SPARTAN-091

"I work alone, I walk alone, and I perform alone. It's what allows me to excel, permits me to succeed where others fail, and endows me with the ability to realize my limits. I am not bragging, despite what you are all obviously thinking.  I am stating the facts.  It's because I have no attachments that I am an operator."

- SPARTAN-091, Jared, addressing an ONI Psychological Review Board

SPARTAN-091, born as Jared, was a special warfare operator of UNSC Special Warfare Group SPARTAN that participated with honorable distinction during the Human-Covenant War, the Memory Crisis, the PATRIOT Initiative, and the Necros War. He would fight in some of mankind's most infamous confrontations, such as the Battle of New Bremerhaven, the Battle of Miridem, and the Defense of Earth, and would be conspicuously involved with the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence, prosecuting morally-dubious covert actions and participating in the training of Kimberly Ivy Blackburn. While always an exceptional fighter and glorified by humanity for his defense of mankind, he would remain resigned and distant; this would later change in his later life with his eventual wedding to Lauryn Alden and his befriending of a close nucleus of friends, including Beah Schore and former pupil Kimberly.

Early Life
Jared was born on Earth in 2511, to parents whose names have been lost to history. Raised the first six years of his life in the Atlanta-Hartsfield Orbital Terminal District that sprawled across the North American southeast, Jared showed an early disposition for physical toughness and preternatural intelligence in his kindergarten school. One factor noted on his ONI dossier was his fondness for constructing complex models of UNSC ships of the line, models usually rated at a difficulty level that adults would find challenging.

In the fall of 2517, just after his sixth birthday, the boy was conscripted into the SPARTAN-II supersoldier program, a sudden departure from hs loveing and comfortable home life that left him sullen and silent. After a few weeks in the program, however, Jared realized that he enjoyed its challenges more than the mediocre educational programs on Earth that he had long ago outstripped. He longed for new and more interesting information. Chief Petty Officer Mendez actually noted in his personal evaluation of Trainee-091 that he had often found the boy out of the barracks area, sneaking out late at night to Déjá's classroom in attempt to learn more about the history and weapons of the UNSC. Of course, Mendez handed out the usual disciplinary PT, forcing the young candidate to push harder and stay stronger than the others. Despite the knowledge that he would be torn apart in the morning, Jared persisted in creeping back to the classroom, drinking in all the new information that Déjá could provide him. Eventually, Mendez found himself taking an interest in the voracious little learner, an interest that was reciprocated with a respectful awe. Granted, the training officer still drove Jared as hard as everyone else, but he also made sure the boy got to the marksman weapons range every day, developing the affinity Jared had demonstrated for scoped weapons.

Within six months, Jared had qualified as an Expert on every long-range weapon in the UNSC's arsenal, his scores checking in just below Linda's.

While Jared viewed Mendez as a fatherly hero with high expectations, he grew to despise Doctor Catherine Halsey, the so-called mother of the Spartans. Her smug intelligence and civilian arrogance, as well as her infatuation with Zen existentialism and quite apparent disregard for UNSC regualtions grated on the young trainee. he refused to meet with her for his monthly psychology check, and though forced by his drill instructors to attend, he angrily resolved to say nothing.

Later, Jared and one of his friends, Maria-062, smuggled parts from an instructor's pant pellet rifle from the camp's armory and took pleasure in "assasinating" Halsey as she walked from her office to the Headquarters building. The doctor was thankfully unharmed, but her hair remained a pinkish color for the better part of two weeks. John-117 an Kelly-089 beat up both of the conspirators behind the mess hall, Mendez cut their rations, and the drill instructors compelled them to run for twenty miles during meals, but Jared and Maria wore their bruises proudly.

Teenage Years
In 2525, the precocious candidate entered the biomodification phase of the Spartan program, and passed through the trying series of severe augmentations unscathed but changed psychologically. Mourning the loss of his brothers and sisters, Jared became much more serious, and realized the gravity of his assignment. His humorous side had all but dried up, and was only renewed later on in his life. When he at last graduated the training course in the fall of 2525, a strong sense of loyalty and dedication to the UNSC was all that drove him to succeed. It was a blind obedience that would not be shaken until almost twenty-five years had passed.

Shortly after receiving his Mjolnir Mark IV power armor, Jared was assigned to Orange Team, a group of lone Spartans that were to work singly on non-standard operations, such as stings and deep infiltration. For a while, the team consisted of Maria-062, Randall-043, and Jared, but psychological and physical injuries made the team's roster a fluctuating affair. On his inaugural mission, OPERATION HIGH NOON, Jared was sent to neutralize an Insurrectionist base that had been a thorn in the UNSC's side for years. He easily succeeded, wiping out all terrorist resistance there and recapturing a cache of prototype weapons that had been stolen from an experimental range facility on Chi Ceti IV by black-market gun-runners.

As a reward for accomplishing his mission, 091's NavSpecWar handlers allowed him to keep an SRS98z-AMX from the stolen cache, a weapon that he treated with the utmost respect and care. The rifle would be heavily modified by the time the Human-Covenant War was over, tricked out and personalized by the Spartans' second-best shooter. Though it would be retired to Jared's trophy wall by the beginning of the Necros conflict, "BushWhacker" would serve its master well, bearing the number of his confirmed kills along its stock.

Later, Jared worked alongside elite ONI "Iota" operatives to hunt down and neutralize an United Liberation Front leader by the name of Jonas Selkers. It was during this assassination operation that Jared received the distinctive scar on his right cheek, given to him during a knife fight with Selkers' bodyguard, whom he killed soon afterward. He refused treatment for the wound, wanting it to scar over so that he would always remember the consequences of carelessness.

Shortly after his seventeenth birthday, the Spartan was given the challenging task of infiltrating an Insurrectionist cell operating out of a base in the Sol System's asteroid belt. With rumors already abounding about the seven-feet-tall commandos that had taken down Colonel Watts, Jared found it extremely difficult to earn the rebels trust, but eventually worked his way in to their organization and their confidence, providing the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence with valuable information. When the time came for Jared to be extracted, orders came down for him to eliminate all high-ranking officers on the base, a directive that the Spartan carried out relentlessly and mercilessly. He even took the orders one step further, overloading the base's old fission reactors and completely irradiating the base, removing the Insurrectionist presence in the home system.

First Operations
At the age of twenty, the newly-experienced Jared had his first encounter with the gathering of xenophobic alien races known as the Covenant. This encounter took place on the Outer Colony world of Kearsarge, a planet that had been ravaged by several bloody civil wars between its inhabitants. Due to the fact that the attacking Covenant forces were merely a scouting party, SPARTAN-091 and a division of UNSC Marines stationed as peacekeeper forces were able to repel the invasion, and through a daring play, disable the Covenant corvette's engines. Thanks to these valiant efforts, Colonial Authority was given enough time to relocate the majority of Kearsarge's population before the alien collective glassed the planet two weeks later. For his tireless work, Jared-091 received the UNSC Medal of Valor.

On June 23, 2532, he was assigned to Operation WITCHHUNT, locating and destroying mobile Covenant supply bases with a Navy raider battlegroup. Successfully completing many missions, Jared was unfortunately severely injured during a WITCHHUNT operation in the Zeta Doradus system, and was rush-evacuated to the UNSC Hopeful, which was nearby. After being treated and having had around a month to heal, he was transferred back to the Navy unit at his request. The operation continued for several years until Captain Julius Norman, the commander of the Navy battlegroup, was killed in action along with half of his ships, above Azura IV.



Jared-091 was then moved to OPERATION KINGSNAKE, an attempt to stabilize the UNSC-Insurrectionist front. He served in an assassin's role once more, from 2535 to 2537, elminating many rebel leaders and twice evading capture. The SPARTAN was promoted to Petty Officer, Second Class, and awarded several honors for this particular effort.

