Editing Joshua-029

{{Status|Canon}}

{{Character infobox

|variant=Human

'''Joshua-029''' was a [[SPARTAN-II]] supersoldier and an electronics expert. Throughout the [[Human-Covenant War]], he led numerous teams of fellow Spartans, including [[Gold Team]]. He had a close working relationship with [[Kelly-087]], [[Frederic-104]], and [[John-117]].

Joshua was a genetically, intellectually, and physically gifted child chosen for the [[SPARTAN-II]] project. He was abducted by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] and replaced with a [[flash clone]] when he was around six years old. He and seventy-four other children were taken to [[Reach]] in the [[Epsilon Eridani system]]. There, he was trained by the [[dumb AI|"dumb" AI]], [[Déjà]] and [[Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]], with the two serving as the Spartans' teacher and drill instructor, respectively. In [[2519]], he was taken alongside his fellow trainees to a [[Military Wilderness Training Preserve]] for a mission that required each trainee to be left alone in the woods with a only a single piece of a map. It was up to them to find one another so that they could piece the map together and locate the designated extraction point. The mission was ultimately a success. At another point during training, Joshua and the others traveled to [[Emerald Cove]] for an underwater mission. There, they abandoned Mendez and lived on their own on an island for a few days. By [[2523#July|July 14, 2523]], Joshua and his fellow Spartan-IIs had begun facing the formidable and ruthless [[UNSC Marine Corps]]' [[Tango Company]] in simulated [[War Games|war games]]. On [[2525#March|March 9, 2525]], Joshua and the rest of the Spartan-II candidates underwent their [[SPARTAN-II augmentation procedures|augmentation procedures]] at [[Medical Facility Endurance]] orbiting Reach. After successfully enduring the procedures, Joshua later attended a military funeral aboard the [[carrier]], the {{UNSCShip|Atlas}}, in the [[Lambda Serpentis system]] for the Spartans who died during the process. Afterwards, they all returned to Reach for their final training phase in the [[Highland Mountains]].

===The Covenant War begins===

After the [[Covenant]] [[First Battle of Harvest|attack]] on [[Harvest]] and the beginning of the [[Human-Covenant War]], Joshua and the rest of the Spartan-IIs were brought to the [[Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex]], where [[Rear Admiral]] [[Michael Stanforth]] and the AI, [[Beowulf]], briefed them on the emerging Covenant threat. In response, the training of Joshua and the rest of the Spartan-IIs was accelerated, and the Spartans were sent to [[Chi Ceti IV]] in the [[Chi Ceti system]] to receive their new [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor]] from the [[Damascus Materials Testing Facility]] in order to aid in combat against the alien threat.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 121'' (2010)</ref> While en route to Chi Ceti IV aboard the {{Class|Paris|heavy frigate}}, the {{UNSCShip|Commonwealth}}, they were [[Battle of Chi Ceti|attacked]] by the Covenant [[warship]], ''[[Unrelenting]]''.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 127'' (2010)</ref> The ''Commonwealth'' was able to ward off the ''Unrelenting'' and the Spartans were deployed to Chi Ceti IV with Halsey, where they each received a set of armor.<ref name="for141">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 141'' (2010)</ref> While the Spartans were returning to the ''Commonwealth'', the ''Unrelenting'' returned and engaged the frigate. To provide aid to the ''Commonwealth'', [[John-117]] had Joshua and the other Spartan-IIs use [[thruster pack]]s to embark towards the ''Unrelenting'' so that they could destroy the warship with [[Anvil-II air-to-surface missile|Anvil-II AS missiles]], though only John, [[Kelly-087]], and [[Samuel-034]] made it aboard.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 147-150'' (2010)</ref>

 

