Baruti Komen

Baruti Komen, nicknamed Gramps, was a veteran Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps and a short-time member of Edward Buck's fireteam.

Biography
Baruti Komen had enlisted in the UNSC at the very start of the Human-Covenant War. For nearly three decades, he fought against Covenant forces in multiple skirmishes. Near the end of the war, Komen became the sole survivor of his ODST unit. UNSC High Command then matched him with another unit, and by early 2552 he was transferred to fireteam Alpha-Nine, where he served under Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck. Though he was older than his Gunnery Sergeant, Komen always jested that Buck outranked him only because he had spent more time in cryosleep heading to important battles.

Fall of Reach
Later that year, Alpha-Nine was part of the 11th Shock Troops Battalion during the Covenant invasion of the planet Reach. During the battle of Reach, Komen was killed when a burst of plasma impacted his chest and blew out his heart. At the time of his death, the squad was merely holding a piece of ground for reasons undisclosed to them, leaving Buck to later wonder if Baruti had died for a noble cause. Komen's death left an open spot in Alpha-Nine, which was soon filled by another Shock Trooper.

Trivia
Komen's first name suggests that he was of African ancestry.

List of appearances

 * Halo: New Blood