Shawn Gates

Early Life
"Alright, Marines. We're about to step off this pelican into Hell. I suggest you make your peace with God now, because before the day is over, you'll probably find yourself standing before him. But even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. Because the shadow is ours, and so is the valley!"

- Sergeant Gates Shawn was born in Detroit on March 17th, 2535 to James and Emily Gates. He had and older brother, Trevor, and an older sister, Emma. In 2545, Shawn's father and mother were killed in an automobile accident, leaving him and his two siblings orphaned. Their uncle, Richard Gates (James' brother) adopted them, but struggled to provide for them with his insufficient income. In 2548, Richard robbed a convenience store in a desperate attempt to keep the three orphans fed. The robbery turned against him, and he was killed by the cashier. Trevor enlisted in the UNSC Defense Force soon after and began ODST training. Emma and Shawn lived in Richard's house from then on, both of them working part time jobs and struggling to finish school. In 2551, however Emma and Shawn were informed that Trevor had been killed fighting the Covenant. Shawn dropped out of school soon after, and in 2552 he lied about his age and joined the UNSC Marine Corps.

Reach
Shawn was deployed to Reach on July 29th, 2552 to combat the Covenant invasion. On August 20th, he was deployed with a company of Marines to a strategic beachhead on the outskirts of New Alexandria. His platoon held of several waves of Covenant, but their defenses crumbled when a team of Sangheili Zealots and Rangers assaulted the beach. Shawn's platoon was nearly wiped out along with two others, and the company's fourth platoon retreated. He and the two remaining Marines on the beach called in orbital support on their position, and managed to decimate the Sangheili platoon. The two other Marines, 1st Sergeant Baker and 1st Lieutenant Miller, were killed immediately after the bombardment by the only remaining Zealot, however Shawn managed to kill it with a nearby shotgun. The incident resulted in Shawn being awarded the Medal of Honor and being promoted to Corporal.

Following the incident on the beach, Shawn was deployed with another company of Marines into New Alexandria to assist with evacuations. It was during this op that he received his first wound of the war from a Covenant needle rifle.

Earth
On October 22nd, 2552 Shawn was deployed into New Mombasa with a team of Marines with orders to recon the city's police headquarters. However, The team was left unable to complete their mission as their insertion failed when their Pelican was shot down. The team spent several hours attempting to reach the UNSC lines, but the initial Covenant assault was constantly pushing the lines back. After several firefights, Shawn and his fire team found a Pelican intact and still flyable. They used the Pelican to return to the UNSC Euphrates with a Longsword escort.