Samuel-B256 (TPF)

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"A Headhunter who refused to quit and survived the Human-Covenant War. One of the special cases within the Headhunter program due to his ability to come back from each mission. Probably faced death a handful of times and the Reaper was too scared to take him."

- Samuel's quick overview in his profile.

Samuel-B256 is a Paramilitary Operations Operator that works for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Conscripted into Beta Company, Samuel became a that launched operations for the  against  and.

Leading Team Specter throughout the, Samuel and his partner, Mathilda-B079, conducted a variety of operations. Samuel concluded to be one of the few Headhunters that survived to the end of the Human-Covenant War. By the end of The War, Samuel and Team Specter were recruited into the Asymmetrical Action Group where they continued to launch operations in support of ONI at the start of the.

Throughout the Post-War Era, Samuel continued to hunt with a focus on the. By, Samuel became an extremely dependable leader that the Asymmetrical Action Group could depend on. As the leader of the newly formed Team Quantum, Samuel deploys throughout the against the  and its.

Early Life
Born Samuel Jurek Gwozdz on May 17th, 2532, Juri and Odeta Gwozdz welcomed their first son into their lives. Raised in the city of Nowy Korfantów, Samuel grew up in a wealthy agricultural community that was pioneered by the Government of Poland back on Earth. Juri Gwozdz was a vintner who was able to sell wine across the galaxy to clients while Odeta spent her time as a Sommelier for the business that her husband ran. While remaining extremely rich and ready to have a lavish lifestyle, Samuel grew up in a much different environment compared to the others around him. Sheltered from the galaxy, the young Gwozdz grew up within the small community creating his ambitions as well as ideas he was able to pair together. Nowy Korfantów was an extremely secluded area of New Harmony, but the Gwozdz were determined to raise their only son to inherit the business that the parents owned. Known to be a utopia by the residents outside, Samuel was bound to grow up in a world that he was not going to recognize for quite some time.

Early on in Samuel's life, he remained shy of others and found comfort in his mother due to her being around more. Taught to be compassionate and caring, Samuel worked on developing his skills with the house staff that was paid to live on the plantation. The endless fountain of love that Samuel's parents regularly gave became one of the many reasons that he felt safe with them anywhere they went in the world. As Odeta took her son out to the market or stores, she found Samuel being extremely shy of the other children in the city. By the time Samuel was four years of age, he had begun his education. Being picked up by his father, Juri noticed Samuel was more quiet than usual and got a call from the school's administration that Samuel was being picked on. Samuel was scared to talk to his parents due to the bullying he was experiencing at school. Once hearing what their son had endured, both parents planned to move to another school until one girl from his class showed up that night. "I remember Kalina well. She was my first friend, the one who always had an open hand and not a closed fist. She was the sister I did not have, the friend I needed the most."

- Samuel remembering his first friend, Kalina.

Kalina, a resident from one of the plantations, arrived and went to talk with Samuel. At first, Samuel was hostile towards Kalina and cited that he was not going to trust her since she did not stick up for him. She took his words and acted upon them the next day when she attacked the most massive bully of the group with swift kicks to the shin. Samuel found that Kalina was someone he was willing to trust and began to develop a form of friendship with the girl who left his bully hollering in pain. As the years progressed, Kalina and Samuel became nearly inseparable. Often, they were found at one another houses, always trying to find a way to talk with one another during class. They stayed in touch even if they were many kilometers apart. Samuel felt extremely safe and secure with Kalina, often sharing his thoughts and ideas that he held close to his heart. Respecting the law of reciprocity, Kalina shared ideas and beliefs she held tight to him that Samuel paid extra attention to during their discussions. "I cherished the days when I woke up to the sound of my mother's singing voice and the laughter of my father filling the room. Kalina is the one person I fully trusted and cared for, protected her from the other boys that would come to pick on her. But then they came and everything changed."

- Samuel reflecting on his life before everything changed.

An Outer Colony conflict known as the Human-Covenant War was slowly making its way towards the Inner Colonies. By 2537, the New Harmony Defense Force grew in strength, and the fear of an attack by the enemy was not on the minds of many that lived in Nowy Korfantów. On a warm day, the Covenant attacked the colony, and the Battle of New Harmony was underway. Samuel's hometown was ground zero for the Covenant Empire, and the enemies made their ways onto the plantations that belonged to the wealthy citizens. Samuel was pulled away by a servant who was ordered by Odeta to take her son to a shelter and wait for them to get their little boy. Crying for his parents to come with him, Samuel tried to pry himself away from the grasp of the servant and get back to his mother. When a Covenant drop pod slammed into the ground, a Sangheili emerged and killed the servant before looking down at Samuel. The nightmare that the creature was, Samuel screamed in fear till he heard a shotgun blast from behind and turned to see his father cock the shotgun again. Keeping his focus on father, Samuel remained frozen as he watched Odeta run towards him then get shot. Juri fell quickly after, and Samuel huddled up into a small spot crying after watching his parents die before his eyes.

Not long after, Samuel heard another drop pod slam into the ground, a UNSC (SOEIV), and an  (ODST) emerged with a desire to kill. Hearing a Slavic accent, Samuel turned his head to see an ODST staring down at him, which forced Samuel to try and crawl away from the scary helmet. The ODST picked up Samuel and started to carry him away, but struggled when the young boy turned into a vicious ball of hate for being dragged away from the bodies of his parents. Being sat down, Samuel watched as the ODST removed his helmet, and he noticed that the man was not a creature that killed his parents. Only able to speak Polish, Samuel asked about if his family and friend were alive, he received no response. Picked up by a transport shuttle, Samuel was taken away from the battlefield and taken to a new location where he was hopefully going to find where his friend was. Arriving at an orphanage, Samuel lost his parents and the one friend he always kept close to his heart.

Admitted to an orphanage in Tyumen, New Harmony, Samuel became one of the million orphans that were brought in after the Battle of New Harmony. Samuel found himself in a world of sickness and strange children, which led him to be even more afraid of the situation. He often cried for his parents, hoping that their death was fake and also tried to find his close friend Kalina. Doctors tried to administer Samuel aid but failed when he attacked them as he threw punches and kicks. At one point, he stole a key off a guard and made a run for the exit but stopped by much bigger guards. Despite many failures, Samuel refused to quit and used his frustration to break out of the orphanage. Other children knew Samuel as a mean child from a Polish city that was doing everything to get what he wanted. Samuel saw himself as someone trying to get back to his family and friend.

Two Office of Naval Intelligence recruiters posed as a couple looking to adopt spotted Samuel by his last name and the work that his father did as a successful vintner. Deciding to take a chance to learn more about the child of Juri Gwozdz, the couple learned about Samuel being a royal pain in the ass due to his relentless efforts to break out. One officer went with an administrative manager to learn about all the ways Samuel tried to break out as the other sat with him. The officer with Samuel saw the hate in his eyes, the look as if he just saw the darkness of death come right at his doorstep. The glassy stare told the officer that Samuel saw the Covenant and the horrors they brought. An offer was put down for Samuel, to join an exclusive group of children who were going to get revenge on the Covenant. As the other officer returned, Samuel nodded at both of the officers and wanted to go with them. Samuel did not care where he was going; he only cared about getting revenge against the enemy that took everything from him in a flash of light. Not long after meeting, the couple adopted Samuel and then erased every single record of him. Samuel Jurek Gwozdz no longer existed, he disappeared from every database and transported to a new location where he began training.

Conscription and Training
Upon Samuel's arrival to in, he was quickly stripped of his name and given the phonetic identification as well as SPARTAN tag, Sierra-B256. Samuel decided to accept the name change and SPARTAN tag he received. On the first night for Beta Company training at, Samuel was forced to conduct a static airborne parachute jump which became his first test if he was SPARTAN material. Scared at first, Samuel quickly changed his mind and jumped in the hope that he was going to get back down to the ground and go to sleep. Passing the first of many tests, Samuel later met the drill instructors and the famous leader known as. The SPARTAN Indoctrination kicked off, and Samuel was thrown hard into the brutal training he underwent. Falling back into his old habits, Samuel stuck to himself and did everything he needed to make it to the next day then the next. Candidates dropped out, gave up, or quit throughout the early year of training, but Samuel hung in and kept fighting with a desire never to quit. Passing SPARTAN Indoctrination, Samuel pushed onto the next phase where he began his education as a SPARTAN.

