Nicole-458

Nicole was born on December 19, 2531 in the city of New Legaspi in the state of Katagalugan on Mars. At the age of six, she was abducted by agents of the Office of Naval Intelligence and conscripted into the second class of the SPARTAN-II program.

Nicole has Type O blood, and is of Filipino descent. Her hobbies include competition shooting and watching anime. She is also mentioned as liking the Filipino dessert halo-halo. She is also amazing at hand-to-hand combat.

In October 2552, Nicole-458's unit was preparing for a classified mission on Nassau Station when the ONI stealth ship UNSC Apocalypso tumbled into real space – being carried along in the wake of a freak slipspace anomaly. The anomaly intersected Nassau Station, creating a semi-stable "bubble" in the space-time continuum on its way back to the 21st century. For the time being, Nicole-458 is trapped in the 21st century; she guards Nassau Station's secrets with anything but lethal force, as she realizes that killing someone in the past could have dire consequences in the future. She waits for the "bubble" to collapse and it returns her to the year 2552.

The Covenant is a massive religious hegemony of multiple alien species that completely controlled a large portion of the Orion Arm in the Milky Way Galaxy for thousands of years. The Type-25 plasma rifle, used by Convenant infantry, is a battery-powered directed-energy weapon that is capable of fully automatic fire. The Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol, the plasma pistol, is a Covenant infantry weapon

The Sangheili, or "Elites" as they are known by humans, served as the military leaders of the Covenant. The Sangheili are the only race within the Covenant permitted to build and command starships within the Covenant, though the crews are always composed of a mix of races. The Jiralhanae, or "Brutes" as they are known by humans, were the most recent addition to the Covenant, and served as soldiers and bodyguards within the Covenant military. The Lekgolo are a race of worm-like creatures that can combine to form large, intelligent assemblages called Mgalekgolo, known by humans as "Hunters". Clad in nearly impenetrable armor and armed with their trademark Assault Cannon, they served as the Covenant's heaviest ground troops. Hailing from Balaho, the Unggoy, or "Grunts" as they are known by humans, were the most common and low-ranking caste of the Covenant. They breathe methane gas, and thus must wear a large tank on their back full of methane to survive on other planets. The Kig-Yar, or "Jackals" or "Skirmishers" as they are known by humans, were the scouts and marksmen of the Covenant military due to their superior senses.

The Human-Covenant War was instigated by the High Prophets of the Covenant following a discovery which led them to believe that humans were directly related to the Forerunners, contradicting their ancient religion. Seeking to keep various political and religious orders intact, the High Prophets declared a holy war of genocide against the human species, and the discovery of their relation to the Forerunners was kept a secret. With superior firepower, numbers and technology, the Covenant would repeatedly overpower the UNSC across hundreds of human-inhabited worlds, including the heavily defended strongholds of Reach and Earth. Humanity would win only scattered and costly victories.

The SPARTAN-II program was the first major success of the SPARTAN programs, an effort to produce elite soldiers through mechanical and biological augmentation. Spartan-IIs experienced the most extensive and invasive physical augmentations out of all the Spartan generations, starting augmentation at early pubescent ages increased their physical mass and height to around seven feet by adult age.