Simon-G294

"I don't fight for any god, nation, species, or ideal. Hell, half the time, I try to avoid fighting altogether. But when I do fight, I'm usually fighting for one thing and one thing only: to survive."

- Simon, speaking with a Sanghelli officer

Simon is a SPARTAN-III of Gamma Company and is one of the only SPARTANs to ever betray the UNSC.

Childhood
Simon was found on the doorstep of Saint Jerome's Home for Orphans on Eridanus II, having been abandoned by his parents at birth. He grew up bitter and antisocial, knowing that he had not been wanted, and was frequently getting into and winning fights against larger and older boys through sheer tenacity. At the age of six, he was given the opportunity to join the SPARTAN III program, an offer he readily accepted just to get away from St. Jerome's. He and the other SIII's were taken to Onyx, where they began training under Lieutenant Kurt Ambrose. During the training, Simon gained a reputation for being unfriendly and arrogant, something born of his inherently antisocial nature. When the Gamma Company SPARTANs were divided into five-man teams, he was assigned to Team Jian, under the command of Jake-G293.

Training
As a member of Team Jian, Simon was quickly reevaluated by his teammates. They found that his quietness and tendency to isolate himself from others stemmed from a life of isolation, mistrust, and violence. Jake, the team leader, found that his shy teammate's contributions (further and fewer between than those from rest of the team) often revealed bits of information that others hadn't spotted. However, Simon was quickly proven to be one of the least proficient fighters in Gamma company, a fact he resented and worked hard to overcome. He was frustrated by his team's constant defeats at the hands of Team Saber, and fostered a bitter dislike of Saber's leader, Ash.

While not working to become a better soldier, Simon enjoyed reading and attempted to procure new books as often as possible. He also wished to know more about the Alpha and Beta companies of SPARTAN IIIs, since he had been told nothing of them besides that they had been the two companies of SIIIs before Gamma. Being careful not to be detected, Simon ran searches for both of the companies on the 'net. Finding nothing, he also searched for SPARTAN IIIs, but came up empty once again. He concluded that the SPARTAN IIIs were top-secret, a fact he couldn't understand given the morale-boosting nature of the SPARTAN IIs. After months of pondering his discovery, he correctly deduced that the SPARTAN IIIs were essentially a suicide unit, and that both Alpha and Beta companies had been wiped out fighting the Covenant. This realization completely destroyed his trust of the UNSC, but he told no one, fearful that if his superiors found him out he would be killed. He considered deserting, but stayed because he did not want to abandon his friends. He did promise himself, however, that he would survive no matter what, however, and made it his personal goal to inform someone outside of ONI about the SPARTAN-IIIs.

Team Jian
At twelve years of age, Simon survived being biologically enhanced like all of the other SPARTANs of Gamma Company, and shipped out of Onyx to begin fighting the Covenant. He was secretly glad that Team Saber remained behind to compete for top honors because it meant that he wouldn't have to work with Ash. He participated in all of Gamma Company's missions, always expecting that their next mission would be the one in which the UNSC sacrificed them all. No longer afraid of being killed by his instructors, Simon voiced his fears to the other members of Team Jian, but none of his teammates believed him. Determined to leave some message that would tip off the UNSC's civilian population and get the SIII program canceled, Simon began keeping a diary, chronicling all of his thoughts, as well as all that he knew about the SIII program.

Over the course of his missions, Simon made repeated attempts to pass on his knowledge of the program to others. On the rare occasions that Gamma Company fought alongside Marine or Navy personnel, he defied orders and struck up conversations with them, dropping hints or copies of his diary pages to those he trusted most. Most of the time, however, the Gamma SPARTANs performed their missions with little or no contact to or from other humans. During these times, Simon was proud to note that Team Jian never lost a member, something he attributed to Jake's leadership and something which Jake attributed to the combined skills of the team, especially Simon's insights and his constant insistence that the others not sacrifice themselves. However, scattered casualties throughout the rest of Gamma Company saw teams enlarged or rearranged to make up for the deaths. Noticing Team Jian's lack of any losses whatsoever, the ONI officials responsible for the maintenance of Gamma Company enlarged the team from a five member squad to a ten member one. While he lamented the loss of privacy, Simon was glad that more SPARTAN IIIs had come under what he hoped was a positive influence from his constant mantra: stay alive.

