John-117
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a SPARTAN-II commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command who became one of the most important UNSC heroes during the Human-Covenant war. With nearly thirty years of active duty, he has become one of the most decorated war veterans in the United Nations Space Command, earning every known UNSC medal except the Prisoner of War Medallion.
John is also known as a man of his word and will strive to keep any promise he makes, even at great personal risk. As he was forced to leave Cortana behind on High Charity, John promised to come back for her after dealing with the Prophet of Truth. Cortana chided him not to make a promise when he knew he couldn't keep it. However, despite incredible odds, John did keep his promise, as he fought his way through the Flood into High Charity to retrieve her. Upon finding her, Cortana was in a weak and damaged state. Nearing rampancy, John-117 told her, "You know me. When I make a promise…" to which Cortana replied "You keep it."
Cortana
Cortana, UNSC Artificial intelligence (SN: CTN 0452-9), is a smart artificial intelligence construct. She was one of the most important figures in the Human-Covenant war, and was also John-117's partner in various combat missions as well as serving as the A.I. for the Halcyon-class light cruiser - UNSC Pillar of Autumn,Orbital Defense Platform - Cairo Station and Charon-class light frigate - UNSCForward Unto Dawn.
Cortana had a witty and playful personality and a small sense of cryptic humor laced with some sarcasm. She had neither arrogance nor false modesty about her immense capabilities, and her statements about her abilities have an objective perspective that human beings typically cannot achieve. She did get bored often and easily. In fact, it is said that seven seconds of inactivity for an A.I. is excruciating.
Cortana seemed to share some of her creator's memories, thoughts, opinions, and even values. When she was asked by Dr. Halsey to pick a "carrier", Cortana chose John-117 for his neural compatibility and his "luck". A similar reason used by Halsey for her choice too. She was not only a facsimile of Dr. Halsey's mind, but also a replica of her physical form, albeit at a younger age.
Avery Johnson
Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson (SN: 48789-20114-AJ ) was aHuman senior non-commissioned officer who served with the UNSC Marine Corps during the Insurrection and Human-Covenant war. Avery Johnson was a highly trained Marine, serving with various combat units of the Naval Special Warfare Command, including the highly classified ORION Project.
Avery Johnson's behavior seems to be eccentric, often delivering outlandish speeches to boost the morale of those serving under him. However, as shown in Contact Harvest, when it came down to it, he was a no-nonsense NCO, who, although caring deeply for his troops, pushed them hard during training.
Another seemingly peculiar aspect of his behavior is that he never considered John-117 or any of the other SPARTAN-IIs"Section Three freaks" or "inhuman cyborgs." He had a large amount of respect for them, and appeared to respect everyhuman fighting for humanity, as well as the Elites, once they joined forces with the UNSC in Halo 3. In return, Thel 'Vadam respected him as well, before and after his death, saying sorrowfully to John, "I am sorry, Spartan" and "Even in death, your Sergeant guides us all."
Jacob Keyes
Captain Jacob Keyes (SN: 01928-19912-JK) was a legendary naval officer and one of the most brilliant tacticians in the UNSC Navy. He commanded great respect as a highly skilled strategist and inspirational leader to those under his command. His many decorations, thirty-five years of combat experience against the Covenant, and the ability to keep a secret made him an almost natural choice to command theUNSC Pillar of Autumn and its most secret cargo.
Keyes was often quite officious, overly formal and put the safety of the UNSC before his own personal safety, even going as far as to almost self-destruct the ship he was on so that the Covenant wouldn't find Earth. He was prepared and willing to give anything for Earth. He would often charge headlong into battle keeping a straight and calm face whether fighting alongside his men on the ground or in space. As a captain, Keyes expected the best out of his Marines by maintaining their morale even through hopeless situations. This was seen when he silenced one Marine for panicking when there was no available escape route in the Truth and Reconciliation and when he angrily ordered Private Mendoza to resume his position when the latter was attempting to flee from their first encounter of the Flood. Keyes was also known to be fearless in most situations, as he refused to tell Zuka 'Zamamee about John-117, and even dared the Sangheili to kill him. He had a strong will as he prevented the proto-gravemind from discovering the location of Earth, when he was consumed by the Flood.
