Simon-G294

SPARTAN-G294, also known as Simon to his peers and as Mordred later in life, was a SPARTAN-III of Gamma Company and was the first SPARTAN to ever betray and desert the UNSC. Born in the slums of a city in the Inner Colonies, he lived his early life drifting from alley to alley as he scavenged discarded food and clothing to stay alive. After being discovered by local authorities and taken to an orphanage, he was recruited into the SPARTAN-III program and shipped to the planet Onyx for training. Once there, he proved to be one of the least proficient trainees in Gamma Company. Although he performed well enough to avoid being dropped from the program, it was quickly discovered that his combat abilities were inferior to those of his fellows. Regarded as something of a joke even amongst his fellow trainees, Simon continued doing poorly in training exercises, although he was notable for his tenacity and determination to survive at all costs.

Sorted into Team Jian, under the command of Jake-G293, Simon attracted concern from his DIs over his growing lack of concern for the well-being of trainees he went on exercises with. Always seeming to put his own safety above those of others, Simon did form bonds between his team members and would even risk his life for them on a few occasions. When deployed against the Covenant, Simon's poor performance made him a burden even to those on his team, and on at least one occasion his instinctive cowardice would lead to the deaths of other SPARTAN-IIIs. In the days following the end of the Human-Covenant War, Simon would set himself on a path that would change his life forever and rewrite what the future had in store for him.

Childhood
Simon was born on the Inner Colony world Constantinople in 2538. His mother was a dirt-poor prostitute who had already half-killed herself with alcohol and drug addictions, and she died shortly after giving birth to him in the slums of the city they lived in. Simon's early upbringing was at the hands of several local dregs, who helped feed and look after the young child. During this time, Simon was not known by any name; his mother had neglected to give him one and the few people who looked after him were not themselves interested in coming up with one for him. When he was around five or six, the boy began to scrounge for food on his own, and would constantly be digging through trash bins behind shops and restaurants for edible scraps. This period of impoverishment taught him a primitive philosophy of self-sufficiency and also made it hard for him to trust others (other urchin children like himself tended to either steal the food he found or drive him out of their own scrounging "territory"). Although the difficulty of finding food left him weak and malnourished, he continued to survive on his own until a vicious encounter with a stray dog hiding in a garbage bin left him badly mauled. The dying boy was discovered by the local police and, after being treated, was sent to an orphanage.

Although the orphanage's staff worried that the new child's lack of any sort of regular social background might make him dangerous to be put around other children, they were mistaken in this regard. The boy (named "Simon" by one of the caretakers) was not a sociopath, although he did prefer solitude to the company of the other children. However, he was far behind all of the other orphans in terms of education; he could barely read and had no experience with any of the fields taught to children his age. While he was intelligent enough to quickly grasp the remedial classes that were taught to him, he also caused problems by stealing and hoarding food and pilfering other items of interest from other children.

While not particularly happy in the orphanage, Simon appreciated the certainty of food and shelter he provided. However, he was ultimately dissatisfied with it because it did not give him any certainty to what would happen in his future. The only thing he could really hope for was that he would be adopted, something that unfortunately did not occur often in that area. It seemed that he would be sheltered and educated until he was of age before being given back to the streets in order to fend for himself.

This bleak future changed in 2544, when Simon was "interviewed" by an ONI lieutenant who had been dispatched to recruit applicable candidates into the SPARTAN-III program. Although not entirely taken in by the lieutenant's talk of honor and duty (these concepts were still relatively new to him), Simon was enchanted by the thought of enjoying the security of both a brighter future than the one currently in store for him and the idea of once again securing what he saw as a sustainable food source. Simon agreed to be recruited into Gamma Company and was shipped to Onyx for training.

Training
As a member of Team Jian, Simon was quickly reevaluated by his teammates. They found that his quietness and tendency to isolate himself from others stemmed from a life of isolation, mistrust, and violence. Jake, the team leader, found that his shy teammate's contributions (further and fewer between than those from rest of the team) often revealed bits of information that others hadn't spotted. However, Simon was quickly proven to be one of the least proficient fighters in Gamma Company, a fact he resented and worked hard to overcome. He was frustrated by his team's constant defeats at the hands of Team Saber, and fostered a bitter dislike of Saber's leader, Ash. He always harbored a fear of being returned to St. Jerome's if he failed the program, and it was this fear that pushed him to improve upon his many failings as a soldier. This fear came to a head when he was beaten in a sparring match by a girl who was thought of as the least proficient candidate in the program. His terror of being sent away nearly overwhelmed him, but he quickly stifled the fear by reassuring himself that so long as he continued to try he would be allowed to stay. This determination to carry on would serve him well in the future.

