Bartalan Craddog

Lieutenant Bartalan Craddog was the Chief Science Officer of Argent Moon who was used by the archeon-class ancilla Intrepid Eye in her plot to weaponize asteroidea merozoite.

Biography
Craddog was a young lieutenant whose prior record indicated an officer with a remarkable, often-predatory promiscuity and unremarkable ambition. After he was assigned to Argent Moon, the archeon-class ancilla Intrepid Eye would accurately describe the principles of operation for Forerunner artifacts only to Craddog while providing partial or inaccurate explanations to everyone else. As a result, Craddog won the reputation of a genius and was promoted to the station's Chief Science Officer. In reality, Craddog wasn't terribly bright and the most inadequate of Argent Moon's AI researchers and was chosen by Intrepid Eye to be her rising star for this very reason.

On December 12, 2553, Craddog visited Intrepid Eye with a Forerunner artifact in hopes that she could identify it for him. Intrepid Eye had Craddog activate the artifact for her and then demanded that he provide her access to Argent Moon's communications array. When Craddog refused, Intrepid Eye threatened to expose Craddog sleeping with lesser ranked officers, a breach of fraternization protocol which could get him removed from his post and possibly risk his safety due to the threat he could be under from ONI as a disgraced castoff from a top-secret project that could have a problem following the Secrets Act. Craddog realized that Intrepid Eye had a remote access inside of Argent Moon's systems and wished to use communications array to reintegrate her other aspects. Craddog eventually gave into Intrepid Eye's blackmail and reluctantly agreed to give her access to the communications array.

After Veta Lopis' Ferret team discovered that the Keepers of the One Freedom were not responsible for the murder of Admiral Graselyn Tuwa and the abduction of her family, Intrepid Eye, the true mastermind behind the plot, discovered Craddog sleeping with Ensigns Jess Wallace and Kris Gaston, a violation of fraternization rules. Contacting Craddog through Wallace's TACPAD, Intrepid Eye used his sexual indiscretions to blackmail Craddog into accompanying Papa-10 to Pinnacle Station on the  to retrieve the cryo-jars containing the Tuwas organs. Craddog's purpose was to monitor the cryo-jars since Papa-10 lacked the expertise to do so. Craddog quickly realized that the mission was related to Project SLEEPING STAR, a project to turn asteroidea merozoite into a bioweapon. Intrepid Eye claimed that the Tuwa's organs were vital to creating a vaccine for the disease and Craddog reluctantly complied.

At Pinnacle Station, Craddog was left with the utility skiff that ferried Papa-10 from the Fast Gus to the station. As Papa-10 retrieved the cryo-jars and executed the Dark Moon Enterprises couriers, Oriel, a remote aspect of Intrepid Eye guiding Papa-10 through Craddog, became aware of the Keepers of the One Freedom on the station preparing to attack. With Papa-10 busy, Oriel stationed Craddog in cargo netting with an M41 SPNKR and had him attack the True Light as the Keeper forces prepared to emerge, killing Orsun and several Kig-Yar. However, Craddog's hesitation to fire again allowed Castor and three other Jiralhanae to emerge and Craddog was wounded in the leg with a Spiker, his inexperience in combat as a science officer hampering Craddog as proper backup for Papa-10. As Papa-10 fled the station to Meridian's surface in one of the station's personnel shuttles, Oriel had Craddog ditch the rocket launcher and retreat to the utility skiff to treat his injuries.

After the single surviving member of Papa-10 escaped the Keepers, Blue Team and the Ferrets, she met Craddog and the utility skiff at an extraction point suggested by Administrator Sloan. Spotting Veta Lopis, Craddog warned the Papa-10 operative who grabbed Craddog's assault rifle. To keep the cryo-jars out of their hands and stop the rogue operative, Veta detonated C-12 explosive she had placed around the jars, destroying the jars, the organs within, the utility skiff and Oriel as well as killing Craddog and the last Papa-10 operative.

In ONI's final report on Operation: RETRIBUTION and Project SLEEPING STAR, it was determined that Craddog had undertaken the bioweapon project on his own initiative due to a complete absence of orders directing him in his actions. Due to his record and Craddog having worked tirelessly to achieve the rank of Chief Science Officer for Argent Moon, it was concluded that he had been trying to reach sufficient rank as to initiate the project under his own authority. ONI's conclusion was that the only explanation for Craddog's seeming actions was that given his often-predatory promiscuity, Craddog sought to aggrandize himself by developing the most dangerous weapon in the UNSC's arsenal. However, this allowed the true culprit, Intrepid Eye, to remain undetected and continue with the project in secret.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Retribution