Spartan (TV show)

This topic appears in the TV series. For information about the game version, see SPARTAN-II Program.

Spartan (TV show)
Allegiance	United Nations Space Command
Branch	UNSC Naval Asymmetric Warfare Research Group
Type	Special Operations
Equipment	Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor
Battles	Human-Covenant war Battle on Madrigal Battle on Eridanus II Battle on High Charity
Decorations	All major military honors
Commanders	Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 Miranda Keyes Margaret Parangosky

“There's another difference between Spartans and marines. Marines can be killed. Spartans aren't human. They're faster, stronger, smarter. They cannot be stopped. They just keep on killing... without mercy... till there's nothing left... to kill.”

— Professor about Spartans, Contact

The Spartans, also called the Spartan-II Program, are members of the UNSC's project to eliminate the Covenant threat and defend humanity. They are designed to be faster, stronger, smarter, and genetically superior super soldiers. They work together in teams under the command of the UNSC and Dr. Halsey. They are trained from a young age to be the best soldiers possible, and underwent mental and physical programming to ensure their effectiveness and willingness to obey orders.

History

Creation

Dr. Catherine Halsey created the Spartan program for the United Nations Space Command to serve as a solution to the lack of evolution in humanity. She found a way to manufacture the ideal humans that would be stronger, smarter, faster, and better than any average human could be. She wanted to use them to solve the ongoing war with the Covenant aliens and other resistances. In order for her creations to be superior, she had to begin their training at a young age, beginning recruitment at age six. She kidnapped these children from their homes and replaced them with flash clones of themselves, all of which exhibited nose bleeds and fainting spells after some time. The clones then died and their deaths were attributed to a seizure disorder to give the parents a chance to grieve the child they'd already lost.

As for the abducted children, Halsey suppressed the survivors memories of their lives before the UNSC intervened, effectively sealing away the memories of their families and loved ones. Of the recruited children, only thirty five survived the selection process, with over half perishing. Because they only remembered the UNSC and believed they volunteered to fight, their loyalty remained completely with the UNSC and Halsey. She programmed them through years of surgeries and training to obey orders without question. She instilled the ideology that only other Spartans mattered, with their loyalty, trust, admiration, and belief only going to Halsey and their commanding officers. She created technology that could suppress their emotions, sense of right and wrong, and ability to make choices by themselves, as it allegedly made them better soldiers. Very few people knew the full truth behind the creation of the Spartans, and those included Halsey's husband and recruitment partner Jacob Keyes, and their supervising officer Margaret Parangosky. The Spartan origin files were mysteriously "lost", as the children were deemed orphans who were adopted by the UNSC and became Spartans voluntarily.

Human-Covenant War

The Human-Covenant war, is an ongoing major interstellar conflict pitting humanity and its UNSC against the Covenant. The war began when humans first colonized space. Silver Team led the charge against the Covenant as the Spartans first line of defense. They engaged in battles to procure the ancient keystones needed for the Covenant, or a Blessed One, to trigger the relocation of Shangheili forces to the Halo.

Personnel

Scientists and Trainers

Beyond the candidates, there are many different personnel who oversee the entire program. These included:

• James Ackerson - Head of the Spartan Program, ONI Operative
• Dr. Miranda Keyes
• Admiral Jacob Keyes
• Dr. Catherine Halsey - Removed from the program
• Adun - Removed from the program
• Admiral Margaret Parangosky - Removed from the program

Candidates

The true identities of the SPARTANs, including their full names, have been deleted from all official military records. Only Dr. Halsey has the original records containing the real names of the surviving Spartan soldiers. Publicly, only their first names, service tags, and a status are known.

Current Spartans

• Silver Team
  • SPARTAN-117 John - Active
  • SPARTAN Riz-028 - Active
  • SPARTAN-125 Kai - Active

Discharged

• SPARTAN-066 Soren - Defected from the program during training.
• SPARTAN-Louis-036 - Inactive due to going blind.

Killed in Action

• Silver Team
  • SPARTAN-Nora-098 - KIA during the battle on Mamore.
  • SPARTAN-134 Vannak - KIA during the battle on Reach.
• Cobalt Team
  • SPARTAN-Karim-002 - KIA
  • SPARTAN-Yaz-112 - KIA
  • SPARTAN-Val-015 - KIA
  • SPARTAN-Li-008 - KIA

Subordinate Units

Cobalt Team

The Cobalt Team is a subunit of the Spartan Program of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). It is led by Val-015. It is compromised of the most elite, effective, and efficient Spartans in the program. Members include Karim-002, Yaz-112 and Li-008.

Silver Team

The Silver Team is a subunit of the Spartan Program of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). It is led by Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and formerly overseen by UNSC Civilian Contractor, Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey. It is compromised of the most elite, effective, and efficient Spartans in the program. Members include Lieutenants Vannak-134 and Riz-028, Petty Officer First Class Kai-125, and the KIA Nora-098. The artificial intelligence Cortana aids in the teams later battles.

Physiology

Physicality

“From the age of 6, I've studied military strategy, from Sun Tzu to Preston Cole. Riz speaks the languages and dialects of every colonized planet. Vannak's battlefield discoveries on the physics of plasma swords helped the Marines develop stronger shielded vests. You see us as machines. But if you really want to understand how we work, you're gonna have to dig a little deeper.”

— Kai-125 explains Spartans to Miranda Keyes, Homecoming

Spartans are humans who have been cybernetically enhanced to be the ideal super soldier. Their human bodies have been enhanced to the limitations of the current technological advantages. As a result, they are stronger, faster, smarter, and deadlier than any human soldier. They have incredible strength, capable of moving several tons of weight with ease. They can climb, leap, and scale great distances without exhaustion or limitations. They run faster than humans, and have an inhuman endurance for battle. They exhibit great durability outside of their armor, fighting easily and retaining physical damage without lethal effects. A Spartans sense of observance is sharpened to such a degree they can recall the smallest of details in reports, anticipate attacks from enemies, and react at incredible speeds. They can easily keep pace with a Warthog while carrying several weapons at once and wearing heavy armor.

Emotional Regulators

Spartans are often viewed as being more robotic than human, and these robotic traits are an intentional effect of their hormonal pellets. This pellet is embedded in the lower backs of all Spartans. It enhances battle focus, limits or completely diminishes their empathy, and also mutes everything else in the brains sensory department. It makes them numb to emotions by limiting their emotional capability. The pellets also affect their perception of life; they don't hear, taste, smell, or experience the world like as else does. Soren described losing the pellet as "opening your eyes for the first time after living in the dark". The UNSC refers to the pellets and other administered supplements as "treatments", with the widely accepted consequence of these treatments being infertility.

These effects are only permanent if the Spartan chooses to let them be, as removing the pellet returns the body to its normal hormonal state after an extend period of time. When Master Chief and Kai removed their respective pellets, they both experienced raw outbursts of different emotions that had been carefully restricted for decades. Master Chief exhibited raw anger and frustration while Kai was excited and curious about her surroundings. Both retain a rebellious nature and desire to experience the world around them more. Kai became overwhelmed by the death and destruction around her, as she could process the true ramifications of war for the first time. Vannak did not exhibit these outbursts as his personality shifts were more subtle and not as extreme. He showed a slightly increased competitive nature and a frustration over being sidelined. He handled both feelings appropriately. He told Kai that the only change he noticed in the few weeks without his pellet was his newfound enjoyment for programs about nature and animals.

The pellets didn't just control the Spartans emotions and hormonal shifts, but their tolerance for pain as well. Riz suffered intense pain from her injuries for the first time and was nearly debilitated from it. Her resolve to never show weakness, as per her Spartan training, made her push down the pain. She could have the pellet restored which would help her cope with the pain. The only way Riz would allow the pellet back into her body was if the UNSC put a bullet in her.

Despite their pellets and upbringings, Spartans are capable of human emotion such as loyalty, worry, and trust. These emotions are limited to their inner-circle and those they are programmed to obey. Their loyalty to unit members comes from a lifetime of training, fighting, and living together. They exist in a constant a state of anticipation for attack, only truly relaxing in their headquarters, which serves as a safe haven for off-duty Spartans. This is best exhibited when Vannak and Riz casually play a game together out of their uniforms. The Spartans care and commitment to one another is unwavering even in the face of adversity and uncertainty. The Spartans are dehumanized to some degree by those around them, typically due to the death, destruction, and violence that follows them. They are viewed as robotic, elusive, and merciless killers who have no morality. Their acceptance of violence and war comes from a lifetime of being subjected to such situations, having been programmed to always endure.

Equipment

Mjolnir Armor

The Mjolnir Armor was created in parallel to the SPARTAN-II project and is the most technologically advanced piece of hardware in human hands; it can provide a SPARTAN-II with an incredible amount of protection and strength. It has technologically advanced shields that protect the armor and wearer from external attacks. The shields are not permanent and can be deactivated when it absorbs continuous physical damage.

Trivia

• The Spartan Training Center is located on the planet Reach.
• Soren's memory of his father took a year to return, and another year before he remembered killing his father. This remembering process was sped up for Master Chief by the artifact.