Enrolled in academic classes, Samuel kicked off with an English Language Course which helped him understand the English language and how to speak it fluently. Enrolled in numerous classes such as Mathematics, Science, History, and English, he struggled with his ability to comprehend what the right answers were. Meeting Mathilda-B079 during a math class, Samuel found her snickering at one of his answers, and the two proceeded to fight. As a punishment for fighting, the two were forced to spend a week together due to their infractions. Despite their abilities to hide infractions, they formed an odd friendship due to their ability to hide things from the officers looking over them. Samuel came up with the ideas, while Mathilda found a way to disclose them from the eyes of the instructors. Throughout 2538 to about, the two showcased their ability to cheat on tests together using a code that no one else was able to decrypt. Samuel felt no guilt as he cheated due to the idea that he was able to win. It showcased his desire always to find a way to win, no matter the circumstances he was placed under at any time. Unfortunately,, the smart artificial intelligence was able to log the attempt as the fourth time he was able to detect the two cheating. Reprimanded for their behavior, it did not stop Samuel from creating new ways and ideas on how to get past the AI that continued to detect him and Mathilda. Eventually, the two graduated from their required academic classes and began to progress forward in their training.

rolled around, and Samuel was able to find someone he was able to trust. Quickly after spending a little downtime, Samuel and Mathilda were assigned to Team Tango where the two met and. At first, the four were at each other's necks about issues that failed to be executed during their Team Building Classes (TBC). The blame shifted around from the two groups within Team Tango, which led to a fight between Mathilda and Jonah at one point. Samuel was able to pull Mathilda off of Jonah but heard him snap a rude comment at her which resulted in Samuel and Mathilda getting in a fight with Roland and Jonah. SPARTAN Training Instructors broke up the fight, and the Office of Naval Intelligence monitored the four personnel fireteam as well as the fight. Wanting to defend his friend, Samuel felt it was right for him to attack Jonah then Roland after the two shared crude exchanges. Roland was named the Team Leader of Team Tango in, which led to protests from Samuel and Mathilda. The duo began to use teamwork, communication, and trust as a means to push through the brutal training together. During Team Tango's first assigned training mission, all members of the team were able to pass with exceptional numbers successfully. Many were impressed since nearly all other teams had failed their attempts to try and win. Enrolled in another, all members of Team Tango passed again and did it not as a cooperating fireteam. The Office of Naval Intelligence took an interest in Team Tango and the members of the team.

In, Samuel was selected to undergo a two-week assessment and selection course that was going to determine where he was going to serve as a SPARTAN. The evaluation included physical workouts, an academic course, an oral board that was, and a final test that was determined to break each candidate. Pushing through each course, Samuel lost in areas but made up for it in others. Luckily, Samuel was able to do the entire course with Mathilda, which helped him motivate her as well as she did for him. Finding where each other had their expertise, the two began to excel through the assessment and selection. Formerly known as a timid and scared child, Samuel had transformed into a sturdy and well-rounded candidate that did not flinch at any issue that was thrown at him. Taking bite sizes at a massive problem, he was able to showcase his ability to break down subjects to simple tasks. After the two-week course, Samuel was selected for a particular group along with Mathilda. Unsure of what was going to happen next, Samuel was determined to go through whatever was in front of him alongside Mathilda. Pulled aside from team training on an early morning, Samuel and Mathilda were loaded onto an unmarked Pelican and transported to a different location on Onyx where they began their training as Headhunters.

Headhunter Training
Arriving for Headhunter Training, Samuel and Mathilda underwent the desired matchmaking course to ensure if they were a good pairing. Scoring 96.92% in the matchmaking, Samuel, and Mathilda were cleared for their training together in the Headhunter Training. Samuel was more than willing to work alongside Mathilda to accomplish the mission he desired to set out. But over time, he found himself wanting to work with Mathilda due to the chemistry they showcased and becoming one of the elite eight who were bound to receive exclusive training. Enrolled in the Headhunter Operator Training Course, Samuel transformed from a SPARTAN and into a Headhunter who was going to carry out the most dangerous missions. Samuel started to undergo training with Mathilda with a focus on unit cohesion as well as their ability to achieve missions in the field. The two learned that they were to work with one another till their death, which they were happy with since there was no one else they wanted to fight alongside.

Undergoing the Headhunter Operator Training Course, Samuel was trained to become a Team Leader while Mathilda worked on becoming a marksman. Throughout the training, Samuel learned how to infiltrate, assault, gather intelligence, breach, sabotage, conduct psychological warfare, and be a spotter for Mathilda. The Operator Training Course revolved around the team's ability to work together in extremely stressful situations. Taught the Delphi method, both Samuel and Mathilda were able to accomplish the tasks set before them. Samuel found his calling to battle rifles and designated marksman rifles, which made him a well-rounded Headhunter that was able to accomplish any mission. Mathilda found herself teaching Samuel sniper tactics while he taught her demolition techniques. Both wanted to become experts in their fields to ensure that there was not a flaw in the team's ability to execute a mission.

Field Exercises included a variety of mission types that were bound to determine what type of missions Samuel and Mathilda were going to be conducting shortly. Targeted killings, sabotage, interdiction, demolition, and counter-terrorism became the top missions that the two were able to execute. Team chemistry flourished as Samuel and Mathilda continued to work together throughout their field exercises. Coming towards the end of their field exercises, Samuel noticed a change in the intensity of other candidates as well as the higher stakes. Not folding to the pressure poured on, Samuel was able to showcase being a leader that was able to adapt and win even when facing extreme adversities. By 2544, Samuel and Mathilda had passed their supervised field exercises and moved onto the final leg of their training for the Headhunter program.

Real-world wartime insertions were the final tests that Samuel needed to complete alongside Mathilda that ensured he was bound to become a SPARTAN Headhunter for the UNSC. Over six months, Samuel underwent three missions he needed to complete alongside Mathilda where they were going to earn their spot. Demolition, Interdiction, and Targeted Killing were the three that they underwent over the course. Passing all three insertions, Samuel and Mathilda were commissioned to be a Headhunter Team for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Ready to deploy against the Covenant Empire, Samuel and Mathilda spent their time going over the various armor colors and configurations of high ranking Covenant officials they needed to hone. Upon graduating from Headhunter Training, Samuel and Mathilda received the designation Cat-3 based on the SPARTAN-III Qualification Achievement Tiers. By July 1st, 2545, Samuel and Mathilda were ready to deploy.

Augmentations
was the augmentation project that gave Samuel his strength and abilities as a SPARTAN. It was known to be an altered version of, the augmentation procedure performed on a previous SPARTAN program. Seeing his chance to live longer and kill more Covenant soldiers, he accepted the augmentation without a second thought and begged for it to work. Beta Company had a perfect rate of augmenting all of their SPARTAN-III soldiers which left little worry for the procedure to fail on Samuel. Leaving on a cloudy day, Samuel prepared for the next step in his career. Arriving on, Samuel was instructed into a room, and after laying down, the procedure began for him.

The project included the following drugs:


 * 8942-LQ99 - "carbide ceramic ossification catalyst" drug.


 * 88005-MX77 - "fibroid muscular protein complex" drug.


 * 88947-OP24 - "retina-inversion stabilizer" drug.


 * 87556-UD61 - "improved colloidal neural disunification solution" drug.

With the rest of his augmentations, Samuel was given a standard. Samuel accepted the interface as another tool he was able to use against the enemy. In 2553, his standard neural interface upgraded to the SPARTAN neural interface before going onto other missions across the Orion Arm.

Team Assignment
Formerly known as Team Tango II, Team Specter became the Headhunter Team name for Petty Officer Third Class Samuel-B256 and Mathilda-B079. Officially called SPARTAN Headhunters, the two became one of the four Headhunter teams that graduated from Beta Company. With high desires to go after Covenant targets that were popping up, there were other plans for Team Specter and Samuel's willingness to go after the Covenant. Team Specter was a team able to do anything to accomplish the mission; nothing seemed out of reach, and, it proved throughout their training. Aboard the, Samuel met his mission handler Lieutenant Stephan Ferguson to be handed a mission and who he was reporting to throughout the Human-Covenant War. Looking down, Samuel was frustrated, along with Mathilda upon seeing who they were going after.

Team Tango-II got a chance to change their name to something different than what it currently was. Samuel settled on the name Team Surgeon while Mathilda rested with Team Specter, the two ultimately decided to wage a chess battle to see who was going to name the team. Mathilda won, and the team name changed to Team Specter, Samuel became Specter 0-1 while Mathilda attained Specter 0-2. Later, the two learned that specter meant ghost, which ironically made for one of the better names they were able to pick from when deciding.

