ORION Project: Difference between revisions

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The '''ORION Project''' was the [[UNSC Navy]]'s first effort to create a special forces unit of biochemically-augmented supersoldiers. Under the operational control of [[UNSC Special Forces|Naval Special Warfare Group ONE]], the project was created to combat the growing [[Insurrection]] throughout the [[human]] [[Outer Colonies]]. The project enjoyed limited success, but was ultimately disbanded after several years; however, its legacy lived on in the form of the subsequent [[SPARTAN Program]]s. After the establishment of the [[SPARTAN-II Program]] years later, the ORION Project was retroactively dubbed as '''"SPARTAN-I"'''.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''' ''page 16''</ref><ref name="enyc"/><ref name="journal">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref>

As the war against the [[Insurrectionist]]s continued to escalate, the UNSC stepped up their counter-insurgent activities under [[Operation: TREBUCHET]], created in response to the defector UNSC Marine [[Colonel]] [[Robert Watts]].<ref name="enyc45">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 45''</ref> The ORIONs became a key member in the fight against the rebel attacks across the colonies, taking down insurgents as soon as they cropped up — however, as time went on, the insurgent attacks became more effective, and insurgent personnel more difficult to root out, and over the ensuing decades, became more organized and difficult to combat. Bombings continued despite the best efforts of both regular military personnel and the ORION soldiers — civilians became caught in the crossfire of these conflicts and casualties began to mount exponentially, adding to fuel to the simmering hatred harbored against the UNSC by many colonists. This prompted the UNSC to recruit more soldiers to the ORION Program, which eventually had around three-hundred active personnel. Though the ORION operatives continued to prove their effectiveness, some of the older conscripts began to exhibit flaws, passed off as natural defects or stress from the war. Many ORION candidates exhibited post-traumatic stress disorder or repressed insurgent sympathies; some in the latter category refused to participate in the program post-augmentation and were incarcerated.<ref name="journal"/> Despite all of this, the results of the ORIONs' abilities were falling short of the scientists' hopes. However, due to their combat-effectiveness, the UNSCDF decided to use the ORIONs as models for the [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s.<ref>[[Data pads|Data pad 11]]</ref>

The ORION project was quietly deactivated in [[2506]] and the surviving members reassigned to other special operations units in the field. However, these soldiers often exhibited side effects as a result of their augmentations and many members were discharged from the military as a result of mental instabilities. In order to ensure absolute secrecy, the side effects caused by the genetic augmentations were masked as a disease known as [[Boren's Syndrome]] — many ORION soliders retired and some eventually having children. Due to their augmentations, the children of former ORION operatives must also be given injections to ensure no defects.<ref name="mirac">'''[[Media:Miracles.ogg|Miracles Axon]]'''</ref><ref>'''[[Media:dream_child.ogg|dream_child Axon]]'''</ref>

File:OrionLogo-Johnson.png|Each SPARTAN-I operative's mission record includes a variant Orion insignia, this insignia contains basic information about the mission and person.