Gray Team

Gray Team was a UNSC Naval Special Warfare Group SPARTAN-II unit. It consisted of Adriana-111, Jai-006 and Mike, the most independent and individualistic of the SPARTAN-IIs. These qualities were used to create a unit trained to operate for extended periods with minimal supervision and support. Their MJOLNIR Mk. IV armour was colored gray.

Background
Gray Team was formed from the three SPARTAN-II candidates who were the most difficult to control during training. This manifested in resistance to indoctrination, constant attempts to escape training, and lack of social integration. This disruptive behavior was costly, resulted in injuries to trainers, and the theft and destruction of at least one Pelican dropship. The decision was made to train the trio separately from the others and form them into their own unit.

Compared to the other SPARTAN-IIs, Gray Team's training placed additional emphasis on individual thought and action. This made them suitable to prosecute and survive covert missions deep behind enemy lines. Their assignments focused on interdiction and disruption of operations, followed by a stealthy extraction.

History
The Cole Protocol was implemented to slow the Covenant advance by denying them navigational information of UNSC space. Some Insurrectionist enclaves survived the Covenant advance by remaining hidden; these rebels did not fall under UNSC jurisdiction and had no obligation to honour the Cole Protocol. In the 2530s, Gray Team was sent to locate and infiltrate these enclaves and enforce the Cole Protocol by purging the NAV databases of the rebel ships found. This led to the Battle of the Rubble and their subsequent command of the ONI Prowler Petya.

In 2551, Gray Team was deemed too inaccessible to be recalled in the lead up to the Battle of Reach. They had been out of contact for about a year. Gray Team were the only operational SPARTAN-IIs not present at the fall of Reach and did not receive the MJOLNIR Mk. V armour. Later that year, Gray Team was listed as missing in action.