John-A222

"Spartans don't fight to survive. They survive to fight."

- John-A222

Commander John-A222 was a SPARTAN-III commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command. He served extensively throughout the Human-Covenant War, becoming a decorated veteran an advanced tactician. John specialized in marksmanship, reconaissance, and leadership. In addition, he was proficient in close-quarters combat and small-scale EMP capabilities. John was the leader of NOVA Team, an elite squad of SPARTANs that was deployed numerous times since its creation in 2546. John's call sign in the team was Nova One. He served directly with the UNSC Navy but with unspecified collaboration with the Office of Naval Intelligence.

Childhood and SPARTAN-III training
"John is advanced, even among his peers. He has what it takes, and I don't want to see that wasted."

- Kurt Ambrose to Franklin Mendez John was born in 2526 on the humany colony of New Harmony to a family of Greek descent. As a child, John was thin with dark brown hair and eyes. From early on, he displayed a superior intelligence to that of his peers which benefitted him greatly in his later career as a soldier. John was conscripted into the SPARTAN-III Program in 2531 as part of the program's Alpha Company. During training, he exhibited advanced reflexes and natural leadership ability, proving himself to be one of the top candidates. John trained along with the other SPARTANs of Alpha Company at Camp Currahee on Onyx under Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose, a SPARTAN-II. During augmentations, John successfully underwent all procedures. Uniquely, he was one of the very few that seemed to exhibit the full effects of the enhancements. ONI officials overseeing the project later stated that John most likely possessed the genetic makeup of a SPARTAN-II. This allowed him to fully benefit from the augmentations as his predecessors had.

Alpha Company was declared active in November of 2536. This class of SPARTAN-IIIs was initially deployed during the Insurrection of Mamore. For this counter-insurgency operation, the SPARTANs were divided into fireteams in order to quell the uprising. John was placed in charge of one such team and led a covert raid on an insurrectionist armory. Shortly thereafter, the SPARTANs openly engaged insurrectionist forces in a series of intense firefights. At one point, John managed to save one of his teammates by eliminating a hostile sniper during a conflict. As the fighting continued, UNSC forces gained the upperhand and eventually emerged victorious. It was at this time that John truly distinguished himself as a skilled soldier and leader. Alpha Company also participated in the Battle of New Constantinople, fought in the Bonanza asteroid belt, Far-gone colony platforms, and in several other early engagements. His actions in this series of deployments earned him the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. John was immediately pulled from his unit, along with an unknown number of other candidates, by Kurt-051 and Franklin Mendez before Operation: PROMETHEUS in 2537. He and the other reassigned SPARTANs received more advanced equipment, including MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor, in order to make their combat ability comparable to that of the SPARTAN-IIs.

Early military career
"...highly deserving of hyper-lethal status,"

- John's personnel file

At some time during 2538, John began secondary training as a pilot and received standard medical training, but the extent of this training is unknown. His adequate piloting abilities were rarely used in combat operations given that his superiors felt that, as a SPARTAN, he would be more valuable on the ground. Despite this, it is believed that John possesses limited experience in the Sabre Program, serving as an ONI test pilot alongside some of the best pilots in the UNSC. John's participation in the program was considered classified.

He was deployed several times from 2540 to 2543 for unknown reasons, but received a promotion to Lieutenant during this period. These and several later deployments are suspected to involve ONI and are listed as classified on John's official service record. John engaged in defensive operations during the Battle of Miridem, during which Dr. Catherine Halsey was taken hostage and later rescued by a team of SPARTAN-IIs led by John-117. In 2546, when Sargasso was attacked by the Covenant, John-A222 was deployed to aid in its defense. It was at this battle that UNSC forces first encountered the Type-46 Spectre ISV. John managed to acquire significant intelligence regarding the vehicle and was subsequently given the rank of Lieutenant Commander of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command. Unfortunately, the UNSC efforts failed as Sargasso was later glassed. During the same year, NOVA Team was created as a special operations team of SPARTAN-IIIs. John was assigned as its leader and took pride in the team, stating that it was an "effective unit". His battlefield actions and strategic command quickly earned him the respect of his squadmates.

In the next few years, John's team fought in the Battle of Skopje and the Siege of Paris IV. The SPARTANs aided in defensive and evacuation efforts on both fronts and John received a promotion to Commander sometime thereafter in 2549 for his valiant efforts. In May 2552, it is reported that John-A222 was involved in counter-insurgency operations on Mamore in which he served with a Sabre deployment. This is one of the few operations where Sabres were used in primary combat roles. During July of 2552, NOVA Team was deployed on a high priority mission to Sigma Octanus IV with the objective of material retrieval or destruction in the cities of Caracas and Enfield. It is unknown what objects were recovered, although they were likely some of the various artifacts located on the planet. Concurrently, SPARTAN-IIs were on the surface, with John-117 and Blue Team engaging Covenant forces at the Côte d'Azur Museum of Natural History. With the detonation of a HAVOK Nuclear Warhead, the SPARTAN-IIs destroyed the museum and the Covenant forces in the area. In early August, John-A222 and his team were deployed along with multiple other SPARTAN fireteams to Casbah during the Battle of Tribute where they engaged in counter-assault operations. One of the other fireteams remained planetside to hold off Covenant assault forces but were eventually overrun and killed.

Fall of Reach

 * Main article: Fall of Reach

After the discovery of a Covenant advance force by NOBLE Team in late July 2552 and several engagements, sixty percent of the UNSC Fleet was recalled to Reach to aid in its defense. NOVA Team was among the reinforcements scheduled to arrive by August 15. John assisted in the evacuation of New Alexandria after the Covenant initiated an aggressive raid on the city. As the metropolis was later glassed, John and his men were evacuated to an underground ONI bunker along with NOBLE Team and other UNSC personnel. During their deployment, NOVA Team engaged in numerous defensive and counter-assault operations throughout Eposz. In the final days of the Battle of Reach, John's team was one of the several that defended the shipyard and pipelines in Aszod. The SPARTANs held off Covenant forces as the remnants of NOBLE Team transported a high priority package to the dry-docked Pillar of Autumn. As the UNSC defenses weakened, NOVA Team was withdrawn along with some of the remaining UNSC forces. It was shortly after this that Spartan-B312 and Emile-A239 made their last stand against overwhelming Covenant forces at the shipyard.

Defense of Earth

 * Main article: Battle of Earth

John was deployed to Earth in September 2552 where UNSC forces began to fortify for a final stand against the Covenant. The first Covenant force, led by the Prophet of Regret, arrived at Earth on October 20. After deployment, John and other UNSC forces engaged in New Mombasa by means of intense urban warfare. The fighting was constant until the Covenant Assault Carrier, Solemn Penance, made a sudden slipspace jump above the city, devastating the ground below. John continued to help resist the Covenant ground forces even as hostile reinforcements arrived. He engaged in defensive and counter-assault operations against the new Jiralhanae-led invasion force. After the loss in Mombasa, John was relocated, fighting across a variety of fronts in North America, Europe, and Australia. From October 25 to November 17, he fought in Athens, Sydney, New York City, and Geneva as the Prophet of Truth's fleet arrived. During the Battle of Installation 00, John persisted with the rest of the UNSC forces until the fighting relented on Earth.

Traits and Personality
John is known to be a serious and intelligent SPARTAN, always thinking tactically on the battlefield. He has grown accustomed to his status and often exhibits his leadership. As a leader, he has a strong contempt for disrespect and mistreatment. John appreciates receiveing due recognition, but sometimes will show frustration if he is looked down on or ignored. Regardless, John shows great pride in being a SPARTAN. During the Human-Covenant War, he came to recognize the Sangheili as formidable opponents and exhibits great respect of them. This being said, he never hesitated to kill during engagements. John also seems to be compassionate toward the Huragok given their passive nature, and shows disgust for Jiralhanae.

