Marmon Crowther

Colonel Marmon Crowther, callsign Dagger Actual, was the commander of the United Nations Space Command Marine Corps' elite 21st Space Assault Battalion, nicknamed the Black Daggers. He commanded the Black Daggers throughout the UNSC's daring Operation: SILENT STORM early in the Human-Covenant War.

Insurrection
Marmon Crowther rose to the rank of colonel in the UNSC Marine Corps during the Insurrection, becoming an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper and eventually taking command of the 21st Space Assault Battalion, a special operations battalion with advanced zero-gravity combat training. His ODSTs came to be known as the "Black Daggers" and were greatly respected by other UNSC personnel. At some point prior to March 2526, the Black Daggers raided a United Rebel Front-controlled supply depot at Bomogin, capturing it before the rebels even knew they were there.

Operation: SILENT STORM
When Vice Admirals Preston Cole and Michael Stanforth, along with Dr. Catherine Halsey, formulated Operation: SILENT STORM—their plan to slow the Covenant's advance through the Outer Colonies, they chose Crowther's Black Daggers to assist in this mission. Along with the SPARTAN-IIs, these ODSTs would board Covenant vessels and destroy them from the inside using nuclear weapons, a strategy that had already been successfully executed on two separate occasions by the Spartans. On March 8, 2526, Crowther was summoned by Preston Cole aboard the, along with John-117, Captain Halima Ascot, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson, and Dr. Halsey, to discuss the plan. It was theorized that the Covenant's next target would be Biko due to its proximity to Etalan, which was already being glassed by one of their fleets. An ice quarry on Biko's moon of Seoba was chosen to be their staging ground as they waited for the Covenant to arrive.

With the briefing over, Task Force Yama left for the Kolaqoa system. As the Vanishing Point travelled through slipspace, the Spartans trained with the Black Daggers in the vessel's mission preparation hold. The Spartans made short work of the marines in every exercise until Staff Sergeant Johnson taught they some new, unorthodox strategies that were much more effective. After four days of this training, Colonel Crowther had them all gather in the drop hangar to discuss the specifics of the plan. Despite their performance, Crowther was skeptical about deploying the Spartans to the front lines due to their inexperience on the battlefield as well as their apparent young age, much to John-117's frustration.

Battle of Seoba
During the surprise attack on the ODST deployment onto Biko's moon Seoba, the commanding officer of the 21st's Alpha Company was killed, resulting in Crowther promoting Lieutenant Hamm to the rank of captain and CO of Alpha Company. Hamm would constantly butt heads with the leader of the SPARTAN-IIs, John-117.

Change of heart
Having realized that Lieutenant Commander Hector Nyeto was likely an Insurrectionist, Crowther began quietly working with the Spartans on missions against the Covenant while publicly continuing to butt heads with them, claiming at one point that he was going to send them back to Reach while having Sergeant Avery Johnson pass them secret orders. Crowther was later responsible for John's promotion to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer.

Betrayal and Death
During the attack on the Covenant supply world of Zhoist, Crowther gave contradicting orders to Sierra Force, the Prowlers that fell under John's command to disrupt Hector Nyeto's planned betrayal. Crowther then waited on the flight deck of the with Sergeant Avery Johnson for backup to make his move and relieve Nyeto of command when Nyeto attempted to betray them to the Covenant. When Nyeto began his betrayal, Crowther revealed that Nyeto's Insurrectionist loyalties were already known and attempted to relieve him of command and place Nyeto under arrest for treason. However, the entire Prowler's crew turned out to be Insurrectionists and turned on Crowther and Johnson. When Johnson handed Crowther a hidden pistol, the Ghost Song's sensor operator drew an M6E magnum and shot Crowther in the chest and head, killing him instantly. Johnson returned fire, killing the sensor operator and escaping, but Nyeto blew all of the ODSTs into space. Nonetheless, Johnson and Crowther succeeded in foiling Nyeto's plan through a combination of Nyeto's orders and Johnson using his emergency distress beacon to draw the Covenant's attention to Nyeto, forcing him to flee.

Legacy
Crowther would ultimately leave a lasting impact John-117 despite their differences. After the successful operation, John chose not to go AWOL and chase Nyeto as he knew that it was not something that Crowther would've wanted. Instead, John intended to honor his legacy by carrying on with the fight. Crowther's example also taught John the important but subtle difference between a leader and a commander. Additionally, Crowther's decision to promote John to Master Chief would become a promotion that would ultimately define the Spartan's career.

Personality and traits
John-117 initially suspected Crowther of wanting to save his own reputation when he was reluctant to use the Spartan-IIs in operations after he found out they were minors and blamed the Colonel for not giving the Spartans more commanding roles within the battalion. Crowther later changed his mind after the Battle of Seoba and privately recognized that they were magnificent soldiers, but kept up appearances after he realized that there were Insurrectionists on board. After Crowther confided to John-117 that he was weary of Hector Nyeto - whom he suspected of having Insurrectionist sympathies and wanting to kill the Spartan-IIs - however, he became more accepting and respectful of the Spartans in general, and John in particular; the latter especially saw him as a father figure and a role model for commanding. When John attempted to apologize for his previous behavior, Crowther's response was to never apologize for making himself clear and that Crowther himself never did.

Trivia
It was Crowther who promoted John-117 to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer, 4 full ranks, which was something unheard of even in 2526.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Silent Storm
 * Halo: Oblivion
 * Halo: Shadows of Reach