Thom-A293

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Thom-A293, also known by his call sign Noble Six, was a male Human SPARTAN-III who served the United Nations Space Command against the Covenant Empire during the Human-Covenant war. Trained as a member of Alpha Company, he was assigned to UNSC Army Colonel Urban Holland as a part of Noble Team. In 2552, he and the rest of Noble Team were deployed to Fumirole in order to defend the planet from a Covenant invasion. There, he participated in an operation devised by Catherine-B320 to destroy the Sanctity of Purification using an MFDD. During the battle, Kat was critically wounded while carrying the explosive and was left unable to complete her mission. With little hesitation, Thom acquired the MFDD from Kat and delivered the bomb to the Purification without backup. Although he was able to destroy the battlecruiser, Thom perished alongside it in the explosion.
After his death, both Kat and Noble Team Commander Carter-A259 took responsibility for Thom's sacrifice aboard the battlecruiser. Colonel Holland asserted, however, that Thom's death was his own fault and not the result of anybody else's actions. Eager to provide Noble Team with a replacement, Holland assigned the "hyper-lethal" SPARTAN-B312 to the call sign of Noble Six a few months after the battle at Fumirole. Thom's replacement proved to be invaluable to the team and the entirety of the UNSC during the Fall of Reach. Under the orders of Catherine Halsey, B312 hand-delivered Cortana to Captain Jacob Keyes during the Battle of Aszod.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Thom was a male Human whose home planet was glassed by the Covenant Empire when he was young. Consequently, he was seen as a prime candidate for induction into the SPARTAN-III Program to fight as a soldier for the United Nations Space Command.halo.bungie.net - Halo Reach personnel communique He was trained as a part of Alpha Company, the first company of SPARTAN-III's, where he was given the designation of Thom-A293. Prior to Operation: PROMETHEUS, Thom was transferred to another unit and consequently survived the formal destruction of Alpha Company. Thom was eventually assigned to Noble Team, under the jurisdiction of Colonel Urban Holland.
===Sacrifice at Fumirole===
On April 22, 2552, Noble Team was deployed to the colony planet Fumirole in order to defend against invading Covenant forces.Youtube - ONI Archive – Noble Endeavors | Halo: Reach Lieutenant Commander Catherine-B320 organized an operation to destroy the Sanctity of Purification that was positioned above a city. Assisted by her team and the forces of the UNSC Army, Kat carried the Medium Fusion Destructive Device intended to destroy the ship across the battlefield. However, the Lieutenant Commander was incapacitated while on her way to the objective by an enemy Banshee's fuel rod cannon. Severely wounded, Kat was left with a critically damaged arm and was thereby unable to fulfill her objective. Thom arrived at her position and, after briefly surveying the scene, picked up the device to continue her mission. Using a Series 8 jetpack, he ascended into the interior of the Purification without UNSC backup. Once inside, he threw the armed device into a staging area filled with assembled Covenant forces. Thom attempted to leave, but the bomb detonated before he could safely make it out, destroying the ship and killing him in the process.halo.bungie.net - Bungie Weekly Update 08/27/10
===Legacy===
After the battle, both Commander Carter-A259 and Kat took responsibility for Thom's death, unable to admit that his sacrifice was his own fault.halo.bungie.net - Kat-B320 Personnel Profile Colonel Holland commented on this in his Noble Team performance reports, asserting that Thom died because he chose to attack Covenant forces without waiting for backup. The Colonel replaced Thom with SPARTAN-B312, a "hyper-lethal" SPARTAN, a few months after the Battle of Fumirole. Before they began their investigation of suspicious activity on Reach, Noble Team became formally acquainted with their new member. Carter informed "Six" that the rest of the team had preferred not to be assigned a replacement for Thom, right before they participated in the Raid on Visegrád Relay. Six proved invaluable during Reach's fall on numerous occasions. During the Battle of Aszod, in particular, B312 was able to successfully deliver Cortana to Captain Jacob Keyes and covered his team as they rendezvoused with his Pillar of Autumn.Halo: Reach - The Pillar of Autumn
==Personality and traits==
Thom-A293 was a male Human, who was physically augmented as a result of the SPARTAN-III Program. He was described as "cowboy-like".
==Equipment==
Thom-A293 was equipped with a set of gray Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor/Mark V. His helmet was a Mark V (B) with an Up-Armor (UA) attatchment, and he also sported FJ/PARA variant knee guards. During the Battle of Fumirole, Thom utilized a Series 8 jetpack and wielded an M392 Designated Marksman Rifle.
==Gameplay==
===Halo: Reach===
While Thom-A293 does not appear in Halo: Reach directly, he is indirectly mentioned by Carter-A259 in the campaign mission Noble Actual. He is also referenced via the game's customized loadout system in Multiplayer and Firefight. Players can title loadouts "Thom" using the gametype creation tools.Halo: Reach
==Trivia==
*Thom-A293 first appeared in the Halo: Reach promotional trailer, Deliver Hope. He was identified by his full designation on the Halo Waypoint forums on August 22nd, 2014.
*He was originally intended to play a larger role in Halo: Reach as a member of Noble Team, but was ultimately cut from the game and only mentioned in the Noble Team performance reports by his SPARTAN tag.
==Gallery==
Thom.png|Thom-A293 in the heart of the Covenant cruiser.
Thom-293.png|Thom-A293 lands on the battlefield at Fumirole.
Thom_Concept.png|Early concept art of Thom-A293.
ReachConcept_-_ThomArmour.png|Concept art of Thom-A293 in his armor.
==Appearances==
*Deliver Hope 
*Halo: Reach 
==Sources==
*Halo Waypoint - Catalog Interaction: Page 51 
*Youtube - ONI Archive – Noble Endeavors | Halo: Reach
*halo.bungie.net - Bungie Weekly Update 08/27/10
*halo.bungie.net - Halo Reach personnel communique
*halo.bungie.net - Carter-A259 Personnel Profile
*halo.bungie.net - Kat-B320 Personnel Profile
==Notes and references==
ru:Том-A293
Category:Humans (Characters)
Category:Spartan-IIIs
Category:Deceased characters