Jerome-092

"Good luck, sir. It's been an honor."

- Jerome-092 to John Forge

Jerome-092 is a SPARTAN-II commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command. In 2531, he served as the leader of Red Team and fought alongside the crew of the.

Conscription
Jerome was born around 2511 and was of a genetic make-up that Dr. Catherine Halsey regarded as desirable for the SPARTAN-II program. After being selected as a suitable candidate for the SPARTAN-II program in 2517, he was abducted and sent to Reach, where he was specially trained to be a soldier by Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez and the artificial intelligence construct Déja. During his training, Jerome quickly proved himself to be one of the program's top candidates. Both Dr. Halsey and CPO Mendez identified him as one of the four emerging leaders of the group, along with Kurt-051, Fred-104, and John-117.

In 2525, he and the other candidates underwent a series of augmentations to improve their physical and mental abilities. Jerome was among the ones who survived and were not crippled or killed by the procedure.

Battle of Arcadia
Jerome was the leader of Spartan Red Team during the Battle of Arcadia. On February 9, 2531, Jerome and Red Team were tasked with stopping the Covenant long enough to evacuate the civilians of the planet. Afterward, he and Red Team linked up with forces from the and assisted in a counterattack on a Covenant outpost. Once the plan to infiltrate a large Covenant shield dome was passed down from Captain James Cutter, he and Red Team remained with the crew to assist with the assignment. He helped prevent the destruction of several prototypical M145D Rhinos while the tanks ensured that the shield was destroyed. After Sergeant John Forge's forces triumphed over a Scarab, Jerome, Douglas-042, and Alice-130 three searched for Covenant survivors in the jungles on a M12 Warthog. Upon hearing that Professor Ellen Anders had been abducted by Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee, Forge and Red Team boarded Spirit of Fire, which jumped into slipspace in pursuit of the Covenant destroyer carrying Anders.

Shield World
After Jerome recommended destroying 'Moramee's ship and killing Anders rather than let classified information fall into Covenant hands, Forge confronted the SPARTAN. The altercation resulted in a broken chair, a seal malfunction on a bulkhead and a stern interruption from Serina. From then on, Forge and Jerome always ate together in the mess hall.

Upon arriving at a Forerunner Shield World on February 23rd, Jerome assisted the Spirit of Fire's crew in neutralizing Covenant and Flood forces. Once Jerome assisted in destroying a Proto-Gravemind, he and Red Team became stranded on the planet. With the Spirit of Fire being dragged inside the megastructure, Red Team was assisted by Sergeant Forge and his forces and successfully withdrew to the ship. Red Team then assisted the crew in scouring the Flood forces from the hull of the Spirit of Fire. Soon, the crew repelled Covenant boarders and successfully repaired the ship's power core when after it was damaged by Covenant forces.

Once Anders was rescued, Jerome was tasked with ensuring that the Spirit of Fire ' s slipspace drive arrived at the teleporter that would take it to the Apex contol site in an attempt to destroy the Shield World's sun, denying the Covenant access to a fleet of Forerunner warships. Atop the Apex, Jerome, Alice and Douglas engaged a large force of Sangheili while Forge engaged 'Moramee. Once the area was clear, Jerome volunteered to take the damaged drive in and ensure its detonation. Forge, believing that the SPARTANs would play a bigger part in the war than he ever could, took his place. Jerome, Douglas, Alice, and the Spirit of Fire ' s crew were then charged with opening the gate which allowed the Spirit of Fire to exit the Shield World.

It is assumed that Jerome, as with the rest of the crew, entered cryo sleep after the Spirit of Fire escaped the destruction of the Shield World.

Trivia

 * Jerome-092's name was inspired by the Campaign Lead of Halo Wars, Jerome K. Jones.
 * Though Jerome uses a Spartan Laser in gameplay, help text identifies Jerome as a sniper. This may be due to the range and pinpoint accuracy of the Spartan Laser.
 * A faint Legendary symbol can be seen on Jerome's left bicep. This can be most clearly seen in She Is Not My Girlfriend, the cutscene at the beginning of Anders' Signal, and in Monsters, the cutscene at the beginning of Escape.
 * McFarlane Toys released an action figure of Jerome titled "Red Team Leader Mark IV." It was released on March 2nd, 2010 in a boxed set that also includes John-117, an MA5B assault rifle, and an M7057 flamethrower.

List of appearances

 * Halo Wars
 * Halo: Reach
 * Dr. Halsey's personal journal