Margaret Parangosky: Difference between revisions

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[[Admiral]] '''Margaret Orlenda Parangosky''' ([[service number]] '''00230-00923-MP'''; [[UNSCMID]] '''03669271''') is the former [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence|Commander-in-Chief]] of the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].<ref name="DD2"/><ref name="HG4">''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'', ''Chapter 4''</ref><ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/halo4#!an-epic-universe/story/6eeabce4-dc80-4aa3-b2aa-2f5d123b7514 '''Halo 4 Official Site:''' ''STORY'']</ref> In office by [[2511]], she coordinated ONI's activities during the [[Insurrection]], throughout the [[Human-Covenant War]], and in the years that followed. By [[2555]], she had been succeeded by her protegé, [[Admiral]] [[Serin Osman]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''', ''page 38''</ref>
[[Admiral]] '''Margaret Orlenda Parangosky''' ([[service number]] '''00230-00923-MP'''; [[UNSCMID]] '''03669271''') is the former [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence|Commander-in-Chief]] of the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].<ref name="DD2"/><ref name="HG4">''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'', ''Chapter 4''</ref><ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/halo4#!an-epic-universe/story/6eeabce4-dc80-4aa3-b2aa-2f5d123b7514 '''Halo 4 Official Site:''' ''STORY'']</ref> In office by [[2511]], she coordinated ONI's activities during the [[Insurrection]], throughout the [[Human-Covenant War]], and in the years that followed. By [[2555]], she had been succeeded by her protegé, [[Admiral]] [[Serin Osman]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''', ''page 38''</ref>


Parangosky was slight of build and appeared much older than her actual age, but her withered appearance belied her sharp intellect and ice-cold ruthlessness.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 80''</ref> She was known to be very powerful and deadly; Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] was the only person who had ever crossed her and lived. [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]] considered her to be the most dangerous person in the UNSC.
Parangosky was slight of build and appeared much older than her actual age, but her withered appearance belied her sharp intellect and ice-cold ruthlessness.<ref name="HGOOC8">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', Chapter 8</ref> She was known to be very powerful and deadly; Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] was the only person who had ever crossed her and lived. [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]] considered her to be the most dangerous person in the UNSC.


==Biography==
==Biography==
===Early career===
===Early career===
{{Quote|Gentlemen, I'll be brief. After almost fifteen years of continuous and ruinously expensive research without a single new useful technology discovered, the budget of the Onyx initiative has been reprioritized. Although the alien artifacts and hieroglyphics continue to be of interest, recent rebel activities in the Outer Colonies demand that we face realities and reallocate our finite A.I. and military personnel to counter this new threat.|Rear Admiral Parangosky explains the reasoning behind the Onyx initiative's loss of funding.}}<ref name="HGOO13"/>
{{Quote|Gentlemen, I'll be brief. After almost fifteen years of continuous and ruinously expensive research without a single new useful technology discovered, the budget of the Onyx initiative has been reprioritized. Although the alien artifacts and hieroglyphics continue to be of interest, recent rebel activities in the Outer Colonies demand that we face realities and reallocate our finite A.I. and military personnel to counter this new threat.|Rear Admiral Parangosky explains the reasoning behind the Onyx initiative's loss of funding.}}<ref name="HGOO13"/>
Margaret Parangosky was born in [[2461]] or [[2462]], being seventy years of age by [[2531#October|October 24, 2531]].<ref name="HGOO2">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> She joined the [[United Nations Space Command]] [[UNSC Armed Forces|Armed Forces]] when she was around twenty-two years old, eventually becoming a captain in the [[UNSC Navy|Navy]].<ref name="HMD2"/> The first warship she served aboard was the {{UNSCShip|Lutyens}}.<ref name="HTTW2">''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> As a [[captain]] Margaret frequently punched well above her weight, so to speak, and brought down a number of senior officers.<ref name="HMD2">''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> When the [[Colonial Administration Authority]] fell from grace due to a series of scandals Parangosky elected to take on the [[Department of Colonial Security]], which nobody wanted, with the intent to improve it. In doing so she instantly acquired a virtual army of [[civilian]] spies with no preexisting loyalties to anyone else in the UNSC.<ref name="HMD2"/>
