Editing Bartalan Craddog

{{Status|Canon}}

{{Character infobox

|variant=Human

|notable=Blackmailed by [[Intrepid Eye]]<br>Blamed for [[Project SLEEPING STAR]]

==Biography==

Craddog was a young lieutenant whose prior record indicated an officer with a remarkable, often-predatory promiscuity and unremarkable ambition.{{Ref/Novel|Id=R27|Ret|27}} After he was assigned to ''[[Argent Moon]]'', the [[archeon-class ancilla]] [[Intrepid Eye]] would accurately describe the principles of operation for Forerunner artifacts only to Craddog while providing partial or inaccurate explanations to everyone else. As a result, Craddog won the reputation of a genius and was promoted to the station's Chief Science Officer. In reality, Craddog wasn't terribly bright and the most inadequate of ''Argent Moon's'' AI researchers and was chosen by Intrepid Eye to be her rising star for this very reason.{{Ref/Novel|Id=R5|Ret|5}}

On [[2553#December|December 12, 2553]], Craddog visited Intrepid Eye with [[observation pane|a Forerunner artifact]] in hopes that she could identify it for him. Intrepid Eye had Craddog activate the artifact for her and then demanded that he provide her access to ''Argent Moon's'' communications array. When Craddog refused, Intrepid Eye threatened to expose Craddog sleeping with lesser ranked officers, a breach of fraternization protocol which could get him removed from his post and possibly risk his safety due to the threat he could be under from ONI as a disgraced castoff from a top-secret project that could have a problem following the Secrets Act. Craddog realized that Intrepid Eye had a [[remote aspect]] inside of ''Argent Moon's'' systems and wished to use communications array to reintegrate her other aspects. Craddog eventually gave into Intrepid Eye's blackmail and reluctantly agreed to give her access to the communications array.{{Ref/Reuse|R5}}

After [[Veta Lopis]]' [[Ferret]] team discovered that the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]] were not responsible for the murder of Admiral [[Graselyn Tuwa]] and the abduction of her family, Intrepid Eye, the true mastermind behind the plot, discovered Craddog sleeping with Ensigns [[Jess Wallace]] and [[Kris Gaston]], a violation of fraternization rules. Contacting Craddog through Wallace's [[TACPAD]], Intrepid Eye used his sexual indiscretions to blackmail Craddog into accompanying [[Papa-10]] to [[Pinnacle Station]] on the {{Class|Winter|prowler}} {{UNSCShip|Fast Gus}} to retrieve the cryo-jars containing the Tuwas organs. Craddog's purpose was to monitor the cryo-jars since Papa-10 lacked the expertise to do so. Craddog quickly realized that the mission was related to [[Project SLEEPING STAR]], a project to turn [[asteroidea merozoite]] into a [[bioweapon]]. Intrepid Eye claimed that the Tuwa's organs were vital to creating a vaccine for the disease and Craddog reluctantly complied.{{Ref/Novel|Ret|16}}

At Pinnacle Station, Craddog was left with the utility skiff that ferried Papa-10 from the ''Fast Gus'' to the station. As Papa-10 retrieved the cryo-jars and executed the [[Dark Moon Enterprises]] couriers, [[Oriel]], a remote aspect of Intrepid Eye guiding Papa-10 through Craddog, became aware of the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]] on the station preparing to attack. With Papa-10 busy, Oriel stationed Craddog in cargo netting with an [[M41 SPNKR]] and had him attack the ''[[True Light]]'' as the Keeper forces prepared to emerge, killing [[Orsun]] and several [[Kig-Yar]]. However, Craddog's hesitation to fire again allowed [[Castor]] and three other [[Jiralhanae]] to emerge and Craddog was wounded in the leg with a [[Paegaas Workshop Spiker]], his inexperience in combat as a science officer hampering Craddog as proper backup for Papa-10. As Papa-10 fled the station to [[Meridian]]'s surface in one of the station's personnel shuttles, Oriel had Craddog ditch the rocket launcher and retreat to the utility skiff to treat his injuries.{{Ref/Novel|Ret|21}}

After the single surviving member of Papa-10 escaped the Keepers, [[Blue Team]] and the [[Ferret]]s, she met Craddog and the utility skiff at an extraction point suggested by [[Sloan|Administrator Sloan]]. Spotting [[Veta Lopis]], Craddog warned the Papa-10 operative who grabbed Craddog's assault rifle. To keep the cryo-jars out of their hands and stop the rogue operative, Veta detonated [[C-12 shaped charge|C-12 explosive]] she had placed around the jars, destroying the jars, the organs within, the utility skiff and Oriel as well as killing Craddog and the last Papa-10 operative.{{Ref/Novel|Ret|26}}

In ONI's final report on [[Operation: RETRIBUTION]] and Project SLEEPING STAR, it was determined that Craddog had undertaken the bioweapon project on his own initiative due to a complete absence of orders directing him in his actions. Due to his record and Craddog having worked tirelessly to achieve the rank of Chief Science Officer for ''Argent Moon'', it was concluded that he had been trying to reach sufficient rank as to initiate the project under his own authority. ONI's conclusion was that the only explanation for Craddog's seeming actions was that given his often-predatory promiscuity, Craddog sought to aggrandize himself by developing the most dangerous weapon in the UNSC's arsenal. However, this allowed the true culprit, Intrepid Eye, to remain undetected and continue with the project in secret.{{Ref/Reuse|R27}}

{{Ref/Sources}}

[[Category:Human characters]]