Chad-119

Chad-119 is a of the . He is a decorated veteran of some of the most brutal battles in history. Chad is known to specialize in piloting, stealth, and marksmanship. In the words of some of his superiors, Chad is recognized as a "consummate" Spartan. He earned the callsign "Ghost" through the way he is able to eliminate targets while remaining undetected by hostile forces.
== Biography ==
=== Childhood and SPARTAN-II training ===
Chad was born on in to Samuel and Paula Stryker in the capital of the same name. From a young age, Chad was a a big fan of basketball, being placed in a recreational youth league. His physical abilities and perception attracted the attention of Dr. Catherine Halsey, who identified Chad as an ideal candidate for her .
After being kidnapped and conscripted, Chad was one of the candidates who attempted to escape from training. He is considered to have stayed for a fellow abductee, Talia. During group exercises, Chad's team often completed the objective third or fourth. During tactical and combat training, Chad took a great interest in stealth, piloting, and precision. One notable incident from Chad's days of training is spar with a member of a “rival” practice team, Felix-013. had organized as small tournament in which opponents competed in division. Felix and Chad were the finalists of their division. At first, the spar leaned heavily in Felix’s favor. However, as time went on, something in Chad shifted. He became colder and sharper in his movements. At the climax of the duel, he stopped a roundhouse kick cold with his forearm and unleashed a devastating barrage of punches, knocking his opponent cold. This was the first time Chad-119 displayed such behavior. Dr. Halsey and Mendez watched closely thereafter for signs of another shift, but none came.﻿﻿
In , Chad and the other SPARTAN-IIs would undergo the most risky portion of their training: the biological augmentation procedures. Chad survived the process but took a noticeably longer time to recover than some of the other Spartans. Once active, Chad was as effective as the other SPARTAN-IIs.
=== Early Military Career and Insurrection ===
In late 2525, the Spartans were informed of contact with the . In November, the SPARTAN-IIs were delivered to by the . Here, at the , they were introduced to . It would be shortly after this that the SPARTAN-IIs would help destroy the Covenant vessel, , and would sacrifice himself.
Chad and Gold Team, composed of Raymond-097, Charlie-105, Erin-021, Alicia-074, and Talia-118, engaged for the first time on in , where a bomb had been detonated in the previous days. Insurrectionist forces had since become active in with large numbers. Gold Team was deployed to help quell the uprising. The Spartans hit dirt on Lodestone at 0300 on March 26, moving into a scouting position immediately. A snag in their deployment presented itself when it became clear that the Insurrectionists were expecting the Spartans. Facing no way to get off-world until the op was finished, Gold Team went ahead with its objective. While traveling on the outskirts of the city, the Spartans engaged in a few small firefights with rebel scouts, remaining undetected largely due to the cover of night. By the next day, Gold Team had identified the hostile stronghold and prepared for assault.
Chad entered the facility first, taking out the perimeter guards in an obviously sloppy way to create a distraction. Once the rebels were distracted, the rest of Gold Team hit the western wall. By the time the Insurrectionists were aware, most were neutralized and those that remained could barely form a formidable defense. Command informed the Spartans that the rebels were frantically trying to identify and defend against a “ghost in the base." Chad linked up with the rest of Gold Team and routed the rebels. The conflict ended with the capture of Insurrectionist Colonel Ignacio Mendez. The Spartans and their captives were extracted at "Point Cloud" shortly thereafter, linking up with the destroyer, UNSC Thunderdome.
The next major operation for Gold Team was on in the . The frigate UNSC All Of The Above, the destroyer Invictus, and the prowler Edge of Reality had engaged Insurrectionist vessels above the planet. During the action, Gold Team boarded and captured a small Insurrectionist cruiser. The Spartans used M-050978 to land in the hangar, which was attempting to launch short-range bombers. After fighting their way to the bridge, Gold Team inserted a fragment of the , Harmonia, into the ship's systems, where she took control. By this time, Edge of Reality had laid and when the outnumbered UNSC feigned a retreat, the eager Insurrectionists raced into their defeat.
Chad and the rest of the team proceeded to deploy planetside in separate locations, as was the plan. They spread the scrambling hostiles thin, picking off different squads with impunity. The Spartans made their way into the planet's largest city where a full-scale battle between the Insurrectionists and UNSC had broken out. Gold Team pushed their way through the rebel center and forced the rebels to fall back on themselves, giving the UNSC an opening to evacuate civilians. Once the battle concluded, the Spartans returned to All Of The Above and left for Reach. Gold Team would continue to battle Insurrectionists for the next few months until it became clear that all Spartans would be needed to fight the Covenant.
For their efforts during the Insurrection, they were awarded both the Bronze Star and the Colonial Cross, each at different times.
=== Human-Covenant War ===
Gold Team was present for the of in where they got their first taste of combat against the Covenant. When the Covenant ground troops landed near , Gold Team deployed alongside several companies. Fighting side by side with local militias, they held a perimeter for several hours before they were overwhelmed. After being informed of the devastating loss in orbit, all UNSC forces withdrew. Gold Team watched Madrigal being glassed just before being whisked away by the frigate, UNSC Typhoon. This was the first time Chad realized that as a Spartan, even he could not save everyone.
Next, Gold Team was assigned to the outer colony of . Gold Team was instrumental in the evacuation of civilians. Facing a large contingent of Covenant armor, they organized a diversion while personally leading the civilians safely to "Point Hope." They returned to deal with the Covenant tanks. Just as the Spartans were preparing to assist who had captured the small Covenant base, they were again informed of Covenant reinforcements and UNSC retreat. Each Spartan was awarded the for their resolve and bravery.
==== Battle of Eridanus II ====
By , Gold Team was aboard the UNSC All Of The Above once again as it kept station over . The entire system was on high alert due to the recent losses in other such as in 2526 and in . When the Covenant jumped in-system, Ghost commandeered a Longsword fighter against the Covenant air support consisting of Seraphs, Spirits, and Phantoms. He was able to pull off near-supernatural maneuvers due to his augmentations and simulator training, garnering 30 confirmed Seraph kills, and a combined 12 Spirit and Phantom kills. Ghost even led a strike on a Covenant Destroyer who's shields had been taken down by a series of light rounds. The constant peppering of the pilots gave the UNSC cruiser Redoubtable time to charge it's MAC and dispose of the enemy vessel. Shortly after, he rendezvoused with Gold aboard All Of The Above before it jumped out-system.
For his exemplary piloting during the battle, he was awarded the Gold Star.
==== Battle of Arcadia ====
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Gold Team was deployed to in after the then-, discovered the colony's location, arriving with a Covenant force. While SPARTAN-II assisted in , Gold Team was mobilized to the city of Daylam to aid in the evacuation. While defending a spaceport, Chad noticed a four year-old girl and her family cornered by a group of and about a hundred meters from his position. He leapt into action, covering the distance in seconds and dispatching the first Sangheili with a combination of bullets and fists. He did everything he could to save the family, going so far as to take a direct . Alas, his efforts were partially in vain, as the father was impaled by one of the and the mother was gunned down by plasma fire. In order to save the girl, SPARTAN-119 allowed himself to be grazed by the remaining Sangheili's . He then reached out and stabbed the Elite in the neck. After injecting himself with biofoam, he carried the girl to an evacuation transport which Gold Team boarded once it was realized that the UNSC had stopped the attack. The girl, Rachel Addison, would later become a Marine and then an before joining the and participating in the . Chad's wound was treated and he was back in action in the next few weeks.
For Chad's selfless heroism during the battle and his injury, he was awarded both the and the . He was also promoted to .
==== Battle of Jericho VII ====
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UNSC forces engaged the Covenant both on the ground and in space against overwhelming odds. Chad was once again separated from Gold Team when it was requested he lead the 4th Fighter Wing, the "Fallen Angels" in an air cover op which would support a counter-offensive from the three Marine divisions on the planet. The Covenant were caught by surprise by the massive UNSC aerial presence covering the ground troops and could not scramble fighters quickly enough to stop a full rout of UNSC forces. Eventually, Covenant forces regrouped with a massive air presence of . The Fallen Angels requested backup before engaging the numerically superior Covenant fighters. At least a quarter of the Fallen Angels were wiped out in the ensuing battle but reinforcements arrived. The UNSC were able to regroup and counterattack. They soon led a bombing run on a Covenant encampment a few klicks from their position, destroying it utterly. This was the close of the first day and Chad rendezvoused with Gold on the surface of . 
