Ellen Anders

Were you looking for Ensign Ellen Dowski, or Ellen Marcus?

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

- Ellen Anders

Professor Ellen Anders is an intelligent civilian researcher (with a recorded IQ of 180) and is fiercely opposed to the Covenant. She focused more on assisting mankind's survival than gaining a sense of grandeur. She was the type of person who hated disorder and was clean and organized. By extension, she also had the habit of solving unfinished jigsaw puzzles.

Biography
Professor Ellen Anders was born on the United Nations Space Command colony of Acardia. Anders was stationed aboard the during the Third Battle of Harvest, and was granted the Observation Deck as her lab, claiming the view of surrounding space "added perspective to her work." Sergeant John Forge being assigned as a bodyguard was not as agreeable to her however, due to his excessive foul language and gruff demeanor. She apparently studied under Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, though their relationship is tense, neither holding the other in a fond regard.

After getting some unexpected readings on an EM band in Harvest's north pole, Anders requested that a Hornet squadron en route to Rally Point Baker divert to investigate. A large force of Elites were also found, and Forge was dispatched to investigate. In the process, an unknown relic on the surface was detected along with numerous Covenant forces in the vicinity. Anders resolved to head down to investigate, despite protests from Forge. Captain Cutter agreed to the mission, but ordered that Anders be extracted should there be any sign of danger. After entering the Relic she found a map of the Galaxy, which "wasn't what I [she] expected". However, in the end, after she, Forge, and their UNSC Marine bodyguards were ambushed, she had to be rescued from the artifact. After examining the artifact, she realized that the map had led the Covenant to Arcadia, and upon her recommendation, the Spirit of Fire set course to the planet with all speed.

Before departing Harvest, Anders sent her father an analysis of Homer's Odyssey that slipped past ONI censors, informing him on what the UNSC had discovered.

Over the course of the Spirit of Fire's travels, Anders softened towards Forge, especially after noticing how much he cared for those around him.

On Arcadia, Anders used plasma-firing Rhino tanks to blow through a shield dome, revealing a half-built Scarab underneath. The UNSC Marine force on the surface destroyed the Scarab, but during an investigation of the site, Anders was taken hostage by the Arbiter, who intended to use her to activate The Apex. Forge and Jerome-092 persuaded Cutter to mount a rescue mission. The Spirit of Fire followed Anders' signal to a Shield World. Meanwhile, after the Arbiter used her DNA signature to activate the Forerunner ships in the Apex, Anders used a teleportation pad to escape to the surface while the Elites were distracted by the majesty of the ships. She is then rescued by Forge from a few Flood Infection Forms.

Anders later devised a plan to use the Spirit of Fires FTL reactor to cause the artificial sun inside the Shield World to go supernova, to destroy the ships before the Covenant could get their hands on them. Forge and the SPARTANs faced complications with the Elites and the former stays behind to manually activate the reactor. After managing to escape the explosion of the sun, the Spirit of Fire made a long journey home. Two weeks later, Cutter forced Anders into cryo-stasis, stating that she got them all out of there alive. As the pod closed, Anders reminded the Captain that not all of them survived before sleeping.

Abilities

 * "Leader Power": CryoBomb —freezes enemies in place.
 * "Unique Unit": Gremlin uses an EMP to momentarily paralyze enemy units.

Upgrades

 * "Super Upgrade": Hawk — a laser beam upgrade to the Hornet.
 * "Economy Bonus": cost and research time for unit upgrades reduced by half.

Campaign

 * She can be used during multiple campaign levels. She uses the M6D pistol to attack enemies and can repair friendly vehicles.

Trivia

 * Ellen Anders is one of the Hero Units for the UNSC in Halo Wars.
 * She is one of the first main characters in the games to be dressed in civilian clothing.
 * Ellen Anders was born in the UNSC colony of Arcadia.
 * It is mentioned in Halo Wars: Genesis that Anders is "recently engaged". With the invasion of Arcadia, however, this may no longer be the case.
 * Anders doesn't appear to be bothered by Freezer burn as she goes in to Cryo-chamber fully clothed, although this may be due to Ensemble Studios not wanting to implement a possible nude scene.
 * Apparently she seems to hate Doctor Catherine Halsey. In the Halo Wars booklet, Anders has made a personal note under her own description: "Why mention Halsey here? She hated me and I hated her." It also says she was Halsey's student. She also doesn't seem to get along with Serina, the Spirit of Fire A.I.
 * It has also been mentioned that Anders has always dreamed of being an A.I.
 * "Anders" is not her real surname. In her log inside the Halo Timeline, it is stated that her mother wanted her to use 'Anders' as her Career Name. It is also stated that she suspects her mother of arranging her recommendation to the ONI, remarking,"This Cloak-and-Dagger operation has her fingerprints all over it". In Halo Wars: Genesis, her 'kidnapper' also stated that Dr. Halsey recommended her to the ONI too, although this might be false. So, this might indicate that Dr. Halsey is Ellen Anders' mother.
 * Anders has an aggresive attitude towards almost everyone and has declared that she "hates" Dr. Halsey. She also dislikes Sergeant Forge, but it seems that Forge has a slight attraction towards her. The only character she encounters that she can tolerate is Captain Cutter, although she often argues with him.
 * Anders' unique unit in Halo Wars multiplayer is the Gremlin.
 * Voiced by Kim Mai Guest, who was known for voicing Mei Ling in the Metal Gear Solid series.