Zhao Heng Lopez

Sergeant Zhao Heng Lopez, commonly known among her Marines as "Mama" Lopez, was a UNSC Marine stationed aboard the UNSC Red Horse in October 2552, and a long-time veteran of the Human-Covenant War.

Biography

After the crew of the Red Horse discovered an escape pod and a lone survivor in Installation 04's debris field, Lopez was ordered by Red Horse shipboard AI Rebecca and Commander Tobias Foucault to conduct reconnaissance on the prisoner ship, Mona Lisa. Lopez then led her squad as they boarded the ship, where they were soon ambushed by several Sangheili lacking armor or weapons, and quickly took them out. After finding one of her Marines dead, Lopez received new orders to initiate the Cole Protocol by purging the ship's two navigational databases. Lopez and her men split into two teams, with Lopez's team going after the ship's primary NAV database at the ship's bridge.

While scouting the medical bay, Lopez found an ONI Major named John Smith locked inside a safe room. As they interrogated Smith about the experiments with the prisoners and the Flood, Smith broke free and killed Mahmoud with a concealed knife, leaving her with three fellow Marines; MacCraw, Percy and Singh. By the time they reached the bridge of the Mona Lisa, only MacCraw remained. There, they learned that not only had Smith stolen their only Pelican, but a Shiva-class nuclear missile was being prepared for launch against the Mona Lisa. Commander Foucault then told Lopez that two escape pods were left on the lower deck, omitting the fact that the pods were designed for single occupants.

As Lopez and MacCraw defended the pods, Corpsman Ngoc Benti arrived with Clarence, a prisoner named Patrick Rimmer, and his Sangheili companion, "Henry". Clarence, under strict orders from ONI to not let anything but the Marines leave the ship, executed Rimmer. Angered, Henry began to strike at Clarence with his cricket bat until Benti, who had already been heavily wounded on the way and showing signs of infection, sacrificed her life by pushing both herself and Clarence into the oncoming Flood horde. MacCraw then escaped in one of the escape pods, leaving both Henry and Lopez to fend for themselves. As the timer for the Shiva launch reached thirty seconds, Lopez and Henry fled into the airlock only to find that the pod couldn't fit them both. Realizing she had no ammunition left in her assault rifle, Lopez proceeded to use the weapon as a club. With only ten seconds to spare, she and Henry would then fight for the last escape pod.

Trivia

• Lopez was apparently Roman Catholic, as she commonly referred to her subordinates as her "rosary beads". She also constantly remembered the smell of the pews at her mother's church.
• Her name suggests that she was of Chinese and Hispanic ancestry.
• Lopez may also be a personification of the segment of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" that states "Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death." This is best exemplified as to how Lopez refers to her soldiers as her "kids," and they stand with her through the horrors of the Flood.

Gallery

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  Lopez in her Marine BDU.

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  Lopez hits Major Smith after losing a Marine due to Smith's lack of cooperation.

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  Lopez and MacCraw being pursued by the Flood shortly before reaching the bridge.

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  Lopez and MacCraw on the bridge of the Mona Lisa.

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  MacCraw and Lopez fire upon a horde of Flood as they make a run for the escape pods.

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  The final standoff between Henry and Lopez.

List of appearances

• Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
  • The Mona Lisa (First appearance)