Rosenda-A344

Rosenda-A344
Personal details
Species:	Human
Gender:	Female
Political and military information
Affiliation:	UNSC Navy (formerly) Naval Special Weapons SPARTAN-III program UNSC Army
Service number:	S-A344

"Don’t go missing me too much, I’m sure whoever they get to replace me will enjoy your company just as much as I have."

— Rosenda-A344, shortly after being reallocated from Noble Team

Rosenda-A344, sometimes nicknamed Rose, is a SPARTAN-III supersoldier, trained as a member of Alpha Company.

Biography

Early life

Rosenda was orphaned in the early years of the Human-Covenant War when the Covenant glassed her homeworld. She was identified as a potential candidate for the first class of the SPARTAN-III program at a young age and, after "volunteering" for the program, was taken to the classified world Onyx for training under Lieutenant Kurt Ambrose and SCPO Franklin Mendez in late 2532. Rosenda was identified by Ambrose and Mendez as one of a handful of exceptional specimens within the SPARTAN-III Alpha Company and was extracted from the group before the disastrous Operation: PROMETHEUS. She and a small number of other Spartans were given MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor and were assigned to smaller special operations units and eventually NOBLE Team, under the operational authority of Unified Special Warfare Command.

Military career

As part of NOBLE's earliest roster, Rosenda served under the callsign "Noble Four". As part of NOBLE, she partook in a number of operations throughout the Human-Covenant War including DIRE MORNING, FANCY DRESS, and finally, OFFSET EYE on Concord.

OFFSET EYE

Main article: Operation: OFFSET EYE

In December 2551, Rosenda and the rest of NOBLE were sent to Concord to defend the colony from Covenant invasion. By December 12, a joint effort between the UNSC Army Rangers and the Concordian militia had denied the Covenant air superiority, and also drove the invaders from the major cities. Following this, the unusually small number of Covenant warships in orbit had been neutralized by a UNSC strike group. After being rerouted from one of the cities, NOBLE's Pelican was downed in the mountains of the Hinterlands region during a particularly brutal snowstorm. They made their way to the town of Skathi, which was under imminent threat from a contingent of Covenant ground forces. As the others were preparing the citizens of the town for the coming battle, Jun-A266 informed them that a Zashk-pattern Draugr siege platform was leading the charge. Formulating a plan, Kat-B320 had Rosenda and Thom-A293 join her in their M862 Arctic Warthog while the rest of NOBLE stayed in town as a rear guard.

Kat drove their treaded Warthog straight at the approaching convoy, attracting the attention of the Draugr's escort of six Karo'etba-pattern Ghosts and mortar fire from two Zurdo-pattern Wraiths. The Ghosts began to flank the Spartans' Warthog, but Rosenda flung open her gullwing door and fire her assault rifle in short controlled bursts, killing the drivers of the first three Ghosts before targeting the fuel cell of the fourth, causing the vehicle to violently detonate. As the Warthog neared one of the Ghosts, Thom leapt to the vehicle and took it for himself. Kat directed him to draw the fire of the Draugr as she and Rosenda prepared to board the siege engine in spectacular fashion. Kat used a nearby rocky outcropping to launch the Warthog into the lower troop bay of the Draugr. Immediately after their vehicle came to a rest, Rosenda launched from her seat and killed multiple Kig-Yar with her combat knife. With the welcome party eliminated, Kat got to work opening the Draugr's forward loading ramp so that Thom could get inside as well. As Rosenda and Thom provided cover, Kat used the siege engine's own focus cannons to obliterate the remaining Ghosts and Wraiths. Knowing that the remaining Covenant infantry would frantically attempt to reclaim the Draugr, Kat reopened the loading ramp and the three Spartans prepared to ambush the boarders.

