OOC INFORMATION AND TIMELINE
IMPORTANT PEOPLE, TEAMS, AND TERMS:
Veronica Maynard - Doctor, researcher, and former political and UNSC socialite. Veronica Maynard came from a rich Earth family and ran in various political circles, learning the techniques of diplomacy she frequently still uses. At current in Reynolds' timeline, she is a severe looking woman looking to be in her mid to late thirties. She's tall and very angular and frequently doesn't smile. She is the hard willed but charismatic woman in charge of LBP-enlistments and the recruitment of training and commanding officers. Her work on the LBP is heavily based of Hasley's own SPARTAN-IIs but engineered means and funds to do it for cheaper and in less time.
LBP (Little Brother Program) or LB (Little Brother) - Similar to both previous SPARTAN programs and the concurrent SPARTAN-III program. LB employs the use of subliminal programming (see STARC), hence the shortened training time and ability to accept candidates in a higher age range (Up to 20 years of age).
LB uses all of Hasley's original enhancement protocols for augmentation, refined by Maynard herself and lessened so as to be less dangerous to participants and thus lower the "wash out" rate (because of this, LB SPARTAN-IIs are less physically capable than their "Big Brother" counterparts, the original SPARTAN-IIs. Reynolds calls this "Half the soldier for a quarter of the price." )
Because of Maynard's own petitioning for funds and the sort of "pay to play" rules of the LBP, 200 applicants were able to be taken in. of the 200, 50 were comprised of marines, most from the recent drafts all with scores high enough to allow "promotion" into the LBP. The remaining 150 were willing, paying applicants, screened and tested for viability and compatibility. Each applicant signed a waiver stating the UNSC could keep their conscription fee whether or not something unfortunate happened. The waiver was masterminded by Maynard as a fail-safe to protect both the UNSC and her LBP funding (and, indirectly, her soldiers).
"You have heard of a waiver, haven't you gentlemen?" - Veronica Maynard, to UNSC LBP Board of Approval
The LBP is Maynard's pet project but she used the opportunity of a leaked "rumor" about the SPARTAN-III massacre at the Covenant orbital shipyard K7-49 to win her approval. The LBP was green lighted to increase morale for all and to prove that Spartans were not being trained solely to be suicide soldiers.
STARC (Subliminal Tactical Aggression Reprogramming for Combat) - STARC, while not in violation of any UNSC laws previously laid down because no surgery or physical augmentation occurs in the process is still a highly criticized and scrutinized method of training. brainstormed by Maynard, STARC is employed to train Spartan recruits subliminally during sleep.
"The training never ends, sirs, as you might well imagine." - Veronica Maynard, in regard to the STARC regimen
STARC runs through both scenarios of War Games and puzzles of varying difficulty for each sleeping Spartan to complete. While not able to physically enhance, STARC is meant to sharpen the mind--reasoning skills, leadership skills, calculation, and problem solving--and does so in a more pliable environment where no actual risk is imposed upon the recruit as in live exercises. All STARC training is followed up in basic training to reinforce the introduced ideals. Monitoring individual progress is still impossible but real world testing is able to prove the effectiveness of the programming.
"Emotions cloud judgement. We don't want robots, gentleman, but we want damn close." - Veronica Maynard, in regard to STARC and the drawbacks thereof
STARC wasn't meant to alter personality, per say, and, in most, it didn't. Of 200 Spartan test subjects, twenty-three became "STARCers", or applicants that lost some, most, or all out of battle personality. Maynard explained it as "an acceptable loss" since the UNSC in fact gained twenty-three brilliant Spartans dedicated solely to the UNSC who's judgement would not be clouded (or as clouded, in some of the less severe cases) by anger or personal feelings. Most of the twenty-three were strictly deployed for highly tactical missions.
Ace of Swords - Top company of the new LB-SPARTAN-IIs comprised originally of 50 members split into ten squads of five members each, all assigned "Aces" and a corresponding letter of the Greek alphabet. The majority of Ace of Swords company is comprised of the former marines. At current, Ace of Swords is down to eight teams of five-six members each.
Queen of Swords - AI in charge of Ace of Swords company. She is modeled after Maynard herself. At current, there are two versions of the Queen, one who is controlled by the UNSC and another copy version that resides in Reynolds head because he volunteered to salvage her in a battle. She makes his brain her current home.
