Blue Team

"You 'Spartans' have put quite a dent in our efforts to liberate the frontier worlds...I didn't believe it until I saw the video. All by the same four-man team. Some said 'Blue Team' was a myth."

- General Graves about Blue Team's activity

Blue Team is a semi-constant group of SPARTAN-IIs under operational command of NAVSPECWAR generally consisting of around four members. It was led by John-117 for most of its activity during the Human-Covenant War, though after John's disappearance in the Battle of Mombasa the role of leader was taken up by Fred-104; John later resumed de facto command following his recovery years later. Blue Team has participated in hundreds of combat missions against a plethora of foes, including Insurrectionists, the Covenant, and various Forerunner constructs. The team is exceptional even among the SPARTAN-IIs due to their involvement in many of the most pivotal engagements of both the Insurrection and the Covenant War.

Known members
"Welcome to Blue, Spartans. We're going to make a great team."

- Kelly-087's traditional greeting to new teammates.

After its conception in 2519, Blue Team usually consisted of three members. The team was originally comprised of John-117, Samuel-034, and Kelly-087. For some training missions, Spartans like Fred-104, Fhajad-084 and Linda-058 were added to Blue Team. After Sam's death on a Covenant vessel in the Chi Ceti system, his spot remained vacant until John reluctantly filled it with Kurt-051 in 2531.

The unit's roster frequently changed for various combat operations, changing both members and size. During the Battle of Earth, Blue Team was reformed from the surviving Spartans on Earth, with the new roster being Fred-104, Linda-058 and William-043, though later, during the events on and inside Onyx, the team lost Will and increased in number, with Kelly-087 rejoining, as well as SPARTAN-IIIs Lucy-B091, Tom-B292, Ash-G099, Mark-G313 and Olivia-G291 joining the team. The SPARTAN-IIIs were reassigned to other duties in mid-2553. By 2557, Blue Team consisted of Fred, Kelly and Linda, until being joined by John after his return to the UNSC.


 * Current composition (July 2557)
 * Frederic-104 (leader, CQB specialist)
 * John-117 (de facto leader)
 * Kelly-087 (scout)
 * Linda-058 (sniper)


 * Former members
 * James-005 (2552) (MIA)
 * Li-008 (2552) (KIA)
 * Samuel-034 (2517-2525) (KIA)
 * William-043 (2552) (KIA)
 * Anton-044 (2552) (KIA)
 * Kurt-051 (2531) (MIA), (2552) (KIA)
 * Fhajad-084 (sometime 2517-2525) (crippled during augmentation)
 * Solomon-069 (2544) (KIA)
 * Arthur-079 (2544) (KIA)
 * Grace-093 (2552) (KIA)
 * Lucy-B091 (Reassigned August 2553)
 * Tom-B292 (Reassigned August 2553)
 * Ash-G099 (Reassigned July 2553)
 * Olivia-G291 (Reassigned July 2553)
 * Mark-G313 (Reassigned July 2553)

Training
Prior to the Human-Covenant War the SPARTAN-IIs were deployed onto the battlefield as shock infantry, Blue Team often exercised versus fellow SPARTAN-II Green Team, led by SPARTAN Kurt-051, and often lost because of Kurt's superior "sixth sense". Blue Team was formed around John-117, Kelly-087, and Samuel-034, who met on their first day of induction into the SPARTAN-II program.

Assault on Eridanus Secundus


In the first UNSC military operation where the SPARTAN-II's were put to the test after their intensive training, Blue Team was sent to infiltrate the rebel space habitat Eridanus Secundus in the Eridanus Asteroid Belt. Blue Team stowed aboard a Parabola-class Freighter, the, and managed to sneak aboard Jefferson. Their objective was to capture the rebel leader ex-Colonel Robert Watts, a UNSC turncoat.

With minimal attention, Blue Team managed to kill several of Watt's guards and subdue him with polypseudomorphine, a sedative. Then Blue Team hijacked a rebel Pelican dropship and Samuel-034 set and detonated explosive charges in the rebel base's hangar, making good their escape, but at the cost of dozens of civilians' lives. Blue Team was successful in its objective.

Battle of Chi Ceti


Three months after Eridanus, Blue Team were briefed on the massacre that took place on Harvest shortly after first contact with the Covenant. A short time later, the, under the command of Captain Wallace, brought Blue Team and Dr. Halsey to the Damascus Testing Facility at Chi Ceti, where they were to receive the MJOLNIR Mark IV PAA. When a Covenant ship, the Unrelenting, attacked the Commonwealth, Blue Team took part in their first engagement with the Covenant. The Spartans used thruster packs to launch themselves from a Pelican dropship. Each Spartan carried an ANVIL-II warhead to be used against the Covenant ship. Blue Team entered the vessel through a puncture in its hull, caused by a MAC round from the Commonwealth. They succeeded in completing the mission and destroyed the Covenant ship, but due to a breach in Sam's armor, he was unable to leave the Covenant ship and volunteered to stay behind to ensure the destruction of the enemy vessel. Sam was killed in the ensuing explosion, becoming the first SPARTAN-II to be killed in action.

