Martin Long

Martin Juno Long (: 66312-98863-ML) is a  in the  during  and the Post War Era. He was the first officer of the UNSC Hammer of Dawn from 2556 till his promotion by former captain, Maxwell Hendricks in 2567. 
He would join and lead the Spartan Joint Operations Units and acts as the leading Naval Commander of the organization under both Admiral Delany Wilkinson and Colonel Albert Söze. 
== Early Years ==
Born on the colony world of New Rome, Martin Long was born to a relative middle class family. Long grew up close by the sea and always wanted to set sail across the oceans of his home. However, he soon enlisted with the UNSC after hearing that his brother had died while on the front lines of war. 
== Human-Covenant War ==
Little is known about Long's time during the Human-Covenant War. What is known is that he was deployed to Earth in late 2552 and was already an acting Petty Officer
=== Battle of Earth ===
Being deployed to Earth, Long was tasked with defending the planet along with any and all able body humans. Long was deployed with a team to the surface to reenforce the defense of New Mombasa's outskirts. 
Long and his team landed and were quickly engaged by a large incoming group of Covenant soldiers. While Long and his squad held off the attackers, they were soon overrun by an overwhelming amounts of reinforcements with a Covenant super carrier arriving and deploying more troops into the city. Long and his squad fell back into the streets of New Mombasa, however, as they were fighting, more squads arrived. 
Eventually, the team took to go under the city and into the sub tram lines. While in the lines, the team encountered a massive drone nest underneath the city with engineers and Brutus commanding. While some on Long's team wanted to attack the Covenant head on, Long opted for a different situation. Long suggested discovering what the Covenant were hunting for. While the group agreed, they were forced to move due to a patrol discovering them. 
Long and his squad were able to escape the patrol but were unable to stay due to their presence being discovered. While the team did face some resistance, they were able to escape the underground fortress and return to the surface where they requested a pickup. Once at command, Long reported their findings and the team was assigned with an ODST squad to infiltrate and eliminate the hive once and for all. 
==== Mission to the Tunnels ====
Long and his new unit were deployed back into the drone nest for a elimination mission. Dropping with ODSTs, Long and his team were able to hit the surface directly and penetrate the Covenant defensives because of it. Long and his team linked with ODST forces and the group began to charge through to the main unground control center of the base. 
The group came across a large bridge which lead deeper into the hive. While Long and his team would move around to find the control center, the ODSTs were to go deeper and plant explosives along the permitter. While the naval squad Long led made it around, he stuck behind and attacked the drones and Brutes from the rear to save the marines. 
After the ODSTs moved onward, Long continued with his squad and soon located the main control center, which was swarming with Covenant. Long soon observed honor guards protecting what he identified as a Covenant prophet. Realizing the severity of the situation, Long ordered his sniper to take out the prophet. However, before he could, a honor guard stepped in the way and took the shot by accident. Long and his team engaged Covenant forces and were heavily outgunned, which allowed the prophet to escape. 
After being pinned down for several minutes, explosions went off miles under and the blast were able to kill enough Covenant so that the squad was able to wipe the rest out. Suddenly, a phantom emerged from the cliffs only to contain the ODSTs who offered a lift to Long and his team. The group flew to the main control center, dropping off the special forces while the ODSTs defended the area. While inside, the group began to download some data through the Covenant BattleNet and were attacked by a Drone swarm. 
While fighting off the drones, members of Long's team were able to finish downloading the data. The swarm was felt with and the team returned outside to see the ODSTs fighting off a Scarab tank. Long and his team assisted the ODSTs by attacking the deck crew. Long and his troops also boarded the Scarab and made their way to the central core and destroyed it. 
Before the Scarab was destroyed, the ODSTs rescued Long and his team and the entire group escaped to UNSC High Command for debriefing with the recently recovered data. 