Margaret Parangosky was born in [[2461]] or [[2462]], being seventy years of age by [[2531#October|October 24, 2531]].<ref name="HGOO2">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', Chapter 2</ref> She joined the [[United Nations Space Command]] [[UNSC Armed Forces|Armed Forces]] when she was around twenty-two years old, eventually becoming a captain in the [[UNSC Navy|Navy]].<ref name="HMD2"/> The first warship she served aboard was the {{UNSCShip|Lutyens}}.<ref name="HTTW2">''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> As a [[captain]] Margaret frequently punched well above her weight, so to speak, and brought down a number of senior officers.<ref name="HMD2">''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> When the [[Colonial Administration Authority]] fell from grace due to a series of scandals Parangosky elected to take on the [[Department of Colonial Security]], which nobody wanted, with the intent to improve it. In doing so she instantly acquired a virtual army of [[civilian]] spies with no preexisting loyalties to anyone else in the UNSC.<ref name="HMD2"/>


On [[2511#January|January 2, 2511]] Parangosky, now a rear admiral, issued [[Order 178.8.64.007|an order]] reclassifying all materials concerning the planet [[Onyx]] as Top Secret, Eyes Only.<ref name="HGOO13">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', ''Chapter 13''</ref> This order affected anything mentioning, referencing, or containing reports, surveys, personal notes and logs, images, or any other data pertaining to the planet. It also was accompanied by an ONI-authorized system-wide network purge under the direction of a military [[artificial intelligence]].<ref name="HGOO13"/> The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] [[Section Three]] project that would come to be christened "[[SPARTAN-II]]" had been in its planning stages as early as [[2510]].<ref name="HJ8810">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''August 8, 2510''</ref> The program eventually involved the abduction and conscription of young children in order to create the ultimate fighting force for the UNSC, and Parangosky approved almost every aspect of it.<ref name="HG18"/> The kidnappings were carried out in [[2517]] and the great majority of the seventy-five children acquired were replaced with [[Flash cloning|flash clones]], though this particular detail escaped Margaret's knowledge for at least a couple of years.<ref name="HG18">''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'', ''Chapter 18''</ref><ref name="HTFOR3">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 3''</ref>
On [[2511#January|January 2, 2511]] Parangosky, now a rear admiral, issued [[Order 178.8.64.007|an order]] reclassifying all materials concerning the planet [[Onyx]] as Top Secret, Eyes Only.<ref name="HGOO13">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', ''Chapter 13''</ref> This order affected anything mentioning, referencing, or containing reports, surveys, personal notes and logs, images, or any other data pertaining to the planet. It also was accompanied by an ONI-authorized system-wide network purge under the direction of a military [[artificial intelligence]].<ref name="HGOO13"/> The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] [[Section Three]] project that would come to be christened "[[SPARTAN-II]]" had been in its planning stages as early as [[2510]].<ref name="HJ8810">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''August 8, 2510''</ref> The program eventually involved the abduction and conscription of young children in order to create the ultimate fighting force for the UNSC, and Parangosky approved almost every aspect of it.<ref name="HG18"/> The kidnappings were carried out in [[2517]] and the great majority of the seventy-five children acquired were replaced with [[Flash cloning|flash clones]], though this particular detail escaped Margaret's knowledge for at least a couple of years.<ref name="HG18">''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'', ''Chapter 18''</ref><ref name="HTFOR3">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 3''</ref>