The next day, their task was to halt a Covenant flanking attempt through a narrow canyon. Chad and Erin, the team's scout, surveyed the territory beforehand, eliminating a few Covenant patrols in the process. Once they had determined the position of the Covenant column and their ETA, they began to set their traps. Charlie, their heavy weapons specialist, laid out while Alicia, their sniper got in position in an adjacent ridge. Raymond, the team's leader, and Talia, the team's medic and close-quarters combat specialist, hid in a narrow niche behind where the Covenant would enter their trap, effectively cutting them off and providing a crossfire. It was Chad's job to lead the Covenant further. He alerted his the Covenant to his position by firing at an incoming , killing it. He then quickly disappeared from sight. The Covenant pursued with , which escorted the front line of Grunts in the column. Once the front line came in range, Charlie fired two rockets at the Ghosts and Grunts. A chain explosion resulted as hostile plasma grenades were set off. Alicia was able to pick off almost the entire second line of and a few Elites before the in charge rallied his men. He ordered the forward, right into the Lotus Mines, which made short work of them. The rest of the team opened fire on the confused and now scattered Covenant forces, killing every single one of them. Chad executed the Sangheili General with his own energy sword, keeping the weapon until the .
On the third day, Gold Team and the remaining Marine divisions advanced on the final Covenant position, intent on wiping the ground presence out completely, but were forced to pull out when they received news of Covenant reinforcements arriving in orbit. They evacuated to the UNSC Resolute via and watched as the Covenant glassed the planet.
==== Battle of Kholo ====
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Gold Team was deployed as a quick-reaction force to in order to evacuate civilians. There was no hope of a counter-offensive as the Covenant struck too quickly and with too much force. Chad and Gold Team evacuated as many civilians as possible before being pulled out only to watch many of the civilians they had helped be abandoned by the UNSC along with hundreds of Marines. He believed that the UNSC had condemned them to death by doing this, unaware that many of them would make it to fallout bunkers created specifically for this purpose. Ghost did not know of the survivors in the fallout bunkers until after the war was over.
==== Battle of Actium ====
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Another highly lopsided battle that Gold Team fought in was the . Covenant forces overwhelmed UNSC defenses within the first few hours of battle, pushing the Marines and back before establishing a ground presence in the form of three bases. Chad and Gold Team defended civilians while they were being evacuated and were present for Colonel Monteith's address. They traveled deep into enemy territory to take out the first and second bases but were extracted via before they could get to the third base, as knew that the planet would be glassed as soon as the UNSC forces succeeded in destroying the final staging ground. The Spartans were pulled out and sent to .
==== Battle of Fumirole ====
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Chad and Gold Team were assigned to hold the left flank against a large contingent of Elites, Hunters, and Jackals. The Army commandos with them were spread out along a two mile wide stretch of the city. They watched as the Spartans of devised a plan in order to take out the hostile positioned over the city, but their attention was soon turned to a resurgence of Covenant forces which had previously been content to take potshots at the UNSC. The Spartans abandoned their cover in favor of fighting in the open, knowing that the Covenant would focus on them. Gold Team and much of Noble Team engaged with the Army in order to allow a pair of to transport a bomb to the overhead Covenant vessel. All involved were commended for their efforts.
==== Fall of Reach ====
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On July 17, , Gold Team arrived on Reach and received their new armor. By request, Chad's was matte black. 
On August 12, Gold Team assisted UNSC Army forces in the . They assaulted a Covenant staging area, spearheading the push through to a shield generator. Chad and Talia executed a flanking maneuver, catching the Kig-Yar and tasked to hold the left off guard. In the process the duo discovered a weapons cache which was reported to ONI and subsequently seized. They then aided in the destruction of the staging area, being airlifted to a small Covenant forward command post via Pelican.
On August 23rd, after 10 days of being ferried around to different combat situations, Ghost and Gold Team witness the arrival of the 314 ship fleet which would eventually overrun Reach. As they begin to land in New Alexandria, Gold is deployed as a counter-attack force. They are ordered to wreak as much havoc as possible with little regard for infrastructure, but make sure no civilians are around. 
On August 30th at 0330 Hours, Gold Team hit the ground in the city of . The were tasked with the evacuation of civilians and fighting their way to the city center. During the fighting, Raymond suggested that they split up to cover more ground. Chad stayed on his original course, fighting his way through droves of Covenant forces. As a Pelican full of civilians was shot down near his position, he diverted his course to defend the survivors and lead them to safety. Chad had to slow down considerably to protect the civilians and nearly lost several if it were not for the timely arrival of Manassas Police personnel. With the aid, Chad got the civilians to the and then went back further into the city to establish a defensive line around the port with the rest of the UNSC forces. Even with the full support of the 33rd Armored Division, Charlie Company, and the 501st Airborne, they are forced to evacuate with the Marines. 
