History Characters / HaloUNSCOfficeOfNavalIntelligence

* KarmaHoudini: In terms of the organization as a whole, ONI causes many problems, assassinates people, arrests problematic individuals to never be seen again, invokes a civil war among the Elites just to make sure they didn't come back to fight humanity [[NiceJobBreakingItHero (which backfired spectacularly)]] and so, ''so'' many more crimes than would be reasonable to list. But the only ones that invoke any karma are ONI upon each other; they're so secretive, classified and self-contained on a leadership hierarchy that functionally no one else in the UNSC can actually do anything against them, which lets them do as they please with little comeuppance but their own mistakes.

* UngratefulBastard: They "thank" Thel Vadam for his assistance in winning the war against the Covenant by triggering a civil war in his domain. They also strongly attempt to throw Halsey under the bus, scapegoating her because Parangosky has a petty grudge over the SPARTAN-II program ''she approved and bankrolled'', [[spoiler:causing Halsey's MistreatmentInducedBetrayal that they respond to by trying to ''assassinate her immediately'']].

* UngratefulBastard: They "thank" Thel Vadam for his assistance in winning the war against the Covenant by triggering a civil war in his domain.

* {{Masquerade}}: In charge of several, with one of their biggest appearing in ''ARG/HuntTheTruth''; if you know Halo lore, you'll recognize that the stories Giraud's ONI-supplied sources give about the origins of John-117 and the other Spartan-[=IIs=] are all fabrications (among other things, they claim that John didn't leave his hometown until he was at least thirteen year old; AsYouKnow, [[spoiler:John was actually kidnapped and taken offworld at six years old. They're not referring to the flash clone either, which died only a few months after the original abduction]]).

* {{Hypocrite}}: In ''Glasslands'', immediately after talking about how the SPARTAN-IV project is going back to "using consenting adults now, like we did in Project Orion" and berating Halsey for the child soldier part of the S-[=IIs=], Parangosky then declares that the surviving Spartan-[=IIIs=] (who, with a few exceptions, are twelve to thirteen years old ''at most'') will still remain in service (though to be fair, WordOfGod implies that the survivors of Gamma Company were given a choice about whether to stay after the war).

** Ironically, she plans to subvert this. She thinks that she should ''not'' get away with what she has done, and is putting together evidence and files to present to the UNSC judiciaries so that she and everyone else involved in the Spartan-II and III projects will be prosecuted. Given her age though, any punishment is not likely to last long before she dies.

A former member of the Spartan-II program, Serin "washed out" when her body rejected several of the first round of genetic enhancements. She was recruited by ONI, who repaired the damage done to her, and she became the protégé of ONI head Admiral Margaret Parangosky, from whom she takes the reins after Parangosky's retirement.

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Despite her hopes that she would be less ruthless as the head of ONI than Parangosky, even vowing to reveal the truth about the Spartan-II project, so far it appears that ONI under Osman's regime has been just as, if not even more, brutal and suppressing. The end of ''ARG/HuntTheTruth'''s first season reveals that [[spoiler:not only did ONI instigate a massive cover-up of the SPARTAN-II project's dark secrets after rumors of them were threatening to get out of hand by allowing the truth to be briefly "leaked" before utterly discrediting the source, they even briefly let John-117 be considered a traitor by the public and threw poor Benjamin Giraud into Midnight Facility to be locked up forever]]. So much for any hope of Osman being a more ethical leader than her predecessor.

* ColonelKilgore: Was actually ''glad'' Reach was glassed in the hopes that Dr. Halsey and the [=Spartan-IIs=] were killed. And that's not even getting started on [[LaserGuidedTykeBomb the Spartan-IIIs]].

* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:How Lepidus kills him during the Battle of Earth.]]

* JerkassHasAPoint: Designed the Spartan-III program to train crops of young children to be [[SurprisinglyEliteCannonFodder elite suicide troopers]] so the UNSC could "trade lives for time." Said program ends up stalling the Covenant onslaught long enough for humanity to survive the war.

* NecessarilyEvil: The [=Spartan-III program=], while extremely dark and unethical and largely created just to stroke his ego and rivalry with Dr. Halsey, did buy humanity much needed time and directly ensured their survival.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: After the Brutes [[spoiler: discover his story about the Forerunner artefact called the "Key of Osanalan" hidden in Cleveland is made up, he outright gloats to the Brutes torturing him that they're complete idiot for blindly believing his story because of their made-up religion. He gets beheaded for his trouble, though at that point he was as good as dead anyway]].

* WeHaveReserves: In his own words, the [=Spartan-IIIs=] are meant to "trade lives for time".

** Despite her attempts to maintain a professional distance to her Spartan-[=IIs=], she ends up becoming close to all of them in a pseudo-motherly sort of way.
** She's initially cold and dismissive towards the Spartan-III soldiers, due to her suspicion/misgivings about their origins. She eventually softens considerably - especially towards Noble Six - when she realizes they are quality soldiers who genuinely care for people as well.
** Starts off utterly disdainful of everyone aboard the UNSC ''Infinity'', but eventually comes to regard Spartan-IV Gabriel Throne with a little more respect.
* DespairEventHorizon: Following the Fall of Reach, the discovery of Halo and the Flood, and learning that the Covenant has found Earth, Halsey becomes convinced that the UNSC cannot win the war, and decides to take the Spartan-[=II=]s (and as many Spartan-[=III=]s as she can) somewhere safe where they can wait out the war. [[DidntThinkThisThrough What she failed to realize is how effective a team John and Cortana were]]. [[spoiler:Once she learns how they won the war, she changes her mind and firmly believes he's alive even after he and Cortana have been missing for four years.]]

* FirstNameBasis: She always refers to the [=Spartan-IIs=] by their names, not their ranks or numbers. During training, John-117 noted that she was the only who called him "John" instead of Trainee-117. After he became known as "Master Chief", she is still the only one to call him "John", as even his close friends on Blue Team still professionally refer to him by his rank.

** In the ''Kilo-Five'' books, the central human protagonists have [[WriterOnBoard a much more negative opinion on her]], ranging from {{Jerkass}} (the [=Spartan-IIIs=]) to having crossed the MoralEventHorizon a long time ago (Chief Mendez and ONI team Kilo-Five).

* LaserGuidedKarma: Deliberately invoked by Adm. Parangosky when she's arrested by the UNSC in ''Halo: Glasslands''. Dr. Halsey's death is faked by ONI, and she's put to work on top secret projects like the ''Infinity'' without reprieve or parole, not unlike her kidnapping of the Spartan-II candidates decades earlier.

* MotherlyScientist: In fact, Parangosky found her relative compassion for the [=IIs=] rather exasperating. Her "motherly" instincts are likely a major reason why she becomes especially irritable if someone else tries to claim credit for the [=Spartan-IIs=], as she refers to them as ''her'' Spartans. She also feels a strong sense of responsibility for the Spartans-[=IIIs=], despite not being involved in their program.

* ParentalSubstitute: To the Spartan-[=IIs=], showing legitimate concern for their well-being despite the experimental and excruciating augmentations she placed them through. She also has shades of ParentalFavoritism, being especially kind to John. On the other hand, she looks down on the Spartan-[=IVs=], who are essentially mass-production versions of the Spartan-[=IIs=] using a mass production version of her [=MJOLNIR=] armor.
* ParentsKnowTheirChildren: Due to having been with the Spartan-II candidates most of their lives, she has memorized each of their unique quirks and body language that Halsey is able to immediately identify who each of her Spartans are even when they are underneath heavy combat gear or MJOLNIR armor, and uses their first names to prove this time and again.

* OpenSecret: Their (clandestine and selective) backing of the Servants of Abiding Truth is now being openly suspected and discussed by high ranking members the Swords of Sanghelios; though they aren't able to act, as no concrete evidence has been discovered yet.

[[folder: In General]]

[[folder: [=ADM=]. Margaret Parangosky]]

->'''Homeworld: Luna'''
->'''Birthdate: February, 2461'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloGhostsOfOnyx'''''

[[folder: [=ADM=]. Serin Osman]]

->'''Homeworld: Cascade (St. Malo)'''
->'''Birthdate: April 15, 2511'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloGlasslands'''''

[[folder: COL. James Ackerson]]

->'''Homeworld: Earth'''
->'''Birthdate: Unknown'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'''''

[[folder: Dr. Catherine Halsey]]

->'''Homeworld: Endymion (Port Vernon)'''
->'''Birthdate: March 19, 2492'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'''''
->'''Voiced by: Creator/JenTaylor (games, ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach''), Creator/ShelleyCaleneBlack (''Anime/HaloLegends'')'''

-->'''Thorne:''' So you don't think we're capable of being Spartans.
-->'''Halsey:''' Perhaps some of you are closer than others.

[[folder: Professor Ellen Anders]]

->'''Homeworld: Arcadia'''
->'''Birthdate: August 13, 2503'''
->'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/HaloWars'''''
->'''Voiced by: Creator/KimMaiGuest (''VideoGame/HaloWars''), Faye Kingslee (''VideoGame/HaloWars2'' campaign), Kate Pippinger (''Halo Wars 2'' multiplayer)'''

[[folder: Dr. Sandra Tillson]]

->'''Homeworld: Coral'''
->'''Birthdate: May 14, 2506'''
->'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo4'''''
->'''Voiced by: Creator/AdrienneBarbeau'''

[[folder: Dr. Henry Glassman]]

->'''Homeworld: New Carthage'''
->'''Birthdate: February 1, 2522'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloTheThursdayWar'''''
->'''Voiced by: Jeff Doba'''

[[folder: Professor Evan Phillips]]

->'''Homeworld: Earth (Australia)'''
->'''Birthdate: Unknown'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloGlasslands'''''

[[folder: CAPT. Veronica Dare]]

->'''Homeworld: Actium'''
->'''Birthdate: December 4, 2515'''
->'''Debuted in: ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'''''
->'''Voiced by: Creator/TriciaHelfer'''

[[folder: LT. Michael Horrigan]]

->'''Homeworld: Mars (Ganymede)'''
->'''Birthdate: 2527'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Film/HaloNightfall'''''
->'''Portrayed by: Luke Neal'''

[[folder: WO. Gregory Ramos]]

->'''Homeworld: Mars (Olympus Highlands)'''
->'''Birthdate: 2529'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Film/HaloNightfall'''''
->'''Portrayed by: Christian Contreras'''

[[folder: [=PO2=]. Alistair Estrin]]

->'''Homeworld: Earth (Greater Czechoslovakian Authority)'''
->'''Birthdate: 2534'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Film/HaloNightfall'''''
->'''Portrayed by: Alexander Bhat'''

[[folder: LT. Elias Haverson]]

->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''
->'''Birthdate: Unknown'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloFirstStrike'''''

[[folder: [=LCDR=]. Jilan al-Cygni]]

->'''Homeworld: New Jerusalem'''
->'''Birthdate: Unknown'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloContactHarvest'''''

[[folder: Maj. Akio Watanabe]]

->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''
->'''Birthdate: Unknown'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloTheColeProtocol'''''

[[folder: Codename: SURGEON]]

->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''
->'''Birthdate: Unknown'''
->'''Debuted in: ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'''''

[[folder: Ayit 'Sevi]]

->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''
->'''Birthdate: Unknown'''
->'''Debuted in: ''ComicBook/HaloEscalation'''''

[[folder: [=LCDR=]. Fhajad]]

[[folder: [=LCDR=]. Jameson Locke]]

[[folder: Olympia Vale]]

[[folder: Veta Lopis]]

* DistressedDamsel: Thanks to Ripa 'Moramee.

* MeddlingParents: While she's mostly an aversion, she did initially attempt to use her influence to keep Miranda away from the front-lines, despite her daughter's desire to be directly involved in the fighting.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** ONI accidentally told Jul 'Mdama of their plan to keep the Elites in a prolonged civil war in order to prevent them from attacking humanity, and also gave him access to both information about the Didact and a means of escaping his captivity. [[VideoGame/{{Halo 4}} The rest is history.]]
*** The plan to foment civil war among the Elites also counts in and of itself, largely because ONI is doing so by helping to foment an uprising against ''the Arbiter'', who's already busy trying to convince his people that peace with humans is a good thing. It's the equivalent of Country A helping kill the primary candidate for Country B's leadership, whose foremost policies call for peace with Country A, when the runner-up is a blatant anti-Country A supporter. In practice, ONI's festering of Elite militancy has mostly just resulted in the creation of numerous renegade factions with enough strength to attack and even completely overrun human worlds, as seen in ''[[VideoGame/HaloSpartanAssault Spartan Assault]]'', ''ComicBook/HaloEscalation'', and ''VideoGame/Halo4'', with the irony being that the Arbiter's still substantial sway over the former Covenant races is apparently the only reason why things aren't even worse for humanity.
*** In fact, it takes a lot of lucky breaks to prevent ONI's "start a civil war" plan from falling apart and getting exposed before it's even set in motion.

