Samuel Marcus

Samuel N. Marcus, often simply called Sam, was a human in the United Nations Space Command Navy. His Service Number is 18827-318209-M. By 2552, Marcus had advanced to Technical Officer Third Class, where he served as a technician aboard the in 2552. Prior to his death, he assisted in waking up John-117 in the ship's Cryo B.

Early life and career
Samuel Marcus went to an academy, where he met Thom Shephard, who he would also later serve alongside. During his career, Marcus had over two hundred combat cruises, and managed to clock under seventy-two hours in cryostasis.

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

In 2552, despite not being a cryo expert, he had cross-checked on the 's cryo systems.

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

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

After John-117 was woken up, Marcus and Shephard proceeded to give the Spartan Mjolnir calibration checks, Marcus even left the self-diagnostics running for the Spartan to use if the Spartan wanted to calibrate stuff himself. Shepherd then proceeded to order Marcus to join his evac group, in which Marcus proceeded to go and reset the computer before he left. Marcus however could hear Covenant soldiers just outside the control room and called for security.

Shephard and John-117 could only watch as the door exploded and an alien warrior entered the control room. Marcus issued a cry of "Oh, God!", before getting hit by a plasma bolt in the chest from a Major Sangheili. 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 Shephard yell out his name, and was executed when the Sangheili shot him in the head with its plasma rifle.

Physical characteristics
Samuel Marcus had brown hair.

Trivia

 * He is the first character seen killed in the Halo video games.
 * Just like Thom Shephard, if the player restarts the level multiple times in Halo: Combat Evolved, they will notice his face and/or uniform alternate in appearance; however, his voice remains the same.
 * If one is able to make their way onto the walkways, it can be seen that Marcus' 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", as the room is designated in the signage, he says, "Intruders in Cryo 2".

List of appearances

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