User:Impurest Cheese/Private Ellen McCoy


 * Private Ellen McCoy is a marine that was present in the 3rd Battle of Harvest and Fourth Battle of Harvest respectively. She is also the main character in Halo: Hostilities.

Appearance

 * Ellen McCoy or Mac as she is commonly referred to by her friends is around 5 foot 9 and has a slender frame probably from her extensive training with the UNSC Marine Corps. Her hair is described as various colours from ginger to blood red in Halo: Twenty Four and is cropped although she wore it long before joining the UNSC. Many of her superiors believed her to be fragile even after completing boot camp and she was often called in to pose for recruiting posters even when she would rather be holding a rifle and fighting the enemy.


 * Due to enhanced Photosensitivity resulting in a very pale even ghostly skin which is susceptible to burning even after she had gene splicing treatment to cure herself. Despite the shortcomings of this affliction she often gave blood due to the easy location of her veins. A secondary effect of Photosensitivity is that her eyes are light grey due to the reduced amount of pigmentation of the iris. To deflect attention from her appearance during her civilian life she often wore contact lenses and covered her skin when ever possible.

Broken Childhood (2537 – 2552)

 * Mac was born on the thirteenth of October in the year 2537 a few minutes after her twin sister Gemma in Pacific Bay Hospital. Both twins had Photosensitivity but other than that they were considered healthy and their mother, a waitress at one of the maritime bars, took them home. Their father was presumed to be a member of the UNSC Marine Corps on leave who had visited the bar and saved Mac’s mother Shannon from a pair of drunk dock workers. The first home Mac knew was a small apartment in the notorious Silver Falls area of Pacific Bay and both her and her sister were kept inside. Due to her being a single parent Shannon found it hard to leave the twins and has eventually fired from her job.


 * When she was four Mac’s mother was approached by an ONI representative having learnt of Shannon’s predicament. He offered to give the family 5,000 UNSC credits if he could take the twins for the new Spartan IV Project. Although desperate Shannon refused and although disappointed the ONI representative left. A week later Shannon would get a more unpleasant visit in the dead of night by the convicted terrorist Aaron Stark who stole Gemma from her room. Left with one child Shannon went into depression and started taking the anti depressant Don’t Worry. As her addiction grew Pacific Bay Child Services took Mac away from her and she was left alone.


 * Mac’s new home was in the up market Paradise Street and was adopted by Detective Neville Owens a widower who had lost his wife who had served on the Corvette Iron Back which was shot down over Ferrus II in the first battle of Ferrus II by the Covenant. This new found happiness didn’t last long as in 2549 Owens was called out to a civil disturbance and was shot by a crazed intruder who was killed by other policemen on the scene. In a twist of fate the intruder turned out to be Shannon McCoy who had been looking to fence items to feed her drug addiction.


 * The last and final home Mac had was at the Centre of St Dominica ran in the nearby town of Playa de Luna famous for it’s black beaches. The nuns that ran centre were tough on the children and punished any incident especially blasphemy and brute force was often used on the children. One of the teachers found pity on the children and alerted the authorities to the nun’s abuse leading to several investigations into child abuse, terrorist support and drug synthesis including Don’t Worry. Two years after entering the school Mac now fifteen was left alone.

Alone (2553 – 2555)

 * After escaping St Dominicas, Mac was separated from the other children and returned to Silver Falls. To survive she started pick pocketing and breaking into cars to buy money for food and other necessities. One day she was caught by the local ONI official Kane who was working undercover to root out a suspected sleeper cell. He hired Mac even though she was only sixteen to steal evidence from a local merchant who was suspected to be a member of the URF. When she broke in to steal the documents things went from bad to worse as the house was crawling with URF agents. After her capture Mac was tortured for days until the local Colonial Militia led by a worried Kane raided the place after ONI gave the go ahead for a raid.


 * After the raid Kane paid Mac 7,000 UNSC credits for her services and took her to a leading genetic surgeon who preformed gene splicing surgery to cure her of the worst symptoms of Photosensitivity allowing her to go into the sunshine without burning in a matter of minutes. With the money Mac brought a beach side apartment in the Metropolitan area of Pacific Bay were she worked as a waitress in the Isis Hotel, although she had to lie about her age for both. At the hotel she met many tourists and went to several parties to try and cure herself of the detachment she felt from humanity. The one true friend she did make was an aged cleaner Darrius Long who was a former UNSC sniper. Long taught Mac about poetry and marksmanship with an aged Z47-19 Hunting Rifle among other things.