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In [[2531#May|May of 2531]], [[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] told Vice Admiral [[Michael Stanforth]] his assistance would be needed in order to get Parangosky to allow Cole to use her assets to manipulate energy in [[slipspace]] in what he was sure she would consider an "extreme risk" operation.<ref name="HEILPDPC"/> Cole was proposing that [[ONI Section Two|Section Two]] of ONI begin broadcasting prerecorded carrier signals from antiquity in order to attenuate and obfuscate the radio signatures already in [[slipspace]], hoping that doing so would prevent the [[Covenant]] from triangulating [[Earth]]'s location.<ref name="HEILPDPC">''[[Halo: Evolutions]]'', ''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]''</ref> Later that year, on [[2531#October|October 24]], Margaret met with [[Rear Admiral]] [[Ned Rich]], [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]], and Captain [[Aaron Gibson]] aboard the {{class|Point Blank|stealth cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Point of No Return}} while it was in interstellar space of [[Sector B-042]].<ref name="HGOO2"/> Now a vice admiral and the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence]] (CINCONI), she had made the ship her base of operations.<ref name="HGOO2"/><ref name="HE74">''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]'', ''page 74''</ref> She, Gibson, and Rich entered the room variously known as "the cage" or "[[Odin's Eye]]" shortly after 0500 hours that day where the colonel was already waiting.<ref name="HGOO2"/> Before she seated herself at the conference table she told Ackerson that he'd better have a good reason for dragging them all there through back channels. He implored her and the two others to examine a document he'd prepared for them on reader tablets, but Parangosky told him to just come to his point after seeing the file dealt with something she was already very familiar with: [[Catherine Halsey]]'s [[Spartan-II]] project. The colonel then proposed a making a new generation of [[Spartan]]s—[[Spartan-III]]s. Parangosky was immediately interested by the proposal and asked if she was right to assume what he was suggesting would have no public presence. He confirmed her suspicion and further explained that Spartan-IIIs could be sent on missions against high-value Covenant targets that traditionally would never be considered. Such "suicide missions" could potentially slow the enemy down, essentially allowing the Spartans' lives to be traded for time the [[UNSC]] needed to think, plan, and come up with a better way to fight. Though the notion gave her pause, Parangosky had to agree the lives of a handful of men and women were well worth saving a single planet or setting the Covenant even just a few weeks back. She announced she knew the perfect location to use as the Spartan-III program's staging area—Onyx. When Ackerson said he would need a [[Spartan-II]] to train the [[Spartan-III]] recruits Parangosky agreed. She advised that he tread very lightly in procuring [[Kurt-051|one]] and not allow anyone in [[ONI Section Three|Section Three]] to find out about either. She was especially concerned that Doctor Halsey never find out. Before taking their leave the vice admiral and the other two naval officers erased the files from their tablets.<ref name="HGOO2"/>
In [[2531#May|May of 2531]], [[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] told Vice Admiral [[Michael Stanforth]] his assistance would be needed in order to get Parangosky to allow Cole to use her assets to manipulate energy in [[slipspace]] in what he was sure she would consider an "extreme risk" operation.<ref name="HEILPDPC"/> Cole was proposing that [[ONI Section Two|Section Two]] of ONI begin broadcasting prerecorded carrier signals from antiquity in order to attenuate and obfuscate the radio signatures already in [[slipspace]], hoping that doing so would prevent the [[Covenant]] from triangulating [[Earth]]'s location.<ref name="HEILPDPC">''[[Halo: Evolutions]]'', ''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]''</ref> Later that year, on [[2531#October|October 24]], Margaret met with [[Rear Admiral]] [[Ned Rich]], [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]], and Captain [[Aaron Gibson]] aboard the {{class|Point Blank|stealth cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Point of No Return}} while it was in interstellar space of [[Sector B-042]].<ref name="HGOO2"/> Now a vice admiral and the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence]] (CINCONI), she had made the ship her base of operations.<ref name="HGOO2"/><ref name="HE74">''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]'', ''page 74''</ref> She, Gibson, and Rich entered the room variously known as "the cage" or "[[Odin's Eye]]" shortly after 0500 hours that day where the colonel was already waiting.