When he was not trying to improve, Simon enjoyed reading books that he acquired from Onyx's small library. While most of these books were field manuals or non-fiction books, a few were fictional works that had somehow made their way into Camp Currahee. He particularly enjoyed Greek myths and fantasy novels and loved to read them over and over again, enjoying the freedom he felt when immersed in a book. He kept his books in a small duffel that contained all of his worldly possessions, which aside from the books were a few notebooks, some writing utensils, and some pictures of Team Jian as a group. Simon liked to write and often doodled in his notebooks, recording ideas he had for new fantastical creatures, idle scribbles, or summaries of his more eventful days. Although he was teased for his unusual hobbies, Simon clung to his individuality even after the SPARTAN-IIIs had graduated.

"We aren't meant to survive. We're being lied to, told that we'll be the saviors of the UNSC. All that our training's for is to raise us like animals until we need to be butchered."

- Simon's thoughts upon his epiphany regarding the true nature of the S-III program

One thing that always bothered Simon was the noticeable lack of any mention of the two companies that had come before Gamma. Reasoning that previous trainees should be held up as examples to the new ones, Simon sought to find out about Alpha and Beta companies. He spent months carefully researching the S-III program, coming up empty on all searches relating to it. After months of fruitless and careful research, he concluded that the program was top secret, a fact that puzzled him given the morale-boosting nature of the SPARTAN-II program. He gave up the search, but spent months pondering his new problem. The answer that came to him one night would decide the course of his future. He realized that the S-IIIs were meant to be super suicide soldiers rather than supersoldiers like the S-IIs. This discovery destroyed his trust in the UNSC forever and led him to doubt everything he had been taught. Fearing the consequences if his instructors learned of his discovery, Simon kept the revelation to himself as he continued training. Unwilling to abandon his friends to certain death by deserting, Simon instead made it his personal goal to alert someone outside the military and expose ONI's actions in some way.

This discovery radically altered Simon's personality in two distinct ways. The first of these was its destruction of any trust and respect for the UNSC that he had ever had and as his life progressed he would foster a deep hatred for the UNSC and all it stood for in regards to himself and the other SPARTAN-IIIs. The second and slightly more significant of these personality shifts was Simon's sudden desire to survive at all costs. Although he continued training, he became less focused on keeping up with the other trainees and more about using his wits to "look out for number one". As the training progressed, Simon gained a reputation for being an incompetent and a coward, but was noted for his lack of "deaths" during exercises.

Team Jian
"They made me into a freak, a monster. But I'm not just a freak, I'm a freak among freaks, an anomaly. An incompetent SPARTAN. A treacherous SPARTAN."

- Simon's reflections on his augmentations. At twelve years of age, Simon survived being biologically enhanced like all of the other SPARTANs of Gamma Company, and shipped out of Onyx to begin fighting the Covenant. He was secretly glad that Team Saber remained behind to compete for top honors because it meant that he wouldn't have to work with Ash. He participated in all of Gamma Company's missions, always expecting that their next mission would be the one in which the UNSC sacrificed them all. No longer afraid of being killed by his instructors, Simon voiced his fears to the other members of Team Jian, but none of his teammates believed him. Determined to leave some message that would tip off the UNSC's civilian population and get the SIII program canceled, Simon began keeping a diary, chronicling all of his thoughts, as well as all that he knew about the SIII program.

Over the course of his missions, Simon made repeated attempts to pass on his knowledge of the program to others. On the rare occasions that Gamma Company fought alongside Marine or Navy personnel, he defied orders and struck up conversations with them, dropping hints or copies of his diary pages to those he trusted most. Most of the time, however, the Gamma SPARTANs performed their missions with little or no contact to or from other humans. During these times, Simon was proud to note that Team Jian never lost a member, something he attributed to Jake's leadership and something which Jake attributed to the combined skills of the team, especially Simon's insights and his constant insistence that the others not sacrifice themselves. As a result of the near-destruction of one squad, an additional S-III, Cassandra-G006, would be assigned to Team Jian. In a dual effort to both fully integrate his new teammate and find a definitive job for Simon, Jake ordered Simon to guard Cassandra, who had trained as a medical specialist in order to make up for her deficiencies in combat.

During his battles against the Covenant, Simon learned to detest the Brutes and Jackals, fear and respect the Elites and Hunters, and to sympathize with and pity the Grunts. He saw the diminutive Grunts as being trapped in a similar predicament as that of the SIIIs: their superiors cared more for the damage that they could cause than their individual lives. He was also privately shocked at how easily killing other sentient beings came to himself and his fellow SPARTANs, blaming the UNSC for robbing them of a part of their humanity. When the Covenant Civil War broke out, Simon saw the Grunts forced to fight for both sides, which caused him to reflect that should a similar schism split the UNSC, the SPARTANs would most likely be found fighting on both sides as well.