Operation: SILENT SERVANT
was a hotbed for Insurrectionists activity in, multiple factions continued to amass power even after Alpha Company put them down in. The head party, known as the (FLP) was making moves to secure UNSC military hardware in the southern hemisphere. The Office of Naval Intelligence was able to confirm the actions via signals intelligence and needed to deal with the issue at hand before it grew bigger. Samuel-B256 and Mathilda-B079 arrived over Mamore in July of 2545 with intentions of smoking out the Insurrection's plan to gather more UNSC technology and launching an attack against an already struggling. Deployed onto the planet not long after their arrival, Samuel and Mathilda were tasked with conducting sabotage and targeted killing operation to ensure the fallout of the FLP's ability to mount an attack. "An FLP terrorist cell was planning to raid an ONI Black Site prison. Sounds bad when we discovered it and looked worse on paper if they went through."

- Samuel-B256 thinking about the reality of the situation he was in during Operation: SILENT SERVANT

Tracking down an FLP courier, Samuel and Mathilda built up a target profile with codename: Hades as their first target to engage. A former UNSC Navy Intelligence Officer that went rogue and joined the FLP was in charge of a high operation that the Office of Naval Intelligence knew very little about at the time. Once finding Hades, Mathilda recommended that they assassinate the target then and let the UNSC deal with the rest, but met with protests. Agreeing to stay on the target for a longer duration, Team Specter was able to learn the true nature of what the FLP planned to do and how they were going to stun the UNSC's work on Mamore. An ONI Black Site prison was found housing valuable prisoners that had yet to be transported off the planet, and the FLP was planning to assault the compound to free their friends. Samuel was ordered to conduct a targeted killing against Hades, and he planned to execute that aspect of the operation.

Tracking Hades across the terrain, Samuel was able to gather information about a training camp, factories forging UNSC uniforms and, another training pilots how to handle a Pelican. Gathering intelligence on the area, Samuel was able to pick two critical spots for terrain denial that were going to slow down the FLP's chance to launch a successful attack against ONI. Mathilda continued to build a target profile on what Hades did and when was the right time to engage the high-value target. Along with figuring out Hades, Mathilda needed to ensure that the plan did not spread across other leaders in case one were to go down. Samuel infiltrated the office of Hades to gather any information and learned about when the attack was planned to take place. Mathilda learned that the Insurrectionists were training in UNSC Armed Forces uniforms, which meant that the enemy was planning to infiltrate the area. Samuel concluded that Specter needed to take out the terrorist cell before the attack was bound to be launched.

In the early months of, Samuel infiltrated the training camp where he placed to ensure a successful detonation of buildings around the area. Mathilda provided close-target support while watching Samuel and guided him to an office where he was able to engage a leader that handled the logistics of the terrorist cell. Preparing the ambush, Samuel remained close by while Mathilda was tasked with taking out Hades. With the Pelican arriving at dawn, Samuel detonated the charges as soon as the transport shuttle shut off its engines. Mathilda watched as Hades fled amid the chaos and engaged him while Samuel used the smoke and fires as a means to cover his tracks as he engaged the terrorist cell that was ambushed by the Headhunters. Hades was confirmed killed by Mathilda while Samuel cleaned up the stragglers that were still disoriented by the explosion.

Picked up by a Prowler, Samuel and Mathilda were able to execute a textbook demolition and targeted killing against Insurrectionists. As a result of Operation: SILENT SERVANT, the Black Site prison was able to quickly shut down and transport all of the enemies that were housed within. Once boarding the, Samuel gave a full report on what had happened to his handler. Undergoing a psychological evaluation, Samuel showcased that he was excited after completing his first mission, even if it was an Insurrectionsts target. Called upon for another mission, Samuel deployed with Mathilda in a. Along the way, Samuel was able to read more on what his next operation and mission were bound to be.

Operation: RIGHTFUL DAWN
An ONI survey team was able to learn more about after  upon in the early 26th century. Ever since the breakout of the Human-Covenant War, ONI had hidden numerous assets across the planet to keep the Insurrectionists in check along with the system being a back-up plan. By late 2456, an Insurrectionists group was known as the (URF) began to slowly grow in size. Team Specter's handler took the initiative to hand the mission off to the two Headhunters under his command to ensure the back-up plan was viable in the future. Samuel was ordered to support Operation: RIGHTFUL DAWN which focused on special reconnaissance and interdiction to ensure the Insurrectionists did not spoil the plans that ONI had in place.

Setting down onto the colony in 2546, Samuel began with gathering as much information about the Hole in the Wall along with the significant players who ran the settlement. The URF were the ones who ran almost every major group within the walls, making it easy for Samuel to generalize who he needed to go after. Setting up a reconnaissance nest, Samuel and Mathilda built up a network of people who worked for the URF and how important they posed for the success of the terrorist group. Infiltration and human intelligence gathering became another way that Samuel was able to add more information to the file he was composing for the UNSC. With the top leader identified, Samuel and Mathilda prepared for another targeted killing despite being told that they were only doing special reconnaissance and interdiction.

The leader of the URF within the Hole in the Wall was meeting with family while Samuel and Mathilda were prepared to take a kill shot. ONI did not fully disclose to Samuel why he was specifically tasked with no direct action missions, but it had to be a reason. The two cataloged what the leader did then moved to conduct interdiction once the area became vacant. Moving back to main roads, Samuel laid out and  to prevent the enemies from getting too close to what ONI had hidden on the planet. Samuel also placed down better sensors which were closer to the settlement to ensure ONI was able to gather much more data as well. By, Samuel and Mathilda were able to keep the URF at bay as well as prevent other groups from stumbling upon technology they were not supposed to see.

Identifying a communications center that was able to send and receive interstellar messages, Samuel identified the center as a critical asset that the URF had. Moving towards the communication center, Mathilda engaged guard towers using thunder as the cover for her shots as Samuel took down roaming patrols that he needed to execute. Once inside, Samuel gathered as much information off the center and allowed ONI within the system to gather as much information as they desired. Pushing out of the area, Mathilda saw that a URF guard spotted a dead body and the area went on alert. Using, Samuel improvised a diversion by blowing up a fuel tanker and escaped while the URF sought out an investigation on what happened to the fuel tanker. One day later, Samuel and Mathilda were informed they had completed their mission and extracted from Cassidy-III. "It was a simple interdiction and special recce op! Not a damn torch and blow op!"

- Lieutenant Ferguson voicing his frustration after Operation: RIGHTFUL DAWN.

Aboard the, Lieutenant Ferguson was not pleased to hear that Samuel and Mathilda nearly conducted a targeted killing against the URF along with blowing up a fuel tanker. Samuel dismissed the criticism from his handler since Ferguson was not on the ground alongside him, but he took what he was able to and left the rest. With another textbook operation mixed with some improvised planning completed, Samuel and Mathilda were ready for their next mission following a psychological evaluation. With two successful missions and little problems, Samuel was prepared for something that involved more of a challenge rather than more Insurrection targets that the UNSC needed to keep at bay.

Operation: URGENT TEMPEST
was one of the many recently discovered planets that ONI was able to find thanks to the. Its location was entirely due to its proximity to the and the ability for the Covenant Empire to produce  on the planet. ONI and the UNSC had multiple reasons to go after the Covenant held outpost. Two days after the success of Operation: RIGHTFUL DAWN, Samuel, and Mathilda deployed via an LRSOIP onto the surface of the Covenant occupied planet to perform targeted killings, sabotage, and demolition missions. Samuel and Mathilda were not expected to come back from the mission and told to complete their tasks at all cost.

The arrival to Ealen IV was anything but smooth for Team Specter due to where they landed. Two were training when their LRSOIP landed nearly 200 meters away from the Covenant soldiers. Opening the hatch, Samuel noticed the Mgalekgolos charging towards him and dodged the initial attack. Mathilda broke free with a that she wedged into the armor of one enemy while Samuel danced around the other. Thinking on his feet, Samuel dodged an attack and had Mathilda stuff another thermite grenade into the armor of the last target. Once the enemies were down, Samuel and Mathilda gathered their supplies from the LRSOIP and hid the vehicle to protect their cover.

