Entry tags:
APPLICATION FOR LUCETI | OOC
Mun
Name: Jaydee / Jade
Livejournal Username:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
d21jaydee
E-mail: ultralisk_736 ( at } hotmail [ dot } com
AIM/MSN: xSaintjade
Current Characters at Luceti: N/A
Character
Note: Headcanoned concepts are underlined.
Name: Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN Daisy-023
Fandom: Halo
Gender: Female
Age:20 22 - Headcanon birthday date is April 14, but Daisy doesn't remember it, so she counts them with every year.
Time Period: Post-Death. January, 2531.
Wing Color: White.
History: Halopedian Entry.
Personality:
Like all Spartans under the wing of Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez and Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey in the SPARTAN-II Project, Daisy-023 has a stoic personality with some control on her emotions, and has a strongly military mind ingrained into her that rules her very being. She yells when necessary, she takes command whenever she has to, she yearns for harder challenges to take on and cherishes them, and her most important focus is accomplishing the mission before all else. Even then, she is not immune to the occasional emotional outbursts, such as the time she got to speak to Ralph-303 for the first time in five years, and the nightmares they have after witnessing the loss of one of their own.
Her kidnapping and conscription, the Spartans' rivalry with ODST's, and the military environment she was raised in, however, would give her difficulties bonding with non-Spartans later in life. While in her world Spartans are looked upon as demi-gods by a demoralized military facing an alien juggernaut, some specialized branches consider them freaks. Not just because of the results the augmentations had upon them (turning many of them over two meters tall at fourteen years old), but because of their overly militarized behavior and indoctrination, even by the standards of Helljumpers.
Daisy-023, like everyone else from her class, had only as her companions the rest of the SPARTAN-II trainees, Dr. Catherine Halsey as the only person that did not try to hurt them, and a love-hate relationship with Chief Petty Officer Mendez for the rigorous -and sometimes deadly- training tests he applied to make them smarter, and stronger. As a whole, the Spartans became wary of outsiders, and all of this severely hindered their social skills at an early age, and especially so for Daisy-023.
During her childhood prior to her conscription -as the daughter of a rich family that lived on a tiny island on Sargasso-, she was highly sociable, well-educated, and prone to making friends with both children and adults. After her abduction and introduction to the SPARTAN-II Project, and being under the hand of trainers that could turn any training session into a trap at any second, she bonded solely with other trainees. She related well with the rest of the Spartans, and eventually gained enough trust to be made the leader of a team, but other than that, she lost much of the social skills that defined her before her conscription.
However, some old traits of her old life remain. She holds something of a liking of sweets and cute things that had to be suppressed with her rise towards the position of Chief Petty Officer and squadron leader out of professionalism, and a small teddy bear she wears on her armor that has an enormous sentimental value to her. It is the only object that Daisy holds of her childhood prior to the SPARTAN-II Project, as a reminder of her old family, and the things she is fighting to protect.
What made her different from other Spartans was her relationship with Doctor Halsey. Whereas she referred to each one of them by their first names, and they in turn trusted her with their lives, Daisy was always called by her number, due to a sense of animosity Daisy held towards the creator of the SPARTAN-II Project. It was born out of a sense of resentment towards being taken away from her first family, and with Halsey attempting to take the place she stole from Daisy's family, she did not allow the Doctor to call her by her real name (one which she followed trying to bond with her).
Daisy's resentment towards Halsey increased after the discovery of her clone, and the knowledge that she had lost her old life. Even then, the Doctor still wanted to make amends for Daisy, and after her uprising which could've sent her to a military court -even to the front of a firing squad-, she convinced CPO Mendez to drop all charges that were set against Daisy and her group, and reveal to her the glassing of Harvest before the rest of the Spartans got to know about it. All in all, this would end up giving Daisy-023 very mixed feelings towards Dr. Halsey, and her project as a whole.
She remained on the project not only because of the friends she made with the rest of the SPARTAN-II, but because she felt it gave her life meaning, and a guiding purpose. This was the very reason she both rebelled and returned. After knowing about the wash-outs of the SPARTAN-II project after the lifetime of training they had done, and the Insurrection some felt was not a true threat to the existence of the human race (but towards the rule the UNSC held over the mistreated Outer Colonies), Daisy felt disappointment that drove her towards returning to her original family; But, with the appearance of the Covenant, Daisy-023 willingly remained with the UNSC to face the biggest threat humanity has ever faced – and finally fulfill the fate Halsey promised to the SPARTAN-II, as the protectors of the human race.
All in all, Daisy-023 is a conflicted person. On one hand, she misses the life that was taken away from her, and to this day wants her family back; On another, she wants to fulfill the role that was given to her as a protector of the human race, and grant others the ability to have a home to return to.
As part of her training, she can kill humans that could be considered enemies without developing a crippling emotional devastation, since the SPARTAN-II were initially trained to destroy the insurrection. However, after rapidly seeing the Covenant win more battles, and slowly undoing the victory Preston Cole had against them in retaking Harvest, her views against non-UNSC humans has softened somewhat, and may feel some regret in the loss of a soldier under her command or in the killing of an insurrectionist.
She considers all aliens, and especially those of the Covenant, as enemies. The glassing of Harvest, like all humans when they first saw the images of a lush world turned into smoke and fire, made Daisy believe that non-humans were even more barbaric than insurrectionists were. Like all Spartans, killing an alien has the same impact on her as killing a fly.
Strengths
AUGMENTATIONS
Daisy-023 was subject to the same set of surgical operations the first class of the SPARTAN-II went through, meant to make their bones unbreakable, increase their muscle density, boost their growth, improve their senses and reflexes, and make their thinking faster. Many of the augmentation procedures remained with severe risks that ranged from supressed sexual drives, to elephantiasis, and even death.1 The results on the Spartans that survived the procedures unharmed were the following:
-Their competence on mental tasks vastly increased (many of them were able to perform square roots in their heads5), reflexes increased to approximately 20 miliseconds (evidently faster in combat situations), and SPARTAN-II teams operate with near-telepathic teamwork with no physical or mental side-effects.