Aces Alpha - Led by Mal-556, a STARCer of the intermediate variety. Aces Alpha consists of Mal-556, Vita-527, Drew-609, Tony-687, Pierce-513, and Mitch-519. The squad is well balanced, Vita being the fastest and stealthiest, Mal being the smartest and coolest under pressure (likely because of his status as a STARCer), Drew being a superior sniper, Tony capable of repairing machinery in the field, and Pierce and Mitch combining to make a virtually unstoppable force. Drew came to Aces Alpha after Aces Kappa was disbanded due to MIAs.
Page of Pentacles - Second company of the LB-SPARTAN-IIs comprised originally of 60 members split into ten squads of six members each, all assigned "Pages" and a corresponding letter of the Greek alphabet. The original number of squad members is higher because of the cohesiveness of each squad and the Page of Pentacles company as a whole. At current, only one squad has needed to be disbanded and reformed due to MIAs.
Hex of Wands - Third company of the LB-SPARTAN-IIs comprised originally of the remaining 59 members split into nine squads of six members each and a tenth squad of five members, all assigned "Hexad" and a corresponding letter of the Greek alphabet. In battle thus far Hex of Wands has been hit the hardest, totaling 17 MIAs due to unforeseeable circumstances. At current, Hex of Wands is down to seven squads of six members each.
REYNOLDS SPECIFIC TIMELINE:
Please note! Unless specified below, the Reynolds timeline follows the main Halo story arc timeline which can be viewed here.
2527: - Anthony Michael Reynolds is born to Michael and Marie Reynolds in New York on Earth.
2540/2541: - Rumors of the slaughter of a new wave of Spartans makes its way through UNSC ranks and gets to Earth, decreasing confidence in the UNSC.
2542: - Discussion of the best way to handle morale problems and the rumors begin, including proposals to take the SPARTAN-II program public.
2545: - Mass draft initiated for the UNSC. Tony is enlist as a marine with top marks.
- Veronica Maynard uses her PR genius to propose the LBP to coinside with the SPARTAN-IIs going public. She outlines costs--ways to lessen the financial burden of creating another batch of Spartans--and an ambitious timeline for the production of more Spartan level soldiers. Training, by her calculations, would take five years. In her proposal, Maynard details the STARC program and the requirements for applicants. Maynard also proposes a reward system of sorts, encouraging applicants to pay to become Spartans and serve in the war against the Covenant.
2546: - Maynard is given her LBP. Screening of marines in the applicable age range begins in the beginning of the year while paying applicants are screened beginning some months later. Screening includes a test of skills--reflexes, combat knowledge, sight, hearing. speed, endurance, critical thinking, problem solving, and a psychiatric evaluation.
- Select marines are chosen to advance into the LBP as a "promotion". Tony is one of 50 marine applicants that actually signs the waiver. Between marines, other UNSCers and civilians, 200 applicants sign the waiver and are approved to begin in the LBP.
2549: - LBP goes to the semi final stage. All enrolled Spartans are augmented physically using similar methods used in the SPARTAN-II project. 20 die and 11 more are permanently disabled. because of Maynard's legalese prowess, the money from those applicants is not refunded to the families of the deceased.
- Maynard begins petitioning the richest people on Earth and the Inner Colonies on behalf of the UNSC and her LBP; she succeeds in raising her funds for her soldiers and "the survival of the human race".
2550: - Training nearly complete, companies and squads are newly assigned based on performance. The top company is known as Ace of Swords, comprised of ten squads of five members each (Aces Alpha through Kappa). Tony scores a position in Aces Alpha.
2551: - Training completes. Maynard is commended for her efforts and is allowed to begin consideration for the LBP wave two.
- All LBP Spartans are deployed to the battle lines.
- Morale increases with the additional Spartan support but 30 more LB-Spartans are "MIA" after only months of battle.
- Ace of Swords company continues to be wildly successful (attributed in secret to the company being chiefly comprised of former marines).
2552: - Conflict on Earth destroys some major cities. Tony loses his entire family and anyone he once knew, what seems like a lifetime ago.
- Reach falls to Covenant hands despite a valiant effort by the UNSC on all fronts. LBP ships escort the Pillar of Autumn on it's Cole Protocol vector in case the remaining Covenant forces decide to follow.
- Halo is reached. LBP forces are separated from main UNSC forces and ships become damaged. LBP forces create their own base on the surface of Halo to preform ship repairs and search for survivors.
Current times: - Tony is in the Nexus, transported there by means unknown when he was more than likely about to die. He's beginning to consider it the Aces luck.