Battle of Circinius IV


After the events on Chi Ceti, Spartans John, Kelly and Fred-104 were sent to support Marine forces in a search-and-capture mission against an Insurrectionist leader; the skirmish quickly escalated as the Covenant's arrival forced the UNSC troops to briefly side with the rebels. In April 26, 2526 Blue Team was deployed to Circinius IV in defense of the Corbulo Academy of Military Science. Despite their efforts, the Covenant glassed the planet and Blue Team rescued only three cadets of the academy.

Raid on Camp New Hope
By 2531 Blue Team had carved out a reputation for itself amongst Insurrectionist forces. The then four-man team disrupted rebel operations including Station Jefferson, the destroyer Origami and a saboteur cell on Reach, as well as an incident in Micronesia, and a high-explosives manufacturing facility at an unspecified location. In response the rebels gathered together three FENRIS nuclear warheads at Camp New Hope in a way so sloppy that the Office of Naval Intelligence could not help but notice, then contacted the UNSC and offered to trade the nukes in exchange for medicines for their people suffering from Boren's Syndrome. They then set a trap for Blue Team, whom they anticipated would be sent. They successfully ambushed John, Fred, Kelly and Linda using an antigravity plate, however were unaware of the presence of Kurt, a new addition to the team, who had avoided the trap. Kurt was able to free the other members of Blue Team and they then retreated from the camp with the recovered warheads. Rebel leader General Howard Graves was killed in the process.

Battle of Jericho VII
In 2535 Blue Team fought in Jericho VII, where they encountered tough resistance from UNSC forces above the planet and on the ground, resulting in a three day long stalemate. Blue Team's mission was to draw out the Covenant rear guard, so Red Team could slip behind their lines and plant a HAVOK tactical nuke, hoping to destroy the next Covenant ship that landed and dropped its shields. These few Spartans were able to kill hundreds of Unggoy and destroy Shade turrets with little difficulty, as well as neutralizing their Banshee air support, by using the fougasses they had planted in case the Grunts got out of hand.

During the battle, Blue Team avenged the 105th Drop Jet Platoon by killing hundreds of the Unggoy. All of the Spartan teams accomplished their missions and returned safely to the remaining fleet in a Pelican dropship. Unfortunately, the UNSC fleet lost control of the space around Jericho VII after a brutal three day battle with the Covenant fleet, but Captain De Blanc was able to evacuate the Spartans before the enemy fleet began the glassing of the planet.

Operation: WARM BLANKET


Shortly after the Battle of Miridem in 2544, Blue Team was part of a mission to rescue Dr. Catherine Halsey from a Covenant fleet. The team utilized OF92 Booster Frames, which were designed for ship boarding actions, and infiltrated the assault carrier Resplendent Fervor. The Spartans completed their mission and rescued Dr. Halsey, but Arthur-079 and Solomon-069 were killed in the battle.

Battle of Sigma Octanus IV
After the city of Côte d'Azur on Sigma Octanus IV came under attack from Covenant forces, John-117 lead Blue Team under the city. Investigating Covenant activity in the Côte d'Azur Museum of Natural History, Blue Team discovered that the Covenant were scanning what appeared to be a simple piece of igneous rock, and sending the information to a ship in orbit. The team entered a protracted firefight with two Mgalekgolo, which was a victory at the expense of James' arm, recovered the rock, and escaped.

With a group of surviving civilians evacuated, the SPARTANs returned to H.Q. and detonated the HAVOK warhead, destroying Côte d'Azur and removing the Covenant presence on the planet.

Battle of Reach
During the Covenant attack on Reach, the SPARTAN-II company was divided into two teams: Red Team and Blue Team. Blue Team was tasked with defending an orbital space station's navigational data that could possibly lead the Covenant to Earth - which would be devastating to the UNSC. Red Team, far larger than Blue Team, was sent to the planet surface of Reach to defend its power generators that powered the Orbital Defense Platforms.

Blue Team consisted of John-117, James-005, and Linda-058. Blue Team departed from the in a Pelican dropship and crash-landed on the space station shortly before waves of Jackal and Sangheili Rangers landed. On maneuvers, James was shot at with crystalline needler rounds that penetrated the propellant module on the back of his armor that allowed him to maneuver in zero-g. With thruster wash billowing everywhere, James was blown into space, unable to control his trajectory.

