SPARTAN-B312

"Because of you, we found Halo, unlocked its secrets, shattered our enemy's resolve. Our victory - your victory - was so close... I wish you could have lived to see it. But you belong to Reach. Your body, your armor - all burned and turned to glass. Everything...except your courage. That, you gave to us. And with it, we can rebuild."

- Dr. Catherine Halsey

Lieutenant SPARTAN-B312 was a SPARTAN-III commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command, attached to Special Warfare Group Three of the UNSC Army. He served during the Fall of Reach as a member of NOBLE Team under the call sign "Noble Six". Although unknown to most of the UNSC military and humanity in general due to the classified nature of his operations, B312 was deemed nearly equal in ability to the famous MCPO John-117, and served just as essential a role in securing humanity's victory in the Human-Covenant War.

Early life
Because his file was heavily redacted by the Office of Naval Intelligence, much of SPARTAN-B312's early life is unknown. It is known that he was taken out of Beta Company immediately after training in May 2545, two months before Operation: TORPEDO.

Spartan career
"Noble Six. The team's most recent addition... my, my. So much black ink... Six has made entire militia groups disappear. Curious... "hyper lethal". There's only one other Spartan with that rating."

- Dr. Catherine Halsey

Over the course of B312's career, the Spartan gained a reputation as an efficient lone-wolf assassin, having single-handedly broken terrorist organizations and made entire insurrectionist groups disappear. He was also a test pilot in a top-secret UNSC project, the Sabre Program, which resulted in the development of the YSS-1000 Sabre space fighter. B312 used these skills to great effect in a counter-insurgency operation on Mamore on May 10, 2552, thus gaining the approval of Colonel Urban Holland and resulting in the Spartan's assignment to NOBLE Team. Despite the his hardened combat record, 312 had never witnessed a glassing prior to the Fall of Reach.

B312's former superior allegedly used the Spartan as "his own private grim reaper"; because of this, he was reluctant to have B312 assigned to NOBLE Team. On July 24, 2552, SPARTAN-B312 was assigned to NOBLE Team as a replacement for its previous sixth member, Thom-A293. The new Noble Six, having recently arrived on Reach, joined the team just in time to participate in an operation to investigate a communications blackout at the Visegrád Relay, a mission which led to the first confrontation with Covenant forces on the planet.

The Fall of Reach
During the weeks before Reach's eventual glassing, Noble Six partook in multiple operations against Covenant forces on Reach along with the rest of NOBLE Team, including a counter-offensive operation to retake the Office of Naval Intelligence's SWORD Base near the Babd Catha Ice Shelf on July 26. Six, along with Kat-B320, cleared the courtyard of enemies and were then sent on a mission to reactivate Farragut Station, a communications outpost they could use to get into contact with command, and Airview Base, where they needed to activate an M71 "Scythe" anti-air battery to eliminate hostile aircraft. The Spartans moved into SWORD Base and Noble Six assisted Emile-A239 in driving off several Phantoms and Banshees. After the skies had been cleared, the attacking Covenant corvette was destroyed by one of Reach's orbital defense platforms. After the mission, NOBLE Team was debriefed by Dr. Catherine Halsey, who questioned them about what had happened at the Visegrád Relay two days previously.

On August 11, Noble Six and Jun-A266, operating as Recon Team Bravo, were sent to perform a nighttime reconnaissance mission into the Covenant "dark zone" in the Viery Territory. After stealthily eliminating guards at multiple outposts, the two Spartans met a group of civilian militiamen, who led them to a hydroelectric power plant farther within the dark zone; there, the team discovered a Covenant stealth pylon. After planting an explosive charge on the pylon, the team moved deeper into the dark zone, where they discovered a massive Covenant invasion force. Kat then ordered them back so they could prepare for the attack on the next day.

Battle at Szurdok Ridge


On the morning of August 12, Noble Six joined a massive UNSC joint assault force put together with the objective of mounting a counterattack on the Covenant-occupied Viery Territory. Auntie Dot, NOBLE Team's coordinating artificial intelligence construct, explained that the Covenant had infiltrated to the region in force, deploying ground forces and installations, including several monumental "spires". NOBLE Team's objective was to destroy one of these spires, designated "Spire One". After pushing through Covenant forces at Szurdok Ridge and destroying several Covenant anti-air batteries, Jorge-052 and Noble Six were deployed to the spire in a UH-144 Falcon. However, the aircraft crashed after being disabled by the electromagnetic field created by the spire's shield. After the crash, the pair proceed toward the spire, soon discovering that the structures housed teleporters used to transport Covenant forces to the surface, linked to an unknown source. After infiltrating the spire, Noble Six disabled the structure's shield. Noble Six was flown away from the tower by a Falcon containing Carter-A259 - NOBLE Team's field commander - and Jorge. The, a heavy frigate, destroyed the spire with a single Magnetic Accelerator Cannon round. Seconds later, a Covenant supercarrier uncloaked and fired on the Grafton, destroying it.

