Halo Birthdays

Today is his -459th birthday!

Following the dissolution of the Covenant, 'Telcam found himself at odds with the prevailing Sangheili beliefs. He remained faithful to the Forerunners, and viewed Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and his followers as blasphemous. He became the founder and leader of the splinter group Servants of the Abiding Truth.

ONI became aware of 'Telcam's plans to assassinate 'Vadam and contacted him to negotiate terms of cooperation, assisting 'Telcam in assassinating 'Vadam in a clandestine plan to destabilize the Sangheili and reduce their threat to humanity. ONI supplied 'Telcam with weapons, and the Servants seized the opportunity of a Jiralhanae uprising in Ontom to launch an attack on Vadam. His plan was thwarted by the arrival of the UNSC Infinity, and he was abducted by ONI to keep him alive, and their involvement quiet.

'Telcam and ONI intelligence unit Kilo-Five would continue to collaborate, and when Jul 'Mdama formed the "new" Covenant, 'Telcam and his followers refused to join.

Today is his -476th birthday!

Forge came from a long military family dating back to World War II, but his military career was not spotless. He was incarcerated for over two years and demoted three times, largely due to his defiant personality and willingness to fight to settle things.

In 2530, he was arrested after fighting a man who made suggestive comments toward his then five-year-old daughter Rion and her aunt. His daughter stood up for him and the charges were dropped, catching the attention of Admiral Preston Cole. Cole personally assigned Forge to the UNSC Sprit of Fire.

During this campaign, Forge uncovered a Covenant plan to access a Forerunner shield world that was home to a fleet of Forerunner dreadnoughts during a scout of Harvest, a discovery that would quickly end the war in the Covenant's favor.

Stopping the Covenant from accessing the fleet became the priority, and Forge and the Spirit of Fire pursued them to the shield world Trove. The plan was to set Spirit's slipspace drive to self destruct, causing the shield world's sun to go supernova and destroy the planet, destroying the dreadnoughts. He and Red Team fought their way to the Apex Site, where he was confronted by Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee. They fought, and he defeated 'Moramee in single combat.

Once the fighting was over, Red Team's Jerome informed him that the slipspace drive had already overheated, meaning that it would have to be set to destruct manually, forcing him to stay behind and die. Forge offered to set the charges himself, recognizing the importance of the Spartans in the war ahead.

Today is his -474th birthday!

Del Rio oversaw the completion of the UNSC Infinity, having spent several years in service during the Human-Covenant war. He was proposed as the commanding officer of the Infinity after its completion, which Margaret Parangosky assented to only because Thomas Lasky was assigned as his executive officer. Parangosky had her scruples about Del Rio, believing him to be uninspiring to his crew.

Del Rio and the Infinity located Master Chief and Cortana, having picked up the distress call from the Forward Unto Dawn after five years adrift. At this point, Master Chief and Cortana had encountered the Didact on Requiem, and attempted to deter Infinity from approaching. However, the message was too garbled and Infinity was pulled into the planet.

Master Chief was eventually able to get Infinity's defenses back online, driving off the Didact. He implored Del Rio to pursue the Didact, understanding his threat. Del Rio criticized him and refused. After witnessing an outburst by Cortana, Del Rio demanded that Master Chief relinquish her for decommissioning. He refused, and with Lasky's help, escaped.

When Del Rio returned to Earth, he learned that the UNSC Security Council disagreed with his decisions on Requiem, and he was relieved of duty. With no military prospects, he retired, choosing to instead start a popular political career. He would.

Today is his -484th birthday!

Atriox was born into the Covenant, serving as a member of the Bloodstars. In the later years of the Human-Covenant war, his clan was increasingly used as cannon fodder to break the front lines, seeding a resentment towards the Covenant and its leadership.

Atriox repeatedly survived these encounters, an outcome his superiors did not expect. Over time, he developed a legendary status among his people. Though Atriox was willing to fight the campaign against the humans, he did not share in the Covenant faith. This began to draw concern, and eventually the Prophet of Truth ordered him to be quietly executed to avoid martyrdom.

Atriox was set up to be followed at his next deployment. During a battle, he aired his frustrations to a terrified human marine, denouncing the Covenant faith and the war before killing him. His beliefs exposed, the Jiralhanae that followed him accused him of blasphemy and challenged him. They fought, and Atriox killed him, giving his superiors an excuse to have him executed for killing his own kind.

Rather than accept his execution, he killed his would-be executioner, emboldening the Jiralhanae around him to rebel against the Covenant, forming the Banished.

In the years that followed, the Banished engaged in several raids against the Covenant and the UNSC. When the Covenant fell, they took advantage of the power vacuum, seizing weapons, vehicles, and recruiting widely to all species.

During the Created conflict, Atriox seized yet another opportunity travel to the Ark, intent on gaining the ability to construct Halo rings. His plans were intercepted by a UNSC presence there. While he was there, he learned of the Xalanyn, hidden on Zeta Halo. The battle raged for months, with Atriox no closer to success. In an effort to turn the tide, he sent brothers Voridus and Pavium to High Charity to salvage. However, this lead to a Flood outbreak, and Atriox was forced to leave the Ark to address this more pressing matter.

Rather than return to the Ark as expected, Atriox left for Zeta Halo to seek the Xalanyn. He encountered resistance from Cortana and the Created, which lead to the destruction of Dosiac, the Jiralhanae homeworld. As the battle on Zeta Halo raged, he arranged for an ambush against the UNSC Infinity. He personally attended the battle, targeting and besting--but not killing--Master Chief.

He then turned his attention back to Cortana, who, having realized the havoc she caused, blew up part of the ring, sacrificing herself to stop Atriox, who was then presumed dead. However, it appears that he was only grievously injured, and survived to be an enduring thorn in Master Chief's side.

Today is her -480th birthday!

Tillson was xenoarchaeologist contracted by ONI to oversee research on the Composer at Ivanoff Station. As one of the few experts in Xenoarchaeology, Tillson herself discovered the Composer on Installation 03.

Today is her -494th birthday!

Gretchen was an ODST who served in the same unit as Romeo and her future husband, Dutch. Her military career was cut short when she stepped on an Insurrectionist landmine during an engagement on Ballast, which cost her her left leg.

While she survived the injury, it was anticipated that she would never return to combat duty. Instead, she chose to retire from the military, with Dutch joining her shortly thereafter.

At some point before 2558, she and Dutch decided to enlist in the SPARTAN-IV program. She was given a prosthetic leg, which allowed her to return to combat duty. They kept their involvement a secret in the event that her prosthesis did not work out, but resurfaced to rejoin Alpha-Nine, now a Spartan fireteam.

Today is his -485th birthday!

Jerome was born on an infamously underdeveloped part of the colony world Minister. His difficult upbringing would force him to grow up fast, resorting to criminal activity at a young age. He was targeted by Catherine Halsey for his notable genetics, and he, like all Spartan-IIs, was kidnapped and conscripted into the Spartan-II program.

Although he tried to escape multiple times, he would eventually accept his training and stood out as one of the rising leaders among the Spartan-II conscripts. However, his body rejected the biological augmentations in the second phase of the project. Thus, he was considered a "washout" and removed from the general population. However, he was able to be rehabilitated and re-augmented at a later date. At that point, he was paired with fellow washouts Alice-130 and Douglas-042, forming Red Team with Jerome as their leader.

In 2531, Red Team was tasked with evacuating the colony world Arcadia, holding off the Covenant attack so the civilians could escape. It was there that they paired up with the UNSC Spirit of Fire. Red Team would accompany the Spirit of Fire to the Forerunner shield world Trove (called Etran Harborage by the Forerunners) to stop Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee and the Prophet of Regret from activating the Forerunner dreadnoughts contained within, and to save Professor Ellen Anders, who had been captured by 'Moramee.