Several years later, Jared, hardened from countless actions against Covenant and ULF forces, was contacted by the Office of Naval Intelligence, which had been closely following his career and evaluating his psychological profile. Because of his high level of loyalty and obediance, he was earmarked as a ptotential asset for the future, and asked to participate in Operation WILLING STRENGTH, a covert assignment behind Covenant battlelines. After having some string pulled for him, Rear Admiral Rich was able to have Jared placed on loan from HIGHCOM to ONI, which put the Spartan under immediate ONI operational jurisdiction, even though he still technically reported to High Command. Jared went immediately to work in WILLING STRENGTH, and was deployed on New Bremerhaven, a planet that the Covenant had captured but, mysteriously, not yet glassed. Along with a contingent of Iota operatives, 091 played cat and mouse with an Elite Special Operations unit, spending nearly a month creeping through the radioactive rubble of New Bremerhaven's polluted cities. Eventually, it was discovered that the Covenant had found a Forerunner artifact that was buried beneath the planet's surface, hidden in an eons-old research facility. In a fierce firefight that eliminated many of the Iotas and a few of the Elites, the artifact was recovered by the ONI task force. The team immediately requested extraction and a prowler was dispatched to the occupied world. Unfortunately, a dropship pilot panicked, left Jared and the Iotas behind, and was subsequently killed by Covenant AAA fire. Dangerously low on ammunition and supplies, the Spartan and his operatives set out to locate a means of escape, pursued in force by a large group of Elites who were bent on recapturing the Forerunner artifact.

ONI Operative
By early 2540, the UNSC had still not heard from Jared or his team, and was forced to list him as officially MIA, but they presumed him dead from the Pelican crash. But in May of that year, an ONI prowler that was dispatched to check on the situation picked up a faint distress call from a battered civilian freighter. Onboard were a battered 091 and the one remaining Iota. Seeing its opportunity at last, ONI pounced. Reporting their find to no on, they moved Jared secretly back to a restricted station in orbit around Reach, where they nursed him back to fighting strength. To further cover their tracks, they officially listed Jared as MIA(KIA) on the roster. At last, the office had their precious individual Spartan, and one who would not present the risk of attempting contact with Halsey. Jared-091's true identity was only known to a select few, such as Vice Admiral Parangosky, Rear Admiral Rich, and Captain Gibson, the elites of the headquarters. By 2550, Jared was ready to be put back on assignment, for all intents and purposes dead to the universe. He was outfitted in a new, experimental version of armor which was equipped with an energy shield and a heat-emissions dampening system. The black-colored suit was dubbed the "ONI Variant" or the "MJOLNIR Mark-V/O", and consisted of the best features of many other versions, along with some prototype elements of a systems upgrade known as "Mark-VI", bringing it up to bleeding-edge efficiency.

Gibson, 091's immediate superior, ran the Spartan out on several controversial black ops that involved the termination of UNSC personnel. In October, ONI HQ received a distress call from one of their agents in the Omicron Polaris System, embedded in a Navy battlegroup that was tasked with the defense of Manheim, the system's colony world. After the situation was analyzed, Rich, with Parangosky's permission, ordered Gibson to dispatch Jared, along with a squad of Iota operatives, to the colony. Unfortunately, the prowler carrying the Iotas was detected and destroyed by the Covenant blockade. Jared was able to escape a similar fate by hiding in a debris field that orbited Manheim. In about a week, a meteor shower occurred, and the prowler made its descent to the surface. Upon his planetfall, Jared located a UNSC E-Band IFF signal and was able to link up with the crew of the UNSC Myrmidon, the only Human ship to survive the orbital battle.

