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 has been widely speculated that Maria may in fact be the wounded Spartan, and that she was too injured to continue active duty but fit enough to be was capable of the field test depicted. Other evidence indicates that Cassandra may be the peculiar wounded Spartan, but the circumstances around Maria's history remain unclear.

Trivia

 * Maria-062 is the first SPARTAN-II whose face was visually depicted.
 * Maria is the first SPARTAN ever depicted to retire, the second being Ralph-303.