Editing Cade McDonough

{{Status|Canon}}

{{Character infobox

|variant=Human

|homeworld=

|birth=Prior to [[2525]]

|causeofdeath=

|parents=

|spouses=

|children=

|gender=Male{{Ref/Reuse|ITF}}

|height=Taller than {{Convert|177.8|cm|ftin|sp=us}}

===War and Plunder===

{{Quote|It's a good job, Kip. Stop worrying. Cap is fair and we make a decent living, better than most out here.|Cade reassures Kip concerning the ethical implications of their work.}}

While Rion was in New Tyne with [[Kip Silas]] and [[Lessa]], two other members of the crew, Cade remained at the [[New Tyne Airfield]]  so he could perform maintenance on the ship's track system.{{Ref/Reuse|ITF}} When the three finally returned they found him seated a story up on a catwalk, still hard at work. Rion notified him of a planned meeting to take place in fifteen minutes and he responded with a curt nod. When those fifteen minutes had passed, the crew found itself gathered around the ship's mess table to hear what the captain had to say. Rion revealed that she had used some of their recent windfall to purchase information regarding another potential claim; specifically, the wreckage of a ship that could very well be a military vessel downed during the war. The possibility of discovering a UNSC ship sparked a debate between Kip and the siblings, Lessa and [[Niko]], as Kip believed the [[UNSC Salvage Directive]] would need to be followed in such a case. Cade leaned back in his chair and quietly observed the argument with crossed arms. Rion met his somber gaze before she added her voice to the discussion by assuring Kip that she would do the right thing if any heavy ordnance was discovered. When Cade then spoke, he told Kip he should stop worrying and that Rion would be fair. He then asked her what their destination was, to which she replied "[[Ectanus 45]]". Their prize was located on a moon in that system, [[Eiro]].{{Ref/Reuse|ITF}} Cade thoughtfully considered the news and reminded Rion that it was right on the edge of the [[Inner Colonies]], which was not their usual haunt and could lead to trouble for them. Rion was resolved to make the journey regardless, justifying it by way of the reward it could bring. After the conclusion of the meeting, Cade sparred with Rion after she worked out by herself. By the time they finished it had been an hour since they had left Venezia.{{Ref/Reuse|SAS}}

Eiro is tidally locked to an uninhabited planet, but there is a narrow twilight ring on its surface that supports a small settlement. The crew's target was purportedly located around fifty-six kilometers from this ring on the dark side of the moon. Once settling into geosynchronous orbit, it didn't take long for Lessa to locate the ship. Given the moon's deathly cold temperatures, Cade joined Niko in sarcastically remarking on an eagerness to freeze. As Rion and Lessa stayed on the birdge to land the ''Ace'', Cade, Kip, and Niko headed for the staging bay, referred to as the "locker room", to suit up.{{Ref/Reuse|ITF}} With sixty seconds until touchdown on Eiro's surface, Cade broached the subject of dead bodies over comms to Rion. The captain gave a noncommittal answer that suggested she didn't want to think about it unless and until they needed to. Once the two women joined everyone else, Cade showed Kip how to link his wrist commpad to his helmet's [[HUD]] and to the rest of the crew. Accepting Kip's thanks, he smacked Niko on the helmet as he walked past him and jokingly reminded him to not forget his plasma cutters, as he had done during a previous excursion. Cade rallied the crew to disembark into the snowy outside and upon first viewing the ship, a {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}, Niko innocently asked him if it brought back memories. For his oblivious insensitivity, Lessa smacked her brother in the head, but Cade just calmly affirmed that it did indeed.{{Ref/Reuse|ITF}} After walking around the hall of the [[cruiser]], it became apparent that at best, only a quarter of the ship was present and that it had been cut in two by a Covenant weapon. Cade identified the damage to have been done by a [[plasma]] [[energy projector]]. In order to cover as much ground as quickly as possible, Rion had the crew split up. Cade was directed to find an armory.{{Ref/Reuse|ITF}}

===Chi Rho===

===Laconia===

{{Quote|no=three|q1=Not only did I choke, but I fell ass over end on some goddamn piece of debris and knocked myself out.|Cade|q2=It's oka-|Rion Forge|q3=It's not okay! Damn it, Rion! It's ''not'' okay! It only came looking for you because I took myself out of play!|Cade|Cade vents his anger at himself over freezing in place when confronted with a Mgalekgolo.}}

