Dan-G076

"After my family was killed, I was alone and angry, right up until some fella with an ONI pin told me that I could be the hero that wasn't there for my family."

- Dan-G076, Dan Steele Petty Officer Second Class Dan-G076, born Daniel Steele, is a Spartan-III Commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command and the Office of Naval Intelligence. He briefly fought at the end of the Human-Covenant War, fighting in both the Battle of Mombasa and the Battle of Cleveland, as well as fighting in the Requiem Campaign.

Early-Life
Daniel Steele was born on December 11th, 2537, in the city of Manassas, Reach, to parents Connor and Catherine Steele. Both his parents were members of the UNSC with his father being an ODST in the 23rd Shock Trooper Battalion, and his mother a nurse on a UNSC hospital ship. In October of 2541, his father was killed during the defence of one of the outer colonies. Two years later in April, whilst Dan was in the care of family friends, his mother's hospital ship was attacked and destroyed by a Covenant Task Force, leading to the death of both his mother and 3 year old sister, Sarah.

New Beginnings
Following the death of his family, Dan became more reclusive, spending less time with children his own age and rarely speaking to anyone besides his best friend Nick. In August of 2544, he was interviewed by what he claimed was "a man with jet black hair, a sharp gray suit, and a shiny ONI pin on his lapel". This man told Dan that "as of now you are just a lonely boy who is angry with the world. You have the chance to change the lives of others. Your entire family was taken at the hands of the Covenant. You could help to prevent that from happening to anyone else. I offer you the opportunity to become the hero your family never had."

Training
In 2544, along with the rest of Gamma Company, Dan was taken to Camp Curahee, on Onyx. There he trained until 2551, becoming the Spartan-III he is today. Being in the top 20 performers of Gamma Company, he excelled at urban warfare, reconnaissance, as well as general assault. While in training, he developed a love for history, specifically the Second World War and the United States. Despite being fairly reserved, he was well liked in the company, often being the person who the others came to for advice. Following his augmentations in February of 2551, he became not only one of the largest Spartans of Gamma Company, but also one of the tallest and biggest of the Spartan-III's, weighing in at 272.6 lbs. and standing at 6'9" without any armor. At the end of his Spartan training, his team scored 4th out of all the teams on Onyx, and just barely lost to Team Gladius to compete for top honors. This would wind up being beneficial for him and his team, as they were not kept on Onyx to fight in the Battle of Onyx.

Human-Covenant War
Main Article: 

Like the rest of Gamma Company, Dan did not receive his deployment orders until a few weeks after the fall of his home planet of Reach. He was one of the few Spartan-III's who were deployed to Earth, as the Battle of Earth was just beginning.

Battle of Mombasa
Main Article: Battle of Mombasa

Initially deployed to Kenya, he saw limited combat in the Battle of Mombasa, where he was prioritized with evacuation and aiding civilians. Despite only seeing a little combat in Mombasa, he was shot multiple times by Brutes while evacuating civilians from a Covenant occupied building. After the battle ended, he realized he had significant damage to his armor, and thus was pulled from Africa for repairs to his SPI Armor.

Battle of Cleveland
Main Article: Battle of Cleveland

Following the Battle of Mombasa, Dan's SPI Armor was damaged beyond repair, and it was decided that he would receive a suit Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor over new SPI Armor. In the weeks following, Dan was deployed to Cleveland in his new Mjolnir Armor in order to participate in the Battle of Cleveland. During this battle is where he truly showed his colors as one of the most fierce fighters of Gamma Company. He led a group of four militia personal, and two Marines into a building the Covenant were using as a makeshift command post, clearing it of a Jiralhanae Chieftain, two Jiralhanae captains, a Lekgolo, and a group of Unggoy and Kig-Yar, all without losing a single soldier. He also won a Silver Star during this battle after he safely evacuated and defended 47 civilians across a bridge, against a much larger force of what he estimates was around 60 Covenant soldiers.

Post-Covenant War
In the years following the Human-Covenant War, Dan would run small scale operations, usually alone or along with a few other Spartans. In 2555, he was requisitioned by ONI as reconnaissance and intelligence personal. During his time with ONI, he was required to operate on colonies and former Covenant planets, monitoring situations, specifically the Blooding Years on Sanghelios. While there he gathered intelligence on resistance efforts against Thel 'Vadam's Swords of Sanghelios. A large percentage of his missions, would be location identification and general reconnaissance, with most of the data being used by ONI, for their Spartan-III covert operation group, [REDACTED]. Dan was directly responsible for uncovering the location of Avu Med 'Telcam, which later led to the Shangheili's assassination.