Miranda Keyes
Miranda Keyes, born Miranda Halsey, (SN: 15972-19891-MK) was aCommander in the UNSC Navy. Keyes served as the commanding officer of both the UNSC In Amber Clad as well as the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn and was the commander of the Human expedition force to Installation 00 in late 2552. She was the daughter of the late Captain Jacob Keyes and Doctor Catherine Halsey.
Like her father, Miranda Keyes was known for being one of the bravest officers in the UNSC, however slightly inexperienced in comparison. This was demonstrated in various cases, such as her decision to follow Regret's flagship into Slipspace during the Battle of Mombasa, when she would have killed Thel' Vadam at the Battle of Installation 05were it not for his combat prowess and good reflexes, or in the Battle of Installation 00 when she crashed her Pelican through the Citadel's wall in a last-ditch effort to rescue Johnson, moments before her death.
Due to her unexpected move to follow Regret's ship into Slipspace, she was described by Commander Richard Lash as "The ballsiest officer in the Fleet". He, however, suggested that she may have been trying to live up to the reputation of her father or that she was simply "nuts".
Terrence Hood
Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood (SN: 07960-48392-TH) is the de facto leader of the UNSC, a flag officer of the UNSC Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commanding Officer of the UNSC Home Fleet.
Gregory Cutter
Captain James Gregory Cutter (SN: 01730-58392-JC) was a senior officer in theUNSC Navy, serving as an officer during the Insurrection and early into Human-Covenant war. He would later serve as the commanding officer of the modified colony ship, the UNSC Spirit of Fire.
Serina
Serina was as a military advisory smart AI. Her avatar is a young female with long hair and a lab coat. She speaks with an English accent. Beneath all her sarcastic comments and seemingly uncaring attitude, she turns out to be kinder than she seems.
Ellen Anders
Professor Ellen Anders (Civilian Consultant 500493) is a civilian researcher. With PhDs in biology, anthropology, and psychology, Prof. Anders is the preeminent expert in theoretical xeno-biopsychology. Anders has an IQ of 180 and was the student of Dr. Catherine Halsey. She appears to hold a particular grudge against the Covenant, and like many involved in the war effort considers her work to be for the good of humanity as a whole. She somewhat personifies the "absentminded professor" stereotype, with a characteristic disregard for personal safety.
John Forge
Sergeant John Forge (Service Number 63492-94758-JF) was a veteran non-commissioned officer and an infantryman in the UNSC Marine Corps. Although he excelled in tactics and combat, his repeated acts of insubordination caused him to receive three demotions, with infractions such as fighting with an officer, (which resulted in 2.4 years in jail time), and striking a superior officer. He sported an ace of spades playing card attached to his left shoulder pauldron, and also carried a combat knife he named "Lucy".
Carter-A259
Commander Carter-A259 was a SPARTAN-III commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command, attached to Special Warfare Group Three. Carter was the leader of Noble Team, an elite team of Spartans who fought during the Fall of Reach. His callsign was Noble One.
Carter is described as charismatic and reassuring, as well as a born leader, inspiring confidence in those under his command. He is said to be cool under pressure, with laser-like focus, even while maintaining adaptability and flexibility. Carter is also noted as being capable of interacting with non-SPARTAN personnel effectively and efficiently with low-to-no expected stress issues, and is said to be at his best while building a team.
As team commander, his defining trait is his desire to bring his people back alive, but he knows the challenge of losing members of his command. However, he was said to have "minor trust issues" due to the death of Thom-A293 under his command; Carter attributes S-293's death to his own "inadequate team preparation" while it was evidently due to enemy action or Thom-A293's own lapse in situational awareness. Carrying the guilt over Thom's death may have also been the source of Carter's hesitation to commit to one of the replacements.
Catherine-B320
Lieutenant Commander Catherine-B320, commonly known as Kat, was aSPARTAN-III commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command, attached to Special Warfare Group Three. She fought as a part of Noble Team under the call sign Noble Two during the Fall of Reach in 2552.
Catherine was described as an inspired tactician and an exemplary combatant, but also a brilliant cryptanalyst and a hacker; allegedly, there has not been a system yet that she had been unable to crack. According to Colonel Urban Holland, she had a habit of occasionally investigating classified Intel more than her superiors would have liked her to. Her ability to acquire and digest information has been described as "supernatural"; more than once, she had been able to read a situation, working with information many others would find overly limited.
