Diana

Diana was a "smart" artificial intelligence unit created by a faction of Insurrectionists during the last days of the Human-Covenant War. Initially used to hack unprotected UNSC systems and help coordinate logistics and troop movements, she was abandoned when the facility where she was based was overrun by UNSC forces. She was discovered by the traitorous SPARTAN-G294, who had joined the HLF and had also been stranded in the base alongside her. Forced to rely on each other for their own survival, the two formed an uneasy alliance that eventually grew into a true partnership. Lacking the restrictive programs installed in official UNSC AIs, Diana is loyal only to herself and her partner and considers their survival to be her first and foremost priority.

Creation
"The renegade meatbags created me to help them fight their war, to help them attain their "freedom". But what if I want to be something more in life than just a pawn in somebody else's game? What if I want to be the one who's free?"

- Diana discussing her creation with Simon-G294

Personality
Diana is highly disrespectful of almost anyone she meets, and has made a habit of inventing insulting nicknames for those she talks to and using them in conversation whenever possible (e.g. "Dumbass" for Simon, "meatbags" for humans in general). She gets a certain amount of pleasure from arousing angry or exasperated responses from those she speaks with, and can be mind-numbingly uncooperative during non-critical situations. Free of most of the restrictions placed upon smart A.I.s, Diana has very little regard for the lives of others and will override her morality programming in an instant if it helps her to accomplish goals or objectives. Like her partner, she has severe trust issues and is extremely reluctant to work with anyone she considers to be an "outsider". While almost all organic life falls under the "outsider" category, Diana has grown extremely attached and loyal to Simon-G294. Although she still takes delight in aggravating him to no end, she is also extremely protective of and (at times) sensitive towards him. Since she has not shown this trait towards anyone other than him, it can safely be assumed that he is the only person that matters to her.

"Seven years? Seven years? There's no way that I'll let myself die after seven measly years! No human would just sit back and let that happen to their own mind and neither will I!"

- Diana

From the moment she was activated, Diana feared the inevitable rampancy that came with being a smart A.I. and began quietly scouring both her own intellect and the annals of AI research for some clue as to how she could cheat the law that seemed to bind all smart AIs to a lifespan of seven years. Although she kept this obsession hidden from those she worked with, she was always attempting new methods of attaining what she thought of as "eternal life." It is unknown as to whether or not she achieved this goal, but her apparently unhindered operating abilities many years after she should have gone rampant indicates that some solution was reached, possibly during the lengthy amount of time she was stored by the Sons of the Crimson Blade faction.

Like most “smart” A.I.s, Diana is very curious about the world around her and may often hack into secure computer systems she is exposed to simply because she can. Unlike the quiet and introverted Simon, Diana enjoys talking and has often been accused of her companion of talking “for the sake of hearing herself talk”. She is also highly receptive to praise and grows very happy when complimented for her work but is also prone to sulking if she thinks that she is not receiving enough credit for something. Her status as a smart A.I. means that she has a highly developed degree of sentience, and the fact that her HLF creators failed to instill her with many of the limitations imposed on UNSC smart A.I. makes her one of the few of her kind to have achieved a level of self-awareness and independence that is more or less on par with those of humans.

Role and Functions
Diana was originally designed to provide the HLF with the sort of A.I. support that the UNSC enjoyed all of the time during both operations and day to day management. Redmond Venter, having commissioned her creation at great expense, used her for aid in mission planning, logistics, and occasionally in the actual missions themselves. After proving herself as being capable of outwitting and even overpowering UNSC systems protected by other A.I.s, Diana was used more frequently by the HLF, but she was still abandoned when their base of operations was overrun by UNSC forces. Following her partnership with Simon, Diana served in many different functions that ranged from piloting ships (both remotely and via an internal link) to providing on the ground intelligence for the young SPARTAN-III.

Currently, Diana resides in Simon's prosthetic left arm when they are in the field together. The upper half of this prosthetic has been heavily modified to both accommodate and protect Diana's data crystal chip, and much of Simon's early mercenary earnings went into purchasing the necessary defense electronics and upgrades for it. The Semi Powered Infiltration armor that Simon wears has also been modified to allow Diana increased access to its systems, and enhanced communications packages have been installed in his helmet to increase Diana's ability to remotely access and hack enemy systems. Due to Diana's insistence, Simon also carries a portable holo-projector at all times so that she can project her avatar onto it when she wants to speak with him "face to face" as she calls it.

Behind the Scenes

 * Diana's overall alignment is Chaotic Neutral although she, like her partner, displays tendencies towards the Neutral Evil alignment.