Halo Characters and Factions

In our last article, we gave you the gist of the storyline of Halo 1 & 2. As promised there, here’s an introduction to characters and factions of the Halo world…

Master Chief (a.k.a SPARTAN 117)
An outcome of the SPARTAN-II Project, the Master Chief is a genetically altered super-soldier that stands at a whopping 7’2”. This badass is the protagonist and the main playable character in the Halo franchise. Powered by the Mark VI Mjolnir assault armor, the Master Chief is humanity’s last hope against the Covenant.

Cortana
Cortana is an Artificial Intelligence digital clone of Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN-II Project. Before being embedded in the Master Chief’s suit, Cortana was the onboard A.I. for the UNSC starship ‘The Pillar of Autumn’. After she was integrated into the Master Chief’s suit, the both of them formed an almost unbreakable team that took down two Halo worlds.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

UNSC
The United Nations Space Command or UNSC is the government body that watches over all the human colonies across many galaxies. Apart from governance, the UNSC’s task includes protecting the Earth’s population with the help of a large military force. The Master Chief and Cortana are both part of the weapon development programs of the UNSC.

The Covenant
The Covenant is an alliance of diverse alien races that worship the ‘Forerunners’. They believe that the Halo-shaped worlds created by the Forerunners will take them on a ‘Great Journey’ once activated. It will also kill all sentient life along with them, but that doesn’t seem to bother these illogical freaks.

The Forerunners
The Forerunners are a mysterious race in the Halo universe, about whom very little is known. It’s believed that the ‘High Prophets’ (the governing race of the Covenant) have evolved on a planet that was occupied by the Forerunners centuries ago. Almost all the technology of the Covenant is, in some form, derived from Forerunner artifacts.

High Prophets
These fruitcakes are the leaders of the Covenant, and pretty much the reason for the Covenant’s misinformed religious fervor. There are three High Prophets, the High Prophet of Truth, the High Prophet of Mercy and the High Prophet of Regret. The highest among them, the High Prophet of Truth, is the Master Chief’s main adversary in Halo 2.

The Arbiter
Just like the Master Chief, the Arbiter is a character in the story referred to by his rank. ‘Arbiter’ is a rank bestowed upon Elites (a race in the Covenant) by the High Prophets, that have performed exceptionally well on the battlefield. The Arbiter here is an Elite who discovers the foul plans of the High Prophets and defects from their cause after being betrayed by the Covenant.

Sgt. Major Avery Johnson
Sgt. Major Johnson is a soldier in the UNSC’s military, who’s risen through the ranks through discipline and hard work. This dude’s seen more action than almost anyone in the entire army, making him a trustworthy ally to the Master Chief. Once the war is over, rest assured, this duo will have a lot of heroic tales to tell about how they saved each other’s ass a gazillion times.

Commander Miranda Keyes
The daughter of Pillar of Autumn’s Captain Jacob Keyes, Miranda Keyes now commands the Earth’s ground forces. Known for her prowess with guerilla tactics, Miranda proved her worth by getting the High Prophet of Regret assassinated.

The Flood
An alien species that has a voracious appetite for sentient life; the Flood disfigures and converts all lifeforms to a part of itself. The Forerunner’s reason for the Ring worlds’ creation was to destroy the Flood, and themselves with it if they had to. The only way to kill the Flood is to kill all the food around it and starve it.

The Gravemind
If you thought the Flood didn’t have a brain, think again; the Gravemind is a massive sentient being that belongs to the Flood, and pretty much the closest thing it has to a leader. This creature was formed from parts of the brave warriors that had fallen prey to the Flood, along with the Flood’s own soldiers.