Editing Avery Johnson (section)

==Biography==
===Childhood===
{{Quote|A boy isn't a boy that doesn't ruin his clothes.|Marcille, in response to the fact that so many clothes of her sons were worn-out before being passed on to Avery.}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH2|CH|Chapter=2}}
Avery Junior Johnson was born on [[2474#November|November 23, 2474]] on [[Earth]] in the [[United Republic of North America]]'s [[Greater Chicago Industrial Zone]], a sprawling metroplex covering regions that once were part of the [[United States of America|American]] states of [[Wikipedia:Illinois|Illinois]],  [[Wikipedia:Indiana|Indiana]], and [[Wikipedia:Wisconsin|Wisconsin]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P91}}{{Ref/Reuse|CH2}} From the time he was six years old, he was raised by his aunt, [[Marcille Johnson|Marcille]], after [[Zone Protective Services|Zone social services]] placed him in her care due to an angry end to his parents' marriage. His father had left his mother so distraught that she could no longer care for herself, let alone an active, six-year-old boy. Marcille's sons were already grown by the time she adopted Avery and consequently he was dressed with many of the worn-out clothes they had worn at his age, which did not always fit due to his tall, broad-shouldered frame. His aunt worked hard to patch and sew so that Avery always looked his best, however, especially for church. Aunt Marcille was [[Evangelical Promessic]] and her religiosity resonated with the young Avery, who accompanied her to church services. Avery's first day of attendance left him with memories he would carry for the remainder of his life: the suffocating pinch of his white, freshly starched oxford shirt, a little paisley tie, argyle socks beneath neatly cuffed tan slacks, and the smell of carnauba wax, liberally applied, to mask the scuffs in his oversized, wingtip shoes. Avery and his aunt lived in a walkup apartment on [[Blackstone Avenue]] for the entirety of Avery's upbringing.{{Ref/Reuse|CH2}}

===Early military career===
{{Quote|They taught you to be a killer, Avery. They taught us both.|Staff Sergeant Byrne reflects on he and Johnson's ORION training.}}{{Ref/Reuse|CH5}}
[[File:AssassinAvery.png|thumb|250px|Photographs of Corporal Johnson assassinating Ander.]]
Avery enlisted with the [[United Nations Space Command]] [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] when he was nineteen years old. His aunt bid him farewell by telling him to make her proud and reminding him to always do what was right. He had become convinced that innocent people, like his aunt, were threatened by those involved in the [[Insurrection]], an undeclared civil war between the [[Unified Earth Government]] and disparate groups resisting its authority that had kicked off in earnest in [[2496]].{{Ref/Reuse|CH2}} Avery excelled as a Marine and often warranted special training and special missions. By the first few years of the twenty-sixth century, he had been handpicked to become part of the [[ORION Project]], a joint effort by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] and the [[Colonial Military Authority]] to create [[biological augmentation|biologically augmented]] super-soldiers to quell the [[Insurrectionist]] tide. Avery traveled to the planet [[Reach]] where he underwent a series of bioengineering protocols and grueling physical and mental tests. As part of ORION and [[UNSC Special Forces|NavSpecWar]], he was granted entrance into the [[Naval Special Warfare Sniper School]], where he exceeded the expectations of his superiors. In addition to training as a [[sniper]], he also learned to deploy in [[Drop pod|orbital drops]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH21|CH|Chapter=21}} and became an accomplished [[Wikipedia:Close quarters combat|close quarters battle]] fighter. In [[2502]], then-Corporal Johnson deployed to [[Harvest]] as part of [[Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE]], a campaign with the goal of assassinating key rebel leaders. On March 13, Avery acquired a position on a rooftop and with the assistance of a spotter, used an [[M99 Stanchion]] rifle to kill [[Jerald Ander]], the leader of the [[Secessionist Union]] on the planet, as a truck carrying him passed by.{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH4|CH|Chapter=4}} Johnson was involved in numerous other classified operations against the [[Insurrection]] during his years with ORION. The final of these for the project was [[Operation: TANGLEWOOD]].{{Ref/Reuse|CH2}} Due to unmet expectations and exorbitant costs, the ORION Project was then deactivated in [[2506]]. Johnson was reassigned to a position in the Marine Corps once again. Avery was a leader during many black operations missions over the course of the Insurrection.{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH5|CH|Chapter=5}}

