Aki Hikowa

Lieutenant Aki Hikowa was a UNSC Junior officer who, in 2552, served under Captain Keyes aboard the UNSC Iroquois and later the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. Hikowa manned the weapons console. She had survived several battles with the Covenant prior to serving under Keyes, but she seemed to have all the deliberation of a sleepwalker. She was of Japanese ancestry, and was long and slender, with long black hair. However, after the victory at the battle of Sigma Octanus IV, she was markedly more enthusiastic about her job, and proved to be a useful officer.

She met Captain Keyes when he first arrived on the Pillar of Autumn and gave him the rundown of all ordinance aboard the ship. She then manned her station during The Battle of Reach. Finally, she was aboard when the vessel crashed on Installation 04. She escaped in the same Bumblebee lifepod as Captain Keyes.

On the surface, she, along with the rest of the crew, was spotted by the Covenant and tried to escape, but the group was betrayed by Ensign Ellen Dowski. When the Covenant finally caught up to the group, Hikowa was about to confront Dowski when one of the Elite soldiers shot her in the forehead with a Plasma Pistol, killing her instantly.