Merlin-D032

Merlin-D032 is an SPARTAN-III commando of the breakaway Beta-5 Division project, referred to as the DELTA Initiative. The Initiative sought to establish a fourth company-size force of SPARTAN-IIIs, called Delta Company. Merlin, among the Delta Spartans, was a member of the frontline Spartan unit called Team Boson. First recruited in 2553, Merlin would not graduate from the SPARTAN-III program till 2557, four years following the Human-Covenant War.

During his tenure as a Delta Company Spartan, Merlin would serve as Team Boson's executive commander in the field. Merlin specialized in intelligence-gathering, land navigation, and proficient marksmanship that pushed him into the niche as his team's scout and team spotter. While he would spend much of his early life as a Spartan, his post-UNSC life would be his most defining and his most prolific as a mostly unaffiliated agent. In the years following his desertion from the UNSC, the Office of Naval Intelligence spent much time seeking out the scarce sightings of Merlin-D032, having realized his continued knowledge of his former teammates' whereabouts.

Biography
"Orphaned child of ONI officers; a real shame, the loss of his parents. He's a real catch. Originally overlooked due to proximity to the Office, within a few years, he disappeared into the paperwork. On first introductions, he proved highly perceptive, quickly identifying the recruitment team's intentions. He has a protective side, one that can be directed to other Spartans, if he can learn to trust them. He has an empathetic trait that makes him a bit of a people person, though a little introverted. He also has a strong physical memory. He definitely shows potential for the Company."

- Remarks about Merlin-D032. Circa. 2552.

Early Childhood
"Do I remember the faces of my parents? Hardly. They died a long time ago - in a faraway place."

- Merlin-D032 being asked about his parents by Andra-D054.

Born on the world of Ballast on the 23rd of October, 2545 - Merlin L. Boyd entered the universe late into the Human-Covenant War. His parents were Cedric Ljang and Rebecka Boyd. Cedric Ljang was a Chinese-native of Ballast and an employed security consultant for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Previously a Master-at-Arms aboard a UNSC frigate, Merlin's father retired from the Navy early in his career to chase a career with ONI. He worked as a junior officer aboard ONI Prowlers. Rebecka Boyd was a Russian-American immigrant from Earth who took up residence on Ballast while under the employment of ONI's Section II, Department of Public Relations.

Growing up on Ballast, Merlin grew up in the spacious suburbs of the Crimson Bay district in the city of Vallejo. Being of an upper-middle class upbringing on a prosperous Inner Colony meant that Merlin did not see much of the military lifestyle his family lead and the frontlines of the war were still far away from home. However, with the constant threat of the Covenant posed to Mankind every day and the constantly increasing threat of invasion to colony worlds close to the frontlines, the Boyd toddler did not see his parents often. His mother would often spend months at a time away from home on the distant world of Paris IV related to her work with ONI Section II. Hoping to keep their child from the front, the Boyd family established their home closer to Earth at the cost of longer times away from their child. In 2549, during a deployment to Paris IV - the Covenant attacked the colony world - glassing its surface. Rebecka Boyd was incapacitated in battle by Covenant forces invading her facility. She died with a firearm in her hand, hoping to buy time for her colleagues to escape the facility. Not knowing of the passing of his wife, two months later, Cedric Ljang would die in orbit over the colony world of Arcadia which the Covenant were in the process of glassing. This was the second time the colony had been attacked by aliens but this time, the UNSC Navy was obliterated completely. The Prowler Ljang had been aboard, the UNSC Black Widow, was detected by Covenant warships and systematically hunted down. It would not be till early 2550 that Merlin was informed of his parents' death and moved into foster care.

The transition was not difficult for Merlin, being used to his parents' long disappearances but the permanent loss came as a surprise and a difficult acceptance. Only a few years old, Merlin had yet to develop a fully functioning memory and by the time he came of age that he could walk and talk on his own accord - he had lost any memory from his fundamental years. He would go on through life, not remembering the last time he saw his parents' faces. The emotional loss for him would not be as harsh to compared to the other children he would come in contact with later in his life, both at the foster home and following his Spartan induction.

Spartan Induction
"Have you heard of the Spartans?"

- Question used during the DELTA Initiative interviewing process.

At some point in 2552, Merlin was approached by a young couple on the concern of possible adoption. They had all the right paperwork and they were of middle age - respectable enough, however, there was something off about them. The same kind of problem that Merlin had learned to associate much with the employees of ONI when they came to visit him following the deaths of his parents. They were too perfect, too clean. They were too normal. Upon meeting with the couple for an interview, he found his hunch to be correct. They were in fact, recruiters for the Office of Naval Intelligence. They offered him sympathy for his parents' deaths and some meaningless banter before getting into what the kid could only describe as a job interview; the individuals questioned him about his daily life, his medical history, his basic thoughts and asked him comprehension questions that often blew his mind until they fed him enough clues that he understood their meanings.

The entirety of the meeting was a test, a private comprehension review on whether he would be a potential recruit for the Spartan-III program which was still deep in its Gamma Company phase. The recruiters asked Merlin if he considered himself a willing candidate to be a Spartan supersoldier. After a bit of thought, the toddler replied with his affirmation and the rest was history. The recruiters promised they would be back to check on him and that at some point in the next few weeks. A few weeks passed and ONI personnel arrived in the dead of night, removing him from the foster home and taking him away from his home world. A month later, the planet was attacked by Covenant forces - though UNSC forces would hold their ground. Ballast would hold out against the alien invasion force, becoming one of Humanity's first overall victories against the Covenant as they marched their way into the Inner Colonies. Merlin would not be informed about the attack until months after his abduction.

Aboard the freighter UNSC Give Me More, Merlin would arrive as Merlin-D032 on Argus V, one of the first inductees to the DELTA Initiative.

Spartan Evaluation
PETTY OFFICER SECOND CLASS D032
 * FULL NAME: BOYD, MERLIN
 * SERVICE #: D032
 * UNIT: NAVSPECWAR/SPARTAN-III DELTA COMPANY/TEAM BOSON
 * ENLISTMENT DATE: CLASSIFIED
 * LOCATION: UNKNOWN
 * STATUS: ACTIVE
 * GENDER: M
 * BIRTPLACE: VALLEJO, BALLAST
 * BIRTH DATE: 10/23/2545

Boot Camp Beginnings
"What is this, Lord of the Flies?"

- UNSC Marine quote on the behavioral problems exhibited by recruited orphans.

Arriving on the world of Argus V, Merlin was introduced to his new home in military service to the UNSC. A part of the first batch of Delta Company inductees to arrive on the colony world, there were only fifty or so children inhabiting the training facility known as Camp Ambrose in early 2553.

When the first trainees arrived on Argus V, the facilities were still under construction and proper staff had yet to be fully acquired. The Camp Ambrose complex was an impressive facility guarded by high security walls on all sides and filled with a number of structures reminiscient of the facilities used to train previous generations of Spartans on Reach and Onyx. Beyond the walls of the cap, Argus V featured a vast forest stretching for miles.



Keeping to the quieter crowd among the children, Merlin began his first few days at Camp Ambrose in close proximity of one Andra-D054, another early pick for Delta Company.

Andra-D054 was an anomaly among the first batch of children acquired for Delta Company. At least to the children, she seemed strange - most chose to overlook and ignore the shy girl after several failed attempts to converse with her. In fact, from even the beginning of her arrival - she was seen by the DIs at Camp Ambrose as a early dropout. The loss of her parents in 2551 was still a fresh and sore memory for her and it hampered her performance as a Spartan recruit early on.

It was to much surprise and intrigue that Merlin-D032 decided to thoroughly engage her presence, even when the children from her own temporary residence would not.

Their first interaction took place during the first few days of indoctrination training - hiding off to the side during the little time the children got to themselves, Andra hid in the shade of the big wall at the edge of the camp complex.

Much to the intrigue of some of the adults watching frim afar, Merlin prodded Andra's silent defenses cautiously. He asked her basic questions, usually getting a sideways glance or silence in response. Merlin talked a little about himself and explored meaningless banter such as the little they had learned so far about the legends of Spartans, and the appearance of Camp Ambrose, and how mean the trainers got.

When Merlin got onto the subject of parents, he managed to strike a nerve but not in a way ONI interviewers and the psyche specialists had previously done. Unlike the adults both kids had met during their induction into the SPARTAN-III Program, both had lost their parents to the war and that connection with just the right beat had created an empathetic connection between the two children.

