Ash Mitchell

"People like Ash, the ones with all the rules and restrictions, good men like that, get chewed up and spat out by the system. They're the kind that, when they fall, they go down farther than anyone else"

- Mal Roberts

Ash Mitchell, born 2525, was an experienced soldier who saw several decades of military service in the 26th century, fighting in the as an ODST, and later going on to play a key role in several Insurrectionist movements upon his defection in 2560. Mitchell was knowing during his time as a Helljumper as a skilled and dependable trooper, following in the footsteps of his trainer, Henry McNair. Mitchell would later go AWOL in 2560, eking out a life as a mercenary on lawless outer colony worlds and remote stations for several years, feeling that he lacked purpose with the war over. This would lead to him working for the elusive figure known as Magnus on many occasions, taking part in various illegal operations. In 2573, following an attack on a large bank, which left hundreds dead, Mitchell was framed for terrorism by his ally and left for dead. Pursued by both the UNSC and ONI, the former trooper was forced to go on the run, moving from world to world, the former hero's life having gone to pieces.

Early Life
Ash Mitchell was born on Earth, in Cleveland, Ohio, in the. The year he was born, 2525, was the first year of the devastating, which would claim billions of lives. As such, Ash grew up hearing stories about the far-off war against an alien alliance, though much of the information put through the media was heavily filtered. When he was six, his mother and uncle joined the UNSC Marine Corps and were shipped off to fight the Covenant, leaving his father to bring the young boy up. After a few months, word came back that they, along with their entire company, had been declared missing with the.

The loss of two family members at such a young age had a great effect on Ash. At school, he refused to discuss his mother with other students, and was reprimanded on more than one occasion for his violent outbursts. He was an average pupil, better at sports and other physical activities than subjects such as science. Ash was not, however, lacking in intelligence, displaying a keen intellect that was largely let down by his own laziness in class. He ended up leaving school at seventeen in 2542 with a handful of decent grades and little to do with them, having very few ideas of what to do for his future.

After a month of doing very little, Ash's father gave him the ultimatum of finding work of some kind, or joining the military. Largely to spite his father, Ash chose the latter, believing that he would be assigned to some kind of colonial militia or remote outpost. He signed up, and was later sent to Reach for his basic training. It was there that Ash realised the true scale of the war, which had been downplayed somewhat by the mainstream media: Colonies glassed, millions dead, and victories that were few and far between. After a few weeks of basic training, Ash Mitchell and his company were dispatched to fight the Covenant on the colony world of.

Battle of Boundary
By the time Mitchell's Marine Company arrived on the besieged planet, things were already looking dire for the UNSC defenders on the ground. The city they were deployed in was under siege by the Covenant, whom were largely being held back by the sacrifice of hundreds of human troops, fighting street-by-street in what was quickly becoming a losing battle. The Pelican carrying Mitchell's squad touched down and was destroyed by plasma bombardment moments after the marines disembarked, killing three and forcing the rest to run for cover in the ruins.



After managing to link up with more marine forces, the survivors of the squad saw their first taste of action against the Covenant, Mitchell killing several Grunts with his assault rifle as they charged his position. The marines there were able to hold their ground against ever-increasing numbers of enemy troops until plasma mortars began to hit, killing a majority of the troops there and pushing the others back. Mitchell was struck in the shoulder by a bolt of plasma, falling to the floor in agony while the rest of his squad retreated. As the young marine attempted to crawl away, a Sangheili warrior discovered him and kicked him over, preparing to finish him with it's energy sword.

Before the Elite could finish Mitchell off, it was hit with several bursts of rifle fire and killed. A platoon of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers had arrived, hitting the Covenant hard as reinforcements were dropped in. As they cleared the buildings, one of them introduced himself to the wounded marine as Captain Henry McNair, helping him up and taking him to a field medic before returning to the battle with the rest of his platoon. Luckily, the wound was not serious, though by the time Mitchell had been sent back into combat, the retreat order had already been sounded, waves of fighters making last-ditch efforts against Covenant ships and troops to buy the evacuation precious time. The surviving Marines made it back to the fleet aboard Pelican dropships, and fled the system before the Covenant began to glass the planet.