By early [[2526]], Joshua served as the leader of [[Gold Team]], which was then composed of [[Naomi-010]], [[Daisy-023]], and [[Grace-093]] as well. On [[2526#March|March 5]] of that year, Joshua, his team, and eight other Spartans were organized into an assault squad led by John-117 with orders to board and capture a [[Covenant frigate]], ''[[Radiant Arrow]]'', orbiting the planet [[Netherop]]. To accomplish this, they were deployed from the [[prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Starry Night}} for an [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]] [[Naval boarding|boarding action]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS1|HSS|Chapter=1}} Using a flight of {{Pattern|Elsedda|Banshee}}s for cover, the Spartans stealthily approached the alien vessel.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS2|HSS|Chapter=2}} They [[Skirmish over Netherop|boarded]] the frigate via its underslung hangar and eliminated the Covenant forces stationed there without the rest of crew realizing they had been boarded. As [[Blue Team|Blue]] and [[Green Team]]s pushed further into the alien vessel, John instructed Joshua and his team to collect weapons and corpses to be piled into the Banshees, which would then be pushed out into space for ONI to recover and study. Once that task was completed, Gold Team acted as support for Blue and Green, watching their backs. As the two forward teams continued on, a sensor operator aboard one of the prowlers "accidentally" broadcast a transmission on the Spartans' [[COM|SQUADCOM]], revealing their presence to the frigate's crew. Unbeknownst to them, the crewman's apparent mistake was part of an [[insurrectionist]] plot designed by [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Hector Nyeto]], who intended to get the Spartans killed. With their presence known, Blue and Green Teams split up, with John leading his team to the bridge. John was unable to prevent the frigate's [[shipmaster]] from activating a [[self-destruct]] sequence, forcing him to order all of his teammates to abandon ship immediately. All of the Spartans—including Joshua—made it to safety before the ''Radiant Arrow'' detonated.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS3|HSS|Chapter=3}}

 

{{Main|Operation: SILENT STORM}}

A few days later, Joshua, Gold Team, and the rest of the Spartans that had participated in the pervious mission were given a new assignment. [[Operation: SILENT STORM]] would have them and the [[ODST]]s of the [[21st Space Assault Battalion]] boarding and destroying Covenant vessels and [[Space station|station]]s in an attempt to slow their destructive [[Massacre of the Outer Colonies|advance]] through the [[Outer Colonies]]. For the duration of the operation, the Spartans would be assigned to [[Task Force Yama]], a small fleet of prowlers that would serve as both transport and support. As [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience|a Covenant fleet]] was [[Attack on Etalan|currently]] [[glassing]] the colony of [[Etalan]], the nearby world of [[Biko]] was chosen as the theater for the [[task force]] to launch its first attack. Specifically, [[Seoba Ice Quarry|an abandoned ice quarry]] on its third [[Natural satellite|moon]] of [[Seoba]] was selected to house the prowlers until the time was right.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS5|HSS|Chapter=5}}

 

 

Upon Task Force Yama's arrival in the [[Kolaqoa system]] on [[2526#March|March 18, 2526]], Colonel Crowther planned to practice the mass deployment of the Spartans and his ODSTs into the Seoban quarry, in an exercise dubbed Operation: ICE DANCE. However, [[insurrectionist]] forces were detected in the very same quarry, prepared to stage a coup against Biko's chancellor. Crowther decided that ICE DANCE would proceed as planned, but now with the objective of taking the quarry.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS7|HSS|Chapter=7}} An intense [[Battle of Seoba|battle]] ensued, with the Spartans leading the way. Blue Team focused on destroying a convoy of [[Civet]]s moving to repair the rebels' damaged communications relay as the other Spartans—including Joshua's Gold Team—were engaged elsewhere.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS8|HSS|Chapter=8}} Ultimately, the insurgents were defeated and the quarry fell under UNSC control.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS10|HSS|Chapter=10}}

 

 

 

 

 

