Sam-A242

CDR Sam "Blaze"-A242 is a SPARTAN-III commando of the UNSC Special Warfare Command, attached to Special Warfare Group Three. Sam is the commander of SPARTAN Group December, an elite group of SPARTANs who fought during many high-risk operations, most notably however, during the Fall of Reach. Sam is more specifically the team leader of Fireteam Dagger, his callsign being Dagger One. He was often regarded by trainers and handlers alike as the 'unsung hero'. He is one of few other surviving members of Group December after its near-annihilation in August 2552.
=Biography=
==Childhood and early career==
Sam was born in a small town just outside of Luxor, a large city of Eridanus II, on July 18, 2528 just prior to his home world being glassed by the Covenant during the Battle of Eridanus II in 2530. During the mayhem, Sam lost both his parents and his sister - being narrowly evacuated aboard a civilian transport craft. Sam then spent the next year living with a temporary foster family. By 2531, the brief one-year period had left him with a strong hatred towards the Covenant for the loss of his family and home world. Combined with his fascination for the military, it was from here he was found and volunteered to sign up for SPARTAN-III’s Alpha Company
During his training, Sam often found it hard to fit in and interact with the other SPARTANs due to him being one of the youngest, as well as his general shy attitude at first. This could sometimes lead to other SPARTANs picking fights with Sam. Combined with the rage of losing his parents, this often led to instructors having stern words with him. Sam initially didn't stand out as a SPARTAN but rather just got on with tasks quietly. However, further into his training, Sam started to show signs of being able to work and lead effectively as part of a team, and after a considerable amount of time, was considered for being reserved for ‘future special units’. This consideration was later approved several years after. The next years of specialised training led Sam to become more focused and determined than ever, feeling as though he had a duty to succeed.
==Human-Covenant War==
By April 14th, 2549, Sam had fought and led against mostly Insurrectionist operations, however he has had his fair share of Covenant interaction in the past. Sam had been recruited with a small handful of SPARTAN-IIIs from both Alpha and Beta Company who had been removed or reassigned prior to Operation: PROMETHEUS or Operation TORPEDO, respectively. It was during this time that he befriended the then-Lieutenant, Junior Grade Conall-B223, much to Sam's dismay as he saw the SPARTAN disobey an order to fall back in order to save a fleeing group of school children. Sam later met with two other members that still existed within the soon-to-be formed fireteam.
===Dagger Team (2549-2558)===
Working alongside Conall-B223, Alfie-A285 and Ethan-A213 that he met whilst evacuating civilians during the Siege of Paris IV, he led the newly formed Fireteam Dagger through several campaigns against the Human-Covenant War with Kevin-A229 and Erin-B310 joining a year later in 2550.
===Fall of Reach (July 26th - August 30th, 2552)===
Coincidentally enough, prior to the Covenant arriving on Reach, Sam was allowed access to run a 'refresher' mission for the entirety of SPARTAN Group December beginning at 0800 hours within a remote area of the Highland Mountains based in the Viery Territory. As Sam's team touched down at the Forward Operating Base labelled only as "Viery Hunter Outpost", they lost COM with the Marine fireteam that was stationed within the area. Initially, the SPARTANs thought that this was part of the exercise. However when only two of the four Marine bodies were present, albeit being dead, suspicions were raised. The first signs that the Covenant may be at hand were more obvious to some as a Special Operations Sangheili team as well as several grunts and jackals accompanying them, had attacked the team within minutes of their arrival. Sam was able to effectively and extremely quickly neutralise the threat, considering the Covenant were outnumbered almost 2-1 in this case. Eventually, the source of the jammer was tracked down to a small storage shack. Sam ordered that the jammer be destroyed, as the SPARTANs began to fall back with the two surviving marines at 1012 hours, they had been informed that this was a confirmed attack on Reach, with a larger invasion force likely inbound.