However, John and Linda were able to infiltrate the locked-down space station, and with the help of Staff Sergeant Avery J. Johnson and several other Marines, destroy the navigational data so that the Covenant would be unable to find and destroy Earth. However, during extraction, Linda was shot in the back with an overcharged plasma pistol, and fell into a deep coma. John and the Marine fireteam survived, however.

Operation: FIRST STRIKE


Blue Team was newly formed when John came back to Reach after destruction of Installation 04 in search of his survived comrades. Upon his arrival Master Chief regrouped with Fred-104, Kelly-087, Grace-093, Anton-044, Will-043 and Li-008 who were protecting Dr. Catherine Halsey and Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb with Kelly critically wounded by the assault cannons of two Hunters. The Spartans managed to escape Reach and return to Covenant flagship Ascendant Justice previously captured by John and the Marines at Alpha Halo and linked it with the damaged UNSC frigate Gettysburg. During a battle with pursuing Covenant ships, Anton-044 and Li-008 were killed during an EVA operation to repair a plasma conduit.

Soon after this they discovered that the Covenant already possessed coordinates of Earth's location and were building a massive invasion fleet consisting of about five hundred ships at the command-and-control center Unyielding Hierophant. John-117 came up with a plan to assault the Covenant station, although Ascendant Justice first had to undergo repairs. The crew managed to negotiate a truce with the inhabitants of the rebel base, Eridanus Secundus, infiltrated by Blue Team in 2525 and now led by Governor Jacob Jiles. While the vessel was being repaired Dr. Halsey managed to return Kelly-087 and Linda-058 to active duty; however, she sedated Kelly shortly after, took her aboard the private vessel of the rebel governor and left the system without anyone's knowledge or permission, heading to Onyx.

After receiving some repairs, John and the rest were forced to abandon the rebels in the face of a Covenant assault, and made their way toward Unyielding Hierophant. Blue Team, consisting of John, Fred, Linda, Will and Grace, infiltrated Unyielding Hierophant and succeeded in overloading the station's reactors, at the cost of Grace's life. Vice Admiral Whitcomb and Lieutenant Haverson were both killed when the station exploded, annihilating 486 ships of the Covenant fleet, leaving only around a dozen intact, delaying impending invasion of Earth.

Upon Blue Team's return to Earth John ordered Fred and Linda to report to ONI HQ where they should inform the UNSC Security Council about Operation: FIRST STRIKE's success and imminent invasion of Earth.

Battle of Earth
Shortly after John-117's disappearance after the Mombasa slipspace event, Blue Team was deployed to help defend Earth during the span of two weeks, while In Amber Clad was busy pursuing the Prophet of Regret. Blue Team conducted operations including numerous operations in orbit around Earth, stopping a Covenant invasion on Mount Erebus in Antarctica with a HAVOK tactical nuke, and stopping Covenant forces on the sea floor off of the Yucatan Peninsula. Following these ops, they were deployed to the Centennial Orbital Elevator in Havana, Cuba to stop Covenant forces that had gathered around the orbital elevator. They then stopped the Covenant forces, who had captured multiple nuclear warheads, before they could ascend the orbital elevator. The Spartans then ascended the orbital elevator themselves, and in the process destroyed one of the Covenant capital ships at the top of the elevator. The three Spartans then left the battle in another Covenant capital ship called the Bloodied Spirit under orders by Fleet Admiral Hood to aid Dr. Halsey on Onyx.

Onyx


During the Battle of Onyx, Blue Team fought alongside with Team Saber against the Onyx Sentinels and the Covenant separatists that had arrived. Upon landing on Onyx, they were reunited with Kelly-087, Dr. Halsey, Senior Chief Petty Officer Mendez, and Kurt-051 (who they thought had been dead for quite some time). However during the course of the battle Will, Kurt, and a number of SPARTAN-IIIs were killed by the Sentinels and Covenant forces. The rest of Blue Team, along with the remaining SPARTAN-IIIs, CPO Mendez, and Dr. Halsey entered Shield World 006, which lay in a slipspace rift at the core of Onyx. Upon retreating to safety inside the shield world the survivors erected gravestones for those lost in the Battle of Onyx. After the ceremony, Lucy-B091, Tom-B292, Ash-G099, Olivia-G291 and Mark-G313 were reassigned to Blue Team by Fred and Kelly.

Blue Team then proceeded to explore the vast construct, soon establishing base camp in a Forerunner structure. A group of Huragok, discovered by Lucy-B091, eventually helped them bring the sphere out of its slipspace bubble into normal space, and an ONI team was dispatched to retrieve them. The few days the survivors had stayed inside the slipspace bubble turned out to equal over three months in normal space-time, and as such they returned to normal space in February 2553. Blue Team was taken to Earth aboard the for a debriefing in HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6 in Sydney.

