Halo OC: Spartan-II Illiana-212

Artwork done by the talented
With trouble and some personal projects he has, he's been working hard and I appreciate him working to create even these amazing images. It may have taken a while to receive and put up, but it was totally worth the wait~! Be ready to see Spartan Fireteam Thanatos, the Graves of Ghosts ODSTs, the Midnight of Solace's best pilots, and the powerful Sanghelli Xosan 'Vunam!

Introduction
    Born on the verdant moon of Ylinir Minor, Illiana had been introduced to hardships even before being recruited by Halsey, having been abandoned after a mugger killed her mother and father a year beforehand. At the age of six she was taken like every other Spartan-II candidate by Halsey and the Office of Naval Intelligence to become the super-soldiers of the Orion-II/Spartan-II project; though Illiana took down several recruiters before managing to catch her.

    Spartan 212, otherwise known as Illiana-212, is a female Spartan who excels in close-quarters brawling and has a reputation for being tough but caring to the forces of the UNSC around her. She competed with Spartan 117 for top marks but ultimately fell short and reluctantly fell behind despite her astonishing talents. Much like John-117 she was quick to learn and exceptionally skilled in both body and mind. If not for her demeanor, Halsey said that she could have possibly overtaken John-117, however her roguish behavior and self-doubt kept her from embracing her full potential. Despite this Halsey nicknamed her the 'Angel of Death' due to her amazing close-quarters combat skill and her rather agile fighting style. This gave Doctor Halsey an idea that came to fruition in the form of custom war-gear. Illiana would be equipped with a prototype blade that was developed to combat the Energy Sword. In addition she had a combat knife and assault rifle given to her. She was known to take great care of her blades.

Appearance
   Illiana stood at a respectable 200cm/6' 7" out of her armor and 211cm/7' 0" in her armor. She hated her armor however and at any time she could she would wear just her base layer suit, usually in a much more revealing fashion than what should have been permitted, but also wearing a pair of dog tags in addition to her own. The tags belonged to Spartan 233, whose name was Howard, and who she fell in love with mutually as teenagers during the Spartan-II program. During their first combat assignment against Covenant forces Illiana would watch as Howard was felled by an Elite General right before her eyes. While she successfully defeated and killed the Elite, she would hold Howard in her arms and just before he passed away, kissed him after confessing her love for him. In addition to his tags, she had technicians weld some of the armor from Howard's ruined suit onto her armor.
    Illiana is a respectably well-built, endowed, and scarred Spartan female who ranks among the most skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Falling just shy of John-117 and Helena-015 she holds her ground against all other Spartans in this regard attempting to surpass her.

History: Reach
  During Thanatos' time on Reach Illiana was an amazing kill-count holder and contributor in a vast array of fast deployments using jetpacks. While she herself would be focused on close-quarters and breaching, it wasn't uncommon for her to grab an Assault Rifle and fight with fury even at mid-range. Illiana's armor was always a question that many of her squad mates had, however they respected her loyalty and commended her for her love for Howard-233 even after death, though the slightest bad-mouthing by anyone in the UNSC would pique her rage; making her often the source of conflict among squads she was with.
    During the battle for Aegis Base, Illiana led a group of ODSTs and Marines using jetpacks to strike supplies and reinforcing infantry in addition to quick assaults to plant shaped charges on enemy armor. Though these operations were high-risk, Illiana made the work look easy, simply unable to qualm the sheer volume of Covenant however, she was forced to retreat. Once inside the facility, Illiana killed dozens of Covenant herself holding narrow chokepoints, including two Elite Generals in an impressive bout. Sadly though she would be wounded by a stealthed Sanghelli, forcing her to retreat with her squad early to the evacuation Pelican.
    When New Alexandria was being evacuated, Illiana proved her worth against several Hunters. Her high-frequency blade was able to cut through the thick armor of the Hunters and expose vital locations for supporting units. In addition her fluid and efficient fighting style by this time made the Hunters look like they swung at her in slow motion. The eventual retreat from New Alexandria to the Midnight of Solace annoyed Illiana since most of the fighting would be done at range. Her unit would be the last to arrive at the ship before lifting off, acting as a rear guard.

    Illiana also was responsible for sparring with each of Thanatos, often losing to Helena-015 and Leon-717, but usually beating Tia-051 and Orihime-033 in regards to close-quarters combat. Before being placed in cryo-sleep she would be notably upset. Helena found her crying in both rage at sadness as the ship left Reach and said that even as she was put in the pod for cryo-sleep; that her tears wouldn't stop, and that she truly cared despite her nature.