Kojo Agu

Kojo Agu
Biographical information
Homeworld:	Castra arcology, Castra, Madrigal
Born:	June 12, 2524
Personal details
Species:	Human
Gender:	Male
Height:	213.4 centimetres (7ft) ; 190 centimetres (6 ft 3 in) (pre-augmentation)
Weight:	125.6 kilograms (277 lb) ; 91 kilograms (200 lb) (pre-augmentation)
Hair color:	Black
Eye color:	Brown
Political and military information
Affiliation:	UNSC Marine Corps (former) Orbital Drop Shock Troopers; ; Spartan Operations SPARTAN-IV program; ;
Rank:	Lance Corporal (former); Spartan;
Service number:	14606-85099-KA

"Lance Corporal Kojo Agu. Romeo. Real lucky with the ladies if you'll hear him tell it, but all I care about it is his aim; his luck with targets at long range."

— Buck's description of Romeo.^[3]

Spartan Kojo Agu^[1] (service number 14606-85099-KA), nicknamed Romeo, is a SPARTAN-IV supersoldier who formerly served with the UNSC Marine Corps as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. He was part of Alpha-Nine, a squad led by GySgt Edward Buck, during the final days of the Human-Covenant War and the post-war years.^[4]

Biography[edit]

Early life and military career[edit]

Kojo Agu was born in the Castra arcology in Castra on Madrigal in 2524.^[1] His homeworld was glassed by the Covenant when he was only four years old, but he managed to survive the glassing. Before enlisting in 2541, he served in the UNSC commercial fleet as a Merchant Marine.^[5] He later became an ODST when he angered the Governor of the colony at Castra by having an affair with said Governor's wife. This prompted the Governor to call upon people he knew in the UNSC who in turn sent Agu into the ODST to keep him away from the Governor's wife. During his tenure with the ODSTs, Agu served on various colony planets, such as Coral, Mamore, New Jerusalem, and Beta Gabriel, with a remarkable 100% kill rate.^[6]

Operation: FIRESIDE[edit]

Main article: Operation: FIRESIDE

Romeo and Dutch use Sangheili corpses to shield themselves from the generator's explosion.

In early 2552, Kojo Agu and Taylor Miles served in an ODST unit commanded by MSgt Frost. Before being deployed to planet Ariel, he and another ODST were discussing the Spartans and expressed extreme disbelief over their claimed fighting prowess. When another ODST, Brimley heard this, he told them that a teenage Spartan trainee had killed his friend Langston 27 years earlier. In his typical fashion, Agu burst out laughing, ridiculing Langston for being killed by a teenager. This led to a fight with Brimley, and Agu was coming off worse until Miles interfered in the fight. Sergeant Frost confined them both to their quarters because of the fight.

Later, inside Ariel's generator complex, Agu and Miles were cut off from the remainder of the ODST unit. It was there that they learned that the Covenant was digging for something. After a brief engagement with two Sangheili (whose corpses were later used as shields to survive a generator explosion), the two found an injured Unggoy. They attempted to interrogate it, but its only reply was "Knowing". Agu pretended to let the Unggoy go before killing it, believing it to be a liability.

After using improvised explosives to bring a canyon's walls down on a large number of Covenant and then evading the survivors, the two made plans to steal a Phantom. They proceeded to kill an Unggoy, use its corpse as a ruse, and then eliminate several Covenant infantrymen guarding the Phantom. However, a Sangheili managed to down the ship. The ODSTs bailed out before it crashed, falling through a building's skylight and into a building where the planet's missing colonists were being held hostage.

The ODSTs made short work of the Unggoy guarding the hostages and learned that the colonists had been forced to dig deep into the planet's surface, unearthing an alien complex and activating several traps at its entrance. The ODSTs entered the dig site intending to liberate other colonists; it was there that they found what the Covenant was looking for: an alien construct called the Knowing. If the Covenant got their hands on it, then they could wipe out humanity down to their last DNA strand.

Though Miles wanted to claim the Knowing to the UNSC, per ONI Xeno orders, Kojo Agu preferred to destroy it, as "this is like Alexander the Great getting his hands on a nuclear arsenal" - he believed that humanity were not ready for the advanced Forerunner knowledge and would destroy itself. Agu asked the Knowing to activate its self-destruct and direct them out of the complex which it complied with, recognizing Agu as a Reclaimer. As they made their way out, Agu tripped over an Unggoy's body and broke his ankle. Miles carried him and managed to escape the blast. When they got back to the surface, they were reunited with their squad, who had seen the Covenant fleeing the planet after the Knowing's destruction.

Later, Miles visited Agu in the infirmary. Agu stated that he had filed for a transfer to be with Miles, who told his friend that he had withdrawn his own transfer request. They then played Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who would go.^[7]

Battle of Mombasa[edit]

Main article: Battle of Mombasa

Romeo in his armor.

During the Battle for Earth in October 20, 2552, Agu was stationed aboard the UNSC Say My Name, part of ODST fireteam Alpha-Nine, led by Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck. The squad was part of a larger detachment of the 65th Shock Troops Division^[8] tasked with assaulting the Solemn Penance from orbit over New Mombasa.^[9] The squad had been chosen by the ONI operative Veronica Dare to partake on a classified mission, which was not revealed to Agu or his squad members until in mid-drop, when Dare ordered the squad to adjust their drop pods' trajectories away from the Covenant carrier. As the squad angled away from the carrier, it jumped into Slipspace above the city, generating a massive EMP shockwave which disabled the pods' electronic systems. The pods were scattered around the city due to the blast.^[10]

Immediately after the drop, Agu landed near Tayari Plaza, eventually reuniting with Buck, and shooting a Huragok he thought was going to kill him.^[11] Reunited with Buck, the two made their way to the NMPD headquarters building where they would hopefully get information on their other squadmates' whereabouts. Three hours after the drop, around 19:15, Miles and Michael Crespo had acquired a ride on an NMPD Pelican dropship, and were ready to pick up Agu and Buck from a platform on NMPD Headquarters, but before they could land, they were shot down by two Banshees. Romeo and Buck then proceeded to find and rescue their squadmates.^[12]

After arriving at the crash site to find that their squadmates were unscathed, Agu, Buck, and the other ODSTs defended their position from Banshees and Phantoms, until Jiralhanae Chieftain Bracktanus arrived and impaled Agu in the chest with the blade side of his gravity hammer. The rest of the squad managed to kill the Chieftain, before realizing that Agu had been wounded from the impact of the blow. The squad headed for Kikowani Station, to escape the city through train tunnels, but realized the whole sector had been flooded by water. Here, Agu's condition worsened. After Buck administered biofoam to Agu's punctured lung, the squad decided to hijack a Phantom, and finally escape the city. Eventually, Agu and the rest of the squad escaped New Mombasa aboard the captured Phantom after going back and finding both the Rookie and Dare, who had emerged with a captured Huragok.^[13]

Respite and redeployment[edit]

Romeo with the squad in the Quito Terminus.

Agu and his squad guarded the Huragok, now known as Vergil, in the ONI-appropriated Crimson Wing of the Quito Space Tether's terminus for the following weeks, giving him a chance to heal from his injuries sustained at the NMPD headquarters.^[14] Approximately one month after the battle, they watched as Sergeant Major Avery Johnson interrogated the Engineer. Shortly after this, Alpha-Nine was redeployed in the field and fought in the concluding battles of the war.^[15] One of these operations, known as Operation: JOINT MONITOR, consisted of biohazard containment in the Voi Exclusion Zone, at some point following the Battle of Voi.^[16]

Post-war era[edit]

Spartans Buck and Agu betrayed during Operation: COALPEPPER.

Agu continued to serve in Alpha-Nine in the years following the Covenant War, and joined the SPARTAN-IV program alongside Buck and Crespo in early 2554, after the Rookie's death and Dutch's retirement. In August 2555, Spartans Agu, Buck and Crespo were deployed to recover the Huragok now known as Vergil and his human handler, Sadie Endesha, from a United Rebel Front stronghold on Talitsa. During the mission, it was revealed that Crespo had betrayed the team and helped the Insurrectionists engineer a trap for the Spartans. Agu and Buck were captured by an overwhelming number of rebels, but on the way to the rebels' base Romeo began to insult Mickey and the rebels' leader, Dr. Schein. Irritated, Crespo struck Agu, inadvertently pushing him down a hill. With most of the rebel soldiers focused on Romeo, Buck took advantage of the confusion and engaged Mickey in hand-to-hand combat while Romeo began to eliminate the Insurrectionists. The two Spartans managed to fight off their captors, but with Buck having been injured by Dr. Schein, Romeo assaulted the URF base on his own and rescued Sadie and the Huragok while Buck guarded the unconscious Mickey.^[17] With their mission a success, the team returned to Mars where they turned Crespo over to Jun-A266. Following the operation, Agu and Buck were reassigned to another Spartan team at Buck's request.^[18]

Sometime in 2558 after Buck was reassigned to Fireteam Osiris,^[19] Agu was reassigned by ONI to a specialized solo mission to neutralize a faction of Kig-Yar pirates that were disrupting a UNSC supply chain at Concord. Utilizing a prototype of the DEADEYE-class Mjolnir armor system, Agu succeeded in eliminating the pirates after a four-day long operation. Afterwards, he was reassigned to a Spartan fireteam, whose name and operations remain classified.^[20]

Reunification of Alpha-Nine[edit]

