Itka

Itka was a Kig-Yar weaponsmith in service of the Banished. He had an unusual talent for hacking, especially when it came to Forerunner technology. After joining the Banished, he seemingly forged a bond with Choros, a Jiralhanae and the captain of Chieftain Minas' guard. Itka was among the forces that Atriox chose to bring to Installation 00 in 2558, most notably participating in the mission to the Anodyne Spirit.

Cracking the Keyship
When Atriox desired to activate a portal that could transport him back to the galaxy from the Ark, he assembled a small strike force to gather the necessary slipspace flake from within the Anodyne Spirit. Chieftain Minas was assigned to lead this strike force, which would be spilt into three separate teams. Minas personally led his own team, which contained Choros and Itka, while blademaster Okro 'Vagaduun and Captain Zeretus led their own teams.

Upon arriving at the seemingly abandoned Keyship, Itka set to work opening the exterior doorway. In doing so, he encountered both old and new securities, but he bypassed them easily enough. As the group trekked through the immense vessel, Itka's knowledge of Forerunner interfaces was needed to activate a lift that led higher up in the vessel. After the Banished force encountered remnants of the Covenant loyalists still alive inside the Keyship after over six years, his skills became useful once more when they came to one final lift. This took the group to the chamber that held the Adytum, a device that in turn contained the slipspace crystal that they were searching for. Itka opened the chamber's sealed door and began working extracting the crystal with Choros. However, the Covenant loyalists caught up with them and attacked Minas' team, resulting in the deaths of many Banished personnel. Itka himself had been pinned to the wall of the room with burning hot spikes, killing him.

Legacy
Before he died, Itka and Choros had managed to extract the small onyx box holding the crystal, ultimately allowing the mission to succeed. Choros paid his respects to Itka in the form of a prayer. Seeing the bodies of so many fallen compatriots littering the floor inspired Choros to sacrifice himself so that Minas and the other surviving Banished forces could escape the Keyship with the crystal.

Skills and abilities
While Itka was of little use in combat, he was irreplaceable when it came to infiltration and hacking. He possessed a large store of intrusion software, which Minas suspected had been "thieved from every corner of the known galaxy." Despite their inherently complex and mysterious nature, even Forerunner security systems were easy for Itka to access.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Shadows of Reach
 * Sacrifice