After an explosive start to Operation: URGENT TEMPEST, Samuel and Mathilda were able to find their way towards a Plasma refinery and set C-7 foaming explosives while Mathilda provided overwatch. Moving back, Samuel watched as a Covenant patrol moved into the blast zone then detonated the bombs to ensure more enemies were taken down. With an explosion on Ealen IV, the Covenant Empire concluded that the UNSC was involved and deployed a group to track the enemies. Samuel stuck around with Mathilda and spotted for her as she took a shot at the. She missed and killed the second-in-command, which caused a fury of more Covenant teams to be deployed into the area. Samuel and Mathilda retreated into the forest, ready to battle it out with the Covenant.

Covenant forces began to push into the forest, but Samuel had another idea in mind and vacated the land. Following the failure of the wrong hit, Samuel and Mathilda moved to another staging area in to destroy more plasma refineries. Sneaking his way through another patrol, Samuel decided to sabotage the refinery instead of destroy. The in charge of the plasma refinery began to investigate, and Mathilda was able to hit her shot. Confirming the death of the Ultra, Samuel and Mathilda watched as the area exploded into chaos after the leader fell. The Silent Shadow was called upon again, Samuel told Mathilda she was going to redeem herself on their next mission. The two vacated the area and pushed forward to another target they planned to hit. By late 2548, Samuel and Mathilda were able to come upon the one enemy they were looking for after quite some time.

Coming upon the Silent Shadow compound, Samuel was prepared to engage the enemies that he had been hunted by while on Ealen IV. Moving towards the Compound, Samuel promised Mathilda she was going to get the revenge she needed on the target she missed. Using the darkness and his active camouflage, Samuel was able to get up close and personnel with the enemy before killing them. Using stealth and speed to his advantage, Samuel weaved his way through the Compound as Mathilda picked off guards. When the First Blade officer emerged for a one-on-one duel with Samuel, Mathilda executed the officer and Samuel moved on. Demolition charges were set and blown to ensure that the Covenant knew what happened to their Silent Shadow group that was caught off-guard.

In 2549, Samuel and Mathilda were picked up by the after dropping out of slipspace in their. Transported to the, Team Specter was interviewed by the Beta-5 Division on what happened and how they came back from a suicide mission. After Samuel gave his reason on what had happened and his after-action report, Lieutenant Ferguson found another mission for Team Specter. Two major plasma refineries were shut down on Ealen IV for the time being, and a Silent Shadow group was wiped out after being caught off guard. To a surprise of many, Operation: URGENT TEMPEST was a success, and two Headhunter had returned for more work.

Operation: FALLEN ICARUS
arrived back on the map for ONI when learning that the Covenant were using it as a logistical base again. While one mission did on Heian, the Covenant planned not to stop using the planet due to the death of one value member. Logistically, Heian proved to be a precious planet that allowed the Covenant to transport useful supplies to the frontlines. ONI wanted to stun their operations again and was prepared to do whatever it took to ensure the success of the mission. Team Specter was deployed onto Heian to conduct special reconnaissance, demolition, and sabotage missions. If a high-value target was present on Heian, Samuel and Mathilda were given the green light to engage. "We already had success on Heian once, so let's make sure we do it again. The Covenant has moved around the planet, they still consider it of value which means we need to handle the situation."

- Lieutenant Ferguson briefing Team Specter.

Reaching Heian via an LRSOIP, Team Specter began their work on gathering intelligence surrounding the planet. The Jiralhanae failed before, and the Covenant were not willing to risk another mistake, Sangheili along with  and, a Legion that oversaw the logistics of Covenant supplies. Seeing Honor Guards and Zealots, Samuel later spotted the leader, which was a which explained why the  was on the surface. Taking an inventory of targets, Samuel began to plan out what his target list was and who were the most important to go after. As the San'Shyuum left the planet's surface, Samuel was able to attach a probe for ONI to track later.

The logistical base proved to be the primary focus at hand, but Samuel continued to stray towards the Zealots due to how elite they were. Samuel planned to move up on a lance but was compromised when surrounded by the Zealots. Taking two off his hip, Samuel threw them down and flashed the lance before running into a Forerunner ruin to hide. The Zealots were able to recover and began to hunt Samuel throughout the ruin while Mathilda took up a sniper position. She was able to confirm a kill but was quickly apprehended and forced to flee alongside Samuel. The Zealots were told to return to base but decided to go after Team Specter on their own. Continuing to move through the ruins, the Zealots worked on weeding out the two Headhunters. Samuel used the element of surprise to engage another Zealot while Mathilda used another flashbang to engage another Zealot. The final three escaped and prepared to come back, but found a valuable Forerunner site to focus on instead.

When Samuel learned he was no longer being hunted, he and Team Specter went to investigate where the Zealots had gone. Learning of the site that the Zealots had sought out, Team Specter was soon behind to see a large lance of Zealots moving about the area to gather more information about the ruin. Samuel noticed an artifact that the Zealots were attempting to take. Engaging a small patrol, Mathilda watched as Samuel stole the object and ran away to secure it from the Covenant. However, Samuel learned that he stole a fake artifact and the Zealots left with the artifact some time ago. Despite his failure, Samuel turned back to his real mission, where he planned to destroy the logistics base.

Pushing to the logistics base, Samuel and Mathilda were able to infiltrate as the planet experienced a temporary meteor shower from the nearby asteroid belt. Planting C-12 shaped charges on plasma refineries, armories and, communication hubs were going to sabotage and demolish the Covenant's ability to arm their troops on the frontline. Along with using Covenant charges, Samuel was able to ensure a large amount of destruction against the Covenant. With the damage covered by the meteor storm, Team Specter was able to prevent another hunting party on them. By, Samuel and Mathilda concluded their success of the mission despite it taking nearly two years to complete. Making their way to the Black Cat-class subprowler, Team Specter left the area as the Covenant continued to search for them. Picked up by the, Samuel and Mathilda were transported to the.

Surviving yet another suicide mission, Samuel and Mathilda underwent full psychological evaluations to ensure that their task was complete. Once hearing that Operation: FALLEN ICARUS was a success, ONI was able to keep another Headhunter team in their back pocket in case they needed another deep-strike mission. ONI took interest in the Forerunner artifact that Samuel attempted to secure, hoping that it was not something as valuable as coordinates to a Human colony. One day later, Samuel and Mathilda were deployed onto another mission deep within Covenant space.

Fall of Reach
Called back to in, Samuel and Mathilda reported to an ONI Base which was located in the. Arriving on August 15th, Team Specter and Lieutenant Commander Ferguson began to asses the situation they were currently in while the Covenant continued to invade. The became home to one of the most massive strike forces the Covenant had deployed onto Reach. Despite the beforehand, the Covenant continued to amass their strength around the Szurdok Ridge for their legions to move out. Tasked with infiltrating behind enemy lines, Samuel and Mathilda were tasked with targeted killing. Their job was to shake up the ground command to the best of their ability; they needed to hunt.

After a successful insertion behind enemy lines, Samuel was able to spot one of many who were commanding ground forces for the Covenant. Watching the Generals move about during their meetings and troops, Mathilda was able to spot one that was more respected than the others. Samuel spotted for Mathilda as she engaged the Sangheili General and was able to land a kill shot. As the Covenant forces exploded into chaos to find the human that killed a Sangheili General, Samuel and Mathilda moved to another location where they took out another General. Moving to a third General, Mathilda misjudged her shot, and the Covenant began to narrow in on where Team Specter was hiding out. Specter vacated the area before getting bombed by the Covenant and worked on ways to still hunt despite the enemies being on alert.

Called back to the Highland Mountains, Samuel and Mathilda prepared for the many Covenant assaults that were going to happen. Covenant forces began doing forward reconnaissance but were quickly wiped out by Samuel hunting the recce lance teams. Pushing further towards the ground legions that were attempting to drive through the Highland Mountains, Samuel and Mathilda started to kill the leaders again as they did around the Szurdok Ridge. Covenant forces began to conduct an all-out assault on the UNSC's positions that they had not glassed yet. Samuel and Mathilda were able to get on the flank of the Covenant's attack and assisted with taking out officers in charge of infantry lances. Despite the efforts put out by Team Specter, they were unable to help much due to the sheer numbers the Covenant brought. Forced to fall back to the ONI Base, Samuel did quick work by destroying UNSC documents and securing hard drives that were valuable to his mission handler. Making it aboard a UNSC Prowler named Batutta, Team Specter and their handler escaped from Reach. "You work for the Asymmetrical Action Group now. Earth is next, and we're going to hit the Covenant hard. I secured a HAVOK nuclear warhead, and we're going to use it."

