Stolt

Stolt
Personal details
Species:	Unggoy
Gender:	Male
Eye color:	Dark
Political and military information
Affiliation:	Covenant (formerly) Swords of Sanghelios
Rank:	Ranger

Rtas 'Vadum: "So then, do you believe we can kill a Prelate?"

Stolt: "I think we'll need all the help we can get."

— Rtas 'Vadum and Stolt

Stolt is an Unggoy that serves the Swords of Sanghelios as a Ranger and commander of the Sangheili Ranger contingent aboard the CAS-class assault carrier Shadow of Intent. Formerly a Covenant soldier, Stolt first gained his command post while serving closely with Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum.

Biography

During the Human-Covenant War, Stolt served with the Covenant military. He participated in numerous battles throughout the war and survived encounters with human soldiers that saw the deaths of many of his fellow Unggoy. At some point, Stolt had a chance encounter with a Spartan supersoldier. The Unggoy was able to grievously wound the human, forcing the Spartan to retreat. Stolt was one of the few Unggoy within the Covenant to become a Ranger, and most Sangheili initially doubted Stolt's skills, regarding him as mere cannon fodder. However, Stolt proved able to best any Sangheili that sparred with him. By the time of the Great Schism, Stolt served aboard the CAS-class assault carrier Shadow of Intent, recently captured by Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum. Upon learning of his various accomplishments, Stolt gained the respect of 'Vadum. Following the end of the Covenant War, Stolt had been given command of the Rangers contingent aboard Shadow of Intent, a decision that even 'Vadum's orthodox second-in-command Blademaster Vul 'Soran agreed with. Stolt was the only Unggoy—and non-Sangheili—stationed aboard the carrier.

In 2553, Shadow of Intent traveled to the Sangheili frontier colony of Rahnelo to assist the planet's residents after they were attacked by Zanar-pattern light cruiser Spear of Light. After learning that the assault was led by San'Shyuum Prelate Tem'Bhetek, 'Vadum and the crew of Shadow of Intent became determined to stop him. 'Vadum sought advice from Stolt, who believed that they needed all the help they could get to defeat the Prelate, and he agreed that it was wise to accept Tul 'Juran's request to enlist with the crew—despite the traditional gender restrictions employed by the Sangheili and 'Soran's reluctance—to allow her to enact revenge against Tem. After Tem attacked Duraan, Shadow of Intent embarked to the planet to aid its residents, where the carrier engaged Spear of Light over the planet. After a brief skirmish over the planet, Tem and fifty Jiralhanae abandoned their cruiser in escape pods and boarded the assault carrier. As the Prelate and his warriors attempted to take control of Shadow of Intent, they encountered 'Juran and a lance of Rangers led by Stolt. Tem and a handful of Jiralhanae attempted to escape the firefight to kill 'Vadum and take control of Shadow of Intent at its bridge, but they were pursued by Stolt, 'Juran, and four Rangers pursued the Prelate. They caught up with him just as he was met by 'Vadum and 'Soran at the carrier's primary gravity lift. 'Juran and 'Vadum dueled Tem and quickly outmatched the Prelate, while Stolt, 'Soran, and the Sangheili Rangers engaged the Jiralhanae, with Stolt leaping onto the back of one and strangling it. Tem attempted to flee, but he was knocked unconscious by 'Soran and Stolt. After 'Vadum interrogated Tem and the surviving Jiralhanae aboard the ship killed, he learned that the Prelate was working with the Minister of Preparation and the two planned to use a superweapon to eradicate the populations of Sanghelios and the core worlds, and eventually dismantle Sangheili society. 'Vadum decided to lead a small team of volunteers to the installation to destroy it, while sending the rest of the crew to Duraan; Stolt, 'Juran, and 'Soran were among those that agreed to carry out the mission.