The Battle of New Africa
"Something feels wrong about this mission. I'm probably just being paranoid, but I've got a bad feeling about this."

- Simon-G294, in his diary

With the Covenant's invasion of Earth, it was clear that, for better or for worse, the war was nearing its end. Most of Gamma Company was reassigned to a large UNSC assault fleet preparing to reinforce UNSC forces on Earth with an army consisting of thousands of Marines and ODSTs. However the fleet's plans were disrupted when the Prophet of Truth opened the portal to the Ark on Earth and entered it with most of the Covenant Loyalist fleet. The reserve fleet's commander, Rear Admiral Edwards, convinced Lord Hood that now was the perfect opportunity to recapture the few human planets that had not been glassed. Hood reluctantly agreed, and the fleet, along with the S-IIIs, made for the captured colony world of New Africa, which had been spared a glassing by its rich natural resources. Simon expressed doubts about the coming battle in his diary, and when Gamma Company dropped in HEV to the planet's surface, his misgivings were justified. Due to larger amounts of Covenant troops than expected, Gamma Company received more losses than it had endured during its entire service history, including Team Jian's first casualties. Despite this, the invasion continued, with Gamma Company driving the Covenant forces further and further into their encampment while Marine battalions secured the surrounding area. During the fighting, Team Jian noticed a human mining elevator in the midst of the Covenant facility. Attempting to investigate, the team was ambushed. In the ensuing firefight, Simon and a wounded teammate, Mary-G130, were driven onto the elevator, which began to descend of its own accord. As they traveled down the shaft, Simon attempted without success to patch up Mary's rapidly worsening wounds. When they reached the bottom, the two SPARTANs were ambushed by robots constructed from scrap. Although they managed to destroy quite a number of their attackers, Simon and Mary were overwhelmed. His last sight as he was bludgeoned unconscious was of Mary being briefly inspected and then killed by one of the robots.

Captive
Simon awoke to find himself strapped to an operating table, dressed in only in the jumpsuit he wore under his SPI armor and suffering from a splitting headache. A cold and impassive voice congratulated him on surviving what it described as "an experiment meant to contribute to the evolution of humanity as a species." Furious over Mary's murder, Simon demanded to know where he was. The voice refused to answer his question, and instead told him that he was the first in over a dozen test subjects to survive the experiment. When Simon demanded it to tell him what it had done to him, the voice informed him that an AI had been successfully implanted directly into his brain. Upon hearing this, Simon was horrified, due in part to a mistrust of AIs he had developed during training, At this point, the AI within him now revealed herself over a speaker connected to the operating table, introducing herself as Diana. Panicking, Simon tore through his restraints and, grabbing his MA5K from where his armor had been discarded, tried to destroy the machine the voice seemed to be coming from. Diana stopped him by sending an electric shock through his nervous system. The voice then told him that he would be released back onto the surface, where his struggles to survive would be monitored. After this, Simon once again lost consciousness.

Back Into The Fray
"I've always preferred being alone. But now that I've got you, I'll never be alone again."

- Simon-G294 upon hearing Diana tell him that he would die if she was ever removed

When Simon regained consciousness, he was lying on a grassy plain, dressed in his SPI armor and with his MA5K carbine by his side. At first he decided that it had all been a dream, but this hope vanished when Diana again spoke to him through his helmet's speaker system. Reminded of his predicament, Simon tried to ignore the AI while he attempted to ascertain his location. Diana insisted that he'd better get used to her, but Simon told her that he'd have her removed as soon as he reported back to the UNSC. Diana then told him that the two of them were now a single entity. If he died, then she would be erased. If she were erased or removed, he would die. Simon's angry response was cut off by the arrival of several Covenant Phantoms. As Simon fled across the plain, he noticed that his movements were slightly faster than before. Diana claimed credit for this, stating that having her tapped into his spinal cord was increasing his reaction time. Admitting that she might be good for some things, Simon made his way into some foothills, where he and Diana managed to cooperate in order to kill several Covenant pursuers.

New Africa Incident
"All this time I knew the UNSC didn't give a damn about whether we lived or died, but this is too far, even for them!"

- Simon-G294

With very little rations or supplies to go on, Simon decided that he would try to find the nearest UNSC forces in order to find out what had happened since he had gone missing. Still not trusting Diana, he picked up a signal from a stranded group of ODSTs. Arriving at the platoon's location, he discovered that both the UNSC and Covenant had forces scattered randomly across the planet, and that there had been no sign of ships from either side for days. While resupplying, he heard a message on the ODSTs' radio ordering all SPARTAN IIIs in the area to report to a nearby location for reassignment. Traveling to the spot, he encountered three other SIIIs who had also been separated from the main force. As they headed for the extraction point, Simon decided not to mention Diana to his companions. Diana, trying to understand her host more clearly, attempted to strike up a conversation about the SIII program, only to be told that it was "classified" by Simon. Indignant at his mistrust, Diana stopped talking to him. Relieved at her silence, Simon reached the designated area without further incident. Once at the spot, the four SPARTANs found a squad of ODSTs waiting for them. Unbeknownst to the SPARTANs, the war with the Covenant was officially over. The heads of ONI had determined that if the public learned of the SIII program the UNSC would shut ONI down. Determining the SPARTANs of Gamma Company too big of a security risk, ONI had dispatched death squads to New Africa disguised as ODST reinforcements. Without any warning, the ONI troops opened fire on the unsuspecting SPARTANs. Two of his companions were cut down in seconds, but the third managed to arm and throw a grenade before multiple rounds punched through his armor and killed him. The grenade killed four of the seven soldiers and wounded a fifth. Simon then managed to bring his weapon to bear and killed his remaining two attackers before they could harm him. He then interrogated the wounded man, demanding to know why UNSC troops had attacked SPARTANs. The man told Simon the truth, which shocked the S-III even more than the discovery that he and his friends were a suicide unit. In an act of fear and rage, Simon killed his hostage (an action he later regretted).

"How should we kill this little shit, corporal?"

- ONI Covert Operations Trooper "Not yet. Payback comes first."

- ONI Covert Operations Corporal

Pursued by another death squad, Simon fled back into the plains. Narrowly avoiding their fire, he entered a large rock formation and was followed by his pursuers. Simon managed to evade them by using his armor's stealth systems but was eventually discovered by the squad's Sergeant. The man easily disarmed Simon, but was killed when the desperate SPARTAN used a hidden knife to slit his throat in front of the rest of the squad. Simon was then incapacitated and unhelmeted by the others who, horrified and enraged by the death of their Sergeant, proceeded to savagely beat their helpless and terrified captive into a near-death state. As the ONI soldiers then prepared to execute the bleeding and broken boy they were unexpectedly killed by several new figures in full body armor that surprisingly wasn't SPI or MJOLNIR. As he was carried off by his rescuers, Simon managed to whisper to Diana, giving her his trust.

Deserter
"This whole damn situation reminds me of a myth I read once. A hunter was turned into stag and ripped apart by his own dogs just 'cause he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I've been turned into a stag now, but I'm not gonna let the dogs get me. I'll run as fast as I can and do whatever it takes, but I will survive."

- Simon

Simon was revived in the medical facility of a UNSC cargo ship by a man who identified himself simply as Troy. When an exhausted Simon asked why he didn't have a last name, Troy replied that his reason for not having a last name was the same reason that Simon did not have one. He put a stop to any other questions by telling Simon to get some rest, and assured him that all would be revealed "in due time".

As his wounds rapidly recovered, Simon asked Diana what exactly she was and whom it was who had implanted her in him. She agreed to tell him on the condition that he tell her about who he was. Deciding that he owed the UNSC nothing, Simon agreed. After he had briefed her on the nature of the SPARTAN III program, as well as his abiding hatred of those who had used him, Diana told him that she was a creation of Project SYMBIOTE, an autonomous UNSC program that had been experimenting with AI technology. After some of their top researchers had been trapped on New Africa by the invading Covenant, they had begun attempting to permanently implant smart AIs into living bodies, effectively eliminating a smart AI's lifespan of seven years through its dependency on its host. Simon had been the first test subject to have survived the implantation. When he questioned her loyalties, she assured him that the two of them now depended on each other for survival, and reminded him that if one of them died, then so did the other. Simon, finding himself in alone in the galaxy, chose to trust her.

Biological Assets
"I'm lost..."

- Simon prior to joining forces with the Biological Assets

Troy returned to Simon's quarters and led him to the ship's bridge, where he met the rest of his saviors: five members of a secret ONI special agent program, the Biological Assets. These renegades claimed to share Simon's hatred of ONI and, after interviewing him on his experiences on New Africa, they offered him a chance to join their crew, which was dedicated to collecting enough information on ONI to force the UNSC to investigate it. Although they had made no real progress, Diana's hacking skills could give them the edge they needed. Simon quickly agreed, and the group set their sites on a large ONI asteroid facility near New Africa. Once they had infiltrated the facility, Simon split off from the rest of the group to shut down base security. Before he could do so however, Troy radioed that the main group was surrounded and that Simon should escape before he suffered the same fate. Simon, trying to get information on ONI's research from the security station, listened as his newfound comrades were killed or committed suicide to avoid capture. After collecting a massive amount of data, Simon stole a small stealth yacht and escaped the facility.

