Richard Mack Sr.

"Sooner or later, your conscience is going to bother you. In the end, you have to choose whether you're going to live as a soldier, or just another killer with a gun"

- Mack addressing the young SPARTAN-II recruits in 2520

Richard Mack Senior, also known as Codename: LEONIDAS by ONI, was a member of the SPARTAN-I, or elite Trident Team in the late 25th Century and the  for most of his adult life. Mack was one of the highest performing candidates while in the project and later emerged as a celebrated special forces hero by the beginning of the 26th Century after several classified operations, getting married briefly and retiring for several years to take care of his son after leaving the project. He was also responsible for training the SPARTAN-II Sigma Team on Earth after being called back to military service in 2517 at the behest of the Office of Naval Intelligence and Doctor Calvin Roe, an old friend.

During the Human-Covenant War, Mack would go on to lead UNSC forces against the Covenant on dozens of engagements over the years, becoming well-known as an almost unbeatable ground commander in the Marine Corps, being responsible for several major victories, inflicting heavy casualties on enemy forces in most engagements. Mack's distinctive no-nonsense leadership style and charismatic speeches led to several promotions throughout the war in addition to his widespread fame as a leader. His death in early 2552, during the brutal Battle of Harpa marked the end of one of the UNSC's best military leaders, late in the war.

Early Life
Richard Mack was born on Earth, in the megaopolis of, in the , in 2471. While still an infant, he was taken to an orphanage by his biological parents, and remained there for some time until he was adopted by a young couple when he was six years old. Mack lived an impoverished, if reasonably happy childhood, his adoptive parents struggling to find work even at a time of considerable economic growth. Though he was quite a bright young student, Mack was a known troublemaker at school, well known for his confrontational behaviour with both teachers and peers.

Growing up in the huge city also came with it's hazards. When he was fourteen, Mack was mugged by a local gang and badly beaten, ending up in a local hospital with several broken bones. Though his parents were able to afford medical treatment, it left the family with very little money for some time, forcing the teen to take on several part-time jobs on minimum wage in addition to his schoolwork. Things began to go badly at home as well. His adoptive father began drinking heavily after losing his job, becoming physically abusive to both his wife and Mack. In 2488, while coming home from a local bar, Mack's father was gunned down in the street by the same street gang and left for dead yards from his own home.



The 17-year old Mack, who had neglected going to college despite his reasonably good grades to support the family, witnessed the incident while waiting at home, ready to protect his mother if his father had a violent outburst. Seeing the retreating gang and the corpse lying in the gutter, Mack took his father's gun, which was concealed for emergencies, and went after the gang members despite his mother's pleadings to seek revenge for both the years of torment and his adoptive father's death.

Mack chased down several of the gang members as emergency services were called, following them into a disused factory which served as a hangout for the gang. The young man quickly got into a firefight with two of the members while the leader, the man who had pulled the trigger on his father, attempted to escape. Never having fired a gun in his life, Mack used the darkness to hide ambushing a few gang members, beating them just as badly as they had done to him years earlier, making use of metal pipes and bricks as makeshift weapons. Mack then tracked down the gang leader, trapping him on the roof of the building. After disarming the man, who was only a few years older than him, Mack found himself unable to pull the trigger on the murderer. As he turned away, the other man attempted to shoot Mack with a concealed weapon, but was taken down by a shot to the head by a police sniper.

A member of a SWAT Team, which had been called in after the initial shooting, comforted the young Mack, even complimenting him on his prowess in taking down some of the gang members, who were in police custody. The man introduced himself as Anton LaMarche, befriending the disturbed young man and ensuring that he was not sentenced too harshly for his rash actions. When asked by Mack for advice on what to do with his future, LaMarche suggested that Mack join the military, stating that it would give him a good deal of life experience and useful skills. Seeing no other option, Mack enlisted in the UNSC Marine Corps three months later, on his eighteenth birthday after some compulsory community service. His adoptive mother, distraught over the death of his father, was firmly against the idea, refusing to speak to him at all after he joined up. Mack was greatly saddened by this, and resolved to send all his pay home to her, being the only family he had ever known.

