Admiral Margaret Parangosky was the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence with the United Nations Space Command. She oversees sectors two and three.
Biography[]
Friction with Halsey[]
Admiral Parangosky arrives in Dr. Catherine Halsey's lab. Parangosky cryptically reminds Halsey that her rebellious nature is nearing annoyance. Halsey wants the artifact to be taken back to her lab immediately upon arrival, though Parangosky notes that Miranda handles all Covenant objects. Halsey insists so Parangosky concedes. As she's leaving, she hears noises on the the other side of a door and peeks in. She the reprimands Halsey that her project has not been approved, as she was meant to cease all progress on clones. Dr. Halsey lies that she did pause the programming, but Parangosky sees through her lie and orders her to shut it down.
Master Chief John-117 goes AWOL after breaking UNSC protocol by refusing to kill the Madrigal survivor. He disables the ships surveillance systems, causing a mass panic amongst the UNSC. Captain Keyes and Admiral Parangosky try to quell the masses, but speak with Halsey who admits she thinks John is having memories, which Keyes knows shouldn't be possible. Admiral Azmi demands answers from Halsey, as the worlds largest weapon shouldn't be misbehaving. Halsey explains that she thinks John is having memories, which shouldn't be possible. Azmi orders the marines on base to contain Master Chief when his ship lands. They watch as John seemingly removes his helmet and gives a gun to Kwan, stunning Parangosky. Azmi takes this as an act of defiance and potential danger, instructing his marines to shoot the ship out of the sky if they have too. Halsey protests but he snaps that she's there as a courtesy and will be remanded to her lab. Their efforts are unneeded as Master Chief escapes from the base by using the artifact to repower his ship and fly into slipspace.[1]
The committee calls an emergency meeting to discuss Master Chief's status. Other members in attendance include Fleet Admiral Hood, Captain Jacob Keyes, and Keyes's ex-wife Dr. Catherine Halsey. Hood isn't sure punishment for Master Chief is fit since he's a symbol of hope, a heroic statement, and a punishment would be bad for morale. Halsey undermines Admiral Parangosky by pitching the Cortana system to the council. She explains that it will overwrite Spartan consciousness and replace it with an artificial general intelligence. She believes it to be the next state in human evolution. The Spartans were the first step, while Cortana is the upgrade. Cortana represents the sum total of every available date point, holding the intelligence of the galaxy in her mind. She hopes to use Cortana to create Spartans who are more lethal, their judgement error-free, their performance upgradeable, and controllable. Captain Keyes reasons that Spartans such as John are people, but Halsey disagrees as he's much more than that. She thinks the Cortana system can help them win the war against the Covenant. Jenma points out that Halsey's previous theories depended on biological substrates derived from the illegal practice of human cloning. Halsey, however, has found a way around that. Parangosky reluctantly authorizes a trial of the Cortana system.
