Hieu Dinh

Hieu Dinh
Personal details
Species:	Human
Gender:	Male
Hair color:	Black
Eye color:	Brown
Political and military information
Affiliation:	UNSC Navy Office of Naval Intelligence ONI Section Three (formerly); ; ; Spartan Operations SPARTAN-IV program; ;

"You shove one Banished AI into your neural matrix, and everyone panics!"

— Hieu Dinh

Hieu Dinh is a SPARTAN-IV supersoldier serving under Commander Laurette Agryna.^[6]

Biography[edit]

ONI service[edit]

Hieu Dinh started his career as a field analyst for Section Three of the Office of Naval Intelligence. During the Human-Covenant War, ONI tasked him with capturing and re-purposing Covenant technology.^[3]

Shortly after the war in early 2553, Dinh took part in a recon mission to a desolate moon that ONI had dubbed Operation: INTERIOR EXILE.^[7]^[8] The goal of this mission was to set up a research facility to examine a dormant Forerunner terraforming vessel embedded in the moon's rocky terrain.^[7] After his initial recon assessment, Dinh recommend that the three squads of ONI personnel travel by air under the cover of night to minimize risk of contact with local enemy forces.^[9]^[7] However, conflicting assessments resulted in a daytime insertion involving the use of an M12B Warthog.^[9]^[8] The insertion run resulted in disaster and agents Dinh and Padraig were among the few survivors. After the failed operation, ONI agent BAYLEAF communicated to fellow agent FLYBALL that it seemed that they should have listened to Dinh's recommendations and suggested that they consider accelerating other avenues to put him in a position where he could have a greater impact in planning these sorts of operations.^[7]^[8]

SPARTAN-IV service[edit]

Dinh would be recruited into the SPARTAN-IV program later in 2553, carrying the weight of the losses on the previous mission with him.^[7] At some point after becoming a Spartan, he received a prototype suit of Mirage IIC armor within an ONI laboratory beneath the Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science.^[10] While still a new recruit, his fireteam was assigned a mission that had them breach and raid a fledgling Yanme'e hive inside of a derelict Forerunner structure. The raid was ultimately a disaster as well; Dinh escaped with severe wounds, but the rest of his team perished.^[4]^[5] Dinh was left scarred by this experience in the Yanme'e hive, though his close call with death left him resilient in similarly-perilous scenarios.^[7] Later on, he would work alongside Laurette Agryna as they both earned experience as Spartans.^[11]^[4]^[5] After the rise of the Created, Dinh fought against the Banished in several close-quarters engagements, including boarding actions.

At some point, he met Spartan Sigrid Eklund during the Vihar collapse.^[12] Elsewhen, he also fought against rogue Spartan Ilsa Zane, who would memorize his name on a revenge list.^[13]

Camber[edit]

During the Created conflict, between 2559 and 2560, Spartans Dinh and Eklund were deployed to one of several Banished shipbreaking yards in the Chiltift Basin on Camber.^[3]^[4]^[5] This particular facility was a former UNSC fleet depot housing the hull of FFG-201 and taken under Banished control.^[3] Eklund and Dinh began scouting out the location, using intermittent dust storms as cover. At some point, the two Spartans spilt up, but planned to regroup and move deeper into the facility under the cover of the next dust storm.^[4]^[5] After watching the operation for two days, both Spartans discovered Iratus, the first Banished AI in existence, alongside an archive detailing all Banished operations on the moon. Eklund and Dinh were discovered by Banished forces and managed to hijack an Eklon'Dal Workshop Phantom, but Iratus followed them into their hijacked Phantom, threatening their escape. To have a chance to escape, Dinh allowed Iratus to infect his neural interface, threatening his life.^[14]

Hieu Dinh unconscious while under the effects of Iratus.

