James-005: Difference between revisions

Within the museum, Blue Team discovered that the Covenant were scanning what appeared to be [[Sigma Octanus IV artifact|a simple piece of igneous rock]] and sending the information to a ship in orbit. James and his compatriots quietly eliminated nearby [[Kig-Yar]] patrols inside the museum but then encountered a pair of [[Mgalekgolo]]. The Spartans engaged the creatures but James had his left arm burnt away from the elbow down after being hit with a blast from one's [[assault cannon]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 208''</ref> Upon John's orders, Blue Team switched to [[shredder round]]s and fired at the floor beneath the massive aliens. The Spartans managed to make the floor collapse under the Mgalekgolo, causing them to fall into the museum's basement. To finish off the pair, Fred, Kelly, John, and the wounded James pushed a large quartz monolith into the pit, trapping the Mgalekgolo but not killing them. Recovering the rock that the Covenant were scanning, Blue Team left the museum and escaped the city by traveling through Côte d'Azur's sewer systems.<ref name="for231">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 231-241'' (2010)</ref> John helped James make the trip and even carried him after he had collapsed twice and finally slipped into unconsciousness. Upon rendezvousing with the rest of the Spartans and surviving marines, Linda had her team carry him aboard a Pelican. Before they could take off, James regained consciousness and use his remaining hand to salute John, who directed Kelly to administer an [[drugs|analgesic]] that knocked him out once more. They all returned to Stanforth's {{Class|Marathon|heavy cruiser}}, the {{UNSCShip|Leviathan}}, in the planet's orbit.<ref name="for231"/> As the battle drew to an end, Battle Group ''Leviathan'' returned to Reach in the Epsilon Eridani system for repairs with the Spartan-IIs aboard.<ref>'''[[Data Drop]]''', ''#2''</ref>

[[File:James3.png|thumb|right|200px|James is sent spinning away from Gamma Station.]]

{{Quote|Can—control—They’ve—everywhere—|The last recorded words of James-005, punctuated with static as he drifted away.}}

On [[2552#August|August 27, 2552]] James and twenty-four other Spartan-IIs were gathered at [[FLEETCOM HQ]] on Reach, where they were briefed on [[Operation: RED FLAG]], an [[ONI]] [[operation]] with the objective of capturing a Covenant [[Hierarch]]. On [[2552#August|August 30]], James boarded the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} with the others in preparation for RED FLAG. However, the mission was aborted when an order went out to all ships to defend Reach from the [[Fall of Reach|a massive Covenant assault]] that was underway at the planet. James and Fred were ordered by John to refit a [[D77-TC Pelican]] by attaching a shaped charge of [[C-12]] to its nose so it could potentially be used to blast into a Covenant vessel that had its shields knocked out. Following this, James was selected by John to come with he and Linda on a mission to sabotage the navigation data on the {{UNSCShip|Circumference}}, a small ONI [[prowler]] docked aboard [[Gamma Station]]. Covenant intrusion software had detected the unsecured database aboard the prowler and three [[Covenant frigate]]s were ''en route'' to take control of it. The three Spartans, designated Blue Team, took the refitted Pelican and crashed it into Gamma Station. As "Blue-Two", James was ordered to police the undetonated explosives as [[Sangheili]] and [[Kig-Yar]] [[ranger]]s were deployed from the frigates near their position. James had almost freed the C-12 rigged to the Pelican's nose when a shower of [[blamite]] needles from a [[Type-33 needler]] struck him and the tank of his [[thruster pack]]. One the needles that penetrated the tank exploded and the explosion of exhaust from the pack sent James tumbling away from Gamma Station without any means to control his erratic trajectory.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 310''</ref> After John returned to the ''Pillar of Autumn'' he asked Lieutenant [[Hall]] to scan for [[FOF]] tags in the region to no avail.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 329-330''</ref>