Janissary
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- "You will be trained, and you will be forged into weapons to be wielded by many masters. You will serve until your family’s debt is repaid. Each job you take, each contract you sign, will stipulate a percentage of your profits that will go towards repayment, and what that percentage is will depend upon your conduct within these halls. Successes is expected; transgressions and failures will accrue interest."
- — M'raad explaining how the program will work to new recuits.[1]
A janissary (plural janissaries)[2] is a term used by the Office of Naval Intelligence to refer to a variety of non-UNSC supersoldier programs active throughout human space. The term was originally coined explicitly to refer to programs run by Insurrectionist-affiliated power brokers, though over time has expanded to incorporate a variety of private augmentation programs run by criminal, corporate and colonial groups.[3] Similarly to the UNSC's Spartan programs, the term comes from a kind historical soldier used by the Ottoman Empire during the Middle Ages.
Overview[edit]
Named after a similar program undertaken by the Ottoman Empire's military during the Middle Ages of humanity's history, the term "janissary" was initially used to describe super-soldier programs such as the Venezian mercenary super-soldiers,[1] but later expanded to encompass a variety of human augmentation programs by criminal, corporate, power brokers, and colonial groups. Janissaries are often considered commodities, created to be a profitable weapon system.[3]
Known programs[edit]
While the term was originally coined to refer to insurrectionist-affiliated supersoldier programs, the term "janissary" has come to cover many of the non-UNSC human supersoldier programs in existence throughout the postwar world, particularly in the Created uprising era of 2559-2560.[3]
Venezian janissaries[edit]
On Venezia, janissaries are funded by cartel leaders; they create and hire out super-soldier mercenaries to a variety of groups in exchange for raw materials and access to stolen technology.[3] One such effort is lead by the Yonhet power broker M'raad, whose recruits were conscripted as collateral for the debts of their parents. Dozens were recruited to the program including Callie Calder who was only 15 years old; the others were varying ages relative to hers.[1]
Optican efforts[edit]
As a result of the Created uprising, Optican CEO Adam Andrews believed that the Spartans and United Nations Space Command were unable to protect its people.[1][3] Subsequently, Andrews has directed Optican's resources towards research on stabilizing rumbledrugs.[4][3]
History[edit]
The origins of worries about private supersoldier programs originate in the Insurrection. In that conflict, human rebel organisations attempted to create equivalents to the Orion and Spartan-IIs used by the UNSC, culminating in the development of rumbledrugs. As the war progressed, Catherine Halsey noted her fears of supersoldier proliferation in her journal after seeing NOBLE Team for the first time, and noting that they were not "her" Spartans. [3]
However, these worries did not escalate until the end of the Human-Covenant War, with the explosion of human military industry firms seeking to develop MJOLNIR power armor and equivalents.[5] These included the Buccaneer suit developed using off-the-shelf components,[6] alongside the Raijin,[7] Shinobi and Teishin suits developed for use by commercial and paramilitary clients,[8][9] and Dianthus VISR discovered in the arms markets of Venezia.[10] Indeed, Venezia later in the post-war era became a hotbed for janissary activity, becoming home to a number of other non-MJOLNIR power armor designs alongside a supersoldier program run by M'raad - a Yonhet power broker operating in New Tyne. M'Raad's program, active around September, 2559, involved the conscription of children as collateral for the debts of their parents. These recruits were then taken to New Tyne for their training.[1] During Operation: SONATA, on September 22, UNSC Captain Veronica Dare discovered the existence of the Venezian program.[1] At some point between September, 2559, and March 3, 2560, an operation on Venezia resulted in the UNSC's acquisition of a set of ASSAILER-class armor. This armor would be transferred to ANVIL Station for study.[11]
Personnel[edit]
Roles[edit]
Banished leaders must first enter a formal contract in order to enlist janissaries.[3] While janissaries allied with the Banished are rarely given with front-line roles, some of them take those roles as the quickest way to gain access to even more augmentation procedures.[12]
Equipment[edit]
Janissaries are known to use the ASSAILER-class armor,[11] BOGGART-class armor,[13] CONQUEROR-class helmet[14] with the Banished Red Cornet Command Network Module,[2] and TASKMASTER-class armor.[15]
Gallery[edit]
Janissaries made use of the Assailer armor.
Janissaries made use of the Boggart armor.
Janissaries made use of the Conqueror helmet,
Janissaries made use of the Taskmaster suit.
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo Infinite
- Content Update 29 (First mentioned)
- Content Update 32 (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Anvil Accord (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Venezian Sonata (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Empty Throne (First appearance)
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Halo: Venezian Sonata
- ^ a b Halo Infinite, Armor Hall: Red Cornet - Helmet Attachment Description "Banished equivalent of a UNSC Command Network Module used by Venezian janissaries and liasons."
- ^ a b c d e f g h Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Blightlands and Brigands (Retrieved on Oct 17, 2024) [archive]
- ^ Halo: Hippocratica
- ^ Halo 5: Guardians, Armory: Legionnaire helmet description "Creating a Mjolnir variant from scratch was once extremely difficult, expensive, and fraught with risk. The LEGIONNAIRE presages a democratization of Mjolnir technology that may prove impossible to control."
- ^ Halo 5: Guardians, Armory: Buccaneer helmet description "BUCCANEER helmets use off-the-shelf components, but the casing is custom made. The HUD is also compatible with military VISRs, employing ingenious hacks to bypass licensing locks."
- ^ Halo 5: Guardians, Armory: Raijin body description "The RAIJIN next-generation powered assault armor leverages the latest exoskeleton advances and Mjolnir BIOS extensions for a new breed of super-soldier serving corporate and government interests."
- ^ Halo 5: Guardians, Armory: Shinobi body description "Discovered aboard a derelict freighter in Lacaille 9352, SHINOBI armor has no known manufacturer or intended user. ONI continues to probe the recovered suits to unlock what appears to be several levels of restricted functionality."
- ^ Halo 5: Guardians, Armory: Teishin body description "Designed for a new breed of augmented soldier serving in paramilitary and clandestine agencies, TEISHIN suits are at the cutting edge of privately developed powered assault armor technology."
- ^ Halo 5: Guardians, Armory: Dianthus visor description "The Dianthus VISR kit was discovered by ONI operatives in the arms markets of Venezia. It's unclear who is manufacturing these VISR sensor elements or how widespread they have become."
- ^ a b Halo: Anvil Accord
- ^ Halo Infinite, Armor Hall: Assailer - Helmet Description "Human janissaries allied with the Banished rarely take on front-line roles, but it is the quickest way to gain access to further augmentation."
- ^ Halo Infinite, Armor Hall: Boggart - Armor Kit Description "The Goblinstrike effort by Venezia makes use of Created technology stolen from Balaho to restart a Covenant factory satellite and manufacture Grunt-ish armor for augmented human mercenaries. Phew. Get all that? The BOGGART is the first result that didn't result in unnecessary fatalities from design defects. For Banished and independent Grunts it is also a friendly face in an unfriendly galaxy. Friendly for a Grunt, at least."
- ^ Halo Infinite, Armor Hall: Conqueror - Helmet Description "The CONQUEROR is a Venezian fusion of Covenant and UNSC technologies made possible by massive infusions of Banished resources and stolen information. Their operators are home-grown mercenary super-soldiers eager for plunder and power."
- ^ Halo Infinite, Armor Hall: Taskmaster - Helmet Description "Venezian power brokers are keen to leverage the Banished for expansion of their burgeoning mercantile empire. They provide the TASKMASTER suits for use by Banished mercenary commanders, while subtly probing their allies battle network for useful information."
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