Chyler Silva

Chyler Silva was an officer cadet of the UNSC Armed Forces. She attended Corbulo Academy of Military Science during the early years of the Great War as part of the class of 2529.
== Biography ==
=== Early life and education ===
Chyler Silva was born on Nehemiah in early 2510. Though her family later moved to Mamore, a colony world where violence between Insurrectionists and UEG loyalists was a common occurrence. As a result, even civilians like herself were forced to learn how to protect themselves from a young age. For example, Chyler's mother taught her how to handle a rifle properly when she was ten years of age. In preparation for emergencies, her father would often race Chyler and her brother Grayson to a local bomb shelter and he would allow them to stay up half an hour past bedtime if they beat him. Her cousin's school became the target of a rebel bombing when she was around ten years of age, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of children. Both of her parents were UNSC military and eventually died in battle against rebels.
Developing a strong personal sense of duty to the UNSC, Silva intended to become a soldier like her parents and she attended Corbulo Academy as a freshman cadet of the class of 2529. Assigned to Hastati Squad under the leadership of Senior Cadet April Orenski, she took her education with particular enthusiasm, scoring top marks in training exercises. During her time at the institution she formed a close bond with fellow cadet and squad leader Petra Janecek.
=== Imperial attack ===
When the Galactic Empire invaded Circinius IV, Hastati Squad was to be evacuated via the Academy's space elevator. However, after the Empire's destruction of the tether, the squad was caught in the ensuing battle between UNSC Marines and Imperial forces. The squad attempted to escape to the Academy's armory, which resulted in the deaths of cadets Junjie Chen and Walter Vickers at the hands of a Force-cloaked Sith Acolyte. However, the Acolyte was killed by Spartan Petty Officer Second Class Thomas-097. Tom, who had arrived with SPARTAN-II Omega Team to assist in the evacuation of Corbulo Academy, revealed that the surviving members of Hastati Squad - Silva, Janecek, Orenski and Sullivan - were only surviving humans left in the Academy.
As the squad made their way to an evacuation point, Silva began to break down under stress. However, when the Spartan asked who in the squad was the best marksman, Janecek recommended Silva. He escorted them outside and ordered Silva and Orenski to cover Janecek as she commandeered General Black's Warthog to allow them to escape to the extraction zone. During the engagement, Silva ran out of ammunition, forcing her to make use of a discarded Imperial E-11 blaster carbine, with which she proved surprisingly efficient.