Editing Maria-062

{{Era|UNSC|HCW}}

<center>''"Maria" redirects here. For other uses of the name, see [[Maria (disambiguation)]].''</center>

{{SPARTAN Infobox

|image=[[File:Maria-062.PNG|260px]]

|birth=circa [[2511]]

|spartantag=062

|branch=[[UNSC Navy]]

|group= [[UNSC Special Forces|Naval Special Weapons]], [[SPARTAN-II Program]]

|rank=[[Petty officer second class]] or higher<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 99''</ref>

{{Quote|Once John gets a hold of this armor, we'll all start sleeping a little better at night.|Maria-062}}

'''Maria-062''' is a [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II supersoldier]]. She claimed that, at some point during the [[Human-Covenant War]], she had retired with the intent of starting a family and that she was serving in the reserves as of [[2552#October|October 2552]].<ref name="at">'''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''', "[[Armor Testing]]", ''page 68''</ref>

Hours before the [[Covenant]]'s [[Battle of Earth|invasion of Earth]] on [[2552#October|October 20, 2552]], Maria tested the new [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI|Mark VI MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor]] in [[Seongnam]], [[United Korea]]. She engaged a squad of [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] from the [[340th ODST Combat Training Unit]] in a mock battle near the [[Special Warfare Center]]. After the exercise, the armor was approved for battle and was delivered to the [[orbital defense platform]] ''[[Cairo Station]]''. There, it was issued to [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]],<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Armory]]''</ref> who would use it to great effect as late as [[2557]].<ref>'''[[Halo 4]]''', ''[[Epilogue]]''</ref> After the test, Maria declined a request to return to active duty by the [[Unidentified Navy captain (Armor Testing)|captain]] in charge of the test, stating that she did not regret her decision.<ref name="at"/>

Maria's claim that she retired to start a family is somewhat suspect in light of the SPARTAN-IIs' reduced sex drives as well as their unyielding dedication to military service; her alleged retirement occurring during the crisis of the Human-Covenant War is particularly strange in light of the latter. Maria-062 is theorized to have been mentioned in two other ''Halo'' books, but it cannot be clearly determined if it is specifically her.

In ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', during [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Halsey's]] briefing to the Spartans assembled for [[Operation: RED FLAG]], she mentions that among those not present is one SPARTAN-II who was been too critically wounded to continue active duty.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', page ''240''</ref> It is possible that this wounded Spartan was Maria, whose absence allowed her to avoid the [[Fall of Reach]] and afterward having healed enough by October 2552 to test the Mark VI MJOLNIR armor. Other candidates are possible, though, like [[Naomi-010]], who is not known to have been at the Fall of Reach and later served in ONI's [[Kilo-Five]] team.

In ''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]'', [[Serin Osman]] mentions that only one Spartan has ever retired, and only because they had the excuse of having failed the augmentation procedures.<ref>'''Halo: Mortal Dictata''', page ''367''</ref> Since Maria was planning to retire, Osman could be referring to her. However, Osman compares the unnamed retired Spartan to herself, as Serin had also failed augmentations. While Osman had not received any physical benefits from the procedure, Maria seems to be at the peak of ability, well enough to use the MJOLNIR powered armor, a system dangerous enough to kill an unaugmented user. Possible answers include Maria having been one of the crippled Spartans who was later rehabilitated, or Maria having not yet retired by [[2553]] and Osman referring to another Spartan like [[Ralph-303]].

File:Spartan-062.jpg|Maria-062 making a sub-orbital jump while testing John-117's Mark VI MJOLNIR armor.

File:Maria Reentry.jpg|Maria in the free-fall burn.

File:ConceptMaria.jpg|A concept art piece of Maria from the ''Graphic Novel'' drawn by Doug Alexander

*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]] {{1st}}

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{{Spartan}}