Joseph Dawes

Lance Corporal Joseph Dawes, also known as the Rookie, (SN: 11282-31220-JD) served in the UNSC Marine Corps during and after the Human-Covenant War. 
He was trained as a member of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers early in his career and served with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Force at New Jerusalem and Mount Haven. He was later picked up by Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck for his team, Alpha-Nine, to aid ONI in New Mombasa, Kenya during the Battle for Earth.
He was executed by Captain Ingridson on Draco III after being captured. He was given a burial at sea shortly after by the rest of Alpha-Nine and his death motivated Edward Buck, Michael "Mickey" Crespo, and Kojo "Romeo" Agu to become Spartan-IVs. If he had survived he would also be given the option to become a Spartan-IV.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
Joseph Dawes was born on February 9, 2525 in Crisium City, Naniwa, Luna. His parents served in the UNSC Air Force, with his father being known for killing several fleeing Insurrectionists after the Battle of Mount Sapienza. His mother served on an AC-220 Vulture and was badly wounded during an attempted hijacking. They had expected Joseph to also serve in the military. He enlisted into the UNSC Marine Corps on July 7, 2547.
=== Human-Covenant War ===
====Battle of Skopje====
On December 4, 2547 Joseph was deployed onto the colony of Skopje after the Covenant's invasion of the planet. The battle lasted four days and ended after the arrival of the Brilliant Divinity. Dawes was a part of a small unit of soldiers sent to defend a firebase and was one of the youngest soldiers to have fought in the battle. He was shot in the chest by a beam rifle and had to be transported away from the battlefield. 
He was sent to the UNSC Homeward Bound to recover and the colony was glassed. He had lost many of his childhood friends who had fought by his side during this battle.
==== Mount Sapienza Conflict ====
Like his father before him, Joseph fought on Mount Sapienza. Unlike his father, he was fighting the Covenant while his father was fighting the Insurrectionists. The snowy mountain provided an advantage to the marines who were wearing winter camouflage and wielding sniper rifles. The brightly colored armor of the Elites and Unggoy made them easy to spot in the harsh environment.
They were picked off from a distance by the marines and most of them attempted to retreat from the area, but they were extremely unsuccessful. Joseph then rushed the now-scattered remains of the lance with the rest of his squad. The conflict was over in a few hours and the city of New Whittaker was notified of the presence of Covenant scouting parties and several frigates were sent to defend the city.
==== First Battle of Whittaker ====
After the death of the scouting party the Covenant made a risky decision to send the Brilliant Divinity, the same ship from the Battle of Skopje, to clean up the resistance on planet. Joseph was a part of one of the first marine squads to have been dropped into the city and engaged the invaders. When it seemed that Whittaker would be lost the UNSC Nirvana arrived and engaged the Brilliant Divinity. Dawes watched as the two titans brawl and the Brilliant Divinity fall. It crash-landed into the nearby Portum Ocean, a large splash of water covering the eastern part of the city in water. Minor damage to the city was sustained in the battle.
==== The Second Battle of Whittaker ====
The Covenant once again arrived in almost a year. Two cruisers, Undeniable Vengeance and Pursuing Absolution, were sent to finish the Brilliant Divinity's mission. Joseph was redeployed and fought against the second wave of invaders. It is here where he met Katherine Simmons, a marine who was sent to defend a firebase. She reminded him of himself during the Battle of Skopje, how she was just as unknowing of the threat as he was.
The Undeniable Vengeance attempted to glass the center of the city but was stopped by the UNSC Empire State and was nearly destroyed. It entered slipspace and fled from the battle. The Pursuing Absolution, now alone, attempted to surrender to the UNSC. They accepted the surrender and destroyed the ship. The shipmaster, Oran 'Deramee, was captured and revealed critical information about attacks on Cedric VI. He died in custody a few months later.
==== Relationship with Katherine Simmons ====
Joseph would not see combat and took temporary leave for the rest of 2549 alongside Katherine Simmons. The two would become involved and would start dating for the year. They lived in an apartment in Whittaker on Cedric VI and were considering getting married the following year on Katherine's homeworld of Draco III. Katherine gave birth to their son, who was named after her deceased brother, Tyler. Life was good for the two until the 2549 Whittaker Christmas Day Bombing.
On December 25, 2549 a Sangheili known only as 'Laramee detonated a bomb comprised of superheated plasma near Joseph and Katherine's apartment. He was acting independent of the Covenant's orders and wanted to draw attention away from a larger attack on a UNSC embassy. The apartment began to collapse and Joseph attempted to escort Tyler and Catherine out of the building, but he was trapped underneath a support beam. 
Certain that he would die, Joseph ordered Katherine to leave and save their son. A piece of the ceiling then collapsed, crushing Catherine's chest and legs and Tyler's arm. Firefighters rushed in and saved Joseph, practically throwing him out of the building and tried to save Katherine and Tyler. This would prove fruitless as another explosion occurred and engulfed the interior in flames. This was most likely due to amount of heavily flammable material in the building's basement and the fire spread because of the carpets.
