Editing Gersten

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Character infobox
|variant=Human
|name=
|image=[[File:TML - Gersten.png|275px]]
|homeworld=
|birth=
|death=[[2552#October|October 25, 2552]]<ref name="Catalog">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/catalog-interaction/4c3e1c6f-6519-4ee0-83a4-4bac13bf07a3/posts?page=46#post454 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'' (post 2976443)]</ref> <small>(aboard ''[[Mona Lisa]]'', [[Soell|Soell system]])</small>
|causeofdeath=
|parents=
|siblings=
|spouses=
|children=
|species=[[Human]]
|gender=Male
|height=
|mass=
|hair=Black, graying<ref name="mo">'''The Mona Lisa''' ''motion comic''</ref>
|eyes=Gray<ref name="mo"/>
|affiliation=[[UNSC Marine Corps]]
|rank=
|sn=
|notable=
}}

'''Gersten''' was a [[UNSC Marine Corps|UNSC Marine]] stationed aboard the [[UNSC prowler|prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Red Horse}} in [[2552#October|October 2552]]. He and [[Sydney (Marine)|Sydney]] were Marine engineers subordinate to Technical Officer [[Raj Singh]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 243''</ref>

Gersten was large in stature and had black, graying hair.<ref name="mo"/> He spoke very rarely, and had an authoritative tone to his voice.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 262''</ref> He had the words "NO MERCY" painted on his [[UNSC Marine Corps Battle Dress Uniform|BDU]]'s [[M52B body armor|chest plate]].<ref name="mo"/>

==Biography==
===Mission aboard Mona Lisa===
{{Main|Skirmish on Mona Lisa}}
He was assigned to serve under [[Sergeant]] [[Zhao Heng Lopez]] when her [[squad]] was sent to investigate the [[Prison ship|prisoner transport]] ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' within the debris field of [[Halo Array|Halo Installation]] [[Installation 04|Alpha]]. Unbeknownst to the Marines, the mission had been commissioned by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] whose operative [[John Smith]] had been secretly researching the [[Flood]] parasite on the ''Mona Lisa''.

Soon after a firefight with a group of unarmored [[Sangheili]] in the ship's cargo bay, the Marines received orders to purge the ''Mona Lisa'''s NAV databases in accordance with the [[United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1|Cole Protocol]]. They split up into two teams, with Sergeant Lopez's team heading to the [[bridge]] and [[Corpsman]] [[Ngoc Benti|Benti]]'s team set to destroy the backup database in the engine room. Gersten was assigned to Benti's team, along with [[Orlav]], [[Tsardikos]] and [[Clarence]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 261''</ref>

When passing through the ship's recycling plant, the team became under attack by a horde of Flood. Orlav was infected and managed to bite Gersten in the face.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 285''</ref> After the Marines got to safety in a maintenance room, Gersten began to show signs of Flood infection, and was shot in the head by Clarence without hesitation. His body subsequently reanimated, but Clarence shot him again, killing him permanently.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 291-292''</ref>

==Trivia==
His name, as stenciled on his chest plate name tag, is misspelled twice in the motion comic adaptation of ''[[The Mona Lisa]]''; as "Gestern" in the third episode, and "Gerstern" in the fifth.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:TML - Gersten_2.png|Gersten firing at a mob of Flood.
File:TML - GerstenInfection.png|[[Orlav]], infected, attacks Gersten.
File:TML - Gersten_3.png|A partially infected Gersten, shortly before being shot by [[Clarence]].
File:Infected Gersten.png|Gersten, back from the dead.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
**''[[The Mona Lisa]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

[[Category:Human characters]]
[[Category:UNSC Marine Corps enlisted personnel]]