James O'Neill

"I don't get paid enough for this shit."

- O'Neill during the Battle of Shield World 0077.

James Charles O'Neill, also known as "Lucky", was a UNSC during the  as well as after. He has participated in many important battles and is the former commander of the Valkyrie Company of the. He now is the owner of the Valkyrie Legion private military company.

Early Life
James O'Neill was born on July 7, 2524 in the city of New Waterford on Munster II, a small Inner Colony populated by people mostly of southern Irish descent, as it is named for the southern-most province in Ireland. His father, Sean O'Neill, was a sergeant in the and his mother, Marissa O'Neill, was a doctor. James was born just around the time that humanity first came into contact with the Covenant, and his father was among the men who were sent to fight them on. Fortunately, he survived, but with a missing arm, which he had lost in the fighting. James had a fairly normal life, but was noted by many to be a natural leader, being able to take command of most situations he was in as well as get people to do what he wanted.

Early Military Career
"But one thing I will not forget was the blood. There was so much blood. Alien, mine, Denny's. It was all over me and him."

- O'Neill recalling the events of the Battle of Mortintoj.

In 2540, wanting to follow in his father's footsteps, he signed up to join the UNSC Marine Corps on his birthday, graduating with flying colors in November 2541. He first saw combat in early 2542, on the small colony of Mortintoj in which he and another Marine, named Dennis Cook, were the only survivors or their squad. The rest were killed by a team of Elites, and O'Neill and Cook only survived because they played dead. They were later rescued, although O'Neill had lost his index finger when a plasma bolt hit near it, blowing it off. However, it was replaced with a cybernetic finger. Afterwards, both were promoted to lance corporal and sent to another squad. This squad later participated in another battle, where the squad emerged relatively unscathed, and O'Neill was promoted again to corporal to replace one of the two Marines lost in the battle.

Becoming an ODST
In September 2544, after surviving the Battle of Pius VII, he and Cook, who had become good friends, volunteered to join the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, and passed the training in April of 2545. They were placed in a squad, part of "Valkryie Company" of the 7th Shock Troops Battalion, together. O'Neill rose through the ranks quickly, eventually becoming a Gunnery Sergeant and taking command of the squad by 2546, when they helped fight the Covenant at the. There, the squad, designated Delta-Seven, became holed up in a hotel. They managed to fight their way out, but one of the squad members was killed.

In August 2549, O'Neill entered officer school at West Point on Earth, where he passed in 2550, becoming a 2nd Lieutenant and was given command of the Valkryie Company's 2nd Platoon. The company participated in the, helping to push back the Covenant there.

Battle of Munster II
In early 2551, a small Covenant fleet made its way to O'Neill's homeworld, Munster II. Coincidentally, the 7th Shock Troops Battalion was sent to help repel the attack. They arrived in O'Neill's hometown, finding it under assault from a large Covenant force. However, O'Neill was glad to see that the local Army garrison as well as militia and police forces were holding well against the Covenant through shear force of will and guerilla warfare. Due to this, a Covenant frigate began glassing the city, and the ODSTs decided to take control of a nearby MAC gun, which was currently held by Covenant forces. O'Neill's platoon and another were sent to take it. The Pelican O'Neill was in was shot down by a Covenant Shade turret near the MAC gun, and only he, Cook, and three other ODSTs survived the crash. They managed to make their way to the gun, link up with the rest of the force and take the MAC gun. With the help of the UNSC Brian Boru, the ODSTs were able to take down the Covenant ship, but both platoons had taken heavy losses, with O'Neill's platoon losing half of its men. The remaining ODSTs then went back to try and defend the city, participating in the same guerilla style warfare that was being carried by the civilians. But, it was to no avail, as the city was eventually assaulted in full force by two Covenant ships, which glassed the city. O'Neill and Cook, among others, managed to escape. O'Neill's mother was killed in the attack, which deeply affected him, and strengthened his resolve to fight the Covenant.

Battle of Reach
In 2552, the UNSC stronghold of Reach was attacked by the Covenant. O'Neill, now a 1st Lieutenant, was sent with the rest of the 7th Shock Troops Battalion to the planet to help repel the attack. He fought in the Battle of Viery with the rest of the 7th, in the northern section. During this battle he was nearly killed by a Covenant sniper, with a plasma beam flying mere inches from his head. Luckily, he was able to duck just in time. He and his platoon also fought in, but evacuated with the rest of the UNSC forces before the city was glassed. Afterwards, he was taken off-planet and to. Valkyrie Company was then stationed aboard the.

Battle of Installation 05
O'Neill and the rest of Valkyrie Company were aboard the In Amber Clad when it followed the to Delta Halo.

Battle of Installation 00
On December 11, 2552, the Sanghelli fleet and the arrives at  and deploys the wounded Valkyrie Company onto the surface. O'Neill took a small strike team to take out one of the anti-aircraft guns keeping the Dawn from landing. They were dropped in via drop pods, but two pods were knocked off course and lost, leaving O'Neill and three others left. They fortunately managed to catch the Covenant by surprise and took the gun out, and were picked up later on by a Pelican. The team later joined in  the, helping to take out the defenses around the towers and the two Scarabs in the citadel canyon. He and the surviving members of the company made it back to Earth onboard the, however, Cook had been killed in the assault on the Citadel, which greatly upset O'Neill.

Post-War Career
After the Human-Covenant War, O'Neill attended the Voi Memorial, where he put a picture of Cook on the memorial. He was promoted to Captain soon after, as the company commander was killed earlier on. The company was stationed on Earth for a few months in 2553, and later on participated in the.

He was also selected to join the program, but turned it down, stating that "I like where and who I am and don't really want a bunch of crazy fluids injected into my body, but thanks anyway."

Mercenary Career
After the Battle of Shield World 0077, O'Neill made the decision to retire from the UNSC.

Personality and Traits
O'Neill was typically a fairly laid back officer, occasionally cracking jokes before, during, and after combat. He preferred attacking enemies at a distance, hence his preference of the battle rifle. However, he was not afraid to engage enemies up close.

He was described by his men as being very lucky, earning him the nickname "Lucky". Of his 15+ years in the Marine Corps, he has only been shot six times, only two of which were enough to remove him from combat.

Trivia

 * O'Neill's birthday, July 7, is a reference to, the unofficial holiday of the creators of , . It is also one day after the writer's birthday.

Appearances

 * Slaughter on Mortintoj (First Appearance)
 * Assessing One's Foe
 * "Those Bastards Are Going to Pay."