 * On her eighteenth birthday disaster would strike when a small Covenant Remnant task force attacked Pacific Bay. Upon reaching Long’s apartment to warn him of the danger she found him dead although it was plain his killer wasn’t Covenant at all. Standing over the body of her mentor was Aaron Stark the man who had kidnapped her sister. Tackling Stark from behind Mac got control of his Magnum and held the monster at gunpoint. It was only when Stark begged for his life when Mac recognized the man she had caught as her sister’s kidnapper. As Stark asked for mercy so he could see his daughter Mac dropped the gun. Stark attacked her, he was hit by a random Beam Rifle Shot and later died in hospital. In Long’s will he had left Mac his Golden Star but it had been removed from Long’s security box during the fighting. Mac decided to make Long proud by earning her own as a UNSC Marine.

Training and Early Service with the UNSC

 * Mac used the last of the money she got from Kane to travel to Harvest and the recruiting office there. She was enlisted and moved to the barracks in New Utgard. After a year and a half she completed boot camp and basic sniper training and passed with honours thanks to her previous training. She also successfully assassinated the rouge Sangheili known simply as the Butcher of Sanghelios who had been hiding in the Forerunner Relic on Harvest. As such she was awarded the Basic Specialist Training Honor Graduate Ribbon but despite this she was kept at the barracks due to her Photosensitivity and was used as a poster girl for the UNSC marines instead. Eventually she would be placed in a sniper team under the control of Sergeant Daniel Lawson and alongside veteran sniper Alyson Willows, corpsman Adam Yan.


 * Mac got her first chance to fight the Covenant in the third battle of Harvest where she killed several Covenant Infantry from the roof of the King’s Multiplanetry Bank. In the closing minutes of the battle Mac was hit by a Nailer Round fired by a Brute Commando and was rescued just in time by Yan. After this incident Mac was hospitalized for a month and was released minutes before the Covenant’s return to Harvest.

Spoiler Alert

 * This information mentions events in both Halo: Twenty Four and Halo: Hostilities that have not been described yet


 * After having a brief medical exam in the Colonial Barracks, Mac set out to rescue the Central Utgard AI Kestrel from Brute forces that were intent on acquiring her to reduce UNSC morale. In the lobby Mac fought off a pack of Brutes before facing the Brute Immortal Oranus in the Governors Office. While Mac won this bought Oranus escaped and Mac put Kestrel in her PDA for safekeeping as she aided her squad in preventing Locusts from undermining the city. After this she went and secured an apartment to act as a base for further operations. Later Mac would uncover smuggling ring ran by elements of the URF who had infiltrated the Colonial Militia.


 * With the aid of Sergeant Lawson, Mac would attempt to aid a Spartan in a skirmish against Oranus but failed due to an energy barrier blocking the entry to the plaza. They would however recover his Spartan Laser from the Brutes and secure his body for ONI pickup. After this Mac would run into an old face in the form of Kane, while he didn’t recognize Mac he did give her the task in hunting Aaron Stark’s daughter. In the end Mac let Roslyn live despite threatening to execute her after an intense head to head with the daughter of the man who had taken so much from her. While moving through the city Mac and Lawson aided the UNSC in rescuing prisoners from the Covenant and clearing a Drone Nest from the underground Cistern. They also teamed up with an ODST named Jack Hannigan and destroyed a Covenant AA Gun but became separated in doing so.


 * Mac eventually met up with Hannigan but were force to his from a patrol led by Oranus. While hiding Hannigan made sexual advances to Mac but Mac felt bad that they hadn’t met up with Lawson and rebuffed his advances. Lawson eventually radioed in that he was held prisoner at a Covenant Staging Post in Neon Street Underground Station. Hannigan and Mac joined forces disguised as URF soldiers and busted several marines as well as Lawson out of the prison and also picked up documents detailing a biological weapons test at New Utgard General Hospital.


 * As the team reached the hospital the Covenant readied the final countdown before the weapon’s release. After a quick sweep of the hospital the weapon was found in the lower levels near the morgue and Mac and Lawson went down to stop the countdown while Hannigan prevented Covenant reinforcements from entering the hospital. Neither team need not have bothered as the weapon was activated and hundreds of Flood Infection Forms escaped from the canisters. After a brief skirmish Lawson called in some Shortsword Bombers to destroy the hospital with the team only just escaping in a Brute Prowler. Upon reaching the safe house it was revealed that the UNSC was surrendering to the Covenant and that they were among the last remaining resistance in the city.


