Leonard Schaeffer

Private 1st. Class Leonard Schaeffer, born on August 16th, 2507 is the POV character of Red Letter Days and a member of the UNSC Marine Corps. Leonard would be transferred to Second Base shortly after his promotion to PFC where he would fight in some of the first battles of the Human-Covenant War.
==Early History==
Schaeffer grew up in New Macedonia on the UNSC core world Skopje. Schaeffer was born to a middle class family in the inner city; his mother being an office worker and his father a bar tender. Schaeffer received adequate grades throughout middle school and high school, and was neither popular nor unpopular. His grades in school were mostly C's and B's except for an A he received in English consistently each year. Schaeffer led a surprisingly uneventful life throughout his childhood and this and his grandfathers war stories from his time in the Marine Force Recon led Schaeffer to seek out the military.
Schaeffer originally attempted to go straight to UNSCMC Recon but his recruiter convinced him to go through at least four years of marine corps before making the decision. Schaeffer agreed and decided to follow the recruiters plan.
During boot camp, Schaeffer was initially one of the worst marines in the camp. Schaeffer had no idea how difficult boot camp would be; something that his grandfathers stories tended to ignore. After a week, Schaeffer's performance increased drastically as he came to terms with it and pulled through.
Out of boot camp; he was promoted to PFC and vowed to get out of the military ASAP after his four years were over. Schaeffer was then transferred to Second Base where he would see the first action of his career, participate in Operation TREBUCHET and then in one of the first battles of the Human-Covenant War.
==Operation: TREBUCHET==
Schaeffer joined towards the end of the operation; being transferred to Second Base just as the largest spike in rebellious activity there began before it was ended by the war. Schaeffer saw his first combat shortly after transferring to the planet and becoming the joke of the platoon.
When Schaeffer was first transferred to the unit. The platoon's First Lieutenant, Barry Hartfield gave Schaeffer his assignment and told him his new corporal's name was Smike. When he asked aloud who Smike was on a full pelican which was en route to Garmed. An old insulting nick name against Schaeffer's new team leader, Cpl. Gabriel Venendez revived, and Schaeffer earned Venendez's hate.
During his first mission, Schaeffer was caught in an ambush while moving in a convoy by insurrectionist forces. Schaeffer rescued Lance Corporal Wilson Blater after he was pinned by a flipped warthog; despite taking moderate injuries, Schaeffer continued on to the Garmed City Bank where his platoon was tasked with investigating and securing a bombing site.
After breaching the building with the rest of third company, Schaeffer and his platoon moved up the building towards the roof top where a VIP was being held captive. Schaeffer would have his life saved by PFC. Justin Monroe, the squad split off. They were fired on by police snipers, and several bombs across the building went off as rebels assaulted them in the bank. In the cross fire, Monroe and PFC. Walter Miller were shot. Monroe was killed instantly, but Miller was only wounded. After giving medical aid, Schaeffer and the squad pushed up to the roof of the building after Schaeffer killed his first man.
A resistance leader on the roof executed the VIP, sparking a full on revolution across the city. Schaeffer and the platoon killed the remaining rebels, just before the Covenant made their approach into Second Base.
==Second Base Campaign==
Schaeffer and 3rd Company made their way to the rally point at Garmed Medical Center after defeating an advancing force of insurgents. During the ride, he made introductions with LCpl. Dmitri 'Red' Reznikov and 1st Sgt. Arthur 'Busy' McBee. The convoy, consisting of the remains of 3rd company, drove to the rally point but were harried by Banshees along the way. When the convoy changed directions and went through one of the cities many tunnels instead, they were attacked by Covenant forces from a higher position.
A Grunt was killed and landed in Schaeffer's warthog, giving Schaeffer (who would become one of the first humans to see one) a view of the creature. When they entered the tunnel and disposed of the body, the convoy was forced to dismount and move to the hospital on foot. As they walked, Schaeffer was taunted by PFC. Susan Masih. Hooch, still grateful Schaeffer had saved his friend Norman, defended him by attacking Masih.
The attack sparked a fight across a decent number of the platoon, old problems running through the company becoming clear as the marines fought. The fight was only resolved when the company commander, Captain Vance Veenhoff, fired his magnum into the air and berated the entire company. After they were reorganized, the company once again moved towards the medical center.
When they reached the end of the tunnel, they linked up with two marines of 2nd Company holding the tunnel. The men revealed that there had originally been many more men defending the tunnel but most were killed, when questioned by what, they revealed that it was not by the insurgents who had attacked them from inside the tunnel but alien forces who had come from the outside. This revealed to them a small glimpse of Covenant tactics, the marines explaining that the aliens had attempted to overwhelm them with numbers.
The company moved on with the two in tow, and eventually managed to reach the medical center. Schaeffer was assigned to the defenses at the front of the building but was given time to rest, before leaving, he first met Major Henry Sorelsky (though briefly) and instantly took a disliking to him. Hooch approached him as he got ready to relax and urged him to visit Norman who had been moved to the hospital after his injuries. After some persuasion, Schaeffer agreed and went there with Hooch, Masih, Red and LCpl. Louie P. Riley who had helped Schaeffer and Hooch save Norman previously in the day. 
While on an elevator to the floor Norman was on, Schaeffer met the ODST, 1st. Lieutenant Elliott Myers. Myers and him exchanged a few words before they parted ways and Schaeffer and the other marines visited the wounded Norman.
When they found the marine, Schaeffer attempted to stay out of the spotlight and let Hooch talk to his friend. However, he was dragged into it when Hooch began to praise him as a hero. Schaeffer accidentally mentioned that they were fighting more than insurgents. When Norman showed confusion, Schaeffer opened the curtains of his room to give them all a view of the battle raging over the ruined city, to the protest of the other marines. Schaeffer himself was taken back at the view, thinking that the city had looked better on the ground.
Shortly thereafter, the air defenses of the northwestern portion of the city finally gave, and the Covenant were able to land troops and bring in air support for their attack. The Covenant used this opportunity to swarm the hospital, hundreds of the aliens attempting to overwhelm the human defenses. Going down the elevator to participate in the battle, he once again encountered Myers, though they had little interaction. Schaeffer also overheard a survivor of the fierce fighting in the northwestern portion of the city, Cpl. James Radke, reveal that the aliens were named the Covenant, and that their weapons fired plasma.
Reaching the bottom floor, Schaeffer found his position in the defenses just before the Covenant attacked. Schaeffer killed many of the aliens, along with the rest of the defenders, a mix of marines, police officers, militiamen and armed civilians. Hundreds of Covenant were killed attempting to charge the barricades, but overwhelmed the marines with pure numbers and swarmed them. A panicked Scorpion gunner fired into the Grunts who were pouring over the top of the barricades and opened the barricades wide for the Covenant to get inside the defenses.
Schaeffer found himself fighting the Grunts hand to hand, and beat so many with the butt of his rifle that it was dented in. Finally running out of ammo, he was tackled off the barricades by a Grunt who attempted to tear the flesh off his arm with its teeth. Schaeffer managed to kill the creature with his sidearm despite wounds he received before retreating inside the building.
Shortly after, Schaeffer linked up with his fire team and aided in the short lived defense of the building proper. Schaeffer and the rest of the defenders only managed to hold for around three minutes before retreating in fear when two Hunters tore through the doors and immediately killed several marines. A rocket managed to kill one of the Hunters but this simply sent the other into a rage. Schaeffer ran with his fire team before reaching the back parking lot of the building where the main evacuation was taken place. After meeting with the highest ranked person defending it, McBee, the fire team advised the sergeant in how to evacuate the building faster.
Schaeffer was put in charge of bolstering the parking lot's defenses and getting civilians out of the building, something he did with reluctance, never having led anything before. Schaeffer managed to strengthen the defenses by dispersing crowds to give a Scorpion room to get into position, moving a warthog so that it could fire on the entrances and funneling all movement through a single double door. He then attempted to get the civilians to form lines and quickly move out of the building, but failed as the Covenant destroyed the last UNSC defenses inside the hospital and charged the parking lot, slaughtering the civilians.