He could hear the wails of his wife and baby as they were cooked alive. He received immediate medical attention and watched a news report about a second explosion at the embassy. He recovered in the hospital over a span of three years, rejoining the UNSC in 2552.
====Battle of New Jerusalem====
Joseph volunteered to join the ODSTs in either July or August of 2552. In a month he was deployed to the colony world of New Jerusalem in the Cygnus System with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Force, which was a part of a Rapid Offensive Picket. Dawes saw nearly all of his squadmates perish in combat.
====Raid on Mount Haven====
"Sir, I can't just leave you..."--Joseph Dawes to an injured Gage Yevgenny Joseph participated in an engagement in the city of Mount Haven weeks after the tragedy of New Jerusalem. He was dropped into the city from the UNSC Chares with ODST reinforcements on orders to defend the transport of a Forerunner artifact. He responded to a distress call from Gage Yevgenny shortly thereafter, who had went against orders to save a group of civilian children. His pelican had been shot down by rogue ODSTs near the mountains outside of the city. He was found mortally wounded by Joseph, who had arrived with Gage's reinforcements.
Yevgenny, knowing that he was dying, told Joseph his life story. He had listened intently and promised to remember him and do whatever he could against the Covenant. He then told Dawes that the Covenant Forces and rogue ODSTs were on their way to the crash site and to get as far away as he could. Gage was going to detonate a Shiva-class nuclear missile he had stolen, which would kill them all.
Joseph then ditched all of his gear and ran until he reached the other side of the mountain. Gage then detonated the nuclear missile, killing himself, the rogues, and the Covenant forces. Joseph was one of the only survivors of the incident and hailed a Pelican. He was then informed that Reach had just been attacked and the survivors were being transported to Earth. Joseph would not forget Gage, and his long and tragic life. He was then promoted to Lance Corporal and transferred to Alpha-Nine as the replacement for an ODST who had died during the Fall of Reach. As a friendly suggestion, Joseph adopted the callsign "Rookie". His armor was either chosen in haste or recycled, because his nameplate had the Private, First Class (PFC) rank insignia instead of Lance Corporal (LCpl).
==== Battle of Mombasa ====
During the Battle for Earth on October 20, 2552 Joseph, his squad, and a large element of the 65th Shock Troops Division were stationed aboard the UNSC Say My Name as a part of a mission to assault an assault carrier known as the Solemn Penance above the city of New Mombasa. ONI operative Veronica Dare took control of the squad at the last moment before the drop, intending to use them in a yet-undisclosed mission. Joseph was awoken by Kojo "Romeo" Agu in a rude manner just before the drop.
As the squad dropped using SOEIVs, Veronica changed their course towards ONI Alpha Site in New Mombasa. Regret's carrier jumped into slipspace, generating a shockwave and a massive EMP that scattered Alpha-Nine's drop pods all around the city. Joseph's pod was slammed into Michael "Mickey" Crespo's , cracking the pod's window and sending it into free-fall. Joseph had survived against all odds and was knocked unconscious.
Dawes woke up six hours later, which was lodged into a building in the Covenant-occupied city center of New Mombasa. The city's AI, the Superintendent, had been monitoring him and waiting waiting for the ODST to wake up. As he dropped down into the city the AI provided him with valuable help, activating signs to guide him to safety and uploading a map of New Mombasa to his VISR's database. As he explored the city, he tried to piece together clues to find out what happened to his squadmates while avoiding the heavy amounts of Covenant forces. During Joseph's exploration of New Mombasa he had discovered a series of audio logs that narrated the story of Sadie Endesha, which detailed her attempt to find her father, Dr. Endesha, while the city was under attack. Through these logs, he had learned that a creature had entered the city's data center and, in order to repair the Superintendent, combined itself with Vergil.
He deduced the events of the last six hours and picked up a message from Dare, who was requesting assistance in the New Mombasa Data Center. Upon reaching the Underground, Dawes learned that she wasn't on Sublevel 09. After reaching a data stack, he found a lone NMPD officer who was attempting to check in on his men; however, the Superintendent would not allow him onto the next level until Joseph arrived at his location. The two fought through the Covenant together and reached Sublevel 09. It is here where the officer suddenly stopped their progress and entered a nearby room for a "personal issue". Even though he was told to wait outside, Joseph entered the room and found the body of Doctor Endesha. The officer, now infuriated, revealed that he was working for Kinsler (the NMPD's corrupt commissioner who was an enemy of Sadie Endesha). The officer tried to kill Joseph, but the better armored ODST killed him in self defense.