Academy[edit]

Both Spartans managed to bring their Phantom into the Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science, where Eklund informed Spartan Commander Laurette Agryna about their operation on Camber. In an effort to pull Iratus out of Dinh's neural interface, Agryna uploaded a simulation of the Banished facility on Camber into the Academy's combat simulator, and assigned Spartans to participate in the simulation to act as bait, and trap Iratus into an ONI server. The plan was a success, and Iratus was trapped, saving Dinh's life.^[11]

Following his recovery, Dinh met with Spartan Eklund at the firing range to talk about Iratus and the traumatic memories that he forced Dinh to relive. Eklund comforted him and urged him to ignore Iratus's words. She then introduced Dinh to one of the Spartan recruits who helped save his life. As she walked away, Dinh told Eklund to let Agryna know that he head is as good as ever, to which Eklund responded jokingly saying that maybe that's what she is worried about. After Eklund left the firing range, Dinh talked to the recruit and offered them his personal M392 Bandit as thanks, telling them to come find him once they get good with it. Before he walked away, Dinh told the recruit that the academy is old like him and that it has memories too.^[2]

Hieu Dinh inspects a set of Mirage IIC armor.

At a later date, the Spartan recruit found Dinh attempting to open a locked door within the Live Fire training space at the academy. The door had been damaged revealing an ONI logo beneath the top layer of paint, and strange sounds could be heard coming from behind it. Dinh and the recruit opened the door together, revealing a darkened elevator shaft. After lighting a flare, Dinh peered down the shaft and stated that ONI always did like to bury their secrets. He then invited the recruit to join him at the bottom before jumping down the shaft.^[15] The recruit followed and the two began exploring the abandoned subterranean facility. Dinh revealed that ONI had built the place at the start of the Human-Covenant War and that he had received his armor at that very facility. As the two came upon a set of empty Mirage IIC armor supported by an Brokkr Armor Mechanism, Dinh realized that if he knew about this place, then so would Iratus. Sure enough, Iratus could be heard chuckling as server stacks and other equipment around the room began to spark and display the logo of the Banished. The AI then revealed that he has recovered the entire history of the Spartan program, including its weaknesses and failures, and that it now belongs to the Banished. Dinh gives the recruit a worried look as the empty Mirage IIC suit displays holographic projections in the likeness of Iratus.^[10]

Equipment[edit]

During the mission to the Yanme'e hive as a new Spartan-IV recruit, Hieu Dinh wore a prototype Mirage IIC armor. As of 2560, Dinh now employs the Mjolnir Rakshasa armor, shaped by his experiences against the Banished and surviving for long periods alone in the field in the wake of the rise of the Created. He wears an Artaius helmet taken from a small run of prototypes intended for a new classification of powered exoskeleton.^[3] The helmet is equipped with a TAS/PATTON module. He wears the UTIL/TECCNIQE IOTA-12 shoulder pad on his left shoulder and a Banished war-trophy, the shoulder pad of a Spec Ops Sangheili's infiltration harness, on his right shoulder. He also wears the AAP/HEARTPLATE chest attachment and the UA/Type MEP[B] knee pads. Dinh is known to regularly wield an M392 Bandit rifle in combat.^[9]^[2]

Trivia[edit]

Dinh's blood type is likely A+, as shown by a label on his helmet. This label is present on the default Artaius helmet.

Gallery[edit]

Concept art[edit]

Concept art of Hieu Dinh's face for Halo Infinite.
Halo Infinite concept art, featuring Sigrid Eklund and Hieu Dinh.
Concept art for Dinh and Eklund's faces.
Concept art of Hieu Dinh's armor.
The previous concept art with Dinh's helmet removed.

Screenshots and renders[edit]

Dinh's armor kit in Halo Infinite.
Dinh and Eklund in the Banished shipbreaking yard.
A computer screen displaying Dinh's vitals and brain activity.
Hieu Dinh and Iratus converse while Dinh is in a dream-like state.
Dinh looking at a burning M12B Warthog while in this state.
Dinh has a flashback to his team's mission in the Yanme'e hive.
While in the flashback, Dinh removes his younger self's helmet.
Hieu Dinh's younger self in the flashback.
Dinh wakes up from his Iratus-induced unconsciousness.
Dinh at the academy's firing range with Eklund.
Dinh hold a flare over the elevator shaft leading below the academy.
Dinh salutes the Spartan recruit character before jumping into the elevator shaft.
Dinh explores the abandoned ONI facility below the academy.
Dinh featured in a promotional piece for Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month.