Following his release from ONI in December of 2557, G-076 was approached by fellow Spartan-III and the sole survivor of Noble Team, Jun-A266. Jun wished for G-076 to become one of the IIIs to join the newly formed Spartan Branch. To his surprise, Dan declined stating that he wished to operate under the Navy, as he liked the idea of retaining his rank and pay and that enjoyed working missions for the Naval Special Warfare Command. Much to his dismay, Dan was subsequently ordered to report to Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer aboard the UNSC Infinity, in preparation for the Requiem Campaign.

Requiem Campaign
Main Article: Requiem Campaign

Whilst aboard the UNSC Infinity he was outfitted with Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor (GEN 2) and was requested to help lead the Spartan-IVs on Requiem. He was assigned a temporary Fireteam, made up entirely of Spartan-III's from Gamma Company, which was appropriately nicknamed "Gamma Team". Gamma Team, along with the Spartan-IVs would fight both Prometheans and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant on Requiem, winning decisively in most engagements. At some point during the third day of the campaign, G-076 would be seen saving a squad of Marines from being pummeled by two Lekgolo and a commanding Sangheili. This would lead to him receiving the Navy Cross and Purple Heart, as he broke three fingers in the fight. In the final days of the campaign, a Marine would report seeing G-076 tear the jaw of a Kig-Yar from the rest of it's head after the Kig-Yar attempted to shoot him with a Carbine Rifle.

Post-Requiem
In April of 2558, Dan was asked for a second time, but this time by Sarah Palmer, if he would be interested in joining the Spartan Branch, and again he replied that "as much as I would, I still wish to remain under the Navy, as I do still enjoy running solo missions and killing Covies without anyone to tell me how to do it". As of October 2558, Dan-G076 is still aboard the UNSC Infinity, primarily tasked with helping new Spartan-IV's adjust to their augmentations and overall mission readiness, and can be found in the War Games simulations, training, or playing his six-string acoustic.

Traits and Personality
Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose was once quoted as saying in reference to G-076 "while being one of the most calm and collected Gammas outside of combat, he is one of the deadliest and most efficient Spartan-III's I have ever seen", as Dan had a knack for combat. As Kurt Ambrose stated, Dan is one of the calmest Gammas, despite the use of the chemical 009762-OO in his augmentation. Early in his training he was recognized for his ability to lead under stress and the fact he was able to gain the trust of his teammates quickly. He also tended to have a morbid and dark sense of humor, which quickly led to Mark-G313 and he becoming friends. Dan has a high level of care and empathy for civilians, which is uncommon among Spartans, and usually works his hardest to ensure they are safe before himself. He is generally well liked by those around him, as he is relatively social, and tends to be the person who most will come to in need of advice. He harbors a slight animosity toward Spartan-IVs, whom he doesn't consider them "real Spartans" as they weren't put through the same lifetime of training he was, this dislike is a contributing factor in his resentment toward joining the "Spartan" Branch.

Equipment
Armors:
 * Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor (Mark II) (2551-2552)
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (2552-2558)
 * Dan utilized a ODST UA/CNM variant helmet, Grenadier left shoulder armor, Commando right shoulder armor, Assault/Sapper chest rig, a Tactical/TACPAD wrist mount, a Tactical/TRAUMA kit utility kit, a Black Visor, and FJ/PARA kneeguards, in the colors of Steel and Maroon.

Weapons:
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN 2)
 * Dan utilizes the HELLJUMPER-class Mjolnir helmet, along with the COMMANDO-class Mjolnir armor, in the colors of Pepper and Brick.

Battle of Mombasa: Battle of Cleveland: Requiem Campaign: Main Weapons:
 * M392 Designated Marksman Rifle
 * MA5K Carbine
 * M6G Personal Defense Weapon System
 * Combat Knife
 * M392 Designated Marksman Rifle
 * MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System
 * M6G Personal Defense Weapon System
 * Combat Knife
 * MA5D Individual Combat Weapon System
 * BR85 Service Rifle
 * M739 Light Machine Gun
 * M6H2 Personal Defense Weapon System
 * Combat Knife
 * MA5D Individual Combat Weapon System
 * BR85 Service Rifle
 * M6H2 Personal Defense Weapon
 * Combat Knife

Trivia

 * Despite being born on Reach, Dan was not of Hungarian decent, and was taught English as a first language.
 * Following his father's death in 2541, he was gifted his father's ODST helmet from his father's best friend and second-in-command. He was allowed to keep this helmet through Spartan-III training and eventually had it modified to work with his new Mjolnir armor is 2552, becoming his primary helmet.
 * On the last day of the Human-Covenant War, December 11th, 2552, Dan-G076 celebrated his 14th birthday.
 * Dan went under the codename, TEMPLAR, while working with ONI.