Commander Palmer

Spartan Commander Sarah E. Palmer (service number 65287-98303-SP) is a soldier in the Spartan branch of the United Nations Space Command armed forces and a veteran of the Human-Covenant War. After the war, Palmer transferred from the UNSC Marine Corps Shock Troopers to the newly-independent branch, and was augmented as one of the first SPARTAN-IV supersoldiers. She is currently assigned as the Commanding Officer of the 300-member Spartan contingent aboard UNSC Infinity.

Sarah Palmer was born on Luna on April 13, 2527, to parents who despised the UNSC. After their death, she was adopted by a man who supported her decision to join the UNSC Marine Corps. She served twelve tours on eight different worlds as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) during the 2540s.

In 2546, Palmer was part of ODST squad Gamma-Six during the Covenant's attack on Sargasso. After Sergeant Pham's death, Palmer assumed command and defended the squad while ONI used them as a distraction for Alpha-Nine's mission. Palmer survived the battle, but her entire squad did not, and was rescued by Alpha-Nine, led by Edward Buck.

In October 2552, Palmer was part of a unit defending a UNSC outpost under attack. She single-handedly defended Admiral Kovalic while rescuing him from Covenant forces, including a Chieftain, despite being wounded by a Needler shard. Her bravery and resourcefulness led to her promotion to Corporal and the intention of rapid advancement to Sergeant.

In January 2553, after being promoted to Corporal and recovering from her injuries, Palmer was approached by Jun-A266, a former SPARTAN-III, aboard the Lockhart medical station. Impressed by her service record, Jun offered Palmer a place in the SPARTAN-IV program. Initially skeptical, Palmer accepted the offer and joined the program alongside four other candidates: Edward Davis, Yeong-hao Holst, Vladimir Scruggs, and Joel Thomas.

They underwent biological and chemical augmentations, followed by training under Jun-A266 and Musa-096. During a simulated engagement, Palmer’s eagerness to complete objectives led to poor performance, but she was taught the importance of teamwork and humility, a lesson she would carry forward.

Later, the Spartan-IVs were transferred aboard the UNSC Infinity, marking the beginning of their service as part of the ship’s growing complement of Spartans.

In July 2557, Palmer was stationed aboard Infinity and was the commander of the three hundred SPARTAN-IVs aboard the vessel. Infinity intercepted a distress beacon from the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn near the Forerunner shield world Requiem; the remains of the vessel carried MCPO John-117, one of the few remaining SPARTAN-IIs, as well as his AI companion Cortana. Infinity was soon drawn inside the shield world, where its Spartan contingent was deployed to battle both local Promethean constructs under the command of the Didact, as well as Jul 'Mdama's Covenant forces. The Master Chief rendezvoused with the Spartans under Palmer's command and eventually made his way aboard Infinity.

Palmer later sent Gypsy Company to aid the Master Chief and Lasky in an attack on the gravity well generator, but did not participate in the battle herself. Later, when the Master Chief refused to hand over Cortana aboard Infinity, determined to stop the Didact alone, Palmer and the rest of the bridge crew ignored Captain Del Rio's orders to stop the Master Chief, allowing the SPARTAN-II to leave without attempting to stop him.

In February 2558, Infinity was deployed back to Requiem.

Personality Sarah Palmer is a tenacious and bold leader with a strong sense of duty, known for her no-nonsense attitude and high expectations, particularly for her Spartans. While she can be cool in tense situations, she has a tendency to react strongly when things go wrong, as shown when she dented a holo-table in frustration over Dr. Halsey’s abduction. Though she follows military rules strictly, Palmer often views scientists with disdain, calling them "eggheads," though she acknowledges their value when necessary.

She has a dry sense of humor and takes pride in the Spartans under her command, fostering cooperation and competition between fireteams. Palmer is particularly close to her teammate, Edward Davis, and Captain Thomas Lasky. She mourned Davis's death and took steps to protect Lasky, even disobeying orders when necessary to shield him from court-martial. Despite a strained moment following a mission, Palmer and Lasky eventually reconciled.

Though she respects command, Palmer once defied Captain Del Rio’s order to arrest the Master Chief (who she respects) during the Battle of Requiem. Palmer later reflected that Cortana should have been placed in stasis, though she remained loyal to the Master Chief in the heat of the moment.

Equipment: Palmer wears the Scout variant of the MJOLNIR GEN2 armor, in lieu of specialized communications models built specifically for Spartan officers, with Inner-Plated forearms and Outer-plated legs. She favors using a pair of M6H magnum sidearms.[78] Additionally, Palmer often arms herself with a M395 DMR.

The Scout armor uses advanced materials to provide stealth properties, while the 'R' variant reduces infrared signature and radiation emissions.

Jul 'Mdama's Covenant, simply referred to as “the Covenant” by its followers, was a newly created splinter faction and terrorist organization formed from assets of the former Covenant Empire. Founded and led by Supreme Commander Jul 'Mdama, this faction continued to worship the Forerunners while also rejecting the Prophets for their betrayal, and opposed the Swords of Sanghelios following the end of the Human-Covenant War. It was later bolstered by the Didact's Prometheans and fought against the United Nations Space Command during the post-war era. Although the faction was generally recognized as a Sangheili attempted re-creation of the original Covenant and referred to as “the Covenant”, its members were identified as cultists by the UNSC and the organization itself was regarded as terrorists as opposed to an empire like the original Covenant. The Sangheili served as the faction's military leadership caste with total reign, free from the Prophets who had betrayed them in the original Covenant. The Unggoy served as cannon fodder. Likewise, the Kig-Yar were deployed as snipers and light infantry. The Mgalekgolo were deployed as super-heavy infantry. The faction also infrequently used Yanme'e infantry. Although a less formidable force than the original Covenant, this reorganized Covenant had amassed a considerable pool of military assets, though it had been observed that they "aren't outfitted like standard military."

The SPARTAN-IV Program is the fourth generation of the SPARTAN Program, consisting of members recruited from the United Nations Space Command Defense Force who were augmented to be capable of wearing a new variant of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2) armor.

Requiem, formally designated by its Forerunner creators as Shield World 0001, was a Forerunner shield world located in the Epoloch system. It once served as the central base of operations for the Prometheans, an elite class of Warrior-Servants, for thousands of years until the end of the Forerunner-Flood war. It remained sealed off for a hundred millennia since the end of the war, and became the site of major events as UNSC and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant forces stumbled upon it in 2557. The UNSC Infinity returned to Requiem in early 2558, resulting in a protracted battle between the UNSC and the occupying Promethean-Jul's Covenant alliance.

The Mobile Anti-Aircraft Weapons Platform M510 Siegework/Ultra-Heavy, commonly known as the Mammoth, is a heavy wheeled vehicle used by the United Nations Space Command in the wake of the Human-Covenant War. This weapon platform is currently the largest known terrestrial armored fighting vehicle employed by the UNSC, dwarfing even the similar "Elephant" HRVs in size. Nearly seventy meters in length, the Mammoth is a six-wheeled siegeworks ultra-heavy vehicle that fulfills the dual roles of anti-aircraft and anti-warship weapons platform; it is designed for the elimination of hostile vessels, weapons, and fortifications in terrestrial and orbital positions. As with the Elephant, the Mammoth possesses an internal storage bay for smaller vehicles such as the M12 Warthog and the M274 Mongoose and their variants The Mammoth sports a single Mark 2457/35cm HRG "Mini-MAC" turret on the topside, two large openings towards the back, as well as two smaller ones near the vehicle's cockpit. Two M79 MLRS emplacements are mounted on both the port and starboard side for close-in defense. It is generally painted in a camel brown scheme.