As the Spartans neared the provided waypoint, the fog had lowered to shoulder-height, allowing the Spartans to discover that the ''Starry Night'' was indeed seemingly intact, but sat atop a large avalanche about seven hundred meters up the quarry wall. [[Frederic-104]] spotted a Covenant [[intrusion corvette]] sliding over the rim of the quarry and descending over the prowler. Kelly-087 theorized that they may be trying to recover the ''Starry Night'' themselves. Realizing the danger, John declared to his teammates that the mission was no longer a rescue mission. Their primary objective was now to deny the Covenant from recovering the prowler and the data stored within. Joshua acknowledged the directive in an almost cheerful manner and asked John what the plan was. He said he was open to ideas, but that he needed to check with command first. Opening the command channel again, he relayed this information to Crowther, who echoed John's concerns and insisted that they could not let the Covenant take possession of the ''Starry Night''. The vessel's [[navigation computer]] and other onboard data devices could reveal the locations of UNSC outposts, entire force deployments, or worse. Crowther asked Nyeto if there was any way that the prowler's [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]] [[self-destruct]] system could be remotely activated, to which the lieutenant commander responded in the affirmative. However, there were only three positions that had access to that ability. The first two were the flight commander and wing commander, both of which were roles held by Captain Ascot, who was either dead or unable to be reached aboard the ''Starry Night''. The final person with the ability to remotely detonate the prowler was the captain of the ''Vanishing Point'', which was holding station two planetary orbits out from Seoba. At that distance, it would take nearly an hour for the request to be sent to the cruiser and for the return signal to arrive. By then, the Covenant might already have retrieved sensitive data from the wrecked prowler. Crowther began to reluctantly order the Spartans to prevent the ''Starry Night''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s capture, but John cut him off, assuring him that they would not fail. The Spartan requested that Task Force Yama assist them by keeping the assaulting corvettes off their backs. Nyeto began to say that their prowlers were not designed for ship-to-ship combat when Crowther interrupted him, promising that they would find a way. Crowther started to tell John to standby for instructions on how to manually activate the prowler's self-destruct, but he reassured the colonel that his Spartans already knew how to activate a [[Fury tactical nuclear weapon|Fury nuke]].{{Ref/Reuse|HSS14}}

 

Just then, a [[Karo'etba-pattern Ghost|Ghost]] appeared out of the fog, firing at John, who killed its [[Jiralhanae]] driver with his [[MA5B assault rifle|MA5B]]'s [[M301 grenade launcher|underbarrel grenade launcher]]. Shortly after that was handled, more Ghosts entered the quarry, so John ordered Green and Gold Teams to deal with them as Blue Team went with him to the prowler. At this point, the looming intrusion corvette had begun deploying EVA-equipped Sangheili, Jiralhanae, and Kig-Yar warriors via gravity lift, with the first already looking for a way inside the ship. Another corvette crested the edge of the quarry, firing its main cannon on the Spartans. Grace-093 took a hit, prompting Joshua to order Daisy-023 to tend to her injured teammate. With the situation quickly deteriorating and Nyeto's support still setting up, John realized that immediate action was necessary. He ordered Blue Team to simultaneously fire on the avalanche just below the ''Starry Night'' with their grenade launchers to cause the vessel to fall to quarry floor and prevent the Covenant from gaining entrance. Despite Fred and Kelly's warnings that such an action could bring the whole slope down on top of them, each member of the team acknowledged and followed his order. As they has feared, the volley of [[grenade]]s worked a bit too well, bringing the avalanche down on top of the Spartans, but successfully delaying the Covenant in their boarding attempt.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS14}}

 