-Their physical prowesses increased beyond anticipations: The ability to lift three times their body weight, strength made them capable of bending and throwing 600 kilograms of metal2, the average running speed of Kelly-087 increased to 62 mph3, and Linda-058's marksmanship easily broke any battlefield records registered the moment she was deployed with the rest of Blue Team -sometimes while performing amazing feats10-. Many of them had even been able to perform acrobatic maneuvers in 1000-pound MJOLNIR Mark IV armor6 7 8 9.
-Their visual and auditive perceptions were also increased. CPO Mendez comments they can virtually see in the dark, and can even hear a pin drop in a sandstorm4. Additionally, subjects report being able to see objects moving in slow motion in combat situations – dubbed by Kelly-087 as “Spartan time”.
MJOLNIR MARK IV
The MJOLNIR Mark IV armor is an advanced exoskeleton designed to increase the strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and durability of the wearer. Only humans with hardened bones can wear the suit without lethally injuring themselves, because of the excess of speed of movement the suit puts on unprepared bodies.
It is a sealed system capable of extravehicular activity, filters capable of purifying toxins in the atmosphere, hardened against EMP and radiation, a function to regulate the temperature of the wearer and protect him from both strong heat and cold, a computer system that monitors weapons and health, a motion-sensing radar, a built-in radio and comm systems capable of using a secure network, and oxygen reserves capable of holding up to 90 minutes of air.
By Luceti standards, since a SPARTAN-II out of armor can usually lift 600 kilograms and the MJOLNIR would increase their strength by two, Daisy-023 could lift 300 kilograms out of armor, and her suit could make her as strong as an unhindered and unarmored SPARTAN-II.
The MJOLNIR communication systems are incompatible with the Luceti Journal Network. Her armor is currently in pristine conditions thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
swordboning and gandrism.
PERFORMANCE
All of the SPARTAN-II subjects were chosen under a strict criteria made by Dr. Halsey herself to have the strongest, fastest, and smartest children throughout the human worlds under the SPARTAN-II Project. They were all trained and instructed since the ages of seven, and are proficient in the use of all known UNSC weapons and vehicles, close quarters combat, field medical treatment, impromptu mechanical repairs, a small degree of use of technology and hacking, and Special Warfare Operations.
Daisy-023's abilities and small degree of leadership allowed her to be qualified to serve as one of the Spartans' squadron leaders, and earned the rank of Petty Officer Third Class, having in command Joseph-122, Ralph-303, and two other Spartans whose names were not mentioned. This is assumed because of the red jumpsuit Daisy wore, the blue jumpsuits worn by the Spartan trainees that aided her, and her rapid promotion towards the rank of Chief Petty Officer, even when compared with that of John-117.
REFERENTIAL FILES
1.AUGMENTATION PROCEDURES // H:FALLOFREACH.CHAPTER6.56-58 // Link lists the augmentation procedures the SPARTAN-II went through, and the risks they held.
2.CASTLE BASE EXCERCISE // H:THEFALLOFREACH.CHAPTER8.69-74 // John-117 bending the gun of a suit of armor, and punching it eight meters away.
3.BATTLE OF JERICHO VII // H:THEFALLOFREACH.PROLOGUE.1-7 // Brief moment in which Kelly-087 ran exposed in the battlefield, but not noticed by the Grunts guarding the area.
4.REACH MISSION BRIEFING // H:FIRSTSTRIKE.CHAPTER1.3 // John-117 convincing Keyes to talk to the Spartans as a whole, because they would be able to listen to whatever would be spoken. Fred-104 mentally notes that they could hear a pin drop in a sand storm.
5.UNSC ATLAS GYM INCIDENT // H:THEFALLOFREACH.CHAPTER7.63-69 // John-117 acting in self-defense against four ODST's that seeked to injure him.
6.HARVEST CAMPAIGN SKIRMISH // H:LEGENDS.HOMECOMING.1:55-3:00 // Daisy-023 perfroms a backflip after fighting off several Grunts, Elites, Jackals, and Drones in the area.
7.BATTLE OF THE APEX // H:WARS.MONSTERS.0:37-2:20 // SPARTAN Red team defending a slipspace engine. Douglas-042 shoots an Elite mid-air.
8.RAID ON THIRD FLEET // H:LEGENDS.THEPACKAGE.7:30-7:55 // John-117, aided by Kelly-087 and Fred-104 in their raid to rescue Dr. Halsey, jumps and shoots a Covenant fireteam above them.
9.COMBAT PERFORMANCE OF PETTY OFFICER SECOND CLASS CAL-141 // H:LEGENDS.THEBABYSITTER.9:30-10:45 // Cal-141 fights a Brute Chieftain in CQC, jumping around to dodge its' hammer.
10.OPERATION: FIRST STRIKE // H.FIRSTSTRIKE.CHAPTER34.318-CHAPTER35.322 // Linda-058 provides the rest of Blue Team cover sniper fire, and even kills seven Covenant Elites inside their banshees while doing so. When John-117 finds her, he notices she had been hanging on a cord upside-down, shooting one-handed, a seemingly impossible position she had been sniping from the entire time.
Weaknesses
SITUATIONAL UNAWARENESS
Daisy-023, despite her abilities and preference for Close-Quarter Battles, and senses that should grant them increased knowledge on the environment around them, the augmented senses ironically dull a their user's alert senses with the overload of sounds and entities populating an area, and the Spartans' training highly prioritizing teamwork and assistance between them. Because of this, the Spartan will tend to treat sources of sounds they are not paying attention to as unimportant, or as threats they will instinctively let a teammate take care of.12 13
Even though she has operated by herself since the loss of her original group after the uprising and escape, her instincts to fight with a unit, aided by other similarly-gifted soldiers with which she shared a near-telepathic form of teamwork, remained with her. This, in turn, hindered her abilities to fight alone, focusing only on the bigger battle in front of her, and not on her flanks, even when having Marines assisting her.
