Name: Cyrus Alexander Merrick
Birthplace: New Harmony, UNSC space
Birthday: May 10, 2537 (UNSC reckoning)
Vital Statistics
Age: 28
Height: 7'0"
Weight: 295 lbs
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Black
Distinguishing Features
Tattoos: UNSC Marine Corps emblem with the words 'Semper Fidelis', right shoulder; the numbers '117' in stylized text with the words 'Spartans Never Die', left shoulder blade; UNSC SPARTAN-IV Program emblem, right shoulder blade
Scars: Numerous
Other: None
Personal Data
Strengths: As a product of the UNSC SPARTAN-IV program, Cyrus's body has been enhanced to beyond superhuman levels. Strength, durability, metabolism, perception, and reflexes have all been augmented in order to create the perfect soldier. Even before receiving the enhancements, however, Cyrus was already a master sharpshooter, a stealth infiltration specialist, and a brilliant battlefield tactician.
Weaknesses: He is a SPARTAN.
Relatives: Jason Merrick (father, deceased); Alice Merrick (mother, deceased); Colton Merrick (brother, deceased); Ashley Merrick (sister, deceased); Christine Merrick (sister, deceased)
Relationships: Undetermined
Known Adversaries: Numerous
Known Allies: Brian Ravenlock, The Clandestine Order of Seraphim, The 27th Special Operations Division of the RhyDin Watch
Standard Equipment
Item Name: MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/S variant (GEN2)
Item Description: The MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/S variant, more commonly known as Scout Armor, is a variant of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor employed by the SPARTANs of the UNSC. Often employed by infiltration and recon teams in the field, the Scout Armor uses advanced materials to give it stealth properties, without sacrificing the protective properties or adding any additional weight. The armor is equipped with internal compartments for ammunition and magnetic strips on the back and legs to hold weapons in place when they are not in use, as well as an energy shielding system, and expansion slots for enhancement modules ranging from expanded sensor packages to active camouflage. Cyrus's personal armor is a rusty orange color trimmed in verdant green, the signature colors of Fireteam Hurricane.
Item Name: M6D Personal Defense Weapon System
Item Description: The M6D Personal Defense Weapon System, otherwise known as the M6D Magnum Sidearm, is a UNSC combat pistol and is one of the variants of Misriah Armory's M6 handgun series. Commonly issued to high-ranking officers, this variant has been upscaled for use by SPARTANs in MJOLNIR armor. Firing 12.7x40mm M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive (SAP-HE) rounds at a rate of 3.5 rounds per second, with a range of slightly over 120 meters, the M6D is a weapon capable of devastating results in the hands of a capable soldier.
Background Information
Factoids: Cyrus is very much the new generation SPARTAN-IV. Recruited from the UNSC Marine Corps where he served as a sniper, his rank upon recruitment into the SPARTAN-IV program was Corporal. Entry into the program changed his branch from the Marines to the UNSC Navy, and his rate was changed to Petty Officer Third Class, though in the program all soldiers were collectively referred to only by the title of Spartan. Currently, his rank is officially Senior Chief Petty Officer in the UNSC Navy, though he is listed by them (at this time) as MIA.
History: Cyrus Merrick was born on the UNSC space colony of New Harmony. Coincidentally, the night of his birth marked the start of a space battle between the UNSC Naval forces and the Covenant, a race of aliens bent on destroying humanity and fulfilling the prophecy of a 'Great Journey' to propel them into the divine beyond...whatever that meant. It wasn't until many years after Cyrus' birth that humanity would find out the horrifying truth behind this prophecy, and those events would in fact play another important part in his life.
After the space battle, life on New Harmony was fairly uneventful for the Merrick family. Jason, his father, was a low-ranking official in the colony world's branch office of ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence), and his mother was a schoolteacher. Cyrus himself was the oldest child, and while he was an obviously intelligent, athletic, and capable boy, he led a fairly ordinary life, and was happy with it. When, in his thirteenth year, his father received a transfer to the Office of Naval Intelligence headquarters, in the city of New Mombasa on Earth, Cyrus was understandably upset at having to move and lose all his friends (of which he had many), but not so much that he missed out on the exciting aspect of it. After all, he had never seen the homeworld of humanity himself.
He and his family settled into life in their new home readily enough, and it seemed like all was going perfectly. There was a war on with the Covenant, of course, everyone knew about that - it was in all the news. But that was worlds away, nothing to do at all with their life on Earth.
That is, until the day the Covenant came calling on their front doorstep.
October 21, 2552, a little over two years after he and his family had moved to the city, the Covenant attacked Earth and landed in the city. Cyrus was never certain of what happened afterwards. Someone told him they'd found him in the middle of his family and three dead Covenant Jackals, shock troops for the enemy. He only remembered two things clearly - he had killed two of them himself, the third almost causing his death in return...until he had been saved by the fortuitous intervention of Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.
Orphaned in the aftermath of the battle and subsequent destruction of his home, Cyrus decided for himself what his path should be, then and there. As the child of an ONI official, he was taken care of, his every need seen to - food, home, education, for the next three years, until he enlisted into the UNSC Marine Corps.
And there he excelled. It was as though he were made to be a soldier, a warrior. His superiors noted his skills, his determination, his drive to succeed, and they built on it, fed it, encouraged it to grow.
When - four years after enlisting - the SPARTAN-IV program was created and called for volunteers, he all too eagerly enrolled, remembering that long-ago soldier in his armor, the legend that was the inspiration for all that came after that fateful day.
And, once again, he excelled, far surpassing the expectations of even his most challenging instructors. A further three years later the former-Marine-turned-Spartan had reached the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer, one pay grade below the famed John-117 himself.
And he could have gone even further, if not for an unfortunate incident which sent him further away from home than he had ever imagined being...