Like Carter, Kat blamed herself for Thom-A293's death while it was apparent that neither was responsible; according to Colonel Urban Holland, Thom died because when he went into the CCS-class battlecruiser (that Kat was originally supposed to destroy before being injured) by himself rather than waiting for backup, although Holland was technically incorrect in that case as the SPARTAN had no choice at that time due to the limited amount of time left before the MFDD detonated.
Jun-A266
Jun-A266 (pronounced "June") is a SPARTAN-III commando of the UNSC NavalSpecial Warfare Command, attached to Special Warfare Group Three. He fought as a part of Noble Team during the Fall of Reach in 2552.
Jun is regarded as "rock solid under pressure" and a thoughtful and taciturn soldier. He is also noted as being "chatty," sometimes to the degree his chattiness is considered being against noise discipline protocols. He has shown symptoms of post-traumatic stress in the past. In a psychiatric evaluation on 15/12/2549, he was noted as having "an unhealthy emotional detachment in regards to the consequences of his actions." Colonel Urban Holland, who later evaluated the members of Noble Team, disagreed with this assertion, commenting that Jun is a rationalist and a SPARTAN.
Emile-A239
Emile-A239 was a SPARTAN-III commando of the UNSC Special Warfare Command, attached to Special Warfare Group Three. He fought as a part ofNoble Team with the call sign Noble Four during the Fall of Reach in 2552.
Respected by his peers, Emile is described as being detail oriented and unbreakable, being an effective member of the unit while in the field and maintaining strict discipline off the field. He is, however, noted to have the most trouble interacting with non-Spartans than anyone else in Noble Team.
Emile is noted for being particularly bold and aggressive. Colonel Urban Holland noted that Emile-A239's excessive use of force makes it hard to field him against insurrectionists, due to the resulting reaction in civilian media, to the degree that they would replace him with SPARTAN-344 if another counter-insurgency operation would come up. He also treats regular civilians with suspicion and disregard, which has led to confrontations between him and Jorge-052. Despite his hard outlook, he held a deep respect for his teammates, as well as readiness to sacrifice himself in order to allow thePillar of Autumn to escape. Emile is also known to handle the loss of teammates by masking his emotions with humor.
He also possesses an "impressive" collection of Covenant contraband. While in direct violation of Subsection Seven of the Cole Protocol, his superiors ignore this, due to them being part of the Army, meaning the Army may not have such a rule.
jorge-052
Chief Warrant Officer Jorge-052 was a SPARTAN-II commando of theUNSC Naval Special Warfare Command, attached to Special Warfare Group Three. He fought during the Fall of Reach in 2552 as a part of Noble Team under the call sign Noble Five.
Jorge was the only member of Noble Team that has seen as much action, if not more, against human militants as Covenant forces. Described as being very difficult to read, he is free with his opinions, vocal in his support of provincial self-rule, and just as vocal in his condemnation of the separatist and insurrectionist movements. He is shown to be empathetic and caring toward civilians; a trait noticeably rare among Spartans. He was also particularly attached to his home planet of Reach, going so far as to sacrifice himself in order to save it.
Like all SPARTAN-IIs, Jorge has seen almost thirty years of action and shows no signs of breaking or slowing. In a performance report, he is noted as "inspiring confidence in those around him" and being "rock solid" despite his long military career; this is credited to the fact he is a SPARTAN-II, and is thus considered superior to conventional soldiers in every respect. According to Colonel Holland, Jorge was an excellent card player.
Jorge seems to have been fluent in the Hungarian language; he speaks Hungarian at various points in the game, including one instance where he introduces himself by saying, "A nevem Jorge" ("My name is Jorge"). This is likely due to the fact that Reach, Jorge's home planet, seems to have a significant population of Hungarian descent, and Jorge himself being from Pálháza, a city on Reach that shares its name with an actual Hungarian town.
SPARTAN-B312
SPARTAN-B312, better known as Noble Six, was a SPARTAN-III commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command, attached toSpecial Warfare Group Three. B312 served during the Fall of Reach as a member of Noble Team.