Gold continued to run interference until they are ordered to evacuate themselves, having to run a gauntlet of Covenant forces to get to the LZ. When they arrived, they were ambushed by Covenant forces and Raymond, Erin and Charlie were killed before they could get to cover. Alica, Talia, and Chad managed to hold off Covenant forces until the Pelican arrived, but Alica was shot in the head with a Needle Rifle from behind. Ghost and Talia were ambushed by two Hunters but managed to dispatch them and make it to the Pelican, which took them to the UNSC Boomstick and out of the system. Talia shed tears while mourning the loss of their teammates while Ghost reflected on how this just may be the end of the UNSC. 
==== Battle of Earth ====
The Spartans didn’t go back to Earth immediately, running missions as a two-man team to disrupt Covenant operations wherever they could. When they finally arrived back at Earth, the duo was given 1 week of R&R before being briefed on the current state of the UNSC. They remained on Earth as the UNSC pulled back, consolidating their final defenses. On October 15th, Talia and Ghost received their MARK VI armor. Ghost's was matte black again, by request. It was at this point where Chad and Talia were sent to the FENRIS Initiative, ONI Section III's secret solo-operation Spartan group. When the Covenant arrived in-system on October 20th, Ghost was deployed in his capacity as a fighter pilot to lead Thunderfist Wing in defense of the Orbital Gun Platforms. Thunderfist's original strength of 50 pilots had been cut to 31 by the time they were pulled back and ordered to give air support to the city of New Mombasa after the Prophet of Regret initiated a Slipspace jump directly above the city. After eliminating Covenant air support, 119 was deployed to New Mombasa on the ground to help stem the tide of the Jiralhanae-led occupation force with Marines and ODST's. He also participated in battles in other parts of the world, including Asia, Europe, and North America, stopping several Covenant excavations and landing forces. 
On November 3rd, Chad and Talia teamed up once more to stop a Covenant attack on Cape Town, South Africa. They entered the city with a platoon of Army Commandos and a team of ONI operators. They were set to rendezvous with a platoon of ODST's that had secured a command post that would serve as the center of UNSC operations in the city. Of course, things went south and the two were separated during the fighting but they managed to find each other and eliminate the Covenant presence in the city before quickly being airlifted to Tsavo for a rendezvous with the remaining UNSC offensive forces. They participated in the Battle of Tsavo before being asked to intercept a Covenant strike force heading for Sydney. The operation was successful and after the resulting victory at the Ark, 119 and 118 re-entered into service with the FENRIS Initiative, going on destabilization missions across Storm Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios space.
=== Post-War Era ===
==== Trost ====
When the Storm Covenant attacked Trost however, he was pulled back and assigned to Alpha Base. Upon arrival, he met Marc Bedregare, a Spartan-IV, and assisted him in killing a Brute Chieftain which had crept in through the tunnels and attacked the super-soldier whilst he was driving his 'Hog. After a few solo missions, and meeting Alpha Base's commander, John-A222, he joined a mixed-force coalition attempting to destroy a Storm Covenant staging ground. He and a group of Spartan II's and III's led the attack and after a protracted battle, succeeded in killing the Remnant leaders and destroying the base, while also capturing several crates of ordinance.
After another series of missions, he met Agent Mars and joined his team, Fireteam Oblivion, a mixed-Spartan team. After discovering the presence of a Mantle with Master Chief, 119, who was going by his callsign of Ghost, and Mars led an attack on Jul 'Mdama's Remnant fleet with Black Squadron's Broadswords. Ghost and Mars proved to work well together as wingmen and succeeded in driving back the invading air support with minimal casualties. Before the UNSC could be given a reprieve however, a separate invasion force dropped out of Slipspace and sent down Spirits and Phantoms. Ghost and Mars returned to the surface in a Pelican with Shipmaster Rtas Vadum'ee, being separated on the way down when their Pelican was struck by AA fire. Ghost, who was piloting the Pelican, landed in the thick of the battle, aided UNSC defense in consolidating a defensive position and contacted Mars and the Shipmaster with an update on the situation. The three fought their way to the front of the battle lines and pushed onwards, leading UNSC forces to the location of a mysterious Forerunner Installation. When inside, they discovered that the Prophet of Sin and 'Mdama had already accessed the Installation and the Mantle's Location. Above them inside the moon of Cios. It was also discovered that the moon housed a Composer.