<ref name="HGOO2"/> Before she seated herself at the conference table she told Ackerson that he'd better have a good reason for dragging them all there through back channels. He implored her and the two others to examine a document he'd prepared for them on reader tablets, but Parangosky told him to just come to his point after seeing the file dealt with something she was already very familiar with: [[Catherine Halsey]]'s [[Spartan-II]] project. The colonel then proposed a making a new generation of [[Spartan]]s—[[Spartan-III]]s. Parangosky was immediately interested by the proposal and asked if she was right to assume what he was suggesting would have no public presence. He confirmed her suspicion and further explained that Spartan-IIIs could be sent on missions against high-value Covenant targets that traditionally would never be considered. Such "suicide missions" could potentially slow the enemy down, essentially allowing the Spartans' lives to be traded for time the [[UNSC]] needed to think, plan, and come up with a better way to fight. Though the notion gave her pause, Parangosky had to agree the lives of a handful of men and women were well worth saving a single planet or setting the Covenant even just a few weeks back. She announced she knew the perfect location to use as the Spartan-III program's staging area—Onyx. When Ackerson said he would need a [[Spartan-II]] to train the [[Spartan-III]] recruits Parangosky agreed. She advised that he tread very lightly in procuring [[Kurt-051|one]] and not allow anyone in [[ONI Section Three|Section Three]] to find out about either. She was especially concerned that Doctor Halsey never find out. Before taking their leave the vice admiral and the other two naval officers erased the files from their tablets.<ref name="HGOO2"/>


Almost six years later another meeting was held within "Odin's Eye" while the ''Point of No Return'' was at a classified location.<ref name="HGOO8">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', ''Chapter 8''</ref> On [[2537#July|July 30, 2537]] Vice Admiral Parangosky, Rear Admiral Rich, and Colonel Ackerson were joined by Senior Chief Petty Officer [[Franklin Mendez]] and Lieutenant [[Kurt Ambrose]] shortly after 0900 hours to go over the performance of [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|the first]] Spartan-III company.<ref name="HGOO8"/> [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company]], apart from a small number of Spartans whom had been previously extracted for reassignment elsewhere, had just been totally obliterated during [[Operation: PROMETHEUS]].<ref name="HGOO8"/><ref name="HM76">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 76''</ref> Parangosky and Rich were seated opposite one another when Ackerson showed Mendez and Ambrose in, already reviewing the Spartans' operational records.<ref name="HGOO8"/> She scrutinized the lieutenant, him being the [[Spartan-II]] who'd been handpicked to train the threes, before telling directing both he and Mendez to sit. She told them she was impressed with those they'd trained and asked Kurt to tell her about the selection process for the next class. Together he and Ackerson communicated that while three hundred and seventy-five candidates had been identified, a lack of data was preventing them from finding additional matches. To this Parangosky suggested microscopic samples could be taken from children in the Outer Colonies during vaccinations administered as part of an official immunization program and also asked if they could perhaps loosen the genetic criteria for selection. Kurt pointed out that doing so would dramatically increase the failure rate during biological [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|augmentation]]. It was Parangosky who then steered the conversation to Operation: PROMETHEUS, the end results of which were still unknown to Mendez and Kurt. She told the former Spartan-II that Alpha Company's loss was regrettable, but that she and the other officers present would order the operation again if presented with a similar opportunity. The Spartan-IIIs had stopped the Covenant from being able to manufacture any further ships at the asteroid [[K7-49]], and to hear Parangosky tell it this made them heroes. Once Kurt indicated he'd understood what she was saying, the vice admiral let him know she'd put him in for a promotion and that he was to be commended for his Spartans' performance. But as there was still a war to win, she also wanted him to focus and accelerate the training of those who would form the second company.<ref name="HGOO8"/>
