Paul DeMarco

"DeMarco"

- Sarah Palmer

Paul DeMarco (service number 76283-34092-PD) was a SPARTAN-IV supersoldier stationed aboard the. He served as the leader of Fireteam Majestic prior to and during the Requiem Campaign in February 2558. He led Fireteam Bailey during the Battle of Ealen IV the following month, with Spartan Thorne receiving command of Majestic.

Early life
DeMarco was born on August 24, 2532 on Algolis. He enlisted in the UNSC Marine Corps and eventually joined the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Several years later he was recruited into the SPARTAN-IV program where he was deployed in numerous locations before being assigned to Fireteam Majestic as fireteam leader. Sometime after the attack on New Phoenix in 2557, DeMarco and his team were deployed to the city of Rio de Janeiro to eliminate or detain former members of the Covenant seeking asylum on Earth.

Requiem Campaign
Later he and the rest of Fireteam Majestic, including the team's newest member, Gabriel Thorne, were reassigned to the. Immediately after arriving on the ship on February 6, 2558, he flirted with Sarah Palmer (boasting about his leadership of Majestic) before Palmer revealed that she was the commander of the ship's Spartan contingent.

Shortly after being deployed to Requiem, Fireteams Crimson and Majestic were sent north of the UNSC's area of operations on the Forerunner shield world Requiem in order to shut down local power generators. When Commander Palmer turned the objective into a competition, DeMarco asked about the reward; Palmer responded sarcastically, saying he would gain "the respect of his peers". Upon insertion, both Crimson and Majestic had their long-range communications jammed by Forerunner jamming devices. After deactivating their respective devices, their mission continued. Majestic temporarily took the lead, but were eventually beaten by Crimson. DeMarco began to complain that Crimson's tower could not have encountered the same degree of resistance as Majestic; Palmer responded shortly, informing DeMarco that Crimson had faced tougher defenses.

Sometime later, Fireteam Majestic was engaged by multiple Promethean Crawlers. Madsen started to complain about their ability to "pop up" anywhere, when a Promethean Knight teleported into the area. Madsen was shot in the shoulder, knocking him back. Hoya broke cover and brazenly engaged the Knights in close quarters, prompting DeMarco to yell for him to get back into cover. Hoya was injured and brought back aboard Infinity.

Later, DeMarco and Madsen were assigned to guard Dr. Catherine Halsey while she was brought aboard Infinity to inspect a Forerunner artifact Crimson had recently secured from "the Cauldron". On the way to the engine room, DeMarco questioned why they needed to guard an "old lady". Madsen informed him of Halsey's role in the SPARTAN-II program (calling her a "mad scientist") and the abduction of children for military training. After the artifact reacted as Halsey interacted with the engine room's controls, DeMarco, Palmer, and Madsen brandished their weapons against Halsey, but soon lowered them as she was a not a threat.

Sometime during the operation in recovering the "Didact's Gift" from Galileo Base, DeMarco and his team became pinned down by Covenant air support while en route to a Pelican transport. DeMarco attempted to have the team make a run for the Pelican, but was told by Madsen that the risky maneuver might kill them all. As DeMarco tried to think of another plan, Thorne quickly hijacked a low-flying Banshee, much to DeMarco's dismay. However, Thorne was able to destroy a nearby Phantom dropship and secure the area, allowing the Fireteam to return to Infinity.

When Thorne later went missing, DeMarco and the rest of Majestic set out to find him. DeMarco eventually saved Thorne in the nick of time, shooting Gek 'Lhar right before the Elite was able to execute the Spartan. While DeMarco was searching Gek he found several UNSC dog tags, some of which belonged to Spartans. As thanks for saving him, Thorne gave DeMarco Gek's energy sword.

A short while later, Majestic was attacked by Covenant forces and DeMarco radioed for reinforcements. While Crimson destroyed the Covenant artillery firing on Majestic, DeMarco radioed in to check on their progress. When the Pelican arrived for their evacuation, Majestic was contacted by Captain Thomas Lasky, who asked them to rescue Dr. Halsey from Jul 'Mdama, as she had been abducted during the attack on Infinity. When they arrived at Halsey's location DeMarco waited for Thorne to give the signal to attack. When he did DeMarco swiftly attacked with his newly acquired energy sword, cutting down any Elites in the way, while Hoya, Grant, and Madsen attacked from above. DeMarco and the rest of Majestic showed up to help Thorne just as Promethean Knights translocated into the area and engaged them. 'Mdama managed to escape with Halsey just as Thorne and Palmer closed in on him. Palmer questioned why Majestic was there and DeMarco responded that Captain Lasky had wanted them to rescue Halsey.

Sometime later Majestic and Palmer were ordered to deactivate one of the two slipspace artifacts still on Requiem, while Crimson deactivated the other. Before they left they witnessed the departure of the Covenant fleet that had been occupying Requiem. When the shield world began to move toward the local star Palmer hurried them toward the artifact. DeMarco and the others faced significant Covenant resistance in deactivating their device. When mission handler Jared Miller reported to Palmer about Crimson's progress, she could be heard yelling at DeMarco to check his six. Shortly after Crimson deactivated their artifact, Majestic eliminated the last of the Elites defending the third artifact and DeMarco deactivated it. They evacuated and arrived aboard Infinity simultaneously with Crimson, allowing Infinity to escape the system just in time as Requiem fell into the star which then went supernova.

Battle of Ealen IV
By March 8, Palmer had given DeMarco command of Fireteam Bailey so Gabriel Thorne could lead Fireteam Majestic. Fireteams Bailey and Jackknife were assigned to escort and provide security for Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam on a diplomatic mission to Ealen IV. While Commander Palmer and Fireteam Jackknife accompanied the delegates, DeMarco and the rest of Bailey stayed back to act as overwatch. As Hood and 'Vadam were negotiating with the Jiralhanae Chieftain Lydus, Covenant mercenaries broke into the chamber and attacked the delegates. Despite facing heavy resistance from Covenant forces, Fireteam Bailey cleared a path for the delegates and escorted them to a nearby parts depot. Once everyone was inside, DeMarco sealed the depot to halt the oncoming Covenant forces. As the party attempted to escape the storage depot, DeMarco and the rest of Bailey were ordered to secure the area and escort the delegation to an old redoubt. Soon after their escape, they were intercepted by a Covenant Lich. After a brief skirmish with the Covenant leading to the destruction of the Lich, DeMarco and Bailey stayed with the delegation as Fireteam Jackknife and the delegation's bodyguards left to ensure that the redoubt was safe to use as shelter.

At the battle's climax, DeMarco and Fireteam Bailey were forced to stay behind in order to secure the lives of Lord Hood, the Arbiter, and Chieftain Lydus. While the ambassadors escaped aboard a Covenant cargo tug, DeMarco and the other members of his fireteam manned anti-air cannons to cover their retreat; a Type-26A Banshee subsequently obliterated the emplacement manned by DeMarco with its fuel rod cannon, killing him. DeMarco's sacrifice and that of the other Spartans killed on Ealen IV were commemorated at a memorial service aboard Infinity.

Personality and traits
Analysts concluded that DeMarco's tactical skill and talent were invaluable despite his coarse and often irreverent behavior. He enjoyed a particularly close camaraderie with Madsen, his second-in-command in Fireteam Majestic. Both DeMarco and Madsen preferred to see themselves as ladies' men; for example, they openly boasted about their conquests in Rio de Janeiro after Majestic's mission there and upon arrival aboard Infinity, DeMarco immediately attempted to flirt with Commander Palmer. Despite his irregular behavior, DeMarco's tactical skill was deemed exceptional, leading to his recruitment into the SPARTAN-IV program. He also showed a more amicable side prior to his death. In a brief conversation with Commander Palmer, DeMarco told her that Madsen had loaned him an antique adventure book and had insisted that DeMarco read it. While he had never got around to reading the book, DeMarco asked Commander Palmer to return the book to Madsen and tell him something that seemed like he had read it.

Equipment
DeMarco wore the Soldier variant of the MJOLNIR GEN2 armor as a result of extensive field experience; like the rest of Majestic's armor his suit was painted blue and his helmet featured VISR 4.09. He continued to wear Fireteam Majestic's emblem after his reassignment to Fireteam Bailey. He wielded a BR85HB battle rifle. He also used Type-1 energy sword near the end of the Requiem Campaign; Thorne gave the weapon to DeMarco as a gift out of gratitude after he killed Gek 'Lhar.

Production note
Paul DeMarco was voiced by Travis Willingham, who also voiced Jul 'Mdama. Willingham later portrayed Frederic-104 in the terminals of Halo 2: Anniversary and in Halo 5: Guardians.

List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Initiation
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo Mythos
 * Halo: Tales from Slipspace
 * Fireteam Majestic Poker Night
 * Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual