User:IndyRevolution/Simon-D056

Simon D-054 was a member of the disbanded Delta Company of Spartan IIIs, and is currently a member of the Spartan IV program.

Childhood
Simon Riley was born in Manchester, England, Earth, on August 9th, 2538. On 2543, he and his family took a vacation to the colony of Lydia. However, after a week of staying there, the colony came under attack by the Covenant. While on route to an evac point with his parents and a group of civilians, they came under attack under attack by a squad of Elites. Simon was small enough to hide under a car, but was forced to watch as the Elites slaughtered the rest of the group, including his parents. The Elites then set up a blockade and cut down anybody else that came down the evac route. Simon was forced to close his eyes and control his breathing for the next hour as to avoid being found by the Elites.

Eventually, a platoon of Marines proceeding down the evac route were able to defeat the Elites and find Simon. He was taken to an evacuation shuttle, and was asked what had happened. When he didn't reply, one of the Marines was able to piece together the situation, to which another Marine replied "He must have been a goddamn ghost if the Elites couldn't find him for that long."

Military Career
One year later, he volunteered for the Spartan III program, wanting nothing more than to get revenge on the Covenant. He was placed within Delta Company, and was exceptional in his training. However, instead of using his first name, he had himself and others refer to him as "Ghost", based off of the Marine's comment. Eventually, even his instructors began to refer to him by this, and his official codename became "Ghost D-054".

Aboard the Krishna
By 2552, Delta Company was ready to be deployed to Onyx for augmentation and additional training. However, less than two hours before the UNSC Destroyer Krishna was scheduled to enter Slipspace, the Battle of Earth began. The Krishna, carrying Spartan Delta Company, was immediately routed to Earth. While they were in Slipspace, Ghost stayed awake after observing strange behavior in the first mate, Lawrence Carlton. What stuck out most was him having him the ship's NAV records copied onto a data chip, violating the Cole Protocol. Ghost snuck into the his cabin and destroyed the data chip, then tracked him down. He found Carlton about to detonate a Shiva nuke onboard after he had disabled the camera's in the area. After a brief scuffle, Ghost managed to neutralize Carlton, effectively saving the ship and its crew. The shipboard AI, who hadn't suspected Carlton, then woke the Captain and several other crewmembers. After a brief (but somewhat brutal) interrogation, Carlton confessed that he was a spy for the UNR, and that he had a contact in the Home Fleet, who was under orders to execute the same plan Carlton had attempted.

When they arrived at Earth, the Captain immediately alerted the carrier with the secondary mole aboard, saving that ship as well. The Spartans were then hastily given ranks and split into squads. As a reward for his actions aboard the Krishna, and his excellent records during training, Ghost was promoted to Petty Officer First Class and given command of Able Squad, consisting of four other Spartans. Because ONI did not want the true age of Spartan IIIs to become public, Delta Company was fitted with ODST armor in order to conceal their age(Most were 12-14 years old), and in some cases, height. They were also given Marine ranks equivalent to their Navy ranks in order to further the illusion (In Ghost's case, a Staff Sergeant). The squads were then dropped at various locations around Earth.

New York Invasion
Able and several other squads were dropped into New York, which was under siege by a Jiralhanae-led Covenant force attempting to eliminate a group of UN leaders that had gathered at the UN headquarters in New York. Able team and several other Delta squads, under the guise of ODSTs, were able to assist UNSC forces in holding the front line long enough for a civilian evac to be organized. UNSC reinforcements consisting of snipers and mortar crews then arrived, providing cover for the Spartans, who were close to retreating due to the arrival of a large Covenant task force on scene. However, orbital scans showed a Covenant strike team of 200+ infantry, about 10 Banshees, several Phantoms, and 5 Wraiths advancing from the west of the city in an attempt to take out the mortar/sniper team. Because no other UNSC forces could be routed to the city, Ghost was forced to take Able team and what armor and air support remained, putting together a force consisting of 4 Scorpion tanks, 2 Warthogs, 3 Falcons, Able team, and 2 Longsword fighters waiting for the signal.

When they met the Covenant force, they were vastly outnumbered. However, this was where Ghost revealed his talent: leadership. He had his forces pull back and set up an ambush. Using a series of diversions, he was able to lure off the majority of their air support with the Falcons, and then call in the Longswords to lead a strafing run on the infantry. Ghost then led the tanks into boxing in the now disorganized infantry, while the rest of Able team took the Warthogs and distracted the Wraiths. After about 15 minutes, the Covenant strike team was destroyed.

Able team then fell back to the city, where the UNSC forces had been forced to retreat. However, by that time, the evacuation had been organized. Ghost made sure he and his squad were the last ones aboard the shuttles, and then fled the city.

Upon returning to the Krishna, Ghost was immediately promoted to Chief Petty Officer (Gunnery Sergeant for his ODST disguise) for his actions in New York. In the following weeks, Able team and the rest of Delta Company were deployed at various locations at Earth.

Trivia
Ghost's name, place of birth, and accent are based off of Ghost from Modern Warfare 2.