Almost six years later another meeting was held within "Odin's Eye" while the ''Point of No Return'' was at a classified location.<ref name="HGOOC8"/> On [[2537#July|July 30, 2537]] Vice Admiral Parangosky, Rear Admiral Rich, and Colonel Ackerson were joined by Senior Chief Petty Officer [[Franklin Mendez]] and Lieutenant [[Kurt Ambrose]] shortly after 0900 hours to go over the performance of [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|the first]] Spartan-III company.<ref name="HGOO8"/> [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company]], apart from a small number of Spartans whom had been previously extracted for reassignment elsewhere, had just been totally obliterated during [[Operation: PROMETHEUS]].<ref name="HGOO8"/><ref name="HM76">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 76''</ref> Parangosky and Rich were seated opposite one another when Ackerson showed Mendez and Ambrose in, already reviewing the Spartans' operational records.<ref name="HGOO8"/> She scrutinized the lieutenant, him being the [[Spartan-II]] who'd been handpicked to train the threes, before telling directing both he and Mendez to sit. She told them she was impressed with those they'd trained and asked Kurt to tell her about the selection process for the next class. Together he and Ackerson communicated that while three hundred and seventy-five candidates had been identified, a lack of data was preventing them from finding additional matches. To this Parangosky suggested microscopic samples could be taken from children in the Outer Colonies during vaccinations administered as part of an official immunization program and also asked if they could perhaps loosen the genetic criteria for selection. Kurt pointed out that doing so would dramatically increase the failure rate during biological [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|augmentation]]. It was Parangosky who then steered the conversation to Operation: PROMETHEUS, the end results of which were still unknown to Mendez and Kurt. She told the former Spartan-II that Alpha Company's loss was regrettable, but that she and the other officers present would order the operation again if presented with a similar opportunity. The Spartan-IIIs had stopped the Covenant from being able to manufacture any further ships at the asteroid [[K7-49]], and to hear Parangosky tell it this made them heroes. Once Kurt indicated he'd understood what she was saying, the vice admiral let him know she'd put him in for a promotion and that he was to be commended for his Spartans' performance. But as there was still a war to win, she also wanted him to focus and accelerate the training of those who would form the second company.<ref name="HGOO8"/>


After most of [[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Company]] was wiped out during [[Operation: TORPEDO]] on [[2545#July|July 3, 2545]], Kurt asked Margaret's permission to have the mission's two survivors, [[Lucy-B091]] and [[Tom-B292]], placed under his employ to help train the [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|next company]].<ref name="HGOO10"/> Colonel Ackerson wanted Tom for his own private operations and Lucy was close to being given an "unfit for duty" classification and being permanently reassigned to ONI's psychological branch for evaluation, but Parangosky sided with Kurt over Ackerson's objections. On [[2551#February|February 19, 2551]] the mobile medical facility {{UNSCShip|Hopeful}} was parked in interstellar space of [[Sector K-009]] (essentially "in the middle of nowhere") at Parangosky's order, where it resided by 0420 hours. It was aboard the ''Hopeful'' that the Spartan-IIIs of [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]] then underwent their [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|biological augmentations]].<ref name="HGOO10">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', ''Chapter 10''</ref>
After most of [[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Company]] was wiped out during [[Operation: TORPEDO]] on [[2545#July|July 3, 2545]], Kurt asked Margaret's permission to have the mission's two survivors, [[Lucy-B091]] and [[Tom-B292]], placed under his employ to help train the [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|next company]].<ref name="HGOO10"/> Colonel Ackerson wanted Tom for his own private operations and Lucy was close to being given an "unfit for duty" classification and being permanently reassigned to ONI's psychological branch for evaluation, but Parangosky sided with Kurt over Ackerson's objections. On [[2551#February|February 19, 2551]] the mobile medical facility {{UNSCShip|Hopeful}} was parked in interstellar space of [[Sector K-009]] (essentially "in the middle of nowhere") at Parangosky's order, where it resided by 0420 hours. It was aboard the ''Hopeful'' that the Spartan-IIIs of [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]] then underwent their [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|biological augmentations]].<ref name="HGOO10">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', ''Chapter 10''</ref>