Matthew Brandis

Matthew Brandis was a UNSC Marine major aboard the UNSC Above Reproach. 
==Early Life==
Brandis was born on Earth in the small suburb of Dunedin, Florida, in the former United States. His father was a Marine Corps Captain, and he urged his son to follow in his footsteps. At nineteen Brandis enrolled at West Point Military Academy and graduated magna cum laude at fifth in his class. 
==Human-Covenant War==
When the Great War began, Brandis was just out of OCS and stationed on the UNSC frigate. Above Reproach. The frigate was assigned to Admiral Cole's fleet when it retook Harvest in 2526, and was present at the Battle of Alpha Aurigae. The frigate spent several months in drydock after that, and was assigned to Reach on garrison duty for a while until the attack on a Covenant fleet stationed at the system XI Boötis A. When a Covenant boarding party attempted to destroy the Reproach, Brandis, a First Lieutenant by this time, led a group of Marines and naval personnel against the boarders, winning himself a Purple Heart and a commision to Captain.
Shortly after, the Reproach was assigned to the fleet defending Eridanus II, and Brandis was stationed in Elysium city. However, after two days of fierce fighting the UNSC withdrew their remaining forces and as many civilians as possible, then left to allow the Covenant to glass the planet. Brandis and his men were lifted off under fire by a Pelican to the Reproach. For his actions, Brandis was awarded another Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and a battlefield commission to Major, as the last major stationed on the ship had been killed on Eridanus.
==Disappearance==
After the battle at Eridanus, the Reproach was sent to the UNSC colony of Groombridge-1830 when the Covenant attacked. The captain ordered the ship into Slipspace before Admiral Cole's fleet could arrive. 
Unknown to the rest of the UNSC, the Reproach's randomized jump had taken it into the vicinity of an Earth-type planet. Brandis, now the highest-ranking officer aboard, ordered the ship to land on the planet below. After a scout team was sent out onto the surface, Brandis was shoked to learn that the natives were a long-lost offshoot of humanity. How they arrived on Utopan is still a mystery, but there have been strange readings picked up by the survivors that indicate someone monitoring them from one of the planet's satellites.
Category:Halo: Above Reproach