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 Group. She tested the Mark VI armor before it was handed over to John-117.

Special Warfare Center
Prior to the First Battle of Earth in October 2552, PO2 Maria tested the new MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor in Songnam, Kyonggi Province in Korea.

She fought against a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers from the 340th ODST Combat Training Unit in a mock battle using paintballs near the Special Warfare Center. After the exercise, the battle armor was approved for battle and was sent up to Orbital Defense Platform ODA-142 Cairo. There, it was issued to Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.

Personal and Family Life
At the time of the exercise, Maria had retired with the plan of starting a family.

Theory and Speculation
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 release of the Halo Graphic Novel, it is widely assumed that Maria is the wounded Spartan mentioned in Halo: The Fall of Reach, but other evidence 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 only inducted SPARTAN-II that has been seen without a helmet or protective cover in pictures.
 * Maria is the only known SPARTAN-II that has retired.
 * It is stated that John-117 is ghostly pale, from all the time spent wearing his MJOLNIR armor, and that other Spartans have similar feelings about being separated from their suits. The lack of pale skin on Maria is clear evidence of her retirement, showing that she gets plenty of sun.
 * In a picture of Maria and John 117, John, in his MJOLNIR armor, towers over Maria, without her MJOLNIR, who is well below Johns shoulder height. This implies that she may be extremely short for a Spartan, who are usually well over six feet tall.