Who is the UNSC leak?

[Seeker of Truth]

In Halo: Escalation, there are at least two humans who are at least collaborating, if not cooperating, with the Storm Covenant in order to kill Lord Hood, the Arbiter, and Lydus (the leader of the Brutes). The first, of course, is Spartan Scruggs. He killed the rest of his Spartan team then lured the three delegates into a trap. He was killed by Palmer, but not before saying something, that I think is a perfect summary of the Reclaimer Saga: "You think there's just two sides to this world?"

The second traitor is unnamed. And it could very well stay that way, at least until Halo Xbox One comes out. But there are a few clues based on Scruggs' behavior and the appearence of the mystery man which has lead me to speculate on one of two possibilities. 

 

 

Scruggs denied being an Insurrectionist, which means he's either insane, or, more likely (and ominously), connected to a very high-ranking official who wants to keep the Elites and Brutes disorganized. Scruggs also killed an awful lot of Storm Covenant, which probably means he's not affiliated with them, either. The Storm Covenant hates humans; I'm sure none of their warriors would be willing to sacrifice themselves to a human. I think most importantly, Scruggs knew about Kilo-Five, the Didact, and the disappearance of the Master Chief, indicating that he was very well-connected, probably to ONI or the UEG. 

 

Although Gajat's unnamed ally/consultant is meant to be mysterious, it's three things about him that are the most revealing to me. He is almost certainly not military. He dresses like an affluent civilian.  And his physical appearance matches this description almost perfectly: "Phillips was about Mal's age, with reddish brown scrubby hair and a matching beard. He looked a little fitter than the average civvie in a set of unbadged UNSC fatigues". To add to that, Gajat either speaks very fluent English or his consultant speaks the Sangheili language, which is confirmed to be too complex for most humans to manage. So he very possibly could be Phillips. If he is, then that probably means that Kilo-Five is still active. Another possibility, though, is that he is part of the same division that wanted to "replace" the Master Chief, or even Halsey's interrogator. I don't have as much evidence for that, though.

 

So who do you think this leak is? 

[I_Make_Big_Boom]

This is a very good analysis man. Like this seriously deserves some recognition

 

Anyway I haven't had the chance to read Escalation, and I'm not sure who the leak is, but whoever it is could be someone no one realizes.

 

What also is interesting is the fact that the Comic has a Spartan that has become "Corrupt" or "evil" if you will, but this but this is not necessarily the first time Spartans have gone against their creators, like Augmenties and recruits attempting to escape.

 

Just imagine in Halo 5 that Insurrectionists have recruited defected Spartans, or have managed to recreate the Spartan Augmentations to fight against the UNSC: OR maybe just Rogue/Insane Spartans, and Spartan Pawns (being controlled by High Ranking Officers) becoming another Enemy faction, juxtaposed to The Flood, and Covenant splinter Factions. OR maybe even the Storm (or another Remnant) has created a Super Soldier program of their own, and create gigantic Elite monsters.

[Seeker of Truth]

Any other opinions? The summary of Issue #4 is interesting...the attack of an "unexpected enemy" is mentioned. This enemy may be the Brutes, the Prometheans, or even the Flood, but it's clearly not the UNSC traitor himself, as Issue #5 involves the search for the traitor continuing. I believe it's most likely to be a Jiralhanae faction; 343 would probably wait until Halo Xbox One to reintroduce the Prometheans or Flood, or for there to be any saga-altering betrayal. 

[Maestro]

Perhaps it's Halsey? She was last seen in-game working with Jul 'Mdama, so she could be exacting her revenge.

[Seeker of Truth]

Well whoever it is has some power in the UNSC, at least enough to command a ship (Issue #4 spoilers) so Halsey's out (as much as I liked the idea). It could very well be someone entirely new. I can't help but be suspicious of the similarity between  'Gajat's consultant and Dr. Phillips, though.

[Victory Element]

Suppose this has something to do with the flood? Throughout the whole human/covenant war, the flood always appeared as the third party while the main conflict is focused on the humans and the covenant. Even after the events of halo 3, we all know that they are still out there.

 

Since there doesn't seem to be a direct infection of either of the traitors, maybe the flood is using hostages to motivate them? Since Scruggs killed his entire team, we can assume that the hostages aren't related to the UNSC, but it seems unlikely that any other people would be anywhere near the flood.

 

Well, my first idea doesn't have much to support it, but it is always a possibility. Which leads me to my second theory. There could be an organization which has negotiated with the flood, or found itself under persuasion from a gravemind. Graveminds are highly intelligent and it is possible that these humans agree with the motives of "unification" that the flood has.

 

But still, it seems extremely odd that an active Spartan is involved with these activities. These were just some of my first thoughts though. I can probably come up with some more concrete theories once I have some more time

[Seeker of Truth]

I too find it odd, but remember that Spartan-IVs don't have the mental indoctrination that makes them think of their teammates as family and commanding officers as god-like figures. 

The Flood as a "behind the scenes" threat seems a bit counterintuitive. They are vicious and relentless by nature, which, if I recall, was how they got their name. Still, if true, the Flood would just feel that much more threatening. It could make a very interesting, and sinister, twist.

 

However, there are three questions with answers that Flood presence doesn't seem to cover. 

 

1) Why would an active Spartan be helping the Flood?

 

2) If the freighter is controlled by the Flood, why does it not show any signs of infection?

 

3) How did the Flood go completely undetected for the time that it must have spent lurking in the galaxy? Between the UNSC and the former Covenant species, you'd think someone would have detected it, or just stumbled across it. Then again, we live in a very, very big galaxy with hundreds of billions of stars and probably trillions of planets, so maybe they could remain undetected for some time.