Ira Halal

"Ira Halal"

Major Ira Halal was a human officer of the UNSC Marine Corps and the UNSC Judge Advocate General's Corps.

Biography
In late June 2553, several citizens of Gao were murdered in the Montero Cave System while the United Nations Space Command's 717th Xeno-Materials Exploitation Battalion was covertly searching for a Forerunner ancilla in the planet's caverns. Weary and doubtful of the UNSC's intents, the Gao Ministry of Protection launched an investigation in the caves to search for the murderer and to determine whether or not the killer was a member of the UNSC. UNSC Fleet Command and the UNSC Judge Advocate General's Corps sent Major Ira Halal to Gao to help investigate the murders and also to ensure that the already largely independent citizens of Gao did not discover that the murderer was a member of the UNSC if that turned out to be the case, as it would likely result in a revolt across the planet. In truth, Halal's objective on the planet was to manage relations with Gao and prevent any rising anti-UNSC dissent. However, the murderer was in fact Intrepid Eye, the Forerunner ancilla who was attempting to frame the UNSC for the murders of the Gao citizens that she caused so that the UNSC would be forced to abandon their search for her when Gao turned hostile. Working with Veta Lopis, a special inspector of the Ministry of Protection, Halal investigated several of the crime scenes throughout the caverns. To ensure cooperation with Lopis who suspected that the UNSC may be responsible for the murders, Halal provided her with a data pad containing his own reports on the investigation and notes on the battalion's personnel.

On July 2, 2553, after another murder victim was discovered by one of the battalion's recon squads, Private Hayes was sent by the squad as a runner to personally inform Halal before reporting the death to the rest of the battalion. Wishing to investigate and document the new crime scene alone without GMoP interference, Halal had Hayes lead him to the new crime scene, fearing that they may plant false evidence to frame the UNSC. While on their way to the site, Halal and Hayes encountered Huragok Roams Alone while Intrepid Eye watched them from above. Surprised by the Huragok, Hayes moved to attack Roams Alone but he was electrocuted by Intrepid Eye and mortally wounded him. Despite the ancilla's concerns, Roams Alone attempted to heal the Marine, but Halal misinterpreted his intentions and wounded the Huragok with his sidearm. In response, Intrepid Eye violently ripped the weapon out of his hands and tossed it aside. A fragment of the smart AI Wendell that was attached to Halal's TACPAD requested help at their position, however Intrepid Eye jammed his frequency. Wishing to interrogate the AI, Intrepid Eye attempted to remove the TACPAD off of Halal's arm. The major attempted to fend her off with a combat knife by slashing at her, but inadvertently cut his own arm off. After interrogating Wendell, Intrepid Eye and Roams Alone left the area, while Halal attempted to crawl to safety. Halal and Hayes eventually succumbed to their wounds and bleed to death. When Commander Murtag Nelson, the battalion's commander, learned that Halal had gone ahead to investigate the crime scene without informing anyone else, Nelson sent Fred-104 and Lopis to the crime scene and order the major to cooperate or risk being sent back to FLEETCOM. Fred and Lopis eventually discovered the bodies of Halal and Hayes at the crime scene and recovered Wendell from Halal's TACPAD. Halal's and Hayes' bodies were bagged and marked for later retrieval. Fred's party later recovered the bodies on their way out of the caves.

Personality and traits
Ira Halal was intelligent and dedicated to his work. During his mission on Gao, Halal was reluctant to cooperate with the detectives and investigators from the Gao Ministry of Protection. Sent to Gao by the UNSC Judge Advocate General's Corps to guarantee that the United Nations Space Command was not blamed for the recent murders to prevent possible rebellion, Halal claimed that he would not tamper any evidence at the crime scene and was only ensuring that the citizens of Gao would not blame the UNSC for the murderers. Although his primary objective was to prevent the UNSC for being blamed for the crimes, Halal was dedicated to some degree to solving the crime; he kept detailed notes on all members of the battalion and Gao radicals.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Last Light