Isaac-039 (AAO)

SPARTAN-039, birthname Isaac Artur Zaitsev, was identified by Dr. Catherine Halsey as a candidate for the Spartan-II Program in 2517 and brought to Reach with those who would become his brothers and sisters in arms. Little is known about his life before, growing up an orphan on Tribute with only the clothes on his back and a piece of paper with full name on it.

Growing up in an orphanage made it easy for him to adjust to life among the trainees, if he was physically less powerful than most of the others. Instead of trying to be the best, he learned exactly what everyone else was good at, then adapted to supply whatever they would need, anticipating their every move and making sure to have the equipment they’d need. This made him an invaluable addition to Training Team Green, supplying resources for Kurt-051’s often inventive plans that often led them to besting even Blue Team in competitive excercises.

Training
Grouped with Vinh-030 and Grace-093 on his first day, he considered himself lucky not to finish last, helped by his teammates. He began being seen as a liability, and forced himself to do better later. But unlike the other candidates, Isaac possessed no great skill in any area of combat. While a Spartan-worthy combatant with firearms, explosives, or hands, he found that others outmatched him everywhere. Isaac adapted, and learned each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, then made himself able to assist them to make his team more efficient, which led directly to Training Team Green lead by Kurt-051 to beat Blue Team on several occasions.

In July of 2523, the trainees were matched up against the marines of Tango Company for an exercise. After losing time after time to the trainees, Tango’s CO began resorting to underhanded tactics, including landmines to counter the advantage they’d gained after stealing several of their Warthogs. Isaac was riding in the back of one when a mine flipped the jeep, resulting in the capture of James and Vinh as they bought three others the time to escape. Determined, Isaac mounted a rescue effort with the two others,. Entering Tango’s HQ undetected, they dispatched a pair of guards and rescued their comrades, but not before James was beaten heavily. Vinh’s opinion of him also changed after the incident.

The two began to grow close after this, and it led to trouble. Red Team, Jerome-092, Alice-130, and Douglas-042, had attacked other trainees once for such a relationship, and that event made Vinh and Isaac careful not to be discovered. Unfortunately, Grace let it slip to Alice about them, and she confronted Vinh alone, threatening her with violence. Though Vinh wanted to remain silent about it, Isaac coerced what had happened from her, and during the next training exercise asked if he could take one other and scout ahead. He chose 130, who didn’t suspect that as soon as they were out of earshot, she would be attacked by her own teammate. After a struggle, he left Alice bound and unconscious for the others of Red Team to find.

Human-Covenant War
Ironically, Isaac and Vinh would assigned to the first active Spartan Red Team, under Jerome-092. There were some bitter feelings among the group, consisting of Jerome, Alice, Douglas, Vinh, Isaac, Grace, and three other Spartans up until the Battle of Arcadia. The first three of these were listed as Missing in Action following their disappearance with the UNSC Spirit of Fire, and the remainder was integrated into the commands of other teams.

The original Red Team faced challenges unlike most other Spartan commandos. Rather than acting as a strike team, they were deployed to reinforce frontline operations. This was planned, as the weapon choices and fighting styles of each team member made their survival more likely with rocket launchers, machine guns, and prototype Spartan Lasers.

Battle of Arcadia
As the Covenant closed in around Pirth City, Jerome committed his team to its defense. He, Alice, and Douglas fell back to ensure ground forces couldn’t attack their civilian transports, while the other six deployed as Splinter Group Omega and engaged in frontline combat against the main Covenant army. Isaac. Eventually, they were called in to reinforce Jerome’s team at a rally point, and headed up the charge to destroy the foundations of an enemy Citadel. After this, Jerome, Alice, and Douglas gave chase to a Covenant ship aboard the Spirit of Fire, leaving Omega to depart Arcadia on the Pillar of Autumn.

Battle of Kholo
In a counter-insurgency mission that went very wrong, Isaac-039 and Vinh-030 were caught in the city underground of Dorado, Kholo as the planet was glassed in the Covenant assault, and a group of Wraiths with excavation guns began trying to dig them out. They broadcasted the Oly-Oly-Oxen-Free signal in hope of rescue, but quickly gave up on it. Believing themselves to be in their final moments, the two long-time teammates and friends had relations which led to the conception of their son, and later Spartan III, Dyne. Later, in an unexpected turn, stealth-coated Pelicans flew in under the Covenant’s sensors and dropped off Scorpions to counterattack Field Master Vract Aeramee’s squadron of Wraith tanks. Lt. Erin Coney, an ONI operator and Spartan-I, had picked up the signal, and with the help of a Prowler, had organized a mission to rescue them with the help of a group of ODSTs of the 11/6 Shock Troops. Ironically, after this Coney swore she wouldn’t make any more attempts to rescue crazy Spartans, which led her to abandon Dyne and Kodiak years later.