Andra's first question to Merlin who she saw as a harrasser at first was, "Do you remember your parents?"

That question caught Merlin offguard and his response immiediately put him on bad terms with Andra who dismissed him as not being able to understand her loss. Instead of walking away from what was turning into a heated argument, Merlin went after the girl's emotions and what he would later call one of his stupidest moments. He dismissed the girl's sadness as inconsequential since every child at the camp was an orphan in some capacity. The statement triggered a violent response and Andra threw herself at Merlin in an attempt to awkwardly strangle him.

While both were strong for children, growing up in military families and developing violent tendencies without parental figures, Merlin was a faster thinker and in the tussle where the two tossled through the dirt, he managed to pin his attacker in a bear hug. While concerns were made about the clear behavioral breach by the recruits, insighting violence in the first few days, the few watching DIs and psyche inspectors on station were impressed by the standoff. Merlin had managed to unlock the defensive and violent nature of his fellow Spartan and had indirectly helped in improving the trainers' prospects that the girl could make it as Spartan.

The two children were left to vent on their own till the next activity minutes later. Merlin allowed the girl to cry into his shirt following their brief brawl which ended with them developing a friendly acquaitancy. While he would be grilled for starting a tussle and ruining their clothes by the DIs, Merlin made his first friend in Delta Company and got involved in his first confrontation with another Spartan recruit; it would become the first of many.



Merlin would spend some of his time early in his time at Camp Ambrose dedicated to improving his often tense friendship with Andra-D054 but often was more busy being funneled through the indoctrination process of Delta Company.

Medical tests. Basic educational curriculum. Military-style stress exersises that the trainers referred to as "chores." Cryogenic sleep familiarization. While physical conditioning had yet ti set in, the mental training and stress testing had already begun. Merlin was noted as one of slower learners in the Company, taking to ideas slower than his peers. While he would improve with time, he never escaped the wrath of the trainers. His slow adaptation would help build his reputation as a weakling in the Company early and incite a number of the more aggressive recruits to pick on Merlin-D032, during induction and the boot camp experience that followed.

At Childhood's End
When the final recruits arrived on Argus V, the atmosphere and the lifestyle the recruits had become used to - though not accustomed over the few months, suddenly changed. For many, seemingly for the worse.

Boot Camp was in. Playing soldier was on its way out. Where the mental conditioning had helped improve the discipline and mindset of the new Spartan trainees, it did nothing to prepare them for the hardship that would be their boot camp phase - a struggle that would see them pushed beyond their limits and come to the edge of death and some went as far to embrace it. They were not to be children anymore, but soldiers-in-training. Toddlers or not.

Merlin among them turned out to be one of the trainees to show cracks early. Drill instructors quickly learned to assosiate weakness and dissastifaction with this specific recruit. D032 would become infamous for performing at barely passing during the early days of boot camp and he recieved his personal hell for it. His personality was a big factor in his early signs of insubordination and inadequacy. Unlike a lot of the children who had grown emotionally strong from the loss of their parents - becoming confident and self-reliant, Merlin stuck out as a different kind of individual. His early individual tests suggested poor capabilities but it was quickly identified as poor self-confidence and a lack of motivation.

He was an emotional snowflake to the DIs who had little patience for children who worried too much and spent most of their time thinking, rather than doing. During physical conditioning, Merlin performed just enough to pass but not enough to escape the ire of his trainers. He collapsed earlier during the marches and sought help where it was not to be given. Before team lineups were made, Merlin performed terribly. Close to the bottom of his class - the best way anyone could make it, Spartan D032 wasn't in his element.

However, what did stand out was his capabilities which suggested his possibilities. Above average marksmanship during initial firearms familiarity training. Decent performance during short physical tests like close quarters classes or during the first obstacle course tests. When partnered up with other trainees, he had a tendency to make sure that his group at least passed - though winning was another story. He set a precedence as being decent enough that he could be a team player enough to see a job or mission through.

Merlin-D032 wasn't a terrible trainee - his weakness was his own mind, both his greatest strength and greatest weakness. He was more a thinker than a fighter and that stood out in the months that followed the beginning of boot camp. His teamwork with the same girl he fought during the early days of training, Andra-D054 were among of his best performances, suggesting a need for familiarity and some level of trust for him to succeed. This kind of weakness, was decidingly positive for the trainers. It was a weakness they could mold and a character aspect they sought. Merlin-D032 was not an ideal Spartan, but he was an ideal team player.