Rescue Mission
"You're aim and moves... they're not that... good. But the way you pulled this off kid, this attack, was... just brilliant. You... would have made it... pretty far in my... unit."

- Captain Lierne's last words

Simon and Diana christened their new ship the Simbiote, and then hid near the asteroid while Diana trawled through their stolen data. She soon discovered a shocking bit of information: the orders to execute the SPARTAN IIIs had been rescinded, and the survivors were to help train further generations of SPARTANs. His hatred of ONI strengthened, Simon decided to exact revenge on the officials who had given the order to begin with, starting with the leader of the death squads, Captain Tiberius Lierne, who was still stationed on New Africa. Simon used his stealth ship to sneak back to New Africa, where he ambushed a convoy escorting Captain Lierne, who was heading off-planet for his next assignment. Using several well-placed explosives, Simon ambushed the convoy, destroying several Warthogs and using the ensuing smoke as cover. Simon then approached Lierne, who had been thrown from his vehicle and now lay wounded on the ground. Simon murdered the captain in cold blood before fleeing the scene. Feeling no remorse but feeling angry that the captain had not begged for mercy, he returned to the Simbiote, planning to assassinate Vice Admiral Parangosky, head of ONI, next. Diana, monitoring UNSC com channels, learned that one of Simon's former teammates, Cassandra-G006, had been grievously wounded by Covert Operations troopers before they were ordered to stand down. Slipping in and out of a coma and on life support, Cassandra was slated to be disconnected and allowed to die since the UNSC didn't have the means to save her and ONI was once more concerned about security. Simon was stricken with guilt, realized that he had allowed his lust for revenge blind him to the plight of his friends. Horrified over his murder of Captain Lierne, Simon swore to make amends by saving Cassandra.

"If I can save just one of my comrades than maybe I'll earn some forgiveness for what I've done."

- Simon telling Diana of his plan to rescue Cassandra.

Simon broke into the medical facility that Cassandra was being treated in with relative ease. He had Diana bring the Simbiote down onto the facility by remote, allowing him to keep Cassandra's life support on but also drawing attention to himself. Back in orbit, Simon explained to a barely conscious Cassandra what had happened. He learned from her that the surviving SPARTAN-IIIs had been told that the deaths of their comrades had occurred in friendly fire accidents stemming from a misinterpretation of orders. Lacking the medical equipment necessary to keep Cassandra alive, Simon froze her in the Simbiote's cryo pod. Before she was completely unconscious, Cassandra begged Simon not to harm any of their friends. Simon then returned to the surface. This time, however, ONI had anticipated him and he was met by an elite assassin. After barely surviving to collect the necessary supplies, Simon fled the facility in an abandoned Chopper, hoping to lose his pursuers. Unfortunately, he was ambushed by none other than his former comrades from Team Jian. His vehicle destroyed, Simon managed to flee to an orbital elevator being constructed nearby. He entered a lift car and headed for a station in orbit, not knowing that a single SPARTAN was still in pursuit.

Confrontation
"Wise up and stop playing the wind-up soldier, Jake! The UNSC betrayed us all once and they can sure as hell do it again!"

- Simon trying unsuccessfully to win Jake over

Arriving on the orbital, Simon interfaced with the station's systems, allowing Diana to call in the Simbiote. He discovered that Jake, his former team leader, was headed up the elevator after him. Prepared to fight for his life, Simon attempted to ambush Jake as he exited the elevator, but was foiled when Jake dodged his fire and drove him to cover with a stream of his own. Jake expressed regret over having to kill Simon, who promptly expressed disgust over the other S-IIIs' continued loyalty to ONI. Jake then flushed Simon out with a grenade and nearly penetrated his armor with a burst from his assault rifle. Simon was only saved when he accidentally stumbled over a railing and fell down to the lower level. Jake followed him over, but Simon managed to pull out his knife and knock Jake's rifle away. The two of them struggled in hand to hand combat, with Jake eventually gaining the upper hand and stabbing Simon in the chest and leg. Simon fought on, however, and with his speed increased by Diana, he gave himself an opening to ram his own knife through his former team leader's throat. Before he did so, Simon remembered Cassandra's plea, as well as his own friendship with Jake. Instead of killing Jake he tried to flee, but Jake retrieved his assault rifle and shot Simon several times in the back and legs. With Simon incapacitated, Jake prepared to execute the traitor. But Simon had managed to pull out his sidearm and, warning Jake to grab onto something, blew out the nearest window and was sucked into the vacuum of space. Jake survived to report SPARTAN-G294 as terminated to his ONI superiors but would be haunted by his actions for years to come.