Six of the Spartans became buried under the ice, with Joshua's teammate, Naomi-010, becoming completely incapacitated. John-117 was also buried, but not totally immobilized. While he worked on freeing himself, John gave Fred command of the mission to board and destroy the ''Starry Night''. Fred and [[Linda-058|two]] [[Malcolm-059|other]] Spartans boarded the prowler as the available members of Gold and Green Teams coordinated attacks on the seemingly endless stream of enemy ground vehicles, supported by at least three Covenant corvettes. John freed himself from the ice flow and began helping repel would-be boarders while Fred's team prepared the vessel's [[Fury tactical nuclear weapon]]. Meanwhile, Nyeto's support finally arrived the form of strafing runs that destroyed two of the intrusion corvettes assaulting Gold and Green Teams. At this point, Joshua and [[Anton-044]] decided to assist John, who had just killed two [[Type-1 energy sword#Bloodblade|bloodblade]]-wielding Sangheili. As soon as he dispatched them, two Kig-Yar began firing on him, landing a hit that breached John's armor. Anton provided cover fire, and Joshua assured John that he had a patching kit to fix the breach. Just as the nuke was finished arming, the looming Covenant corvette finally made its move and began lifting the ''Starry Night'' up into its hold using its [[gravity lift]]. John ordered Fred's team to activate the nuke and flee from the prowler with the survivors, which they did via escape pod. After ordering everyone to clear the blast radius, John led Joshua and Anton away from the prowler, taking cover behind a wrecked Ghost just before the detonation. Each of the twelve Spartans made it to safety, but John wanted to check on each of them personally, once he had Joshua patch up the breach in his back armor. Colonel Crowther had the Spartans extracted after the nuke's [[electromagnetic pulse]] had dissipated.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS15|HSS|Chapter=15}} The blast also destroyed the intrusion corvette, and some of the Spartans assisted in the recovery of a [[Kelguid|starholo]] from its wreckage. They and the starholo were transported back to the ''Vanishing Point''.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS16|HSS|Chapter=16}}

 

On [[2526#March|March 20]], the six Spartans that had not been confined to the infirmary attended a funeral service for the two-hundred-and-three men and women who lost their lives at Seoba. Held in the command hangar of the ''Vanishing Point'' as it sat in a high parabolic orbit around Biko, the ceremony included an honor company of a hundred-and-one enlisted personnel in their dress blues, including the six Spartans and Avery Johnson. After the service, Lieutenant Commander Nyeto—now the de facto commander of Task Force Yama after Ascot's death—approached John-117, who asked if he'd reconsider sidelining them. Nyeto promised that the Spartans would be seeing all the action they could handle for the rest of the operation. However, Crowther again contested this on the basis of them being too young, forcing the lieutenant commander to back down by threatening him with a report to a UNSC board of inquiry. The Black Daggers would board the [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience|incoming fleet]] alone. As everyone left the hangar, Crowther revealed to Johnson that he did not trust Nyeto. He believed that the Spartans were combat-ready, and he was instead sending them on a mission to disrupt Covenant supply lines at [[Etalan]].{{Ref/Reuse|HSS16}}

 

That same day, Joshua-029, the other Spartans, Staff Sergeant Johnson, and Dr. Halsey left the [[Kolaqoa system]] aboard the ''Vanishing Point'', with two prowlers serving as escort. Two days later, the three ships dropped out of [[slipspace]] near Etalan. The ''Vanishing Point''{{'}}s analysts spent the next four days observing the logistics fleet's movements and trying to discern which vessels would be the best to target. By [[2526#March|March 26]], they felt confident that four of the fleet's fifteen vessels were equipment [[freighter]]s carrying spare parts and other materials that would be used to keep the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience operational. At this point, the logistics fleet was seemingly preparing to break from orbit, evidenced by the fact that they had begun syncing their orbits and bringing their [[fusion reactor]]s to full power. Since time was running out, Joshua, the rest of Gold Team, and Green Team were deployed in [[S-14 Baselard]]s to destroy the equipment freighters while Blue Team stayed on the ''Vanishing Point'' and prepared for their phase of the attack. Gold and Green Teams were split up into groups of two to pilot each of their Baselards. Their four Baselards flew at the center of a formation of twenty total Baselards. The plan was for the squadron to pierce through the logistics vessels' fighter screen of Banshees and [[Seraph]]s, then the eight Spartans would go [[Extra-vehicular activity|EV]] after faking the destruction of their Baselards. To camouflage their approach, their fighters were equipped with pods of chain-linked debris that would deploy upon the crafts' destruction. Then, the Spartans would board the target vessels and plant HAVOK nukes before fleeing. Due to the high risk involved with performing such maneuvers, Joshua and Kurt-051 were given strict orders to abort the mission if it became apparent that they would not reach their targets safely.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS19|HSS|Chapter=19}}

