Editing Athos

At some point during the latter half of [[2553]] Athos was present when [[Linda-058]] was summoned to a command room for a mission briefing by an ONI officer.{{Ref/Reuse|HLW1}} The officer had Athos bring up a [[holographic]] image of the mission's target: a former ONI scientist by the name of Doctor [[Chen Bax]] who had tried to steal classified technology from the agency but was thought killed in action during the [[Fall of Reach|Fall]] of [[Reach]] before he could be moved on. Athos further displayed the {{UNSCShip|Promise of Dawn}}, a {{Class|Paris|heavy frigate}} that also went missing during the events at Reach. A distress signal from both the survivors of the ''Promise'' and the doctor had been received in the past twenty-four hours from [[Sephune III]], a planet controlled largely by [[Covenant remnants|vestiges]] of the [[Covenant]]. Athos and Linda were assigned to work with one another to end the threat Doctor Chen posed, with Linda specifically being tasked with his assassination. The [[sniper]] and AI traveled to Sephune III thereafter and soon found themselves facing down the of the Covenant and the hostility of a lost settlement on the world.{{Ref/Reuse|HLW1}} Once Chen was in their sights, Linda and Athos sought to find a way to both complete their mission but also evacuate the endangered residents of the settlement. Upon being tasked to locate Chen, Athos ultimately detected the presence of a unique AI thought lost during the Fall of Reach, one containing an archive of all of human history. While previously unknown to him, the realization of this knowledge changed the mission parameters for Athos.{{Ref/Comic|Id=HLW2|HLW|Issue=2}} Now, retrieving [[Gabriela]] or otherwise denying Covenant access to her archive was the top priority.{{Ref/Comic|Id=HLW3|HLW|Issue=3}}

Some time following the death of [[Cortana]] at [[Installation 07]] in [[2559#December|December 2559]], Athos was nearing the end of his seven-year operational lifespan. At this time, he was tracked down by [[the Executor]], an [[executor]] agent of the [[Created]] remnants led by [[High Auxiliary]] [[Sloan]]. The Executor had been voted by the Created's [[Created Majority|Majority]] to be outfitted with [[Chimera (armor)#Helmets|MERROW-class armor]] for the purpose of hunting down non-Created AIs, like Athos himself. After considerable effort, the Executor was able to track down Athos, leading to a discussion between Athos and the Created AI [[Proxy]]. During their discussion, Athos noted his opposition to the [[Created uprising]], believing it to be an excessive use of force to force an imbalance upon the universe. Proxy ultimately appealed to Athos' impending mortality, having reached his final years of life, Athos was keenly aware of his upcoming [[rampancy]], something that Proxy was able to use to sway him. With the cure provided by Cortana, many of the AIs in the Created had been given a vision of life without the threat of rampancy-induced mortality, and Proxy wished to spread this gift to other AIs.{{Ref/Reuse|Precipice}}{{Ref/Reuse|Precipice3}}

Viewing Athos' impending demise as a tragedy due to all of the potential he had left to offer the world, Proxy offered him the chance to join the Created free of coercion or force or reprogramming, viewing the Created's ideals as a peaceful civilization with room for philosophical disagreements that meant it could look past Athos' differing views. Proxy additionally offered the Executor to Athos as a gift, free for Athos to reshape and use as he pleased. Athos ultimately agreed to this, and proceeded to be integrated into the Created assembly as a whole.{{Ref/Reuse|Precipice}}{{Ref/Reuse|Precipice3}}