Zhao Heng Lopez

Sergeant Zhao Heng Lopez (service number 11283-99001-ZL ), commonly known among her Marines as "Mama" Lopez, was a UNSC Marine stationed aboard the in October 2552, and a long-time veteran of the Human-Covenant War.

The Mona Lisa
After the crew of the prowler Red Horse discovered an escape pod and a lone survivor in Installation 04's debris field, Lopez was ordered by Red Horse shipboard AI Rebecca and Commander Tobias Foucault to conduct reconnaissance on the prisoner ship, Mona Lisa. Lopez then led her squad as they boarded the ship, where they were soon ambushed by several Sangheili lacking armor or weapons, and quickly took them out. After finding one of her Marines dead, Lopez received new orders to initiate the Cole Protocol by purging the ship's two navigational databases. Lopez and her men split into two teams, with Lopez's team going after the ship's primary NAV database at the ship's bridge.

While scouting the medical bay, Lopez found an ONI Major named John Smith locked inside a safe room. As they interrogated Smith about the experiments with the prisoners and the Flood, Smith broke free and killed Mahmoud with a concealed knife, leaving her with three fellow Marines; MacCraw, Percy and Singh. By the time they reached the bridge of the Mona Lisa, only she and MacCraw remained. There, they learned that not only had Smith stolen their only Pelican, but a Shiva-class nuclear missile was being prepared for launch against the Mona Lisa to ensure none of the Flood escaped. Commander Foucault then told Lopez that two escape pods were left on the lower deck, omitting the fact that the pods were designed for single occupants.

As Lopez and MacCraw defended the pods, Corpsman Ngoc Benti arrived with Clarence, a prisoner named Patrick Rimmer, and his Sangheili companion, "Henry". Clarence, under strict orders from ONI to not let anything but the Marines leave the ship, executed Rimmer. Angered, Henry moved to shoot Clarence but the latter already had him in his sights while Lopez wavered between aiming at the two of them. Meanwhile, MacCraw had taken one of the last two pods leaving only one. Benti, who had been heavily wounded on the way and was showing signs of infection, sacrificed her life by pushing both herself and Clarence into the oncoming Flood horde. As the timer for the Shiva launch reached thirty seconds, Lopez and Henry fled into the airlock only to find that the pod couldn't fit them both. As she stared at the pod, she reflected that "Henry", despite being an enemy, had carried an injured Benti to safety and was better than many of the humans who had also been on this ship. That still did not mean she would give up her only chance of survival. Realizing she had no ammunition left in her assault rifle, Lopez proceeded to use the weapon as a club. With only thirty seconds to spare, she and Henry prepared to fight for the last escape pod.

Death
Lopez was listed as KIA in UNSC records as of October 25, 2552, likely being killed aboard the Mona Lisa or by the Shiva nuke fired from the Red Horse.

Personality and traits
Lopez cared deeply for her Marines, referring to the members of her squad as her "kids". She felt responsible for every one of them and had little tolerance for lies or being kept in the dark, particularly when this endangered her Marines, as demonstrated by her hostility toward Major Smith.

Lopez was apparently Roman Catholic, as she commonly referred to her subordinates as her "rosary beads". She also constantly remembered the smell of the pews at her mother's church.

Trivia

 * Her name suggests that she was of Chinese and Hispanic ancestry.
 * Lopez had close relatives on Reach who were presumably killed when the planet fell.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * The Mona Lisa