This form of situational unawareness has led her to be ambushed, at the risk (and cost) of her life. Sadly, it is not an uncommon flaw for Spartans, that can result in their deaths.1 2 3 13
MILD ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR
The treatment received by ODST's made the SPARTAN-II subjects somewhat untrusting of strangers. This was not just mere avoidance. The discrimination against the Spartan trainees reached complete hatred and attempts to deliberately hurt or kill the Spartans.5 This made the Spartans shut off outsiders, and are close only to their own kind, Chief Franklin Mendez, and Dr. Halsey. In the case of Daisy, she considers the rest of the SPARTAN-II as her brothers, but has mixed feelings towards both Franklin Mendez, and especially so towards Dr. Halsey.
Additionally, with the losses humanity had waged in the war against the Covenant, Daisy-023 learned not to bond too much with marines and soldiers that would suddenly be under her command. In combat situations, while she did her job as a Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of groups of marines and soldiers, and would still do her damnest to keep any and all she could alive, she knew well that unaugmented humans stood no chance against the superior training and weaponry of the Covenant, and the least she sympathized with them, the easier it would be for her not to feel pain when they died.11
Even then, she is not wholly incapable of bonding, even less of feeling remorse over lives she was unable to save. When she realized a Marine unit was about to be evacuated when Harvest was going to completely fall by the hands of the Covenant, and had the intentions of returning home (a privilege Daisy-023 never truly had the chance to know), she did everything under the extent of her abilities to save them, and allow them to be evacuated. Witnessing the destruction of the Pelican with the unit she fought to evacuate is now one of many memories she will have nightmares about, and the reason bonding will be even harder for her.10
She also sometimes displays a form of gallows humor that is not uncommon among Special Forces and the military in general, but thought of very poor taste among civilians. This is often developed as a coping mechanism to the horrors of war, but tends to come off as unsensitive to most people.
POTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL INSTABILITY
SPARTAN-II subjects were selected from the very best Dr. Halsey could find throughout. However, not all of them had all of the qualities necessary, such as motivation, or the ability to cope with psychological traumas, and Daisy-023 was no exception.
The encountering of her flash-clone made her realize that her own life was forever forfeit. This nearly drove her to kill her clone, and perhaps even commit suicide, since she had lost a lot of the people she cherished, and her reason to live. Even after the incident, knowing Ralph-303 fell into a depression, and that the other two Spartans that followed her commited suicide, she felt regret for the lives she was unable to save, feeling she was still in charge for their welfare. For her sake as an NCO, and with the Covenant threatening to drive humanity to extinction, she returned to the SPARTAN-II Project, but did not entirely come to terms with a lot of the feelings and thoughts after her escape.
When people manage to get close to her, such as the rest of the SPARTAN-II, the pain of losing them is massive. Spartans often suffer severe and recurring nightmares about the deaths of squadmates, that can last even decades, such as that of Kelly-087 when she sees Kurt-051 “die”.9 In the case of Daisy-023, the loss of Ralph-303 is the one that most often plague her nightmares, as well as the fates of Samuel-034 and of the Spartans that did not make through the augmentation procedures.
While psychological evaluations ruled Daisy-023 mentally sound and fit for combat, the fact she witnessed her own life lost before her eyes must have left a scar in her. The suicides of the other Spartan Trainees that saw their flash clones prove that there may be a degree of trauma of the incident – The fact she drew her gun when she thought of killing her clone, and possibly take her own life, is the proof of this. Even though she reacted far better than the other escapees, there is the possibility that she is a time-bomb waiting to detonate4.
At her age, having relatively recently gone through the traumas of her world (her conscription, the augmentation procedures, the encountering of her clone, the loss of her squadmates, the glassing of Harvest, losing the Pelican, and dying), and with the others that the environment of Luceti could bring her (her rebirth, the appearance of her wings, and the experiments) her mental health and stability will be put to test, more than anything.
DIFFICULTIES TO ENTER CIVILIAN LIFE
By nature, Spartans are in need of activity, and feel frustration when they are not in combat situations7. Whenever if the Spartans have a chance of successfully living civilian lives is unknown, but the myriad of traumas and training in the SPARTAN-II Project and the Human-Covenant War could make readaptation highly difficult for them. Normal soldiers have difficulties in returning to civilian life after their services as it is, and with soldiers trained since childhood, it could be a labor perhaps even harder than the battles they fight.
SPARTAN-II were originally trained to see people in three categories: Superior officers, squadmates, and threats; obey, help, and neutralize, respectively.8 While Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez warned some of them that things would be a lot more complex than that in the field, it is still a crippling form of training that made Spartans unadapted to a lot of social conventions. In a civilian environment, with no prior preparation, a SPARTAN-II could have trouble making friends by depending too much on the categorization deeply ingrained into them.
The experience of Soren-066 in non-bellic environments show us that Spartans could have a rough road to adapt, but not completely impossible6; Ralph-303, despite the augmentation procedures and slight changes in appearance, was adopted by a family and was successfully readapted into society. This shows us that, perhaps, the Spartans have a chance of returning to society, though it greatly depends on the psychological damage suffered during the course of their service, and their stability4.
REFERENTIAL FILES
1.SKIRMISH ON HARVEST // H:LEGENDS.HOMECOMING.2:30-2:53 // A drone ambushes Daisy-023 behind her, and knocks her down before being taken down by a Marine Sniper.
2.ASSASSINATION OF PROPHET // H:LEGENDS.THEBABYSITTER.5:50-6:30 // A Brute Chieftain comes from behind the Squadron, and mortally wounds Cal-141.
3.DEATH OF KAT-B320 // H:REACH.NEWALEXANDRIA.CLOSING.2:35-4:17 // A Covenant Zealot lethally shoots Catherine-B320 in the head, taking advantage of her situational unawareness that costed her right arm in the past.
4.MIKE'S LETTER TO AGNES // H:FALLOFREACH.BONUSCONTENT // A letter about Ralph-303's readaptation into society, and a brief commentary on the experiences and programming the Spartan-II went through.
5.MISSION BRIEFING OF JOHN-117 BY MAJOR ANTONIO SILVA // H:THEFLOOD.CHAPTER3.88-92 // As the CO of the four men killed in the UNSC Atlas, he verbally assaults John-117 and lectures him about his hatred for his generation.