===Tribute===
{{Quote|Johnson, take the shot!|Staff Sergeant Byrne}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=CHP|CH|Prologue}}
In [[2513]], the UNSC launched [[Operation: TREBUCHET]], an extensive campaign to crush insurrectionists in the [[Outer Colonies]]. As part of this ongoing offensive, then-Staff Sergeant Johnson led [[Alpha Squad|a unit]] of Marines on June 16, [[2524]] during an effort to neutralize the bomb-making capabilities of rebels on [[Tribute]]. Before dawn, the two four-man squads took to the air with [[AV-14 Hornet]]s. At fifty-seven minutes and sixteen seconds into the mission, the hornets crested a line of crumbling hills the marines got their first line-of-sight view of their objective: one of Tribute's struggling industrial settlements; and, somewhere inside the town, a suspected Insurrectionist bomb-shop. The hornets dropped the strike force off on the edge of town and Johnson took point for his squad. He set a brisk pace and led them over a chain-link fence and around piles of plastic crates and pallets until they reached the front of what looked like nothing more than a rundown vehicle repair shop. After signaling their position to Byrne and receiving a similar confirmation, Avery kicked in the thin metal door that led inside. Most of the surprised insurrectionists were unarmed at the moment of the breach and those that were had nothing more than snub-nosed automatic pistols that did little against the marines' body armor. Johnson personally neutralized a triggerman before he could detonate any explosives. The firefight lasted less than ten seconds and resulted in the deaths of twelve insurrectionists. Four others surrendered. Avery attempted to use an [[ARGUS]] device to detect any significant chemical compounds of interest in the vicinity, but the recent firefight made it impossible to nail down the location of any hidden bombs. Johnson relayed this complication to the tactical operations center aboard the {{UNSCShip|Bum Rush}} and received approval from [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Aboim]] to extract information from their hostages by any means necessary. Byrne selected one unlucky man and proceeded to break both his legs before he confessed they had been mixing explosives into the synthetic rubber treads of tires. The explosive compound in nearby tires was quickly uploaded to the database of similar materials used by the rebels. Less than a minute later, an [[ARGUS drone]] patrolling one of the highways leading into [[Casbah City]], the planet's capital, identified the compound in skid marks left by a sixteen-wheel hauler. The truck was located as it pulled into the parking lot of a [[Jim Dandy]] roadside diner. More of the explosive was also detected inside the diner. Byrne killed the other three insurrectionists that had surrendered but kept the one who talked as a prisoner, per orders from the operation's ONI representative. He and Avery both led their squads back to the hornets.{{Ref/Reuse|CHP}}

Twenty-eight minutes elapsed during their flight. The craft took up positions behind a smoked-glass, multistory office building across the highway from the Jim Dandy. The drone provided Avery with thermal imaging of the situation. Now armed with a stanchion sniper rifle, he took aim at the man that had been the driver of the truck. He waited for the individual to finish his meal and exit the building before sending a round straight through two of the office building's steel-reinforced, polycrete floors and into him at fifteen thousand meters per second. The target was torn asunder by the shot. The ARGUS was still showing a bomb within the restaurant, so Byrne's team made to land and enter while Avery's continued to provide coverage from above. The source of the reading was a purse near where the man had been sitting. As Byrne was about to retrieve it, the woman to whom it belonged exited one of the diner's bathrooms. Realizing what was happening, she grabbed a young boy to turn him into a human shield and produced a detonator, threatening to use it if the marines did not back off. Avery was ordered to kill the woman from his position, but he hesitated due to the risk he would be putting the child at. Byrne yelled that if Johnson would not take the shot, then he would kill her himself. Johnson affirmed that he was firing, but as he waited for an opening that would minimize the chances of harming the boy, the boy's father lunged at the woman and she detonated the bombs. Both her purse and tires on the truck outside engulfed the diner in fiery explosions that killed everyone inside but Staff Sergeant Byrne.{{Ref/Reuse|CHP}} In total, the dead numbered thirty-nine civilians, (including the woman) and three marines.{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH7|CH|Chapter=7}}