Post-war years
The SPARTAN-IIIs assigned to Blue Team were later offered the chance to integrate into the SPARTAN-IV program and, by extension, the new Spartan branch, under the leadership of the surviving SPARTAN-IIs. By September 2553, three members of Saber Team were missing in action. Though their deaths were not confirmed, the UNSC later changed their status to killed in action, with Lucy and Tom being assigned to an unknown location.

Fred, Kelly and Linda were not folded into the Spartan branch and comprised the core roster of Blue Team in the coming years. They embarked on numerous confidential operations under ONI's direct oversight, eliminating hostile Covenant remnants across the fringes of human space.

Investigation on Gao
In May 2553, Blue Team was deployed to escort a UNSC research battalion tasked with capturing a Forerunner ancilla on the planet Gao. After the mission, the Gamma Company Spartan-IIIs within the team were reassigned to a top-secret ONI unit to prevent knowledge of their illegal enhancements from leaking to the public.

The Composer's Forge
By July 25, 2557, Blue Team, at the time consisting of Kelly, Linda, and Fred, was stationed at Earth. Shortly after the New Phoenix Incident and the loss of contact with a science team on Installation 03, the team was joined by John in an "advisory" role due to his recent encounters with Promethean constructs. The team was deployed to Gamma Halo, whereupon arrival they found the bodies of Black Team and the scientists before being attacked by Promethean Knights. The Spartans soon discovered the Composer's Abyss, and a slipspace portal within.

The portal took Blue Team to the Composer's Forge, where they encountered the Ur-Didact and numerous new Promethean constructs he had created from the residents of New Phoenix. In addition, the Forge's monitor, 859 Static Carillon, had Installation 03 transported above the Forge. Intending to use the Halo against Earth, the Didact took one of the Composers and headed back to the portal to Installation 03. Blue Team gave chase and engaged the Didact again atop the Composer's Abyss on the Halo's surface. The Didact's armor soon adapted itself to the Spartans' weapons, but Static Carillon appeared and saved Blue Team by teleporting the Didact away into the installation's control room. While the rest of Blue Team returned to their Longsword, John entered the control center to confront the Promethean in person. The Master Chief disabled Gamma Halo's safeties, enabling Static Carillon to eject the segment of the ring housing the control room toward the planet housing the Composer's Forge. The monitor teleported John to Blue Team's Longsword just before the Halo fragment struck the Forge while the Didact was digitized by the several Composers firing on him at once.

Further operations
Following the Didact's second defeat, Blue Team returned to Earth. John was debriefed by Admiral Hood who ordered him and Blue Team to rest and recover from years of continuous combat. Instead, the Master Chief, refusing to ever cease fighting, chose to embark on new missions—unknown to Lord Hood.

Blue Team, still under operational command of NAVSPECWAR continued to serve by 2558 on highly classified operations. In one notable incident, John-117 disrupted an assassination attempt by Sapien Sunrise on a human-Sangheili peace summit on Biko (with the insurgents attempting to frame the Sangheili of the crime). Unfortunately, the truth was covered up and John-117 was used as a scapegoat to hide the UEG's laxity towards preventing the attack. Benjamin Giraud prepared to expose the cover up, and reveal the atrocities committed by the people behind the SPARTAN-II program, the UEG and Biko undercut him by radically reversing their claims, admitting and denouncing the involvement of Sapien Sunrise in the attack, utterly discrediting Giraud.

Sometime before October 27th, 2558, Blue Team was sent on a mission to find ONI research vessel Argent Moon. There they would encounter Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction and be forced to destroy the ship. During the mission John started to experience visions from the Domain, with the image of Cortana telling him that Meridian is next and the reclamation is about to begin. Despite receiving orders to return to Infinity after destroying the Argent Moon John-117 refused the orders and took a Prowler and Blue Team to Meridian in order to beat the other Spartan team sent there. Shortly after, Blue Team was declared AWOL by the UNSC and Spartan-IV Fireteam Osiris, led by Jameson Locke, was tasked with recovering them.

Production notes
Blue Team will be featured in Halo 5: Guardians for the first time in a Halo game. They will accompany John-117 throughout the campaign and accept commands from the player. Fred, Kelly, and Linda will also be playable in cooperative play, each with their own individual loadout and HUD.

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo Legends
 * The Package
 * Halo: Fall of Reach
 * Boot Camp
 * Covenant
 * Invasion
 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo 2 Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo: Last Light
 * Halo 5: Guardians