6.HISTORIAL OF SOREN-066 // H:EVOLUTIONS.PARIAH.CHAPTER4-EPILOGUE.31-56 // Soren-066's failures in the augmentation procedures, existentialist frustration after being sent to a desk job, and his treason to join the Insurrectionist cause.
7.DEBRIEFING OF JERICHO VII THEATER TO JOHN-117 // H:THEFALLOFREACH.PROLOGUE.7 // John-117 mentally notes his hatred for being in space, and his preference for being on the ground, on the battlefield.
8.UNSC ATLAS GYM INCIDENT // H:THEFALLOFREACH.CHAPTER7.63-69 // John-117 acting in self-defense against four ODST's that seeked to injure him. Initially difficult because he had been trained into looking at people with these three categories.
9.ENCOUNTER OF KELLY-087 WITH KURT-051 // H:GHOSTSOFONYX.CHAPTER19.167 // Kelly-087, upon recognizing Kurt-051 after decades MIA, notes the recurring nightmares she had after the incident that nearly claimed his life
10.DESTRUCTION OF THE PELICAN // H:LEGENDS.HOMECOMING.10:00-12:55 // After being mortally injured, Daisy-023 attempts to provide cover fire to the Pelican, with no avail, and the unit is ultimately annihilated by Covenant fire.
11.REPORT ON GAMMA 4 // H:LEGENDS.HOMECOMING.3:02-3:15 // Daisy-023 unemotionally reports on the loss of the unit she was sent to aid, and notes that Harvest not only is gone, but that more planets will follow.
12.TEAMWORK LESSON // H:THEFALLOFREACH.CHAPTER4.40-45 // John-117 is forced to work as a team with Kelly-087 and Samuel-034. This dependence on other individuals has its downsides later in service.
13.COMBAT ON ALPHA HALO // H:THEFLOOD.CHAPTER2.54-55 // John-117 is ambushed by an Elite Major after fighting several Grunts and a Minor Elite, and notes he had been fighting as if he had been part of a unit, which in turn made him disregard his flanks.
Samples
First Person:
Note: This post would be after a general introduction, and knowing about the journals' function.
[ VOICE ]
[Silence. Then, there is a gathering of breath, and shuffling of paper.]
This is Sierra Twenty-Three, transmitting on an open channel. Requesting intel on current location, “Luceti.”
I was operating in Harvest until a day ago, when I was transported here, without my gear, and with... [A sigh] a mutation of sorts, consistent with the rest of the residents of this area. There is no evidence that could suggest the use of cryogenic stasis in my transport to this location.
No Covenant forces encountered. [A pause.] Though there are non-human creatures that are not affiliated with them, nor with any faction of our world.
Repeat. Requesting intel on current location, “Luceti.” Any and all UNSC forces in the area, respond.
Sierra Twenty-Three, out.
[A sigh. A dash of pen on paper, then delicate scribbles until the journal no longer records.]
[ WRITTEN // 20% ENCRYPTION]
> MISSION LOG
JAN 2, 2531
>> I should be dead right now. I saw the Pelican burn. I felt my heart stop beating. This all should be a dream.
I want to say this is all an hallucination, but I can't. It is all too hard to swallow. Not so much to understand, but to accept. Feeling my heart beating again is one thing, but being gone from my world, from Harvest, from Reach, from Sargasso...
And these... wings.
...
My parents used to tell me about heaven, as a place where good people that die go, and that they all become angels. Funny. It's not accurate Christian mythology, but I even expected to see Samuel in here. But at least he won't have to face this sudden change of pace. He was the friendliest of us all, but... if he was still there, somewhere, he'd rather be following the rest of us.
Humanity needs me. But if I can't return to my world without going back to the moment I died, I can't help but ask myself what does this all mean.
A new life? The Covenant is glassing worlds, and there aren't many Outer Colonies left. The UNSC needs me much more than these... Malnosso do.
But that Elite didn't miss. None of the Covenant did. I don't think I have a choice.
Right now? My only options are survive, helping all who I can do so, and wait for reinforcements. However long it might take.
I hope John is alright.
> LOG END.
[ END OF ENCRYPTION ]
[IF YOU FEEL THE FIRST-PERSON IS TOO DAUNTING BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LESS TALKATIVE CHARACTER, YOU MAY EITHER WRITE AN INTROSPECTIVE PIECE CONCERNING LUCETI OR REQUEST A Q&A TO BE RESPONDED TO ICLY.]
Third Person:
Daisy felt a soft feeling of pain in her back.
Pain meant she was still alive. Chief Petty Officer Mendez had always instructed them that, but after what she had seen short ago, and what she felt now, she could not know whenever if his words rang true or not any more: SPARTAN-023 was feeling her heart beating again, the pain of the hole the needler round tore into her was gone, hinting a release of endorphins... but she also felt soft fabric covering her, and she was feeling cold. And she could hear leaves moving with the wind.
Her bare fingers instinctively held soft blades of grass she hardly believed could be even there, her sense of tact unhampened by the layers of metal of the MJOLNIR. Daisy-023 opened her eyes, and saw not the world covered in ashes and glass that Harvest had been reduced to.
Instead, she saw a blue sky above a lush forest as tall as those she remembered from her childhood. It resembled both Sargasso, and Reach.
Daisy lifted herself in a bolt, everything in her wanting to understand the reason she was seeing all of this.What happened to her armor? Where was her bear? How did she get here? How was she still alive?
Her back pain moved... Someplace she had never felt pain at all. It was not thoracic pain.
Her blood ran cold. The pain in her back was still there, but... outside it. Not part of her self, but of something else.
Daisy's fingers brushed over her neck, ran through her back, and felt plumage on limbs that were not supposed to be hers.
She turned, her heart racing as if it was about to come out of her chest. This could be all attributed to blood loss. That was all Daisy could think about. The place where the needler round hit no longer hurt, hinting a release of endorphins, had it not been for the fact the pain in... those things remained.
Even then... It all felt real. Gravity felt higher than that of Harvest, and she was able to keep her balance.
Besides, if she was dead, she would not be seeing any of this.
Daisy-023 heard someone yelling in the distance. There were more here.
