Samuel Marcus

Technical Officer Third Class Samuel N. Marcus (Service Number 18827-318209-M), often simply called Sam, was a UNSC Technician who served aboard the in 2552, prior to his death assisting waking up John-117 in Cryo 2 on the ship.

Early life and career
Samuel Marcus went to an Academy, where he met Thom Shephard. During his career, Sam had over two hundred combat cruises and managed to clock under seventy-two hours in a cryostasis.

He had married a woman named Ellen, who he had children with. Sometime around to 2549, Samuel had last seen his wife during his shoreleave on Earth. The Human-Covenant War then did not allow him the time to visit her for three years, leaving Sam to only be able to look at her in a photo.

In 2552, despite not being a cryo expert, he had cross-checked the UNSC Pillar of Autumns cryo systems.

Fall of Reach
On August 30, Samuel Marcus was among those who escaped the Fall of Reach aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. During the trip the ship was running on a skeleton crew and under orders of Captain Jacob Keyes the technical crews which included Samuel was put on triple shifts. During his first sleep cycle in thirty-six he was put he only got 3 hours sleep.

Waking John-117 and death
On September 19 at 0103 hours, Sam was woken up by then Tech Chief Thom Shephard and was tasked with assisting him reviving Spartan-117 from his cryo sleep before the Pillar of Autumn's crash on Installation 04.

After the awakening and shield testing of the Master Chief, he was killed by a Major Sangheili, who was amongst the first wave of the Covenant boarding party. Sam could hear Covenant soldiers just outside the control room and called for security. Thom Shephard and John-117 could only watch as the door exploded and an alien warrior entered the control room. Sam issued a cry of "Oh, God!", before getting hit by a plasma bolt in the chest. Lying on the floor, he tried to reach a photo of his wife, Ellen. The Sangheili Major then walked forward and pinned Marcus's arm to the floor with its foot and examined the picture. Helpless, Marcus could barely hear Thom yell out his name, and was executed when the Sangheili shot him in the head with its plasma rifle.

Trivia

 * He is the first character seen killed in the Halo video games.
 * Just like Thom, if you restart the level multiple times in Halo: Combat Evolved, you will notice his face and/or uniform alternate in appearance; however, his voice remains the same.
 * If you make your way onto the walkways, you will notice that Sam's mouth doesn't move when he talks.
 * In the game, he screams when he is shot and seems to die instantly. However, in Halo: The Flood, it said that the plasma bolt "didn't hurt" and seemed to take effect much longer.
 * In the game, instead of saying, "Intruders in Cryo B", he says, "Intruders in Cryo 2".

List of appearances

 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary