Project REX

"To fight monsters, you need monsters. But then sometimes you need a king of monsters to rule them all."

- Rear Admiral Jason Blackwood

Project REX, officially designaaed SPARTAN-II Experimental Subproject-S88, was one of the many classified projects commissioned by the United Nations Space Command during the war. A subproject of the, REX was a project ostensibly aiming to boost the augmented capabilities of the UNSC's remaining Spartan-IIs in a attempt to further increase their combat-effectiveness against the Covenant who were now laying siege to the Inner Colonies. But the project also had an ulterior goal in creating a Spartan-II capable of countering the other Spartan-IIs should they become rogue.

Approved of in 2544 by Admiral, the project selected Sampson-088 as their chosen test subject and requisitioned him superficially in order to test experimental armors. The REX Procedures were overseen by a select group of top bio-engineers within of the. Using data gathered from Project and  they subjected him to several procedures that further enhanced Spartan-088's already superhuman physiology. These included extensive genetic modification and several brain mutagens that enhanced his aggression and pain-tolerance during combat.

The results of the project remain inconclusive. Their test subject was killed in 2545 during the. It is known that Spartan-088's combat effectiveness was greatly amplified by the REX Procedures, his strength and endurance in combat was described by his handlers as almost "super-spartan" but he also became mentally unstable and uncontrollably violent as a result of the brain mutagenics which drove him insane. All other information regarding Project REX is kept top-secret by ONI.