Survival
"How long do you think we'll be sleeping for?"

- Said just before entering cryo sleep

Simon survived the vacuum when Diana managed to remotely pilot the Simbiote directly to his body and got him inside. The ship was then picked up by a salvage vessel belonging to the Sanghelli fleet. The vessel's commander brought the SPARTAN before his superiors, whom he told his entire story. Moved by his ordeal, the Sanghelli made him an offer: come and serve with the Sanghelli military in exchange for political asylum. Simon refused but made a counter offer. If the Sanghelli would save Cassandra, they could put both of them into cryo storage until the galaxy "really needed them". The Sanghelli complied and Cassandra reluctantly agreed to Simon's offer.
 * Note: It is worth noting that despite his apparent death, the fact that the UNSC never recovered Simon's body meant that he was never officially recorded as dead and would spend most of the time he was in cryosleep at the top of the UNSC's pubic enemy list. He was only ever bumped down from the number one position for a substantial amount of time by David Wellesley.

Reawakened and Repurposed
The two SPARTANs were pulled out of cryosleep in 2577. By this time the galaxy had changed for the better: there were relatively few conflicts and peace and stability had come to the galactic factions. With these development in mind, the Sanghelli decided that the two were not worth keeping and relocated them to the frigid UNSC colony world of Hekate (they also contacted the UNSC, confirming suspicions that SPARTANs G294 and G006 were still alive). The Sanghelli neglected to return Simon's armor to him (and therefore robbed him of Diana's only means of interaction with the physical world), causing him severe anxiety and distress. Having been declared Public Enemy Number One by the UNSC, he and Cassandra were effectively trapped in the frozen wilderness with only the means to provide for their most basic needs. As Cassandra slipped further and further into a deep depression and began contemplating suicide, Simon was once again isolated from most forms of human communication and left to micro-analyze his life and feed on his hatred of the UNSC. This miserable exile was cut short when the Sanghelli revealed to the UNSC the location of its top two Public Enemies.

Immediately following this revelation, the UNSC performed Operation: MARSHAL YELLOW and quickly surrounded Simon's modest homestead with UNSC Special Forces. Just when it seemed that all of Simon's bids for survival were about to be rendered meaningless, Admiral Kawika Son halted the operation and gave the two SPARTANs an offer. He had arranged for their records to be wiped clean and wished for them to serve as mentors to the next generation of supersoldiers: the Myrmidons. Simon was initially disgusted by the offer and prepared to enjoy his newly gained innocence, but changed his mind when Cassandra accepted the admiral's proposal.

After rejoining the UNSC, Simon became increasingly depressed and bitter. Tormented by the knowledge that Diana was trapped and helpless in his head, he began to question his entire life and started alternating between blaming himself for all of his and Cassandra's misfortunes and blaming a wide selection of others such as the UNSC and Cassandra herself. With his hatred of the UNSC slowly losing its foundation, Simon instead turned the hatred on himself and started contemplating suicide via either a pistol or EMP grenade (the blast would neutralize Diana and therefore shut down his brain). In these private moments of self-loathing it was only his inherent desire to survive that prevented him from taking his own life. While his moods ranged from extreme depression to absolute hatred in private, Simon maintained an emotionless outlook when with company and was notable for his ruthlessness towards the Myrmidon trainees as he attempted to instill the same survival instincts that had kept him alive in them. His methods were for the most part despised by most of the trainees and he was often beaten in sparring matches by the very trainees he was supposed to be teaching. One trainee, however, came to admire his teacher's unorthodox methods and combat philosophy and adopted Simon as his personal hero. Seeing how much Redmond-MYR094 held by him, Simon abandoned his thoughts on suicide. Redmond proceeded to adopt Simon's combat practices and when the Myrmidon training was finished, Simon requested a transfer to Task Force 51 so as to stay with Cassandra and Redmond.

Exile
"Since I was a Commander when we left, does giving myself the title captain count as a promotion?"

- Simon to Diana

With the conclusion of the Midgard crisis, Simon decided that he couldn't allow the UNSC to use him any longer. Believing that he needed to find a place where he could escape from everything, he left Redmond with the majority of the money they had stolen before hijacking David Wellesley's personal vessel and fled for unknown space. Since then, attempts to find him have been made by both the UNSC Astronavigational Service and private sources, all of which have ended in failure. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Personality and Traits
"I'm painfully aware that I'm not the best fighter in the galaxy, but give me some time and who knows?"

