Evelyn Collins

"Today I found myself working alongside another former colonist. Tough old broad named Lorie, Told her about what I'd been feeling. She laughed in my face! She told me, 'Sister, you gotta forget about what Meridian was, and think about what it could be.' I like that. So now, when I chip away the glass, I picture a new world we're making."

- Evelyn Collins reflects on her motive for digging on Meridian.

Evelyn Collins is a human who survived the Covenant's glassing of the human colony Meridian. After the glassing, Collins returned to the planet as a deglasser working for the Liang Dortmund Corporation.

Biography
Collins lived on Meridian before it was attacked by the Covenant in 2548. Both Evelyn's parents and her sister were killed when Meridian was lost to the Covenant.

Return and mining
"It's a hell of a thing...to return to your home...find it completely different. Ruined. I couldn't prepare myself for the cold feeling that struck my heart when that elevator rolled down through the planet's atmosphere. The world I knew...was gone."

- Collins on her first day back at Meridian.

After the Human-Covenant War ended in 2553, Collins returned and was hired by the Liang-Dortmund Corporation as a miner to aid the terraforming of Meridian back into a livable state. On the fifth day of her return to Meridian, Collins aided in the digging of a road from the space elevator to Meridian Station. Collins was discouraged to find that most of the miners seemed to be just in it for the profit, with no other former refugees like her.

On the seventeenth day of her stay, Collins met another past citizen of Meridian, Lorie. With their shared background, Collins confessed to her about her regrets and fears about Meridian's destruction, but Lorie laughed instead. She suggestion that Collins forget what Meridian was and concentrate on what it could become. Collins took her words to heart and dug more hopefully afterward to build a new world.

The Guardian attack
"Hello? Can anyone hear me? I'm at Meridian Station. Everyone's dead. Governor Sloan isn't here. I... (sobs) ...please! Is there anyone left here but me?!"

- Collins during the Guardian attack on Meridian

On October 25 2558, a Guardian broke out from under Meridian's surface. Meridian Station's AI Governor Sloan initiated a mass evacuation, but he eventually fled on his own civilians when given the chance to leave with the Guardian and join the Created. Collins missed the evacuation ships and instead was left behind alone in Meridian Station. Afraid she'd been left to die, Collins sent a plea for help over the COM networks, which was overheard by Fireteam Osiris.

Aftermath
"Everyone's gone. I'm alone here."

Immediately following her open channel broadcast, Collins wandered around the now EMP'd town, eventually entering the medical station, where she runs into Cale, the resident doctor of the outpost and notably Marquez, a technician. Collins gathers parts for Marquez to construct a radio transmitter, which he does successfully. On activation, they overhear Cortana's message to the galaxy. In a desperate bid for survival, Collins tells Marquez to transmit back that they agree to Cortana's terms. Cortana, however, replies "I hear you, Meridian Station. All will be dealt with in time."

List of appearances

 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo Fractures
 * What Remains