With the onset of the Created conflict, ONI decided to reinstate Alpha-Nine to track down Forerunner technologies that could help with the war effort. By this point, Romeo was stationed on the Unggoy homeworld of Balaho. Officially, Romeo was providing escort to the liaisons between the UEG and the new Unggoy government, but unofficially rumor stated that Romeo had been caught sleeping with an admiral's wife and was sent to Balaho as punishment.^[21]

When Buck and Dare made contact with Romeo, he was on the run from the Unggoy and Cortana's armigers who had destroyed the embassy after Balaho submitted to Created rule. The two managed to rescue Romeo in a Condor as he was cornered, but he revealed that he had been trying to save survivors from the embassy by finding them a ship to get off of the planet. However, their attempt failed when armigers and a Phaeton showed up which forced Romeo, Buck and Dare to flee while the ambassadorial team was killed to Romeo's obvious grief.^[22] He then took part in a mission to a secret ONI facility on Luna to retrieve the Huragok Vergil who refused to leave without Sadie Endesha, forcing Buck, Dare and Romeo to save the facility's surviving staff.^[23]

Personality and traits[edit]

Agu is shown interacting aggressively or abrasively with almost every squad member, as they will tell him to show some respect, including striking the Rookie with his sniper rifle and yelling at him to wake him up. He is good friends with Miles, the squad's heavy weapons specialist. In his old unit, Agu racked-up multiple code of conduct violations, any one of which should have resulted in demotion—or worse.^[24] However, he was kept because the UNSC were running out of battle tested snipers, and Agu was one of the best. He is a consummate combatant but also saw himself as something of a ladies' man, hence his nickname "Romeo". Later, after becoming a Spartan-IV, he began taking advantage of his formal title, "Spartan Agu", to impress the ladies.^[25] He is proud of his colonial background, and doesn't hold much respect toward Earth. Prior to the Battle of Earth, he had never been to Earth, and had only seen it from the window of a transport. While he is still listed as a Madrigali citizen, Agu's last known place of residence is Holetown, New Barbados on the colony of Emerald Cove.^[4]

Equipment[edit]

During his service with the ODSTs, Kojo Agu wore the Sharpshooter variant of ODST armor. After joining the SPARTAN-IV Program, Agu began wearing the Helljumper variant of MJOLNIR GEN2 armor. In 2558, he was sent to Concord for a solo mission where he field-tested a prototype of Deadeye armor.^[20] By October 2558, he started wearing his Helljumper armor once more.^[26] Agu arms himself according to his missions,^[10] and has shown that he can take down targets efficiently with various weapons, including sniper rifles, magnums, M7S SMGs, and even plasma rifles.^[7]

Trivia[edit]

Sergeant John Forge and Kojo Agu share the same voice actor, Nolan North. Both have somewhat controversial service records and are often disrepectful to officers. Their armor is also similar, as both of their left pauldrons are larger than their right one, with Agu not having a right pauldron.
Kojo Agu is unlocked for Firefight by earning the NMPD HQ achievement.
If one explores enough in the level Mombasa Streets, they will eventually come across an empty SOEIV in the middle of a garden, with an M7S Caseless Submachine Gun beside it. The pod is possibly Romeo's, as his pod is never seen, and when he is first encountered, he is only wielding a sniper rifle and an M6C/SOCOM.
Agu never appears as an in-game ally, save for when he is injured and cannot fight. However, he can still attack enemies when he is on the Phantom's turret.
Romeo shows consternation over using a sniper rifle inside a Covenant ship. However, in the level The Truth and Reconciliation in Halo: Combat Evolved, sniper rifle ammunition can be found aboard the eponymous vessel.
The story of Agu's enlistment is similar to that of Felicia Sanderson, another ODST. Sanderson claimed that she was forced to enlist in the Colonial Military Authority after being caught in a romantic relationship with the daughter of Nils Thune, the governor of Harvest. While this event actually occurred, it was not, as she claimed, the actual reason for her enlistment.^[27]
His blood type is AB- as seen on his left shoulder pauldron.

Gallery[edit]

Romeo in Halo: Helljumper.
Romeo in Halo 3: ODST Pre-mission Evaluation.
A pre-production concept of Romeo.
Concept art of Romeo and Buck on the level NMPD HQ.
A Halo 3: ODST render of Romeo with his SRS99D.
Romeo taking aim.
Romeo in New Mombasa.
A close-up of Romeo with his helmet.
Romeo and Buck in the NMPD headquarters.
Romeo wielding an M6C/SOCOM.
Romeo manning a LAU-65D/SGM-151 missile pod.
Bracktanus roars at Romeo.
Romeo awaiting extraction at Kikowani Station.
Romeo sitting on a staircase in the Quito Space Tether.
Romeo's avatar, as seen on Bungie.net when viewing Halo 3: ODST's service records.
Romeo on the cover of Halo: Bad Blood.
Romeo, as depicted in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition) employing his GEN2 HELLJUMPER equipment.