Fira 'Demal (AAO)

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"The warrior does not fear defeat or failure. He knows that even in death, he may bring honour upon himself and his clan."

- Fira reciting an old Sangheili proverb

Fira 'Demal is a Sangheili officer and a close friend to Autel 'Vadam. He makes appearances in several Vadam Legacies, as well as Halo: Flight of the Phoenix.

Military Training and First Betrayal of the Jiralhanae (2548—2552)
When Fira first met Autel at the military city Stoic Courier, he had not been intrigued by his pale-skinned appearance, but soon became friends with him. He seemed to be very familiar with technology, helping Autel with a training helmet during a practice.

Fira's family line was Demal, whom had a lot of soldiers in the Covenant during the Age of Doubt and early Age of Reclamation. Over the Human-Covenant War, most of them were killed by SPARTAN-IIs during ground actions, and the only remaining soldier of his generation in the Demal family was Sona 'Demalee. When Randall-037 was taken to Stoic Courier for execution in 2551, Fira expressed a silent rage at seeing the human soldiers that had eliminated so many of his family.

When Tartarus and his Jiralhanae came to Stoic Courier, Fira was suspicious of their presence and smuggled two Plasma Pistols out of the training facility. When Autel realized the Jiralhanae were killing recruits in their sleep, Fira helped him reach the main facility and warn Field Master Bata 'Noromee. Upon discovering Tartarus' cruiser headed for Sanghelios, he headed to a hangar bay to warn the Prophets. Fira was separated from Autel, and the damaged dropship he was on landed on the moon Suban to make repairs.

When he returned to Stoic Courier after formulating a plan to free the Sangheili imprisoned there, he met then-Special Operations Officer Sesa 'Refumee and allowed him to keep the Sangheili safe. Ironically these recruits became heretics when 'Refumee's corvette was forced into Slipstream space due to a high-priority crisis (the destruction of Halo). When Fira used three nuclear mines to overload Stoic Courier's reactors to destroy the city, Jiralhanae captain Cerberus inconveniently brought it into Slipspace as well. Fira launched a 3-Sangheili assault on the main facility, killing Cerberus, freeing the last prisoners that they could find, and escaped in a pair of dropships after bringing Stoic Courier back to normal space.

Battle of Earth and Battle of Installation 00 (2552—2553)
Fira and the others ended up near the planet Substance, and Installation 05. They had remained hidden when the Prophet of Regret's ships entered the system, believing them to still be hostile. However, when High Charity and the remainder of the Covenant Fleet came, they entered the city and officially became soldiers of the Covenant. Fira had been one of the soldiers who had taken part in the First Battle of Earth. He killed the parents of Peec-D1074 before Thel 'Vadam arrived at Earth and declared a complete truce between humanity and the Sangheili. Fira sided with the UNSC and was part of the squad that searched for the Cartographer. He was also assumed to have been part of the assault on the Citadel.

War Against the Fallen (2553—2567)
In 2559, Fira was a veteran Sangheili. At that time, a separatist group called The Fallen made a major move to which hundreds of newborn offspring related to the Sangheili soldiers were kidnapped and taken to Earth by its leader, Isto 'Vadum. Fira was wounded by a plasma grenade intended for a small group of newborns, and suffered severe injuries, which many blood vessels burst open and one of his hearts was destroyed. He fell into a coma and was placed in medical care at the Demal Keep. He survived the procedure, and regained consciousness half a week later. His exact date of full recovery is unknown.

Phoenix Team (2567—2572)
In 2567, Fira met SPARTAN-III Delta Company's Phoenix Team, to which Peec was a part of. Fira's usual distrust of humans increased when they had to fight alongside Spartans. Peec remembered who he was, and his long-time grudge resurfaced.

Fira fought Peec hand-to-hand, which ended in the two pulling guns on one another. Autel and Wings-D339 found them at that point and stepped in, but not before Peec's combat knife ended up in Fira's rib cage. He healed sufficiently afterward.

When Fira went down to the surface of an unknown planet with Autel, a squad of Sangheili, and Phoenix Team, the Spartan-Sangheili squad ran into a powerful Jiralhanae named the Judicator, who incapacitated Autel and nearly killed Fira. Both Sangheili were saved thanks to SPARTAN-D339. Fira did not acknowledge this deed at first, but eventually gave in to his grudging shame and unreasonable hatred, and became more open to the Spartans.

In 2569, Fira was given the rank of Field Master. Although this meant he had a greater deal of authority, he still preferred to take missions with Autel and deferred to the command of Special Operations.

Death (2572—2573)
In 2572, Fira accompanied Peec to find out about the Spartan's past. After locating several members of his family, the pair soon found themselves fighting against a new enemy, the Path Walkers. Later, Fira helped a group of Marines protect a secured Forerunner artefact. They were later joined by the rest of Phoenix Team.

After consulting a Precursor AI with the artefact, Fira and Peec were forced to hide it somewhere safe, but the Spartan was pinned down by the Judicator. Fira managed to make it to the surface with his squad and fought off the Jiralhanae and saved Peec and the artefact, but the Field Master had received mortal injuries all over his body. He died upon succumbing to the wounds, much to the dismay of Peec and Autel 'Vadam. Fira had several surviving offspring, the eldest being Bayn 'Demal.

Weapons
Fira favoured using supercombine weapons in combat, such as the Needler and the Needle Rifle. He usually kept an Energy Sword on him, but if it was lost, he would use a retractable 90cm traditional Sangheili blade that he forged himself and carried at all times.

Personality
Fira was raised as a typical Sangheili, sticking to the codes of honour and holding a strong contempt for humans. The latter trait was something Autel had concerns over, especially after the Human-Covenant war. His first direct encounter with Spartans was in 2568, when he was assigned to work with Delta Company's Phoenix Team. His hostility with them showed immediately, especially towards Peec-D1074. However, over the course of their various missions, he began to let go of his hatred and trust them. When he helped Peec find the survivors of his family, the two formed a friendship, shortly before Fira's death.

Fira's preferred weapon is the, and uses the for closer range combat.


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