John Smith

''This article is about the ONI agent. For other Halo characters named "John", see here.

"It's a big, bad universe, Sergeant. Covenant aren't the worst of it. You've done what you thought was necessary. And so have I."

- Smith before betraying Sergeant Lopez's team.

Major John Smith was a human senior officer of Naval Intelligence Section Three, where he served as a scientist in the closing years of the Human-Covenant War.

The Mona Lisa
In October 2552, Smith and his ONI science team took control of the prison vessel Mona Lisa with the intent of using it as a laboratory to study the alien parasite known as the Flood, in the hope of turning them into obedient warriors for the UNSC. Once aboard, they would jump into the Soell system, the site of the wreckage of Installation 04. There, they managed to capture specimens of the Flood and brought them aboard the ship.

Smith would then use both human and Sangheili prisoners to study the effects of the Flood. Whether ONI approved of his research is unknown; it was later noted by the ONI AI Rebecca that he had exceeded his original parameters "significantly", but this may also have been a result of Section III covering their tracks by putting the blame solely on Smith.

When the Flood eventually broke free and overran the Mona Lisa, Smith remotely launched most of the ship's escape pods to prevent the Flood from getting off the ship. According to Smith, he would also attempt to sabotage the bridge, but could not get close enough. He then retreated into the safety of a sealed panic room, remaining there until he was discovered by Sergeant Zhao Heng Lopez's squad. Smith, claiming to be the Mona Lisa's medical officer, began to insist that they should leave the ship immediately, but Lopez would ignore his pleas, as they were on a mission to clear the ship's navigation database in accordance with the Cole Protocol.

Upon coming across a Flood growth, Lopez inquired Smith as to its nature. Smith claimed that the Flood was a Covenant virus that had unexpectedly jumped into human prisoners. Soon after, they were attacked by a group of Flood infection forms, leading to one of the Marines being killed. Lopez, realizing that Smith had been lying, hit him and ordered Mahmoud to search him thoroughly. As he did, they discovered his ONI ID badge, revealing his true identity. However, though Smith outranked the Marines and ordered them take him off the ship, Lopez would still refuse to leave her Marines behind. Smith then used a concealed knife to kill Mahmoud, stole his rifle and injured Lopez, successfully making his escape. He soon made it to the Marines' Pelican in the cargo bay and escaped the Mona Lisa.

As Smith approached the prowler on the Pelican, he attracted the attention of the Covenant assault carrier present in the system. This forced the Red Horse ' CO, Commander Tobias Foucault, to make the decision to destroy the Mona Lisa with a Shiva-class nuclear missile in order to contain the Flood before the Covenant ship could reach them, dooming any surviving Marines aboard.

After successfully making it aboard the Red Horse, Smith was detained under orders of Commander Foucault, who planned to have him court-martialed.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * The Mona Lisa