Bringing Tem along with them as a hostage, the small team arrived at the installation in orbit over a rogue planet and embarked to their destination aboard two Phantoms. As the dropships traveled towards the installation, the superweapon released an energy pulse that wounded many aboard the Phantoms, including 'Soran. At this moment, Tem escaped by shooting Stolt with his own plasma pistol and tricking 'Vadum into breaking his bounds when the Sangheili attacked. Using his armor's thrusters, the Prelate left the Phantom for the installation and was followed closely by 'Juran and 'Vadum. Stolt attempted to follow, but he was ordered by 'Vadum to tend to the wounded and give the order to Shadow of Intent to destroy the installation if they failed to return. The two Sangheili were ultimately successful in destroying the installation, resulting in the deaths of the Prelate and the Minister. Afterwards, Shadow of Intent embarked on missions to defeat Covenant holdouts throughout the empire's former space.

In November 2559, Stolt took part in an operation to capture Kafo Dein. When things went sideways, the team was forced to flee in Forerunner war sphinxes using control mapping retrieved by Stolt as the Vigilance with Piety self-destructed. After Dein was killed, Stolt and 'Soran saved 'Juran from plummeting to her death on Kus'kah's artificial moon. Afterwards, the data that Stolt retrieved from the San'Shyuum's ship helped to decrypt a message from High Lord Dovo Nesto.

Stolt later took part in the joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios efforts to stop Nesto's attempts to take control of the Domain through the Lithos on Boundary. When 'Soran and Spartan Merrick betrayed the team, Stolt joined Michael-120 in killing the rogue Spartan and he was only lightly wounded. Stolt was left greatly distressed by 'Soran's betrayal.

When the UNSC Victory of Samothrace destroyed the Lithos with Magnetic Accelerator Cannon strike, Stolt survived, but was trapped in debris along with Spartan David McEndon, causing Stolt to nearly suffocate. Severely wounded and aware that he wouldn't survive, McEndon was able to free Stolt at the cost of his own life. A group of five Covenant Sangheili, three Kig-Yar, eight Unggoy and a Mgalekgolo pair surrounded the pile of rubble where Stolt and McEndon were trapped. Stolt suggested that the Covenant soldiers possibly wanted the Spartan's armor as a trophy, the energy signature of which Stolt suspected they were tracking. Gray Team arrived to help in Condor Zulu Seven Nine, killing a third of the Covenant soldiers with the Condor's initial salvo before the Spartans jumped out to engage the Covenant directly. Joined by 'Juran, Gray Team eliminated the Covenant soldiers, rescued Stolt and recovered McEndon's body.

Personality and traits

Unusually tall for an Unggoy, Stolt serves as the leader of the Sangheili Ranger contingent aboard Shadow of Intent, having earned the respect and loyalty of his subordinates. Although he is the only Unggoy stationed aboard Shadow of Intent as of 2553, Stolt never appeared to be lonely for his own kind and is typically relaxed. Alongside Blademaster Vul 'Soran, Stolt was one of Rtas 'Vadum's two lieutenants, though 'Soran was 'Vadum's second-in-command. 'Vadum often deferred to Stolt for advice. After Stolt was shot by San'Shyuum Prelate Tem'Bhetek, he was still determined to fight, but was ultimately told by 'Vadum to aid to his own injuries and his wounded subordinates.

Stolt is a skilled Unggoy, having survived numerous battles and even besting a Spartan supersoldier in combat. He was capable of besting any Sangheili he sparred with, generally enduring their melee strikes until they grew tired, before beating the opponent into submission with his powerful hands and feet. Stolt initially faced scrutiny from Sangheili personnel aboard Shadow of Intent, who believed that Unggoy had little skill. However, after proving himself in combat, Stolt gained the respect of his peers and subordinates, and even the conservative Blademaster 'Soran agreed with 'Vadum's decision to charge Stolt with command of the carrier's Rangers. Stolt empathized with Tul 'Juran—who faced similar scrutiny due to her gender—and agreed with 'Vadum to allow her to join Shadow of Intent's crew. Stolt was greatly distressed when 'Soran betrayed the Swords of Sanghelios for High Lord Dovo Nesto.

Production notes

Halo: Shadow of Intent author Joseph Staten imagined Stolt as more muscular than a standard Unggoy, with a reserved personality. He described Stolt as "The kind of Unggoy that any smart Sangheili wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley at night". His name, Stolt, is a play on the word "stolid."

List of appearances

• Halo: Shadow of Intent (First appearance)
• Halo: Empty Throne