Along with the Myrmidon's crew, Jared was able to initiate a successful guerilla war with the Covenant invaders, striking various weak points and retreating back into the rolling tundra of Manheim to regroup and resupply. The conflict continued in the fashion for quite some time, raging on until near the close of 2552. Then, the Covenant Civil War completely upset the balance of power. The Covenant armada that was stationed over Manheim was made up mostly of Sangheili military personnel, moved to that location by the Prophets, who wanted them out of the way. When news came down to the Elites of the Civil War, they attacked and destroyed all of the other races' ships, sufferin minimal losses. On Manheim's surface, an Elite visionary named Sesta 'Laramee initiated a cease-fire with the remaining Human guerillas. Officers who objected to this truce were quickly moved out of the way by the Fleetmaster of the Sangheili armada. Together, the Humans and Elites cleansed Manheim of Covenant Loyalists, running into mysterious and dangerous Forerunner technology along the way. The exact nature of this technology remains classified by ONI command. Jared and 'Laramee became good friends during this drawn-out search and destroy mission, and the two remain close to this day. After Manheim was cleared, a portion the Myrmidon's navy and marine personnel were put back on to their vessel with a Sangheili repair crew. The rest were loaded into the Sangheili ships, and with some persuasion from Jared and the UNSC commanding officer, Sylvie Grey, the armada headed for Earth.

The Second Battle of Earth
When the joint task force arrived at Earth, SPARTAN-117 and Miranda Keyes had already departed for the Ark, leaving Lord Hood to coordinate the remaining defenses. Since most of the Brutes had joined the Prophet Truth in his journey to the Ark, a lesser amount of Loyalist forces were present on Earth, easy pickings for the Sangheili strike fleet and the UNSC Myrmidon's crew. Lord Hood welcomed the reinforcements with open arms, and immediately deployed Jared to the Chicago Industrial Zone, where heavy fighting between Brutes and Humans had continued for several days. Along with the ODSTs from the Helljumpers' 101st Battalion, Jared succeeded in turning the tables on the Brutes, allowing the UNSC forces in the area to launch a major counterattack. With the North American situation stabilized, SPARTAN-091 was transported to Sydney, where he provided protection for High Command's remaining officers for the duration of the battle. When the survivors of the Ark battle emerged from the Slipspace portal, Jared expected to meet up with John and discuss old times. He was deeply saddened when the most courageous SPARTAN did not return, and fell into something of a depression when he realized that he was one of the last of his kind. After some extensive therapy, he later visited the Human-Covenant War Memorial to pay his respects to his fallen brothers and sisters. He is unofficially credited with scratching the service numbers of his fallen brothers and sisters into the memorial.

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Post-War Life
Jared did not attend the memorial's commissioning on March 3, 2553, as he was given an extended leave by ONI Command. During this leave, Jared chose to visit his hometown, which was located near the Hartsfield-Atlanta Space Transportation Terminal, a large district in the southeast of the former United States. When he arrived there, he discovered that his parents, whom he barely remembered, had been killed during the Covenant attack, and his hometown had been partly glassed. Asking around, Jared learned that most people did not remember his parents ever raising a child. The few that did said that the boy had died around the age of eight from a heart failure. After wandering around the Terminal for a few days, the SPARTAN was contacted by Miles Jaeger, one of the ODSTs that had worked with him at the end of the war. The Lieutenant invited him to go to Washington with some other members of the 101st, an offer that Jared readily accepted. During this trip, he met an ONI Lieutenant and scientific researcher named Lauryn Alden, who was also on a brief leave. She became fascinated by his life's story, and the two promised to contact each other regularly after leaving Washington, vowing to remain close friends. On May 21, 2554, SPARTAN-091 was returned to duty, needed to combat the Insurrectionist threat that had finally raised its ugly head again.

Axeblade
From May 21 to June 25, 2554, Jared fought a desperate campaign against the small number of Innie forces that still remained. The terrorists had infiltrated several levels of government and threatened to destroy or eliminate certain people and equipment neccessary to effect the UNSC's recovery. SPARTAN-091 completed several dangerous anti-terror operations, raiding a safehouse, taking down a secondary leader, locating and securing a suitcase nuclear bomb, and other such missions. But, in August, the Insurrectionists made good their threat, destroying one of the main terraforming plants near New Mombasa with a nuclear device. After a long series of negotiations, the Insurrectionists were allowed to leave UNSC control and settle a new planet, which they named Independence. Jared-091 was returned to Earth to have his AI, Juliet, removed and deactivated, as she had reached her maximum "healthy" operations length.

