Samuel-034

"I think I'm in love..."

- SPARTAN-034 on the MJOLNIR armor

Sam-034 was a Spartan-II supersoldier. He was by far the closest and best friend of SPARTAN-117 (John), until his death in 2525. The loss of his friendship to John was never fully replaced. He was also close to Spartan-087 (Kelly).

Personality and Description
Sam was considered to be the strongest of the Spartans. Sam, according to John, had the best eyes and ears. He was larger than John by at least a head. He had a tan complexion, sandy hair and green eyes. He did not display the same leadership qualities as John did, but he did act as John's second in command throughout the duration of his life. At times Sam also displayed some ruthlessness, such as detonating a C-12 Shaped Charge on a rebel base, despite the obvious civilian casualties that would be involved.

Biography
Sam was abducted in 2517 at age six after he was singled out as physically and intellectually exceptional by Dr. Catherine Halsey. He was replaced with a Flash Clone, and sent to Reach to train with the other Spartans under the watchful eyes of Chief Petty Officer Mendez and Deja. On the first day of training, at Military Reservation 01478-B, Mendez divided the trainees into teams of three. Sam, John and Kelly were part of the same team on the first day. Although John finished first, Kelly and Sam came in far later places. Mendez informed the team that they had lost, simply because, in his words, "Your team loses, you lose. You don't win until your team wins." Finishing in last place, they were not allowed to eat dinner that night. It was, however, a lesson in teamwork, and the three never made the same mistake again.

Sam trained with the Spartans at the Military Wilderness Training Preserve, helping John, Kelly, Spartan-084 (Fhajad) and Spartan-058 (Linda) overcome a squad of Marines and commandeer their Pelican. John was subsequently promoted to squad leader.

After his Spartan Augmentations at the ONI Medical Facility station, Sam was the fastest to recover, and was in exceptional health. He was then aboard the UNSC Atlas for the military "funeral" for those Spartans who died during the augmentation process. He then returned to Reach for the final training of the Spartans in the Highland Mountains.

Sam was picked in 2525 to go on the Spartan's first mission, to Eridanus II. He and the team boarded the Laden, infiltrated Eridanus Secundus, and captured Colonel Robert Watts.

Sam was then at the UNSC briefing by Admiral Michael Stanforth and Beowulf about the Covenant. He was then sent on the mission to the Roosevelt Military Base and eventually, he and the rest of the Spartans ended up on the UNSC Commonwealth and went to the Damascus Testing Facility on Chi Ceti IV to try on the MJOLNIR armor. He was the second Spartan fitted into the armor, and said that he "thought he was in love."

A Covenant frigate appeared in the system and engaged in a fight with the Commonwealth, damaging it. As the Covenant prepared to finish off the human ship, The Spartans, aboard a Pelican, launched themselves into space and managed to land on the surface of the ship. Sam, Kelly, and John were the only three Spartans who made it onto the ship, and they entered it through a hole caused by a MAC round.

As they explored the ship, Sam was hit with a large globule of plasma from the overcharged Plasma Pistol from a Jackal. Without shielding, the bolt burned a hole in Sam's armor. The Spartans made it to the engine room of the ship and planted several ANVIL-II ASM missiles on the fusion generator. Their only means of escape was to jump into space, but this was impossible for Sam since his armor was compromised. Rather than having Sam decompress in space, John ordered Sam to hold off the Covenant forces to allow the missiles to destroy the entire ship.

Sam was the first Spartan to be killed in combat. Despite that fact and his short life (he lived to 14), Sam is one of the most important Spartans. During nearly all of the Halo books Sam has been referenced in some way. Sam has even been referenced by Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose before his death. This is to show that Sam has a close relationship with all the Spartans, not just Blue Team.

It seems that his position as John's second in command was subsequently taken by Spartan-104 (Fredric).

Speculation, Theories and Possibilities
It is possible, however unlikely, that Sam was not killed on November 27th 2525 and that he actually survived or was rescued from the blast, as seems to be the pattern with the Spartan IIs (with the exception of William). His ultimate fate is not seen, similar to Vinh, Joshua, Isaac and James.

Note: There was a number conflict with Sam-034 and Fhajad-084 but it has been widely accepted that Sam was, in fact, SPARTAN-034 because he was given that number first.''