Editing Antonio Silva

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Disambig header|the ODST|the civilian|Antonio (card counter)}}
{{Character infobox
|variant=Human
|name=Antonio Silva
|image=[[File:HFR Silva.png|200px]]
|homeworld=
|birth=
|death=[[2552#September|September 22, 2552]]
|causeofdeath=
|parents=
|siblings=
|spouses=
|children=
|species=[[Human]]
|gender=Male
|height=
|mass=
|hair=
|eyes=
|affiliation=[[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine]] [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|Shock Troopers]]
|rank=[[Major (UNSC)|Major]]
|sn=73809-39884-AS<ref name="Drop">'''[[Data Drop|Data Drop Six]]'''</ref>
|notable=Organized the remaining [[UNSC Navy|Sailors]] and [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]] of the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} crash at [[Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base]].
}}
{{quote|So, here's the deal. I'm short a Captain, so Lieutenant [[Melissa McKay|McKay]] is serving as my Executive Officer. So, if either one of us says 'crap', then I expect you to ask 'what color, how much, and where do you want it?' Do you read me?|Silva, to [[John-117]]}}

'''Major Antonio Silva''' ([[service number]] '''73809-39884-AS'''){{Ref/Reuse|Drop}} was a [[Major (UNSC)|Field Grade officer]] and an [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]] in the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Corps]]. He was the Commanding Officer of the ODST forces during the [[Battle of Installation 04]] in [[2552|September 2552]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''', campaign level, ''[[The Pillar of Autumn|Pillar of Autumn]]''</ref>

==Biography==
===Early military career===
Around [[2525]], then-[[Second Lieutenant]] Silva was assigned to command a platoon of Marine Shock Troops, including [[Anthony Petrosky]]{{Ref/Audio|HTT|Season=1|Episode 03: Critical Condition}} and [[Langston]],<ref name="Langston">'''[[Halo: Helljumper]]''', ''[[Halo: Helljumper Issue 1|Issue 1]]''</ref> aboard the {{UNSCShip|Atlas}}.<ref name="Gym">'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', Chapter 5, ''page 134'' (2003 paperback); ''page 149'' (2010 paperback)</ref>

On April 22, to test the new [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]] [[SPARTAN-II augmentation procedures|physical augmentations]], [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI]] enlisted four of Silva's men, one of which was Langston,{{Ref/Reuse|Langston}} to confront [[John-117]] in the ''Atlas''<nowiki>'</nowiki> gym. The ODSTs were no match for the Spartan, and two were killed while the other two were severely wounded.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', Chapter 7, ''pages 63-68'' (2001 paperback); ''pages 81-86'' (2010 paperback)</ref> Silva viewed this as murder and was appalled when the SPARTAN was not punished. Silva held a deep grudge toward the [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II program]] in general, and [[John-117]] in particular, from that time forward.{{Ref/Reuse|Gym}}

===Reach and Installation 04===
====Escape from Reach====
In [[2552]], Major Silva was deployed with his ODST [[Battalion]] aboard the newly-refit {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}. Even before the mission began he came into conflict with the Spartans aboard the ''Autumn'', complaining to [[Wellsley]] that "they don't have the run on every piece of kit on this ship" and warning that "if the Spartans keep pulling more gear from the armory - way more than they need - there'll be problems."{{Ref/Reuse|Drop}}

====Pillar of Autumn====
When the [[Covenant]] was assaulting the ''Autumn'', the ships contingent of [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODST]] was assigned to protect the experimental power plant. Silva and his Marines defended the ship's engine generators, where his leadership was demonstrated by the wall of Covenant corpses used by his soldiers for cover. [[UNSC rank structure|Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]] proceeded to order the contingent of ODST off the ship to the [[Installation 04|construct]] near the ship at the time. Silva then abandoned the ''Autumn'' in a [[Human Entry Vehicle]] with his Executive Officer, [[First Lieutenant]] [[Melissa McKay]], and the few hundred of his men that were revived from cryo in time, playing the [[Helljumpers' anthem]] on the way down.<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', Chapter 1, ''page 33-36'' (2003 paperback); ''page 36-40'' (2010 paperback)</ref>

====Landing on Alpha Halo====
As part of the [[UNSC Insertion Protocols]], Wellsley was onboard Silva's drop pod.<ref name="ODSTfieldguide">[http://halo.bungie.net/projects/odst/guide.aspx '''Bungie.net''', ''ODST Field Guide'']</ref> During the descent to [[Installation 04]], Wellsley picked out a butte on the surface for Major Silva to act as an effective home base for the scattered UNSC forces on Halo. Wellsley then sent a message to the rest of the [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODST]]s about the location, and told Silva that the [[Covenant]] owned that location.<ref name="Flood1">'''Halo: The Flood''', Chapter 2, ''page 48-9'' (2003 paperback); ''page 54-55'' (2010 paperback)</ref> 

Silva rallied his men to capture a nearby butte that would become Alpha Base. With the capture of Captain Jacob Keyes by the Covenant Empire, Silva assumed command of the ''Autumn'''s surviving crew.