Marine Corps
After enlisting, Mack was transported to Reach along with hundreds of other potential recruits, and underwent training there. Unlike his school years, in which he had been quite rebellious and confrontational, Mack seemed to be an exemplary soldier, performing well under pressure and being marked down as a good leader. It was here that Mack first met John Ackton and Harold Redford. The three became good friends and were placed within the same unit once they had finished their training.

Mack's first taste of battle came in late 2489. His unit had been dispatched to an outer colony world after communications had been shut down. Upon being deployed via pelican dropship, their squad quickly secured a large communications array, discovering that it had been irreversibly damaged by an Insurrectionist group. While calling in reinforcements, the NCO of Mack's squad was shot and killed instantly as hostile forces attempted to ambush the marines. Using improvised explosives, they killed off most of the unit, forcing Mack, Redford and Ackton inside the comm facility with the survivors. As the highest ranking soldier alive (being a Lance Corporal at the time) Mack ordered that the marines set up a killzone at the main exit to the facility, killing the rebels as they tried to pursue them inside. This strategy proved to be quite successful, the depleted squad holding off the enemy force until reinforcements arrived, swiftly clearing up any remaining opposition.

After exiting the facility, Mack was surprised to encounter a man from his past: Anton LaMarche. After greeting his old friend, LaMarche explained that he had decided to rejoin the military shortly after Mack had enlisted, quickly being promoted back to his former rank of Sergeant. Mack's squad, which had been reduced to only five people, was folded into LaMarche's unit after the incident. For the next year, Mack battled the Insurrection on several worlds, being promoted to Corporal, then to Sergeant by early 2491.

The ORION Project
In January 2491, Mack, along with several others in his unit, was recruited for the top secret ORION Project as one of the original sixty five test subjects. After undergoing an arduous training regime and receiving chemical augmentations, a hundred more recruits were accepted into the program. For five years, Mack worked largely as a trainer for the newer ORION recruits until early 2496, when it was announced that the entire unit would be deployed in Operation: CHARLEMAGNE. Mack was assigned to Trident Team under his friend and mentor, Anton LaMarche.



Operation: CHARLEMAGNE
CHARLEMAGNE would be the first major operation undergone by the ORION members, and Mack's first taste of a special operations mission. The entire ORION contingent was deployed on Eridanus II in order to quell the Insurrection there. Trident Team, which consisted of Mack and seven others, was one of the first teams on the ground, swiftly wiping out a rebel outpost within minutes of landing. Mack personally eliminated over two dozen hostiles during the operation, covering his teammates as they set explosive charges and cleared out buildings.

The operation proved to be a huge success, proving the ORION soldiers to be an effective military unit, only taking a single casualty over the course of the entire mission. This would also be the first and last time that the entire company would be deployed as a whole, Mack and Trident being assigned to another mission within a month of CHARLEMAGNE's success.

Operation: BRIMSTONE
Trident Team's first mission on their own was to Mamore, a colony with a long history of anti-UNSC sentiment. A well-armed group of Insurrectionists had seized control of an arms factory that was constructing tanks for the war effort, taking the workers hostage. Rather than risk storming the facility, which would lead to heavy casualties and civilian deaths, the UNSC sent in the ORION soldiers to eliminate the rebels and save the hostages.

After their initial insertion just before dawn, Trident Team was able to quickly advance on the factory. As silenced sniper fire eliminated the outer sentries, Mack and the others were able to get through to the inner walls without being detected, planting explosive breaching charges on their entry points. While LaMarche led several others to free the workers, Mack joined Marion Hollister and Tobias Crowley in breaching the main factory and eliminating the Insurrectionist leader.

The moment the wall was breached, the three commandos stormed the factory floor, their enhanced reflexes and superior equipment giving them the edge against the enemy. Crowley deployed smoke grenades to cover their entry, drawing hostile fire as the ORION's moved forward. Mack took point, utilising thermal goggles to see through the smoke. The surviving Insurrectionists retreated further into the facility, forcing the three to split up and hunt them down. Mack was fastest, and arrived in the main assembly area before his teammates could catch up with him. It was here that he came face to face with a rebel-operated.