During his battles against the Covenant, Simon learned to detest the Brutes and Jackals, fear and respect the Elites and Hunters, and to sympathize with and pity the Grunts. He saw the diminutive Grunts as being trapped in a similar predicament as that of the SIIIs: their superiors cared more for the damage that they could cause than their individual lives. He was also privately shocked at how easily killing other sentient beings came to himself and his fellow SPARTANs, blaming the UNSC for robbing them of a part of their humanity. When the Covenant Civil War broke out, Simon saw the Grunts forced to fight for both sides, which caused him to reflect that should a similar schism split the UNSC, the SPARTANs would most likely be found fighting on both sides as well.

The Battle of New Africa
"Something feels wrong about this mission. I'm probably just being paranoid, but I've got a bad feeling about this."

- Simon-G294, in his diary

With the Covenant's invasion of Earth, it was clear that, for better or for worse, the war was nearing its end. Most of Gamma Company was reassigned to a large UNSC assault fleet preparing to reinforce UNSC forces on Earth with an army consisting of thousands of Marines and ODSTs, all collected from secret facilities across UNSC space. However the fleet's plans were disrupted when the Prophet of Truth opened the portal to the Ark on Earth and entered it with most of the Covenant Loyalist fleet. The reserve fleet's commander, Rear Admiral Edwards, convinced Lord Hood that now was the perfect opportunity to recapture the few human planets that had not been glassed. Hood reluctantly agreed, and the fleet, along with the S-IIIs, made for the captured colony world of New Africa, which had been spared a glassing by its small cache of Forerunner technology buried beneath its surface.

The fleet's secret weapon was a massive infantry deployment vessel, the UNSC Titanic. This ship not only contained the brunt of the UNSC assault force, but also had the capability of launching a huge amount of ODST drop pods from orbit. Gamma Company's mission was to capture or destroy the largest Covenant encampment on the planet, clearing a space for Marine reinforcements to land and establish a beachhead. Simon expressed doubts about the coming battle in his diary, and when Gamma Company dropped from the Titanic to the planet, his misgivings were justified. Due to larger amounts of Covenant troops than expected, Gamma Company received more losses than it had endured during its entire service history, including Team Jian's first casualties. Despite this, the invasion continued, with Gamma Company driving the Covenant forces further and further into their encampment while ODST battalions secured the surrounding area. During the fighting, Team Jian noticed a human mining elevator in the midst of the Covenant facility. Attempting to investigate, the team was ambushed. In the ensuing firefight, Simon and a wounded teammate, Mary-G130, were driven onto the elevator, which began to descend of its own accord. As they traveled down the shaft, Simon attempted without success to patch up Mary's rapidly worsening wounds. When they reached the bottom, the two SPARTANs were ambushed by robots constructed from scrap. Although they managed to destroy quite a number of their attackers, Simon and Mary were overwhelmed. His last sight as he was bludgeoned unconscious was of Mary being briefly inspected and then killed by one of the robots.

Captive
Simon awoke to find himself strapped to an operating table, dressed in only in the jumpsuit he wore under his SPI armor and suffering from a splitting headache. A cold and impassive voice congratulated him on surviving what it described as "an experiment meant to contribute to the evolution of humanity as a species." Furious over Mary's murder, Simon demanded to know where he was. The voice refused to answer his question, and instead told him that he was the first in over a dozen test subjects to survive the experiment. When Simon demanded it to tell him what it had done to him, the voice informed him that an AI had been successfully implanted directly into his brain. Upon hearing this, Simon was horrified, due in part to a mistrust of AIs he had developed during training, At this point, the AI within him now revealed herself over a speaker connected to the operating table, introducing herself as Diana. Panicking, Simon tore through his restraints and, grabbing his MA5K from where his armor had been discarded, tried to destroy the machine the voice seemed to be coming from. Diana stopped him by sending an electric shock through his nervous system. The voice then told him that he would be released back onto the surface, where his struggles to survive would be monitored. After this, Simon once again lost consciousness.

Back Into The Fray
"I've always preferred being alone. But now that I've got you, I'll never be alone again."