Her senses were usually better. Strange. Perhaps her eardrums got more damaged through the Harvest Campaign than she thought, and she hadn't had requisitioned a replacement since there hadn't been machines in the field to flash-clone organ replacements for weeks.
Still... could she had been revived?
She had heard about medical miracles, about people being set on cryostasis for the chance of behing revived. But there was no VTOL Lift Gear in kilometers. The zone was chock-full of Covenant. Every human in that area was killed.
She eliminated the thoughts, and decided to focus on the situation at hand: Getting her armor back, and discovering what was going on.
SPARTAN-023 advanced towards the settlement in the distance, and kept her guard for hostiles. She would find the answers to all of this.
Name: Jaydee / Jade
Livejournal Username:
d21jaydeeE-mail: ultralisk_736 ( at } hotmail [ dot } com
AIM/MSN: xSaintjade
Current Characters at Luceti: N/A
Character
Note: Headcanoned concepts are underlined.
Name: Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN Daisy-023
Fandom: Halo
Gender: Female
Age:
Time Period: Post-Death. January, 2531.
Wing Color: White.
History: Halopedian Entry.
Personality:
Like all Spartans under the wing of Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez and Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey in the SPARTAN-II Project, Daisy-023 has a stoic personality with some control on her emotions, and has a strongly military mind ingrained into her that rules her very being. She yells when necessary, she takes command whenever she has to, she yearns for harder challenges to take on and cherishes them, and her most important focus is accomplishing the mission before all else. Even then, she is not immune to the occasional emotional outbursts, such as the time she got to speak to Ralph-303 for the first time in five years, and the nightmares they have after witnessing the loss of one of their own.
Her kidnapping and conscription, the Spartans' rivalry with ODST's, and the military environment she was raised in, however, would give her difficulties bonding with non-Spartans later in life. While in her world Spartans are looked upon as demi-gods by a demoralized military facing an alien juggernaut, some specialized branches consider them freaks. Not just because of the results the augmentations had upon them (turning many of them over two meters tall at fourteen years old), but because of their overly militarized behavior and indoctrination, even by the standards of Helljumpers.
Daisy-023, like everyone else from her class, had only as her companions the rest of the SPARTAN-II trainees, Dr. Catherine Halsey as the only person that did not try to hurt them, and a love-hate relationship with Chief Petty Officer Mendez for the rigorous -and sometimes deadly- training tests he applied to make them smarter, and stronger. As a whole, the Spartans became wary of outsiders, and all of this severely hindered their social skills at an early age, and especially so for Daisy-023.
During her childhood prior to her conscription -as the daughter of a rich family that lived on a tiny island on Sargasso-, she was highly sociable, well-educated, and prone to making friends with both children and adults. After her abduction and introduction to the SPARTAN-II Project, and being under the hand of trainers that could turn any training session into a trap at any second, she bonded solely with other trainees. She related well with the rest of the Spartans, and eventually gained enough trust to be made the leader of a team, but other than that, she lost much of the social skills that defined her before her conscription.
However, some old traits of her old life remain. She holds something of a liking of sweets and cute things that had to be suppressed with her rise towards the position of Chief Petty Officer and squadron leader out of professionalism, and a small teddy bear she wears on her armor that has an enormous sentimental value to her. It is the only object that Daisy holds of her childhood prior to the SPARTAN-II Project, as a reminder of her old family, and the things she is fighting to protect.
What made her different from other Spartans was her relationship with Doctor Halsey. Whereas she referred to each one of them by their first names, and they in turn trusted her with their lives, Daisy was always called by her number, due to a sense of animosity Daisy held towards the creator of the SPARTAN-II Project. It was born out of a sense of resentment towards being taken away from her first family, and with Halsey attempting to take the place she stole from Daisy's family, she did not allow the Doctor to call her by her real name (one which she followed trying to bond with her).
Daisy's resentment towards Halsey increased after the discovery of her clone, and the knowledge that she had lost her old life. Even then, the Doctor still wanted to make amends for Daisy, and after her uprising which could've sent her to a military court -even to the front of a firing squad-, she convinced CPO Mendez to drop all charges that were set against Daisy and her group, and reveal to her the glassing of Harvest before the rest of the Spartans got to know about it. All in all, this would end up giving Daisy-023 very mixed feelings towards Dr. Halsey, and her project as a whole.
She remained on the project not only because of the friends she made with the rest of the SPARTAN-II, but because she felt it gave her life meaning, and a guiding purpose. This was the very reason she both rebelled and returned. After knowing about the wash-outs of the SPARTAN-II project after the lifetime of training they had done, and the Insurrection some felt was not a true threat to the existence of the human race (but towards the rule the UNSC held over the mistreated Outer Colonies), Daisy felt disappointment that drove her towards returning to her original family; But, with the appearance of the Covenant, Daisy-023 willingly remained with the UNSC to face the biggest threat humanity has ever faced – and finally fulfill the fate Halsey promised to the SPARTAN-II, as the protectors of the human race.
All in all, Daisy-023 is a conflicted person. On one hand, she misses the life that was taken away from her, and to this day wants her family back; On another, she wants to fulfill the role that was given to her as a protector of the human race, and grant others the ability to have a home to return to.
As part of her training, she can kill humans that could be considered enemies without developing a crippling emotional devastation, since the SPARTAN-II were initially trained to destroy the insurrection. However, after rapidly seeing the Covenant win more battles, and slowly undoing the victory Preston Cole had against them in retaking Harvest, her views against non-UNSC humans has softened somewhat, and may feel some regret in the loss of a soldier under her command or in the killing of an insurrectionist.
She considers all aliens, and especially those of the Covenant, as enemies. The glassing of Harvest, like all humans when they first saw the images of a lush world turned into smoke and fire, made Daisy believe that non-humans were even more barbaric than insurrectionists were. Like all Spartans, killing an alien has the same impact on her as killing a fly.