After fighting through a Covenant ambush at the Installation, Ghost and Mars attacked Cios with Black Squadron again, aiming to stop the Composer from being taken. However, they couldn't break through in time and the Composer emerged from the moon, moving to jump away from the system. Ghost made a last-ditch dive on the Composer, but it was too late. Crashing his vessel on the gargantuan machine, he stowed away onboard and remained hidden, gathering vital intel for the UNSC in the process. He escaped when Mdama's fleet returned to Trost and set up a massive dome shield around Serath. Ghost deployed to the ground and single-handedly destroyed a Covenant Shield Generator. Upon the destruction of the generator and the revelation of another Ark, he fought his way back to the Remnants Fall and helped Chief, Bedregare and A222 follow the Composer through a slipspace portal created by the machine. When the Composer emerged at Earth, they decided the fastest way to stop the Composer was to board it. Ghost led another Broadsword strike, blasting his way into the Composer and drawing off enemy troops while planting a nuke at the same time. Upon the destruction of the Composer, the capture of 'Mdama and a subsequent meeting with Serin Osman in which he was promoted to Lieutenant, he returned to Trost.
After a few months of relative peace he and the other members of Fireteam Oblivion, with Rtas and his Zealots as backup were sent to investigate the silencing of a UNSC outpost near a Sangheili village. They discovered the outpost destroyed completely and two survivors from the Sangheili village: a boy and a girl. The youngsters led Ghost to the village, where they were ambushed by Flood. Protecting the Sangheili youth, he and the others retreated to their aircraft, but Rtas was shot by a Combat Form as they pulled back. He survived but was in critical condition until they reached Alpha Base. As the conflict jumped off all around Trost, he received new orders. He was then put into cryosleep and sent to Bellerophon to be stationed at Fort Drakus.
==== Bellerophon and Beta Cassius ====
Ghost had many dealings with Insurrectionists on Bellerophon, fighting in a myriad of battles and operations to repress Insurrectionist activity planetside. Finally, when the situation calmed enough to not require his services, he was put back in Cryo aboard the Spirit of Theseus and sent to the Beta Cassius System where he conducted further strikes against Innies and Storm Covenant targets.
==== Return to Trost ====
After Beta Cassius, he returned to Alpha Base, amid a Promethean crisis, only to learn that Talia-118 was confirmed KIA right before he arrived. However, there was no time to mourn, as enemies were besieging the He fought against Prometheans throughout the battle, including accompanying a group of Spartans and a military contractor, Vanessa Hopely, to the In Solemn Night to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet. He flew a Prowler, the UNSC Gladius, with most of the surviving Spartans aboard and was able to hold the heavily damaged ship together to make a relatively safe landing. Once they all recovered, he flew the Gladius on the counterattack on the Promethean forces one which went south quickly and resulted in the deaths of a great majority of their forces. Upon returning to Trost, he fought in the final push against the Prometheans which ended in successfully pushing them out of the major cities and resulted in the death of the Promethean Commander. Eventually, the UEG decided that Trost was far too expensive to continue defending and pulled out, abandoning the region after evacuating its citizens and military assets.
== Traits and personality ==
In his younger years, before his augmentation, Chad was a precocious and active boy. He loved to play outside and was viewed as the "leader" of whatever group he happened to be in. He was a surprisingly open-minded child, not displaying open hatred of the Insurrection, even when other children his age, having listened to their parents, talked about how they wanted to grow up to join the Marines and, "fix the galaxy".
As a Spartan, 119 is a focused individual, with a drive to do whatever it takes to win. That being said, he doesn’t like to leave people behind, having lost almost his entire team on Reach. As of now, he is the last member of his Fireteam alive and that is something that weighs heavily on him. He has to continue the fight for them. He has to ensure that their sacrifices were not in vain and that Humanity will thrive amongst the stars.
Chad-119 potentially has abandonment issues, but he hasn’t been diagnosed. There’s been no time. If he does happen to have this, he hides it well, preferring to remain silent unless it’s necessary he speaks. Spartan 119 has never had much of a public image, to begin with, having been a part of a program known as the FENRIS Initiative which was essentially a lone wolf program where SPARTAN-II’s were sent in on high-risk, high-reward missions after the Human-Covenant War. Before and during the war, however, he was seen like all the other Spartans. A giant amongst men. A living god forged by Hephaestus himself to beat back the tides of hell.
== Equipment ==
MJOLNIR GEN 3 Armor
MA6A Individual Combat Weapon System
BR85 Battle Rifle
Magnetic Recoilless Assault Weapon 1A (MRAW-1A)
M6H Magnum
Category:Class I Spartan-IIs