- Using a PINpoint, Tony is able to return to the Halo. Using the PINpoint, he is able to move between the two with relative ease.
Veronica Maynard - Doctor, researcher, and former political and UNSC socialite. Veronica Maynard came from a rich Earth family and ran in various political circles, learning the techniques of diplomacy she frequently still uses. At current in Reynolds' timeline, she is a severe looking woman looking to be in her mid to late thirties. She's tall and very angular and frequently doesn't smile. She is the hard willed but charismatic woman in charge of LBP-enlistments and the recruitment of training and commanding officers. Her work on the LBP is heavily based of Hasley's own SPARTAN-IIs but engineered means and funds to do it for cheaper and in less time.
LBP (Little Brother Program) or LB (Little Brother) - Similar to both previous SPARTAN programs and the concurrent SPARTAN-III program. LB employs the use of subliminal programming (see STARC), hence the shortened training time and ability to accept candidates in a higher age range (Up to 20 years of age).
LB uses all of Hasley's original enhancement protocols for augmentation, refined by Maynard herself and lessened so as to be less dangerous to participants and thus lower the "wash out" rate (because of this, LB SPARTAN-IIs are less physically capable than their "Big Brother" counterparts, the original SPARTAN-IIs. Reynolds calls this "Half the soldier for a quarter of the price." )
Because of Maynard's own petitioning for funds and the sort of "pay to play" rules of the LBP, 200 applicants were able to be taken in. of the 200, 50 were comprised of marines, most from the recent drafts all with scores high enough to allow "promotion" into the LBP. The remaining 150 were willing, paying applicants, screened and tested for viability and compatibility. Each applicant signed a waiver stating the UNSC could keep their conscription fee whether or not something unfortunate happened. The waiver was masterminded by Maynard as a fail-safe to protect both the UNSC and her LBP funding (and, indirectly, her soldiers).
"You have heard of a waiver, haven't you gentlemen?" - Veronica Maynard, to UNSC LBP Board of Approval
The LBP is Maynard's pet project but she used the opportunity of a leaked "rumor" about the SPARTAN-III massacre at the Covenant orbital shipyard K7-49 to win her approval. The LBP was green lighted to increase morale for all and to prove that Spartans were not being trained solely to be suicide soldiers.
STARC (Subliminal Tactical Aggression Reprogramming for Combat) - STARC, while not in violation of any UNSC laws previously laid down because no surgery or physical augmentation occurs in the process is still a highly criticized and scrutinized method of training. brainstormed by Maynard, STARC is employed to train Spartan recruits subliminally during sleep.
"The training never ends, sirs, as you might well imagine." - Veronica Maynard, in regard to the STARC regimen
STARC runs through both scenarios of War Games and puzzles of varying difficulty for each sleeping Spartan to complete. While not able to physically enhance, STARC is meant to sharpen the mind--reasoning skills, leadership skills, calculation, and problem solving--and does so in a more pliable environment where no actual risk is imposed upon the recruit as in live exercises. All STARC training is followed up in basic training to reinforce the introduced ideals. Monitoring individual progress is still impossible but real world testing is able to prove the effectiveness of the programming.
"Emotions cloud judgement. We don't want robots, gentleman, but we want damn close." - Veronica Maynard, in regard to STARC and the drawbacks thereof
STARC wasn't meant to alter personality, per say, and, in most, it didn't. Of 200 Spartan test subjects, twenty-three became "STARCers", or applicants that lost some, most, or all out of battle personality. Maynard explained it as "an acceptable loss" since the UNSC in fact gained twenty-three brilliant Spartans dedicated solely to the UNSC who's judgement would not be clouded (or as clouded, in some of the less severe cases) by anger or personal feelings. Most of the twenty-three were strictly deployed for highly tactical missions.
Ace of Swords - Top company of the new LB-SPARTAN-IIs comprised originally of 50 members split into ten squads of five members each, all assigned "Aces" and a corresponding letter of the Greek alphabet. The majority of Ace of Swords company is comprised of the former marines. At current, Ace of Swords is down to eight teams of five-six members each.
Queen of Swords - AI in charge of Ace of Swords company. She is modeled after Maynard herself. At current, there are two versions of the Queen, one who is controlled by the UNSC and another copy version that resides in Reynolds head because he volunteered to salvage her in a battle. She makes his brain her current home.