Boundary was the first of many battles that Mitchell would participate in over the course of the Human-Covenant War. After a few years of service, in 2545, he decided to volunteer to join the elite Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or ODST's. Mitchell, along with several dozen others, was taken to Reach, where he met with Mal Roberts for the first time. The two became very good friends over the course of their training, helping each other out where possible. The recruits were trained by none other than Captain McNair, whom Mitchell owed a debt for saving his life on Boundary. After two months of intense training, during which over two thirds of the applicants had dropped out, both Mitchell and Roberts 'graduated' as fully-fledged ODST's, the former turning out at the head of their group.

Battle of Draco III
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In August 2545, the new ODST group had been assigned to Echo 1-1, a platoon-sized group stationed on the UNSC Pride. Mitchell was surprised to encounter McNair once more, who had been assigned to lead them while taking a break from his training duties. While in the system, a Covenant fleet arrived, sending the UNSC defenders into full alert. As the vanguard of an invasion force began to land on the planet, the ODST's were deployed into the city of New Albany and it's surrounding areas. McNair ordered most of the platoon to defend an ODG complex in the mountains, while he and a small squad, which included Mitchell and Roberts, helped to secure the city.

Commandeering two warthogs from a passing Pelican, the squad set up a roadblock on the way into the heavily populated areas of New Albany, fending off Covenant forces to allow the evacuation to proceed. This went on for some time before heavy plasma bombardment forced them back with heavy casualties. Forced to retreat, the ODST's drove through the city until they fell into a Sangheili ambush. They would have been killed there, had it not been for the timely intervention of the SPARTAN-II Sigma Team, who fought off the enemy and secured the area. Rather than join up with the team of supersoldiers, McNair instead ordered them to defend the evacuation at the city spaceport before leaving.

While they drove out of New Albany to link up with the rest of Echo 1-1, Mitchell questioned the veteran trooper about his disposition against the Spartans, and was told of an incident on the many years before that left several ODST's in McNair's battalion dead. Though Mitchell suggested that he let it go, as one isolated incident should not corrupt his views against the Spartans, the Captain ignored him, being quite ingrained in his beliefs.

Once the survivors arrived at the ODG Complex, the troopers stood by as a massive Covenant force overwhelmed New Albany as the civilian evacuation ended in a reasonable success. The Complex, which powered one of the few remaining orbital MAC guns, had to be defended at all costs. Shortly after, a small convoy of vehicles was seen heading towards the complex, carrying the Spartans of Sigma Team, as well as a smaller ODST unit, Tango Six. Another SPARTAN-II, Kryss-216, took command, her rank of naval Captain outranking McNair, much to his annoyance.

With a large Covenant force heading their way, the UNSC forces fortified the Complex, Mitchell manning a wall section and fending off wave after wave of enemy infantry as they began to close in. In the facility's armoury, a single had been discovered by one of the Spartans, plans being made to set it off if they were completely overwhelmed. It was given to Mira Reyes, McNair's second in command, to protect within one of the generator buildings. The battle lasted over an hour before ammo began to run low and enemy numbers only increased. Luckily, Kryss was able to put out a distress call to the UNSC Bright New Day, which dispatched a wing of Shortsword bombers to hold up the advancing army as the survivors retreated.

Mitchell retreated to the vehicle bay, where he was surprised to find McNair absent. Lieutenant Reyes' team had been slaughtered by a group of Sangheili, prompting McNair, along with one of the Spartans and a few troopers to move in to secure the nuke. Though the weapon was secured, the Captain was badly wounded and offered to stay behind in order to buy them time. Before leaving, he left a message with the Spartan, Marco-025, to give to Mitchell, stating that he was right about letting go past grievances.

With McNair about to detonate the nuke, the Spartans and ODST's were forced to leave quickly, heading into the mountains before the enemy could regroup after the bombing. Harried by Banshee fighters, the few dozen that remained alive arrived at an old mining complex, which before the attack was being turned into a highway leading through the mountain. While one of the Spartans set to work on the door, which was locked, everyone else being made to defend against encroaching Covenant troops and airstrikes. By the time it had opened, the survivors making it inside, only Mitchell and Roberts remained as the survivors of Echo 1-1. All of the Spartans had made it through with superficial injuries, there being another pair of ODST survivors from Kryss' group.

