Antonio Silva

"So, here's the deal. I'm short a Captain, so lieutenant McKay is serving as my Executive Officer. So, if either one of us says 'crap', then I expect you to ask 'what colour, how much, and where do you want it?' Do you read me?" The Chief stared for a moment and clenched his jaw. "Perfectly, sir.""

- Silva putting John-117 in his place.

Major Antonio Silva was a Field Grade officer and an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper in the UNSC Marine Corps. He was the Commanding Officer of the 22nd Shock Battalion during the Battle of Installation 04 in September 2552.

Early Military Career
Around 2525, then-Second Lieutenant Silva was assigned to command a platoon of Marine Shock Troops aboard the. That same year, to test the new SPARTAN-II physical augmentations, ONI enlisted four of Silva's men to confront John-117 in the Atlas ' gym.

The ODSTs were no match for the Spartan and two were killed while one was severely wounded. Silva viewed this as murder and was appalled when the SPARTAN was not punished. Silva held a deep grudge for the SPARTAN-II program, and especially John-117 from that time forward.

Escape from Reach
In 2552, Major Silva was deployed with his ODST Battalion aboard the newly refit. He and his Marines defended the ship's engine generators, his success marked by the wall of covenant bodies used by his soldiers for cover, during the Battle of Reach and later during the beginning of the Battle of Installation 04.

Silva then abandoned the Autumn in Human Entry Vehicles with his Executive Officer, First Lieutenant Melissa McKay, and the few hundred of his men that were revived from cryo in time. During the trip down, he did not like the personality of the Command HEVs AI, Wellsley, nor the AI's constant bragging about the things it claimed to do as the Duke of Wellington.

Landing on Alpha Halo
When he and his troops landed on Installation 04. As per protocol his HEV accelerated so that he would land first, under the belief that those in charge should be willing to lead their squad into battle, as well as the need to organize and group them. Silva rallied his men to capture a nearby butte that would become Alpha Base. With the capture of Captain Jacob Keyes by the Covenant, Silva assumed command of the Autumn's surviving crew.

Confrontation with the Chief
He met with SPARTAN John-117 again, now Master Chief Petty Officer, and blatantly told him that he and his Spartans were "freaks", and that they died because they were not strong and could not adapt in battle. Silva continued to say that the veteran Spartan was the last of a "failed experiment" and a "dying breed", and that "real" humans, his Marine Shock Troopers, would win the war, not Spartans.

This reflected his sentiment which was completely unknown to anyone else at the time. First Lieutenant Melissa McKay disagreed with him but never vocalized it. It is unknown how he knew that it was a Spartan who killed his men, since at that time they were top secret. It is also unknown how he would have learned of the Spartan-II's abduction, as that information remains highly classified (See List of Inconsistencies in Halo: The Flood).

He also openly displayed disdain for him and his abilities trying to convince Keyes (rescued by the Chief and Cortana with help from some Marines) that his men should be the ones going after the Control Room and not the Chief, but was chewed out by Keyes and his opinions that heavily favored the Spartans. When the Chief disappeared (having been teleported to the Library by the Monitor to get the Index) he told McKay that he felt that the Chief was out playing games while McKay understood him to be frustrated as the Chief and Cortana were a valuable asset despite his dislike for them. He did, however, express some admiration for the Chief's skills: after learning from Cortana the two's plan to destroy Halo, he said he had to admit the Chief was one hell of a soldier.

The Flood Outbreak
Silva later ordered Lt. McKay to ferry supplies from the crashed Autumn to Alpha Base and hold the docking and supply bays until all further supplies have been taken. He then rallied his forces during a Covenant attack of the base, and again when the Flood appeared and tried to infest the base. Silva succeeded by interrogating the found PFC Wallace A. Jenkins, now a Combat Form, and discovered the attack, plugging the holes underneath the base before the Flood could attack.

After the battle, Silva and his men came in contact with Cortana one last time and learned about the downed Covenant vessel Truth and Reconciliation. He planned a rapid assault on the vessel just as the Covenant had destroyed the Flood aboard the ship, which was successful.

Glory Hound and Death
It finally became increasingly clear that Silva wanted to be the hero of the Battle of Installation 04, and intended to take the vessel directly to Earth, which not only violated the Cole Protocol; but would put the homeworld in serious danger of infestation by the Flood as Silva refused to let sterilization of the ship be completed. He also planned to meet John-117 and Cortana in the space around Alpha Halo so that Cortana could pilot the vessel back to Earth.

Adamant in his decision, Silva left Lieutenant McKay no choice but to destroy the fiber optic bundle connecting the bridge to the engine, causing the ship to crash onto the surface of Installation 04. This killed not only the two Marines, but every other life form who was on the ship. In spite of the massive loss of life and opportunities for humanity to turn the war around, it prevented the Flood infestation from threatening Earth and the remaining colonies, and possibly saved billions of lives.

Trivia

 * Although UNSC Marine Corps battalions are usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel, Silva commands his own battalion while only a Major. This may be indicative of a lack of senior officers following the assault on Reach.
 * His surname is probably taken from Paul Silva of Bungie Studios.
 * There was also a Lt. Silva in the book Starship Troopers, written by Robert A. Heinlein in 1959.