Aqil Nejem

"Do not undermine my existence so flippantly, . You see us as warped and twisted children, tools of war forged from innocence and brainwashing. I beg to differ. I knew I wanted to be a soldier from the moment I saw the Covenant descending on my world like a plague of monstrous insects. I survived that hell because I was big enough to hold a gun and smart enough to shoot only when necessary. When the agent came and asked if I wanted revenge on the aliens, I didn't say yes because I was blinded by loss. I said yes because I wanted to. Is that so hard to understand? I was eight, but I was not stupid. There are others who were duped into the SPARTAN-III Program because they couldn't grasp what they were getting into. I do not, and shall not ever, count myself among them. So do not insult me by insisting that what makes me better than your arrogant compatriots also makes me some sort of inferior human being. I am, and have always been, exceptional. That is why I am still alive."

- Spartan Aqil Nejem

Aqil Nejem (service number 54273-98158-AN) was a SPARTAN-III supersoldier stationed aboard the UNSC Infinity. His military career began when he was eleven years old three years after his homeworld, Hat Yai, was attacked and rendered uninhabitable by the Covenant Empire; the SPARTAN-III Program recruited him early on due to his near-perfect combination of genetic superiority and high intelligence. As Aqil-A065, he trained rigorously and demonstrated early on traits which set him apart from most of the other Alpha Company candidates. He was removed from the company after receiving biochemical augmentations and deployed separately, allowed to utilize MJOLNIR Mark IV powered assault armor instead of the less-durable Semi-Powered Infiltration armor other SPARTAN-IIIs wore. Along with Carter-A259, Emile-A239, and other "handpicked" Spartans, he was not present during Operation: PROMETHEUS, which wiped out all participating SPARTAN-IIIs. He went on to serve throughout the Human-Covenant War as part of several Special Warfare organizations, including the UNSC Army's Special Warfare Group Three. In May of 2552, he participated in counter-insurgency operations on which resulted in his sustaining severe wounds necessitating a lengthy recovery period. As such, he was not present during the Fall of Reach and was cleared for active duty shortly before the Covenant attacked Earth. His actions during the Battle of Earth, though not as sensationalized as those carried out by the remaining SPARTAN-IIs, were enough to distinguish him to the leaders of the UNSC as a warrior on equal footing with the previous SPARTAN generation; as such, he received a personal invitation to became part of the SPARTAN-IV Program from. Aqil easily adapted to the new Spartan branch and reclaimed his old surname, though he continued to use his numerical tag as a means of connecting with other former SPARTAN-IIIs who integrated into S-IV.