Strengths
AUGMENTATIONS
Daisy-023 was subject to the same set of surgical operations the first class of the SPARTAN-II went through, meant to make their bones unbreakable, increase their muscle density, boost their growth, improve their senses and reflexes, and make their thinking faster. Many of the augmentation procedures remained with severe risks that ranged from supressed sexual drives, to elephantiasis, and even death.1 The results on the Spartans that survived the procedures unharmed were the following:
MJOLNIR MARK IV
The MJOLNIR Mark IV armor is an advanced exoskeleton designed to increase the strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and durability of the wearer. Only humans with hardened bones can wear the suit without lethally injuring themselves, because of the excess of speed of movement the suit puts on unprepared bodies.
It is a sealed system capable of extravehicular activity, filters capable of purifying toxins in the atmosphere, hardened against EMP and radiation, a function to regulate the temperature of the wearer and protect him from both strong heat and cold, a computer system that monitors weapons and health, a motion-sensing radar, a built-in radio and comm systems capable of using a secure network, and oxygen reserves capable of holding up to 90 minutes of air.
By Luceti standards, since a SPARTAN-II out of armor can usually lift 600 kilograms and the MJOLNIR would increase their strength by two, Daisy-023 could lift 300 kilograms out of armor, and her suit could make her as strong as an unhindered and unarmored SPARTAN-II.
The MJOLNIR communication systems are incompatible with the Luceti Journal Network. Her armor is currently in pristine conditions thanks to
swordboning and gandrism.PERFORMANCE
All of the SPARTAN-II subjects were chosen under a strict criteria made by Dr. Halsey herself to have the strongest, fastest, and smartest children throughout the human worlds under the SPARTAN-II Project. They were all trained and instructed since the ages of seven, and are proficient in the use of all known UNSC weapons and vehicles, close quarters combat, field medical treatment, impromptu mechanical repairs, a small degree of use of technology and hacking, and Special Warfare Operations.
Daisy-023's abilities and small degree of leadership allowed her to be qualified to serve as one of the Spartans' squadron leaders, and earned the rank of Petty Officer Third Class, having in command Joseph-122, Ralph-303, and two other Spartans whose names were not mentioned. This is assumed because of the red jumpsuit Daisy wore, the blue jumpsuits worn by the Spartan trainees that aided her, and her rapid promotion towards the rank of Chief Petty Officer, even when compared with that of John-117.
1.AUGMENTATION PROCEDURES // H:FALLOFREACH.CHAPTER6.56-58 // Link lists the augmentation procedures the SPARTAN-II went through, and the risks they held.
2.CASTLE BASE EXCERCISE // H:THEFALLOFREACH.CHAPTER8.69-74 // John-117 bending the gun of a suit of armor, and punching it eight meters away.
3.BATTLE OF JERICHO VII // H:THEFALLOFREACH.PROLOGUE.1-7 // Brief moment in which Kelly-087 ran exposed in the battlefield, but not noticed by the Grunts guarding the area.
4.REACH MISSION BRIEFING // H:FIRSTSTRIKE.CHAPTER1.3 // John-117 convincing Keyes to talk to the Spartans as a whole, because they would be able to listen to whatever would be spoken. Fred-104 mentally notes that they could hear a pin drop in a sand storm.
5.UNSC ATLAS GYM INCIDENT // H:THEFALLOFREACH.CHAPTER7.63-69 // John-117 acting in self-defense against four ODST's that seeked to injure him.
6.HARVEST CAMPAIGN SKIRMISH // H:LEGENDS.HOMECOMING.1:55-3:00 // Daisy-023 perfroms a backflip after fighting off several Grunts, Elites, Jackals, and Drones in the area.
7.BATTLE OF THE APEX // H:WARS.MONSTERS.0:37-2:20 // SPARTAN Red team defending a slipspace engine. Douglas-042 shoots an Elite mid-air.
8.RAID ON THIRD FLEET // H:LEGENDS.THEPACKAGE.7:30-7:55 // John-117, aided by Kelly-087 and Fred-104 in their raid to rescue Dr. Halsey, jumps and shoots a Covenant fireteam above them.
9.COMBAT PERFORMANCE OF PETTY OFFICER SECOND CLASS CAL-141 // H:LEGENDS.THEBABYSITTER.9:30-10:45 // Cal-141 fights a Brute Chieftain in CQC, jumping around to dodge its' hammer.
10.OPERATION: FIRST STRIKE // H.FIRSTSTRIKE.CHAPTER34.318-CHAPTER35.322 // Linda-058 provides the rest of Blue Team cover sniper fire, and even kills seven Covenant Elites inside their banshees while doing so. When John-117 finds her, he notices she had been hanging on a cord upside-down, shooting one-handed, a seemingly impossible position she had been sniping from the entire time.
Weaknesses
SITUATIONAL UNAWARENESS
Daisy-023, despite her abilities and preference for Close-Quarter Battles, and senses that should grant them increased knowledge on the environment around them, the augmented senses ironically dull a their user's alert senses with the overload of sounds and entities populating an area, and the Spartans' training highly prioritizing teamwork and assistance between them. Because of this, the Spartan will tend to treat sources of sounds they are not paying attention to as unimportant, or as threats they will instinctively let a teammate take care of.12 13
Even though she has operated by herself since the loss of her original group after the uprising and escape, her instincts to fight with a unit, aided by other similarly-gifted soldiers with which she shared a near-telepathic form of teamwork, remained with her. This, in turn, hindered her abilities to fight alone, focusing only on the bigger battle in front of her, and not on her flanks, even when having Marines assisting her.
This form of situational unawareness has led her to be ambushed, at the risk (and cost) of her life. Sadly, it is not an uncommon flaw for Spartans, that can result in their deaths.1 2 3 13
MILD ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR
The treatment received by ODST's made the SPARTAN-II subjects somewhat untrusting of strangers. This was not just mere avoidance. The discrimination against the Spartan trainees reached complete hatred and attempts to deliberately hurt or kill the Spartans.5 This made the Spartans shut off outsiders, and are close only to their own kind, Chief Franklin Mendez, and Dr. Halsey. In the case of Daisy, she considers the rest of the SPARTAN-II as her brothers, but has mixed feelings towards both Franklin Mendez, and especially so towards Dr. Halsey.
