Randall Aiken

"Randall Aiken"

Colonel Randall Aiken, formerly Randall-037, is a commissioned officer of the Colonial Guard on the Outer Colony planet of Sedra and a former SPARTAN-II commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command.

Childhood and Spartan training
Born in Hull, England on Earth in 2511, Randall Aiken was abducted by the Office of Naval Intelligence for the classified SPARTAN-II project at the age of six in 2517. Like the other conscripts, his last name was redacted and he was referred to simply as Randall-037. Trained and augmented into a highly advanced super-soldier into his teen years, Randall-037 displayed a high proficiency for combat leadership, though he was notably less sociable than other Spartans off the field.

Some time around 2527 he caught a fellow Spartan, Soren-066, and an Insurrectionist named Partch breaking into a lab on Reach. Being suspicious of their activities, he escorted them outside to verify why they were there. Soren attacked Randall as they were leaving, and, after a brief struggle, Partch shot him with a tranquilizer dart, knocking him out and allowing them to escape. Afterward, Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez reported to Dr. Halsey that Randall was doing fine but was angered with himself for letting his guard down. Mendez said that he hadn't let it down much, that he had done what he could, and it was good for him to go through something like that because it would make him a better soldier in the long run.

Battle of Vodin and life as a colonist
His last official service as a SPARTAN-II was in 2532 in the Battle of Vodin where he was listed as missing in action. During the planet's orbital space engagement with the Covenant, he fell from the planet's skyhooks into Vodin's atmosphere and plunged to the surface, only to survive the impact by landing in the planet's ocean. He was rescued days later by local survivors and lived with them following the battle.

Stranded and isolated from UNSC contact, Randall lived with the survivors for a full decade and was married to one of the colonists. When contact with the UNSC was established, Randall, now going by the name Aiken, maintained a low profile and preferred to stay with his wife and strong societal ties on Vodin than returning to service with the UNSC. In 2545, Aiken and his wife had a daughter named Natalie. Unfortunately, Aiken's wife died during childbirth. In 2546, ONI managed to locate him and made plans to reintegrate him into service, as they viewed him as a huge investment of the SPARTAN-II program. When Aiken refused, ONI deemed him compromised and no longer viable as a Spartan and so made plans to "decommission" him. Aiken forcefully (and successfully) refused this effort, but eventually negotiated a deal where ONI reversed many of his augmentations (in what would be an excruciating process) in return for his release from service to the UNSC.

After his dealings with ONI were complete, Aiken and his daughter left Vodin and headed to the remote colony of Sedra where he enrolled as part of the Colonial Guard. Thanks in large part to his extensive training and history, by 2556 he advanced to leader of the local wing of the Guard as a Colonel.

Sedra
Sometime after July 2557, Sedra was attacked by terrorists with biological weapons. Aiken was forced to work with an Office of Naval Intelligence unit, led by Jameson Locke, to stop the terrorists. Aiken's and his unit's search for the origins of the bioweapon led them to an ancient alien artifact: a partially functioning section of Installation 04, which had attempted an emergency slipspace jump during its destruction years earlier.

Personality and traits
He is known for his remarkable history and has a deep-rooted mistrust for the Office of Naval Intelligence.

Dr. Halsey noted that Randall was not as sociable as Kurt-051.

Production notes

 * Randall Aiken is portrayed in Halo: Nightfall by English actor Steven Waddington.
 * Randall's Spartan tag was originally inferred by fans from from the "KMA 037R" license plate Easter egg in Halo 3: ODST ("(K) Missing in Action, 037, Randall"). Most of the license plates coincide with the initial and tag of a canonical Spartan, and as such, they are regarded as a reliable source of information. Randall's and Rosenda-A344's service tags, both of which were derived from the license plates, were later officially canonized by 343 Industries.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Pariah
 * Halo: Nightfall