Thom-A293

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Lieutenant. You're stepping into some shoes the rest of the squad would rather leave unfilled."

- Commander Carter-A259 to SPARTAN-B312 Thom-293 was a SPARTAN-III commando who served as a member of the UNSC Navy during the Human-Covenant War. He was a member of Noble Team until his death in spring 2552.

Death
During a battle on an unknown colony world on April 22, 2552, Thom participated in an operation put together by LCDR Catherine-B320 to destroy a CCS-class Battlecruiser holding position above a city. However, the Lieutenant Commander, who carried the tactical nuclear weapon intended to destroy the Covenant ship, was incapacitated while on her way to the objective.

Thom was the first to arrive to where Kat was lying, and he immediately picked up the nuke and used a jetpack to fly into the battlecruiser without waiting for his teammates. Once inside, he threw the nuke into a staging area and attempted to escape before it went off, without success. The nuke detonated before Thom could safely make it out, destroying the ship and killing Thom in the process.

Replacement
Both CDR Carter-A259 and LCDR Catherine-B320 took responsibility for Thom's death, unable to admit that his death was his own fault. The team's commanding officer, COL Urban Holland, asserted that Thom died because he chose to attack Covenant forces without waiting for backup. Thom was replaced on Noble Team by SPARTAN-B312 a few months later, just prior to the Fall of Reach.

Trivia

 * His name and service tag may be a reference to Tom-B292, another SPARTAN-III.
 * In the Noble Team performance reports, COL Holland notes that Thom died because he "chose to pursue a group of enemy combatants ON HIS OWN rather than wait for backup". The circumstances of his death are different in the Deliver Hope trailer, where he is shown flying into a Covenant cruiser instead of pursuing a group of enemies.
 * In the Deliver Hope trailer, Thom is seen wearing a gray Mark V MJOLNIR armor with jetpack and a Mark V[B] helmet with the HUL attachment, and FJ/PARA knee guards.