Robert Watts

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"Don't be spoiled, don't start a fight. Always be careful, here at night. Because the Spartans might come, in suits that weigh half a ton. And they'll steal from you all you gots, just like they did from Colonel Watts."

— Insurrectionist children's rhyme

Colonel Robert Watts, known as "that bastard" by most UNSC personnel, was a human Insurrectionist. He was the original leader of the Insurrectionist cell in the Eridanus system.

Biography

Watts in 2513.

Formerly an officer of the UNSC Marine Corps, Colonel Watts defected to the Insurrectionist movement in the late 25th century. He served as the supreme commander of the Insurrectionist cell in the Eridanus system for three decades. Watts orchestrated a major takeover attempt of the Eridanus Government in 2494, prompting the UNSC to respond with a major offensive dubbed Operation: CHARLEMAGNE two years later.

However, in May 2513, Watts' men were met by a massive fleet initially reported as over one hundred ships entered the system at the start of the wide-spread interstellar, anti-insurrectionist operation, "TREBUCHET". Ordering the mass-exodus of insurrectionist forces, knowing their survival in battle to be impossible, Watts was taken by Pelican to the Iliad, a captured UNSC frigate, which he used as a command post as he coordinated both the resistance and evacuation. His experience proved very useful when he had the Iliad use towing cables to pull a UNSC ship apart before exiting orbit via slipspace.

The rebels kept a presence in the Eridanus system, however, though not present on Eridanis II to an official capacity, instead living and operating inside the hollowed-out asteroid Eridanus Secundus. Their activities outside of the asteroid field were minor, though Watts, now governor of the stronghold as a representative of the Insurrectionists, personally took part in a desperate act of piracy on the UNSC-registered cargo ship Template:UNSCship in order to acquire much-needed supplies. Despite the frigate Template:UNSCship being less than four minutes away he gave his men the order to board the ship and commandeer, allowing supplies to be looted in the safety of the asteroid field.

While the specific site of the stronghold was remained relatively hidden from the UNSC, it was known for some time before 2525 that it was somewhere in the asteroid field. This all changed when one of his men was captured and offered the Office of Naval Intelligence information, presumably in exchange for his survival. What ONI learned was that the insurrectionists were being supplied by independent freighters, of which the Laden was one such vessel. Still unaware of the asteroid's location, making a naval operation impractical, it was decided that the SPARTAN-IIs should perform the operation as their first mission. Their mission was simple: find Colonel Watts and bring him back for trial.

Watts enjoyed luxury items, such as Sweet William cigars, high-quality steaks, Procyon vintage champagne, and Swiss chocolates. This vanity helped the SPARTAN-II team quickly locate and secure him by tagging the incoming delivery crates containing these items. He was soon captured by the SPARTAN team, who made short work of his guards as they abducted him, forcing him into a small air-tight cargo crate. Unable to use the Laden again Watts' crate was dragged onto an insurrectionist Pelican by the team and flown out back to the Template:UNSCship.

Trivia

Colonial Military Administration personnel, whom by 2525 often had their loyalty called into question, commonly pointed out that Watts was a former UNSC Marine, which resulted in many bar fights between CMA and UNSC Marines.

List of appearances

• Halo: The Fall of Reach (First appearance)
• Halo: First Strike (Mentioned only)
• Halo: Contact Harvest (Mentioned only)
• Halo: The Cole Protocol (Mentioned only)
• Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
  • Dirt (Mentioned only)
• Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp