Marcus Stacker

Were you looking for Pete Stacker, the voice actor for Jacob Keyes?

"You heard the man, boys! It's time for some hazard pay!"

— Gunnery Sergeant Stacker during the Battle of Mombasa.

Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker is a UNSC Marine Shock Trooper who fought during the Human-Covenant War. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion of the 105th Shock Division.

Background

Pete Stacker is a tough, grizzled veteran who has seen his fair share of war, having survived many battles including all discovered Halo Installations. Stacker has fought alongside John 117 on many occasions, often providing assistance at sometimes vital situations. Whether it be offering the Chief a vehicle, weapon or compliment, Stacker harbors great respect for the Spartan.

Battle of Installation 04

"Alright, folks, we got company comin'.Let's set the table; engage enemy forces on sight!"

— Stacker

Main article: Battle of Installation 04

Staff Sergeant Stacker was one of the many Marines who crash-landed on Installation 04 following the boarding of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn (though whether or not he was one of Major Silva's men is unknown). His lifeboat made a hard landing in a valley near a beam emitter on the ring world. He was one of five survivors of the crash. He came under attack by Covenant forces, but was rescued by the Master Chief and evacuated by Echo 419.

Sergeant Stacker also participated in securing the Truth and Reconciliation's LZ. As well as leading the Marine Force that secured the Silent Cartographer, although his entire Squad apart from Private Dubbo and Himself were KIA.

Stacker was in command of Fire Team Zulu, which was shot down in a snowy valley while on patrol. The Master Chief once again saved the Sergeant and his men, along with another squad led by an unknown Staff Sergeant. After saving him, Stacker assisted the Chief in his push to the control room of Halo. However, he and his squad remained behind for extraction midway through the attack.

It is unknown exactly how Stacker escaped Installation 04; though it is likely that he escaped with Private Chips Dubbo.

Battle of Earth

Main article: Battle of Earth

Stacker was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant for his services to Captain Keyes after his return to Earth. During the Battle of Earth, Gunnery Sergeant Stacker was dispatched from the UNSC In Amber Clad with a squad of ODSTs to relieve UNSC Marine infantrymen from the 405th regiment. His Pelican was shot down by a Scarab over Old Mombasa; it crashed on an open beach near Hotel Zanzibar. In addition to his pilots, one of his men, O'Brian, was killed in the crash.

"Cook the bastard..."

— Stacker instructs Butkus to drain the shields of an Elite who held Lance Corporal Jones hostage with an Energy Sword.

They were attacked immediately by a Sniper Jackal. After the first shot the ODSTs took cover; one of the squad took out the Jackal via sniper rifle. Stacker's squad was then attacked by a squad of Grunts led by a Special Operations Sangheili. The Elite held one of his troopers hostage momentarily before they killed it.

Stacker and his Marines then joined Master Chief and Cortana in chasing the Scarab walker that shot their Pelicans down. He drove a Gauss Warthog, offering the Chief the gun. He helped the Spartan by taking him to an area of the city under siege by Covenant armored forces. The Master Chief and Stacker attacked the Covenant Wraiths that were bombarding the Marine Command post. After destroying the Covenant armor support, a Pelican Dropship arrived and dropped off a scorpian tank and some supplies. Stacker relieved Staff Sergeant Banks of command of the CP, while SSgt Banks asissted the Chief in Destroying the Scarab Walker. Sergeant Stackers' efforts allowed UNSC forces to be supplemented, re-supplied, and eventually evacuated.

Stacker was evacuated to UNSC In Amber Clad along with the rest of the 105th.

Battle of Installation 05

Main article: Battle of Installation 05

Stacker was the senior NCO of In Amber Clad's ODST complement, and as such was one of the shock troopers leading the attack on Installation 05. Stacker, the Master Chief and several other Marines managed to batter their way past Covenant defenses, and secured the perimeter of the Prophet of Regret's holdout before being pulled back to support Miranda and Johnson in an attempt to get the ring's Index.

Unfortunately, Stacker's men were killed by the Flood and the arriving Brute forces, and he and fellow Sergeants Johnson and Marcus Banks, along with Commander Keyes, were captured by Brute forces shortly after getting the Index, but they managed to escape and hijack a Scarab, which they used to secure the Ring's control room. Stacker and Banks were presumably evacuated by The Arbiter and his allies after making a truce between the Elites. Johnson commandeered the Scarab in order to rescue Miranda Keyes and prevent Tartarus from activating the ring.

Battle of Voi

"My convoy's been hit, I repeat, my convoy's been hit, I've got wounded... We're on Tsavo Highway, about... east of Voi. Someone, anyone, please respond!"

— Stacker, sending a distress call to UNSC forces

Main article: Battle of Voi

Stacker, narrowly escaping a Covenant ambush on Tsavo Highway

Stacker was assumed to have returned to Earth with Keyes and Johnson. Late in the Battle of Earth in Kenya, Stacker along with Sergeant Major Johnson lead a Marine force that found SPARTAN-117 after his atmospheric landing. When the Spartan was revived, Sergeant Stacker took command of First Squad, who was ordered by Sergeant Major Johnson to deploy and move out as his scouts.

Stacker and First Squad followed John 117 and Thel 'Vadam through the jungle and linked up with Bravo team's only survivor, Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds. After rescuing Sergeant Johnson and the remains of Second Squad, Stacker was evacuated to Crows Nest.

"We were en route to Voi, Chief. Banshees jumped us, started strafing... Pretty much ruined our day."

— Stacker reports to the Chief as he meets up with their squad

Unfortunately, a Banshee air strike halted the convoy, and Brute Choppers massacred most of the survivors. Stacker himself was almost killed, and was rescued only by the intervention of the Spartan 117, and accompanied the Chief and Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds to Voi.