"Welcome to your future. Welcome to Delta Company, Spartans."

- Propaganda film tagline designed to introduce Delta Company trainees to their trainers and their goal.

On the first day of the boot camp phase, the Delta Company trainees were herded into the Camp Ambrose facility mess hall - there they were introduced, properly, to the training staff. Spartans, former military personnel, AIs, ONI observers, and civilian advisors. Among them stood out the actual Spartans, Kyle-B115 of SPARTAN-III Beta Company and Ren-172 of the SPARTAN-II Program, Class II. While the trainees would not become familiar with all the staff and project leads, they would become greatly familiar with these Spartans. Ren-172 would be be notoriously early as his position as lead trainer made him instantly hated - that didn't mean he wouldn't grow on the Delta Company trainees with time, it just meant it took a long while.

Following the meeting, the initiation began. Since the induction of Alpha Company, every SPARTAN-III company had been introduced with a hellish opening night. Herded aboard the UNSC Give Me More, the freighter that had brought the children to this mostly uncivilized world, the children were ordered to put on parafoils and given an impromptu lesson in how to use the airborne equipment - Merlin failed to pick up half of the information as the real lesson dawned on him what they were doing. They were being ordered to jump and being provided their first barbaric lesson in survival, sink-or-float.

Like the age old tale, when a birdling got old enough to fly, the mother pushed them out of the nest and off the tree. It was up to the grown bird to either fly and survive, or fall and die. Merlin saw this coming and it petrified him with fear. He wasn't ready for this, nothing could have prepared him but the belief that he was incapable made him want to run away - to not jump out into the dark night. He knew the odds of survival were slim, at least in theory - most people would not be sane enough to do this.

Children started to jump, several kilometers up and in the dark - without a technological assist and no concept of up or down once out there. No one could see the ground. Merlin hesitated on his turn but jumped when the frantic children smashed into each other and pushed him off the freighter, several other children were forced off at the same time with him. He fell and he reacted, relying solely on instinct - he managed to survive the fall, not breaking anything but bruising his knees pretty bad on the impact. While not life-threatening his injuries would limit him somewhat early into the training phase - mostly during the runs. Assisted by some homeostatis boosters provided by the medical staff - he pushed through.

Upon recovery, he was congratulated by his trainers but he felt no pride. This was his life now and he was not ready for it. On later recollection, Spartan D032 noted that he felt nothing and said little for the rest of the night. The terror had only brought reality crashing down on his shoulders. He was a Spartan now, but not yet. He had a long road ahead, just like all the other orphans in Delta Company.

Merlin didn't know who shoved him off the freighter when he glided out into the night but whoever did - he considered to be "a real asshole."

The breakfast next morning, Merlin was introduced, fully, to the hiearchy of Delta Company. The Spartan trainees that proved to produce impressive scores and remained on the good side of the trainers tended to become the impromptu leaders of the company, setting the example and taking charge of everyone. Hector-D105 was one such early start out, one of the older and faster recruits - he had a tendency to be more confident and more agressive than the other recruits and had the ability to back it up too.



Hector-D105 was something of an oddball case. He had the makings of a bully but maintained some sort of personal honor, picking on weak links but picking on the trainees that were old enough to handle it. To Merlin's best judgment, it seemed Hector was trying to act as a sheperd for the company. Set an example for the young ones to follow, take care of the trainees in his age group that did well and isolated the ones that performed poorly and showed weakness. He was fully invested in the Spartans and it seemed to make him want the best for the company - picking out children that were likely to get weeded out was his own way of strengthing Delta Company as a whole.

Hector and Merlin would clash often in the future, though, they would come to some sort of understanding later on. Hector was a survivalist-oriented guy and had taken the concept of a wolf pack to heart. He would tell Merlin later during one of their tussles, "only the strongest survive." Hector was to become the second-in-command for Team Photon, Team Boson's sister unit. The two Spartans who shared similar roles would often be at odds to one another, even as they shared a room together and lived like a family between the two teams.

Within the weeks of introduction of boot camp, the Delta Company trainees were given their first team lineups. Merlin-D032 was assigned to Team Boson, his future family.