Samuel-034

Were you looking for Sam Marcus, a crewman aboard the Pillar of Autumn?

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

- SPARTAN-034 commenting on the MJOLNIR Mk. IV armour

Petty Officer Second Class Samuel-034 was a SPARTAN-II super soldier of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Group Section III

He was by far the closest thing to a best friend to MCPO John-117 and was like a brother to him. Noticeably the largest SPARTAN-II of them all, he was shot with a large plasma burn on his side by a Jackal armed with a Plasma Pistol on one of his missions when he teamed up with then Squad Leader John-117 and Kelly-087. This ruptured his vacuum suit and made it impossible for him to escape the detonating Covenant ship. Kelly-087 offered Sam her vacuum suit but he refused. His death took place on November 27, 2525, when he was only 14 years old, as told in Halo: Fall of Reach. The loss of his friendship to John was never fully replaced. He was also close to Petty Officer Second Class Kelly-087.

Personality and Description
Samuel was considered to be the strongest of the first class of SPARTAN-II's. According to John-117, had the best eyes and ears of all of his subordinates. He is also said to be one head taller than John-117 making him the biggest Spartan, and was the fastest to recover from the augmentation. He had a tan complexion with sandy blond hair and green eyes. Sam did not display the same great leadership qualities as John or Frederic did, but he did act as John's second in command throughout the duration of his Naval career. 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. Also, he would make joking remarks such as saying he was in love with his armor. He was also slightly different than the others, having a bigger sense of humor and was not as much a stoic as the others.

Conscription into the SPARTANs
Sam was abducted by the UNSC in 2517 at age six, he was then replaced with a Flash Clone, and sent to Reach to train with the other Spartans under the watchful eyes of Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez and Déjà, the Spartans' "teacher".

SPARTAN Training
On the first day of training, at Military Reservation 01478-B, Mendez divided the trainees into teams of three. Sam, John and Kelly were assigned together into one of those teams.

During their first trip to the playground, John finished first in the competition, while Kelly and Sam came in last. 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." Their team finishing in last place, they were not allowed to eat dinner that night.

It was, however, a lesson in teamwork for them, and the three SPARTANS never made the same mistake again. The day after, Sam had shoved John and threatened to push him off one of the pillars, but when they won the exercise they saw each other in a different way and the three became best friends.

Training mission and Augmentations
Sam later trained with his fellow Spartans at the Military Wilderness Training Preserve helping John, Kelly, Fhajad-084 and Linda-058 overcome a squad of UNSC Marine Infantryman and commandeer their Pelican Dropship. John was subsequently promoted to squad leader after the mission.

After his Spartan Augmentations at the ONI Medical Facility station, Sam was the fastest to recover, and was in exceptional health. He later attended a military funeral on the for those Spartans who died during the augmentation process. Later, the Spartans then returned to Reach for their final training phase in the Highland Mountains.

Infiltration of the Eridanus Rebels
Sam was chosen in 2525 to go on the Spartans' first mission, to Eridanus II. He and the team boarded the Laden, infiltrated Eridanus Secundus, and captured Colonel Robert Watts. He blew off the hangar doors, allowing his team to escape, but killed whatever Rebels were in the hangar,including Colonel Watts.

The Human-Covenant War
Sam later attended the UNSC briefing by Admiral Michael Stanforth and Beowulf about the emerging Covenant threat.

The Spartans were later sent down aboard the and went to the Damascus Testing Facility on Chi Ceti IV to be equipped with MJOLNIR armor.

Later on the Commonwealth, a Covenant Frigate appeared in the system and engaged in a fight with the ship, damaging it. As the Covenant prepared to finish off the Human ship, the Spartans, aboard a Pelican Dropship, 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, gaining access through a hole created by a MAC round.

Missing in Action
As they entered and explored the frigate, Sam was struck in the side by an overcharged bolt from a Plasma Pistol wielded by a Kig-yar soldier while trying to protect John from harm. The shot burned a sizable hole in Sam's unshielded armor. The Spartans managed to make it to the engine room of the ship and planted several ANVIL-II ASM missiles on the fusion generator; however, their only means of escape was an EVA, but this was impossible for Sam since the vacuum seal in his armor was compromised. Rather than die in the vacuum of space, Sam volunteered to hold off the Covenant forces and allow the missiles to explode, destroying the entire ship. John later marked Sam as MIA because "Spartans never die"; it is believed that the morale of the public and servicemen alike would fall dramatically if they found out the legendary super-soldiers could actually be killed.

Legacy
Sam was the first SPARTAN-II to be killed in combat during the Human-Covenant War. Despite that fact, and his short life of fourteen years, Sam is regarded as one of the most important Spartans. He was even referenced by Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose, just before his death in November 2552 during the Battle of Onyx. This is to show that Sam had a close relationship with all the Spartans, not just the members of Blue Team.

It seems that his position as John-117's second in command was subsequently taken by Frederic-104 and Kurt-051 in authorizing the Spartans and commanding them in battle.

Trivia

 * There was a number tag conflict's between 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.
 * Sam was the first person that John and Kelly met in their training, and they all soon became friends.
 * Sam was the first Spartan labeled MIA when his armor became breached when attempting to destroy the first Covenant Cruiser. Sam was killed before the MJOLNIR armor was equipped with Energy Shields.
 * Sam died in 2525, but the Spartan MIA Protocol was issued when the SPARTAN-II program went public in 2547. John-117's decision to mark Sam as MIA may have been a precursor to, or even an inspiration for, the ONI directive.
 * Supposedly, Sam was the largest Spartan-II, at a head taller than Master Chief Petty Officer John 117, putting him between 7 and 8 feet tall while wearing MJOLNIR armor.
 * Samuel's Spartan tag is another 7 reference: 3+4=7
 * In Halo Wars, Spartans will occasionally say "For Samuel!" after killing an enemy unit, further proving that Sam had close relationships with all the Spartans, even those unnamed.