- Lieutenant Commander Ferguson laying out the new assignment for Team Specter.

Reach fell to the Covenant, and Samuel was quickly put to work for another mission that was bound to get back at the Covenant. Throughout the entire Human-Covenant War, the Covenant was able to destroy many planets and claim the lives of innocents. Arriving at Cassidy III, Samuel learned of where he was going next and how ONI planned to hit the Covenant deep in their own space. Having a, Team Specter knew that they were going to kill a lot of people for what the Covenant had done. By the time the kicked off, Team Specter had launched their mission deep into Covenant space.

Operation: DARKSPEAR
Arriving at, Team Specter learned that Earth remained under siege against the Covenant and it was not going into the favor for the UNSC. The Covenant seemed never to stop, and ONI was busy planning contingency plans for when Earth fell. Operation: DARKSPEAR was one of the many operations launched by the UNSC to ensure the survival of humanity against the Covenant. Teash was a prospering colony due to  being nearly unhabitable because of nuclear winter. Little more was given to Samuel, Team Specter was able to learn how the Jiralhanae worked and began to narrow down the target. The plan was to stun the Jiralhanae, but Team Specter wanted to destroy the species. "The Jiralhanae were different than the Sangheili. Driven to be blood-lust and purely insane. They are unpredictable, strong, and exceptionally dangerous. Just the challenge I've been looking for."

- Samuel on his analysis of the Jiralhanae and their tendencies in combat.

Learning of the, a meta-clan for the Jiralhanae, Samuel learned that the clan played a major role in the Human-Covenant War. Considered to be more savage and vile, Team Specter was able to put together that the meta-clan was contributing to the horrific crimes committed on humans. Countless and other  seemed to align under Rh'tol, which made the Rh'tol such a rich target. Samuel scoped out a densely populated civilian center that held many assets for the Rh'tol to continue their genocide of Humanity. Earth remained dark, Samuel and Mathilda agreed to use the nuclear warhead on the Rh'tol's base of operations to wipe them out on Teash.

Little time was spent waiting for the Jiralhanae to move about, Samuel and Mathilda began to move out with the HAVOK nuclear warhead. Infiltration became the norm for Team Specter as they pushed their way towards the Jiralhanae center. Encountering light patrols, Samuel was able to engage the enemies with relative ease despite their chaotic behavior in combat. Nearly impossible to do a one-on-one bout, Samuel communicated with Mathilda to ensure that they did not get caught off guard when battling one pack. With patrols eliminated, the transportation of the nuclear warhead was much more comfortable than the original idea of carrying the bomb without forward-reconnaissance. Making it to the center, Samuel planned to infiltrate by himself to ensure the success of the demolition op.

Moving into the area, Samuel evaded numerous patrols and civilians who were going about their day. Planting the warhead, Samuel vacated the city and reached Mathilda where they were a safe distance from the blast. In a flash, the hub went from prospering to being vaporized by a nuclear warhead. Immediate effects included the destruction of building integrity as well as mass panic among the Rh'tol's meta-clan on Teash. Jiralhanae of the meta-clan attacked the on all colonies and homeworld in response to the nuclear attack. Samuel and Mathilda watched as the Jiralhanae went after one another for the one attack that was carried out by humans. Samuel learned of the Vheiloth meta-clan and moved with Mathilda to conduct other demolition mission to fracture the Jiralhanae's society more.

At the time Samuel was preparing to conduct another demolition op on the Jiralhanae, the broke out, and the Covenant began to splinter into numerous factions. The Jiralhanae meta-clans did not care about the issue and continued to wage battles against one another. Samuel infiltrated a command center that the leaders of the Vheiloth were using and quickly came into contact with the enemies that were guarding their Chieftains. Diversions and setting up Mathilda with clean sniper shots, Samuel made his way under the command center where he placed a breaching charge and blew the floor out from beneath from the enemies. Confusion and speed played into the hand of Samuel as he swiftly took down numerous Chieftains before fleeing the scene. Psychological Warfare began to impact the two sides while Samuel waited for his next target to appear.

Mercenary groups, piracy and, smaller packs began to find their own need for survival. Groups that rose on the list like the, began to make a more exceptional name for themselves due to the ability to provide for the Jiralahane species. A small tribe made a name for themselves when capturing the human handler Stephan Ferguson for Team Specter. Samuel and Mathilda tried to retrieve their officer but were too late when the Chieftain executed him. Watching their handler gets executed, Team Specter made it their sole objective to retrieve the body and kill the enemy that killed their officer. Recovering his officer, Samuel attached C-7 foaming explosive to the enemy Jiralhanae and watched as the body vanished from existence. Moving back to the Battuta, Samuel and Mathilda left Teash and returned to a contingency plan world designated by ONI for their next operation. "The War's over, but you have a lot of work carved out for you. Welcome to the Asymmetrical Action Group, I'm Lieutenant Commander Vilda Stenbeck, your new mission handler."

- A brief introduction to Samuel's new mission handler and assignment.

The Human-Covenant War had ended, but ONI knew that it was a lie to the public. Arriving at Earth for the first time in his life, Samuel was introduced to his new mission handler, Vilda Stenbeck, and a new assignment. The UNSC wanted to crush the Covenant remnants before they were bound to grow too strong, Team Specter was going to be the start of picking apart the active groups that were likely to threaten the UNSC shortly. Working for the Asymmetrical Action Group, Samuel was bound to get missions that included a higher profile as well as much more of a challenge.

Operation: HYBRID VANGUARD
became one of the many planets in the newly formed that both Humans and Sangheili lived on after the Human-Covenant War. The UNSC and reformed were recovering from the devastating war while trying to maintain security in space. The combination allowed pirates to flow through the defense fleet holes and make their way down to the planet's surface. The Asymmetrical Action Group were able to gather intelligence from the Mission Support Activity and deployed Team Specter to deal with the pirate bases that were being set up in a desert on the colony's surface. Samuel was given orders to break up the activity as well as catalog the various species that were involved. In, Samuel deployed to Carrow with Mathilda to assist with Operation: HYBRID VANGUARD.

Attaining information about the Jiralhanae activity, Samuel was able to link it back to the Rh'tol meta-clan that he had nearly destroyed not too long ago. Wanting to keep the Jiralhanae off their feet more, Samuel planned to continue going after the leadership to drive the meta-clan into a larger crisis. Needing to keep his operations covert, Samuel worked with Mathilda to conduct targeted killings as well as manhunt the leaders that Team Specter did not have a solid lead on the target. Wasting little time, Samuel and Mathilda began their hunt against the pirates. Dropped off by a, Team Specter was able to gather information on one piracy group who was planning to make moves by the end of the month. "We started on Carrow then made our way to Venezia. It became one of the many locations for smuggling and piracy. Humans were working with the Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar for a profit against the UNSC and other factions they were against."

- Samuel on his hunt against the Jiralahane piracy operation.

Hunting down a leader and his piracy group, Team Specter studied what the group did and how they operated. Seeing that the Jiralhanae were not staying around for long, Samuel placed a tracker on the supplies and watched where it went. Following the pirate's ship to, Samuel learned of a much larger pirate operation going on where Carrow was the tip of the iceberg. The had multiple people working to give UEG colony locations to the Jiralhanae and  for them to raid. Samuel wasted no time as he built a targeting list to hunt down the three species that were working together. Labeling the human he presumed in charge of the entire operation, Xerxes, Samuel started to climb his way up the ladder to conduct a targeted killing on the leader.

Finding the second-in-command, Samuel infiltrated the building the enemy worked from and gathered intelligence on what the piracy group was doing. Tracking the second-in-command for a bit longer, Samuel was able to locate the secret meeting location where the pirate leaders met. Taking into account those who were present at the meeting, Samuel quickly moved to dispatch the enemies before they were able to carry out another attack. Mathilda engaged Xerxes and secured the kill while Samuel dealt with the enemies by tossing flashbang grenades. Cleaning up the mess, Samuel was able to locate the list of colonies that the enemies knew about then sent it to ONI for them to prepare and stop the pirates.

Being picked up and bussed back to the in the middle of, Samuel debriefed Vilda on his operation and the success of his mission. The information that Samuel gathered on Venezia proved to be valuable, both the UNSC and SOS were able to prevent pirate attacks on their colony. Spending a day on the UNSC Infinity, Vilda quickly found another mission for Team Specter. Deployed within the hour of their mission briefing, Samuel was glad to be back out in the field with Mathilda.

