- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
There are 8 remaining Spartan II's alive:
Four of them are heading towards Earth at the end of First Strike: John (the master chief), Fred, Will, and Linda (who was mortally wounded at the end of The Fall of Reach, but is saved by Dr. Halsey in First Strike).
There are three Spartans who are off in the middle of nowhere on assignment. They were so far away from reach that it would have taken months tfor them to get back to Reach. Remember the time from when the Spartans are gathered until the end of First Strike is less than a week. They are not MIA, like all the other Spartans who are actually dead. They just couldnt make it back to reach in time to rodeveu with the Pillar of Autumn before she planned to start her mission (to capture a covenant vessel and find the covenant homeworld.)
Dr. Halsey has kidnapped Kelly and is out on her own personal mission (I think whe is either trying to round up the 3 Spartans, or find CPO Mendez and his new cadre of Spartans.)
Also, about the S-III project Ackerson was working on, I think he commendered the younger Spartans under CPO Mendez and is using them as some kinda guinea pigs, and that is why Dr. Halsey needed Kelly.