After fighting through more of the Covenant Joseph finally arrived at Dare's location, much to her surprise. She told Joseph of her mission: to recover the data the Superintendent recorded during the attack on the city. Dare and Joseph were forced to fight their way through a Yanme'e hive and other assorted Covenant. They then found a defected Huragok known as Quick to Adjust holding the Superintent's data. Dare was initially hostile to it, but Joseph learned through Endesha's logs that it was friendly. He befriended the Huragok with a whistle, having noted that Vergil had also used this to befriend the creature. Dare learned that Quick was willing to reveal information about the Covenant
Dawes then reunited with Buck and proceeded to assist Dare and Quick in their escape from the city's Data Center. After fighting past a Covenant outpost and up another elevator, the four arrived at the Waterfront Highway. Here, Joseph and Buck used various Warthogs and Scorpions to protect an Olifant containing Dare and Quick. While driving down the highway, they witnessed Truth's fleet arriving in force and starting to glass New Mombasa. After encountering a Scarab, Buck decided to find a new location and hold position until Mickey arrived with a stolen Phantom. Once he arrived, the squad evacuated and watched as the Covenant glassed the city.
It was revealed at some point that Covenant forces attacked some of the home colonies on Mars and Luna on their way to Earth, killing most if not all of Joseph's relatives on Luna. He disliked talking about this, and when asked by Buck, he gritted his teeth and stated that "There's nothing left for me now."
=== Respite and Redeployment ===
Joseph and his squad guarded the Huragok, now known as Vergil, in the ONI-appropriated Crimson Wing of the Quito Space Tether's terminus for the following weeks. One month after the battle, they watched as Sergeant Major Avery Johnson interrogated Vergil. Alpha-Nine was redeployed in the field and fought in the concluding battles of the war. One of these operations, JOINT MONITOR, consisted of biohazard containment in the Voi Exclusion Zone sometime after the Battle of Voi.
=== Post-War ===
==== Draco-III Rebellion and Death ====
"It only takes one mistake, kid. You went a long tine before you made it."--Kojo "Romeo" Agu paying respects at Joseph's funeralOn January 3, 2554, Joseph and the rest of Alpha-Nine was deployed to Draco-III's capital city of New Albany as a part of the UNSC's response to an uprising instigated by the United Rebel Front, the most notorious Insurrectionist group. While the ODSTs were storming the capitol building, they were caught in an ambush in the legislature chambers. Buck ordered Joseph to flank the rebels while the rest of Alpha-Nine provided cover. He was captured and beaten by the rebels, whose leader, Captain Ingridson, subsequently held him hostage on a shielded presidential balcony.
During the standoff, Mickey charged the balcony and attempted to order Ingridson to stand down. This caused the captain to execute Joseph with a pistol shot to the head. The UNSC won the ensuing firefight and Captain Ingridson was shot by Taylor "Dutch" Miles instantly after she killed Joseph. He was buried at sea from an old Albatross dropship, far offshore in one of Draco-III's oceans with only the rest of his team in attendance. Dutch was shaken by his death and decided to retire, while Mickey continued to harbor a deep-seated guilt over his failure to save him. Joseph's death would serve as one point of motivation for the other member s in his team to become Spartan-IVs. When Buck was talking to Jun-A226, he revealed that Joseph would've been given the opportunity to become a Spartan-IV alongside the rest of his team if he had survived
== Equipment ==
Joseph employed the late-war variation of the ODST armor. Joseph's nickname ("The Rookie") was derived from a nickname given to him by his squadmates in Alpha-Nine and painted on his chestplate, alongside a hastily-painted Private, First Class insignia. His helmet was painted with a white stripe, an identifying symbol of his old unit. He preferred a snug fit for his gear to limit noise, tightly secured equipment to his armor, and snacks salvaged from otherwise unpalatable meals in his hard-shell backpack. His shoulder pads were painted in an urban camouflage, and he employed fingerless shooting gloves. Joseph used whatever pouches he could salvage or borrow and kept non-mission critical contents in two pouches on his right leg to store equipment outside of his backpack. Joseph used his thigh pouches to store extra ammunition, candy, and restraining cable.
Joseph employed a simple loadout on his belt (containing of six grenades with optional spine, groin, and upper thigh armor. The back of his belt was fitted with a small cushion, which was handy for his habit to sleep wherever he could. In combat, Joseph preferred a standard loadout (consisting of an M7S SMG and an M6C/SOCOM handgun)
== Trivia ==
* Joseph's blood type is O+, as seen in his MEDREF.
* Joseph is often seen asleep. Minutes before he was dropped into the city of New Mombasa, he napped near his pod while the rest of his squad conversed. Upon crashing in the city, he was knocked unconscious for six hours. One month after this mission, he slept under a staircase while Avery Johnson and the rest of his squad interrogated Vergil.
Category:UNSC Personnel
Category:Humans
Category:ODST
Category:UNSC Marine Corps Personnel
Category:UNSC
Category:Males