As they headed through the mountain, the nuke was detonated by McNair, who had played a game of cat-and-mouse with the enemy before finally being caught, obliterating an entire Covenant Legion within the confines of the valley and damaging a nearby Destroyer. Once they had made it through to the other side, the survivors were evacuated to the Bright New Day to be reassigned. Draco III, though an eventual victory for the UNSC, had proved to be a traumatic experience for Mitchell's first mission as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, forging a lifelong friendship between him and Mal Roberts, the only other survivor. McNair's sacrifice, which was captured from orbit via satellite, inspired the two troopers to go to any lengths if it meant winning the war.

Battle of Skjope
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Following the massacre of their unit on Draco III, Mitchell and Roberts were transferred to another platoon, under the command of Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Driscol, another trooper who had been trained by McNair years before. Mitchell did not always approve of Driscol's rather violent and unorthodox methods, however, often leading to arguments between the two. Their ODST unit was stationed on Skopje when it came under attack by the Covenant in 2547, the troopers immediately being deployed groundside to deal with the Covenant threat.

Mitchell's platoon was tasked with the defence of a shipbuilding corporation's headquarters, while vital tools, machines, and personnel could be evacuated. The ODST's arrived shortly before a Covenant attack force arrived, assaulting the headquarters in large numbers, slowly whittling away at the human defences. Though the evacuation was largely successful, by the time it was over almost half of the platoon were dead, prompting Driscol to give an order to fall back as they were overrun by the Covenant, escaping via warthogs and heading as far away as they could. It was not until they had escaped did Mitchell realise that they had abandoned dozens of workers there to be slaughtered by the enemy, something which prompted an argument between him and his superior.

After arriving in a frontier town to resupply, the heated debate almost turned violent when Driscol and Mitchell almost killed each other over leaving civilians to die. Things may have escalated, were it not for Mal Roberts calming the two down in light of the Covenant invasion. Calling for orders over the COM, the remnants of the platoon remained in the town, aware of approaching Covenant forces, enough to wipe them out with ease. However, several Pelican dropships arrived in the area unannounced, missiles driving back their attackers as they landed. Mitchell and the others emerged from the buildings to find that the Pelican crews were not part of the UNSC at all, markings of the being painted on the side of the dropships.

A firefight soon broke out between the ODST's and the rebels, with no side gaining the upper hand until Driscol, along with several others, fired on their own men, Mitchell being shot in the back by his commanding officer as he and his comrades fled. Wounded and bleeding, the trooper witnessed Driscol greeting the rebel troops, and handing over an object the platoon had been ordered to safeguard: A, to be used in extreme circumstances to cause as much damage as possible to the enemy if the ODST's were in danger of being wiped out. It was originally going to be used in the shipbuilding headquarters, but the approaching foe forced them to evacuate before it could be deployed. Roberts found Mitchell, injecting him with biofoam as the Pelicans took off, getting away from the carnage. Before they flew away, Driscol spoke to the survivors over the COM, mocking the troopers as he escaped.

For the half-dozen survivors, it seemed like the end, with low ammo and approaching Covenant forces making the situation seem hopeless. As Mitchell and the others prepared for a last stand, a barrage of missiles from a rare halting the Covenant advance as reinforcements arrived. Chief among these were a small group of unusual,, who slaughtered the Covenant infantry and allowed UNSC forces to advance while the surviving troopers were picked up. While in the end, Skopje was eventually overrun and glassed by the Covenant, Mitchell, Roberts and the surviving members of their platoon made it out alive, being assigned to the UNSC Bright New Day once again as they left the system.

Following the battle of Skopje, Mitchell was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant for his heroic actions on the ground, and reported Driscol's betrayal to his superiors, who were confused as to why a man known for his exemplary service record would become an insurrectionist. Skopje had a profound effect on it's survivors, cementing a hatred and desire for revenge against Driscol in Mitchell and Roberts. This would also mark their first real encounter with the Insurrection, the pair being very uncomfortable with fighting their fellow man on the battlefield.

Battle of Tribute
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Battle of Earth
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Battle of the Ark
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Post-War
"We never had peace. We just went back to fighting our old battles"

- Mitchell in 2558

Operation: ASHES
Main Article: Operation: ASHES