Operation: HOPE OUTREACH
became a Installation that the UNSC was studying inside and out, but it remained the galactic weapon the Covenant wished to activate during the Human-Covenant War. In 2554, a former Covenant under the name Syra 'Losumai was using his Covenant remnant to attempt and reactivate the Installation. ONI picked up the activity of the Covenant remnant landing on the Installation without much knowledge of what the group planned to do. Team Specter was deployed to investigate, conduct special reconnaissance and demolition missions to prevent the success of whatever the enemy was planning to do. "In a summary, the leader plans to use the ring to wipe out all the heretics."

- Emerysen, Samuel's personal AI, giving Team Specter the rundown of what is going on.

Arriving onto Installation 03, Samuel began to follow a small trail of where the Covenant was setting down. ONI signal intelligence was working overtime to narrow down the search field for Team Specter, hoping that Samuel was able to keep the conflict contained. Once ONI pinpointed the area, Samuel moved towards the military base where he was able to figure out the various enemies that were planning to conduct missions outside of the wire. As the UNSC Navy began to prepare for their battle against the Covenant cruisers, Samuel planted explosives around communication towers as well as transport shuttles to deny the Covenant from providing more backup.

With the limited amount of Covenant cruisers, the UNSC Navy was able to break their way through the enemy lines and started to deploy teams onto the ground while Samuel detonated the charges he had set. During the battle, Samuel kept a close eye on Losumai where he started to escape by cutting his way through Marines. Samuel and Mathilda let the rest of the battle play out while they went hunting Losumai's party that was trying to escape into the nearby jungle. Using his armor's ability to track the enemy, Samuel closed in on his target with a determination to cut him down.

Pushing into the jungle, Mathilda engaged leaders that were close to Losumai while Samuel prepared to engage the leader alone. Ambushed by the veteran, Samuel drew his combat knife and went into a close-quarters battle. Mathilda joined in quickly after, where the two were able to take down the blademaster. With the death of the leader and his base being wiped out, Samuel and Mathilda were able to conclude the success of Operation: HOPE OUTREACH by late.

Aboard the UNSC Infinity, Samuel informed Vilda about the success of Operation: HOPE OUTREACH and his desire for another mission. Forerunner technology and locations were quickly becoming top priorities for ONI as more discoveries were being made. The desire to secure the dangerous sites were put into Samuel's mission handler as she found another location for them to investigate. One week after their return from Operation: HOPE OUTREACH, Team Specter was deployed onto another mission.

Operation: WHITE NOISE
was discovered by a group of scavengers, hoping to strike gold. A Forerunner location with little information, Team Specter was tasked with investigating and securing the area to ensure that ONI science teams were able to conduct experiments on such a location. Once Vilda authorized Operation: WHITE NOISE, Team Specter began their deployment to Line Installation 9-12 with orders of conducting special reconnaissance. If Samuel was to come in contact with a hostile force, he and Mathilda were authorized to use direct action. By 2555, Samuel came over the colony where Line Installation 9-12 was located. "A SPARTAN team found Line Installation 1-4 on dumb luck. All we know is that these places are extremely lethal yet very useful to the defense of the UNSC."

- Vilda briefing Samuel on what ONI knows about the Line Installations.

Dropping out of slipspace before seeing the planet, Samuel tried to guide the Condor down to the surface but was shot down by the Line Installation. Once crash landing, Samuel took an analysis of Mathilda to ensure she was operational and the two moved out while Samuel's personal AI, Emerysen, guided Samuel to the last known location of the scavengers who had crashed some time ago. Coming across the settlement, Samuel noticed other tracks in the ground that were not made by humans. A Forerunner named 182 Jubilant Interval greeted the two SPARTANs and informed them of the Installation. Not long after, Mathilda was captured by a and taken away from Samuel.

Engaged by and Gatherers, Samuel relied on Emerysen's ability to guide him to Mathilda's location. After taking down one Gatherer, Samuel armed himself with the powerful weapon and began to work his way towards Mathilda. With an overwhelming amount of enemies, Samuel returned to the Condor where he had a as a means to clear out a large cluster of enemies. Arming the weapon, Samuel detonated the bomb and took numerous enemies which gave him the opening needed to be closer to Mathilda's location. Using the energy beam, Samuel was able to cut his way through a small number of enemies before he reached Mathilda's location.

Reunited with Mathilda, Samuel armed her with a Gatherer energy projectile and made his way to the control center where he prepared to take control of the Line Installation. Plugging Emerysen into the system, Samuel readied for the defense and learned that the FENRIS nuclear weapon was probably better for the control center defense. Emerysen was able to send out a remote signal to the UNSC that she had control of the Line Installation. 182 Jubilant Interval was infuriated by the command of his area taken away and launched an attack against the SPARTANs. With Emerysen having control over the Sentinels, she was able to have them attack the Gatherers which gave Team Specter the perfect escape. "I heard Line Installation 9-12 was quite an experience, good to see you two back. Get cleaned up, I got another mission."

- Vilda commenting on the return of Team Specter.

Arriving back to the UNSC Infinity in late, Samuel debriefed Vilda and ONI on his findings of Line Installation 9-12 after the success of Operation: WHITE NOISE. Undergoing psychological evaluations, Samuel was quickly cleared for duty after spending two days of downtime. ONI science teams were already being deployed to Line Installation 9-12 where they began to gather more information. Vilda continued to keep Team Specter active with little time to relax on.

Operation: NIGHT HUNTER
Doisac became the central political hub for the Jiralhanae in the Post-War Era due to the desire for the species to resettle its homeworld. Ever since Operation: DARKSPEAR, HYBRID VANGUARD and, other UNSC campaigns, the Jiralhanae had struggled to keep its species alive. Two significant leaders had emerged since the last time Samuel had visited the Jiralhanae, and. ONI was covertly propping up Lydus and his clan while Atriox and the Banished were looking to amass more power. In the late months of 2555, Samuel was deployed to support Operation: NIGHT HUNTER where he began to assist Lydus and his cause slowly. Focused on sabotage and demolition, Team Specter wasted little time getting ready for their next operation.

Arriving on Doisac, Samuel slowly began to understand the politics of Operation: NIGHT HUNTER and how valuable it was for him to conduct missions against Atriox and not against Lydus. Figuring out the Banished's sphere of influence on Doisac and neighboring colonies, Team Specter started to prepare tasks that were going to harm their compelling force. With many battles between the two factions, Samuel was able to infiltrate into Banished controlled territory where he started to build up targets that were valuable to the Banished. Anything from an armory to a food factory was listed and cataloged by Samuel to ensure he knew which target was the right to hit.

Watching the two factions battle out for land and power, Samuel used stealth to his advantage and began to sabotage communications against the Banished which allowed Lydus faction to do the dirty work. Steering clear of the battles, Team Specter continued to play as a factor for the success that Lydus was having. Moving deeper into enemy territory, Samuel started to conduct demolition missions to ensure that Lydus was bound to have the upper hand when assaulting the Banished compounds. During a demolition mission, Samuel was caught between a battle and had no other option but to engage the two sides and escape away into the forest. Hearing of SPARTANs on Doisac, the Banished wanted to handle the situation and showcase its real power.

Finding a Banished shipping location, Samuel was able to tag a variety of military equipment that was used during ground assaults. As Team Specter continued to label a variety of military hardware, Samuel was hoping for the UNSC to catch the Banished off guard and start to take out the mercenary group. During Samuel's extraction, he was spotted by a patrol due to an invisible cloak failure. Rushing back to Lydus clan territory, Samuel was able to evade being caught by the Banished and meeting the same fate as his former handler. In the middle of, Samuel and Mathilda left Doisac after the success of Operation: NIGHT HUNTER. Lydus continued to amass power without the knowledge of a Headhunter team assisting him. "The Banished were bound to move the equipment we tagged, it was only a matter of time to see where it ended up. Lydus will continue his campaign on Doisac while other teams continue to support his rule."

- Samuel on the success of Operation: NIGHT HUNTER.

After returning to Earth, Samuel was brought to where he informed Vilda on the progress of Operation: NIGHT HUNTER. Quickly after his psychological evaluation, Samuel was introduced to a new threat that had come about in the past weeks. Getting briefed on the situation, Samuel became informed of a named ONI Into Darkness which became the primary source of transportation for Team Specter. A day later, Team Specter deployed on a new mission.