File:Stackerandtheflood.jpg

Stacker fights a Combat Form.

Stacker and Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds managed to rally a platoon's worth of Marines, and made an assault on Traxus Factory Complex 09 in South Voi. There, they eliminated Loyalist armor and anti-air batteries, paving the way for Lord Hood's Home Fleet to engage the Prophet of Truth above the Portal. He also aided in cleansing the area during the Flood infection.

After cleansing the surrounding area, UNSC forces regrouped up on the Separatist Carrier, Shadow of Intent. There, Lord Hood and Fleet Master Rtas 'Vadum argued about an assault on Loyalist forces through the Portal.

Battle of Installation 00

"Hey, how does 90 millimeters of tungsten strike you?"

— Stacker, leading a Scorpion tank raid on The Ark

Main article: Battle of Installation 00

During the Battle of Installation 00 Sergeant Major Johnson organized a makeshift UNSC-armored unit from the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn for an assault on the Ark. Stacker commanded the platoon of M808 Scorpion MBTs against a battalion-sized Loyalist armored force outside of the complex, and even managed to eliminate a Scarab with the Chief's help.

Later in the battle, he was part of an assault to destroy infantry and armored forces on the outskirts and beachhead of the Citadel, which the Prophet of Truth was located in. Stacker helped in taking out the first shield control structure with SPARTAN John-117. The Chief and Stacker's squad made their way back to the beach, and he boarded one of the pelicans while the chief flew a hornet. His squad was re-equipped and re-supplied, and they again aided The Chief in the Battle of the Citadel. This was the only time he was seen wearing ODST armor during the Battle for the Ark.

Stacker escaped back to Earth aboard the Shadow of Intent along with Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds and the rest of the Forward Unto Dawn's surviving crew. He was last seen attending the funeral for the fallen of Earth, and was in charge of a 21-gun salute. So far in the Halo Trilogy, Stacker is the longest-lasting single, identified Marine, along with Private First Class Chips Dubbo, surviving many battles including all discovered Halo Installations.

Trivia

• Stacker's voice will be usable in Halo: Reach's Firefight mode.
• In Tsavo Highway, he and Reynolds may switch models because of a glitch.
• Voice glitches also occur between him and Mendoza in the first game.
• In the level Pillar of Autumn, an unknown Marine will run towards and past the player, leading a squad in battle and shouting "Secure those blast doors! Move, move!" This sergeant has a unique and, after this encounter, unused voice, although he will randomly appear with the body of either Johnson or Stacker.
• While Stacker does make an appearance throughout the trilogy, his canonical status remains in limbo; as he is never mentioned in any of the novels nor does any canonical source explain his fate. A possible explanation for his status maybe the same used for Sgt. Johnson before his official inclusion into canonical sources, that he is a character not meant to be taken seriously, so that even if his character had been killed in one instance, he will mysteriously show up again without any explanation.
• He can be seen as both a regular Marine Infantry Sergeant and an ODST.
• He is named after the person who voices him, and who also voiced Captain Keyes in Halo: Combat Evolved.
• He, along with Chips Dubbo, are the only two known Marines apart from Johnson to have survived Alpha Halo. These two also survived the fight on Delta Halo and were seen in the 21-gun salute. It is currently unknown how he escaped Alpha Halo since he was not aboard Polaski's Pelican or Master Chief's Longsword.
• He can be killed at different times, but like Sergeant Johnson in Halo: Combat Evolved and Sergeant Reynolds in Halo 3, he will appear in the next level regardless. Even if he is killed, he still makes scripted comm transmissions in-game.
• Bungie members have reffered to Stacker as Sergeant Johnson's replacement in Halo 2, as stated in the Halo 3 Legendary edition commentaries.
• Sergeant Stacker is only ever seen holding a MA5C on Tsavo Highway.
• Stacker fires weapons more accurately and in longer bursts than other Marines, even in Halo: Combat Evolved.
• Stacker and most of his squad are named after Bungie members.
• It is speculated that he is or was married, due to one of his quotes; "You make my mother-in-law look pretty!". However, considering Sgt. Johnson says something similar, it might just be a joke.
• In Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3, he has a scar under one of his eyes.
• On Cairo Station, Stacker is seen wearing his service uniform with a major emblem instead of a Gunnery Sergeant emblem, like any other Marine (e.g. Avery J. Johnson and Marcus Banks) wearing his/her service uniform.
• He appears on the level Silent Cartographer, but if you head back to the beach after they are all dead, his body is not there.
• In Halo: Custom Edition, using map editors, he is referenced as Sgt. Lehto instead of Sgt. Stacker. This is because his face was based off Marcus Lehto's
• His features greatly resemble those of Bungie art directer, Marcus Lehto.
• Stacker is called Sergeant "Waller" and "Parker" in Halo: The Flood.
• Although his entire command is seen killed after the player leaves the Silent Cartographer, he has a canonical ability to appear later on. As stated, his body is not among the dead, and since it is possible to "save" up to six marines inside the facility, he and Chips Dubbo could have survived in this way.
• In Halo 3: ODST he can sometimes be found at the Marine Rally Point near Kizingo Boulevard, despite the fact that he is on Installation 05 at the time. Additionally, there is an NMPD officer at the ONI Alpha Site who sports Stacker's voice and a cap similar to his.
• In Halo 2, Stacker and Banks will undergo a model change, much like that of Stacker and Reynolds in Halo 3. This is difficult to see, since it mainly occurs on the level Regret.

See also

• Another Day at the Beach