Editing Samuel-034

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<center>''Were you looking for [[Sam Marcus]], a crewman aboard the Pillar of Autumn?'' </center>
{{SPARTAN Infobox
|name=Samuel
|image=
|spartantag=034
|homeworld=
|birth=[[2511]]
|death=November 27th, [[2525]]
|species=[[Human]]
|gender=Male
|height=
|hair=Blonde
|eyes=Green
|cyber=
|affiliation=[[UNSC]] [[UNSC Navy|Navy]]
|rank=[[Petty Officer Second Class]]
|specialty=
|battles=[[Battle of Chi Ceti]]
|class=Class I: [[2525]]
}}
{{quote|I think I'm in love...|SPARTAN-034 on the [[MJOLNIR]] armor}}

'''Petty Officer Second Class Samuel-034''' was a [[SPARTAN-II]] of the [[UNSC]] [[UNSC Navy|Naval]] [[Naval Special Warfare|Special Warfare Group]]. 

He was by far the closest thing to a best friend to [[Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO]] [[John-117]]. He was shot with a large [[plasma]] burn on his side by a [[Jackal]] armed with a [[Plasma Pistol]] on one of his missions when he teamed up with then Squad Leader [[John-117]] and [[Kelly-087]]. This ruptured his vacuum suit and made it impossible for him to escape the detonating [[Covenant]] starship. His death took place on November 27 [[2525]], when he was only 14 years old, as told in HALO: Fall of Reach.  The loss of his friendship to [[John 117|John]] was never fully replaced. He was also close to [[Petty Officer Second Class|PO2]] [[Kelly-087]].

== Personality and Description ==
Samuel was considered to be the strongest of the first class of [[SPARTAN-II]]'s. According to [[John-117]], had the best eyes and ears of all of his subordinates <ref>''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', page 48</ref>. He is also said to be one head taller than [[John-117]] making him the biggest Spartan, and was the fastest to recover from the [[SPARTAN-II Augmentation Procedures|augmentation]].

He had a tan complexion with sandy blond hair and green eyes <ref>''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', page 78</ref>. Sam did not display the same leadership qualities as John or [[Frederic-104|Frederic]] did, but he did act as [[John-117|John's]] second in command throughout the duration of his Naval career. 

At times Sam also displayed some ruthlessness, such as detonating a [[C-12 Shaped Charge]] on a Rebel base, despite the obvious civilian casualties that would be involved.

== Biography ==
===Conscription into the SPARTANs===
Sam was abducted by the UNSC in [[2517]], at age six. He was replaced with a [[Flash-Cloning|Flash Clone]], and sent to [[Reach]] to train with the other Spartans under the watchful eyes of [[Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]] and [[Deja]].

===SPARTAN Training===
On the first day of training, at [[Military Reservation 01478-B]], Mendez divided the trainees into small teams of three. Sam, John and Kelly were assigned together into one of those teams. 

During an exercise, John finished first in the competition, while Kelly and Sam came in far later places. [[Mendez]] informed the team that they had lost, simply because, in his words, "Your team loses, you lose. You don't win until your team wins." Finishing in last place, they were not allowed to eat dinner that night. 

It was, however, a lesson in teamwork for them, and the three [[SPARTANS]] never made the same mistake again. The day after, the three became best friends.

===Training mission and Augmentations===
Sam later trained with his fellow Spartans at the [[Military Wilderness Training Preserve]], helping [[John]], [[Kelly]], [[Fhajad-084]] and [[Linda-058]] overcome a squad of [[UNSC Marine Corps|UNSC Marine Infantryman]] and commandeer their [[Pelican|D77TC Pelican Dropship]]. John was subsequently promoted to squad leader after the mission.

After his [[Spartan Augmentations]] at the [[ONI Medical Facility]] station, Sam was the fastest to recover, and was in exceptional health. He later attended a military funeral on the {{UNSCShip|Atlas}} for those Spartans who died during the augmentation process. The Spartans later then returned down to [[Reach]] for the final training of the Spartans in the [[Highland Mountains]]. 

====Infiltration of the Eridanus Rebels====
Sam was picked in 2525 to go on the Spartans' first mission, to [[Eridanus II]]. He and the team boarded the ''[[Laden]]'', infiltrated [[Eridanus Secundus]], and captured [[Colonel]] [[Robert Watts]].  He blew off the hangar doors allowing his team to escape but killed whatever Rebels were in the hangar.

===The Human-Covenant War===
Sam later attended the [[UNSC]] briefing by [[Admiral]] [[Michael Stanforth]] and [[Beowulf]] about the emerging [[Covenant]] threat. 

The Spartans were later sent down aboard the {{UNSCShip|Commonwealth}} and went to the [[Damascus Testing Facility]] on [[Chi Ceti IV]] to be equipped with [[MJOLNIR armor]].

Later on the ''Commonwealth'', a [[Covenant Frigate]] appeared in the system and engaged in a fight with the ship, damaging it. As the Covenant prepared to finish off the Human ship, the Spartans, aboard a [[Pelican|D77-TC Pelican Dropship]], launched themselves into space and managed to land on the surface of the ship. Sam, [[Kelly]], and [[John]] were the only three Spartans who made it onto the ship, and they entered it through a hole caused by a [[MAC]] round.

===Missing in Action===
As they entered and explored the frigate, Sam was hit repeatedly shot in the side by bolts from a [[Plasma Rifle]] wielded by a [[Kig-yar]] soldier. The bolts burned a sizable hole in Sam's unshielded armor. The Spartans managed to make it to the engine room of the ship and planted several [[ANVIL-II ASM]] missiles on the fusion generator. 

Their only means of escape was to jump into space, but this was impossible for Sam since his armor was compromised. Rather than having Sam decompress in space, John ordered Sam to hold off the [[Covenant]] forces to allow the missiles to destroy the entire ship. [[John]] later marked Sam as MIA because "Spartans never die"; if people found out that Spartans did die, it is believed that public and soilder morale would dramatically fall if they found out the legandary super-soilders actually died. <ref>''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', page 127-130</ref>

===Legacy===
Sam was the first [[SPARTAN-II]] to be Killed in Combat during the [[Human-Covenant War]]. Despite that fact and his short life of fourteen years, Sam is regarded as one of the most important Spartans. Sam was even referenced by [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Kurt Ambrose]] just before his death in [[2552|November 2552]] during the [[Battle of Onyx]]. This is to show that Sam has a close relationship with all the Spartans, not just the members of [[Blue Team]].

It seems that his position as [[John]]'s second in command was subsequently taken by [[Frederic-104]] and [[Kurt-051]] in authorizing the Spartans and commanding them in-battle.

==Trivia==
*There was a number conflict between Sam-034 and [[Fhajad-084]] but it has been widely accepted that Sam was, in fact, [[Spartan-034]] because he was given that number first.''
*Sam was the first person that John and Kelly met in their training.
*Sam was the first Spartan labeled [[MIA]] when his armor got breached when attempting to destroy the first [[Covenant]] Cruiser. Sam was killed before they had the novel shielding equipment.
*Supposedly, Sam was the largest Spartan-II, at a head taller than [[Master Chief Petty Officer John 117]], putting him between [[7]] and 8 feet tall while wearing MJOLNIR armor.{{Verify_source}}
*Even if Sam-034 wasn't left behind, he would not have made it because he would have been decompressed in space.
*His Spartan Tag is a [[7]] Reference: 3+4=[[7]]

== Sources ==

<references />

{{spartan}}

[[Category:Spartan-IIs|034, Samuel]]
[[Category:Characters|Samuel-034]]