Alana Ramirez

Alana is a young woman but her eyes carry a hardness beyond those years. A member of the UNSC Marines and an ODST, she's been in active combat on and off since she was sixteen years old (having lied about her age to enlist early). It wasn't the kind of travel she'd had in mind when she signed up to escape Luna but she's not prone to looking back at the decision.

War is now her reality, first against the Insurrectionists and later against the Covenant. She's advanced slowly but surely through the ranks, dubbed 'Shorts' by her teammates on account of her height, and now as a Lance Corporal has received enough training to lead a fire team into battle. A gifted tactician and a skilled soldier, Alana has every plan to survive the war as long as possible... or drag a squad of Covenant into the grave with her.

Later on, as she gains more experience, Alana will be selected for the Spartan IV program and join their ranks.

"Live for something rather than die for nothing." - General George S. Patton

An elite unit of the UNSC Marine Corps, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are distinguished by their unconventional method of deployment, known as "transorbital support interdiction", in which the troopers are dropped to the surface of a world aboard small, purpose-built deployment vehicles. This allows them to conduct a variety of missions against targets that more conventional forces cannot approach undetected. ODSTs—trained for any kind of landing operation—expect to arrive at a world with hellish conditions, only to enter incredibly difficult combat zones. ODST deployment via SOEIVs is often considered more effective than dropship deployment, as it allows for a spacecraft to make a quick pass over a world and deploy hundreds of ODSTs in SOEIVs in rapid succession. Additionally, since ODSTs are deployed separately, rather than together in one ship, the casualty rate of SOEIV deployment is lower than that of conventional dropship deployment.

Each ODST combat team specializes in a particular mission set, though they are expected to be flexible enough to adapt to any given situation. ODSTs are known for their unusual methods of insertion, dropping from orbit onto terrestrial environments. Often landing behind enemy lines, ODSTs are sometimes ordered to eliminate enemy units and clear a landing zone for the wave of troops that follow. Similar to their infantry counterparts, the ODSTs maintain units of varying strength aboard many UNSC vessels and installations. ODSTs may also serve as military police for UNSC installations.

The ODST perform highly specialized, small scale, high-risk operations including:

• Deep ground surveillance (DGS) and long range reconnaissance: Patrols in small groups, in uniform, usually far behind the enemy lines. While direct ground surveillance units may direct air or artillery strikes against enemy positions, they strive to be unobserved, and have only self-defense, not direct action, capability. Groups engaging in surveillance deep behind enemy lines, are commonly known as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols.
• Direct action (DA): Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets. Direct action differs from conventional offensive actions in the level of physical and political risk, operational techniques, and the degree of discriminate and precise use of force to achieve specific objectives.
• Unconventional warfare: Military and paramilitary operations, normally of long duration, predominantly conducted by indigenous or surrogate forces who are organized, trained, equipped, supported, and directed in varying degrees by an external source. It includes guerrilla warfare and other direct offensive, low visibility, covert, or clandestine operations, as well as the indirect activities of subversion, sabotage, intelligence gathering, escape and evasion.
• Counter-terrorism operations: The response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.
• Counter-contraband operations: Missions undertaking the recapturing of smuggled/stolen goods.
• Personnel and special equipment recovery/capture: The recovery/medical treatment of friendly personnel in combat environments, as well as the capability of capturing high valued individuals and any equipment.

The ODST battle dress uniform is comprised of several different components and layers that make the suit what it is, while technology from other projects across the military have been incorporated into the suit, ODST equipment still has proprietary technology that has not been adopted into other equipment for the military.

Helmet
The ODST helmet is derived from the standard-issue CH252 helmet. The modern version of the helmet was adapted for use with MJOLNIR; the technological advancements made, such as CTCs, were incorporated back into the ODST helmet's regular production. It is made of titanium and is coated with a heat-resistant material to help disperse heat - the inside is lined with black padding to provide comfort when the user is wearing it. The helmet's faceplate is made of a strong, glass-like material with the ability to polarize. When polarized, the helmet's faceplate has a bluish silver color and obscures the wearer's face completely. There is also an up-armored variant of the standard helmet designed for close-quarters combat, designated as the ODST-HS Combat Helmet.

