Omega Nine-Two

Omega Nine-Two, also known as the Hyenas, was a special black operations team commissioned by the shortly after the end of the . Conceived as a plausibly deniable counter-insurgency asset, the team's primary goal was to quell expansion in the remaining and the new galactic frontier. The team's primary members were convicted criminals recruited out of maximum security prisons and promised amnesty in exchange for loyal service to ONI. Omega Nine-Two was organized to operate almost completely independently, inserting deep within rebel territory to sabotage operations and assassinate key targets. In addition to its field team, Omega Nine-Two was augmented by a small cadre of clandestine support staff. The team was also augmented by a operative with instructions to both serve alongside the other agents and ensure their loyalty to ONI.
==Operational History==
==Known Members==
===Gabrielle Meadow===
Omega Nine-Two's handler and ONI liaison, Lieutenant Gabrielle Meadow hailed from a wealthy family with a history of influential service in the UEG's political sphere. Although she aspired to follow her parents into the realm of politics, her aspirations were dashed when her brother was unmasked as an Insurrectionist agent. Blacklisted in most political circles, a distraught Gabrielle was recruited by the Office of Naval Intelligence. A fervent Earth loyalist with a burning hatred for the Insurrection, Gabrielle specialized in counter-insurgency theory. Though not a field operative herself the young officer helped plan numerous anti-Insurrection operations before brainstorming the formation of a small, highly mobile black operations that could be deployed to areas usually inaccessible to the UNSC. Highly ambitious beyond her rank, Gabrielle deftly navigated ONI's hierarchy to form Omega Nine-Two and retain command of the project beyond its inception. She saw the team as a means to raise her prestige within ONI's ranks and restore her lost political fortunes. Following Omega Nine-Two's initial success in the field Gabrielle was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and often irritated her fellow officers by using operators from the unit as her personal bodyguard, a conceit that earned her the ironic moniker "Princess."
===Walter Irving===
Walter Irving, originally Patrick O'Neill, was raised in an impoverished settlement on Mamore—the perfect environment for recruitment into the Insurrection. In late 2534 he enlisted in a local militia and was sent to a training camp in Mamore's foothills. There he excelled at his paramilitary instruction while being radicalized into extreme pro-independence views. His natural talents and fervent belief in the Insurrectionist cause saw the young Patrick singled out for special assignment. In 2535 he was part of a rebel cell that assassinated a high-ranking Colonial Administration Authority official in Mamore's capital; Patrick was the one who rigged the explosive charge that killed the target. From then on he ascended quickly in the hierarchies of the local militia groups and was soon recommended for additional training at . Once off Mamore, Patrick excelled as a covert operator and traveled from sector to sector lending his skills as a commando and demolitions expert wherever his superiors in the dispatched him. His assassinations of numerous military and political figures earned him a place on ONI's most-wanted list and he gained the dual reputation of a hero among URF cells and a remorseless killer among UNSC circles. In 2550 Patrick was ordered to carry out a daring assassination in the Earth megacity . He planned to blow up his target's motorcade outside , but misjudged the motorcade's timing when wiring his explosives. The ensuing blast annihilated a bus full of civilians minutes before the motorcade arrived. Though the rest of his team quickly evacuated and fled Earth, a guilt-stricken Patrick turned himself in to local authorities. He was tried as a war criminal and though he expected to be executed he was instead sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and shipped off to a maximum-security prison on .
===Valerie Komenov===
Born into poverty on an Outer Colony world, Valerie Komenov grew up as a petty thief. Her work with local gangs led to her recruitment by the Syndicate and she gained notoriety as one of its paramilitary enforcers. After her planet was invaded by the Covenant she fought alongside local militia groups in a guerrilla war against the invaders. With the end of the Human-Covenant War Valerie continued to operate as a mercenary on the galactic frontier and was hired by the Insurrection to assassinate a series of CAA officials. The killings brought her into ONI's crosshairs, but instead of having her terminated the intelligence agency recruited her for Omega Nine-Two. Though technically a convicted criminal operating at ONI's mercy, Valerie still sees herself as an independent contractor working for the highest bidder. Within Omega Nine-Two she functions as the team's close-quarters combat specialist and point woman.
===Jude-G258===
During his training on Onyx Jude-G258 was pegged as a skilled but undisciplined troublemaker. Frequently punished for wild, immature antics, he often joined Simon-G294 and other trainees in rebellious pranks. A brutal mission against the Covenant forever marred Jude's carefree attitude and he emerged from the bloodbath blaming himself for his teammates' deaths. Jude's reputation was further sullied when Simon-G294 defected to the Insurrection, prompting ONI to investigate any member of Gamma Company thought to have close ties with the infamous traitor. Close to being forcibly retired from active service, Jude was instead recruited by Lieutenant Meadow to serve on Omega Nine-Two. While technically the team's subordinate operative, Jude also received orders to execute any member of the team who showed signs of disloyalty. Jude's loyalty to the UNSC and determination to prove himself gradually came to conflict with his growing bond with his new teammates.
===Unit O-35===
Unit O-35 was a special detachment of serving as support and emergency backup for Omega Nine-Two. Primarily composed of veterans experienced in counter-insurgency operations, Unit O-35's served primarily as a quick response force that could deploy at a moment's notice to extract Omega Nine-Two from combat zones. The squad also functioned as a secondary strike force during operations against larger targets. Omega Nine-Two's pilots and support personnel were also drawn from Unit O-35. Although Unit O-35 was technically under Lieutenant Meadows command, many of its combat veterans rankled at "the Princess"'s lack of field experience and assignemt to the unit was seen as a punishment for undesirable operatives.