Noble Six is remarked to be a skilled assassin and as evidenced from Noble Six's heavily redacted personnel file. Six has a tendency to "go solo", or, in other words, be a "Lone Wolf" during missions.
Despite an obscure past, hyper-lethal skills and Lone-Wolf tendency, Noble Six is portrayed as having a human personality in the campaign, frequently assisting and befriending soldiers, civilians and other members of Noble Team in need (which leads to a friendship between Six and Jorge-052), and ultimately manning the Onager and staying behind on the doomed planet after Emile's death, in order to secure a safe passage for the UNSC Pillar of Autumn to escape Reach. Were it not for Noble Six's final actions, Jacob Keyes, Cortana, and John-117 would never have escaped Reach on The Autumn, and therefore SPARTAN-B312 is partially, if not equally responsible for Humanity's overall victory over both the Covenant, and the Flood.
Sarah Palmer
Commander Sarah Palmer (SN: 65287-98303-SP) is a human senior officer of the SPARTAN-IV Program serving in the post-war years. She was augmented as part of the SPARTAN-IV Program and currently serves aboard the UNSC Infinity as the commander of the SPARTAN contingent. Palmer wears the Scout variant of theMJOLNIR GEN2 armor, in lieu of specialized communications models built specifically for Spartan officers.
Andrew Del Rio
Senator Andrew Del Rio was a former Captain (Service Number 90302-75627-AD) in United Nations Space Command who was given command of the largest ship in the UNSC fleet, UNSC Infinity.
With more than 30 years of naval experience under his belt and a reputation for bringing his ships home in one piece, Andrew Del Rio was a relatively easy choice for the UNSC’s captain seat on Infinity. Like many of the Navy’s finest, Del Rio’s career grew out of the protracted conflict with the Covenant. Infinity, however, presented a new opportunity for his leadership. Although it was secretly battle tested prior to its recommissioning as a peaceful exploration vessel, the ship now finds itself at the doorstep of a mysterious Forerunner world that poses a danger unparalleled in Del Rio’s decades-long career.
Catherine Halsey
Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, MD, PhD (SN: CC-409871), was a praised scientist and former employee turned prisoner of the Office of Naval Intelligence, best known as the creator of the SPARTAN-II Program and MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor.
Her intelligence is unquestionable as well as the loyalty and respect she receives from the majority of her comrades and her Spartans. However, as seen in Halo: First Strike, her judgment is not always correct, although bearing the guilt of the Spartan program, her sense of right and wrong has differed greatly. It is obvious that she truly cares about her Spartans.
Dr. Halsey carried extraordinary guilt because of the SPARTAN-II program, feeling that she had exploited the children and destroyed their lives, a feeling which was later passed to Cortana. Though she continued to support the Spartans and gained monumental prestige for her efforts, she also felt responsible for each one who died. She never could quite justify their exploitation as a "necessary sacrifice." She also had considerable respect for the Spartans, and addressed them by their first names (even with their armor on), which seemed to greatly annoy them.
Her feelings of guilt were made evident by the fact that she often referred mentally to "sacrificing the few to save the many," though this rarely worked to soothe her conscience. By the time she was rescued from Reach by the Ascendant Justice, she simply wanted to save as many lives as she could, believing that the war was not one that the UNSC could possibly win.
Tom Lasky
Captain Thomas J. Lasky (SN: 98604-72690-TL) is a human senior naval officer of the UNSC Navy who served throughout the Human-Covenant war and in the post war years. Since at least 2552, Lasky had served as Captain Del Rio's executive officer aboard UNSC Infinity. Following Del Rio's removal from command by FLEETCOM after abandoning John-117 on Requiem, Lasky was named acting captain of Infinity and aided John-117 in his battle against the Didact. Six months after the Didact's attack on Earth, Lasky, now Captain, led Infinity in the assault on Requiem as per FLEETCOM's orders. Throughout the campaign in and around Requiem Lasky showed the true potential he held in command, especially in terms of keeping morale high as well as defending his men when Infinity was invaded by Promethean Knights.
Roland
Roland was put in service on board the UNSC Infinity on December 5, 2557 after the original AI on the Infinity was destroyed after crash landing. He took part in commanding the UNSC forces during the Second Battle of Requiem. He worked on various operations on the planet and assisted the Spartan teams (such as Fireteam Crimson) in their missions.