A week later, deployed on another counter-insurgency operation, Vinh experienced a sharp pain in her midsection during a high-G turn made by their Pelican. The operation was immediately put on hold as a medic examined her. It was revealed to Isaac and Coney that Vinh was pregnant. After a great deal of confusion, Vinh swore Coney and the medic to secrecy. SPARTAN-030 was discreetly transferred to Reach after refusing to abort the child. For ten months, the other Spartans were told she was on covert operations, only Isaac being allowed to communicate with her. The boy was named Dyne Peregrin Zaitsev, using the last name written on the paper Isaac carried. Against the odds, Dyne would live through infancy without any complications as a ‘Spartan 2.1’, though he never knew of his parents’ origins.

Battle of Reach and Death (July 24th – Sept. 7th, 2552)
During the Fall of Reach in Summer 2552, he was assigned to Red Team, under the command of Frederic-104. As part of Red Team, Isaac was assigned to defend the planetside generators that supplied power to the Orbital Defense Platforms. As Red Team descended, their Pelican dropship, Bravo 001, was attacked by Covenant Seraphs, killing the pilot and forcing the SPARTANs to jump from the craft. Both of Isaac's arms were dislocated, which hampered his fighting ability severely. He was then assigned to Team Delta, under the command of William-043, to secure the SPARTANs' fallback position in CASTLE Base. Vinh, Will, and Isaac were separated from the surviving Marines of Charlie Company, but they eventually arrived at CASTLE Base. They were unable to enter the facility until Fred and Kelly met with them and Kelly whispered the Oly Oly Oxen Free code into the entrance's speakerbox. Dr. Catherine Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN-II program, then opened the door for them. Isaac was treated by Dr. Halsey and sent to survey the facility's perimeter defenses along with Vinh. This proved unnecessary however, as the Covenant attacked immediately.

Vinh, Isaac, Fred, Kelly, Will, and Dr. Halsey were trapped under CASTLE Base on Reach for several days after Halsey initiated Operation: WHITE GLOVE to destroy the base and keep it from falling into enemy hands. Isaac was able to upgrade his Mark V MJOLNIR armor with parts salvaged from the base. He received a new image-enhancing computer that was in the process of being field-tested and had yet to be certified. After Fred discovered a massive room containing a strange Forerunner crystal, the crystal sent a massive radiation spike that allowed the Covenant to triangulate the group's position. A Covenant gravity lift quickly appeared, and Isaac and Vinh were ordered to take a rearguard position. Isaac and Vinh dropped back and opened fire until the group retreated toward a nearby tunnel, after which the two SPARTANs dropped satchel charges to cover the group's tracks. The charges prematurely detonated, causing Isaac and Vinh to disappear. They could not be raised on the COM.

Pinned under tons of rubble, both Spartans remained alive, though Isaac was knocked cold by the debris. He and Vinh were pulled from the rubble by Unggoy and taken before the Sangheili. When he came around, Ultra Veral T’ramee was aiming a blow with his energy sword to kill Vinh. Isaac grabbed his ankle and muttered a defiant challenge. Veral wasted no time in running Isaac through, impaling his midsection. Isaac died in a matter of seconds.

Personality and Traits
"He knew us better than we knew ourselves, and always had exactly the thing we needed."

- John-117, to Frederic-104 after Isaac’s death.

A cheery personality, Isaac and Will-043 provided the Spartan trainees with comedic relief under the conditions of Franklin Mendez’s exercises. Growing more and more quiet, especially after William lost his enthusiasm, Isaac became an average Spartan, if one could ever be called that. Few knew him well, and so it was easier for him to be forgotten after being presumed dead. Frederic-104 felt angry at himself after realizing this, and aboard asked John-117 what he remembered of Isaac.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Not as good a shot as Linda or her rivals, not as strong as Sam and Jorge, and not as fast as Kelly, Isaac had no unique fighting capability to offer his siblings. So instead, he became better by being useful to others. Observing each one closely, he made a habit of anticipating them and being prepared. He would volunteer to make ammo runs, spot for sharpshooters, or escort high-value targets out of hostile areas. Some mistakenly saw this as cowardice, but his only fear was letting his team down.

Armor
Isaac made use of the standard variants of the Mark IV and Mark V Mjolnir armor systems, though often supplemented with bandoleers, belts, and backpacks to carry equipment.

Weapons
Though trained with virtually all UNSC and some Covenant weaponry, Isaac most commonly opted for the MA5B Assault Rifle as it was easy enough to find ammunition for it. As a mission progressed, however, he would often pick up the Covenant’s own weaponry to use against them, along with firearms of fallen UNSC fighters.

Equipment
From mission to mission, Isaac never carried the same set twice. Depending on who his teammates were at the time, he would carry extra weapons and ammunition, spotting lenses and GPS tracking devices, spare parts and tools, and a myriad of other useful items. His one personal possession was a scrap of old paper with his birthname written on it, making him possibly the only Spartan-II to retain this information.