Leonidas

Leonidas
Biographical information
Began service:	Sometime after the training of the Second Class of Spartan-IVs
Ended service:	2558-2559
Gender:	Male
Description:	Disembodied Greek Spartan helmet with visible white eyes and teeth
Color(s):	Translucent, tinted red
Political and military information
Affiliation:	Spartan Operations (formerly) Created
Functionality:	Administrative AI providing logistical and strategic oversight of several Spartan training stations

Leonidas was a "smart" AI formerly providing logistical and strategic oversight for several Spartan training stations, including Laconia Station.

Biography

Creation

Leonidas was commissioned when the SPARTAN-IV program officially began. He was created using the mind of a man who died during the augmentation process and he entered service in 2553.

Administration of the Spartan training station

Leonidas was installed on at least one training station some point after the second class of Spartan-IVs completed training there. His purpose was to ensure the day-to-day functions of the station worked well and he assisted Jun in the administration of the Spartan Branch and training.

Created conflict

After joining Cortana's AI faction known as the Created in October of 2558, Leonidas persuaded Jun to get some rest, who had stayed awake for multiple days after Cortana's uprising. Leonidas maintained the station, running it as if nothing had happened. He held complete control over outbound communications and had gone dark under Jun's orders. When asked about Jun's condition, he referred to it as "indisposed".

Leonidas was unable to detect Alpha-Nine's Condor as it approached the station, yet didn't show any sign of surprise. He explained to Buck that everything was fine and that he had shut down all communication with the outside in response to the Cortana event. When Buck boarded the station, Leonidas appeared to him and, upon Buck's request, arranged for Buck to be able to speak to Michael Crespo. Leonidas offered to upload a path to Crespo on Buck's HUD if Buck were to grant him access to Buck's navigational systems. Leonidas was unable to do this as Buck had locked down his armor's systems and refused to allow him access. Unbeknownst to him, Vergil was sifting through the station's systems.

Leonidas eventually discovered Vergil's presence in the station's systems and cut him off from Buck's comms, who had entered the command center. Leonidas refused to show Buck to Jun and began to openly show disdain towards Buck. After Buck further insisted that he needed to see Jun, Leonidas told Buck that he should return to his Condor, threatening that if Buck persisted, the consequences would be severe, if not fatal. Leonidas told Buck that if he wished to do things the easy way, he'd stand down and join Mickey in the brig. Buck did not comply, and in response, Leonidas declared station-wide that Buck had gone AWOL and that STOLEN GAUNTLET was in effect. Leonidas ordered Buck's termination if he did not cooperate with arrest. The Spartans, who had been in the room with Buck, immediately pulled their weapons on him. Buck attempted to explain to them that Leonidas had gone rogue, only for Leonidas to respond that by resisting arrest, Buck was putting his fellow Spartans in harm's way. Leonidas vented all the air out of the room, suffocating the three Spartans, after Buck had started to get them to question Jun's absence. Leonidas demanded that Buck stop as the Spartan punched his way into Jun's office. Leonidas told Buck that if he did not surrender, he would open every single one of the station's airlocks and kill everyone on board on the count of three. As Leonidas counted down, Vergil shut down the power to many of the station's components, effectively blocking Leonidas from accessing its systems. Leonidas attempted to reason with Buck, but was cut off when Buck removed his data chip from the terminal.

Buck held off on destroying Leonidas' data chip for a while, before reasoning that keeping him active was too great a risk and grinding it to splinters under his boot. Despite this, Leonidas had stored fragments of himself in the armor of Dutch and Gretchen.

Cassidy III

When Alpha-Nine arrived on Cassidy III, Leonidas informed the Created of the location of Cassidy III. Vergil eventually learned of Leonidas' continued existence and cut off his ability to communicate, but by then the message had already been sent. Leonidas then spoke to Alpha-Nine, informing them of their impending doom, after Vergil had removed him from Dutch and Gretchen's armor and put him in a tablet. After a Guardian arrived, Alpha-Nine and the remaining members of the Front agreed to surrender to the Created and submit to Cortana's rule. Leonidas then contacted the Guardian and ended its destructive rampage. Leonidas was then brought to and placed on a durance node, that the Guardian deployed, by Buck. As the durance node was returning to the Guardian, the tablet that Leonidas was on was finally obliterated by a blast from Romeo's M99 Stanchion.

Destruction

Another fragment of Leonidas on Laconia Station later made contact with Cortana and reported on the status of the station. Cortana had Leonidas sacrifice himself to destroy the station, removing the possible threat that the young Spartans aboard posed to the Created. All 76 Spartan-IVs on the station were killed, and Leonidas was presumably completely destroyed as well.

Personality and traits

Leonidas took the form of a disembodied Ancient Greek Spartan helmet that was translucent and primarily colored red with visible white eyes and teeth. He spoke with a slight accent, likely meant to be Greek.

Trivia

The AI was named after Leonidas I, the king of the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta.

List of appearances

• Halo: Bad Blood (First appearance)
• Halo Infinite