Maria-062

"Once John gets a hold of this armor, we'll all start sleeping a little better at night."

- Maria-062

Maria-062 was a SPARTAN-II super soldier of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command. She tested the Mark VI MJOLNIR armor suit that would later be issued to John-117.

Special Warfare Center
Prior to the Battle of Earth in October October 2552, Maria tested the new Mark VI MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor in Seongnam in the Kyonggi Province of Korea.

She fought against a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers from the 340th ODST Combat Training Unit with Tactical Training Rounds in a mock battle near the Special Warfare Center. After the exercise, the armor was approved for battle and was sent up to Orbital Defense Platform Cairo Station. There, it was issued to Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.

Personal and Family Life
At the time of the exercise, Maria claimed that she had retired with the intent of starting a family.

Theory
In Halo: The Fall of Reach, just as the remaining thirty SPARTAN-IIs are informed of their new mission to bring a Prophet to Earth for interrogation and ending the Human-Covenant War, it is said that out of their thirty-two, there had only been three KIA Spartans and one too damaged to continue active duty. Since the Spartans are forcibly conscripted as children and unable to voluntarily leave the military, it is widely assumed that Maria is the mentioned wounded Spartan, and that she was too injured to continue active duty but was capable of the field test depicted. Other evidence, however, indicates that Cassandra may be that peculiar wounded Spartan. Then again, Cassandra may have instead been one of the Spartans who were crippled after augmentation, with some not even looking human anymore after the effects. She may also be part of a later group of SPARTANs, or a SPARTAN assigned to testing duties early on.

Trivia

 * Maria-062 is the first SPARTAN-II whose face was visually depicted.