Small Bear

Lieutenant Neha "Small Bear" was an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps. In 2526, she was a member of the 21st Space Assault Battalion and partook in Operation: SILENT STORM - an action which cost her life during the Attack on Zhoist.

Biography
At the outset of the Human-Covenant War, Small Bear served in the 21/SAB as a non-commissioned officer in charge of Third Platoon. She fought in the Battle of Seoba and the wider Battle of Biko, surviving both engagements.

On April 15, 2526, Small Bear and her unit were deployed aboard the  during an attack on the Covenant world Zhoist, with Small Bear herself carrying a one-megaton Fury tactical nuclear weapon for the attack. During the deployment onto the planet, Blue Team and twenty-four ODSTs were intended to deploy into combat first, with Small Bear taking the remaining troopers to deploy after the others to act as backup - and to take command if the deployment was unlucky and encountered harsh resistance.

Small Bear and her unit worked alongside Blue Team to advance through the city on the ground towards the gravity lift-space elevator connecting to the Ring of Mighty Abundance in orbit. During this time, the platoon took few casualties - with the Lieutenant remaining level-headed about the slim chances of recovery for any injured personnel. Upon reaching the base of the lift site, she was tasked by John-117 with setting the Fury timer for forty minutes as a "big send-off" for the troopers they had to leave behind.

After planting the nuclear weapon, Small Bear and her unit followed Blue Team up the gravity beam and into the orbital facilities. Once inside, she assigned a fireteam to follow Frederic-104 and Kelly-087, respectively, before following John-117 and Linda-058. When the nuclear detonation below hit the ring, Small Bear was knocked back from the explosion, though miraculously not hit by any debris. However, the empty portal where the elevator once connected suffered decompression and the compartment containing Blue Team was sealed off by emergency procedures before Small Bear could reach safety. As such, she remained trapped in an orbital ring soon to be destroyed by a multitude of Octanitrocubane charges. As such, she simply ordered the group to finish their mission - before being killed in the ensuing catastrophe.

Small Bear was succeeded by her daughter, who also joined the ODSTs as a non-commissioned officer. Going by the nickname "Grim Bear", by 2559 she had attained the rank of Gunnery Sergeant.

Personality and traits
"Carry on, Chief. Make it count."

- Small Bear's last words.

During the fighting on Zhoist, Small Bear was quick to react upon seeing Chavez get hit by enemy fire - dragging him into cover for a medic to attend to. Upon realising he was done for, she remained level-headed when the medic administered the "shot". She reasoned that it would be impossible to get Chavez to the necessary hospital facilities to properly treat him, and that the ODSTs would instead give him a "big send-off" by way of nuclear explosion.

When faced with the prospect of her own death aboard the Ring of Mighty Abundance - having been trapped in a terminus with all exits sealed from decompression procedures - Small Bear simply ordered Blue Team and the remaining survivors to carry on with and complete their mission - something they were able to successfully do.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Silent Storm
 * Halo: Outcasts