- Simon discussing his skills with Jake

When Simon first entered the SPARTAN-III program he was a quiet loner who made few efforts to make friends and preferred to listen to others instead of doing any speaking himself. Keeping himself removed and isolated from the other candidates, he quickly gained a reputation for being arrogant and stuck up. When assigned to Team Jian, Simon found himself constantly in close quarters with his team. Such unavoidable contact with his teammates quickly broke down the barriers he had kept up for most of his life and he began to interact with his team, although he still avoided contact with trainees from other teams. He was a very judgmental person and often formed negative opinions about others based merely on physical appearances and bad habits. "He's scary when you've got him cornered. You can spray him with as many marker pellets as you want and he won't go down, and once you knock his gun away he just lays into you with all he's got... good thing he's not that good of a fighter."

- Anonymous Gamma Company trainee

Although he was good at following orders, Simon was quickly proven to be the least proficient member of Jian and possibly of the entire company. Simon was very self-conscious about his failings and always worked to improve on a skill whenever he was noted to be less capable at it than the rest of his team. One thing he did excel at was endurance and self-preservation. Despite being physically weaker than most other trainees, he had very good mental control and was constantly forcing his body to ignore pain in order to complete assignments. During combat exercises he was rarely "killed", often frustrating opponents by fleeing to a better position and avoiding combat instead of instantly engaging them when cornered. Fearing that his unorthodox tactics would make him appear a coward, Simon would always fight ferociously when he could retreat no further, often having to be rendered unconscious before he gave up and often resorted to using fists, feet, and teeth when he ran out of ammunition and was disarmed. Despite this ferocity, most other trainees were able to easily incapacitate him through superior strength or technique.

"The battle won't go to the guy who's stronger, bigger, or tougher. It's gonna go to the guy who can see the problem, find the solution, and do whatever it takes to achieve that solution."

- Simon on his combat beliefs

Once he realized that he would never be able to catch up with the other trainees in terms of direct combat skills and tactics, Simon began focusing on becoming smarter and cleverer than anyone else. He often resorted to methods that were considered dishonorable, even in the competetive atmosphere the S-IIIs were trained in (such as kicking a fellow trainee repeatedly in the groin after conceding defeat during a sparring match), and saw ways of solving problems that never ocurred to the others. Although he usually used this superior mental ability to avoid combat, he also used it multiple times to get out of seemingly impossible situations.

After his discovery of the true purpose of the SPARTAN-IIIs, Simon became determined to survive and urged his teammates to do the same. After graduation and during missions against the Covenant, Simon often cautioned Jake against risky battle plans and insisted that Jian remain unseen until the best opportunity to survive revealed itself. Once Jian did engage the enemy, Simon worked best when backing up a teammate or working together with others to bring a stronger opponent down. Jake sometimes used Simon's tendencies to flee rather than fight to the team's advantage and would have Simon approach and reveal himself to some enemies. When he retreated and they followed he would lead them directly into an ambush. Once Diana was implanted in him his reaction time and speed were positively influenced, although he continued to cling to his old tactics.

During his time on Midgard, Simon developed a philosophy on violence that he shared with MYR094. To Simon, while killing in combat was a correct application of self defense, it should in no way be seen as a minor occurrence no matter what the body count. He felt that to execute helpless opponents was wrong and refrained from doing so during his missions. While such an attitude was extremely odd for a special forces operative, Simon felt very strongly about this conviction and made a point of enforcing it whenever possible. Unfortunately, he was forced to abandon this attitude more and more as the crisis grew more and more dangerous. After his second desertion, Simon determined that he should not refrain from killing the UNSC operatives who sought his life because he had not afforded any similar mercy to the rebels on Midgard.

Religion
Simon was raised as a Roman Catholic by the nuns who ran the orphanage he grew up in. After arriving at Onyx, Simon left the Catholic Church in an effort to cut all ties with the orphanage and confirmed himself into the Anglican Church via an old prayer book he found in Camp Currahee's library. He has clung to his religion up and through the present and attends services whenever possible.

Hobbies
During his training, Simon was always trying to improve on most of his skills in order to keep up with the rest of his team. He also enjoyed most books and hoped to be able to sometime write his own novel. After he graduated from the S-III training program, he continued to enjoy reading and writing and was always finding ways to smuggle himself new books and writing material. He prefers his surroundings to adhere to a code of moderation (the lighting should be not too bright and not too dark, the noise level should be quiet but have some small ambient noises) and it took him some time to become used to Diana's talking. She in turn learned to know when to be quiet and allow Simon space. Simon also enjoyed long, hot showers, games, and became a vegetarian shortly before being frozen in cryo stasis.

Diary
During his time on Midgard with TF51, Simon kept a diary in which he recorded his thoughts and experiences.