As Master Chief continues to be AWOL, the UNSC plans to locate him and the mysterious alien artifact that he discovered. Miranda hears about the object and confronts Admiral Parangosky about not having heard of the artifact sooner, as she is in charge of alien artifacts and research, not Halsey. She presses that she has made the advances in shielding, active camo, and slipspace navigation, yet Halsey retains all the funds. She is also making great strides in comprehending the Sangheili language - the language of the Covenant. Despite this, Parangosky is unwavering in her stance that Halsey will receive the artifact first. She reminds Miranda that Halsey didn't want Miranda to know about the artifact at all. Later, Master Chief turns himself in with the artifact, which goes to Halsey.[2]
Parangosky ultimately shows Miranda a hologram of the artifact in secret. Miranda is fascinated by it, including its built-in technology and ancient origins. Parangosky tasks her with leading a team in analyzing the artifact independently from Dr. Halsey. She wants to be less reliant on Halsey in the future, something Miranda supports.[3] Meanwhile, Hasley, Master Chief, and her assistant Adun find the larger keystone on the planet Eridanus II.[4]
The UNSC sends dozens of personnel to Eridanus II to excavate the keystone. There, Master Chief confides in Keyes that he remembers knowing Halsey when he was a child on the planet. Keyes tells Halsey and Parangosky about the revelations. Parangosky wants to cease all the operations including the Spartan protocols by bringing everyone back to Reach immediately with the artifact. She wants to terminate Master Chief. Halsey admits they could but leverages the fact Parangosky knew the true origins of the Spartan program. She kept all the files and will release them if Parangosky doesn't keep the program going. The woman concedes angrily. Keyes wants Miranda removed from the artifact studies to keep her hands clean. Halsey quips this is the only parenting issue they can agree on. The keystone is lost to the Covenant after Master Chief acts against Halsey's orders to save the overwhelmed Kai and suffering marines.[5]
Once back at Reach, Keyes meets with Paragonsky and three other members of the security council about the failures on Eridanus. The security council mentions that Admiral Hood is considering dismantling Section 3 to put the Spartans directly under the control of the UNSC. Parangosky is quick to assume the source of those ideas. Later, John tells the UNSC of Makee's revelation that the Covenant's holy planet is located in the Aspero star system, and is called Raas Kkhotskha. Keyes leaps into action to find the planet in the otherwise barren system.
Halsey is questioned by a representative from the Judge Advocate General. Parangosky and Keyes watch in secret, with her admitting to Keyes that she's made Halsey the scapegoat for the entire operation. He doesn't think this is a good idea but she shushes him, as the general has been instructed to limit his questions to cloning. John interrupts the meeting and makes the general leave, at the same moment that Miranda materializes in the room. Keyes is upset as Miranda doesn't have clearance, but Parangosky keeps him quiet. They listen to John and Halsey's conversation.
John asks why she did it. Nothing she says will make sense until the benefits manifest. She's accepted that he will hate her. She was planning the future of their species since natural evolution is failing them since humans are still hardwired for conflict and selfishness. If they were going to survive they needed a force that would intervene and prevent conflict before it started. She created the Spartans to protect humanity from itself. He wants to skip to the part where she kidnapped them. She needed children, no older than six, so their training and augmentation could be carried out properly. They were too young to volunteer and parents don't give up their children very easily. The thing she replaced him with was a genetically compromised clone that began exhibiting signs of illness before passing away. It allowed the parents to properly grieve the loss of their child and give them closure. She views this as a reasonable, a statement he throws back at her. She lied to them for years while they fought and killed for her. She corrects that it wasn't for her.
Any challenge to the status quo is always thought to be mad until people see the benefits. He asks who knew about the truth so she covers up for her partners by saying everyone looked the other way. She thinks it was worth it to unlock the mystery's of the artifact. They have upended everything she thought she knew about their place in the universe. He's the key to unlocking more secrets. He has a confection to the thing they're calling the Halo. She knows he will take them there to lead their species beyond its current limitations. He needs her to do it and ensure their sacrifices aren't in vain. He plans to finish what they started without her. Miranda disconnects from the link, not giving Keyes a chance to explain himself or his knowledge of the programs origins.
Halsey meets with Parangosky and is a little annoyed after being interviewed by the representative. Parangosky reveals that she needed a scapegoat and so did the council, so they chose Halsey. She doesn't' believe her at first but Parangosky reveals her plan to send Halsey to a new lab on the Burial Mounds, away from the UNSC base. It will frame her as the reason for the failing Spartan program and give Master Chief a bit of justice. The Spartan program and Cortana will be transferred to Miranda, who is finally getting the promotion she deserves now that Halsey isn't holding her back. Halsey tries to use her blackmail but knows it will only land them both in jail, which isn't good for either of them. Parangosky calls for two MPs to escort Halsey back to her quarters where she will begin packing for her next day departure.[6]
Alliance with Master Chief[]
Parangosky and Keyes watch John with Makee. She worries about John's growing connection the human girl, as he's not acting like a soldier while frolicking in the garden with her. She also worries that he knows of her and Keyes' involvement in the program, since Halsey answers to her. Keyes disagrees that he knows, and in the meantime, they have to trust John - he's a still a solider who's always on mission.