Rejuvenation
Unfortunately for ONI, Juliet refused to let herself be removed, instead grafting herself directly to Jared's neural network implant. This process, while harmless to the SPARTAN, prevents any other attempts to separate the two, as High Command did not wish to accidentally kill one of their last supersoldiers in a risky surgery. After the process was completed, and Jared was deemed in no significant danger, he was called to Sydney, where he was assigned to Operation REJUVENATION. On this operation, he was attached to a frigate called the UNSC Long And Dark December whose mission it was to scout out colonizable worlds and report them to High Command. Sestas 'Laramee, now a Shipmaster, accompanied the December on her journey in his ship, in hopes of finding Forerunner artifacts and promoting inter-species cooperation. Jared discovered that his friend Lauryn Alden was in charge of the frigate's ONI/Acumen research detachment, and the two were reunited. New Forerunner technology was eventually found on one of the survey worlds, but the UNSC/Sangheili forces that tried to recover it came under heavy attack by Forerunner forces led by a inactivity-crazed AI. Eventually, the technology was recovered, and with Juliet's help, the AI was subdued. For a period of six months, the journey around the edge of UNSC space continued, until finally, the December returned to Earth to make its report. Jared, when he returned, was given a surprise birthday party by his old friends, the first actual party he had had since he was six. After walking Lauryn home, Jared was struck by a drunk driver and severely injured. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was placed in intensive care. The drunk driver disappeared under suspicious circumstances, and was later found dead in an alley. The incident was blamed on gang connections.

Jared recovered after several weeks of treatment and returned himself to active duty. In 2560, he was contacted by his old ONI officers and assigned to train a young ONI agent by the codename of Talon.

Liberty
As it turned out, ONI was not finished with the Insurrectionists. After recalling SPARTAN-091 once again, the newly-reformed Section-III office authorized him to conduct assassination missions in and around Independent space, under the operational codename LIBERTY. For the period of two months, Jared did just that, working with ONI operatives to terminate many former leaders of the Insurrectionist movement and carry out several insurgent strikes on the infrastructure of Independence. The people of the "free" colony, already suffering under the effects of a trade embargo by the UNSC, and now faced with the deaths of their leaders and collapse of their economy, grudgingly surrendered themselves to UNSC government. Brought back into the fold, the UNSC graciously granted the world a post on the Planetary Council, and placed no restrictions on free trade. In 2566, Jared was allowed to return to reserve duty, and took an extended leave on an ONI psychological evaluator's orders.

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Indigo
After another stint in Operation REJUVENATION, Jared was transferred to the military colony world of Arcturas, where he, along with the surviving SPARTAN-IIs and -IIIs, was responsible for the training of the newest addition to the long-lived program, the SPARTAN-IVs. Jared had command of an Advanced Reconnaissance/Sniper Support specialty training group that he later commanded in the fight against the Necros. After their training, this unit was designated as Indigo Company in the Third Battalion of the program by High Command. The company grew to respect and almost revere the senior Spartans who commanded them, and tried their best to follow their examples. During this time of relative relaxation, Jared was able to face his past and come to grips with the losses in his life, strengthened by Lauryn and his SPARTAN-IVs trainees. He laid his depression to rest and focused at the task at hand, pouring himself into his work as a training commander. Though he modeled his methods, as the other SPARTAN-IIs did, after Chief Mendez, he tried to be more approachable as a commanding officer, allowing the trainees more room to grow and learn from his experiences. Upon their graduation, Jared took control of Wellington Platoon, the highest-performing unit within his company, and also the unit which he had taken a deep fatherly interest in. Working from the field, Indigo brought valuable data back to HighCom, mostly regarding Necros biology and social structure, as well as technology and equipment. Members of Wellington Platoon even managed to pilfer a small weapons dump on a Necros-occupied planet, capturing two intact Necros firearms that were brought back to a research lab for study. Stonewall Platoon, under the leadership of Lieutenant Webster, a former ODST, also performed excellently, taking part in a series of daring missions to the outer Necros colonies.