When Jerome suggested destroying 'Moramee's ship to prevent the Covenant from retrieving compromising information from Anders--a tactic that would stop 'Moramee but kill her--Sergeant Forge and Jerome got into a physical altercation that was only stopped after significant destruction and a lecture from the ship's AI Serina. Rather than creating a rift between them, these events would forge a mutual respect between the two.

The engagement on Trove was successful, but it would cost them the Spirit of Fire's slipspace drive. When the drive required a manually activation, Forge volunteered to trade his life for Jerome's, under the belief that the Spartans were too valuable to waste. Without being able to enter slipspace, the Spirit of Fire's crew, including Jerome, were put in cryo sleep while the ship drifted, waiting for rescue.

In 2559, Jerome and the rest of the crew were awakened, having been pulled into slipspace to the Ark. It was there that they learned of the threat of the Banished when Atriox confronted Red Team. He was able to fend off Red Team and wound Douglas, crushing his shoulder and helmet and forcing them to retreat. After that, the mission changed to stopping Atriox's forces on the Ark. Jerome would help thin out the Banished presence on the Ark, while allowing Professor Anders to send a distress beacon to the UNSC.

As of recent canon, he is still on the heavily-contested Ark, which is occupied by Banished, Keeper, UNSC, and Covenant loyalist forces.

Today is his -486th birthday!

Douglas was abducted in 2517 and conscripted into the Spartan-II program. He was trained on Reach with the rest of the conscripts, but his body rejected the biological augmentations in the second phase of the project. Thus, he was considered a "washout" and removed from the general population. However, he was able to be rehabilitated and re-augmented at a later date. At that point, he was paired with fellow washouts Alice-130 and Jerome-092, forming Red Team.

In 2531, Red Team was tasked with evacuating the colony world Arcadia, holding off the Covenant attack so the civilians could escape. It was there that they paired up with the UNSC Spirit of Fire. Red Team would accompany the Spirit of Fire to the Forerunner shield world Trove (called Etran Harborage by the Forerunners) to stop Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee and the Prophet of Regret from activating the Forerunner dreadnoughts contained within. The engagement was successful, but it would cost them the Spirit of Fire's slipspace drive and, more importantly, the life of Sergeant Forge. Without being able to enter slipspace, the Spirit of Fire's crew, including Douglas, were put in cryo sleep while the ship drifted, waiting for rescue.

Today is his -468th birthday!

Avitus never fully believed in the tenants of the Covenant, but he seized the opportunity to exert his power and win favor. He was known for collecting tithes for High Charity from unwilling heretical factions, earning him the nickname "Thrallslayer".

His violent nature caught the attention of the Prophet of Regret, who utilized him in his campaign against Harvest. He would work alongside Ripa 'Moramee in service to the Prophet, despite Avitus' deep dislike of him.

After the war, Escharum would offer him a place as a Chieftain in the Banished, which he would accept.

Today is her -485th birthday!

Osman had a difficult upbringing: born to single parent and severely neglected. In 2517, she was abducted as part of the Spartan-II program. She was one of the few candidates who were not replaced by a flash clone, presumably because she would not be missed or her disappearance would not be reported.

Osman went through training with the other Spartan-II candidates and was designated as 019, but when it came time for augmentation, she was only able to complete one round before her body began to reject the process. As a result, she was deemed a wash-out and removed from the candidate pool.

ONI took custody of her, rehabilitated her, and prepared her for reassignment. At some point, she was taken under the wing of CINCONI Admiral Parangosky and was groomed as her protégé.

Osman would act as an ONI field agent for several years. By 2553, she had the rank of Captain. Following the end of the war, Osman was selected by Parangosky to participate in covert efforts to disrupt peace between the UEG, the UNSC, and the Swords of Sanghelios, believing that peace was unrealistic and the Sangheili needed to be weakened for Humanity to be safe. She also personally arrested Catherine Halsey, whom she grew to resent deeply over the years.

