The Leonidans

The Leonidans (codenamed Project LEONIDAS, and also referred to officially as Special Warfare Group LEONIDAS and unofficially as "ONI's Hands" and "ONI's Reapers") was the term used to describe SPARTANS that were taken from their respective programs by ONI cabals and upper echelon members, then usually declared MIA or KIA, all for the purpose of gaining elite agents that the Office could manipulate however it chose. These agents would go on to become some of the most well known, but nevertheless elusive, ONI spooks, and the projects' boundaries would fade into obscurity, with exact limits becoming forgotten or impossible to discover.
==Purpose==
As the SPARTAN-II Program progressed and neared its conclusion, there were elements within ONI - such as CHAUCER's Section Zero Field Investigation Team, Ned Rich's Covert Operations Group and even the Director of ONI herself, - that started to develop individual interests in the program. Generally, these elements were also uneasy of the fact that the program was headed by a civilian - - rather than one of their own. The presence of other concurrently running projects that produced Spartan-II grade operators also served as a reason for fear. As such, they soon hatched plans to separate some of the Spartans from the main roster and bring them under their own personal command.
It's unknown whether these elements banded together at this time to help each other recover their respective operative, though the presence of a file known as LEONIDAS (discovered during post-war investigations) strongly suggests this. In addition, Codename: ISTARI, a close friend and personal agent of Parangosky, was known to have extensive knowledge and understanding of Project LEONIDAS, among many other secrets, leading to suspicion that he was a key agent in the abductions. What is known for certain is that at least three candidates were targeted: Riker-012, Laszlo-108 and Leonid-144, all of them considered to number amongst the program's most individualistic, self-reliant and independent recruits, and part of Brown Team. It's unknown if there were other candidates targeted, due to the heavily redacted status of the operation and the SPARTAN-II Program in general, though investigators of the LEONIDAS file found it likely, but also agreed that the three aforementioned candidates were likely the only ones to actually become ONI operatives (the others presumably perishing in the augmentation procedures).
Immediately after the SPARTAN-II Program's augmentation procedures, the 'cabal' made its move; replacing the three spartans with flash-clones injected with the same chemical procedures while they were safely moved away to other facilities to recover. The clones, being genetically weaker than the original, suffered from the procedure, killing two of them. Though one clone - the one representing Laszlo-108 - survived, it suffered an extensive eye failure and died a few weeks later by 'cascade metabolic failure', as all flash-clones did after living for some time. Each Spartan, once captured, was further trained in whatever field ONI wished to use them in, and each was told that they were the only Spartan working for ONI. This caused detrimental effects on the Spartans' mental health at times, particularly with Riker-012.
The exact timeframe and boundaries of the project, as well as all involved individuals, becomes impossible to discern post-2527. Jared-091, often referred to as Codename: ORPHEUS, seems to have been another Leonidan, but analysis of his service records are inconclusive: all records regarding the SPARTAN-II Program leave no mention of a Jared-091, with the 091 tag being recorded as a boy named Diego who was not captured; the testimony of Dr. Halsey speaks differently however, as she clearly remembers Jared-091 with stunning detail.
The full extent of the project, and related agents, was investigated later, but nothing was discerned fully, even after ISTARI's agreement to help Codename: SHOGUN in the investigation.
==Known Members==
*Riker-012
*Laszlo-108
*Leonid-144
*Jared-091
==Missions==
*Station Houston Incident
*Quelling the Valhalla Rebellion
*Battle of Jericho VII
*Battle of Reach
*The Labyrinth Campaign
==Gallery==
L1.jpg|Riker-012 during the Fall of Reach
Laszlo.png|Laszlo-108
Leonid Darj.jpg|Leonid-144
ONI091.jpg|Jared-091
==Behind the Scenes==
*"ONI's Hands" is a reference to the Emperor's Hands of the Star Wars universe. Both are similar in nature, in that the two groups both have elite users, and the operatives believe they are the only "hand" in existence.
*The name Leonidans is a reference to the fact that, when the 300 Spartans fought against the Persians, there were also Leonidans with them in the battle; however, these Leonidans, vastly outnumbering the Spartans, are hardly ever remembered.
*Initially, the Leonidans were composed of four Spartan-II's, with the fourth member being Jared-091; however, after SPARTAN-091's withdrawal from the Necros Project, Jared-091 was removed from the Leonidans. After the Leonidans became affiliated with the Labyrinth Canon through Operation: VORAUSSICHT, however, Jared was once more added to the article.
*Though not officially considered part of Project LEONIDAS, Rachel-343 and Connor-338 from the SPARTAN-II Class III Program shared some similarities with the Leonidans; notably, they both served directly under ONI at some point or for prolonged periods of time, and they were both taken aside from their comrades to fight alone, away from the other spartans. Likewise, Noble Six, served as a lone wolf agent for a considerable amount of time before being assigned to Noble Team, but as he/she wasn't a part of LEONIDAS, he/she isn't considered a Leonidan. This similarity is shared with Amanda-208, a SPARTAN-II of the second class. Kurt-051, another Class I Spartan who was abducted by Colonel Ackerson to head the SPARTAN-III Program, also shares some similarities, though he never became an agent - thus not being considered a Leonidan.
**Black Team deserves special mention, as it and its' members are also similar - being elite operatives under ONI command - though since they fight as a full team, they are not considered Leonidans. In addition, Black Team was created after the Leonidans, and is - in a sense - a plagiarism of the Leonidans by Bungie/343
**Another case deserving special mention is Indigo Team by Specops306, which is, like Black, also a team of Spartan-IIs serving as elite operators away from the other Spartans. However, Indigo was the (or one of the) product(s) of Project INDIGO rather than Project LEONIDAS (The Leonidans).
==Related Pages==
*Brown Team (Leonidans)
*Riker-012
*Laszlo-108
*Leonid-144
*Jared-091
*Operation: VORAUSSICHT
Category:Matt-256/UNSC Units
Category:Office of Naval Intelligence