Additionally, with the losses humanity had waged in the war against the Covenant, Daisy-023 learned not to bond too much with marines and soldiers that would suddenly be under her command. In combat situations, while she did her job as a Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of groups of marines and soldiers, and would still do her damnest to keep any and all she could alive, she knew well that unaugmented humans stood no chance against the superior training and weaponry of the Covenant, and the least she sympathized with them, the easier it would be for her not to feel pain when they died.11
Even then, she is not wholly incapable of bonding, even less of feeling remorse over lives she was unable to save. When she realized a Marine unit was about to be evacuated when Harvest was going to completely fall by the hands of the Covenant, and had the intentions of returning home (a privilege Daisy-023 never truly had the chance to know), she did everything under the extent of her abilities to save them, and allow them to be evacuated. Witnessing the destruction of the Pelican with the unit she fought to evacuate is now one of many memories she will have nightmares about, and the reason bonding will be even harder for her.10
She also sometimes displays a form of gallows humor that is not uncommon among Special Forces and the military in general, but thought of very poor taste among civilians. This is often developed as a coping mechanism to the horrors of war, but tends to come off as unsensitive to most people.
POTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL INSTABILITY
SPARTAN-II subjects were selected from the very best Dr. Halsey could find throughout. However, not all of them had all of the qualities necessary, such as motivation, or the ability to cope with psychological traumas, and Daisy-023 was no exception.
The encountering of her flash-clone made her realize that her own life was forever forfeit. This nearly drove her to kill her clone, and perhaps even commit suicide, since she had lost a lot of the people she cherished, and her reason to live. Even after the incident, knowing Ralph-303 fell into a depression, and that the other two Spartans that followed her commited suicide, she felt regret for the lives she was unable to save, feeling she was still in charge for their welfare. For her sake as an NCO, and with the Covenant threatening to drive humanity to extinction, she returned to the SPARTAN-II Project, but did not entirely come to terms with a lot of the feelings and thoughts after her escape.
When people manage to get close to her, such as the rest of the SPARTAN-II, the pain of losing them is massive. Spartans often suffer severe and recurring nightmares about the deaths of squadmates, that can last even decades, such as that of Kelly-087 when she sees Kurt-051 “die”.9 In the case of Daisy-023, the loss of Ralph-303 is the one that most often plague her nightmares, as well as the fates of Samuel-034 and of the Spartans that did not make through the augmentation procedures.
While psychological evaluations ruled Daisy-023 mentally sound and fit for combat, the fact she witnessed her own life lost before her eyes must have left a scar in her. The suicides of the other Spartan Trainees that saw their flash clones prove that there may be a degree of trauma of the incident – The fact she drew her gun when she thought of killing her clone, and possibly take her own life, is the proof of this. Even though she reacted far better than the other escapees, there is the possibility that she is a time-bomb waiting to detonate4.
At her age, having relatively recently gone through the traumas of her world (her conscription, the augmentation procedures, the encountering of her clone, the loss of her squadmates, the glassing of Harvest, losing the Pelican, and dying), and with the others that the environment of Luceti could bring her (her rebirth, the appearance of her wings, and the experiments) her mental health and stability will be put to test, more than anything.
DIFFICULTIES TO ENTER CIVILIAN LIFE
By nature, Spartans are in need of activity, and feel frustration when they are not in combat situations7. Whenever if the Spartans have a chance of successfully living civilian lives is unknown, but the myriad of traumas and training in the SPARTAN-II Project and the Human-Covenant War could make readaptation highly difficult for them. Normal soldiers have difficulties in returning to civilian life after their services as it is, and with soldiers trained since childhood, it could be a labor perhaps even harder than the battles they fight.
SPARTAN-II were originally trained to see people in three categories: Superior officers, squadmates, and threats; obey, help, and neutralize, respectively.8 While Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez warned some of them that things would be a lot more complex than that in the field, it is still a crippling form of training that made Spartans unadapted to a lot of social conventions. In a civilian environment, with no prior preparation, a SPARTAN-II could have trouble making friends by depending too much on the categorization deeply ingrained into them.
The experience of Soren-066 in non-bellic environments show us that Spartans could have a rough road to adapt, but not completely impossible6; Ralph-303, despite the augmentation procedures and slight changes in appearance, was adopted by a family and was successfully readapted into society. This shows us that, perhaps, the Spartans have a chance of returning to society, though it greatly depends on the psychological damage suffered during the course of their service, and their stability4.
1.SKIRMISH ON HARVEST // H:LEGENDS.HOMECOMING.2:30-2:53 // A drone ambushes Daisy-023 behind her, and knocks her down before being taken down by a Marine Sniper.
2.ASSASSINATION OF PROPHET // H:LEGENDS.THEBABYSITTER.5:50-6:30 // A Brute Chieftain comes from behind the Squadron, and mortally wounds Cal-141.
3.DEATH OF KAT-B320 // H:REACH.NEWALEXANDRIA.CLOSING.2:35-4:17 // A Covenant Zealot lethally shoots Catherine-B320 in the head, taking advantage of her situational unawareness that costed her right arm in the past.
4.MIKE'S LETTER TO AGNES // H:FALLOFREACH.BONUSCONTENT // A letter about Ralph-303's readaptation into society, and a brief commentary on the experiences and programming the Spartan-II went through.
5.MISSION BRIEFING OF JOHN-117 BY MAJOR ANTONIO SILVA // H:THEFLOOD.CHAPTER3.88-92 // As the CO of the four men killed in the UNSC Atlas, he verbally assaults John-117 and lectures him about his hatred for his generation.
6.HISTORIAL OF SOREN-066 // H:EVOLUTIONS.PARIAH.CHAPTER4-EPILOGUE.31-56 // Soren-066's failures in the augmentation procedures, existentialist frustration after being sent to a desk job, and his treason to join the Insurrectionist cause.
7.DEBRIEFING OF JERICHO VII THEATER TO JOHN-117 // H:THEFALLOFREACH.PROLOGUE.7 // John-117 mentally notes his hatred for being in space, and his preference for being on the ground, on the battlefield.
8.UNSC ATLAS GYM INCIDENT // H:THEFALLOFREACH.CHAPTER7.63-69 // John-117 acting in self-defense against four ODST's that seeked to injure him. Initially difficult because he had been trained into looking at people with these three categories.
