Samuel-034

Were you looking for Sam Marcus, a crewman aboard the Pillar of Autumn?

"I think I'm in love..."

- SPARTAN-034 on the MJOLNIR armor

Petty Officer Second Class Samuel-034 was a SPARTAN-II of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Group.

He was by far the closest thing to a best friend to MCPO John-117. He was shot with a large plasma burn on his side by a Jackal armed with a Plasma Pistol on one of his missions when he teamed up with then Squad Leader John-117 and Kelly-087. This ruptured his vacuum suit and made it impossible for him to escape the detonating Covenant starship. His death took place on November 27, 2525, when he was only 14 years old, as told in HALO: Fall of Reach. The loss of his friendship to John was never fully replaced. He was also close to PO2 Kelly-087.

Personality and Description
Samuel was considered to be the strongest of the first class of SPARTAN-II's. According to John-117, had the best eyes and ears of all of his subordinates. He is also said to be one head taller than John-117 making him the biggest Spartan, and was the fastest to recover from the augmentation.

He had a tan complexion with sandy blond hair and green eyes. Sam did not display the same great leadership qualities as John or Frederic did, but he did act as John's second in command throughout the duration of his Naval career.

At times Sam also displayed some ruthlessness, such as detonating a C-12 Shaped Charge on a Rebel base, despite the obvious civilian casualties that would be involved.

Conscription into the SPARTANs
Sam was abducted by the UNSC in 2517, at age six. He was replaced with a Flash Clone, and sent to Reach to train with the other Spartans under the watchful eyes of Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez and Deja.

SPARTAN Training
On the first day of training, at Military Reservation 01478-B, Mendez divided the trainees into small teams of three. Sam, John and Kelly were assigned together into one of those teams.

During an exercise, John finished first in the competition, while Kelly and Sam came in far later places. Mendez informed the team that they had lost, simply because, in his words, "Your team loses, you lose. You don't win until your team wins." Finishing in last place, they were not allowed to eat dinner that night.

It was, however, a lesson in teamwork for them, and the three SPARTANS never made the same mistake again. The day after, Sam threatened to push John off one of the pillars but when they won they saw each other in a different way and the three became best friends.

Training mission and Augmentations
Sam later trained with his fellow Spartans at the Military Wilderness Training Preserve, helping John, Kelly, Fhajad-084 and Linda-058 overcome a squad of UNSC Marine Infantryman and commandeer their D77TC Pelican Dropship. John was subsequently promoted to squad leader after the mission.

After his Spartan Augmentations at the ONI Medical Facility station, Sam was the fastest to recover, and was in exceptional health. He later attended a military funeral on the for those Spartans who died during the augmentation process. The Spartans later then returned down to Reach for the final training of the Spartans in the Highland Mountains.

Infiltration of the Eridanus Rebels
Sam was picked in 2525 to go on the Spartans' first mission, to Eridanus II. He and the team boarded the Laden, infiltrated Eridanus Secundus, and captured Colonel Robert Watts. He blew off the hangar doors allowing his team to escape but killed whatever Rebels were in the hangar.

The Human-Covenant War
Sam later attended the UNSC briefing by Admiral Michael Stanforth and Beowulf about the emerging Covenant threat.

The Spartans were later sent down aboard the and went to the Damascus Testing Facility on Chi Ceti IV to be equipped with MJOLNIR armor.

Later on the Commonwealth, a Covenant Frigate appeared in the system and engaged in a fight with the ship, damaging it. As the Covenant prepared to finish off the Human ship, the Spartans, aboard a D77-TC Pelican Dropship, launched themselves into space and managed to land on the surface of the ship. Sam, Kelly, and John were the only three Spartans who made it onto the ship, and they entered it through a hole caused by a MAC round.

Missing in Action
As they entered and explored the frigate, Sam was struck repeatedly in the side by bolts from a Plasma Rifle wielded by a Kig-yar soldier. The bolts burned a sizable hole in Sam's unshielded armor. The Spartans managed to make it to the engine room of the ship and planted several ANVIL-II ASM missiles on the fusion generator.

Their only means of escape was an EVA, but this was impossible for Sam since his armor was compromised. Rather than die in the vacuum of space, Sam volunteered to hold off the Covenant forces and allow the missiles to explode, destroying the entire ship. John later marked Sam as MIA because "Spartans never die"; it is believed that the morale of the public and servicemen alike would fall dramatically if they found out the legendary super-soldiers actually could be killed.

Legacy
Sam was the first SPARTAN-II to be killed in Combat during the Human-Covenant War. Despite that fact and his short life of fourteen years, Sam is regarded as one of the most important Spartans. Sam was even referenced by Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose just before his death in November 2552 during the Battle of Onyx. This is to show that Sam has a close relationship with all the Spartans, not just the members of Blue Team.

It seems that his position as John's second in command was subsequently taken by Frederic-104 and Kurt-051 in authorizing the Spartans and commanding them in-battle.

Trivia

 * There was a number conflict between Sam-034 and Fhajad-084 but it has been widely accepted that Sam was, in fact, Spartan-034 because he was given that number first.''
 * Sam was the first person that John and Kelly met in their training.
 * Sam was the first Spartan labeled MIA when his armor got breached when attempting to destroy the first Covenant Cruiser. Sam was killed before they had the novel shielding equipment.
 * Supposedly, Sam was the largest Spartan-II, at a head taller than Master Chief Petty Officer John 117, putting him between 7 and 8 feet tall while wearing MJOLNIR armor.
 * Samuel's Spartan Tag is a 7 Reference: 0+3+4=7
 * Sam was the only Spartan John 117 ever cried over, when his death came.