The Renegade

Preamble
On March 1st/2nd, 2558, Requiem is destroyed and Spartan Ops ends, which also ends my need of Machete being around on Infinity for Ad Infinitum. Within a month, Amber's desertion event occurs: Infinity or a sub-vessel's forces, including Machete, are charged with wiping out Covenant civilians to protect a secret (the location/ability to activate a Guardian, probably). Amber tries to stop this, and it ends in Morgana's accidental death. Horrified by killing her best friend and fearing the punishments ONI might bring against her, she deserts.


 * "There's nothing we can do."
 * "And you don't think that makes it worse?"
 * -Kodiak and Dyne

Parangosky herself, retired though she is and possibly thought dead by the majority of even ONI, takes an interest, and puts Erin squarely in a corner which prevents her from protecting Amber. Parangosky assigns Kodiak and Dyne the mission to capture her, which Dyne openly refuses, while Kodiak accepts. The two quarrel over it, and after Kodiak departs, Dyne smuggles himself off Infinity, running away from his grief for Morgan, regret for Amber's desertion, and anger towards his friend Kodiak, all of which he's unfamiliar to and averse to dealing with. He leaves Kodiak a note, which reads "I'm going somewhere I can do something."

Main Series

 * Start: April, 2558

Origin Issue
About a month later, Dyne ends up on Talitsa, whether by Chancer or not. Looking for a place to stay or bite to eat, he gets involved in a pharmacy robbery and fights the perpetrators, enjoying his superior abilities until he realizes he's been shot. As medical attention would put him on a grid, which could lead him to be found, Dyne starts to panic, but realizes he has little choice. He wakes up in hospital care later, and finding he's been bandaged and treated, plans to sneak out by ambushing the nurse who comes to check on him. When the nurse surprises him by reversing the ambush, she reveals herself as Cassandra who, having recognized Dyne, covered for him with false patient data. They catch up and begin wondering what they'll do now; two rogue Spartans in one place increases the chance they'll both be found, and Dyne hadn't necessarily planned to stay on Talitsa anyway.

While Dyne stays, however, another robbery occurs, this time at the hospital itself. Strapping on a surgical mask to hide his identity, Dyne helps Cassandra overpower the attackers, who were after the hospital's supply of a particular drug, the same as the pharmacy. Interested, Dyne later follows the lead to a secret lab created by General Darrow, leader of Talitsa's NCA forces. Also present are a high-ranking NCA member, here to oversee the job Darrow's done with the project, and Tobias Lensky and/or Tatiana Onegin, representing the Syndicate whose local enforcers acquired the drug compounds needed. They're attempting to reproduce the experiment which gave Ilsa Zane her super-Spartan abilities, with coerced help from Dr. Bernard Dalathorn, a member of S-II project staff who fled the UNSC and came to the NCA for protection. They've been failing for years, and at a suggestion from Tobias/Tatiana, Darrow volunteers as the next subject to demonstrate his confidence.

Dyne sneaks around as the drugs are administered, and pulls Dalathorn aside with the promise of helping him escape. Dalathorn shows him a MJOLNIR GEN2 bodysuit the program has managed to reverse-engineer, which Dyne dons (and possibly finds fits his measurements exactly, taken from when he was captured on Stratos by Brodie's Gustav Klein, who escaped with the data to bring to the NCA). Suited up, he covers Dalathorn's escape by trashing the lab to destroy their research, and finds himself facing off against Darrow, whose experiment lived up to every bit of its promise. Despite taking a beating, Dyne defeats him and escapes to reconvene with Cassandra and Dalathorn. Worried about what else the NCA might be doing, Dyne agrees to stay for a while.

There Goes the Neighborhood
A month later, and Dyne is still trying to adjust to life on Talitsa. Having yet to find a place of his own, he sleeps on the floor of Cassandra's tiny apartment and feels he's starting to become a drain on her, while roaming the neighborhood in search of crime to fight is yielding very little result.

Main Sequence
From here till about the time of Halo 5, Dyne for the most part enjoys throwing his weight around playing superhero, and I mean very much to emphasize playing at first. He hides a lot from his own feelings over his team breaking by diving into the role, and it takes a while for him to really understand the implications of everything he does. Among his adventures might be:


 * Going after a serial killer whose method of choice is vehicular manslaughter. Dyne manages to cause a crash, and the vehicle explodes before he can investigate, drawing police and forcing him off. The next night, however, the killings continue.
 * Befriending someone down on their luck, whose life he looks to make better by giving them money and a ticket offworld. He's rebuked instead, asked if he'll do the same for everyone suffering in the city, and pointing out even if he did that those causing the problems would just move and set up again. He's forced to introspect for a while about how he ran away from his problems, and he resolves to do what he can to make bigger changes to Talitsa.
 * After eventually acquiring a reason for not killing, Dalathorn breaks with his philosophy, his life destroyed by coming to the NCA. Creates a "Doctor" villain for Dyne's rogue's gallery.
 * Fireteam Nepthys arrives, intending to unmask the Renegade as he sounds precisely like a rogue Spartan. Depending on whether Pale Kestrl makes a return, the first story would start with Dyne and a rogue Shepard in conflict, ending with Dyne framing him as the Renegade for Nepthys to capture. Later, Nepthys might return to pit Wynne, Jake, Kodiak, and Shepard against Dyne, Cassandra, Simon, and Amber or Galen in a battle of loyal versus rogue Spartans.

Close

 * End: October, 2558

Ultimately, Dyne's time on Talitsa ends in defeat. He breaks the rule he set for himself, his identity is revealed, and with all eyes on him he has to run without making contact and endangering anyone else, letting down those he leaves behind. For a while, Dyne wanders the galaxy getting by on odd jobs, his self-worth completely undermined. When the Guardian Crisis comes, however, those who resist might look to add to their chances by picking up one more Spartan.

Tatiana Onegin
A Syndicate viceroy, drawn initially to the planet by joint projects with Darrow, but quick to take an interest when the Renegade's mere presence drives criminals off the streets and hurts the Syndicate's revenue.

The Wheelman
A dangerous hacker for hire.

The Firebug
An Unggoy mercenary hired by the Syndicate to take the Renegade down with his modified Goblin mech.