9.ENCOUNTER OF KELLY-087 WITH KURT-051 // H:GHOSTSOFONYX.CHAPTER19.167 // Kelly-087, upon recognizing Kurt-051 after decades MIA, notes the recurring nightmares she had after the incident that nearly claimed his life
10.DESTRUCTION OF THE PELICAN // H:LEGENDS.HOMECOMING.10:00-12:55 // After being mortally injured, Daisy-023 attempts to provide cover fire to the Pelican, with no avail, and the unit is ultimately annihilated by Covenant fire.
11.REPORT ON GAMMA 4 // H:LEGENDS.HOMECOMING.3:02-3:15 // Daisy-023 unemotionally reports on the loss of the unit she was sent to aid, and notes that Harvest not only is gone, but that more planets will follow.
12.TEAMWORK LESSON // H:THEFALLOFREACH.CHAPTER4.40-45 // John-117 is forced to work as a team with Kelly-087 and Samuel-034. This dependence on other individuals has its downsides later in service.
13.COMBAT ON ALPHA HALO // H:THEFLOOD.CHAPTER2.54-55 // John-117 is ambushed by an Elite Major after fighting several Grunts and a Minor Elite, and notes he had been fighting as if he had been part of a unit, which in turn made him disregard his flanks.
Samples
First Person:
Note: This post would be after a general introduction, and knowing about the journals' function.
[ VOICE ]
[Silence. Then, there is a gathering of breath, and shuffling of paper.]
This is Sierra Twenty-Three, transmitting on an open channel. Requesting intel on current location, “Luceti.”
I was operating in Harvest until a day ago, when I was transported here, without my gear, and with... [A sigh] a mutation of sorts, consistent with the rest of the residents of this area. There is no evidence that could suggest the use of cryogenic stasis in my transport to this location.
No Covenant forces encountered. [A pause.] Though there are non-human creatures that are not affiliated with them, nor with any faction of our world.
Repeat. Requesting intel on current location, “Luceti.” Any and all UNSC forces in the area, respond.
Sierra Twenty-Three, out.
[A sigh. A dash of pen on paper, then delicate scribbles until the journal no longer records.]
[ WRITTEN // 20% ENCRYPTION]
> MISSION LOG
JAN 2, 2531
>> I should be dead right now. I saw the Pelican burn. I felt my heart stop beating. This all should be a dream.
I want to say this is all an hallucination, but I can't. It is all too hard to swallow. Not so much to understand, but to accept. Feeling my heart beating again is one thing, but being gone from my world, from Harvest, from Reach, from Sargasso...
And these... wings.
...
My parents used to tell me about heaven, as a place where good people that die go, and that they all become angels. Funny. It's not accurate Christian mythology, but I even expected to see Samuel in here. But at least he won't have to face this sudden change of pace. He was the friendliest of us all, but... if he was still there, somewhere, he'd rather be following the rest of us.
Humanity needs me. But if I can't return to my world without going back to the moment I died, I can't help but ask myself what does this all mean.
A new life? The Covenant is glassing worlds, and there aren't many Outer Colonies left. The UNSC needs me much more than these... Malnosso do.
But that Elite didn't miss. None of the Covenant did. I don't think I have a choice.
Right now? My only options are survive, helping all who I can do so, and wait for reinforcements. However long it might take.
I hope John is alright.
> LOG END.
[ END OF ENCRYPTION ]
[IF YOU FEEL THE FIRST-PERSON IS TOO DAUNTING BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LESS TALKATIVE CHARACTER, YOU MAY EITHER WRITE AN INTROSPECTIVE PIECE CONCERNING LUCETI OR REQUEST A Q&A TO BE RESPONDED TO ICLY.]
Third Person:
Daisy felt a soft feeling of pain in her back.
Pain meant she was still alive. Chief Petty Officer Mendez had always instructed them that, but after what she had seen short ago, and what she felt now, she could not know whenever if his words rang true or not any more: SPARTAN-023 was feeling her heart beating again, the pain of the hole the needler round tore into her was gone, hinting a release of endorphins... but she also felt soft fabric covering her, and she was feeling cold. And she could hear leaves moving with the wind.
Her bare fingers instinctively held soft blades of grass she hardly believed could be even there, her sense of tact unhampened by the layers of metal of the MJOLNIR. Daisy-023 opened her eyes, and saw not the world covered in ashes and glass that Harvest had been reduced to.
Instead, she saw a blue sky above a lush forest as tall as those she remembered from her childhood. It resembled both Sargasso, and Reach.
Daisy lifted herself in a bolt, everything in her wanting to understand the reason she was seeing all of this.What happened to her armor? Where was her bear? How did she get here? How was she still alive?
Her back pain moved... Someplace she had never felt pain at all. It was not thoracic pain.
Her blood ran cold. The pain in her back was still there, but... outside it. Not part of her self, but of something else.
Daisy's fingers brushed over her neck, ran through her back, and felt plumage on limbs that were not supposed to be hers.
She turned, her heart racing as if it was about to come out of her chest. This could be all attributed to blood loss. That was all Daisy could think about. The place where the needler round hit no longer hurt, hinting a release of endorphins, had it not been for the fact the pain in... those things remained.
Even then... It all felt real. Gravity felt higher than that of Harvest, and she was able to keep her balance.
Besides, if she was dead, she would not be seeing any of this.
Daisy-023 heard someone yelling in the distance. There were more here.
Her senses were usually better. Strange. Perhaps her eardrums got more damaged through the Harvest Campaign than she thought, and she hadn't had requisitioned a replacement since there hadn't been machines in the field to flash-clone organ replacements for weeks.
Still... could she had been revived?
She had heard about medical miracles, about people being set on cryostasis for the chance of behing revived. But there was no VTOL Lift Gear in kilometers. The zone was chock-full of Covenant. Every human in that area was killed.
She eliminated the thoughts, and decided to focus on the situation at hand: Getting her armor back, and discovering what was going on.
SPARTAN-023 advanced towards the settlement in the distance, and kept her guard for hostiles. She would find the answers to all of this.