The planet Agade is glassed by the Covenant, killing three-million innocent people. Keyes watches the panicked video message from the governor of the planet before it was glassed. John returns to FLEETCOM where he talks with Captain Keyes, as everyone is devastated by the loss. Master Chief thinks Makee can make contact with the keystone to find the Covenant planet, though Keyes and Parangosky are skeptical. Chief reminds them that he overcame decades of indoctrination, so she can too. He trusts Makee, a sentiment that holds weight for everyone.
Parangosky, Jacob, Makee, and an MP are in the secure testing room, waiting for John and Makee. Parangosky tells the MP to find Makee and John. The MP returns with who tries to explain that John is in danger as the Spartans have turned on him, but Parangosky laughs at the ridiculous claim. Makee sees the artifact and speaks Shangheili. She explains that she escaped as John spoke with someone in his head, who Keyes notes as being Cortana. She was sent away but John stayed. Miranda rushes in shouting for them to keep Makee away from the artifact as it was Makee's voice on the Gladius recording. Makee tries to explain that she had no choice but an MP grabs her. As she struggles, he uses an electric rod to shock her. Makee calls out to the keystone in Shangheili, jarring the guards enough to where she can break free of their grasp. She steps forward and touches the keystone, making it emit an energy blast that knocks everyone in FLEETCOM to the ground and disrupts all the technology in the vicinity.[7]
After Makee escapes with the keystone, Master Chief, Parangosky, and Miranda attempted to locate the Covenant's holy planet. Master Chief believes that Makee hadn't lied about everything. He recalls the Covenant's prophecy - the Halo is meant to be revealed with the stars sparkle like glass. He believes it's a clue and through Cortana the trio learns that the planet would appear as fragments - or shards of glass. Miranda reasons that they can't be sure the planet is out there, but Silver Team has to try. Parangosky stops John as he readies to leave for the mission. She knows he hasn't been himself lately because of his erratic behavior and recent revelations. Regardless of everything he's been through, he must put his feelings and pain aside for the sake of the mission. When he walks onto that battlefield, 'John' must no longer exist; only the Master Chief. Later, Halsey's clone is arrested under the rouse that it's the real Halsey. When the clone dies, Parangosky pulls Miranda off Halsey so the medics can tend to her "mother". Miranda reveals that is not her mother. Her revelation makes Halsey the most wanted fugitive in the UNSC.[8]
Six months after the fight on High Charity, Margaret and John secretly meet. She advises him to be more careful when seeking her out and identifies herself as a private citizen now. During their conversation, John shares details about the events at Sanctuary, expressing his suspicions about the Covenant's larger plans. She tells him to gather information and to report back to her. When asked what he'll get out of it, Margaret tells John that she promises to believe him.[9]
Fall of Reach[]
As his concerns about an attack on Reach grow, John reaches out to Parangosky to ask her to help him convince others of the danger. She attempts to dismiss his concerns. During their exchange John figures out that she has been manipulating him all along. In fact, she was never fired from her position and that she knows an attack is imminent but is not planning to fight.
Personality[]
At her core, Parangosky is a politician. She puts on a respectable trustworthy facade to gain trust but does not seem to respect anyone's views besides her own. Additionally Parangosky is extremely callous and is more than willing to sacrifice innocent bystanders (soldiers, civilians, even children) if it will accomplish a "more important" objective.
Behind the scenes[]
Margaret Parangosky is based on the character of the same name, Margaret Parangosky, from the video game series.
Trivia[]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Sources[]
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season One, Contact
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season One, Unbound
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season One, Emergence
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season One, Homecoming (TV episode)
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season One, Reckoning
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season One, Solace
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season One, Allegiance
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season One, Transcendence
- ↑ Halo: The Television Series - Season Two, Sanctuary
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