The helmet provides excellent protection against small-arms fire and small explosive attacks. The helmet is also essential in providing an ODST the ability to perform EVA and also provides a Heads Up Display, giving the wearer basic information including a targeting reticule, weapon information, ammo capacity, and basic health readout. The newest version of the helmet integrates with the user's standard neural interface to provide more tactical data to the HUD. Helmet-integrated neural interfaces is another piece of technology that has seen widespread adoption from Project MJOLNIR. Along with this state-of-the-art equipment, the helmet is also equipped with its own thermal imaging and motion sensors. There are also several external optical modules that can be attached to the helmet, including the ODST-CNM used by some squad leaders or an optical/integration module which enhances smart-linking capabilities and communication systems.

• BIOS
  The ODST BIOS is firmware, designed to be the first code run by the ODST armor when activated. The initial function of the BIOS is to identify, test, and initialize system devices such as the heads-up display, VISR and other hardware. The BIOS handles most of the armors software functions when initiated. Updates to the BIOS allow newer hardware to be supported and function. BIOS versions can be viewed though the ODST armors magnification system when no weapon is being held or no zoom-supported weapon is being held.
• VISR
  The Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance, or VISR, is issued with the ODST helmet. The VISR proprietary data management suite enables a user to link into UEG, CAA, and UNSC infrastructure systems at the local, national, and global levels - however actual access level is administered on a need/rating basis. This allows the user to store and review mission content up to 610MB combined, the system also provides street level navigational data, and receive secure real-time mission data. In addition, every current issue helmet ODST BIOS A29.817941B.01 or later is equipped with low-light vision enhancement, which outlines hostile units in red, friendlies in green, weapons in blue, and objects of interest in yellow.

• Body Suit
  The ODST body suit is comprised of several different layers and materials. The inner layer of the black-gray undersuit is made of Kevlar to aid in protecting the wearer from small arms fire. The inner layer contains a heating and cooling system which regulates temperatures to keep the user warm or cool depending on the weather conditions - the heating and cooling system can also match infrared signatures of the current weather as well to allow an ODST to go undetected in hostile locations. The outer layer of the undersuit is coated with a heat-resistant material to aid in reducing temperatures experienced during orbital drop, and against Covenant plasma weapons. The body suit also doubles as a pressure suit to allow an ODST to perform extra-vehicular activity.
  • Armor Plating
    As with the helmet, the Mark chest plate is composed of titanium and ceramic materials. It covers the chest from the bottom of the clavicle to the bottom of the rib cage, with another segment protecting the abdomen. Some body suits feature an armored collar that protects the wearer's neck, complementing the chest plate's coverage. A pair of wide, low-profile shoulder pauldrons are featured, though some ODSTs, such as snipers or CQB specialists, may opt for an alternate model or none at all. The shin and knees are well protected with titanium-ceramic guards, as are the forearms.
  • Rucksack
    Designated as the M/LBE Hard Case, the rucksack issued to ODSTs is, for all intents and purposes, an armored backpack that attaches to the back of the armored vest. The rucksack comes in a number of different variants. The main purpose is storage, which allows a trooper to store equipment, ranging from ammunition, to medical supplies, to explosives, to battery packs which provides power to any equipment an ODST may carry, and communications, which houses the necessary radio and satellite gear that an ODST squad requires to report in to their superiors. For longer missions, ODSTs can carry larger rucksacks with enough supplies for two weeks of operation without external resupply. Rucksacks have integrated magnetic holding devices to allow for external back mounting of additional equipment. Equipment with magnetic properties, such as longer weaponry, can be carried externally over the rucksack eliminating the use of extra straps or slings. Because the rucksack's casing is armored, it gives the ODST wearing it an additional layer of protection from behind.

The SPARTAN-IV Program is the fourth generation of the SPARTAN Program consisting of members recruited from the UNSC's military who were augmented to be capable of wearing a new variant of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2) armor. This phase was initiated by Admiral Margaret Parangosky after the Human-Covenant war.

Similar to the original ORION Project, the SPARTAN-IV Program would only consist of adult volunteers as opposed to young children. When the program was started, surviving members of previous Spartan generations were offered an opportunity to be integrated into it. SPARTAN-IV recruits are drawn from active combat veterans of any branch as well as young soldiers who show potential to be Humanity's next guardians. The physical augmentations of the SPARTAN-IVs, while more advanced than their predecessors, still cannot produce similar results without risk of a high failure rate, due to no genetic requirements. This drawback is reconciled by modifying the individual to the closest margin possible of the two previous Spartan programs physical results and then relying on MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2) armor to enhance the Spartan's abilities even more than that of MJOLNIR GEN1 armor.

