Cade McDonough

Cade was a former UNSC marine and a salvager working on the modified, the Ace of Spades. He was romantically involved with the ship's captain, Rion Forge. He was killed in January of 2558 by the Sangheili Commander, Gek 'Lhar, during an altercation in the debris field of the Etran Harborage, a Forerunner shield world.

War and Plunder
At some point after his eighteenth birthday, Cade enlisted with the UNSC Marine Corps. As a marine, he fought in numerous theaters during the decades-long Human-Covenant War. During the war, his home world was glassed by the Covenant and his entire family was killed. When he was honorably discharged the return to civilian life was difficult for him, as he had nowhere to go and nobody to call family. Eventually, he found work on a salvage ship and it was there that he first met Rion Forge. Rion would go on to become the captain of the Ace of Spades, a modified, and Cade was an original member of her crew. New Tyne, Venezia, became the place from which they conducted salvaging runs. In December of 2556, the crew of the Ace of Spades fell into one of its largest paydays ever. Rion personally participated in a four-way bidding war for a small piece of a Forerunner navigational databoard at a small bazaar on Komoya, and after winning the bidding war, she sold the databoard to a Sangheili for a large profit. In January of the new year, the crew returned to Venezia after having been gone for six weeks. There, another profit was made through the sale of a stasis field generator, Type-25 Spikers, and Type-51 carbines. While Rion was in New Tyne with Kip Silas and Lessa, two other members of the crew, Cade remained at the New Tyne Airfield so he could perform maintenance on the ship's track system. When the three finally returned they found him seated a story up on a catwalk, still hard at work. Rion notified him of a planned meeting to take place in fifteen minutes and he responded with a curt nod. When those fifteen minutes had passed, the crew found itself gathered around the ship's mess table to hear what the captain had to say. Rion revealed that she had used some of their recent windfall to purchase information regarding another potential claim; specifically, the wreckage of a ship that could very well be a military vessel downed during the war. The possibility of discovering a UNSC ship sparked a debate between Kip and the siblings, Lessa and Niko, as Kip believed the UNSC Salvage Directive would need to be followed in such a case. Cade leaned back in his chair and quietly observed the argument with crossed arms. Rion met his somber gaze before she added her voice to the discussion by assuring Kip that she would do the right thing if any heavy ordinance was discovered. When Cade then spoke, he told Kip he should stop worrying and that Rion would be fair. He then asked her what their destination was, to which she replied "Ectanus 45". Their prize was located on a moon in that system, Eiro. Cade thoughtfully considered the news and reminded Rion that it was right on the edge of the Inner Colonies, which was not their usual haunt. Rion was resolved to make the journey regardless, justifying it by way of the reward it could bring. After the conclusion of the meeting, Cade sparred with Rion after she worked out by herself.

Personality and traits
Cade was described as having grim eyes. Rion thought him to be "all business", as he brought a sense of order and efficiency to the Ace of Spades' small crew. It was not uncommon for him to serve as the "voice of reason" when Rion was prepared to push their work beyond their capable limits. He was steady, stoic, reliable, and the kind of person who could get a job done. He often didn't say much, but when he did, others tended to listen. He never had the same outward disgust for the UNSC that Lessa and Niko did. but the trauma of losing his family made him have his own personal issue with the way the military had made certain strategic decisions during the war. When he and Rion met, they would passionately debate about politics and wars, but as their relationship deepened, they stopped doing so and focused their energy and loyalty on the one thing they could truly count on: themselves. Cade's experience as a marine and later a salvager made him a man who knew more than anyone the price of taking risks, of jumping systems, and hunting salvage others would fight and kill for. For this reason, Rion valued his insight. Despite their closeness, Rion still never knew what Cade did with the credits he earned.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Fractures
 * Into the Fire
 * Halo: Smoke and Shadow