Douglas-042

Douglas-042, born Douglas Rutland, is a SPARTAN-II Commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command. He was a member of Red Team and fought alongside the crew of the in early 2531.

Conscription
Born on the remote world of Asphodel, Douglas Rutland was abducted and conscripted into the SPARTAN-II program by Dr. Catherine Halsey in 2517 when he was six years old. He was then taken to the human colony world of Reach and trained by the AI Déjà and Chief Petty Officer Mendez along with the rest of the Spartan children. In 2525, he and the other candidates underwent a series of augmentations to improve their strength. Douglas was among the ones who survived and were not crippled or killed by the procedure.

Battle of Arcadia
Douglas was a member of Red Team during the First Battle of Arcadia and was tasked with delaying the Covenant forces long enough to evacuate the civilians of Arcadia. Afterward, he and Red Team linked up with forces from the and assisted in a counter-attack on a Covenant outpost. Once the plan to infiltrate a large Covenant shield was passed down from Captain James Cutter, he and Red Team remained with the crew to assist with the assignment. He prevented the destruction of several prototype Rhinos while they ensured the shield was destroyed. After Sergeant John Forge's forces triumphed over a Scarab, the three searched for Covenant survivors in the jungles on a Warthog. Upon hearing that Professor Ellen Anders had been abducted by the Arbiter, they went to the Spirit of Fire which jumped into Slipspace, following the Covenant ship carrying Anders.

Shield World
Later, upon arriving to a Forerunner Shield World, Douglas assisted the Spirit of Fire crew in neutralizing Covenant and Flood forces. Once Douglas assisted in destroying a Proto-Gravemind, he and Red Team became stranded on the planet. With the Spirit of Fire being dragged down inside the megastructure, Red Team was assisted by the forces of Sergeant John Forge and successfully withdrew to the ship. Red Team then assisted the crew in scouring the Flood forces from the hull of the Spirit of Fire and successfully repaired the power core when it was damaged.

Once Anders was rescued, Douglas assisted Red Team in capturing a Covenant Scarab and used it to help Forge capture the area. He was then tasked with ensuring the Spirit of Fire's Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine arrived at the teleporter that would take it to the command center of the Apex. On the Apex command center, he and the Red Team fought off numerous Honor Guards while Forge dueled the Arbiter. Douglas, with the Spirit of Fire's crew, was then charged with opening the gate which allowed the Spirit of Fire to exit the Shield World.

It is assumed that Douglas, along with the rest of the crew, entered cryo-sleep after the Spirit of Fire escaped the destruction of the Shield World.

Trivia

 * His right pauldron bears a red phoenix emblem. Like Jerome-092 and Alice-130, Douglas-042 also has the Legendary symbol on his armor's bicep.
 * Douglas' name and Spartan tag are likely homages to the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its creator, Douglas Adams.
 * During gameplay, Douglas wields a rocket launcher that features four barrels, unlike the standard-issue M41 model. Although it has four barrels, Douglas sometimes reloads after every shot, while at other times he fires all four rockets before reloading.
 * Douglas' name is 7 letters long.
 * Sometimes he will shout Yipee-kai-yay like John Forge.
 * It is stated in the Halo Wars Timeline that Douglas and John Forge had gotten into an altercation over the former's recommendation to destroy the Covenant vessel carrying Professor Anders out-system, though in the cutscene "She Is Not My Girlfriend" it is shown that SPARTAN Jerome-092 was the SPARTAN to report to the bridge, and subsequently make the recommendation to destroy the Covenant vessel before it escaped weapon range completely, and by extension the SPARTAN which Forge later has a dangerous disagreement.

Appearances

 * Halo Wars
 * Halo Wars 2