Over the coming weeks, Sam led several small raids against the Covenant during the Fall of Reach. The first being the protection of UNSC facilities immediately after WINTER CONTINGENCY was declared. Sam led Fireteam Dagger to stop the Covenant advance on several remote outposts during July 28-30, 2552. However, the most notable operation Sam took part in included the early hours of the Raid on New Alexandria. Sam led SPARTAN Group December through the outskirts of the city as Covenant reinforcements began to enter the city after the first wave during the early hours of August 18th, 2552. Sam and his SPARTANs were tasked to initially support the Forward Edge of Battle Area (FEBA) and neutralise a Covenant unit in the area suppressing a marine platoon. The firefight ended abruptly after several hours and countless waves of Covenant assault teams neutralised. This was at the same time as an SDV-class heavy corvette had entered the airspace of the SPARTANs’ Area Objective, in which Sam was then tasked for him and his teams to neutralise the cruiser by “any means necessary”. Most of SPARTAN Group December was able to successfully board the corvette with the exception of most of Fireteam Raven. Sam was able to successfully rescue several marines imprisoned on the corvette as EOD specialists attempted to overload the engines.This resulted in saving a large number of marines and civilians in the area, at the cost of many SPARTANs – an act Sam takes full responsibility for. Following this, the SPARTAN ordered a retreat to Firebase Harvey, a derelict and previously overrun base. After he oversaw that the majority of the civilians in the area had been safely evacuated, Sam prompted the small remainder of the group to a Mako-class corvette, UNSC Invictus, which he was able to luckily communicate on the E-BAND. The corvette and the remaining twelve SPARTANs were able to quietly and successfully make the slipspace jump away from Reach.
===Battle of Mare Erythraeum (October - November, 2552)===
Following his short but bloody time on Reach, Sam as well as the remaining SPARTANs from SPARTAN Group December eventually made their way back to the Inner Colonies where the group was split up to help defend Earth and Mars. Sam assisted other officers in Naval operations during the Battle of Mare Erythraeum.
==Second Battle of Requiem==
In late 2557, Sam was approached to join up with the SPARTAN-IV Program and convinced those from SPARTAN Group December to join him. He came off of his official 'stand down' state for the first time in three years after he was ordered to ensure local duties were fulfilled at Camp Arizona, Earth whilst maintaining a slight sense of readiness in 2554. Later, on February 7, 2558, Sam began operations aboard the UNSC Infinity leading Fireteam Dagger through several skirmishes.
==SPARTAN-IV Program==
After he served with the UNSC Infinity in February 2558, Sam became a trainer for SPARTAN-IVs in May of that year. His job was to train those who graduated from SPARTAN-IVs basic training with potential to become special forces operators. 
=Traits and Personality=
Sam appears to be a decisive and swift leader, able to coordinate and inspire multiple units under his command at a time. Nonchalant and reserved at first, he is regarded as an exceptional strategist but has been known to break under extreme pressure at times. During the heat of battle, Sam has been known to swear and take a sarcastic view upon a bad situation. It should be noted that he has had several trust issues with fellow SPARTANs both under and out of his command during his career. Some symptoms of personality disorders as well as PTSD were considered within the most recent medical report. Such symptoms include nightmares and flashbacks, however this has began dampening ever since he returned to active duty in 2558.
Sam's high rank originates from him working so closely with ONI for the majority of the 2540-50s, a result of Sam's role of organising and commanding special operation units.
=Promotions=
Below is a list of the commissioned ranks Sam has been promoted to, as well as the dates he achieved each one. This list currently does not include the ranks he was promoted to prior to becoming a Naval commissioned officer.
 Rank 	 Rank  	 Dates 
 	Lieutenant, Junior Grade	July 19, 2544—December 2, 2545
 	Lieutenant 	December 2, 2545—February 16, 2547
 	Lieutenant Commander 	February 16, 2547—January 30, 2550
 	Commander 	January 30, 2550—
=Trivia=
*His signature weapon is the BR85HB SR. He has also been known to use both both variants of the DMR and shotgun, including the M392 DMR and the M395 DMR as well as the M45 TS and the M45D.
*Sam has been known to have a sick sense of humour when it comes to the enemy.
*He has been noted to "enjoy explosives" by handlers.
*At some point, he received extensive EVA training, presenting him with the opportunities of EVA-based entries into missions where rarely available.
*Usually condoning the capture of Covenant weaponry, Sam often pulled certain strings to allow the use of such weaponry by his teammates.
*Sam's alignment is Lawful Neutral, obeying orders and having his own privatised opinions on the subject at hand.
=Gallery=
sam chrome theme 1.jpg|Sam runs towards the enemy
sam chrome theme 4.jpg|Sam adopts his cloaking ability to walk through, ironically enough as a sign tells him not to.
Category:Alpha Company
Category:SPARTAN-IIIs
Category:UNSC Naval Personnel