===Human-Covenant War===
====Reassignment====
After the incident, Johnson came home and found his aunt dead of natural causes, and soon went on a massive drinking binge. He started a brawl with bouncers at a [[Dog and Pony|Chicago club]], and ended up in a gutter until he was found by [[Downs|Lieutenant Downs]], a [[UNSC Marine Corps]] [[Enlistment Officer|recruiter]].{{Ref/Reuse|CH2}} He was reassigned to the planet Harvest by [[Jilan al-Cygni]].{{Ref/Reuse|CH7}}

Officially, Johnson was reassigned to train the [[Harvest militia|Colonial Militia]] on Harvest, but their actual mission was to create a covert anti-insurgency unit, and to lay an ambush on insurgent forces suspected in the disappearances of DCS freighters around [[Harvest]].{{Ref/Reuse|CH5}}

Johnson met [[Healy]] as he came to Harvest.{{Ref/Reuse|CH4}} After the man tried to get drinks and women instead of heading straight to where they were ordered, Johnson angrily confronted him.{{Ref/Reuse|CH5}}

Upon meeting [[Byrne]] again in the barracks shortly after arriving, he was confronted on why he didn't take the shot to kill the Insurrectionist. Johnson tried to explain that he didn't want to hit the child she was holding hostage, and apologized for the loss of Byrne's squad. This did not deter Byrne from starting a brawl. Initially, Johnson had the upperhand, nearly choking the larger man into unconsciousness with a belt, but was kicked in his unprotected groin, stunning him for a few moments. Before Johnson could recover, he was grabbed by the throat and lifted off the ground. Byrne rebuked Johnson, before Captain Ponder entered. Ponder threatened to shoot Byrne if he did not release Johnson, forcing Byrne to do so. Ponder warned the two marines that if they wanted to take any anger out on each other, this was the last time they could do so. Johnson refused at first, but after being punched by Byrne, he swung so hard that the other Staff Sergeant's tooth was knocked from his mouth, coming to rest by [[Healy]].{{Ref/Reuse|CH5}}

Johnson began training the marines not long after.
{{stub|section=yes}}

[[File:SSgt Avery Johnson, UNSC Marine Corps.JPG|left|thumb|300px|Staff Sergeant Avery J. Johnson and the [[Harvest Colonial Militia]] during the Covenant's attack on the planet.]]
====First Contact====
{{References|section}}
{{Main|First Battle of Harvest}}
However, while lying in wait on a bait freighter, he and Sergeant Byrne, who was also assigned to the position, fought and defeated four [[Kig-yar|bird-like extraterrestrials]] in the first official battle between the UNSC and the alliance of alien species known as the [[Covenant]]. Johnson demonstrated exceptional bravery during the battle, succeeding in eliminating the initial enemy Kig-Yar contacts and pursuing the Kig-yar [[Shipmaster|Shipmistress]] (the final survivor of the boarding) into her ship. He subsequently survived the ships detonation of the ships [[Unngoy]] methane suite at the hands of the Kig-yar ship mistress's plasma pistol.{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH8|CH|Chapter=8}} His survival was secured thanks to Sgt. Byrne's quick evacuation of Johnson before the ship and the situation onboard was lethal.{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH10|CH|Chapter=10}} Following first contact, Johnson and Byrne were both involved in the training of Harvest colonial militia, despite being held to secrecy regarding first contact, both sergeants did their best within their restrictions, and only revealed the alien threat (and its potential scope) when it was imminent.{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH13|CH|Chapter=13}} The recruits during the briefing on the alien threat were privileged to witness the battle through the suit cameras of Sgt. Johnson vacuum-rated battle armor, the recruits were obviously impressed by the Sergeants courageous attack on the Covenant ship, and most were emboldened to fight. Johnson and Byrne (with the rest of the Harvest colonial militia) were present at the initial negotiations between the [[Jiralhanae|Brutes]] and the [[human]]s. Their initial plans coordinated with al-Cygni were spoiled as they expected the same aliens as they faced during first contact (Jiralhanae instead of Kig-yar) and misjudged the circumstances surrounding the 'ideal' true first contact. This was due to the Brute ship, Rapid Conversion, finding the survivors of the destruction of the Kig-yar ship, and as such, decided to prod at Harvest. As such, it was the only ship to initially attack Harvest following the incidental first contact. They fought Brute Chieftain [[Maccabeus]], his nephew [[Tartarus]], and several [[Unggoy|Grunts]] during their first formal contact. He aided [[Staff Sergeant]] Byrne and ONI operative [[Lieutenant Commander|Lt. Cdr.]] [[Jilan al-Cygni]] in repelling the [[Jiralhanae|Brute]] ship ''[[Rapid Conversion]]'' long enough to allow most of the planet's population to escape into the [[Tiara]], a station attached to seven different space elevators stationed on the planet. Following the battle of Harvest, he would become romantically involved with al-Cygni after escaping from the planet. Although Johnson and al-Cygni seemed quite taken with each other it is unclear whether they formed a relationship, or how long it lasted.{{Ref/Novel|Id=CHE|CH|epilogue}}
{{stub|section=yes}}

