Maria-062

"Once John gets a hold of this armor, we'll all start sleeping a little better at night."

- Maria-062

Maria-062 was a SPARTAN-II super soldier of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Group. She tested the Mark VI armor before it was handed over to John-117.

Special Warfare Center
Prior to the Battle of Earth in October 2552, PO2 Maria tested the new MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor in Songnam, Kyonggi Province in Korea.

She fought against a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers from the 340th ODST Combat Training Unit in a mock battle using paintballs near the Special Warfare Center. After the exercise, the battle armor was approved for battle and was sent up to Orbital Defense Platform ODA-142 Cairo. There, it was issued to Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.

Personal and Family Life
At the time of the exercise, Maria had decided to retire with the plan of starting a family.

Theory and Speculation
In Halo: The Fall of Reach, just as twenty-six of the remaining twenty-nine SPARTAN-IIs are informed of their new mission to bring a Prophet to Earth for interrogation and ending the Human-Covenant War, it is said that in the last ten years, there had only been three KIA Spartans and one too wounded to continue active duty. It's possible that Maria is the wounded Spartan, and that her injuries were repaired; or that they were only a cover story. However, that raises questions as to why she'd risk her cover for an armor test. It is also possible that she was too wounded for active duty, as stated by Dr. Halsey, and she merely recovered enough to test the Mk VI MJOLNIR armor, or she just didn't recover in time for the debriefing.

Trivia

 * Maria-062 is the first inducted SPARTAN-II that has been seen without a helmet or protective cover in pictures.
 * Maria is the only known SPARTAN-II that has retired.