Operation: BLACK WARDEN
Briefed on the situation about, Samuel learned about and his Covenant  that started to take center stage of being in command of the Forerunner shield world. Ordered to link up with Team Skyfall, an Alpha Company Headhunter Team, Samuel was to coordinate with the two Headhunters on how they were going to hunt down Jul 'Mdama and his leaders. Joining Operation: BLACK WARDEN, Samuel was told to support Team Skyfall when they needed help while Team Specter conducted their missions. Making it to Requiem, Samuel quickly introduced himself to the mess the planet was.

Samuel made contact with Team Skyfall and received defensive responses that did not wish for his team's help. Regardless of their reaction, Samuel moved on and let the offer sit as he and Mathilda went to work on gathering intelligence on the Covenant. Learning about Covenant bases and outposts, Samuel began to mark targets while learning that Team Skyfall was hunting a group called the. Many times, Samuel often stumbled upon a location that Skyfall was raiding and stuck around to analyze what they were doing. As Samuel began his targeted killing missions with Mathilda, the two were able to knock out various leaders that were in charge of the logistics ops on the planet.

Contacted by Elsa-A033, Team Skyfall's leader, Samuel learned of a mission where she and Winnifred-A296 were planning to assault a Silent Blade base. remained an extremely dangerous wild card during a battle, and Samuel protested, but Elsa argued her point and got authority over Samuel. While Team Specter served as a quick reaction force (QRF), Team Skyfall assaulted the base and quickly came under attack. After a Silent Blade officer killed Winnifred, Team Specter intervened and pulled Elsa out alive. The Covenant learned of their location and soon sent many forces after the three Spartans. "You listen to me now. Your partner is dead, and we have the Covenant on our tail. If you want to live, you follow my orders and do not question them. We're leaving this sector, and you're coming with us. She's dead because of your decision, now you need to make up for it."

- Samuel bringing the harsh reality down on Elsa in the heat of the moment.

Wasting no time, Samuel pulled Elsa aboard the Into Darkness and relocated to a different sector of Requiem. Once touching down, Samuel checked on Elsa to see she was still angry that her decision killed Winnifred-A296. Leaving no time for the thoughts, Team Specter moved out with their newest addition and began to investigate the new area. In February of, Samuel was notified of and his spotting on Requiem. Making the Sangheili his top priority, Samuel and Team Specter began their hunt for the enemy that had broken out of the. Once locating the enemy, Samuel was able to predict that 'Lhar became the second-in-command to Jul 'Mdama and the Covenant faction he was running. Running simple sabotage missions, Samuel began to notice that Elsa fit well with Team Specter despite her silence.

The UNSC was bound to return to Requiem with the UNSC Infinity and ; Team Specter spent the rest of their time conducting special reconnaissance on valuable targets for direct action teams to engage. Anything that housed Prometheans to Covenant was marked and prioritized by Elsa while Samuel and Mathilda continued their work of gathering intelligence.

Meeting Vilda Stenbeck on the UNSC Infinity, she introduced Samuel to the new team he was going to take command of, Team Quantum. No longer a Headhunter, Samuel became a Specialized Skills Operator who was going to work with Mathilda-B079 and Elsa-A033. The upcoming battle was bound to test whether Team Quantum was going to work out or fail. About two hours after the creation of the team, Samuel and Team Quantum began their first deployment back down to Requiem.

Requiem Campaign
The became the forefront of Samuel's efforts as the leader of Team Q, a mountain of targets needed to be taken out, and there were not enough bodies to handle the sheer amount. ONI was able to gather intelligence about the Silent Blade and where they were operating, giving the locations to Team Q due to Vilda securing the information. As Samuel continued to work on team cohesion with Elsa and Mathilda, he found going after the Silent Blade was going to put Elsa on his right side. Once getting actionable intelligence from Vilda, Team Q deployed down onto Requiem to get back at the Silent Blade for killing one of their own. "The Silent Blade killed Elsa's partner. No doubt she has revenge in mind for those who killed her close friend, I worry how she will react when we get the chance to engage."

- Samuel showing concern over Elsa's ability to handle herself after the death of Winnifred.

Back on Requiem, Samuel utilized as many assets as he was able to, and began to throw a net around the area that the Silent Blade was suspected to be operating out of on the planet. Hunting the small teams that went outside of the wire, Samuel was quick to punish them by launching ambushes and targeted killings. Elsa was ready to identify the one Silent Blade that killed her partner, and Samuel worked on luring out the enemy. Teams became more reinforced with Promethean support, but it did not slow down Samuel's ability to engage the enemies he needed dead. Once the officer left, Elsa launched a surprise attack against her enemy and swiftly killed him. The death of the officer satisfied the revenge Elsa was looking for, and Team Q returned their focus on the rest of the enemy's compound.

Engaging the compound with the Silent Blade caught off guard allowed Samuel and Team Q to get the jump they needed. Each member was able to get their fair share of hits, showcasing their talent as a former Headhunter. Even with the small amount of Silent Blade present, Team Q found the mission to be a significant boost of morale and chemistry between each other. But the time on Requiem grew to be short as the planet began to conduct protocol for eradicating a dangerous lifeform from the shield world. Forced to retreat to the UNSC Infinity, Samuel watched as the success of Requiem vanished before his eyes. "We lost Requiem due to the Covenant's ability to destroy a location we wanted to secure since its discovery. Requiem was a failure for everyone, we were not going to get another shot like that in quite some time."

- Samuel think about the frustrations that the destruction of Requiem brought.

As the UNSC Infinity continued their hunt against Jul 'Mdama and his faction, Samuel returned to Earth where he stood before the Asymmetrical Action Group board to discuss what happened on Requiem from BLACK WARDEN to the abrupt end of the Requiem Campaign. Laying out everything in front of the board, Samuel was informed that he was going to keep command of Team Q. After leaving the debrief, Samuel received a promotion to Petty Officer First Class and a new mission.

Operation: GOTHIC ARCANGEL
A sensor from Operation: NIGHT HUNTER turned up on, a UEG colony that was deemed far too dangerous for human settlement due to the wildlife. But Samuel knew that there was Banished activity on the colony, and they were one group that was capable of taming the wildlife of Erebus VII. Deploying to Erebus VII, Samuel studied the dangerous planet and what the surface held for him. In a battle against the wildlife and Banished, Samuel was determined to come out with an answer to why the Banished were on Erebus VII.

Landing on the planet, Samuel moved to identify that the Banished were in fact on the planet but were around for another project aside from taming the wildlife for food. Following a Jiralhanae Chieftain named, the Banished sought out an ancient species known as the. Quickly learning about the dangers of such a species, Samuel planned a mission to take out the Banished envoys that wished to control such a beast. Taking out the Banished, Samuel was able to confirm the deaths of the enemies but soon found himself in a three-way conflict.

Samuel was able to find the perfect break; the wildlife started to attack the Sharquoi, which allowed Samuel to get away from the area. Informing Vilda about the Sharquoi, she ordered Samuel to use a HAVOK nuclear warhead to contain the situation. With a scan from Emerysen, Samuel learned of a hive where the Sharquoi were coming. Team Q learned from another scan that there were multiple Sharquoi hives across the planet, Samuel focused on the one he needed to take out with the HAVOK nuclear warhead. Moving out, Samuel and Team Q battled their way through the ruthless wildlife and made it to the mouth of the Sharquoi's habitat. Moving quickly, Samuel was able to plant the warhead and destroyed the enemy's hive then hunt the remaining Sharquoi who remained on the run. Unsure if the other Sharquoi were able to wake other hives, Team Q quickly eliminated the remainder.

Once collecting their tracker from Operation: NIGHT HUNTER, Team Q began their extraction back to the UNSC Infinity after the success of Operation: GOTHIC ARCANGEL. Ordered to wait for the Infinity to reach a safe location, Samuel was unaware of what was happening within his mind and how Emerysen had defected to the. Aboard the UNSC Infinity, Samuel learned of Emerysen's defection which led to locking down the ship while Emerysen began to torture Samuel. Putting him into shock, Elsa took the AI from his port and escaped onto the ONI Into Darkness to flee from the UNSC. Samuel was rushed to a medical facility to deal with the damage that the AI caused.

As the began to emerge as the main enemy faction, Samuel and Team Q were brought up to speed. Acquiring a new Winter-Class Prowler named ONI Silent Enable and a smart AI named Spokój, Samuel was tasked with carrying out the targeted killing against Elsa-A033 and the final dispensation of Emerysen. Their last known location was on Talitsa, and Team Q spent little time waiting to launch after their target.

