Evan Phillips

Professor Evan W. Phillips is a human cultural xenoanthropologist distinguished as being a highly fluent speaker of the Sangheili language.

Biography
Phillips served as a xenoanthropology professor at Wheatley University in Sydney, Australia. He was then asked by Captain Serin Osman to get her an audience with a high-ranking Sangheili who could be a threat to the rule of Thel 'Vadam. On New Llanelli he got an audience with Avu Med 'Telcam of the Servants of Abiding Truth prompting Osman to trust him. He was recruited by the Office of Naval Intelligence to serve as a Sangheili expert in the clandestine unconventional warfare unit Kilo-Five, which was tasked with sowing dissent among the Sangheili in the aftermath of the Human-Covenant War.

In February 2553, Phillips along with Captain Serin Osman, Corporal Vaz Beloi and Admiral Lord Terrence Hood, were the first humans to visit Sanghelios. There, 'Vadam and Lord Hood discussed continued peace and the fragile state of both their species. 'Vadam took great interest in Phillips and invited him to return and study Sangheili history and culture on their homeworld.

Lost on Sanghelios
In March 2553, Phillips arrived on Sanghelios. He was greeted by the Arbiter in Vadam and requested a tour of their most ancient cities to which Thel approved. During his stay at Ontom, Phillips was shown to be adept at figuring out the Sangheili toy and puzzle, the arum, a skill which earned him respect and attention from many Sangheili. As he was solving arums for a crowd of Sangheili, he received a written warning from 'Telcam. Phillips then distracted his assigned bodyguard Cadan 'Ilmir with a half-finished arum and went to meet with 'Telcam. As 'Telcam and Phillips approached the entrance of the Temple of the Abiding Truth, they were caught in the midst of a bombing orchestrated by Jiralhanae dissidents. In the wake of the uprising, 'Telcam planned to launch his attack on the state of Vadam. Phillips was taken into the custody of the Servants of Abiding Truth, who permitted him to explore the interior of the stone Forerunner structure.

As Phillips explored the temple, he noted that the micro-camera unit on his shirt, which contained a fragment of the AI Black-Box, had been peppered with shrapnel. The placement of the unit had saved Phillips' life, but the AI fragment inside had taken damage and activated an emergency purge function, wiping important data and higher personality functions from the AI's memory. While the BB fragment was far less useful in this state, Phillips nonetheless was able to use it to aid in translating certain symbols inside the structure. Phillips and the BB fragment eventually found their way to a room with a translocation portal. Solving an arum-like activation system, Phillips was translocated to the portal's receiving end in Acroli.

After being teleported 80 kilometers from Ontom to some Forerunner ruins, Phillips was found by grunt field laborers Dengo, Gikak, and Sensen. After a brief conversation, they agreed to take Phillips to their lords at Nes'alun Keep. On the way to the keep they were attacked by Banshees, one of which killed Sensen.

Phillips was eventually recovered by Kilo-Five and returned to the UNSC safely.

Return to the UNSC
After his rescue, Phillips was brought to Trevelyan where he had a conversation with Jul 'Mdama, who was being held prisoner there. Jul asked Phillips for news about his wife Raia. Phillips promised to find out what had happened to her. Shortly after this, Jul escaped.

Personality and traits
It was noted that though Phillips may appear to be naive at first, having an almost child-like academic curiosity especially in regards to the Sangheili. Despite this, he was remarked as being surprisingly competent, even devious, by Captain Serin Osman.

Phillips is a small man, mentioned as being slightly fitter than the average civilian. He has reddish-brown "scrubby" hair and a beard. He is roughly in his thirties as of 2553.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: The Thursday War