Canon

Codename: USUAL SUSPECTS

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This article's title is a callsign, an alias, or a nickname, as no proper name for the subject has been revealed.

USUAL SUSPECTS is the codename adopted by an Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) operative, likely a member of Section Three, in December 2552. On December 32 of that year, Admiral Octavio Morales (operating under the Codename: SURGEON) filed a report to USUAL SUSPECTS entitled "Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J." The report was filed from UNSC Point of No Return in synchronous orbit on the far side of Luna.[1] The language of the report would suggest that USUAL SUSPECTS is SURGEON's superior or superiors.

Possible mentions[edit]

While not directly confirmed, there have been several indirect allusions to USUAL SUSPECTS in relation to various ONI activites.

After the United Nations Space Command were put on high alert following the Covenant declaration of war on November 1, 2525,[2] Dr. Catherine Halsey wrote in her journal several days later on November 5 that the only people who did express any signs of visible emotion at the prospect of the war were the "Vice Admiral" (Michael Stanforth) and the "usual suspects". Halsey pondered if they had somehow expected or already knew about the Covenant in advance of the news.[3]

During a joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios meeting at Site Z on Nysa in November 2559, Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence (CINCONI) Admiral Serin Osman expressed her bewilderment that such a complex could have been constructed and kept secret from her. When asked who had been responsible for the site, Admiral Jilan al-Cygni (another codenamed operative working under the Codename: COALMINER) responded "the usual suspects", possibly indicating that Codename: USUAL SUSPECTS was somehow involved in the history of the Section Three facilities on the world.[4]

Production notes[edit]

Warning: The following information is conjecture and does not necessarily represent official information.

It is likely that USUAL SUSPECTS' real identity is that of Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the CINCONI for most of the Human-Covenant War until her retirement some time between 2553 and 2555. If the above possible covert mentions of "usual suspects" are taken as indirect allusions to the codename, Parangosky fits the bill as a character who:

  • Outranks Octavio Morales (who would have the rank of Admiral, or one close to it) around late 2552.
  • Would have access to both Morales' report on Vice Admiral Cole, but also access to Black-Box, allowing the AI to learn of the report enough to later volunteer ONI's findings to Abigail Cole.
  • Has a military career lasting from the war's beginning in November 2525 (as per Halsey's Journal) and its end (as per The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole).
  • Had enough involvement in the SPARTAN-II program in its early years to have direct contact with both Halsey and Vice Admiral Stanforth.
  • Has the power and sway to influence the construction of Section Three's facilities on Nysa in the early-Covenant War, but also to keep them hidden enough that her successor would not know about them (as per Empty Throne).
Conjecture ends here.

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole
  2. ^ Halo Wars, Timeline Events: 1 November 2525
  3. ^ Dr. Halsey's personal journal, page November 5, 2525
  4. ^ Halo: Empty Throne, chapter 11
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