==== Battle of Voi ====
Long was deployed with a small band of army soldiers to a defensive platform in south Voi. While his team was on the move, they were shot down by a pair of banshees and crashed into the side of the mountain. While the pilots were killed, Long and two of his team members lived. Long and his team began to move towards the city seeing as they could no longer reach the platform. Once inside, Long and his group helped ODSTs and other local UNSC forces in pushing back the Covenant. 
Following the opening of the portal, Long was redeployed to London on leave and returned for the memorial ceremony in Voi in March of 2553. 
== Post War Era ==
After the end of the war, Martin somehow achieved the rank of  within the UNSC Navy. Long was also deployed to the ship, the UNSC Hammer of Dawn to act as its first officer. 
=== Battle of Installation 06 ===
After the discovery of Installation 06, Orange Team with the final member of Purple Team, Gary-009 were assign to join Juliet Team of the Alpha-Zulu Corps to investigate the ring.  Together, Gary-009 and orange team formed the Spartan Joint Operations Units with Juliet Team as the first joint team.  On board the UNSC Hammer of Dawn the spartans discussed the plan of attack, but once out of slip-space, a Covenant fleet was already around the ring.
Able to slip past the fleet to let the Hammer of Dawn handle the Covenant, whilst the spartans land on the ring.  Ordering Juliet Team to secure the rig-line, Gary and Orange team pushed trough a forerunner facility to clear out Prometheans and Covenant.  Once secured, the Hammer of Dawn was able to send down reinforcements and the spartans pushed on.  
====The Fire Storm ====
As the spartans press on, they find a Covenant communication station and quickly capture the facility.  Once captured, they learn of a plot to activate the halo ring forcing the spartans into action.  Captain Hendricks of the Hammer of Dawn orders the spartans to stop the plot, but in order to do so, they must cross over hundreds miles of terrain littered with Prometheans.  Marching through a small hollow, the spartans are ambushed by Promethean Knights, and quickly disposing of Anna A-378 by implying her in the stomach.  After barely escaping the hollow, the spartans then pushed on to form a camp sit for the night and resume the next day. 
====Bad to Worse ====
The following day, the UNSC Hammer of Dawn was able to shoot down a Covenant CCS-cruiser near the spartan’s location.  In order to stop the plot to activate the ring, Gary and Tim decide to instead make the engines of the cruiser go critical and blow up the ring.  Unable to land reinforcements to the spartans, they were forced to travel on foot.  
After almost seven hours of hiking, the teams came across a cliffside in which they were forced to climb.  But only half-way up, Prometheans and Phaetons attack and hindered their progress.  After all but two spartans (Luke A-380 and Meredith A-377) make it to the top, knights quickly ambushed the spartans.  Able to defeat the knights, a Phaeton was able to shoot both Luke and Meredith off the cliff to their deaths.  After resting for a bit, the team pushed forward to the cruiser the next day.  Luckily, the Hammer of Dawn was in the clear to land Pelican drop ships to the spartans.  Unfortunately for the spartans, the cruiser was surrounded by Prometheans and Covenant.  
While Mia A-371 went inside the cruiser to prime the core for destination, the other spartans would guard the outside.  As the pelican came to get the spartans, the remote activation was damaged and Mia had to detonate the core manually.  While the other spartans escaped, Mia sacrificed herself to destroy the ring.  
===Assault on Dwarf Sigmus-IV ===
In March 2562, several Covenant Remnant forces allied and reformed into a New Covenant Empire with a fleet that could rival the . A fleet containing over 300 ships, the empire consisted of the remnants of 'Luman's fleet (around 10 ships), the Servants of the True Reclaimers (around 110 ships) and dozens of Sangheili and  lead factions. The New Empire then attacked Dwarf Sigmus-IV, a Human colony skipped in the war, now the site of an full scale assault. The Joint Operations Units were called in to assist local forces along with UNSC Crimson Fleet. 
====OPERATION: Discover and Conquer ====
Leading both the Fireteam Renegade and Sierra Team, Ace-A220 and Spartan Rogers were sent to do recon on a current docked Brute Ship and prepare for a boarding if necessary. The brutes were deploying scanners and Forerunner based equipment. Rogers and Ace then decided to attack, and so the team hijacked the shipments and captured all Forerunner equipment and returned to the Hammer of Dawn. With the location locked into a possible orbital bombardment, Hendricks requested for the cruiser to be destroyed. Local forces allowed it so, both the cruiser and a Corvette flying overhead were shot and both were destroyed. 
Fireteam Tripod and Fireteam Jericho would later be deployed to clean up detail and salvaged several pieces of both Covenant and Forerunner technology including a map to more Forerunner tech. Tim and Gary were then deployed to a potential map room from coordinates received from some pf the technology. The two only did recon until Clark and Thomas arrived and the Spartan-II's then infiltrated the map room and silently eliminated all Covenant forces. 
The Spartans then placed a beacon and ODST's were dropped in to assist, but alerted the Covenant to their presence. Being pushed deeper within the structure, the spartans were unable to provide the marines support so they were forced to recover all data on the area and possible Forerunner tech on the planet. After the data was recover and its source destroyed, the spartans were then able to push outside, but all but a few marines had survived. Luckily Sierra Team was able to assist the evacuation the Spartans and remnants of the marines were able to escape. 
====Siege of Gabriel Base ====
After the Covenant sent three CCS-class cruisers and a CAS-Assault Carrier to Gabriel Base, Fireteams Carmon and Fireteam Renegade was deployed to push back the Covenant while Sierra and Clark-055 would capture a cruiser to use against the Covenant. Renegade ordered Carmon to stay at the Base after the landing strips were secured and to reactive local defense systems while they would clear out the Covenant deployments around the base. Carmon was forced to fight through a large Covenant strike force within the base's tower atrium and were able to reactive the defense systems just as more phantoms came close to Renegade's position. 
Though Clark and Sierra had a difficult time landing on the cruiser, they were able to punch a hole into a topside hanger bay and landed their and prepared the area for a UNSC insertion. Clark then lead Ace, Rufus-A291 and Hunter-A427 into the heart of the ship to shut down the guns while Lance-A342, Otto-A444, Martin-A426 would direct incoming UNSC fighters and troops and guard the LZ they secured.
Clark, Ace and their new squad of marines made their way towards the bridge and engaged the crew after Rufus assassinated its spec-ops commander. Killing a majority of the crew, the team found themselves within a trap and were captured by overwhelming brute and elite forces. Before they were executed, Thomas-012 lead a team of 's and the rest of Sierra to the bridge and the group then took control and began to fire at opposing Covenant vessels. 
Fireteam Renegade then had activated long rage missile pods and set a target at the Assault Carrier to bring it down, while the Crimson Fleet would engaged any other Covenant vessel. But, just as the missiles fired, the carrier began to glass the area and a nearby town, killing hundreds and leaving the UNSC crippled as it also destroyed several Long Sword fighters and a single frigate. Afterwards, the carrier rammed into the cruiser controlled by the spartans. 
The group were able to evacuated off the destroyed cruiser, but at the cost of almost the entire ODST squadron. However, the flagship of Crimson Fleet, the carrier UNSC Crimson was able to damage the carrier but it retreated to the outer atmosphere and regrouped with the rest of the fleet. Though the base was intact, hundreds lied dead due to the Covenant.
====Battle of Terra Ridge====
Learning the location of a large Covenant army, Colonel Söze and Gary lead an assault on their current location while Captain Hendricks and Commander Long distracted a large Covenant fleet away from the ridge where they were hidden. The assault team were ordered to distract the Covenant ground forces, while Orange Team and Fireteam Renegade destroyed AA guns around the bases for the Covenant so that the Horsemen Fleet could bomb it. 
Söze and Gary were able o hold their own, until a scarab arrived and began to decimate they had commissioned. Tim, knowing that the army was able to be killed, had himself and Spartan Drakken board banshees and began to bomb the legs of the scarab. Gary, realizing the opening, boarded and destroyed the scarab, escaping by landing on Tim's banshee. Drakken joined Söze on the ground assault and the army then attacked a large Covenant blockade. Orange Team, Gary and Fireteam Renegade then destroyed the final AA gun and allowed three frigates to bomb the rest of the army still inside a few bases and corvettes. 
Though the ground assault was a success and the army crippled, the naval assault was devastated and almost completely destroyed. Luckily the Hammer of Dawn and a small group of Crimson Fleet had survived and retreated back to the capital of Crystal City with an injured Captain Hendricks. Clark then lead Thomas and a small squadron of fighter pilots to defend against the incoming Covenant fighters about to attack the remnants of the UNSC attack force. The team was able to fend off the Covenant but at the cost of half the squad. The UNSC then returned to Maxwell Memorial Base for a future assault. 
===OPERATION: Sentinel Gaze ===
Receiving word from ONI scouts, the Joint Operations Units along with its new fleet, The Buster Fleet (comprised of the remnants of Argo Fleet, Crimson Fleet, UNSC Hammer of Dawn, UNSC Compliance and the remnants of the Horsemen Fleet) were alerted of the New Covenant Empire Fleet near . Colonel Söze and Gary then comprised OPERATION: Sentinel Gaze, a plan to destroy a majority or the entire fleet at once. 
Gary was deployed with Fireteam Leonardo and Fireteam Amazon to do place the last twelve Sangheili bombs onto carriers of the fleet. The Spartans were able to hijack a Covenant Lich and entered the fleet's controlled space. Amazon was able to infiltrate and and capture a Covenant hanger bay. Once inside the spartans planted the bomb and quickly escaped, but were discovered before they reentered the hanger. Gary rode in via a Spirit inside the hanger and helped Amazon escape and move on to the next carrier.
Fireteam Leonardo approached the flagship and was instantly shot down onboard the ship, forced to enter and face the waves of Covenant pinning them down until help could arrive. However, the flagship became completely surrounded and was unbreathable by a single Lich or Seraph fighter. Leonardo-1 and the rest of the team knew what they had to do and detonated the bombs, destroying almost the entire fleet. Luckily Gary and Amazon were able to escape in their Lich. 
===Battle of New Australia ===
In mid 2565, the New Covenant Empire made an attack on the planet, New Australia with the Buster Fleet responding almost immediately. Though the Covenant Fleet was decimated by OPERATION: Sentinel Gaze, they still managed to show a formidable threat to the UNSC and the colony world. 
====Siege of Longshore ====
Fireteam Jericho and Orange Team was deployed to the surface to assist with civilian evacuation while Gary and Sierra Team would meet the Covenant head on in the front lines. Sierra and Gary were able to hold the line and assist in activating several defense platforms and formed dozens of LZ's across the city. After the civilian evac ops were finished, Orange and Jericho entered Falcons and began to clear the skies with marine forces while Gary and the navy pushed the Covenant back. 
Captain Hendricks then lead a strike on the carrier attacking the city along with the UNSC Compliance and the UNSC Thunderdome. The Hammer of Dawn slipped under the carrier and was able to destroy its main hanger while the Compliance and Thunderdome were able to dismantle the guns and and leave the ship defenseless. Hendricks then lead a small squad into the ship to capture its commander and left the Dawn under the command of Commander Matin Long. While inside, Orange Team also boarded the ship and the two teams linked up and successfully captured the bridge and its commander, escaped and destroyed the ship. 
====OPERATION: Cosmonaut ====
After interrogating the Brute Ship Master for days on end, the commander finally talked reviling a Covenant deployment on New Australia's moon, Sera. Fireteam Amazon and Fireteam Jericho were then deployed to the surface for recon and clear LZ's for a ground assault. Jericho was all confirmed KIA during a recon mission thus the UNSC retaliated by a ground assault and boxed the Covenant in with assistance of the Fifth Fleet. 
Though the fleet was able to shot down at least two cruisers, the remaining eleven ships were able to bust through the Fifth Fleet with them giving chase. Meantime, Amazon and Orange Team lead the ground assault and was able to crush the Covenant resistance on the Sera with ease. Afterwards, Clark-055 and Amazon then used Broadswords to engage Seraph fighters and assisted the Fifth Fleet in the destruction of the last few ships by boarding and overloading the reactors. The Battle was won in the UNSC's favor. 
===Battle of Surgeon ===
====Seperation ====
As the final commander of the Remnant Fleet of Regretful Redemption, Zaz ‘Vadem was found, the Spartans Joint Operations Units were assigned to assist in his death. Due to injuries and other deployments, only Clark-055 and Thomas-012 could serve with Shield Team to bring down the mad Sangheili ship master. As the UNSC Hammer of Dawn and UNSC Sunrise entered the orbit of Surgeon they were engaged by Covenant forces. The Sunrise was able to deploy shield, whilst the Hammer of Dawn was able to deploy Orange as ariel support along with Foxtrot Team.
====Ariel Combat====
Once onboard, Shield team was completing their mission whilst Clark and Tom were struggling outside.  As more seraphs came and the loss of fighter pilots, things seemed grim.  Luckily for Orange, Foxtrot were natural pilots and assisted the Spartan II’s on their goal.  
Hearing a distress signal from inside a Covenant Cruiser, Tom requested permission to enter with Clark.  Permission was granted and the spartans entered the cruiser, and found the source of the signal.  Several human prisoners within the ship had escaped from their cells due to the ship’s loss of power.
====Saving the Civilians ====
Due to their nature, Orange Team top priority was to save the civilians imprisoned on the cruiser by any means necessary.  Calling in a Pelican, Tom was able to ted to the wounded with Clark interrogating others to understand what had happened.  Unknown to the UNSC, a sangheili minor was watching the breakout and ran to the reactor room.  As the humans made it to the hanger-bay, a pelican landed to get everyone out and back home safe, but the reactor went critical, and killed everyone in the ship, the spartans included.  Orange team’s part was done.  
== 2570's and Onward ==
=== OPERATION: New Hope ===
Though not an official battle, the Hammer of Dawn was present for Timothy-127's speech and his official retirement. Commander Long also brought Tim back to Earth for the rest of his life and the two men went their separate ways as the Hammer moved on in space.
== Psych-Interviews ==
=== Personality ===
Martin Long is described as cunning, logical and charismatic. He was a natural leader for the battlefield, leading troops with strategy and ideas over brute force and bullets. Long is one to focus more on gathering intelligence and knowing the enemy and their end goals over just attacking anything that moves. Martin also showed a bit of a charismatic wise-cracker when the situation could call for it. This was mainly in the bridge or just having a conversation with anyone onboard. 
Long is also highly supportive of his crew and fellow humans. He is known to never be condescending, nor easily aggravated with anyone or thing. Long is known to wish his close allies and fiends well constantly to the point of almost annoyance. However, this does not place Long in a state of shame or feelings of wrongness, rather it uplifts him seeing people acknowledge him as something other than a commander. 
=== Physical Appearance ===
Martin Long is a tall man, standing at 6 foot 1 inch. He has jet black hair and deep brown eyes. Martin wears a Human-Covenant War style of uniform with short sleeve dress shirt and long white pants.  He also wears a clean white undershirt at all times unlike many commanders. 
Long's uniform also has a series of medals on his left breast. Instead of the unusually dress shoes, Long completes the attire by having ankle boots and a Magnum at his waist.
=== Relationships ===
==== Maxwell Hendricks ====
Martin is Maxwell's right hand man and successor on the Hammer of Dawn. The two have a strong working relationship and seem to understand one another quite well. They both have strong trust in one another as Hendricks' promoted Long to commanding officer of the Hammer after his retirement.
==== Timothy-127 ====
Martin and Tim were known to have a strong working relationship with one another. They were often considered close friends and on several occasions play poker with one another. The two continue their friendship to this day. 
== Quotes ==
== Confirmed Kills ==
Least to Greatest
Brutes: 72
Elites: 108
Drones: 113
Grunts: 232
Total Kills: 525 Total KillsCategory:BEN THE BESTverse