Maria-062

''"Maria" redirects here. For other uses of the name, see Maria (disambiguation).''

"Once John gets a hold of this armor, we'll all start sleeping a little better at night."

- Maria-062

Maria-062 is a SPARTAN-II supersoldier. She claimed that, at some point during the Human-Covenant War, she had retired with the intent of starting a family.

Special Warfare Center
Prior to the Battle of Earth in October 2552, Maria tested the new Mark VI MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor in Seongnam, United Korea.

She fought against a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers from the 340th ODST Combat Training Unit with Tactical Training Rounds in a mock battle near the Special Warfare Center. After the exercise, the armor was approved for battle and was delivered to the orbital defense platform Cairo Station. There, it was issued to Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.

Alleged retirement
Prior to the Fall of Reach, one of the SPARTAN-IIs had been wounded too critically to continue active duty. It is possible that this wounded Spartan was Maria and that she did not participate in the Fall of Reach, though she may have been sufficiently rehabilitated by October 2552 to test the Mark VI MJOLNIR armor. However, the 'too-wounded' Spartan might have been Naomi-010, who later served in ONI's Kilo-Five team deployed to Sanghelios.

It is far more likely, however, that her retirement, (at least her intent to start a family), was a ruse and that she served with the Office of Naval Intelligence despite no longer actively serving with her fellow SPARTAN-IIs. The only SPARTAN-II who is known to have retired, (as opposed to Maria's unsubstantiated claim), was Ralph-303, who was discharged due to psychological instability and physical problems caused by later augmentation procedures. Following Ralph's precedent, it is also possible that Maria was one of twelve "washouts" who were crippled by the augmentations; Dr. Catherine Halsey was confident that at least some of the "washouts" could be rehabilitated and redeployed, so it is possible that Maria was rehabilitated.

Trivia
Maria-062 is the first SPARTAN-II whose face was visually depicted in official media.

List of appearances

 * ''Halo Graphic Novel