John possesses a dry and often sarcastic sense of humor. He is known to remain calm under fire and almost always completes his tasks efficiently. Regarding his fellow SPARTANs, John harbors great respect and sees each of them as one of man's greatest advances. He cares for his squadmates and does everything in his power to help keep them content. Upon hearing of the catastrophe that was Opertaion: PROMETHEUS, John was devastated. While he understood that it was successful in terms of strategy, he was mortified at the SPARTAN casualty reports. It became one of his personal desires to discover who of Alpha Company was still alive. This same impact was felt years later when Operation: TORPEDO took place with a similar result.

Given his heritage, John seems to be fluent in the Greek language. It is believed that his ancestors lived in the country of Greece on Earth. For this reason, the insignia of a Greek Spartan helmet is displayed on John's armor.

Equipment
John's preferred weapons are the MA37/MA5C Assault Rifle, M392 Designated Marksman Rifle, SRS99-AM Sniper Rifle, and the M319 Individual Grenade Launcher although he has shown profficiency with the majority of UNSC weapons. John is known to keep an M6G Magnum or an M7/Caseless Submachine Gun as a sidearm. He is also capable of using Covenant weaponry when the combat situation demands it. His armor is supplemented with MJOLNIR Active Camouflage (AV-CAM).

John wears MJOLNIR Mark V armor and a Recon helmet. Typically, his helmet is known to feature a UA Blast Shield, a gold visor, and a 3rd Generation External Hardened Uplink (HUL) for MILINT acquisition. The rest of his armor consists of a Collar/Breacher chestpiece, K-variant (Commando) right shoulder pauldron, Recon left shoulder pauldron, and FJ/PARA knee guards. His armor also features a MC5 Individual Data Net/Terminal (TACPAD) on the left forearm and a combat knife near the left shoulder. John is known to keep a Tactical/Trauma Kit as part of his utility. John's armor is Sage (Olive) with Steel (Charcoal) as a secondary color. The image of a Greek Spartan helmet is displayed on his chestpiece.

NOVA Team
NOVA Team was an elite squad of SPARTANs that was formed by the UNSC Navy in the year 2546. Given his prior tactical, leadership, and combat skills, John-A222 was selected to lead the team. NOVA Team was deployed on countless fronts throughout the Human-Covenant War such as Tribute and Reach. The squad consisted of six SPARTANs. Known members include John-A222, Josh-A124, Adam-B226, Tyler-B307, Nathan-B136, and Robby-G076. The team call signs were Nova One, Nova Two, Nova Three, Nova Four, Nova Five, and Nova Six, respectively. Although the team is still listed as active, the current status of its members is unknown. It is suspected that former and/or potential members include Owen-G197 and Drew-G209. When not deployed, NOVA Team operated out of the heavy frigate, UNSC Supernova.

Trivia

 * John is currently one of the only SPARTANs to actually be of Greek descent.
 * John-A222 has only met John-117 twice, but he stands in great admiration of the SPARTAN with whom he shares a name.
 * John was unique among the SPARTAN-IIIs, having the genetic specifications sought in SPARTAN-II candidates.
 * John-A222 actually trained alongside Carter-A259 on numerous occasions. Coincidentally, the two would both rise to become notable UNSC Naval Commanders.
 * Although hardly displayed in combat, John has shown great proficiency with a sword.
 * John's SPARTAN tag is a possible 7 reference because given that "A" is the first letter of the alphabet, it can take an assumed value of "1". Therefore, 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 7.
 * The emblem located on John's armor bears similarity to the emblem displayed on Jerome-092's shoulder pauldron. Given John-A222's reasoning for selecting his emblem, there is no correlation.
 * An unusual skill among SPARTANs, John has shown admirable drawing abilities
 * John has shown great fascination with the Covenant Energy Sword and has had to use several in combat.
 * John is suspected to have been involved with ONI to an unknown extent. It is believed that he possesses Section I and Section III clearance within ONI.