User:Subtank/MIST Program

Project: MIST, also known as the Class II Program and S-III, was part of the SPARTAN-III Program, an effort to produce cheap and expendable supersoldiers through mechanical and biological augmentation. It was spearheaded by Colonel Ackerson of Section III. It is known as the precursor of the actual SPARTAN-III Program.

Introduction
The Class II Program was originally proposed in 2527 by Dr. Elizabeth Halsey after the graduation of the SPARTAN-IIs with Chief Petty Officer Mendez planned to train them. However, the program was put on hold by the UNSC Brass as they wished to "evaluate" the effectiveness of the first class of SPARTAN-II, and the next class was postponed for an indefinite amount of time.

Unknown to those working with the original SPARTAN-II Program, Colonel Ackerson managed to recover several assets from the program in early 2520s and begun his own supersoldier program codenamed MIST under the Army's jurisdiction as a proof-of-concept for his future SPARTAN-III Program. To those working under and with him, it was known as the Class II Program aimed to continue Halsey's work. Project: MIST was active for seven years and coincides with the development of Ackerson's newly approved SPARTAN-IIIs in 2532. Project: MIST was deactivated in 2534 with all of its assets rerouted to the SPARTAN-III Program and that all of its former candidates joining the ranks of Halsey's original SPARTAN-IIs.

Purpose
Project: MIST was Colonel Ackerson's proof-of-concept project to study and review the assets and designs used in the original SPARTAN-II Program. The results obtained from this project would be later used by Ackerson as evidences to support his SPARTAN-III proposal.

Recruitment
Candidates for Project: MIST were selected through a loose gene-candidate pool protocol which was primarily based on Halsey's research for the perfect subject for her SPARTAN-II Program. Because of budgetary reasons and project confidentiality, Ackerson focused on recruiting orphans between the age of five to seven. By mid-2525, a total of 30 candidates were identified and taken into the project where they would be raised and taught in the art of warfare and military values.

Training
The MIST candidates began their training on the colony world Ballast. Whereas the physical training -- a collection of stages to enhance and nurture the candidates physical limits -- was headed under First Sergeant Kai Takanashi, the psychological training -- a collection of phases to contain behavioural and cognitive problems that has been present within or produced throughout the physical training -- was headed under Senior Science Officer Elya Freaid. The training phase of Project MIST went active from August 30, 2527 till December 29, 2532 where they eventually graduate at the age of thirteen. Similar to the its predecessor, the candidates' names became a combination of their given names and a number, with family names discarded. The candidates would be catered by their supervisors for their basic necessities and would endured great deal of hardships during their first years of training where they would be placed into situation and exercises that pushed their abilities to their very limit and beyond.

Eventually, the candidates would have to undergo the augmentation phase: Project: ACHILLEA, a process that killed 18 out of the 30 candidates, two crippled due to adjustment failures and ten survived to move onto the next phase.

Augmentation Procedures
Project: ACHILLEA was Ackerson's experimentation with Halsey's enhancement procedures and the additional proposed drugs by his advisers to increase the success rate of each MIST candidates.

Miscellaneous
A specialized version of the SPARTAN Neural Interface allows the user to host a ship grade A.I to be carried on board the MJOLNIR armor.

Known MIST candidates

 * Crimson Team ( Ω )
 * SPARTAN-14M ( † )
 * SPARTAN-28M
 * SPARTAN-17M ( † )

Note: † (Deceased), Ω (Offline)