Knowing that he had to avoid the tank's, Mack stayed close to the machine, which in combat would usually be protected by several soldiers. The gun fired in an unsuccessful attempt to hit the young soldier, though it brought down several walls, making the building quite unstable. Mack was able to, albeit with some difficulty, climb aboard the tank and open the hatch. After nearly being killed by small arms fire from the driver, a grenade was thrown inside, destroying it and killing the driver as Mack dived off to safety.

Mack was greeted by Crowley and Hollister shortly after, the two of them having cleared out the rest of the building. As the three of them exited to regroup with the rest of Trident, the roof caved in, having been weakened by the Cobra's fire. Outside, another Cobra sat unattended, and was commandeered by the soldiers in order to eliminate the surviving rebels, who were attempting to escape to a waiting transport, which was disabled by repeated fire from the tank. Meeting up with LaMarche and the others, it was discovered that most of the hostages had been saved, one being killed by Steven Hawkins when used as a human shield by one of the rebels.

The mission over, Trident signalled for pickup, and were extracted from Mamore via dropship. In spite of the massive collateral damage caused by the team, the factory being put out of commission for several months, ONI deemed the operation as a resounding success, with similar reports coming in from other ORION teams deployed around UNSC space. Mack was given a promotion to Sergeant Major for his heroic actions, being elevated to second in command of Trident in terms of rank.

Operation: HEART OF DARKNESS
In late 2498, Trident was dispatched to an outer colony world, where Insurrectionist forces were confirmed to be present, having built up their own arms factory within the dense rainforests that covered the outer colony world. The team were inserted several kilometres away from a pelican dropship, and began making their way through the harsh terrain, Mack taking point.

Unbeknownst to the ORION soldiers, they had been spotted landing on the planet, and rebel forces were rushing in to intercept them. Richard kept leading the group through the forest. After some time, Trident Team came across several anti-personnel mines. LaMarche sent in Redford and King to disarm them. As they did so, King was hit several times as rebel forces launched an ambush. Redford, having finished disarming the explosives, was able to drag King back into cover, becoming cut off from the rest of the team. Heavily outnumbered, LaMarche gave the order to retreat and leave the others behind to fend for themselves while the rest of Trident regrouped and fought back.

As they fell back into the jungle, Mack realised that both King and Redford would most likely be killed if left to fend for themselves. Moving back in spite of LaMarche's orders, he and Ackton returned to the fray, using the dense foliage as cover to flank the Insurrectionist soldiers before launching their own ambush. This took the enemy by surprise, the two commandos killing half a dozen before Redford was able to drag King to safety with the rest of the team. In spite of his heroism, LaMarche berated Mack for the rash action he had taken, which had clearly defied orders and endangered teammates. Nonetheless, with most of the attack force killed, the ORION's were free to continue their mission, Ackton staying behind to look after King and wait for Evac.

The remainder of the operation went smoothly, the six other members assaulting the factory with Mack and LaMarche leading separate teams. After eliminating the remaining resistance and killing any survivors, Trident placed explosive charges around the area and retreated to their extraction point, detonating the explosives and denying the Insurrectionists another valuable installation. It was not until the team was aboard the dropship that an argument broke out over Mack's actions earlier. While he had saved the lives of two teammates, he had nearly gotten himself and Ackton killed in the process. The debate went on for some time, with the general opinion being in Mack's favour. This however, meant the end of Richard Mack and Anton LaMarche's friendship, the two becoming embittered and angry over their differences, a far cry from the day that the SWAT officer had given advice to the confused teenager years before.

In late 2499, Trident was split into two groups. Mack, Redford and Ackton were sent to assassinate a minor rebel leader and his lieutenants on Biko, while LaMarche and the others were sent to Heimdall, an outer colony world, whereupon a UNSC weapons testing facility had been taken over by a force of hard-line Insurrectionists. Though he thought it strange that Trident would be split up on this one, having always remained as a group in the past, Mack joined the other two on the mission to Biko, which was a complete success.

Heimdall Incident
-CLASSIFIED INFORMATION-

26th Century
Following the Heimdall Incident, Mack and the survivors of Trident spent several weeks recuperating onboard the as they were debriefed. To his dismay, almost every detail of the mission would be kept secret, with a cover story put in place that terrorists had seized the facility and had only been stopped by the heroic actions of Mack. He was placed in the public eye and made out as a hero, receiving the Colonial Cross and a promotion to Captain. Mack disliked the publicity that he was receiving, but put up with it until he faded from the public eye, allowing him to begin embarking on missions as the new leader of Trident Team.

For another six years, Mack would lead his team, now down to five operators, on dozens of classified missions against the growing Insurrectionist movement. In spite of the ORION's effectiveness in the field, the number of rebel organisations seemed to be growing, with many violent incidents sparking up over the colonies. In addition, as a result of their augmentations, Mack and some members of Trident were beginning to suffer from side effects from their augmentations. Though not serious, largely involving headaches and occasional migraines, it soon became clear that the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder were beginning to set in. Marion Hollister was discharged from the unit due to this in 2504, and it was soon after this that the ORION project as a whole began to disband, being officially ended in 2506.

The members of Trident went their own ways after the project was shut down; Mack being assigned to Reach to train Orbital Drop Shock Trooper recruits, Redford and Ackton joining the ODST's themselves while King went to work for the Office of Naval Intelligence. The four of them generally kept in contact over the years in spite of their work. In late 2508, after a liaison with a former member of his support team during the Heimdall incident, a child was conceived. Mack was forced to retire from active duty, arriving back on Earth not long before the birth of his son, who was named after him, something that Mack Senior disliked, but ended up agreeing with the mother's choice. Four months later, she left to pursue her own career, Mack being alone to bring up his son.

Though he lived comfortably, Mack resented the inactivity, even while looking after the young Richard. Using some of the pull he still had within the military, he was able to get a job on Earth, going back to his ODST training for some time, while still being able to stay close to his son on an almost daily basis, though he relied heavily on maids and nannies to take care of him. One of Mack's most promising recruits was Henry McNair, who had grown up hearing about Mack's 'heroic' exploits before joining the military himself. While he busied himself with training new ODST's, Mack saw his son less than he would have liked to, becoming quite distant from the child. In 2517, Mack was visited by Calvin Roe, who had saved his life on Heimdall years before.

Project SIGMA
Roe, now a well-known civilian consultant for the Office of Naval Intelligence, told Mack in detail about the 'SPARTAN' initiative, proposed by to combat mounting Insurrection in the outer colonies. Roe, who had been in contact with Margaret Parangosky, was forwarded the data for review, and came up with the idea of adapting the project, the goal of which was to train super-soldiers for the UNSC, for ONI's own needs. This was largely due to their mutual dislike for Halsey, whom Parangosky had considered disposing of when her usefulness had run it's course. Roe's project, codenamed SIGMA, would utilise all the data from Halsey, though certain aspects would be modified. All they needed was someone to head up the training of these new soldiers.

Though initially dubious of the whole project, which involved kidnapping and the creation of child soldiers, Mack was eventually persuaded to join, for several reasons. Firstly, he owed both Roe and Parangosky for Heimdall, and trusted them greatly. Secondly, there was an implicit threat if he did refuse, largely the technical war crimes that he and his fellows in Trident had committed years before being revealed. The training facility would be located on Earth, hours away from Mack's home, so he would be allowed to return there often to look after his son, something that had been taken into consideration when he had been selected for the job.

However, the one thing that made up Mack's mind about joining the project was the children that were involved. Though he trusted Roe personally, he was aware of the man's lack of social skills with others and his explosive temper, needing someone who was harsh but fair to ensure that the ones they were training to be Spartans would come out well. One candidate in particular caught his eye: Kane Hollister. A quick background check confirmed his suspicions that he was the son of Marion Hollister, an old friend from Trident. As a sort of favour to his old friend, Mack accepted Roe's offer, and was secretly transported to the SIGMA facility in Washington DC to prepare for the candidates arrival. Along with his removal came a surprise promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, something that Mack cared little for, but knew was made to appease him in some way.