 * Despite Overwhelming odds Mac, Lawson and Hannigan were able to sabotage the Covenant Base that had landed in Memorial Park and prevented the Brutes from tearing down a memorial dedicated to Sergeant Johnson. After some time admiring Lawson from afar Mac eventually asked Lawson about his feelings for her as they attempted to clear a mine field on the A77 Highway. Unfortunately Lawson was prevented from answering due to the arrival of Oranus and an Armored Assault Scarab which started to attack the main city centre were some refugees were hiding. Both the Scarab and Oranus were defeated in a collapsed part of the city but Oranus once again escaped as did more flood which had been positioned in the city sewers.


 * Later on the team were loaned a grunt named Flipwiss who helped destroy several Type 81-Gunboats that were stationed in New Utgard Memorial Park. In their travels around the city the small team found the Minister of Fortitude and trapped him in an abandoned church crypt so UNSC forces could pick him up later. Soon after the UNSC arrived with reinforcements and Mac used a Mass Driver Canon to help defeat the Covenant Fleet and the Mac Platform Octavian which had been captured by the Covenant.


 * As UNSC and Elite reinforcements arrived in system Mac and her allies were able to clear out an enemy hanger, defeat a team of elite snipers, reduce the Brute Command Structure to a mere shadow of themselves and secure an LZ for the Pelican Dropships that were about to land in the city. In addition Mac and Lawson shared their feelings for each other while pinned down in a coffee shop. Their romance was short lived as the covenant in a last ditch effort had placed anti matter charges throughout the city to combat the growing swarms of flood that had escaped from the sewers.


 * Mac and her allies headed towards the Ivory Tower Building were the main ONI warehouse was located in an attempt to recover an artifact that might stop the flood. As the battled through the warehouse they were shadowed by Oranus who hopped to activate the same artifact hoping to save his people. As they reached the artifacts location both parties were met by the shell of 2401 Penitent Tangent that had been recovered from Instillation 05. Penitent Tangent explained to both Mac and Oranus that the Sentinals had enough memory to distinguish one species from the flood. As Oranus and Mac began to fight each other Penitent Tangent explained about the workings of Halo eroding Oranus already fragile faith with the fight ending in the Brute’s surrender.

Epilogue

 * After Oranus surrender Mac went to access the Quarantine Procedures she was stopped by a Spartan who had followed them down and threw her back into the chamber with Oranus and her friends. At the same time a Kadangare Inquisitor arrived and both sides began to square off with each other. The Inquisitor ended up stabbing Oranus while the Spartan shot Lawson leaving Mac with a decision.


 * 1 – Defeat Sierra 347 and the Inquisitor before activating Quarantine – Canon Ending


 * 2 – Defeat the Inquisitor before activating Quarantine – Court Martial Ending


 * 3 – Defeat Sierra 347 before activating Quarantine – Misanthropy Ending


 * 4 – Activate Quarantine but don’t defeat anyone – Freezer Ending


 * 5 – Defeat Sierra 347 and the Inquisitor and activate the relic dropped by the Inquisitor instead of Quarantine – Map Ending

Skins

 * Marine Skin – Standard


 * Dress Uniform (Similar to the one worn by Miranda Keyes in Cairo Station) – Canon Ending


 * Car Thief Clothes (Black Tank Top and Jeans with hair worn long) – Court Martial Ending


 * Wilderness Clothes (NUPD Armour and Visor, Silver Trousers and Biker Gloves) – Misanthropy Ending


 * Radiation Suit (Same as the one worn at the end of Task 10 – Mass Driving Instructor) – Freezer Ending


 * Spartan Armour – Map Ending

Spoilers End Here

Decoration

 * The medals received by Mac for her services to the UNSC are listed in order they were awarded in..