====SILENT STORM====
{{Main|Operation: SILENT STORM}}
On [[2526#March|March 7, 2526]], Johnson was called to a meeting on the {{UNSCShip|Everest}} with [[Vice Admiral]]s [[Preston Cole]] and [[Michael Stanforth]] as well as Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]]. With the war with the [[Covenant]] getting desperate, the three discussed options and revealed that they wanted Johnson, as a veteran of the [[First Battle of Harvest]] and a member of the [[ORION Project]], to be a part of whatever solution they came up with. Based on his own experiences on Harvest, Johnson offered his opinions on the various Covenant races he had encountered. Johnson was informed of the existence of the [[SPARTAN-II]]s and their enhanced abilities. As the Spartans were only fifteen, Stanforth felt that they needed a sergeant to help lead and teach the Spartans, albeit one who wouldn't give orders. Though disgruntled about being effectively made into a babysitter, Johnson agreed to take up the role.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS4|HSS|Chapter=4}}

Johnson subsequently took part in Operation: SILENT STORM, a counterattack against the Covenant aimed at buying humanity time to develop effective countermeasures against their seemingly unstoppable enemy.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS4}} During [[Task Force Yama]]'s slipspace journey to their [[Biko|first destination]], Johnson began working with the [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs]] of the [[21st Space Assault Battalion]], also known as the "Black Daggers." At first, the marines had proved to be no match for the Spartans during their training exercises, but that changed when Johnson introduced new and unorthodox strategies. While the Spartans continued to outclass the individual ODSTs, victory was no longer certain when facing large numbers that now knew how to coordinate an effective assault. Four days into the training, [[Colonel]] [[Marmon Crowther]] had the Spartans and the entire battalion of Black Daggers gather to be briefed on his plan to board and destroy Covenant vessels. When Crowther presented a plan that made poor use of the Spartans' abilities, [[John-117]] spoke out and Johnson backed him up, helping to convince the colonel to consult with John before making his decision.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS5|HSS|Chapter=5}}