Rion and Cade made their way toward the heavy destroyer on foot. Cade armed himself with a rifle and both made use of [[active camouflage]] modules in their possession. When the ''Ace'' was three kilometers behind them, Niko asked Cade over their comms whether he had ever killed a Hunter. Cade admitted that he had not, but that he had seen plenty of them killed by others. The two salvagers entered the ship through a gaping hole that a [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]] had produced in its hull. Rion jokingly thanked Cade for their entrance, given his history with the UNSC. Soon after, the two of them shut down their comms to the rest of the crew. They squeezed through a hole created by a bent bulkhead and made their way toward the bridge, all the while surrounded by the skeletons of various Covenant races and the more recent remains of dead [[Lekgolo]]. Cade marveled at the wealth of salvage aboard the ship and stated that they could exploit it for decades. He also joked that [[Niko]] could get the raise he was always asking for and poked fun at her for being a "tyrannical" captain. Walking past [[dropship]]s that appeared to be in working condition, they stuck close to a wall before finally entering the bridge, with Cade in the lead. After turning some corners, a motionless but intact Mgalekgolo was sighted slumped in a corner. A short distance away, a dead one was found and it became clear that the two had been a bonded pair and that the one still holding onto life was responsible for triggering their sensors earlier. Cade moved to finish the hulking creature off, but Rion stopped him, due both to the need to keep quiet and out of discomfort with executing an enemy that appeared to be no threat. Rion's call angered Cade, but he assented to her authority. When she moved on, however, he opted to remain with the Hunter to keep an eye on it. Two hours and ten minutes later, Rion returned from a fruitless search to find Cade leaning against a console with his rifle against his lap. She confirmed she had no luck finding the buoy and he could tell she was frustrated. Rion then activated [[Diane|one of]] Niko's [[drone]]s they had brought with them and left to continue her search again. This time, she did find what she was looking for, but upon turning a corner to return to Cade, she was met head-on by the fully erect Mgalekgolo. As it turned out, Cade had panicked when it finally stood up. He had frozen in fear before falling backwards and hitting his head on debris, knocking himself out in the process. He came to in time to unload a barrage of bullets into the creature at that moment, however and to put it out of its misery. As he edged around the giant mass of worms with his weapon still trained on it, Rion noticed that he was breathing heavy, trembling, pale, and bleeding from the side of his head. Tripping over his words, Cade profusely apologized for his failing. Rion downplayed what had happened, but Cade stormed off the bridge in shame. When the ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' came into view again, Rion grabbed his arm and spun him around. Cade's embarrassment, guilt, and horror was plainly evident on his face and as much as Rion tried to console him, he refused to make excuses or forgive himself. She told him that she was okay and that she never asked for him to protect her, at which point he flinched. He was able to calm down before they resumed their trek back to their ship, however.

Sometime later, the others from the crew joined Rion where Cade's body lay, having brought a grav stretcher to transport it. They all mourned together there before returning to the ship. Its service elevator was used to take it to the medbay, where Rion spent around two-and-a-half hours removing his gear, cleaning him, and putting him in his dress blues. Then, having approached [[Korinth Prior system|Korinth Prior]], they all watched as a personnel pod with Cade's body inside was fired into the dwarf star. Rion reflected on all the ways Cade has changed her life and changed who she was. She felt guilty for what had happened and regretted their refusal to commit to each other long-term. In addition to finding her father, she now had another goal as well: to make Gek 'Lhar pay for what he'd done.{{Ref/Reuse|SAS}}

==Personality and traits==

{{Quote|We all have our demons. And our regrets.|Cade}}

When he and Rion met, they would passionately debate about politics and wars, but as their relationship deepened, they stopped doing so and focused their energy and loyalty on the one thing they could truly count on: themselves. They were the one constant in each other's lives. The reality of having someone you could truly count on was immeasurable. He had been saving her ever since they met, as that was just part of who he was. The number of times that Cade and Rion had been in impossible situations but gotten out okay was more than Rion could count. Many of these situations had caused the two of them to almost come to blows over Rion's tactics. Cade and Rion's relationship repeatedly cycled through stages of friendship, sex, and tumult, though it was the deep, abiding friendship that was a steady constant. Cade understood Rion's drive better than anyone. It was his own similarities to her in that respect that led to their becoming friends to begin with, even though they each did dance around their future prospects. Both of them, scarred as they were, didn't want to experience more loss and hurt, so it was easier to pretend to be noncommittal.