Castoffs

Castoffs
General overview
Leaders:	Samson Roselle

The Castoffs are a group of humans, so-named for their origins, having grown up in isolation outside of the Human Sphere of space. The group were born as the descendants of pirates marooned on the planet Netherop in the mid-late 25th century, and grew up isolated until encountering modern United Nations Space Command and Covenant forces in the early years of the Human-Covenant War. In return for assisting UNSC forces during the battle on the planet, the group were granted aid to return to human space, ultimately choosing to settle on the Insurrectionist-leaning world of Gao. In the intervening years of the Human-Covenant War, the group used their funds to purchase land deep in the jungle of Gao, founding the village of Paraiso with the goal of living their lives free and outside the auspices of the Unified Earth Government.

History

Origins

At some time in the 25th or early 26th centuries, the Castoffs' ancestors had worked as pirates in the Outer Colonies, preying on the freighters and colony ships serving the distant network of far-flung worlds. Eventually, these pirates were apprehended and ultimately marooned on the inhospitable greenhouse world Netherop, despite the practice's outlawing in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Planetary Penal Code under Colonial Administration Authority ruling. With such a cruel fate, the Castoffs' ancestors had been expected to die on Netherop stranded in the outermost limits of human space. However, the stranded pirates instead discovered the remnants of a long-dead civilization on Netherop, and were able to use the planet's remnant networks of cities and ancient technology to survive on Netherop - if not thrive. John-117 estimated that those who had originally come to Netherop may have been around the mid-2470s - roughly fifty years before Blue Team's own adventure on the planet in 2526.

Human-Covenant War

Main article: Human-Covenant War

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Resettlement

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After extracting from Netherop, the Castoffs (represented by Roselle and Samson) met with Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth aboard UNSC Everest to discuss the outcome of the engagement on Netherop and the terms of their resettlement, alongside Vice Admiral Preston Cole, John-117, Catherine Halsey, and two officers (Lieutenant Commander B. Nett and Lieutenant J. Stone) from the UNSC Judge Advocate General's Corps - deliberately arranged by the admiral in the Castoffs' favour. The focus of the questioning during the interview focused on debriefing the two Castoffs and John with regards to the abandonment of Petrov on Netherop, with Roselle having falsely claimed that Petrov had volunteered to be left behind. The officers then questioned John-117 about his promises to the group, that the UNSC would resettle them on any world of their choosing regardless of its affiliation in the ongoing civil war, noting that an enlisted rank such as a Master Chief Petty Officer did not have the authority to make such a promise.

When questioned on which world they would want to be resettled on, the Castoffs chose Gao, having heard that it was a free world. This initially alarmed the UNSC officers, though Nett argued that it wouldn't be an issue; the defection of Hector Nyeto to the rebellion earlier that year had already leaked the secret of the SPARTAN-II program to his forces, so the Castoffs would not be able to provide any intel to the insurrection that they did not already know. Despite protests by Stanforth, the settlement was agreed upon, with Roselle promising that if the UNSC were able to keep their word, the Castoffs would not leak any secrets about the Spartans to the Insurrection. This promise was backed up by John, thanks to his experience with the Castoffs and their devotion to keeping their word even at great personal expense on Netherop. That the decision had ended in their favour surprised the group, especially once they were given an old Sharpfin-class escort corvette to use to get to the planet.

Alongside the UNSC doing the work to ensure the group would be allowed to enter Gao without flaring up the Insurrection and their provided corvette, the Castoffs were given resettlement funding, which they used to purchase land on Gao, deep in the jungle, founding the village Paraiso. Although the village would remain under covert Office of Naval Intelligence surveillance, the Castoffs mostly kept to themselves during their life on Gao - having children and minimal connection to the wider planet. One member of the Castoffs, Oskar, did eventually leave the village to settle with a girl from the more connected parts of the planet. This state largely continued throughout the Human-Covenant War and into the post-war years; by 2559 the Castoffs were the victims of a prion disease outbreak in the jungle. Doctor Keely Iyuska and Spartan Olympia Vale were deployed to the village in late 2559 disguised as travelling medical staff to deal with the outbreak, though in actuality were there to meet with a now-much older Roselle (going by the name Rosa) to seek her assistance in a return mission to Netherop.

Culture

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The Castoffs were all adolescents who had likely never known a life outside of Netherop; as such their culture and attitude toward the greater human civilisation was somewhat unique. The Castoffs only had a limited amount of knowledge, and did not understand the concept of a year.

Members

• Arne
• Lena
• Oskar
• Roselle
• Samson

List of appearances

• Halo: Oblivion (First appearance)
• Halo: Outcasts