For the next eight years, Mack worked in the Sigma Facility on a daily basis, forming training programmes for the twenty trainees there. The small 'class' size of SPARTAN-II's meant that they could be individually monitored and enhanced based on their own specialities. The children gained a great deal of respect for the SPARTAN-I, never misbehaving in his presence or speaking out of line, as some would with Roe, SPARTAN-025 in particular. Though he put years of hard work and effort into training the Spartans, Mack was still deeply disturbed by the ethical issues brought forward by the program, chiefly the flash cloning procedures used, as first proposed by Catherine Halsey. While some of this came from his own dislike of the Doctor, Mack lived in fear of his involvement in SPARTAN-II being revealed to the public, particularly towards his own growing son, who was becoming very detached from Mack Senior.

When the Human-Covenant War broke out, the Sigma Spartans had only just gone through their. However, Roe made the decision, backed by ONI, to split up the SPARTAN group, with eleven members set to fight humanity's new foe, the Covenant, and the other nine focusing on whatever ONI wanted them to do behind the scenes. Unlike Halsey's group, there were no fatalities or even permanent incapacitations from the procedures, largely to the smaller group, which allowed for less errors to be made. In addition, the fact that they underwent their augmentations several months after the Reach-trained SPRTAN-II's allowed for many corrections to be made from the original process, significantly lowering the danger rate for Sigma, though several were scarred and/or had long recovery periods. Mack was furious to find out that the second group, consisting of nine members, had officially 'died' during their augmentations, this fact being hidden from 'Sigma-Alpha' for many years. He assumed that Roe had done this in some kind of misguided attempt to motivate the Spartans, but saw it as a horrible mistake.

Upon hearing word of human colonies being destroyed by the Covenant, Mack received word that many former military commanders, including the famous, were being called out of retirement to fight once more. While he was technically not retired, Mack felt the need to return, the Sigma project nearing it's completion. It was on his final day with the Spartans of Sigma-Alpha that a breakout occurred within the facility. Jack-085, one of the highest performing Spartans in Sigma, had broken into the armoury, along with Ahmad-127, and slaughtered his way through the facility, heading for the hangar bay. Mack pursued the two Spartans alone, armed only with his M6D Pistol, and attempted to corner them in a corridor. After a brief standoff, Jack was able to get the upper hand, taking Mack hostage as Fenn-145, Kane-099 and Jax-007 arrived. Though Jack threatened to kill his trainer, he relented, knowing that killing Mack would almost certainly lead to the death of him and his accomplice. Mack was released as Jack escaped through a side door, managing to flee the facility in a Pelican.

What followed was an intense manhunt for the rogue Spartans through the surrounding area after the Pelican was shot down, though the search teams found little evidence to trace the pair. After a few days, Ahmad-127's body was found on the outskirts of a city, the cause of death being ruled as suicide. Jack, however, managed to escape, much to Mack's despair, and was never found by the authorities. As someone who had trained these people for several years, he felt as if he had failed both of them, not having any idea of Jack's plans until it was far too late. Depressed over the loss of two SPARTAN-II's, Mack made his goodbyes to Sigma. Not long after, a message came through from, requesting that he return to the front to fight against their newfound alien foe.

Mack's return to active duty in the Marine Corps was met with a great deal of praise, from both his peers and his subordinates, many of whom had heard about the so-called hero's exploits years before. The Lieutenant Colonel spent several weeks reading up on everything he had regarding their new foe, known as 'The '. Though they definitely held a technological advantage compared to humanity, and had already demonstrated their immense destructive capabilities by glassing several colonies, Mack was certain that they could be defeated on the ground, in addition to the few pyrrhic victories the UNSC were gaining in space, largely to the tactical genius of Preston Cole. Eventually, Mack was given command of the 85th Marine Battalion, and dispatched to, along with a massive fleet under Cole's command, with the intent of reclaiming the whole planet from the Covenant.

The position of command suited Mack, who was now in his fifties. Though long periods spent in cryosleep and his ORION augmentations slowed down his ageing process somewhat, keeping him, for the most part, fit and healthy, he had began to notice his limits on the battlefield. In addition, the chemical augmentations that gave him a distinct advantage over 'regular' humans also gave him occasional debilitating migraines, which struck more often than not when Mack was out of combat. In addition, Mack Junior had, against his father's wishes, joined the rather than taking up the offer from the prestigious, as his father had wished.