Operation: UPPER CUT


"Kat-B320"

On August 14th, NOBLE Team made a plan to destroy the supercarrier, Long Night of Solace, with an improvised bomb made from a slipspace drive in a UNSC counteroffensive codenamed Operation: UPPER CUT. As the plan was put in motion, NOBLE Team first helped UNSC ground forces repel Covenant invaders from the secret Sabre Program Launch/Research Range. SPARTAN-B312 and Jorge were then launched into orbit aboard a YSS-1000 Sabre. Soon, the pair joined UNSC forces in defending the repair and refit station Anchor 9. After the station's defenses were brought back online and the Covenant attackers retreated, 312 and the other Sabres in the group followed the, whose crew had committed their slipspace drive to the operation, toward Ardent Prayer, a Covenant corvette that was scheduled to refuel with the supercarrier. Soon, 312 and several other boarders infiltrated the craft, proceeding toward the vessel's bridge. During the operation, the makeshift slipspace bomb was damaged and became incapable of automatic activation. Jorge, volunteering to activate the bomb manually and thus sacrifice his life, forced B312 off the corvette just before it docked with the supercarrier; the operation was a success, however, as Ardent Prayer was completely destroyed and Long Night of Solace was split amidships, crashing to into a mountain range on the planet below. Unfortunately, a far larger Covenant fleet arrived moments after the operation.

Siege of New Alexandria


"Civilian transports away. You saved a lot of lives today, Spartan."

- A UNSC trooper to Noble Six after the evacuation of New Alexandria.

After reentering Reach from space, Noble Six headed to New Alexandria; after arriving on August 23, he assisted UNSC Army troopers in repelling Covenant forces and evacuating the civilian population. The Spartan managed to establish radio communication with NOBLE Team and participated in the removal of Covenant communication jammers to allow the evacuation of ONI personnel. The same evening, Six reunited with NOBLE Team and reported the details of UPPER CUT. After clearing the jammers, NOBLE Team was hailed by Colonel Holland and was ordered to destroy SWORD Base. During the hailing, though, the Covenant began glassing their sector of the city, forcing the team to flee to a radiation bunker. Kat was killed en route to the bunker, Noble Six catching her body. Using her pistol, the Spartan attempted to shoot down her killer, but ran out of ammunition and was forced to retreat.

On August 29, SPARTAN-B312 and the remaining members of NOBLE Team proceeded to Sword Base and fought their way into the facility, only to have their directives revised by an unknown UNSC AI. In the facility, they encountered Dr. Halsey once more. Halsey urged Six to become the courier of a fragment of the AI Cortana and to deliver her safely to the. NOBLE Team was then split in two; Jun escorted Dr. Halsey to ONI CASTLE Base, while the others headed for the Autumn aboard a Pelican.

Last stand
"Marine"

After arriving within a few kilometers of the Pillar of Autumn ' s drydock at Aszod the next day, NOBLE Team's Pelican was attacked by Covenant Banshees. Six and Emile departed from the Pelican and Carter soon sacrificed his life to protect Six and Emile from a Scarab. Later, on foot, the surviving SPARTANs successfully delivered the package to the commanding officer of the Pillar of Autumn, Captain Jacob Keyes. However, Covenant forces assaulted the area and killed Emile. Six manned the "Onager" mass driver the Autumn ' s Marine complement had installed and prevented the Covenant forces from overwhelming the vessel. The Spartan prevented an approaching from firing at the Autumn, allowing the latter vessel to depart safely into space; three weeks later the Autumn would arrive at Halo Installation 04.

With the Covenant having successfully disabled Reach's defenses, SPARTAN-B312 was among the few surviving UNSC soldiers left fighting the Covenant forces on the ground. Stranded on the Covenant-occupied planet, he escaped the drydocks on foot, moving toward nearby hills, but was surrounded by Covenant air and ground forces. After taking on a large force of Sangheili and Unggoy, he was eventually overwhelmed and heavily wounded by plasma fire, yet continued to fight even after being disarmed. B312 was finally killed when kicked to the ground and stabbed by Sangheili warriors, among a pile of his slain enemies. Six's helmet was left in the glassed wasteland, and remained there alone for thirty-seven years.

After the end of the Human-Covenant War, when Reach had been restored, Dr. Halsey recited a eulogy to SPARTAN-B312, commending Noble Six's determination, courage, and sacrifice, which had let the UNSC find Alpha Halo and, with that, change the tide of the Human-Covenant War.

Personality and background
"I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to. I'm glad to have your skill set, but we're a team. That lone wolf stuff stays behind."