Physical And Mental Characteristics
Jared can be distinguished by his relative good looks, dark brown hair cut in a "high-and-tight" military hairstyle, and deep gray eyes. Whenever he looks at something, he seems to be analyzing it for a weak spot or easy headshot placement, a sort of "sniper's stare" that is shared by others of his specialization. Despite a regenerative process he has recieved, Jared still has a small distinctive scar on his cheek, given to him on one of his first operations. He keeps his body and skills in constant tip-top shape, and usually spends his off time at a local gym or firing range. While this does nothing for his popularity among UNSC personnel, those who have served with him understand that he works only to keep his mind off of what he has been through. Jared is a deeply loyal and respectful individual, who keeps most of his thoughts and ideas to himself while obediantly following orders. This behavior has earned him the reputation of being "quiet", and attracted ONI's attention. Because of his unquestioning loyalty, Jared was labelled a "stooge" by Ajax-013. His calm personality belies the sadness that lurks below the surface, as he realizes he can never have a normal life. Often at odds with the more aggressive and outgoing SPARTANs, Jared still respects them as the brothers and sisters he never had.

Weapons And Armor
The following is a list of equipment that SPARTAN-091 was known to use throughout his distinguished career in the UNSCDF. Weapons models and armor variants listed are listed by frequency of use, not preference. Attached to each piece of equipment is a brief description of its purpose, manufacturer, and date of introduction.

Human-Covenant War

 * MJOLNIR MARK VI/O Powered Assault Armor

A suit of standard Mjolnir armor that was designed, researched and developed by the Office of Naval Intelligence's Acquisition and Development Department. It includes a small heat sink, an energy shield, and a variety of advanced materials that accentuate its stealth properties, such as its "Midnight Onyx" colored stealth coating. The small white bands on the thigh and upper arm portions of the armor are emergency heat sink strips, which can vent the armor's excess heat in case of an emergency.
 * SRS98z-AMX "BushWhacker" Sniper Rifle
 * M6G Semi-Automatic Pistol
 * BR-55XR Battle Rifle

Necros War

 * MJOLNIR MARK VII/Scout + Variant Powered Assault Armor
 * SRS99G-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
 * MA6A Personal Assault Rifle System

Quotes
"Hey, slow down and let's think before we go charging headlong into that mess. Look at how their deployment's weak on the right flank, near that tower. A few well placed rounds, we're in, and they're none the wiser."

- Jared-091, advising a more aggressive team member.

"I'm no Linda, but I bet you that I can clear that LZ before we even touch the ground."

- Jared-091, commenting on the difficulty of landing on an unsecured spacehead.

""No, let me go check it. I'm more quiet than anyone else here, and I don't have the temptation to kill every single Grunt I sneak past."

- Jared-091, on close reconnaissance, with a sidelong look at Ajax-013.

"The inner nobility of Human nature? What inner nobility? Doctor, I've seen what we are capable of, the worst we can produce, and trust me, sir.  We are most certainly not noble...!"

- Jared-091, addressing a Dr. Pritam Balthesar, Human Psychological Analyst, at a symposium that he was invited to attend by Dr. Beah Schore

"Welcome to Basic, recruits. Before we begin, I believe there are a few things you should know. Lesson Number One: don't die.  Lesson Number Two: don't ever let me hear you or see you when we're out in the course.  Bad things happen when I see you.  And, lastly, Lesson Number Three: don't be stupid."

- Jared-091, addressing his cadre of SPARTAN-IV trainees during their initiation on Arcturas

Trivia

 * Jared's name translates from Hebrew as "Descendant".
 * Jared was incorrectly portrayed as a Gray Team SPARTAN in the docudrama Heroes of Humanity: The Story of the Spartans. After being contacted by the UNSC Public Affairs office, the filmmaker fixed this error.
 * In the late 2600s, Jared-091 was a leading character in the Saturday morning sim-vid show Sierra Squad, a fictionalized series that was loosely based off of the SPARTAN-II's Covenant War exploits.