** Yes, every problem the Arbiter has after the war and the Chief has to deal with in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' you can blame on ONI.
*** Considering how the preceding events are directly responsible for Cortana finding the Domain, it's safe to say ONI singlehandedly put events in motion that would plunge the known galaxy into anarchy and [[DisasterDominoes thus set up every significant conflict after the Human-Covenant War]].

* ImproperlyParanoid: By 2552, they're just overly paranoid of everyone, including their own personnel.

** UngratefulBastard: Their short-sighted plan to stir up trouble amongst Thel Vadam's people reeks of this trope.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: When looking at them on a good day. The SPARTAN-II Program has been receiving a lot of backdraft in universe for its questionable actions, yet when the Insurrection was ongoing no one seemed to mind kidnapping and conscripting 75 children against their will. And it's implied the backdraft is not because of a sudden case of morality (as you have read and will read, ONI has no sense of morality), but just to make the SPARTAN-IV Program seem better.

** BrokenMasquerade: [[spoiler:In Episodes 8 and 9 of ''ARG/HuntTheTruth'', Benjamin Giraud leaks all information he has (a sizable amount, including all of what there was on the flash cloning and various other dirt) regarding the SPARTAN-II program to the general populace, first over the internet, then over a live television broadcast. The colonies, especially the Outer Colonies, are [[CivilWar furious]]. However, ONI is able to enact a CassandraGambit that successfully discredits Ben enough to put out much of the fire.]]

* HotScientist: Zigzagged because of her age. Her appearance in [[spoiler:the ''Halo Legends'' episode "The Package"]] is played completely straight, and even ''Halo: Reach'' and ''Halo 4'' show that age has been rather kind to her. Cortana's looks are partly based on her younger self, and ''The Fall of Reach'' describes her as ''"lovely - not beautiful, but definitely a striking woman"'' when she was in her twenties, something supported by both of [=TFoR's=] visual adaptations.

* HotScientist

'''WARNING: UNMARKED SPOILERS BELOW. CONTINUE?'''\\

* TheExtremistWasRight: She's the main architect of the SPARTAN-II Program, a project that more or less centered around kidnapping, indoctinating, and experimenting on very young children and putting them through TrainingFromHell in order to turn them into hyper competent [[SuperSoilder Super Soilders]] that can handle any threat to humanity... even itself. Given the fact that the Spartans created from these programs were the only ones standing in the way between the Covenant and other galaxy-wide threats throughout the ''Halo'' universe on countless occasions, Halsey's project was a success and then some.

* [[SonOfAWhore Daughter of a Whore]]: [[spoiler:The daughter of junkie prostitute Pinar Çelik.]]

* TheExtremistWasRight: She's the main architect of the SPARTAN-II Program, a project that more or less centered around kidnapping, indoctinating, and experimenting on very young children and putting them through TrainingFromHell in order to turn them into hyper competent [[SuperSoilder SuperSoilders]] that can handle any threat to humanity... even itself. Given the fact that the Spartans created from these programs were the only ones standing in the way between the Covenant and other galaxy-wide threats throughout the ''Halo'' universe on countless occasions, Halsey's project was a success and then some.

* TheExtremistWasRight: She's the main architect of the SPARTAN-II Program, a project that more or less centered around kidnapping, indoctinating, and experimenting on very young children and putting them through TrainingFromHell in order to turn them into hyper competent SuperSoilders that can handle any threat to humanity. Given the fact that the Spartans created from these programs were the only ones standing in the way between the Covenant and other galaxy-wide threats throughout the ''Halo'' universe, Halsey's project was a success and then some.

->'''Homeworld: Unknown'''

->'''Birthdate: 2511'''

* NecessaryEvil: The [=Spartan-III program=], while extremely dark and unethical and largely created just to stroke his ego and rivalry with Dr. Halsey, did buy humanity much needed time and directly ensured their survival.

*** Considering how the preceding events are directly responsible for Cortana finding the Domain, it's safe to say ONI singlehandedly put events in motion that would plunge the known galaxy into anarchy and thus set up every conflict after the original trilogy.