 

{{Main|Battle of Zhoist}}

{{Expand-section}}

From February 9 to February 12 in [[2535]], Joshua led [[Red Team]] during the [[Battle of Jericho VII|fight]] against the Covenant on [[Jericho VII]] alongside [[Blue Team]] and [[Green Team]]. Red Team's goal was to slip behind enemy lines and plant a [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon]] that could be detonated the next time a Covenant ship landed and dropped its [[energy shield]]s to deploy troops. To this end, [[Blue Team]] was to draw out the Covenant rear guard so that Red Team would be afforded the opportunity to accomplish its objective amidst the confusion. Red Team reported their success in planting the nuke after doing so to Blue Team and all Spartans were then extracted from the planet. Despite the efforts on the ground, Jericho VII was lost to the Covenant and was [[glassed]].{{Citation needed}}

{{Main|Battle of Sigma Octanus IV}}

{{Quote|We’ll get it done.|Joshua expresses confidence in Red Team's ability to evacuate civilians from Sigma Octanus IV.}}

[[File:Joshua.png|thumb|300px|Joshua radios the Master Chief for advice regarding civilians on Sigma Octanus IV.]]

On [[2552#August|August 27, 2552]] Joshua and twenty-four other Spartan-IIs were gathered at [[FLEETCOM HQ]] on Reach, where they were briefed on [[Operation: RED FLAG]], an [[ONI]] [[operation]] with the objective of capturing a Covenant [[Hierarch]]. On [[2552#August|August 30]], Joshua boarded the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} with the others in preparation for RED FLAG. However, the mission was aborted when an order went out to all ships to defend Reach from the [[Fall of Reach|a massive Covenant assault]] that was underway at the planet. John assigned Joshua to Red Team, made up of twenty-two of the Spartans which were sent to land on the ground and protect the [[Orbital defense generator|power generators]] for Reach's [[orbital defense platform]]s.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 341'' (2010)</ref> Joshua was given the responsibility of piloting Red Team's Pelican—[[Bravo 001]]. As it descended to the surface of the planet, the dropship was attacked by Seraphs. Joshua attempted to activate its autopilot but all of computer systems had been destroyed in the assault.<ref name="FS9-10">'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 9''</ref> As they dove uncontrollably towards the ground, Joshua managed to slow the craft enough so that the Spartans could jump just before ''Bravo 001'' exploded. Once he landed, Joshua found a [[SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle|Sniper Rifle]] and was the first Spartan to arrive at [[ODG Facility A-331]] and spot the survivors of the [[UNSC Marine Corps]] unit, [[Charlie Company]]. He radioed Fred and the Spartans were able to regroup at the facility. Fred then ordered Joshua to recon the area. Doing so, he discovered a Covenant landing zone and patched his imaging through to Fred via [[COM]].<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 21''</ref> While Red Team was building up defenses at the facility, it received a distress call from Vice Admiral [[Danforth Whitcomb]], [[Deputy Chief of Naval Operations]].<ref name="fs17">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 17-34'' (2010)</ref> Fred then divided Red Team into four smaller teams. Joshua was placed on [[Team Alpha]], comprised of himself, Fred and Kelly. They were to destroy a nearby Covenant [[landing zone]] in the [[Longhorn Valley]] while [[Team Gamma]] rescued Vice Admiral Whitcomb and his staff.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 36-37'' (2010)</ref> Operating [[Type-26 Banshee]]s, Joshua and the two others successfully destroyed the landing zone by delivering [[Fury tactical nuclear weapon|Fury tactical nukes]] into the [[gravity lift]] of a [[Covenant cruiser at Longhorn Valley|Covenant cruiser]] overhead. However, Joshua's Banshee took fire from  {{Pattern|Pek|plasma cannon}}s and began to trail smoke and lose altitude. As a result, Joshua was killed in the ensuing nuclear explosion.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 40-45'' (2010)</ref>

{{Ref/Sources}}

[[Category:Human characters]]