Project BRUTUS

Project BRUTUS was the name given to a group of assassins recruited and trained by the to help quash any signs of rebellion within the Human colonies in the 26th Century. The group was originally set up in 2505 as a potential successor to the ailing , though it did not become fully active until at least 2509 once its support network had been properly established. As it does not exist in official records, most BRUTUS agents operate under the , a former organisation placed under ONI's control in the early 2500s. Frederick King, a former ORION operative, was chosen as BRUTUS' commanding officer shortly after outlining the plan to his superiors. These individuals were scattered across colony worlds and spent a great deal of time spying on the general populace. BRUTUS agents would rarely meet one another, operating alone or in small cells for the most part. When an assassination mission is approved up to half a dozen agents would take part to ensure no chance of failure, and had permission to kill members of the local law enforcement if they interfered with an operation. Due to the intense training and selection progress for BRUTUS, recruitment was slow and it was not uncommon for several years to pass without any new agents joining the rather small unit.
BRUTUS operatives were each assigned a number upon joining the project, and would never be referred to by their actual name during operations. If an agent fell in the line of duty his or her number could not be reused; lower numbers often denoted seniority over newer BRUTUS agents in the field. The did take a toll on BRUTUS, as many deep-cover agents died in Covenant attacks or were killed by Insurrectionists. In spite of the fact that most BRUTUS agents did not possess the same degree of training or the augmentations that benefited those of the SPARTAN and ORION projectsA few BRUTUS agents were in fact former ORION operatives, Spartan 1.1's or JAVELIN augmentees., their ruthless efficiency and organisation still made them an effective counter-terrorism force even if their methods were unorthodox and often illegal. Claims of high-ranking BRUTUS agents wielding disproportionate amounts of power for their position within ONI did bring the organisation under close scrutiny several times over the years, though these were largely seen as unsubstantiated rumours. 
Following the Human-Covenant War the surviving BRUTUS agents were often deployed as deep cover agents within Insurrectionist organisations, though the project was regarded as obsolete by some following ONI's post-war reforms and the formation of newer groups that became much more prominent in counter-terrorism operations. Nonetheless, BRUTUS remained as one of ONI's more secretive organisations and continued to be a reliable service for years after the war's end. By 2557, former field agent Alexander Redford had been made BRUTUS' commanding officer following King's hospitalisation and began a series of experiments, partnering undercover agents up with SPARTAN supersoldiers for extraction missions based on his own experiences in what would become the 'Defender Initiative'. This proved to be a great success, though BRUTUS was only able to acquire a limited number of Spartans to pair up with their best operatives.
==BRUTUS Recruitment Dates==
Please note that this covers only the numbered BRUTUS undercover field agents, and not support staff working for the organisation.
*February 2505: Agents 1-15
*December 2526 Agents 16-40
*June 2540: Agents 40-85
*December 2544: Agents 85-120
*March 2553: Agents 120-200
==Known BRUTUS Operatives==
This list is accurate as of 2558.
*Agent 1: Frederick King - WIA in 2556
*Agent 2: Markus Novak - Retired in 2540
*Agent 4: 
*Agent 9: Colton Vieira
*Agent 10: Bolivar Jankovic
*Agent 12: - KIA in 2535
*Agent 13: ████ ███ - KIA in 2539
*Agent 19: Alexander Redford
*Agent 20: David Kahn - MIA in 2553
*Agent 22: ███████ ████████ - KIA in 2539
*Agent 24: Henry Wingo
*Agent 32: Kyle White - KIA in 2556
*Agent 33: Shelley Morgan - KIA in 2544
*Agent 35: ████ ██████ - KIA in 2540
*Agent 38: Mark Hall - KIA in 2529
*Agent 39: - Reassigned in 2556
*Agent 42: Anatoly Kustentov - KIA in 2556
*Agent 45: Umar Ashur - Reassigned in 2555
*Agent 54: Peter Yang - KIA in 2554
*Agent 66: Yoshika Agata - KIA in 2552
*Agent 121: Jill Urbach
*Agent 160: Gordon Mills Winston ZhouMills was killed on Alexander Redford's orders for poor conduct as an agent and misappropriating funds and replaced with Winston Zhou, who also assumed his identity and agent number.
==Known Defender Initiative participants==
*Layla-B101 (February-December 2556)Though Layla's partnership with Redford preceded the initiative, she was considered its first participant and used as a proof of concept for Defender's expansion.
*Violet-B039 (December 2557-)
*Zach-D111 (August 2558-)
==Known individuals targeted by BRUTUS==
*Marion Hollister - Operation cancelled in 2517
*Tobias Crowley - Killed in 2529
*Markus Jensun - Killed in 2550
*David Kahn - Operation failure in 2553
*Ash Mitchell - Operation failure in 2555
*Iris Touré - Killed in 2556
*Hadvir Erikkson - Killed in 2555
*Carlos Driscol - Killed in 2557Driscol was not actually killed by BRUTUS agents, but was confirmed dead around the time he was scheduled for assassination.
==Behind the Scenes==
The author came up with BRUTUS in order to provide a group of ONI assassins for any user to make use of across multiple universes, rather than having the creation of various different organisations that focused on the elimination of Insurrectionists and other targets. 
==Notes==
Category:Office of Naval Intelligence