Developed over the three decades between the partly successful SPARTAN-II augmentation procedures and the end of the war, the augmentation procedures for the fourth iteration of the SPARTAN Program were conceived as a way to produce a soldier as powerful as a SPARTAN-II at the cost of a SPARTAN-III. Even as early as 2536, biochemical surgical augmentations had been developed that had 0% mortality rate. Nevertheless, these procedures were built for the augmentation of the far weaker and more expendable SPARTAN-IIIs. The UNSC began developing a method of blending the brutal effectiveness of the SPARTAN-II procedures with the safety and reliability of the SPARTAN-III procedures. The result was a wide array of biochemical and biomechanical augmentations relying heavily on the use of artificial-organic synthesis. Once the SPARTAN-IV augmentations are implemented, it usually takes the subject(s) a couple of days to be able to walk.

• Carbide Ceramic Ossification: Advanced material grafting onto skeletal structures to make bones virtually unbreakable. The joints are also reinforced or replaced while the bones are lengthened, making the subject several centimeters taller than they originally were. The reinforcement is necessary as without it, simple actions such as jumping would result in the bones disintegrating due to the strain from the strengthened muscles.
• Muscular Enhancement Lining: Compound applied to the exterior surface of all muscles, allowing them work harder without tearing the Spartan's skeleton apart.
• Pulmonary Polymer Lining: Greatly increases oxygen intake and retention, helps process toxins from the air and allows SPARTANs to breathe certain non-oxygen atmospheres, such as methane, for up to an hour.
• Corneal Implants: Boosted perception and massively increased night vision.
• Cardiac Implants: Strengthens cardio-vascular tissue and increases maximum heartrate to safely allow massive adrenaline flow without the risk of stroke or heart attack. These implants supposedly are able to allow an unarmored SPARTAN-IV to run at a maximum speed of almost 40 miles (64 km) per hour.
• Artificial Pancreas Implant: Implant Allows the SPARTAN's body to extract the maximum amount of nutrients and carbohydrates from food with minimal waste.
• Artificial Platelet Injections: Enhances the body's ability to slow bleeding and clot wounds. Subject's blood is modified to make the Spartan immune to most toxins.
• Neural: The nervous system is "super-myelinated" to decrease reaction time.
• Cybernetic: The subject is given a specialized neural implant capable of interfacing with an AI alongside a significant number of implanted electronics. They are also implanted with several monitoring devices to help medical teams.

Their armor was designed to compensate for the Spartan-IVs' less extensive physical augmentations in comparison to the previous two generations. As a result, the armor multiplies the strength of its wearer significantly more than the first-generation suits, granting the Spartan-IVs roughly equal strength as their predecessors while wearing the suit. The GEN2 suit is also lighter and stronger in construction than the first-generation Mjolnir line, weighing approximately a couple hundred kilograms. GEN2 Mjolnir integrates the vast majority of the armor's vital hardware systems within the inner techsuit itself, allowing for more streamlined production and easier implementation of specialized subsystems and armatures.

The GEN2 armor incorporates new ad hoc modification systems which allow the armor to use armor abilities, tactical packages, and support upgrades. Like its GEN1 predecessors it is backwards compatible—through hardware and firmware upgrades—with previous armor systems, including the Mark IV, Mark V, Mark VI, and the MJOLNIR variant of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers' armor. In addition, GEN2 armor features integration with artificial intelligences, ranging from volitional smart AIs to simpler, yet complex, dumb AIs. The AIs that manage the Mjolnir BIOS and VISR are generally passive helpers that integrate, prioritize, and even subtly alter the torrent of data and sensory overrides fed to the armor's Spartan user, simplifying the chaos of the battlefield and reducing confusion. These AIs also handle mundane administrative tasks by filing munition expenditure forms, battle damage assessments, kill reports, and other paperwork on behalf of the Spartan. The typical suit of Mjolnir armor carries around a dozen or so of these AIs, each specialized in numerous tasks of war and science to aid the Spartan they are attached to. While these AIs are incapable of a human's oversight, they are still a valuable component of the armor.

BIOS: The suit also possesses other upgraded features that enhance its wearer's abilities. It has an upgraded heads-up display linked to sensors that project shield strength and an improved motion detecting system in addition to providing other numerous readouts, including allies' vitality and shield status. These features are maintained and initialized by the MJOLNIR GEN2 BIOS firmware. Numerous versions exist for several different reasons and to simply being an upgrade.

Armor Components

• Biofoam Injectors: Allow for physical injuries to be sealed and repaired without the use of external medical kits.
• Energy Shielding: A protective barrier that surrounds the armor and protects the user from harm.
• Inner Skinsuit: The inner skinsuit is made of a moisture-absorbing synthetic material linked to an environmental control computer and the occupant's neural interface. It controls the suit's temperature and actively changes how the suit fits the user.
• Compact Fusion Reactor: The fusion reactor is the most essential part of the MJOLNIR system, as it provides power to all equipment on the armor—the reactor is built into the suit and allows for nearly unlimited movement. GEN2's fusion reactor is installed at the back of the torso carapace.
• Magnetic Weapon Holder Strips: The MJOLNIR armor features very small, yet powerful magnets placed on the legs, waist, and back of the suit that are used to hold any equipment or any weapons with a magnetic property. The suit also contains a magnet system within its boots that allows its wearer to stay attached to a metal surface in zero gravity environments and can be toggled on or off by the wearer.
• Power Supply Control Unit: Manages the power supply of the armor.
• MJOLNIR GEN2 BIOS: The basic input/output system, standard firmware interface of the GEN2 suite.
• VISR 4.0: Up to version 4.09, these visor installments are optimized and customized to facilitate specialized tasks. VISR 4.0 is capable of managing a Spartan's disparate sensor feeds, battlenet links, and suit diagnostic messages.
• Force-Multiplying Circuits: Allows the user greatly enhanced reflexes and strength, improving mobility and combat effectiveness in close quarters.
• Motion Tracker: Shows movement of friendly and enemy units within the system's radius.
• Pressure Seal: The pressure seal is a vital component to the MJOLNIR system, it keeps the system airtight, underwater or in space. The seal is very strong and will only break under extreme pressure, such as in a high velocity impact or when the hydrostatic gel has been over pressurized.
• Support Upgrades: These customized and specialized upgrades allow combat advantages by modifying the core and periphery systems of GEN2.
• Sprint Module: Unlike previous armor systems, Mjolnir GEN2 has a built-in sprint module that allows the user to run at faster speeds by overriding safety protocols. It is functionally similar to the version developed by Kat-B320 of NOBLE Team, which saw widespread deployment across Reach in the planet's final days.
• Tactical Packages: These customized and specialized packages allow combat advantages by modifying the core and periphery systems of GEN2.
• Titanium Nanocomposite Bodysuit: Sandwiched between the external armor and the internal padding is a thick armored bodysuit. The bodysuit is made of a nonrigid titanium-based material, making it very strong and yet very flexible. The suit has numerous functions, small but vital to the safety and survival of the wearer. It also serves as another layer of protection against ballistics attacks and is coated with a heat-resistant material to disperse heat from plasma weapons. Many components of the GEN2's titanium bodysuit are conspicuously fashioned after the shape of human musculature; this was less prominent in previous Mjolnir generations. Some models have portions of the bodysuit share their color with the external armor plating, though completely black bodysuits are still common. Certain fireteams or individual operatives are outfitted with customized techsuits that contain a host of undisclosed improvements or modifications to fit particular mission parameters or operator need.
• Integrated Thruster System: GEN2 suits are equipped with an array of shoulder- and back-mounted thrusters, increasing a Spartan's mobility in the field and presumably in vacuum environments. The system, which was added as part of a series-wide update, partly alleviates the need to use an external thruster unit or jetpack; however, it provides only limited thrust and as such does not fully replace external thrust apparatuses. It is still powerful enough to allow the user to hover a few seconds in mid-air when activated in a stabilizing arrangement. Integrated thrusters saw use in combat as early as March 2555.
• Auto-Repair and Bypass Nodes: Any damage that the armor plating suffers can be repaired by built-in, triply-redundant subsystems. These systems are receptive to nanomachines facilitating the repair. Additionally, bypass channels allow certain components to function if routing is compromised by extensive damage. Both these systems can fail, resulting in "scarred" armor plating.