Captain Keyes

Keyes was a member of the UNSC Navy for much of his life, slowly working his way through the ranks until finally becoming a Captain in the Battle of Sigma Octanus and going on to command the Pillar of Autumn.

At some point early in his military career, when he was still an Ensign, Keyes was nearly killed when a captain of his decided to try out his new method of FTL transfer and the experiment went horribly awry. Keyes learned during the trial of the captain to keep his mouth shut - something that Dr. Halsey, the Spartan II project, and no doubt, ONI, valued greatly. As such, Keyes was involved in the initial exfiltration of the then young Spartans to be, beginning with John-117, the one day Master Chief. With his experience, it was no surprise he was chosen to lead the Pillar of Autumn on its Spartan insertion operation.

When the PoA reached Halo, Keyes was in command of what was possibly the last group of human soldiers from Reach. If he failed, and Halo was lost to the whims of the Covenant, Reach would certainly not be the last planet to fall, and Earth's imminent discovery and siege would be hastened. When an already dismal situation went further awry, only his steadfast will and resolve prevented the location of Earth from falling into the hands of a foe more threatening than even the Covenant: the omni-parisitic, sentient xenoform known as The Flood. His interrogation and eventual death, though slow and horrific, was consistently fought with the courage and tactical skill his life and command had become known for.