Cranker

Private Cranker was a UNSC Marine stationed aboard the prowler in October 2552.

Mission aboard Mona Lisa
He was part of Sergeant Zhao Heng Lopez's squad sent to investigate the prisoner transport Mona Lisa in the Soell system. Unbeknownst to the Marines, the ship had served as a research laboratory for the Office of Naval Intelligence's experiments on the Flood and had suffered a catastrophic Flood outbreak.

After a brief firefight with with several unarmored Sangheili in the Mona Lisa's cargo bay, Cranker would pose with his boot over an Elite torso, emulating the image of a conquering hero, something Corpsman Benti found idiotic. Sergeant Lopez then ordered Cranker, Maller, Simmons and Sydney to maintain position in the cargo bay near their Pelican dropship and clean up the bodies on the floor while the others went to look for Rabbit.

After the rest of the Marines had discovered Rabbit's remains, Cranker acknowledged Lopez's report that two contacts were on their way toward the cargo bay. He and his team were then ordered to hold their position. Soon after, Cranker proceeded to report that no Covenant ever arrived the cargo bay, when he and his team were attacked by Flood infection forms and disappeared without a trace. Cranker and Maller would later return to the Pelican as Flood combat forms. The unsuspecting pilot, Burgundy, opened the gangplank, only to be immediately attacked by Cranker and Maller. They then proceeded to drag Burgundy to the proto-Gravemind the Flood was forming in the Mona Lisa's engine room.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * The Mona Lisa