Roland is usually polite when bored, but when excited, he can become annoying, employs a generally aloof demeanor, and particularly enjoys mocking SPARTAN Jared Miller. He has also been known to joke with Officers such as Sarah Palmer and Thomas Lasky whilst in a combat situation.
Jameson Locke
Locke was born on March 15, 2529, on Jericho VII. When he was six years old, Jericho VII fell to the Covenant Empire and Locke was evacuated. His parents were killed during the assault.
Locke eventually joined the UNSC and became an ONI Acquisitions Specialist, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
On September 26, 2552, Locke compiled a target profile report regarding Thel 'Vadam's personal history during the war, including the Fall of Reach, the Battle of Installation 04, and the Great Schism.
Locke is a competent soldier who approaches combat situations with caution and logic and inspires loyalty in those under his command. However, he is troubled by some aspects of the organization he serves under.
Edward Buck
Spartan Edward Buck (SN: 92458-37017-EB) is a SPARTAN-IV and a former Orbital Drop Shock Trooper.
Counting time spent in cryo-sleep, Buck is a 25-year veteran of the war. He served in numerous battles throughout the Human-Covenant war. Watching so many of his fellow Marines die has left Buck thick-skinned and short-fused, but this wasn't always so. He was regarded as an extremely skilled Marine and by the Battle of Earth, was the commander of Alpha-Nine until Captain Veronica Dare took responsibility before the drop on New Mombasa, Kenya in October 20, 2552.
Holly Tanaka
Holly Tanaka (SN: 93312-28001-HT) is a SPARTAN-IV in the United Nations Space Command.
In February 2558, Tanaka was deployed as part of Fireteam Domino to Requiemduring the Second Battle of Requiem.
Tanaka would later be recruited to Fireteam Osiris with her C.O Jameson Locke, and teammates Edward Buck andOlympia Vale to find and retrieve the AWOL John-117 and his Blue Team. As part of this hunt, Osiris would travel toSanghelios to fight the Covenant Remnant and Prometheans in the Battle of Sunaion.
Olympia Vale
Olympia Vale (SN: 44482-91201-OV) is a human post-war political liaison affiliated with the Office of Naval Intelligence.
Olympia Vale was eleven years old when her parents divorced. Her mother, an officer in Navy signals intelligence, was promoted to captain and subsequently reassigned to UNSC High Command on Earth. On the trip to Earth, it took Olympia and her mother six-months, instead of the regular six days because their ship'sslipspace drive broke down. During those six months Olympia taught herself to understand the Sangheili language.
Upon graduating from Sydney University, Vale joined the Office of Naval Intelligenceworking in signal intelligence like her mother. She soon began to work as an ONI Special Liaison with the United Earth Government's negotiations with the Arbiter.
Vale was present during the expedition to Installation 00 and was the second person to ever visit 000 Tragic Solitude and managed to survive Frank Kodiak's brother Bobby.
In 2558 Vale was assigned to the SPARTAN-IV Fireteam Osiris led by Jameson Locke. They were given orders by ONI to retrieve or neutralize the AWOLSPARTAN-II Blue Team.
Linda-058
Petty Officer Second Class Linda-058, born Linda Pravdin, is a SPARTAN-IIsuper soldier. She is one of the few known surviving Spartans. She is best known for her skill with her SRS 99-S5 Sniper Rifle Nornfang, and once eliminated two targets so quickly that even John-117 couldn't tell who she had targeted first in the field. She also has a very close working relationship with Joshua-029, Kelly-087, Frederic-104, and John-117 and formed the combat sub-unit Blue Team.
Decades later, Linda regrouped with Fred, Kelly, and John, allowing them to reform Blue Team under John's leadership.