- Simon-G294 upon hearing Diana tell him that he would die if she was ever removed

When Simon regained consciousness, he was lying on a grassy plain, dressed in his SPI armor and with his MA5K carbine by his side. At first he decided that it had all been a dream, but this hope vanished when Diana again spoke to him through his helmet's speaker system. Reminded of his predicament, Simon tried to ignore the AI while he attempted to ascertain his location. Diana insisted that he'd better get used to her, but Simon told her that he'd have her removed as soon as he reported back to the UNSC. Diana then told him that the two of them were now a single entity. If he died, then she would be erased. If she were erased or removed, he would die. Simon's angry response was cut off by the arrival of several Covenant Phantoms. As Simon fled across the plain, he noticed that his movements were slightly faster than before. Diana claimed credit for this, stating that having her tapped into his spinal cord was increasing his reaction time. Admitting that she might be good for some things, Simon made his way into some foothills, where he and Diana managed to cooperate in order to kill several Covenant pursuers.

New Africa Incident
"All this time I knew the UNSC didn't give a damn about whether we lived or died, but this is too far, even for them!"

- Simon-G294

With very little rations to go on, Simon decided that he would try to find the nearest UNSC forces in order to find out what had happened since he had gone missing. Still not trusting Diana, he picked up a signal from a stranded group of ODSTs. Arriving at the platoon's location, he discovered that both the UNSC and Covenant had forces scattered randomly across the planet, and that there had been no sign of ships from either side for days. While resupplying, he heard a message on the ODSTs' radio ordering all SPARTAN IIIs in the area to report to a nearby location for reassignment. Traveling to the spot, he encountered three other SIIIs who had also been separated from the main force. As they headed for the extraction point, Simon decided not to mention Diana to his companions. Diana, trying to understand her host more clearly, attempted to strike up a conversation about the SIII program, only to be told that it was "classified" by Simon. Indignant at his mistrust, Diana stopped talking to him. Relieved at her silence, Simon reached the designated area without further incident. Once at the spot, the four SPARTANs found a squad of ODSTs waiting for them. Unbeknownst to the SPARTANs, the war with the Covenant was officially over. The heads of ONI had determined that if the public learned of the SIII program the UNSC would shut ONI down. Determining the SPARTANs of Gamma Company too big of a security risk, ONI had dispatched several death squads to New Africa disguised as ODST reinforcements. Without any warning, the ONI troops opened fire on the unsuspecting SPARTANs, killing Simon's three companions in seconds. Aided by Diana, Simon managed to kill his attackers, taking their leader prisoner. From him, Simon learned of the order to kill all of the SPARTAN IIIs. Furious that he and his friends had been betrayed so callously, Simon executed his hostage(he later apologized to Diana for losing control). Wounded during the ambush, Simon fled back into the plains, where he was hunted by both the ONI forces and the Covenant troops stranded on the planet. After a long and bitter chase, Simon was finally surrounded by death squads. He was saved by several new figures in MJOLNIR armor. As he was loaded onto a Pelican by his rescuers, he finally assured Diana of his trust in her before passing out from blood loss.

Deserter
Simon was revived in the medical facility of a UNSC cargo ship by a man who identified himself simply as Troy. When an exhausted Simon asked why he didn't have a last name, Troy replied that his reason for not having a last name was the same reason that Simon did not have one. He put a stop to any other questions by telling Simon to get some rest, and assured him that all would be revealed "in due time".

As his wounds rapidly recovered, Simon asked Diana what exactly she was and whom it was who had implanted her in him. She agreed to tell him on the condition that he tell her about who he was. Deciding that he owed the UNSC nothing, Simon agreed. After he had briefed her on the nature of the SPARTAN III program, as well as his abiding hatred of those who had used him, Diana told him that she was a creation of Project SYMBIOTE, an autonomous UNSC program that had been experimenting with AI technology. After some of their top researchers had been trapped on New Africa by the invading Covenant, they had begun attempting to permanently implant smart AIs into living bodies, effectively eliminating a smart AI's lifespan of seven years through its dependency on its host. Simon had been the first test subject to have survived the implantation. When he questioned her loyalties, she assured him that the two of them now depended on each other for survival, and reminded him that if one of them died, then so did the other. Simon, finding himself in alone in the galaxy, chose to trust her.

ARES Renegades
Troy returned to Simon's quarters and led him to the ship's bridge, where he met the rest of his saviors: the five members of a ONI project gone wrong, Project ARES. These renegades claimed to share Simon's hatred of ONI and, after interviewing him on his experiences on New Africa, they offered him a chance to join their crew, which was dedicated to collecting enough information on ONI to force the UNSC to investigate it. Although they had made no real progress, Diana's hacking skills could give them the edge they needed. Simon quickly agreed, and for the next two months he helped raid several small ONI outposts for data. The group finally set their sites on a large ONI asteroid facility near New Africa. Once they had infiltrated the facility, Simon split off from the rest of the group to shut down base security. Before he could do so however, Troy radioed that the main group was surrounded and that Simon should escape before he suffered the same fate. Simon, trying to get information on ONI's research from the security station, listened as his newfound comrades were killed or committed suicide to avoid capture. After collecting a massive amount of data, Simon stole a small stealth yacht and escaped the facility.

Rescue Mission
"If I can save just one of my comrades than maybe I'll earn some forgiveness for what I've done."

- Simon telling Diana of his plan to rescue Cassandra.

Simon and Diana christened their new ship the Simbiote, and then hid near the asteroid while Diana trawled through their stolen data. She soon discovered a shocking bit of information: the orders to execute the SPARTAN IIIs had been rescinded, and the survivors were to help train further generations of SPARTANs. His hatred of ONI strengthened, Simon decided to exact revenge on the officials who had given the order to begin with, starting with the leader of the death squads, Captain Tiberius Lierne, who was still stationed on New Africa. Simon used his stealth ship to sneak back to New Africa, where he ambushed a convoy escorting Captain Lierne. After killing several UNSC servicemen who tried to stop him, he murdered Lierne in cold blood. Feeling no remorse, he returned to the Simbiote, planning to assassinate Vice Admiral Parangosky, head of ONI, next. Diana, monitoring UNSC com channels, learned that one of Simon's former teammates, Cassandra-G006, had been grievously wounded by Covert Operations troopers before they were ordered to stand down. Slipping in and out of a coma and on life support, Cassandra was slated to be disconnected and allowed to die since the UNSC didn't have the means to save her and ONI was once more concerned about security. Simon was stricken with guilt, realizing that he had allowed his lust for revenge blind him to the plight of his friends. Horrified over his murder of Captain Lierne, Simon swore to make amends by saving Cassandra.

Simon broke into the medical facility that Cassandra was being treated in with relative ease. He had Diana bring the Simbiote down onto the facility by remote, allowing him to keep Cassandra's life support on but also drawing attention to himself. Back in orbit, Simon explained to Cassandra what had happened. He learned from her that the surviving SPARTAN-IIIs had been told that the deaths of their comrades had occurred in friendly fire accidents stemming from a misinterpretation of orders. Lacking the medical equipment necessary to keep Cassandra alive, Simon froze her in the Simbiote's cryo pod. Before she was completely unconscious, Cassandra begged Simon not to harm any of their friends. Simon then returned to the surface. This time, however, ONI had anticipated him, and Simon was met by dozens of death squads. With the supplies he needed retrieved, Simon fled the facility in an abandoned Chopper, hoping to lose his pursuers. Unfortunately, he was ambushed by none other than his former teammates. His vehicle destroyed, Simon managed to flee to an orbital elevator being constructed nearby. He entered a lift car and headed for a station in orbit, not knowing that a single SPARTAN was still following.

Confrontation
"Wise up and stop playing the wind-up soldier, Jake! The UNSC betrayed us all once and they can sure as hell do it again!"

- Simon trying unsuccessfully to win Jake over

Arriving on the orbital, Simon interfaced with the station's systems, allowing Diana to call in the Simbiote. He discovered that Jake, his former team leader, was headed up the elevator after him. Prepared to fight for his life, Simon attempted to incapacitate him upon his arrival on the station. Jake, who had orders to kill the traitor, fought back, and the two of them engaged in a bloody melee across the station. Jake expressed his regret at having to kill Simon, while Simon displayed disgust for the SPARTAN-IIIs' continued loyalty to ONI. At one point during the battle, Simon was given the opportunity to kill Jake, but stopped himself when he remembered Cassandra's plea. Although they seemed evenly matched, Jake eventually gained the upper hand and temporarily crippled Simon. Seeing the medical bag lost during the battle and believing that he had just lost all hope of saving Cassandra, Simon lied to Jake, telling him that she was dead. As Jake prepared to execute his comrade, Simon blew out a viewport, sucking himself out into space. Jake managed to cling to a railing and survived to report SPARTAN-G294 as terminated to his superiors.

Survival
"How long do you think we'll be sleeping for?"

- Said just before entering cryo sleep

Simon survived the vacuum when Diana managed to remotely pilot the Simbiote directly to his body and got him inside. The ship was then picked up by a salvage vessel belonging to the Sanghelli fleet. The vessel's commander brought the SPARTAN before his superiors, whom he told his entire story. Moved by his sufferings, the Elites made him an offer: come and serve with the Sanghelli military. Simon refused but made a counter offer. If the Elites would save Cassandra, they could put both of them into cryo storage until the galaxy "really needed them". The Elites complied and Cassandra reluctantly agreed to Simon's offer, but it would be a long, long time before either of them would again be called to fight.

Personality and Traits
"I'm painfully aware that I'm not the best fighter in the galaxy, but give me some time and who knows?"

- Simon discussing his skills with Jake

Simon entered the SIII program as a quiet loner who preferred listening to someone talk rather than doing any talking himself. Once he had been assigned to Team Jian and made friends within the squad, Simon opened up slightly, but remained aloof from other SPARTAN IIIs. He was quick to judge others based merely on their appearance and external behavior, causing him to form negative opinions for irrational reasons. He had an especial dislike for Ash, Team Saber's leader, based on Team Jian's numerous losses to Saber. Simon also felt very insecure and self-conscious at times, and worked hard to overcome his failings when they became apparent to others. After he caused his team's ambush to be detected during a training exercise. Simon spent hours attempting to improve his stealth, and did the same when he made mistakes with his weapons and close-quarters fighting. His self-esteem was a fragile thing and could and would be shattered whenever he failed at something. Although Simon was quick to build it back up again through mental reassurance, this sort of confidence-loss happened relatively frequently. "The battle won't go to the guy who's stronger, bigger, or tougher. It's gonna go to the guy who can shoot straight, run fast, and know when to back off"

- Simon on his combat beliefs

Simon, while not the most capable fighter in Gamma Company, was determined to be a survivor, and urged his teammates to be the same. He was considered an asset to the team because of the way he saw deeper meaning in things that others could not, which saved Team Jian from an ambush more than once. He tried to avoid combat when possible, but was a ferocious fighter when cornered. Although he was worried that others might see his self-preservation instincts as cowardice, he did little to disguise them compared with the way he hid some of his more negative traits. Once Diana had been implanted in him, Simon's found that his reaction time was positively effected, but always felt the urge to explain his "live to fight another day" tactics to the ever-present AI. While he still did his best to avoid combat when the odds were against him, he found that having Diana to help him plan improved his confidence when he was faced by superior enemy numbers. He took great pride in his willpower, being of the belief that it was the key to stamina. He often amazed others by carrying on even after being hurt or fatigued.

Equipment
Simon wears the Semi-Powered Infiltration (SPI) armor used by the rest of the SPARTAN IIIs. Right after deploying from Onyx, Gamma Company received upgraded versions of the armor that included ejectable gauntlet knives and magnetic clamps for holding extra weapons. He mainly uses an MA5K Carbine in combat, and follows Team Jian's tradition of strapping an extra combat knife to the MA5K's frame. Simon is also proficient with the standard issue M6G sidearm and has been trained to use most UNSC and Covenant weaponry. When Project SIMBIOTE inserted Diana into his brain, they also modified his SPI armor to interface with Diana's Data Crystal Chip, giving Diana full access to the suit's systems. She can also speak to Simon through the speakers in his helmet, and may appear in his HUD display and onto holotanks that he comes into contact with. Diana can also access electronic systems through Simon's fingertips without leaving his head. Diana's implantation has caused parts of Simon's brain to become reliant on the AI's presence to continue to operate, therefore, Diana may never be removed, and if she is somehow shut down, Simon will die when his brain shuts down with her. This has made the two of them almost one entity with two completely separate minds.

Quotes
"Don't waste time talking when you need to be shooting!"

- Simon

"If you want to feel sorry about killing someone, do it after he's dead."

- Self-criticism over pitying enemy Grunts.

"The only people in this galaxy we can trust is ourselves, because we're both too attached to life to betray each other."

- Simon to Diana.

"I know what I am: a traitor. I've deserted my comrades, killed fellow soldiers, and just murdered a superior officer. I had my reasons, but so has every other traitor throughout history. And now I can't go back down the path I've set us on. If there's a life for me away from the UNSC I'll take it, because I've forfeited any life within it."

- Said to Diana after Captain Lierne's death.

Appearances
Here is a list of short stories in which Simon appears:


 * Halo: Not Good Enough