====Battle of Seoba====
{{Main|Battle of Seoba}}
Arriving at [[Seoba Ice Quarry|the ice quarry]] on [[Biko]]'s [[Natural satellite|moon]] of [[Seoba]] that had been selected as the staging point for their mission, Johnson was positioned in the troop bay of the {{UNSCShip|Ghost Song}} alongside John-117 for a practice deployment set up by Colonel Crowther. However, it was discovered that insurgents aligned with the [[Biko Independence Army]] were occupying the quarry already.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS7|HSS|Chapter=7}} With the insertion no longer a drill, [[Ghost Flight]] maintained its approach vector and began to drop off its first detachments of Black Daggers, which were immediately torn to shreds by enemy [[M41 Vulcan|weapon emplacement]]s. John disobeyed orders and jumped from the [[prowler]] before his designated time, knowing that he would withstand the fire long enough to take out the nearest bunkers. After John and [[Blue Team]] had softened up the insurgents, the ODSTs and Johnson deployed with little difficulty. Shortly afterward, Johnson regrouped with the Spartans in the shadow of a derelict [[mass driver]] as they formulated a plan to destroy a convoy of insurrectionist [[Civet]]s climbing out of the quarry to repair a communications relay that had been damaged during the insertion run.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS8|HSS|Chapter=8}} The convoy was eventually destroyed by [[Lieutenant]] [[Nelly Hamm]]'s ODSTs and the quarry was taken.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS10|HSS|Chapter=10}} A day later, Johnson was summoned by [[Captain (NAVCOM)|Captain]] [[Halima Ascot]] for a debriefing in the quarry's [[Assembly Chamber 4L430]]. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss what went wrong during the operation and what led to Alpha Company's unusually-high casualties. Ultimately, the conversation turned to the Spartans and their qualifications, which then led to a discussion about their true ages. It was revealed that they were only fifteen at the time, giving Crowther a reason to sideline them for the rest of the operation. Then, the group began to discuss the insurgents' seeming preparedness to defend the quarry. John-117 suggested that they had been waiting for the Covenant, not the UNSC. Just then, [[Bloodstar Flotilla|a Covenant flotilla]] arrived in-system. Johnson and the others rushed out of the room to prepare for battle.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS11|HSS|Chapter=11}}

The entire 21st Space Assault Battalion was loaded onto the prowlers of Task Force Yama, with Captain Ascot's {{UNSCShip|Starry Night}} and the rest of [[Night Flight]] receiving the last company.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS13|HSS|Chapter=13}} Johnson was among the Black Daggers who boarded the ''Starry Night''.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS15|HSS|Chapter=15}} As Night Flight prepared to launch, the alien flotilla began bombarding their berth within the quarry. Ascot was alerted of this, and she ordered the four prowlers to launch immediately. Before it could clear the edge of the quarry, the ''Starry Night'' was struck by the bombardment,{{Ref/Reuse|HSS13}} sending it crashing into the quarry's terraced ice walls, coming to a rest halfway up a fresh avalanche of ice.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS14|HSS|Chapter=14}} The prowler was heavily damaged, with its bow ripped off and the rest of its fuselage crumpled and warped. Johnson—now with a concussion—and four ODSTs survived the crash, but Captain Ascot and the rest of the crew were killed.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS15}} Because no other units were available to check on the status of the downed ''Starry Night'', John-117 diverted his Spartans to search for survivors.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS13}} By the time they reached the prowler, [[Worthy Silence|a]] Covenant [[intrusion corvette]] had already arrived to recover the human stealth vessel for study, deploying [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]]-equipped infantry to secure their prize. To delay them and also bring the ''Starry Night'' down to the quarry floor, John had [[Blue Team|his team]] fire just below the prowler with their [[M301 grenade launcher|grenade launcher]]s, causing another avalanche.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS14}} This allowed [[Fred-104]] to lead a team into the ''Starry Night'', secure Johnson and the other survivors, and prepare the vessel's [[Fury tactical nuclear weapon|nuclear]] [[self-destruct]] system. The Spartans fought off Covenant boarders and the concussed Johnson "guarded" the ship's escape pod as [[Linda-058]] finished arming the [[Nuclear weapon|nuke]]. With it set to detonate in thirty seconds, Fred led his two fellow Spartans, the ODSTs, and Johnson into the ''Starry Night''{{'}}s escape pod and ejected into the moon's low gravity. With everyone clear of the blast radius, the nuke blew, destroying the prowler and the corvette that had been drawing it upward via [[gravity lift]].{{Ref/Reuse|HSS15}}