Because she was taken into ONI training at such a young age, it is difficult to ascertain how much of her beliefs are her own, and how much is just an extension of Parangosky. Upon her retirement, Osman was appointed as CINCONI, ensuring that Parangosky's priorities would be carried out. Like her predecessor, she has an intimidating, conniving nature and reputation. She was given Parangosky's personal AI, Black-Box, as part of her new position.

During the Created conflict, Black-Box coordinated an escort off Earth along with Admiral Hood. They were taken to Rossbach's World, an uncharted, undeveloped planet with a single cabin erected by Black-Box to use as a safe haven. With her, she held a briefcase containing the matrices of all HIGHCOM AIs, including Black-Box, and was left with the decision of whether to destroy them before they could allign with Cortana, attempt to recruit them, or let them choose. She and Hood stayed there for a year, completely isolated and unaware of what was happening in the greater galaxy.

In 2559, Cortana's forces became aware of Rossbach's World and sent a Guardian to the planet. Spartan Gray team was sent to extract them, both because of their individual importance but also for information secretly stored in Black-Box.

Osman reluctantly relinquished Black-Box to the UNSC, having never been able to bring herself to destroy him given their personal history. However, by the time they were rescued, he had already reached his maximum allowable lifespan. Thus, they were both aware that he would be terminated once she surrendered him. After a bitter and tearful farewell, Osman rejoined ONI’s efforts against the many remaining threats against humanity.

Today is his -507th birthday!

Tom was recruited to the Spartan-III program after his home world of Amadora was glassed by the Covenant in 2533. After his training, he was made the leader of Fireteam Foxtrot within Beta Company.

One of Tom's first missions as a Spartan was Operation: TORPEDO, a risky mission to destroy a Covenant refinery. While the mission was a success, he and Lucy-B091 were the only survivors, leaving the latter deeply traumatized. Although the traumatic incident rendered Lucy mute, Tom learned to understand her cues and developed a private sign language to communicate. Either because of their bond or by coincidence, the duo almost always receive the same assignments, falling back into their old rapport even after Lucy regained her voice, with Tom deferring to Lucy's decisions but acting as the voice of the pair.

Today is his -467th birthday!

Rojka was born on the Sangheili colony of Glyke. During his tenure in the Covenant military, he was stationed in orbit of Sanghelios to rebuild and refurbish warships. In 2553, the members of Spartan-II Gray Team were ordered to target Sangheili worlds for destruction following the Fall of Reach. They were cleared to destroy Glyke before losing contact with ONI. Unbeknownst to them, the Great Schism occurred, and they destroyed Glyke after an unsteady peace had formed between Humanity and Sangheili.

Today is her -501st birthday!

Palmer was born on Luna to parents who resented the UNSC. However, she was orphaned at a young age, and her adoptive father encouraged her to join the UNSC Marine Corps. She got her start as an ODST, but after the end of the Human-Covenant war, was offered the chance to join the newly-minted Spartan-IV program. She would become one of the first successful Spartan-IVs and was transferred to be stationed aboard the Infinity. As the numbers climbed, she would eventually become the commanding officer of the three hundred Spartan-IVs stationed onboard.

Palmer spent her first tours as a Spartan battling the United Rebel Front and the remnant splinter groups of the Covenant. She was heavily involved in the fight against Jul 'Mdama's Covenant, and later, the Created conflict.

She is a by-the-book Spartan with a strong sense of duty, generally valuing orders over her personal opinions. However, she is not unflinchingly obidient: Palmer refused to arrest Master Chief out of respect, and attributed her willingness to assassinate Dr. Halsey to her relationship with Captain Lasky, whom she wanted to protect from a court-martial for refusing to carry out the order.

Palmer was aboard Infinity when it was attacked by the Banished. Her current status is unknown.