Michael Baird

Michael Baird was a Sergeant in the UNSC Marine Corps and an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper.

Biography

Early life

Baird in Scotland as a child.

Michael Baird was born on Earth in Scotland. He often referred to the cold weather he used to enjoy in his childhood. Moments before his death, he remembered how he used to fall on his back and make snow angels when he was a child.

Treatment

Aboard the UNSC The Heart of Midlothian, Baird received treatment for a form of cancer, a now archaic and easily treatable disease. The procedure was supposed to last only an hour or so, and Baird, who didn't want to miss a jump with his squad, was appeased by Mo Ye, the ship's "smart" AI construct, who said he should be up and ready to jump before they would leave. Baird was actually knocked out for twenty-three hours, and during that time, the Heart of Midlothian, was boarded by a Special Operations Covenant boarding party.

The boarding party

As Mo Ye told Baird about the events that occurred while he was unconscious, he asked why she couldn't just self-destruct, as per the Cole Protocol. She told Baird that this boarding party was unlike any other, as they systematically destroyed Mo Ye's systems to prevent her from self-destructing. She also revealed that they had brought aboard a never before encountered Covenant species. In order for Mo Ye to start the self-destruct sequence, Baird had to travel to the control room and manually boot her systems. She was able to tell him this because she had left a small piece of her coding behind to watch over Baird's procedure.

Armed with only a fire extinguisher, Baird set out for the control room, but encountered a small group of Covenant, consisting of four Grunts, two Jackals, and one Elite. He snapped the first Jackal's neck by smashing down on its head with his fire extinguisher. He then used the fallen Jackal's Carbine to take out the next. As the Grunts begun to disperse in fear, one accidentally ran into him. As they looked at each other, Baird noticed an energy sword running through the cowering grunt and himself. He looked up and noticed the leading Elite had run him through with his energy sword. As the Elite pulled away, the grunt fell dead and Baird was knocked unconscious.

Baird was awoken again by Mo Ye, who gave him four medicines, one that was known to be used by Insurrectionists fighting Spartans. It was known as a Rumbledrug, slowly destroying the body, but making it totally impervious to pain and damage. Using these drugs, Baird made his way to the control room, where he encountered more of the boarding party, including the leader, who donned a decorative headdress. Baird dropped his weapons and said he would give them the coordinates of Earth if they let him escape. As they begun to raise their weapons at him, the Elite roared at them to stop and communicated with the Engineers onboard. The Elite then agreed to let Baird do what he had to do.

Death

Baird reactivated Mo Ye, but instead of giving the boarding party the coordinates, he removed the AI's safety protocols, allowing her to destroy the ship. Baird then punched the Elite as hard as he could, breaking his hand and the Elite's two left mandibles. He began to taunt the Elite, but the Elite recovered and beheaded him with his energy sword. As the boarding party left, the Elite and Mo Ye made eye contact. When they did, Mo Ye begun counting, but then said "I'm kidding. There's no need for any countdown whatsoever." She proceeded to self-destruct, leaving absolutely nothing but the midnight of space.

Trivia

• In the motion comic adaptation of Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian, Baird was voiced by Leonard Meyer.
• Frank O'Connor, the author of Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian, based Baird's character on some of his father's and uncle's friends, who are gruff men with military backgrounds. O'Connor also based parts of Baird's childhood on his own life, most notably in that both are from Edinburgh, Scotland.
• O'Connor has stated that he is aware that Baird shares his surname with a character from the Gears of War series, though the connection is unintentional.

List of appearances

• Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
  • Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian (First appearance)