Anton-044

Anton-044
Biographical information
Born:	c. 2511
Died:	September 7, 2552 (presumed)
Personal details
Species:	Human
Gender:	Male
Height:	7 feet (210 cm)
Political and military information
Affiliation:	UNSC Navy Naval Special Warfare Command SPARTAN-II program
Rank:	At least Petty Officer, Second Class
Service number:	S-044

Anton-044 was a Spartan-II supersoldier. He was considered to be one of the Spartans' most skilled scouts. During Operation: SILENT STORM in early 2526, he served as part of Green Team, led by Kurt-051. He was one of the few Spartan-IIs to survive the Fall of Reach in summer 2552, though he was killed shortly after escaping the planet.

Biography

Conscription and training

Anton was conscripted into the SPARTAN-II Program in 2517, when he was singled out as a physically and intellectually superior child by Dr. Catherine Halsey. He was replaced by a flash clone after being abducted by the Office of Naval Intelligence. He was then taken to Reach where he was trained along with the rest of the Spartan candidates by Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez and the AI Déjà. During one training exercise on the tropical colony of Emerald Cove, he and the other Spartans were able to live on their own for a week. As he was fond of beaches, Anton found this experience to be particularly enjoyable. When the Spartans were augmented in 2525, Anton was among those who made it through with no long-term ill effects.

The war begins

Main article: Human-Covenant War

Months after the Human-Covenant War began with the attack on Harvest in early 2525, Anton-044 and the other Spartan-IIs were brought to the Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex, where Rear Admiral Michael Stanforth briefed them on the emerging Covenant threat. In response, the training of the Spartan-IIs was accelerated, and in November 2525 they were sent to Chi Ceti IV to receive their new MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor from the Damascus Materials Testing Facility. While en route to Chi Ceti IV aboard the UNSC Commonwealth, they were attacked by the Unrelenting, a Covenant warship. The Commonwealth was able to ward off the Unrelenting and the Spartans were deployed to Chi Ceti IV with Halsey, where they each received a set of armor. While the Spartans were returning to the Commonwealth via Pelican dropship, the Unrelenting re-engaged the frigate. To save the Commonwealth, John had Anton and the other Spartan-IIs use thruster packs in an attempt to board the alien vessel, and destroy it with Anvil-II AS missiles. However, only John-117, Kelly-087, and Samuel-034 made it aboard. Anton and the others missed the Unrelenting, but were picked up after the battle.

Radiant Arrow

Main article: Skirmish over Netherop

By early 2526, Anton, Malcolm-059, and Solomon-069 had been assigned to Green Team, which was then led by Kurt-051. On March 5 of that year, Anton and eleven other Spartans were organized into an assault squad with orders to board and capture a Covenant frigate, Radiant Arrow, orbiting the planet Netherop. To accomplish this, they were all deployed from the prowler UNSC Starry Night for an EVA boarding action, with John-117 in charge of the mission. Using a flight of Elsedda-pattern Banshees for cover, the Spartans stealthily approached the alien vessel. They boarded the frigate via its underslung hangar and eliminated the Covenant forces within, preparing to move deeper into the frigate without the rest of crew realizing they had been boarded. Blue Team spearheaded the assault, clearing rooms along the ship's main corridor as Anton and the rest of Green Team secured these chambers and any intersections they encountered. As the two teams continued on, a sensor operator aboard one of the prowlers "accidentally" broadcast a transmission on the Spartans' SQUADCOM, revealing their presence to the frigate's crew. Unbeknownst to them, the crewman's apparent mistake was part of an insurrectionist plot designed by Hector Nyeto, who intended to get the Spartans killed. With their presence known, Blue and Green Teams split up, with John leading his team to the bridge. Green Team would make their way to the engineering section until John informed them of the ship's imminent self-destruction at the hands of its shipmaster, and ordered them to evacuate. All of the Spartans—including Anton—made it to safety before the Radiant Arrow detonated.

SILENT STORM

Main article: Operation: SILENT STORM

On March 8, 2526, Anton, Green Team, and the others that had participated in the pervious mission were given a new assignment as part of Operation: SILENT STORM. They and the UNSC Marine Corps' 21st Space Assault Battalion would board and destroy Covenant vessels and stations in an attempt to slow their destructive advance through humanity's Outer Colonies. For the duration of this mission, the Spartans would be assigned to Task Force Yama, a small fleet of prowlers that would serve as both transport and support. As a Covenant fleet was currently glassing the colony of Etalan, the nearby world of Biko was chosen as the theater for the task force to launch its first attack. Specifically, an abandoned ice quarry on its third moon of Seoba was selected to house the prowlers until the moment presented itself.

During the voyage through slipspace, Anton and the others trained with the ODSTs in the UNSC Vanishing Point's mission preparation hold. The Spartans made short work of the veteran marines in each exercise until Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson taught them some unorthodox strategies that proved to be much more effective against the supersoldiers. After four days of training, Colonel Marmon Crowther had them all gather in the ship's drop hangar to be briefed on the specifics of the operation. Despite their exemplary performance against his ODSTs, Crowther was still skeptical about deploying the Spartans to the front lines due to their inexperience on the battlefield, as well as their apparent young age, much to their frustration.