Occupation of Talitsa
The Created attacked and Elsa was hiding on the planet given the last known location of the ONI Into Darkness before Emerysen wiped all navigation tracking systems. Making it the first place to check, Samuel and Team Q moved out with their Prowler to track down and strand the two. were spotted in the system, which meant Samuel had to rely on staying extremely quiet and unknown to the others around him. Launching towards Talitsa in late 2558, Samuel began his hunt for Elsa-A033 during the chaotic Created Crisis.

Once planetside, Samuel resorted to to his means of communicating with Team Q. Using his ability to track, Samuel was able to narrow down two hiding locations that Elsa was in and began to scout the area. Once seeing Into Darkness, Samuel moved to destroy the Prowler and deny Elsa a means of slipspace travel. Once destroying the Prowler, Samuel moved to a different location but was distracted by Emerysen. Elsa quickly launched an attack on Team Q with Created forces, Samuel retreated into the woods to wait for Elsa to come and get him. But she crafted a different plan and moved to get off the planet.

Created forces continued to scan the area where they thought Samuel and Team Q were, while Samuel worked on creating a way to trick Elsa. Upon seeing a D81-LRT Condor, Samuel attached a telemetry probe and waited for Elsa to board the craft. Once seeing Elsa board and leave, Samuel had Spokój track the craft for him to go after. Before leaving Talitsa, Team Q went down to Elsa's hiding location where they learned what she was living off. Spokój theorized that Emerysen was keeping Elsa alive and that if Samuel was able to grab Emerysen, then Elsa was going to be an easier target to hunt.

Time was cut short for Samuel when Created forces were able to lock onto his position. were deployed along with ground assets to engage the enemies, but Samuel was already working on an exfiltration. Making it to the ONI Silent Enable, Team Q was able to vacate the system before the Guardian Custode was able to keep them from escaping. Spokój was able to report the last known location of Elsa and Samuel began his return to the UNSC Infinity to inform Vilda of what he had found and what needed to be done to ensure Elsa was no longer bound to be a threat. "Team Q will cut Emerysen off from Elsa. Once we do that, then we will be able to corner her till she has nowhere else to go. Then, she won't be a problem anymore."

- Samuel explaining to Vilda how he plans to hunt Elsa.

Back on the Infinity, Samuel informed Vilda that he was able to place a tracker on the ship that Elsa was using as well as a plan to hunt her down. Unsure of how Elsa was able to ambush them, Team Q worked on creating alternatives to ensure they were not going to be easier targets for the Created to ambush. Working with a, Spokój was able to provide better countermeasures against AIs in the field. By the middle of and one week after leaving Talitsa, Samuel and Team Q had passed their psychological evaluations and were cleared for another operation to hunt down Elsa.

Personality
"It's not reality unless it's shared."

- Samuel's personal motto.

Shaped by years of war, Samuel is known for being a sturdy and sound SPARTAN that knows what the right and wrong are. Throughout his life, Samuel has made decisions where people lost their lives while he saved others. With no in-between, he has found a way to stay mentally healthy when everything is against him. Even with the number of people he has known, that have died, Samuel continues to hold as the weight that keeps his peers on the same ground as him. As a former Headhunter, Samuel was conditioned to become a SPARTAN that was never going to fail under pressure.

An emphasis on communication, he is known for speaking his mind on a variety of subject matters. From debating an AI to fellow SPARTANs, Samuel wants to make sure that his peers understand what they are getting into before it ever happens. Sharing knowledge and information with Mathilda and others has allowed him to show a reality that very few others can paint. Allowing those people to see that reality, Samuel can get better ideas of what needs to be done to secure a successful mission. Basing his motto off communication, Samuel knows he would not be alive if it weren't for his methods of communicating with others.

Becoming a SPARTAN, Samuel developed a motivational drive that outmatched many of his peers. As Samuel learned in training, there is nothing that he cannot do. His refusal to never stop and fail has prevailed him to survive a variety of missions that were to kill him. The words can't, quit, and refuse, do not apply to Samuel simply because he will never accept the fact that someone can fail a task they have been told to become masters of in their life.

Even though the SPARTANs are claimed to be emotionless, Samuel shares affection and care towards his partner that he continues to deploy with on numerous missions. Samuel has always found himself treating his close peers with a degree of respect that he rarely shares with others. His affection towards Mathilda often borderlines the fraternization laws the UNSC Navy has in store, yet they still operate exceptionally during suicide missions. After Emerysen left Samuel psychologically scarred from her attack, he found the affection of his close partner extremely valuable to his mental recovery.

Skills and Abilities
Neither a marksman or an EOD technician, Samuel has made a name for being one who can achieve anything he puts his toward to succeed. Samuel always worked on enrolling himself into classes that helped him become a well rounded SPARTAN. As he progressed through Headhunter training, demolition and sabotage became the two main focuses of his skillset. While special reconnaissance, interdiction, and being a spotter for Mathilda rounded out the rest of his capabilities. Samuel also has a knack in close quarters combat that he continues to practice with Mathilda to ensure he has his craft nearly perfected.

Known for his extreme patience, Samuel has been notorious for spending long hours studying bases and outposts. Resulting in him finding one mistake that gives him an edge over the enemy. With his sharp eye, Team Q can penetrate valuable areas that they may weren't able to before without a closer look over. Pairing his ability to find weakness and plan, Samuel has transformed himself into a competent planner that secures the win. Gambles and bets allow Samuel to see how his luck presses him while simple calculations guarantee the potential success of a mission.

Mathilda-B079
"If it weren't for you, I don't know where I would be."

- Mathilda talking to Samuel after a tough mission.

Mathilda-B079, known to be Samuel's friend, partner, significant other, and the one person he can completely trust. The two met during Beta Company training, where they cheated on tests together and ran drills to beat their counterparts in Team Tango. Selected to become a Headhunter pair together, Mathilda has become Samuel's Headhunter partner in the field and his best friend. The one who can bring comic relief and a fresh thought to what is going on, Mathilda has become one of the many reasons why she has become Samuel's partner. An expert sniper, there is no shot that Mathilda cannot hit. After Mathilda's anger got her into trouble, she found Samuel willing to work with her to ensure she was not bound to have the same problem again.

With the creation of Team Q, Mathilda continues to serve as the close partner and friend to Samuel he needs. When Emerysen attempted to kill her friend, Mathilda acted swiftly in killing the AI and rushing Samuel to medical help. While he remained in a coma for a time, she stayed by his side as he did when she was thrown in jail then saw him join her. With Elsa being the third wheel, Mathilda finds a way to bring her into team activities to ensure that Samuel is not neglecting the relationship he needs to build with Elsa. As Mathilda continues to serve with Samuel, she knows that she will follow him to wherever they go because he would do the same thing for her.

Elsa-A033
"Listen to how they describe me because that is how they describe you."

- Elsa talking to Samuel before going rogue. A former Alpha Company Headhunter, Elsa-A033 was the team leader of Team Skyfall till her reassignment in 2558. Throughout the Human-Covenant War and Post-War Era, Elsa built an extremely close relationship with her partner, which was stripped from her. Her leadership decision ultimately cost her partner's life, and Samuel was not one to let her stake free on the mistake. Guilt and being pushed aside caught to her after some time, which led to Elsa going insane and attacking Samuel after the success of Operation: GOTHIC ARCANGEL.

By the time Samuel woke up from Emerysen's neural attack, Elsa had stolen his Prowler and AI. Vilda ordered Samuel to hunt down the malfunctioning UNSC equipment that was not following standard operating procedures. Elsa remains on the run after a failed assassination attempt while Samuel works to the best of his ability to kill her. Elsa is considered an extremely dangerous individual who needs to be executed without hesitation.

Spokój
After Emerysen's neural attack on Samuel, Spokój was thrown into a role she never found herself in before. Samuel had to win the trust of the AI before she was placed into his head due to the fear he has of AIs now. As a SPARTAN AI, Spokój found herself threatened with being decommissioned if she were to do one thing to Samuel. Serving as his battlefield assistant, Spokój has also worked on repairing the memories that Emerysen had scrambled. While Samuel continues to suffer nightmares and night terrors, Spokój works overtime to ensure his mind and memories are back in a stable condition before Emerysen's attack. Continuing her battle against the Created alongside Samuel, Spokój showcases her allegiance to Samuel and Team Q by assisting with the takedown of Created forces.

Appearances
Non-Canon


 * Survival Of The Fittest S07 - 2019

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