- Carter to Noble Six. SPARTAN-B312 was regarded as a skilled assassin and "...more of a hyper-lethal vector than a soldier," evidenced by his heavily redacted personnel file. Noble Six had a tendency to "go solo" during missions, much to the dismay of his superiors. Despite having an obscure past, highly potent skills, and a reserved, "lone wolf" personality, 312 showed care and compassion for his fellow humans; he often undertook life-threatening actions to assist soldiers, civilians, and the other members of NOBLE Team. Although Six became fairly close to the other members of NOBLE Team, he shared a great deal of camaraderie with Jorge, and the two soon became friends; this inspired Jorge to give his life in Noble Six's place.

Production notes
SPARTAN-B312 is the main protagonist in Halo: Reach. To integrate player relation with the character, players can pick whether Noble Six is male or female: the Spartan is respectively voiced by Philip Anthony-Rodriguez and Amanda Philipson. However, 312's gender was established as male in Halo: The Essential Visual Guide; both Bungie and 343 Industries regard the ability to use a female Noble Six as a non-canonical gameplay mechanic. Players can also customize Noble Six's armor using a vast selection of armor permutations (including a robotic arm), colors, and emblems; the player's chosen character model is used in the campaign, multiplayer, and Firefight, allowing players to better integrate themselves with the character.

Armor and equipment
The version of Noble Six seen in early media was male, wearing a Mark V [B] helmet with an Up-Armor plate, no shoulder pauldrons, no chest attachment, a wrist-mounted UGPS, no leg attachment, FJ/PARA knee guards, and colored steel. As it became apparent that Noble Six's appearance and gender would be entirely customizable, the Spartan's armor was changed to fully default armor in most promotional material afterwards. When displayed in most promotional material dated shortly before the game's release, SPARTAN-B312 is portrayed as wearing the default MJOLNIR Mark V armor with the Mark V[B] helmet and steel coloration. In addition, the Spartan's emblem is customized as the first emblem with the first background on their respective lists in the Armory: steel-colored Seventh Column with no background. This is done to avoid portraying Noble Six as a character outside the player's control, as Noble Six's appearance depends on the player's armor customization and gender choice. The only exceptions to this are when a screenshot was released to prove that cutscenes would display player customization, and in recent concept art wallpapers, where Noble Six is shown with a variety of different armor combinations. However, the Noble Six action figure was not redesigned with fully default armor.

In the Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, the main render image of Spartan-B312 on the Noble Six page is equipped with a never-seen-before armor combination: UA/Base Security [W] chest plate with FJ/PARA shoulder pauldrons and knee guards.

In Halo: Reach, none of the members of NOBLE Team can be fully imitated in terms of armor coloring and configuration. This is likely because the player's configuration is treated as Noble Six. Allowing SPARTAN-B312 to have the exact same configuration as anyone else on the team would be confusing in the campaign.

Trivia

 * Noble Six's voice is default for use in Firefight voice, though he/she has no dialog. The Spartan only chuckles when achieving headshots and killing multiple enemies and grunts when hurt.
 * SPARTAN-B312 is neither shown on the box art of Halo: Reach nor featured in any promotional image of NOBLE Team. This was done to avoid portraying Noble Six as outside the players' control, preventing them from building a definitive mental image for the character, as Noble Six's armor and gender can vary depending on the player's choice.
 * On the " Happy Halodays " painting drawn for Christmas 2010 by Bungie, Noble Six is fully default, but has a Hard Case leg attachment. This is the only time an official version of Six has had a leg attachment.
 * In the opening cutscene of Exodus, Noble Six looks at his/her wrist (regardless of what attachment is equipped) and heads off toward the city. This is because the original version of Six wore the U/GPS attachment, and that is what the Spartan would be using to figure out where to go.
 * In the Video Games Awards trailer, Jorge-052 remarks "Didn't think anyone survived Pegasi, sir" upon seeing Noble Six for the first time, in reference to Operation: TORPEDO, a mission on Pegasi Delta which led to Beta Company's near-total annihilation. This line is not present in the final game, as it was later established that SPARTAN-B312 did not take part in the operation, having been taken out of Beta Company directly after training.
 * SPARTAN-B312 is the only member of NOBLE Team whose helmet is not available as an Avatar Award. Instead, the SPARTAN's helmet was only obtainable from Comic-Con 2010 and for a limited time through a special Xbox Live Gold offer.
 * In Halo: Reach, Initial Spawn Points used in Forge show a SPARTAN-III holding a Magnum. The Spartan is not seen in the game, but could possibly be Noble Six's planned armor. The SPARTAN-III is male, wears the base MARK V [B] helmet, a CQC pauldron for his left shoulder and a Mark V for his right, the default Mark V [B] chest, the TACPAD on his wrist, the TACTICAL/TRAUMA KIT as a utility and FJ/PARA knee guards. His visor and armor colors are unknown.
 * In the February 2010 issue of GameInformer, Noble Six's birthday is claimed to be January 30, 2530. This is likely an error, however, due to the fact that Bungie.net's profile for Six lacks a birthdate and that it is the same birthdate as Kat.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach