Amber-G330

"She always did like fire."

- Kodiak-G114 finding evidence of Sepia on Jericho VII.

"The more beautiful and pure a thing is, the more satisfying it is to corrupt it."

- The self-proclaimed Prophet of Redemption.

SPARTAN-III Gamma Three-Three-Oh, more simply referred to as Sepia-G330, was a member of and one of three SPARTANs in Ion Team, designated ION-3. Before her conscription, she was known as Sepia Ashley Gibson, daughter of Office of Naval Intelligence Captain. At the age of four, she was put forward as a candidate for Gamma Company by her father after it was found that she had almost the ideal genetic makeup for a SPARTAN. Deployed in Operation: ETERNAL SPIRIT with her team, after the Human-Covenant War she became a part of the military exploration team aboard the UNSC Themistocles, an outdated light carrier that had been used as a transport most of the war.

Sepia cut herself off from the rest of the company, counting only the other four of Machete Team as friends. She was never happy as a soldier. After learning several of the UNSC's secrets and encountering several other servicemen who disliked its practices, Sepia deserted during the surveys for recolonizing, and was pursued by her team leader, Kodiak-G114. Believed dead after this, she wandered its glassed surface for several years before making contact with a rogue group of Sangheili and joining them, raiding for supplies on the far edges of UNSC and Sangheili space.

Early Life and Conscription as a SPARTAN
Sepia's mother is unknown, but her father was Captain Aaron Gibson, an officer within ONI. Specific details of her life are difficult to find, as Gibson attempted to hide Sepia and her mother to keep any of his political rivals from threatening them. By her own account, she spent a lot of time on a ship, and her mother would sing lullabies to her to help her get to sleep. What became of her mother is also unknown, but when Sepia was taken into a hospital for vaccination, she was found to have near-perfect genetic information for a SPARTAN. Captain Gibson could have conceivably averted her conscription, but he might have thought it was the best way to protect her and she was immediately volunteered.

SPARTAN Training and Augmentation
"I don't need teams. But I'll help where I'm needed."

- Sepia to the rest of Machete Team.

Sepia was chosen for her team early on, as she attempted to escape on the same night as four other candidates attempted to escape or destroy military property. Team Machete became the first selected team in Gamma Company, but from the beginning was disorganized and couldn't compete with the more coordinated Saber or Katana. While she resented being separated from her parents, she found friends in her teammates Dyne-G217, Marcus-G228, Kodiak-G114, and Sam-G019.

Battle of Tokyo
Less than an hour after returning, the news reached them of Earth being attacked, and the Gammas were to be deployed. Now armed with Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor Suits, the UNSC Themistocles left for Earth with Gamma Company aboard. It would be the only battle of the Human-Covenant War she saw.

Ion Team was assigned to help UNSC forces hold the war production facilities of the Tokyo megasprawl in Japan as part of Operation: ETERNAL SPIRIT. They were deployed by dropship Bravo 029, using cargo drop parachutes to jump onto the island of Izu Oshima, south of Tokyo Bay. As heavy surface-to-air artillery turned skyward to prepare for the impending assault by Covenant capital ships, Ion Team weeded out their advance scout parties that had dug in on the shore. A few hours after sunrise, a heavy fog rolled in, and Field Marshall Rimon 'Achachakee saw fit to deploy special ops teams to secure the island as a beachhead for a ground assault. Throwing Kig-Yar and Unggoy infantry at the defenders, the line was broken when Sangheili Rangers attacked from above and Stealth Elites cirled behind them. Ion escaped the chaos barely, and in their airtight SPI armor walked across the ocean floor to the mainland.

This only brought on more problems. Arriving on the Izu Peninsula, they found the area had been occupied by more Sangheili. Kodiak instead led Ion in close, getting a view of 'Achachakee inspecting his troops and giving orders to a Field Master. To make up for lost ground, Ion tailed the Field Master after securing a handful of small arms, and at an opportune moment, attacked. Sepia eliminated more enemies than either of her brothers, killing three Special Operations Elites, giving chase to the last of these. Just as she killed it, she became aware she was in the field of fire of a 's gun turret. Sepia eliminated the gunner, but not fast enough to avoid a direct hit to her stomach. A moment after announcing to her comrades she'd been wounded, she collapsed, unconscious.

Fleeing the front ranks of the Covenant Army, Ion was rescued by the 24th Attack VTOL Squadron under leadership of 1st Lieutenant Mikiya Ryougi, and boarded a transport Falcon to Ryu Base. Medical personnel immediately took possession of Sepia, leaving Dyne and Kodiak to wait for news. It came after some time, and they were allowed to see their teammate. Thanks to her augmentations, quick attention, and a, Sepia survived, though she would require over a day recovering in the tank. She began to hear noises, a loud scraping sound, but the medical staff took this as a sign she was experienceing Combat Stress Reaction, something the Gammas were supposed to be immune to. Kodiak and Dyne left to continue fighting, while Sepia was forced into a drugged sleep.

When Dyne and Kodiak returned to Ryu to retrieve Sepia, she was in a state of panic trying to escape her stasis tank. The sound had grown louder, and she realized it was a Covenant dig team attempting to enter Ryu from below. Sepia removed the breathing mask and broke out of the tank, just as an explosion opened a hole in the floor, and used Dyne's fallen rifle to repel the Elites and Grunts. After, the team was given access to the unused Mark V(b) MJOLNIR suits, then hunted down a Jiralhanae Pack responsible for three dead SPARTANs, had an encounter with Vinh-030, and recovered a FENRIS nuclear warhead.

Lastly, Ion used the warhead in a last-ditch aerial assault when a Covenant Supercarrier threatened Japan. Dyne flew Pelican Bravo 020 with Sepia copiloting, flying wingman for Bravo 029 flown by LTJG Angel Yasunaka. The dropships' guns would be useless against Covenant shields, and many dropships were lost in combat with Banshee fighters. But this was a diversion, waiting for Kodiak aboard Charlie 009 to deliver the FENRIS warhead. Charlie 009 was shot down over the carrier's hull, and for a moment he was believed dead and their attack foiled. However, Kodiak had jumped off in the nick of time, then recovered the warhead and slipped beneath the carrier's shield. Avoiding Banshee fire, he set the nuke on a timer and jumped to Tokyo Bay below. Due to Erin covering up their failed first assignment, their service here beyond Izu Oshima was off-record and Ion was never officially recognized for its heroics.

Alternate Universes

 * Shards of Reality

Strengths and Weaknesses
"Don't worry, we're scarier than anything else out here."

- Sepia reassuring an ally.

Before her desertion of the UNSC and subsequent descent into madness, Sepia was fearless in battle, clad in her burnished gold armor illuminated by the light of her flamethrower. Howeverr, she mourned being taken from her family to be a soldier, though she took to the task wholeheartedly and regarded as one of the toughest in Gamma Company. She often questioned the morality of training soldiers from children, and discussed this with a number of other SPARTANs including Jeffery-110 which would lead to her decision to leave. Sepia had a significant fear of the dark, which was part of the reason she chose her armor and weapon. Though she told herself it was a stupid fear for a SPARTAN, she had trouble getting over it for a long time.

One peculiarity of Sepia's augmentation process was that when she was given injections of and  to control the side effects of Gamma Company's illegal augmentations, her eyes turned a vibrant shade of purple, fading to their natural gray as the supplement wore off until her next injection. She never registered any other side effects of the augmentations, ill or otherwise, and Kurt Ambrose was still looking into the cause of this when he was listed MIA during the.

Hobbies
"Tell anyone - especially Dyne - and I'll kill you."

- Sepia, after Kodiak heard her sing.

Although she tried to present a tough exterior, Sepia had a remarkable voice, and would sing the lullabies her mother had sung to her when she thought she was alone. Because she didn't want it known, it's likely only Sam and Kodiak ever learned of her talent.

Armor
After her initial Semi-Powered Infiltration suit, specially made to suit her use of a flamethrower, was damaged in Tokyo, she and her brothers were allowed access to the storage facilities, in which lay many dozen unused suits and components. Sepia was lucky enough to find a complete set of plates and an insulated armor frame, which suited her well. It was painted a dull, burnished gold color, with a silver visor that reflected heat.