Aces Alpha - Led by Mal-556, a STARCer of the intermediate variety. Aces Alpha consists of Mal-556, Vita-527, Drew-609, Tony-687, Pierce-513, and Mitch-519. The squad is well balanced, Vita being the fastest and stealthiest, Mal being the smartest and coolest under pressure (likely because of his status as a STARCer), Drew being a superior sniper, Tony capable of repairing machinery in the field, and Pierce and Mitch combining to make a virtually unstoppable force. Drew came to Aces Alpha after Aces Kappa was disbanded due to MIAs.
Page of Pentacles - Second company of the LB-SPARTAN-IIs comprised originally of 60 members split into ten squads of six members each, all assigned "Pages" and a corresponding letter of the Greek alphabet. The original number of squad members is higher because of the cohesiveness of each squad and the Page of Pentacles company as a whole. At current, only one squad has needed to be disbanded and reformed due to MIAs.
Hex of Wands - Third company of the LB-SPARTAN-IIs comprised originally of the remaining 59 members split into nine squads of six members each and a tenth squad of five members, all assigned "Hexad" and a corresponding letter of the Greek alphabet. In battle thus far Hex of Wands has been hit the hardest, totaling 17 MIAs due to unforeseeable circumstances. At current, Hex of Wands is down to seven squads of six members each.
REYNOLDS SPECIFIC TIMELINE:
Please note! Unless specified below, the Reynolds timeline follows the main Halo story arc timeline which can be viewed here.
2527: - Anthony Michael Reynolds is born to Michael and Marie Reynolds in New York on Earth.
2540/2541: - Rumors of the slaughter of a new wave of Spartans makes its way through UNSC ranks and gets to Earth, decreasing confidence in the UNSC.
2542: - Discussion of the best way to handle morale problems and the rumors begin, including proposals to take the SPARTAN-II program public.
2545: - Mass draft initiated for the UNSC. Tony is enlist as a marine with top marks.
- Veronica Maynard uses her PR genius to propose the LBP to coinside with the SPARTAN-IIs going public. She outlines costs--ways to lessen the financial burden of creating another batch of Spartans--and an ambitious timeline for the production of more Spartan level soldiers. Training, by her calculations, would take five years. In her proposal, Maynard details the STARC program and the requirements for applicants. Maynard also proposes a reward system of sorts, encouraging applicants to pay to become Spartans and serve in the war against the Covenant.
2546: - Maynard is given her LBP. Screening of marines in the applicable age range begins in the beginning of the year while paying applicants are screened beginning some months later. Screening includes a test of skills--reflexes, combat knowledge, sight, hearing. speed, endurance, critical thinking, problem solving, and a psychiatric evaluation.
- Select marines are chosen to advance into the LBP as a "promotion". Tony is one of 50 marine applicants that actually signs the waiver. Between marines, other UNSCers and civilians, 200 applicants sign the waiver and are approved to begin in the LBP.
2549: - LBP goes to the semi final stage. All enrolled Spartans are augmented physically using similar methods used in the SPARTAN-II project. 20 die and 11 more are permanently disabled. because of Maynard's legalese prowess, the money from those applicants is not refunded to the families of the deceased.
- Maynard begins petitioning the richest people on Earth and the Inner Colonies on behalf of the UNSC and her LBP; she succeeds in raising her funds for her soldiers and "the survival of the human race".
2550: - Training nearly complete, companies and squads are newly assigned based on performance. The top company is known as Ace of Swords, comprised of ten squads of five members each (Aces Alpha through Kappa). Tony scores a position in Aces Alpha.
2551: - Training completes. Maynard is commended for her efforts and is allowed to begin consideration for the LBP wave two.
- All LBP Spartans are deployed to the battle lines.
- Morale increases with the additional Spartan support but 30 more LB-Spartans are "MIA" after only months of battle.
- Ace of Swords company continues to be wildly successful (attributed in secret to the company being chiefly comprised of former marines).
2552: - Conflict on Earth destroys some major cities. Tony loses his entire family and anyone he once knew, what seems like a lifetime ago.
- Reach falls to Covenant hands despite a valiant effort by the UNSC on all fronts. LBP ships escort the Pillar of Autumn on it's Cole Protocol vector in case the remaining Covenant forces decide to follow.
- Halo is reached. LBP forces are separated from main UNSC forces and ships become damaged. LBP forces create their own base on the surface of Halo to preform ship repairs and search for survivors.
Current times: - Tony is in the Nexus, transported there by means unknown when he was more than likely about to die. He's beginning to consider it the Aces luck.
- Using a PINpoint, Tony is able to return to the Halo. Using the PINpoint, he is able to move between the two with relative ease.