====Working with Crowther====
Johnson was still recovering from his concussion the next day, [[2526#March|March 20]], when he attended a funeral service for the two-hundred-and-three UNSC men and women killed at Seoba. The ceremony was held in the {{UNSCShip|Vanishing Point}}{{'}}s command hangar as it skulked in high orbit over Biko. After [[Ojombo|a chaplain]] gave the eulogy, [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Hector Nyeto]]—Task Force Yama's de facto commander following Captain Ascot's death—had Johnson call the two formations of the honor company to attention, order the hangar crew to raise the [[AlON pressure barrier|pressure barrier]], and then open the outer hatch. Johnson performed these duties with the appropriate pomp, and the capsules were lifted out into the void of space by the decompression wave. Nyeto saluted and recited the Committal he had prepared, having Johnson close the outer hatch and dismiss the honor company once he had completed his brief speech. Most of those present filed out of the hangar, only leaving the six Spartans well enough to attend and a few senior officers. When Nyeto promised to John-117 that he and his compatriots would continue to see action despite their young ages, Colonel Crowther contested this, saying that the Spartans reported to him. In response, Nyeto reminded Crowther that he now reported to ''him'', and that Admiral Cole surely knew about their unique situation before assigning them to the operation. What followed was a heated debate that ended in Nyeto conceding to Crowther after being threatened with a report to a UNSC board of inquiry.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS16|HSS|Chapter=16}}

As the remaining personnel departed from the hangar in a shocked silence, Johnson was joined by Crowther on the walk back to the Black Daggers' quarters. Crowther apologized to him for having that exchange in front of everyone, but he told the colonel that he had seen worse. Truthfully, Johnson had never seen two commanding officers openly threaten each other with career ending charges like that. He also warned Crowther that his disagreement with Nyeto was not a "pissing match" he was going to win, as it had been decided far above his pay grade that the Spartans were ''not'' children and that they were the right fit for the mission. Crowther surprised Johnson by agreeing with this sentiment, saying that the young supersoldiers had saved them at Seoba and that they were ready for battle. He then revealed that he was suspicious of Nyeto and his strange attitude toward the Spartans. It had seemed to him that Nyeto had purposefully stalled in supporting them during the previous day's battle. As such, Crowther wanted to keep the Spartans away from Nyeto until he figured out what was going on. Inwardly, Johnson agreed that he had similar suspicions about the lieutenant commander. To keep the Spartans away for a time, Crowther informed Johnson that he was sending them on [[Battle over Etalan|a mission]] to sabotage the Covenant's supply chain at [[Etalan]].{{Ref/Reuse|HSS16}}

Despite Johnson being ordered to get some rest and let the effects of his concussion subside, Crowther sent him to visit Blue Team in one of the ''Vanishing Point''{{'}}s maintenance hangars later that day. At this point, [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience|a Covenant fleet]] had arrived and begun its assault on Biko, and the Black Daggers had been deployed to attempt boarding operations. When Johnson strode into the hangar still in pain with a hangover-like headache, he was dressed in blue light-duty utilities and a pair of boots. After John and Fred asked him how he was feeling, Johnson asked Blue Team if they were just going to sit in the hangar all day bellyaching and watching the battle from a distance. John told him that's all they could do with Crowther standing in their way. With that, Johnson informed them of their new mission from the colonel. The Spartans—especially Linda-058 and [[Kelly-087]]—were skeptical given Crowther's apparent past attitude toward them. Johnson leveled with them and admitted that the secrecy was warranted given the suspicions surrounding Nyeto. While the Spartans had their own suspicions of the lieutenant commander, John presented the possibility of Crowther using this mission to Etalan as a way to eliminate them—the Black Daggers' primary competition. Johnson admitted that the idea had never crossed his mind, but that it was possible. However, he asserted that the only way to determine if the mission was a setup would be to accept it. With this, John agreed.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS17|HSS|Chapter=17}}

====Battle over Etalan====
{{Main|Battle over Etalan}}
Later that same day, Johnson, the Spartans, and Dr. Halsey left the [[Kolaqoa system]] aboard the UNSC ''Vanishing Point'' with two prowlers serving as escort. During the [[slipspace]] journey, Johnson and John-117 discussed which vessels of the l