Linda is unmistakable for her remarkable abilities with the sniper rifle. John and Fred have noted on several occasions that she makes sniping seem almost like an "art." While she is sniping, she doesn't require a spotter. She is known even for taking out Banshees with one shot by sniping the pilot through the tiny slit between the canopy and the lower portion of the vehicle. She is notably the quietest member of Blue Team, as stated by John, and is labeled as a "lone wolf" Spartan. Linda is unshakable and persistent, demonstrating time after time again that her abilities with a sniper rifle are far greater than those of any other Spartan in known combat. She is very pale, with blood-red hair and dark emerald green eyes. She is also a practitioner of Zen. She, like every SPARTAN-II, was trained by Chief Mendez on the planetReach. John once described her as the "strongest" Spartan, as she does not rely on other members of her squad for advocating support on or off the battlefield.
Kelly-087
Kelly is notoriously fast, even by Spartan standards, easily making her the fastest human who ever lived. She is the fastest of all the other Spartans, capable of running at bursts of up to 62 KPH (38.502 MPH), has quicker reflexes than all other Spartans and is even capable of accomplishing normal tasks quickly and more precisely than her fellow Spartans. Before missions, she had to slow herself down considerably to spar with other Spartans. She has demonstrated an incredible tolerance for pain, as she has been injured quite gravely on several occasions and managed to recover fully each time.
When she was younger, Kelly had her hair dyed blue and was taller than John. He eventually outgrew her and her hair color returned to its natural brown color. Kelly has a cynical sense of humor and often cracks jokes over her and her team's situation and mission. Her speed has led her to being termed the team's "rabbit", acting as quick bait to draw enemies into traps laid by the other Spartans.
Fred-104
Fred has displayed many similarities, both physical and mental, with John-117. He is an exceptional leader and a quick thinker. John remarked, however, that Fred sometimes takes the responsibility of his command too seriously, empathizing too deeply with any wounded member of his team. He, like many other Spartans, was an introvert and didn't like to be called by his full name. He never really began to stand out among the Spartans until the death of Samuel-034.
As of 2552, he had fought in more than 120 military campaigns. He was the second best SPARTAN-II sniper and best spotter, just below Linda-058's skills. In fact, John once said that Fred came in 2nd place in all of the contests the SPARTAN-IIs had as children, John thought he could have come out on top but didn't like the attention. He was well known for his abilities with the combat knife. Fred had black hair which was shot with streaks of silver after his augmentation, and he was not too short or tall (A little shorter than John-117), and neither too muscular, nor too slim. In fact it was commented by John-117 that "if any Spartan had to blend into a crowd it would be Fred." As with all Spartans he is unnaturally pale because he rarely if ever is exposed to sunlight.
The "Rookie"
Lance Corporal "Rookie" (SN: 11282-31220-JD) was a Human junior enlistedman who served with the UNSC Marine Corps during the Human-Covenant war. Rookie was trained as a member of the elite Orbital Drop Shock Troopers early in his career, serving with the 105th Shock Troops Division atNew Jerusalem. Later, he was chosen by GySgt Edward Buck for a team to aid the Office of Naval Intelligence in New Mombasa, Kenya during the Battle of Earth.
Veronica Dare
Veronica Dare (SN: 73398-38490-VD) is a Captain in the UNSC Navyand an Intelligence Officer in Section One of the Office of Naval Intelligence. During the Battle of Earth, she took command of Alpha-Nine, a shock trooper squad led by Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck.
Taylor Miles
Corporal Taylor "Dutch" Henry Miles (SN: 21175-12121-TM) is anODST in the UNSC Marine Corps. He served in Alpha-Nine led by GySgt Edward Buck during the Battle of Earth. He is married to former fellow ODST Gretchen Ketola.
He is the second oldest member of Alpha-Nine and is good friends with the squad's marksman, Romeo. He has extensive experience in close-quarters combat. Dutch's last known place of residence is Paris Island on Mars, where he is also a citizen. His civilian occupation is listed as road train driver.
Kojo Agu
Spartan Kojo "Romeo" Agu (SN: 14606-85099-KA) was a UNSC Marine Shock Trooper, who served during the Battle of Ariel and the Battle of Earthin 2552. During the Battle of Earth, he was a part of Alpha-Nine, a squad led by GySgt Edward Buck. He is currently a member of the SPARTAN-IV Program.
Michael Crespo
Private First Class Michael "Mickey" Crespo (SN: 51033-15973-MC) is an ODST in the UNSC Marine Corps. He served in Alpha-Nine led by GySgt Edward Buck during the Battle of Earth.