Skills and Abilities
"Sir, are you- oh, never mind"

- Marco-025, discovering Mack at the centre of a slaughtered Sangheili lance

As both a former marine and ORION member, Richard Mack was a highly skilled soldier, proficient with most forms of weaponry in the UNSC's arsenal. While a part of the program, he distinguished himself as an expert at scouting and tracking in most environments, as well as being an accomplished marksman. In addition to this, he was known for his deadliness in close quarters, his enhanced speed and reflexes giving him a vital edge on the enemy, even being able to take down Sangheili warriors at quite an advanced age with nothing but a combat knife. Even in his late seventies, he was noted for being just as fit as he had been in his ORION days, there being dozens of occasions in which he would have to take to the frontline during the Human-Covenant War.

Another key skill that Mack had was the ability to lead and command respect from others around him and deal with changing situations in battle. Upon taking command of the remnants of Trident Team in 2500, Mack proved to be an effective commander for the team until it's dissolution several years later. Upon being recalled to active duty in 2517, he was the man responsible for training the SPARTAN-II Sigma Team on Earth, drilling the twenty children into an effective fighting unit and overseeing their augmentation procedures a few years later.

After the outbreak of the Human-Covenant War, Mack was one of many formerly retired commanders to be brought back into action by the UNSC to fight against their new alien foe. Despite his unparalleled record on the battlefield, he had little experience of commanding large military forces when initially recalled. However, when the time came and his marine regiment was deployed he proved to be an effective strategist, being responsible for dozens of ground victories over the course of the war, and, if victory could not be achieved, organising retreats that would be costly to pursing enemy forces, as exhibited during the Siege of Fargad and several other battles. Even at an advanced age, Mack took to the field on multiple occasions, fighting on the frontlines if necessary.

Personality
"Sorry if I have to skip the pleasantries, Colonel, but I've got a goddamn battle to win"

- To Colonel Brandon Walters during the Siege of Fargad

Richard Mack became well known among colleagues for having something of a hair-trigger temper, particularly in his ORION years. This largely stemmed from a history of bullying while at school and the death of his adoptive father when he was seventeen. While his Marine Corps training helped to some degree with his anger problems, Mack's violence on the field was noted, though he never brutalised or endangered innocents, unlike some of his Trident squadmates. Following the Heimdall incident in 2499, he began drinking heavily, becoming quite depressed. His actions led to a temporary suspension from duties, until fellow Trident members and others were able to put him through rehabilitation for a few months. Though he never touched the drink again, this would lead to a major personality change from the somewhat hotheaded ORION member he had been in the 2490's.



After temporarily retiring for nearly a decade, Mack became somewhat calmer, helping to bring up his son until he was called back to active duty. There, he was forced to adopt the persona of a drill sergeant in training the young Spartans. However, a key characteristic of his was the ability to see what was bothering the trainees and speak to them individually, something that gained him the respect of his pupils for years after. However, this degree of dedication to the SPARTAN Program distanced himself quite a lot from his son, leading to a somewhat strained and even hostile relationship between the two at times. Though they eventually reconciled, Mack would often feel guilty about treating his only child far too harshly in his youth.

While in command of various marine regiments over the course of the Human-Covenant War, Mack often chose to lead without taking the advice of others. This can be largely attributed to the fact that while he was a brilliant commander, he was also quite arrogant when it came to the big decisions. These were often overlooked in light of his many victories and that his own lieutenants rarely questioned him.

In spite of being an exemplary commander and a talented orator, Mack was quite a solitary man, having only a few friends outside of his former ORION team and even being quite distant from his son for many years. Strangely, one of the few people that he got on with well was, the eventual head of ONI. The two were reportedly good friends for decades, sharing somewhat ruthless personalities in addition to being extremely efficient in their respective professions. Another person of ill-repute that Mack was known for befriending was Doctor Calvin Roe, a scientist involved in various projects for ONI. Roe had saved Mack's life while on a mission, the latter owing him a debt following this, which he repaid when he was called to train the Sigma SPARTAN unit.

Literary References

 * Boot
 * Back Then