 * Golden Star – Left in Long’s will although it was never found


 * Basic Specialist Training Honour Graduate Ribbon – Awarded for completing her training and assassinating the Butcher of Sanghelios


 * Purple Heart – Awarded for receiving three injuries in combat (Canon Ending)


 * Red Legion of Honour – Awarded for actions in the Ivory Tower Building (Canon Ending)

In Service with the UNSC

 * A list of Mac’s injuries after joining the UNSC that allowed her to be awarded the Purple Heart (Canon Ending Only)


 * Shallow cut to the throat in the tombs of Harvest from an Energy Garotte received from the Butcher of Sanghelios


 * Nailer Round to the Chest received in the third battle of Harvest from a Brute Commando


 * Broken Arm received from Spartan 347 in the Ivory Tower Building when trying to activate the Quarantine

Mental Status

 * Due to the childhood trauma she received Mac was given extensive psychological tests to determine her mental stability. It was discovered that these events had left a deep fear of abandonment as well as a general distrust of people. By the times she joined the UNSC this feeling had reduced due in part to her relationship with Long before his death. Due to this Mac has remarkable respect for her senior officers especially those that had fought against the URF.


 * Another worry of the UNSC was the misanthropy she seemed to show when she entered the academy. This fear evaporated as she applied herself and she even mingled with the other trainees in their down time. In the field especially when sniping Mac goes silent and it is rumoured that after training she would talk to her dead mentor before joining her fellow recruits in the mess hall.

Preferred Weaponry and Equipment

 * Sniper Rifle 99D-S2 – Due to her specialist training Mac often used this weapon when out in the field. Her training rifle broke after she shot the Butcher of Sanghelios in the tombs of Harvest. Her second rifle was dropped in the Ivory Tower when she broke her arm.


 * M6D Magnum Sidearm – Mac carried this pistol and even used it to wound Oranus as he attempted to kill Lawson although it has minimal effect on the Brute.


 * Z47-19 Hunting Rifle – Mac used this weapon with her training with Long on Paciffica


 * Frag Grenades – Mac planted her grenade belt in a Scarab’s power core to slow it’s progress into the centre of New Utgard.


 * Standerd UNSC Combat Knife - Mac's knife nicknamed Angie, apparently after a past lover, was used to kill the Butcher of Sanghelios

Difficult or High Ranking Kills

 * Butcher of Sanghelios - Mac ambushed the Elite in the ruins on Harvest and was able to sink a round into his skull. Thanks to a previous wound obtained on Instillation 04 the Butcher was just concussed. When Mac went down to check the body for kill confermation the Butcher rose and almost killed her. It was only a lucky stab with her combat knife into the brain that saved Mac from decapitation by the Butcher's energy garotte.


 * Oranus - While not listed as a kill, Mac fought the Brute four times and had the skill and luck to remain alive and get the upperhand. Mac eventually defeated Oranus in the basement of the Ivory Tower Building where he was later killed by the Kadangare Inquisitor.


 * Armored Assault Scarab - With the help of the rest of her allies Mac was able to bord the Scarab and defeat the crew which included Oranus and an elite team of Brute Commandos. using her grenade belt Mac was able to seperate the Scarasb in two and later destroyed the front end with a Scorpion Tank before it reached the centre of New Utgard


 * Drinol - Brute Hussars deployed a Drinol Beast in front of the Mass Driver Canon in New Utgard. Mac used a Spartan Laser to blind the creature with relative ease and then felled it using the cannons of a Brute Chopper.

Mac Quotes

 * “Dam not again!” when hit by a Nailer projectile in Halo: Hostilities


 * “This place is not a museum it’s a tomb. Look at all the dead soldiers and covenant they are all facing the same way. There’s something down here with us.” Upon entering the first basement section of the Ivory Tower


 * "Just like riding a bicycle." when you board a Civillian Vehicle. This is a refrance to Mac's criminal past.


 * “I would have been your daddy? Who talks like that?” When you find the IWHBYD Skull


 * “Talk about a romantic date. We had coffee while fighting off a whole pack of Bravo Kilos” After her first date with Sergeant Lawson


 * “If it wasn't for the Corpsman in our squad removing the nail I wouldn't be here today. They are the real heroes of this story." Talking to a Radio DJ while hospitalized


 * “Where do we find enough gas to keep him alive. I know that the three of us can’t produce that much Methane right” Conversation with Hannigan about Flipwiss

Trivia

 * Mac’s appearance is based loosely on the actress Alyson Hannigan


 * The type of Photosensitivity Mac has in Solar urticaria which is triggered by genetic photoallergens


 * Completing the game on Legendary with the Spartan Skin activates 1/7th of the Secret Achievement