After dealing with the rest of the infantry, the Spartans brought the Draugr back to the outskirts of Skathi, where a pair of Pelicans would land a few hours later. As some of the others unloaded supplies from the dropships, Rosenda talked with Jorge-052 about what the citizens of the town would do following the battle. She worried that this victory would not last long, and that the Covenant would return with a much more sizable force. Carter-A259 then called them over for a situation update, where he stated that Colonel Urban Holland was sending them to Fumirole, which was expected to be attacked in short order. Carter also informed Rosenda that she was being reassigned. NOBLE exchanged formal goodbyes and saluted before they boarded their Pelicans—Rosenda in one of the dropships alone, and the rest of NOBLE in the other. Before the Pelicans lifted off, Thom pinged her on TEAMCOM to wish her luck and to say that he would see her on the other side. As the two dropships flew in opposite directions, Rosenda wondered if she would ever see them again.

Later career

With Rosenda's reassignment from NOBLE, she did not take part in the fatal Battle of Fumirole and Fall of Reach, with her position in the team instead being fulfilled by Emile-A239. Despite this, NOBLE's commanding officer, Colonel Urban Holland, considered replacing Emile with Rosenda should a counterinsurgency operation have arisen, due to the former's extreme aggression toward insurgents. After Concord, Rosenda was transferred to other clandestine operations, and she ultimately survived the Human-Covenant War. At some time in the post-war or Created uprising eras, she was invited to a meeting by fellow ex-NOBLE member Jun-A266, which she accepted.

Personality and traits

Rosenda was seemingly close with the other members of NOBLE Team, and has been known to make lighthearted jokes with Jorge-052 and Kat-B320. Her relationship with Thom-A293 was even closer, with the two of them regularly cracking jokes together.

Rosenda has a distinct surly drawl to her voice. In December 2551, her hair was noted to be thick and a bit longer than regulation.

Equipment

During the defense of Concord in December 2551, Rosenda-A344 was equipped with the Mark V [B] MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor and a CQC-class helmet. She employed the SAP/Recon on her left shoulder and the SAP/CQC on her right shoulder. She also employed a P1DA Bracer on her right forearm and an M45 Hardcase hard case on her left thigh. She has been observed wielding an assault rifle and combat knife.

Production notes

Rosenda was originally intended to play a larger role in Halo: Reach as a member of Noble Team, as a part of the team's original roster of seven members alongside Thom-A293. Ultimately, the team was cut down to six members, with Thom being replaced with a custom player character and Rosenda cut from the game entirely. Both Spartans were retained in Halo canon, with Thom's death taking a central role in the Deliver Hope trailer for Reach and Rosenda referenced offhandedly in the Noble Team performance reports as a potential replacement for Emile-A239. During development, Rosenda was designed to have a "sassy" personality, and concept art produced by Isaac Hannaford depicts her in CQC armour with a nondescript machine gun. "Rosenda" remained one of the name options for customized loadouts in Halo: Reach, along with the names of the members of Noble Team and several Spartan-IIs.

While Rosenda was kept nominally in canon via her mention in the performance reports, she remained outside of the spotlight for over a decade except for a brief mention by Catalog confirming her service tag of A344 - something first associated with the license plate Easter eggs in Halo 3: ODST. In ODST, the license plate "KNS 344R" was long assumed to stand for "Rosenda-344, Noble Seven". Catalog confirmed her tag several years later in addition to identifying her as a member of Alpha Company.

Rosenda was given her first major spotlight and introduction into Halo canon in 2023, in the Noble Intention event for Halo Infinite. The event features an armor kit (alongside one for Thom) and the "Noble Rose" stance, both of which are based on Rosenda's original concept art. The armor kit's description also detailed some of her background in canon. The Winter Contention short story released to celebrate the event centred on Rosenda and Thom, and fleshed out their characters and history with NOBLE team.

Gallery

Browse more images in this article's gallery page.

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  Concept art of NOBLE's full originally-intended roster, including Rosenda and Thom.

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  Concept art of Rosenda's face for Halo: Reach.

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  Concept art of Rosenda's CQC helmet.

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  The Rosenda-A344 armor kit in Halo Infinite.

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  Rosenda alongside Thom-A293.

List of appearances

• Halo: Reach (Mentioned as a loadout)
• Halo Infinite (Mentioned only)
• Winter Contention (First appearance)