Editing John Smith

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Center|''This article is about the ONI agent. For other ''Halo'' characters named "John", see [[John|here]].}}
{{Character infobox
|variant=Human
|name=John Smith
|image=[[File:John Smith.png|275px]]
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|gender=Male
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|hair=White
|eyes=Blue
|affiliation=[[United Earth Government]]
|rank=[[Major]]
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{{Quote|It's a big, bad universe, Sergeant. Covenant aren't the worst of it. You've done what you thought was necessary. And so have I.|Smith before betraying [[Sergeant]] [[Zhao Heng Lopez|Lopez]]'s team.<ref name="tml306">'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Mona Lisa"'', ''page 306-307''</ref>}}
'''Major John Smith''' was a [[human]] [[Major|senior officer]] of the [[UNSC Marine Corps]] and [[Office of Naval Intelligence#Section Three|Naval Intelligence Section Three]], where he served as a scientist in the closing years of the [[Human-Covenant War]].

==Biography==
===The Mona Lisa===
{{Main|Skirmish on Mona Lisa}}
In [[2552#October|October 2552]], Smith and his ONI science team took control of the [[prison ship|prison vessel]] ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' with the intent of using it as a laboratory to study the alien parasite known as [[the Flood]], in the hope of turning them into obedient warriors for the UNSC. Once aboard, they would jump into the [[Soell system]], the site of the wreckage of [[Installation 04]]. There, they managed to capture specimens of the Flood and brought them aboard the ship.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''pages 325''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''pages 307-309''</ref>

Smith would then use both [[human]] and [[Sangheili]] prisoners to study the effects of the Flood. Whether ONI approved of his research is unknown; it was later noted by the ONI [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Rebecca]] that he had exceeded his original parameters "significantly", but this may also have been a result of Section III covering their tracks by putting the blame solely on Smith.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''page 323''</ref><ref name="tml330">'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''pages 330-331''</ref>

When the Flood eventually broke free and overran the ''Mona Lisa'', Smith remotely launched most of the ship's escape pods to prevent the Flood from getting off the ship. According to Smith, he would also attempt to sabotage the bridge, but could not get close enough. He then retreated into the safety of a sealed panic room,<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''page 301''</ref> remaining there until he was discovered by [[Sergeant]] [[Zhao Heng Lopez]]'s squad. Smith, claiming to be the ''Mona Lisa's'' medical officer, began to insist that they should leave the ship immediately, but Lopez would ignore his pleas, as they were on a mission to clear the ship's navigation database in accordance with the [[Cole Protocol]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''pages 265-271''</ref>

Upon coming across a Flood growth, Lopez inquired Smith as to its nature. Smith claimed that the Flood was a Covenant virus that had unexpectedly jumped into human prisoners.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''page 284''</ref> Soon after, they were attacked by a group of [[Pod infector]]s, leading to [[Rakesh|one]] of the Marines being killed. Lopez, realizing that Smith had been lying, hit him and ordered [[Mahmoud]] to search him thoroughly. As he did, they discovered his ONI ID badge, revealing his true identity. However, though Smith outranked the Marines and ordered them to take him off the ship, Lopez would still refuse to leave her Marines behind. Smith then used a concealed knife to kill Mahmoud, stole his rifle and injured Lopez, successfully making his escape.{{Ref/Reuse|tml306}} He soon made it to the Marines' [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelican]] in the cargo bay and escaped the ''Mona Lisa''. Smith was subsequently declared a [[war criminal]] by an angry Lopez for his experiments.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''' - ''[[The Mona Lisa]]'', ''page 324''</ref>

As Smith approached the [[UNSC prowler|prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Red Horse}} on the Pelican, he attracted the attention of the [[Covenant assault carrier]] present in the system. This forced the ''Red Horse'' [[Commanding officer|CO]], [[Commander]] [[Tobias Foucault]], to make the decision to destroy the ''Mona Lisa'' with a [[Shiva-class nuclear missile]] in order to contain the Flood before the Covenant ship could reach them, dooming any surviving Marines aboard.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''pages 322-327''</ref>

After arriving at the ''Red Horse'', Smith was taken into custody on the orders of Commander Foucault for his crimes. Rebecca stated that Smith would be court-martialed for his actions and "maybe even worse," but Foucault knew that if Smith was actually working under ONI Section Three orders instead of on his own as Smith claimed, he'd simply be used as a scapegoat.{{Ref/Reuse|tml330}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HEvol - Mona Lisa Face Off.png|Smith confronting Lopez's squad.
File:TML - rec_room.png|Lopez's team and Smith discover the remains of a Flood form in a recreation room.
File:TML - Smith badge.png|Smith's ONI identification badge.
File:TML - punch.png|Lopez hits Major Smith after losing Rakesh.
File:TML - Smith kills Mahmoud.png|Smith kills Mahmoud before making his escape.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
**''[[The Mona Lisa]]'' {{1st}}

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

[[Category:Human characters|Smith, John]]
[[Category:Office of Naval Intelligence personnel|Smith, John]]