Armor
Simon wore the Semi-Powered Infiltration (SPI) armor used by the rest of the SPARTAN IIIs. When Project SIMBIOTE inserted Diana into his brain, they also modified his SPI armor to interface with Diana's Data Crystal Chip, giving Diana full access to the suit's systems. She could speak to Simon through the speakers in his helmet and project her voice over his external speakers to communicate with others. She could appear in his HUD display, onto holotanks that he came into contact with, and a small, handheld holotank that Simon stole from the ONI asteroid base. Diana could also access electronic systems through Simon's gauntlet fingertips without leaving his head, and some modifications (made to the armor during their time with the ARES renegades) allowed her to monitor and regulate the armor's more basic systems, allowing for more efficient energy use than normally possible with SPI armor. Diana's implantation has caused parts of Simon's brain to become reliant on the AI's presence to continue to operate, and therefore Diana may never be removed. If she is somehow shut down, Simon will die when his brain shuts down with her. Simon was also briefly in possession of an experimental ONI stealth ship, another item he took from the asteroid facility. He and Diana named it the Symbiote after their own unique condition, and Simon used it in all of his landings on New Africa. What became of the ship and the modified armor after they were picked up by the Sanghelli is unknown.

During the actions on Midgard and, Simon used a standard suit of SPI armor while also making good use of plainclothes during the latter event, as he was.

Weapons
"Always have an extra knife handy. Pistols are good to have more of as well, but its best to have a lot of knives on you during a fight."

- Simon lecturing Redmond on combat preparedness

Although trained to use all manner of UNSC and Covenant weapons, Simon always preferred to use small, lightweight guns that were easy to run and aim without encumbering him (such as an MA5K and a submachine gun). Simon also carried a sidearm, and was notable for hiding multiple small knives on his person. After Diana's implantation, Simon refused to use any EMP grenades or plasma pistols, fearing that one mistake with them might shut down Diana and kill him in the process (Simon would later consider an EMP grenade as a means of killing himself when contemplating suicide). He always followed the Team Jian custom of strapping an extra knife to his weapon, and continued to do so even after his desertion of the UNSC.

Simon's arsenal is now composed of multiple weapons. Still valuing the advantages of speed and mobility, he uses a lightweight submachine gun (still with an extra knife attached) along with two to three sidearms which are stored on various parts of his body. He carries an even wider selection of knives, most of which are concealed on his body in some way. When operating in plainclothes, he generally carries only a single sidearm while continuing to hide multiple knives. One of his favorite weapons is a long-bladed Japanese tanto knife, which is easy to conceal thanks to its inconspicuously plain sheath and light weight.

Quotes
"I may not be good with explosives, I may not be a wizard sniper, and I may not be the ultimate soldier everyone expects a SPARTAN to be. But this makes me smarter than quite a lot of the people around me. You see, it's because I'm not terribly good at fighting that I've had to become cunning and, yes, dishonorable at times. I haven't got the talents needed to kill a Brute Chieftain in a one-on-one sparring match, but I do have the motivation -and the brains- to stay just a few steps ahead of everyone else. It's embarrassing as hell, but I know I'm cowardly enough to do the one thing no one else will ever consider: run away."

- Simon-G294

"If you want to feel sorry about killing someone, do it after he's dead."

- Self-criticism over pitying enemy Grunts.

"The only people in this galaxy we can trust is ourselves, because we're both too attached to life to betray each other."

- Simon to Diana.

"This? This is a Bible. I carry one around with me because it's a core aspect of my religious faith. I've also read that they're superb at stopping bullets."

- Simon to Redmond-M094

"Sometimes fear is the appropriate response"

- Simon to Redmond-M094

"All humor aside, Simon actually scares me more than any of the ones who can actually beat me in combat. Those ones are ones that I know that I can trust with my life, but Simon... he knows he's bad at fighting and that makes him think mostly about himself during battles. He's too unpredictable, and I never know when he's going to fight or run away. And sometimes I'm always looking over my shoulder, worried that he'll double-cross me to save his own hide."

- Ralph-G299

"Not to call you a coward or anything, but cowards often survive..."

- Simon convincing Cassandra-G006 to retreat during the Galactic Era

Appearances
Here is a list of stories in which Simon appears:


 * Halo: Post Project Scenario (Under Active Construction)


 * Halo: Team Kopis


 * Halo: Beckon Forth Sunrise (Written by RelentlessRecusant)


 * Halo: Bridge to Dusk

Trivia

 * Simon was Actene's first character on Halo Fanon
 * Since Actene is a terrible brow-beater when it comes to thinking of names for his characters, the name Simon was taken from The Lord of the Flies which Actene was reading at the time. Simon-G294 bears little or no resemblance to the boy from the novel.
 * Simon's religion and vegetarianism are modeled after Actene's own religious and culinary practices.