Epsilon Company

"Using spartan threes to trade lives for time? Not a bad idea. But we need soldiers who can make use of that time. We need more spartan twos."-Dr. Kevin Viscas Mclain of ONI section 3
==Conception, Creation, and Overview==
Certain members of ONI section 3 felt uncomfortable with the transition of focus from the elite SPARTAN IIs to the expendable SPARTAN IIIs. However funding continued to be diverted to the SPARTAN III project, even after the second class of SPARTAN IIs was initiated. Wanting a third class, but unable to receive the funds or neccessary amount of candidates for it, these individuals created a "SPARTAN II class three" within the SPARTAN III program. Though officially a SPARTAN-III company, it was by all means and purposes, meant to create super soldiers that were to be at, or at least extremely close to the performance of and doctrine used for the SPARTAN IIs. This manifested in the form of Epsilon Company, a group consisting of 23 CAT-2 designated candidates and 92 close CAT-2 genetic matches (who were originally slated for another SPARTAN III company), totaling 115 candidates; all of whom that survived were allowed to graduate. 12 of these candidates were kidnapped from their homes, the rest, being recruited orphans. They were initiated in February, 2538 and graduated in March, 2551. 
97 SPARTANs survived and graduated the program.
They were not given the standard spartan three class designations of A(alpha), B(beta), or so on, and instead, had their last name replaced only with serial numbers, starting where the second class of spartan IIs left off. During the Fall of Reach, a vast majority of these Spartans were killed in action with the remaining 27 survivors going missing in action.
In 2574, ONI reclassified the Spartan Epsilon company as an official SPARTAN II group, though they kept the moniker of Epsilon.
==History and Service Record==
"Where as i have heard about the second class of spartan twos being... uncooperative, these guys are all too willing to serve. They want to fight, they want to kill covies. They have seen and grown up to the stories of Marines and spartans, it is their dream to become the same stuff of legend." -Sergeant Roland Cawes, Epsilon Spartan Trainer 
Initiated in 2534 by those who believed more SPARTAN IIs were needed in order to use the time bought by the spartan IIIs, a class of spartan IIIs was initiated for the purpose of non-suicidal, but cheaply made spartans with the approval of colonel James Ackerson. They would serve as a test group to see if the DNA templates set by Dr. Halsey were really necessary. 
In Febuary 2538, 23 Candidates, all designated as CAT-2, were kidnapped from their homes. The rest were recruited from orphanages across the remains of human space. 
This class however, never stepped foot on Onyx, but instead, was transferred to and trained on Reach. Their serial numbers began with E for epsilon.
Several of these spartans died during the intense training. They trained for 13 years under the direction of Dr. Alison Jersi who was part of the original spartan II staff, Sgt. Roland Cawes who had been an assistant trainer of the original spartan IIs, and Spartan Yelicks A-044 who had been injured in an operation and had been relieved from front line service due to the wounds. 
In 2551, the graduation year of this class, another 8 were killed or crippled by augmentations; 6 of whom, were revived and re-augmented successfully.
Several of these Spartans Joined the Ranks of the other Spartans on the front lines. Some were reassigned to UNSC special warfare command to fight in spartan fire teams. Several more were used as elite head hunters. The rest were assigned into a ONI SPECOPS unit codenamed: SIERRA GHOST. 
SIERRA GHOST was a collection of 52 Epsilon Spartans assigned into multiple teams to carry out tasks against the covenant and insurrectionists who dared to break the ceasefire. The known teams had call signs of Shadow, Reaper, Scythe, Grim, Titan, Gaia, Hades, Viper, and Arrow.
These fire teams of Epsilon proved to be very cohesive with UNSC forces, and very deadly. Teams Shadow and Grim stopping a Covenant invasion of a colony almost single handedly, but at the cost of all of Fireteam grim save a single member. Arrow was reported to wiping out a number of insurrectionist cells by themselves. Viper, Gaia, and Hades heavily supporting UNSC forces on both the frontlines and from the shadows, and Titan having boarded a super carrier and destroying it with a HAVOK nuke from the inside. Other unamed or sortie teams also proved highly effective. Most of their operations remain highly classified, as do their casualty reports. Against insurrectionists, they suffered no losses, but took large casualties against the covenant partially due to their slightly rushed training, but mostly as their deployments increased massively as the war worsened exponentially. During their service time, Epsilon Spartans held the record for most deployments within one year, with the deployments of three teams exceeding that of SPARTAN BLUE team deployments within 2551. However it is known that casualties dwindled their numbers from the original 97, down to 58 by 2552.
In October 2551, 5 Epsilon Spartans received a MK-5 Mjolnir energy shielding test bed model known as Mk-5T2 or Mk-5 Test series 2, though it was little more than a modified Mk-4 platform being used as an energy shield test-bed. The Mk-5T1 did have shields, but when depleted, the shorting out of the magnetic fields would shock the user and damage the shield projection equipment making its shield one time use if depleted fully. Only one Mk-5T1 was made. The Mk-5T2 saw very limited use exclusively with Epsilon Spartans. These suits included the very first successful attempts at a recharging, shaped energy shield, though the shield on this armor was extremely weak; only able to withstand 2 or 3 direct shots from a plasma weapon, and twice that from kinetic firearms. This armor, although deemed "successful" was not deemed cost effective , or combat effective to the point for more production beyond its original testing models. In 2552, true MK-5 was developed from the data collected by the test models. In 2552, all remaining Epsilon Spartans, except for several headhunters, were issued Mk-5 or Mk-5B. The Headhunters of Epsilon were given Shielded SPI.
In 2552, all surviving Epsilon Spartans were in the Epsilon Eridani system on Tribute and Reach, 
with all of whom participated in the defense of the planets. There were two GHOST teams on Tribute who were after several forerunner artifacts on the planet discovered by ONI. The GHOST and other Epsilon SPARTANS on Reach were being assigned on other missions with most of the GHOST teams being assigned on operation BLUE FLAG, an operation related and meant to support operation RED FLAG, though no Epsilon spartan was to actively participate in operation RED FLAG itself. All Epsilon Spartans assigned on Tribute were killed in action when the covenant attacked the world. After Noble team liberated ONI Sword base from its siege by a covenant corvette, two full teams off Epsilon Spartans were assigned to defend ONI Sword base, and Dr. Halsey by extension. Both teams were killed to the last as they and other UNSC defenders were swarmed by covenant forces. The remainder either died in the defense of Reach in other locations, or went missing in action aboard the modified London Class Light Cruisers, UNSC Pilgrims Pride , and UNSC Heart of Winter while trying to escape the doomed system. However, two Epsilon spartans did escape the system and return to Earth on board a fleeing vessel, and were inducted into the SPARTAN-IVs. 7 of the 13 dead spartans in AZOD shipyard are the remains of SIERRA GHOST team members of Titan (4) and Arrow (3) who were reassigned from evacuating, to holding off covenant ground forces from reaching the Pillar of Autumn as the remains of Noble team were to deliver a Cortana fragment to the ship. They successfully bought the time needed, but payed the price with their lives.
In 2578, the Spartans aboard the Pilgrims Pride were recovered by UNSC personnel assigned to recolonization efforts. In 2605, the remaining MIA Epsilon Spartans aboard Heart of Winter were also recovered.
After their recovery, most of the remaining Epsilon Spartans resumed active duty.