Halo 5: Guardians – A Guide to the Blue Team & Fireteam Osiris

It’s finally time to jump back into the world of Spartans, Covenant, Prometheans, and Forerunners with the release of Halo 5: Guardians. Not only does the latest installment feature new planets and characters, but it also features new game mechanics. One of the most talked about design decisions in Halo 5is undoubtedly its shift to squad-based shooter.

Perhaps inspired by its own history, in which squads of Spartans take it to the Covenant quite often, and games such as Star Wars: Republic Commando, Rainbow Six, and Ghost Recon, Halo 5‘s approach to action is a bit more tactical this time around. Of note are the squad commands, which were a big part of the demo shown at E3 2015. We saw Agent Locke, played by Mike Colter, lead his Fireteam Osiris through a daring showdown against Promethean forces. 

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Halo 5 introduces many new characters to the world of Halo games, but they aren’t all new. Both Master Chief and Agent Locke have three team members with them, most of whom have appeared in books and comics and have their own beloved histories. Others, like Buck from Halo: ODST, starred in their own games. Players will be able to control them during their adventures in Halo 5.

Here’s a primer for John-117’s new enemies and allies:

Master Chief’s Blue Team

In Halo 5, the Chief reunites with Blue Team, the classmates with whom he underwent Spartan-II training. Blue Team’s membership fluctuated several times in the Halo Expanded Universe, especially during the Onyx incidents portrayed in the novels, but Fred and Linda, both Spartan-IIs, were part of the group that knew John from the very beginning.

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Frederic-104

First Appearance: The Fall of Reach (Novel)

Lieutenant Junior Grade Frederic-104 is technically the highest-ranking member of Blue Team, but will usually defer to Master Chief when the team is working together. Fred is a serious, quiet man. He has skill with a combat knife and is a veteran of many battles, but tends to be reserved regarding his own accomplishments.

Along with John and Kelly, he rescued Thomas Lasky and other students of the Corbulo Academy, a mission portrayed in the live-action movie Forward Unto Dawn. He commanded Spartan teams in the aftermath of the attack on Reach and during several other battles, including the Battle of Onyx.

Kelly-087

First Appearance: The Fall of Reach (Novel)

Petty Officer Kelly-087 is the fastest of the Spartan-IIs, and was a friend to the Master Chief in training. Like the rest of Blue Team, her first appearance in The Fall of Reach lead to roles in several other books. Under her fearsome EVA helmet is the woman nicknamed the “rabbit,” who has been known to run almost 40 mph in her armor. Along with her speed, her tactical smarts should come in handy to the team, too. She also has a good sense of humor and a high tolerance for pain.

On Onyx, she fought off both Sentinels and Elites before meeting up with Doctor Halsey and a group of Spartan-IIIs. After discovering more about the Forerunner ruins, the group escaped the Dyson Sphere in which they were trapped. This escape – and Kelly’s loyalty to Halsey – may yet have an impact on Halo 5’s story.

Linda-058

First Appearance: The Fall of Reach (Novel)

Blue Team’s sniper is the strong, precise Petty Officer Linda-058. She was the only other Spartan besides John in the vicinity of Installation O4 in Halo: CE, although she was frozen in a cryopod in orbit for the duration of his mission.

Later, she and several other Spartans were trapped inside an extradimentional Shield World, but were able to return to normal space and were rescued by the UNSC. Her armor is equipped with scopes to make her one of the UNSC’s deadliest snipers even deadlier.

Agent Locke’s Fireteam Osiris

The new generation of Spartans, wearing highly computerized armor, are the first generation of Spartans to keep their names. They’re also volunteers, less heavily augmented than their predecessors. They’ll have their hands full hunting down the Chief, but Agent Locke has assembled a strong team.

Jameson Locke

First Appearance: Nightfall (Digital Feature)

In a way, Locke is Halo 5’s equivalent of Halo 2’s Arbiter. Noble in his own way, he is opposed to the Master Chief by circumstance. He’s loyal to ONI and the UNSC, and seeks to bring Master Chief to justice.

Before becoming a Spartan-IV, Locke was a headhunter for ONI, and travelled to the planet Sedra to investigate terrorist activity in an already politically shaky colony. As part of that investigation, he fought off Hunter worms and members of his own team on the wrecked remains of Halo Installation 04. Among his philosophies is the decision to never take any action out of fear.

Olympia Vale

First Appearance: Hunters in the Dark (Novel)

Vale is a liaison to the Elites, and has stylized armor to match. Fans were introduced to her in Hunters in the Dark, a Halo novel to be released in June. Vale helped a mixed human-Elite team explore the ruins of the Arc, and was instrumental in preventing its AI guardian from sending Forerunner Sentinels to invade the Solar System. The novel doesn’t feature her language skills at the forefront, but does show her ability to negotiate under pressure.

We do know that she has been skilled at learning languages since a young age, and that she can now speak many of the Covenant dialects. It will take a skilled negotiator to keep post-war relations with the Elites peaceful … if that’s even what ONI wants Fireteam Osiris to do.

Edward Buck

First Appearance: ODST (Video Game)

Nation Fillion returns as Edward Buck, but he’s come a long way since his appearance n ODST, a video game expansion to Halo 3 that told the story of a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers.

Now a Spartan-IV and in a relationship with Veronica Dare, his commanding officer in ODST, Buck lost two of his old teammates to the war: the Rookie died at the hand of an insurrectionist, while Mickey betrayed the team because he felt that it was morally wrong for them to kill fellow humans. Buck hasn’t forgotten his ODST roots, though – he still wears the helmet from his original suit of armor, and gray MJOLNIR armor to match.

Holly Tanaka

First Appearance: Escalation (Comic)

Tanaka’s fighting spirit was fostered by her hardscrabble early life in the nuclear winter after the Covenant bombed her homeworld. She learned how to use a gun and repair equipment while she lived there with her father, but the two were separated when humans, allied with Jackals, attacked their camp.

Later, she participated in several missions as an officer in the UNSC Army, and was recommended for the Spartan-IV program. Her story has taken place primarily in the comic series Escalation, but she and the rest of the team can also be seen accompanying Locke in Halo 2: Anniversary.

Megan Crouse is a staff writer.