comrades, whether they like him or not. For instance, although Legend and Ichabod do not trust him, Seal still managed to show a respectful and calm attitude towards them.

Skill
Seal seems to have experience flying Covenant vehicles, as shown in Episode 1, as well as human vehicles like Warthogs and tanks. Seal also has incredible skill in stealth & strength, as he was able to survive a blast from a Guardian Tower, & 2 grenades from Dax. During all this, he remained unseen from the other soldiers. In High in the Sky, Seal displayed superior fighting skills, being able to battle and eliminate a Hornet by himself. Seal also regularly operates the Warthog turret throughout the series, managing to take out several enemies with it. In addition, Seal has a good amount of skill in combat, thought considers himself more of a scientist than a fighter.

In terms of stealth, Seal is shown to be an expert. In addition to remaining hidden from the Sandbox troops, Seal was also able to sneak out of DotCom and into the ONC's Underground Chamber, where he gained important data from them.

Seal also has some skills in persuasion. He was able to convince Goon to help him on his mission to find McGrath, he convinced the Blues to help him escape Sandbox and influenced Nash to help him on his mission to find McGrath. Although, Seal is not above guilting others into helping him, whether he realizes it or not.

Jason
Seal seems to have a very friendly relationship with Jason, as the two managed to talk with each other in Episode 9 and in Episode 10, Jason stood by him throughout his story. Of all the soldiers in Sandbox, Seal seems to respect Jason the most.

Dax
Seal and Dax also have a very friendly relationship with each other. On most occasions, Dax seems to always agree with Seal's ideas, seeing him as heroic and adventurous; one can say that Dax admires Seal in a way and sees him as his answer for a better purpose. Dax may also see Seal as a celebrity or authority figure, showing concern when Seal is unhappy.

Nash
Seal seems to have history with Nash, much like McGrath. He explains that Nash would never to a friend and shared similar motives with him and McGrath as well. Nash also refers to Seal as "Chameleon", further displaying their history as friends. Also, much like McGrath, Nash seems to understand Seal's native language.

McGrath
Seal and McGrath seemed to be very close friends, as McGrath was able to talk with him perfectly. The two also seem to respect each other to a very high degree and would risk their lives with one another. Seal revealed in Episode 21 that he abandoned his trip to the rendezvous in order to rescue McGrath, but this plan ultimately failed.

After viewing a video message from McGrath, where McGrath confessed his honor with collaborating with Seal, Seal desperately wanted to go rescue him, yet again abandoning his mission to the rendezvous. He also persuaded Nash to come along and went so far as to make her feel guilty, calling her selfish. Seal also seems to feel guilty for being unable to save McGrath and his actions have been greatly affected by said guilt.

Legend
Legend did not trust Seal during his first encounter with him, but managed to provide him with an escape route out of Sandbox. Seal replies to Legend with a thank you. It is currently unknown if Legend trusts Seal.

Ichabod
Seal and Ichabod did not have much interaction with each other. Icky did not trust Seal during their first encounter and quickly made a plan to assassinate him in Another One Down. During that time, Dax and Jason decided to assist Seal on his mission, but Icky did not join them, feeling that Seal was dangerous. Icky's current opinions towards Seal are currently unknown.

Trivia

 * Seal's name is a reference to the Arbiter (Thel 'Vadam) from the Halo Trilogy.
 * According to an interview with Jack HF, creator oo7nightfire considers Seal to be the main protagonist of the series.