Schaeffer led the defense of the barricades for around fifteen to twenty minutes before the second Hunter tore through the barricades. The scorpion managed to kill it after it destroyed a retreating pelican, but the Covenant soon swarmed through the new hole and overran the marines positions. Schaeffer was prepared to hold the Covenant off alone so that the civilians could escape, but was informed there was room on the last pelican for him. While getting inside, along with the last of the marines and the driver and gunner of the Scorpion, he witnessed Lieutenant Meyer's and another ODST dive from a second story window of the hospital and into the parking lot.
Meyer's broke her ankle in the fall and the other ODST was forced to abandon her. Schaeffer ran out into the line of fire in order to save her, and managed to carry her back to the pelican without either dying, Masih, McBee, Hooch, Red and PFC. Robert Mackenzie helped hold off the Covenant as he ran inside the pelican. Flying away just before the Covenant could bring their anti air assets to the front.
After retreating to a UNSC rendezvous point and linking up with UNSC forces and the remains of 2nd Battalion, Schaeffer was ordered to partake in the evacuation of civilians in Garmed. Schaeffer was given an M392 and mounted the passenger seat of a Hornet along with Red in order to provide air cover for a convoy leaving the city via tunnel along with several other Hornets. Before he left the rendezvous point, he learnt that Major O'Neil of 1st Battalion would be leading an assault to retake Garmed's city hall from rebel forces. The convoy that Schaeffer was aiding was to be lead by Major Sorelsky, to his (and most of the battalions) distaste.
Schaeffer aided in covering the convoy from Covenant forces with Red before the convoy escaped into the tunnels. Schaeffer's Hornet was shot down and he narrowly managed to sprint into the tunnel before Covenant forces caught up with him, the pilot was killed by plasma fire however.
While riding with the convoy in the tunnels, Schaeffer attempted to catch some sleep but was woken back up after the convoy stopped to argue on whether or not to blow their way out of the tunnel. Schaeffer approached the center of the convoy to find Major Sorelsky, Lieutenant Hartfield, Captain Veenhoff, Lieutenant Myers and several others fighting over the use of explosives to escape. The argument ended just after Schaeffer interrupted the conversation in order to insult Sorelsky and was dragged aside to be yelled at by the major.
Major Sorelsky ordered Schaeffer to never cross him again, receiving a punch from Schaeffer in response. The reaction from the convoy was incredibly mixed and Schaeffer was dragged off and told by Hartfield that Schaeffer would be court martialed despite the lieutenant's feelings toward Sorelsky. The lieutenant told him he would try and help Schaeffer not to be arrested on the spot before leaving him.
As Schaeffer attempted to walk away, he was accosted by Private Joey 'Rat' Fisgaro and Steven 'Mouse' Boleto. Rat told Schaeffer he was on his side and that he would help him if Schaeffer would help him distribute drugs in the battalion, a disgusted Schaeffer said no and was shoved over by the two as Rat promised to get back at him. Busy soon helped him to his feet and the convoy left the tunnel after a group of Lieutenant Meyer's ODSTs and marine engineers detonated the wall of the tunnel.
The convoy entered a forest several miles from Fort Darkat, the fort that Schaeffer had gone to before leaving to Garmed. As the convoy left the tunnel, Major O'Neil radioed that he had taken the city hall but that there was a nuclear threat in the city. Before he could finish, the nuclear weapon went off and destroyed the city, blinding those who were watching the city closely and causing the vehicles to stop.
==Awards and Decorations==
Promotions (as of September 1st, 2525) 	Promotions (as of September 1st, 2525) 	Promotions (as of September 1st, 2525)
Insignia 	Rank 	Date
 	Private First Class 	November 31st, 2525
Text retrieved from UNSCDF Personnel Database, updated September 1st, 2525	Text retrieved from UNSCDF Personnel Database, updated September 1st, 2525	Text retrieved from UNSCDF Personnel Database, updated September 1st, 2525
Category:Red Letter Days
Category:UNSC Marine Corps Personnel