====Confrontation with the Chief====
Silva then encountered SPARTAN John-117, now a [[Master Chief Petty Officer]], and blatantly told him that he and his [[SPARTAN-II Program|Spartans]] were "freaks", and that they died because they were weak and could not adapt in battle. Silva continued to say that the veteran Spartan was the last of a "failed experiment" and a "dying breed", and that "real" humans, like Silva's ODSTs, would win the war, not Spartans.<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', ''pages 91-92''</ref>

Silva's beliefs regarding the Spartans had been completely unknown to anyone else at the time. [[First Lieutenant]] [[Melissa McKay]] disagreed with him but never vocalized her feelings. It is unknown how he knew that a Spartan had killed his men, much less that the Spartans had been abducted, since, at that time, the program remained top secret. However, in order to explain how his men were killed by a fourteen-year-old boy, it is likely that he was informed of the Spartans and their origins. (See [[List of Inconsistencies in Halo#Halo:The Flood|List of Inconsistencies in ''Halo: The Flood'']]).

He openly displayed disdain for the Spartans and their abilities, trying to convince Keyes (who had later been rescued by the Master Chief) that his men should be the ones going after the Control Room and not the Chief; his request was denied by Keyes, who thought highly of the Spartans. When the Master Chief disappeared, (having been teleported to the Library by the Monitor to get the Index), Silva told McKay that he felt that the Spartan was out playing games. McKay understood him to be frustrated, as he knew that John and Cortana were valuable assets despite his dislike for them. He did, however, express some admiration for the Chief's skills: after learning from Cortana the two's plan to destroy Halo, he said he had to admit the Spartan was "one hell of a soldier".

====The Flood outbreak====
Silva later ordered Lt. McKay to ferry supplies from the crashed ''Autumn'' to Alpha Base and hold the docking and supply bays until all further supplies have been taken. He then rallied his forces during a Covenant attack of the base, and again when the [[The Flood|Flood]] appeared and tried to infest the base. Silva succeeded by interrogating the found [[Private First Class|PFC]] [[Wallace A. Jenkins]], now a [[Flood combat form|Flood Combat Form]], and discovered the attack, plugging the holes underneath the base before the Flood could attack.<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', ''pages 275-276''</ref>

After the battle, Silva and his men came into contact with [[Cortana]] one last time and learned about the downed Covenant vessel ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]''. Silva also learned that Cortana and the Chief planned to destroy Halo by blowing up the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Silva planned a rapid assault on the ''Truth and Reconcilation'', and had impeccable timing, attacking just as the Covenant had destroyed the Flood aboard the ship, and defeating them easily. He also arrived likely shortly after the Master Chief had escaped the vessel again and further weakened the Covenant and Flood force on board.

====Delusions of grandeur and death====
It became increasingly clear that Silva wanted to be the hero of the Battle of Installation 04, and intended to take the vessel directly to [[Earth]]—violating the [[United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1|Cole Protocol]] and endangering Earth's population, as Silva had interrupted the process of sterilizing the ship, allowing some of the Flood to survive and hide on it.<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', ''page 300''</ref> He also planned to meet John-117 and Cortana in the space around Alpha Halo so that Cortana could pilot the vessel back to Earth.

Adamant in his decision, Silva left Lieutenant McKay no choice but to destroy the fiber-optic bundle connecting the bridge to the engine, causing the ship to crash onto the surface of Installation 04. This killed not only Silva and herself, but every other life form on the ship. In spite of the massive loss of life and opportunities for humanity to turn the [[Human-Covenant War|war]] around, that act prevented the Flood infestation from threatening Earth and the remaining colonies, and possibly saved billions of lives.

==Trivia==
*Although UNSC Marine Corps battalions are usually commanded by a [[Lieutenant Colonel|lieutenant colonel]],<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', Chapter 7, ''page 111''</ref> Silva commands his own battalion while only a major. This may be indicative of a lack of senior officers following the Fall of Reach, further supported by the fact Melissa McKay, a First Lieutenant, served as his XO due to there being no available Captains or Majors (which this bullet is filled by).
*His surname may be taken from Paul Silva of [[Bungie|Bungie Studios]].
*A trooper named Lieutenant Silva is a [[wikipedia:Mobile Infantry (Starship Troopers)|Mobile Infantry]] officer in Robert Heinlein's ''[[wikipedia:Starship Troopers|Starship Troopers]]'', which greatly influenced Bungie's development of the ODSTs.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HFR_Silva_Render.png|A render of Silva from ''Fireteam Raven''.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
* ''[[Halo: The Flood]]'' {{1st}}
* ''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Hunt the Truth]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Fireteam Raven]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Antonio}}

[[Category:Human characters]]
[[Category:UNSC Marine Corps officers]]
[[Category:Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]]