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Subject: Halo: Reach - Important pre-speculation info.

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

Since I've read to many threads from people who obviously haven't read the books, here is a brief synopsis.

In Halo: The Fall of Reach (FoR from now on) and Halo: First Strike (FS from now on) The planet Reach features very heavily in it. Now we know that this is a prequel, so can people stop calling it Halo 4. Proof of Halo: Reach being a prequel and from the Hint that we got "From the beginning, you know the end", we can summarise that it most probably lies in the timespan of FoR, however I'll briefly discuss FS here for more information on the ground battle.

From HalopediaLocated in the Epsilon Eridani system in FLEETCOM Sector One, Reach was one of the most important headquarters for the UNSC and the main supplier of military and civilian spacecraft. HIGHCOM, FLEETCOM and the UNSC Marine Corps had headquarters on Reach, as well as many primary ONI bases, which included CASTLE Base. It was the most populated planet after Earth in the UNSC.

After the Battle of Reach, the planet was completely uninhabited and mostly glassed. When UNSC forces finally abandoned the planet, a small Covenant occupation fleet remained in the system.

Originally colonized for its rich titanium deposits, Reach had mines throughout it running thousands of meters deep. ONI's secret CASTLE base was located in one of these mines underneath Menachite Mountain. ONI commandeered the mine after it breached a secret area beneath Reach's surface containing a Forerunner artifact that was highly desired by the Covenant. The fact that this artifact was so valuable to them is perhaps the main reason anyone survived Reach at all, as the Covenant were afraid of destroying it. This facility was also the birthplace of the legendary SPARTAN-II Program.

Despite its position as the UNSC's largest naval base, strategic headquarters, and second-largest population center, the Epsilon Eridani system was wracked by Insurrectionist activity throughout the early 26th Century. Reach's sister planet, Tribute, was one of the fronts for the UNSC's anti-terrorist campaign, Operation: TREBUCHET. In 2525, mere months prior to the outbreak of the Human-Covenant War, Reach was the site of a major terrorist bombing against the luxury liner National Holiday. A taxi filled with explosives was crashed into the liner, resulting in the deaths of all aboard.


I'm just going to explain the part of the books that I believe might be relevant.

Also from Halopediaa massive Covenant fleet of over 300 ships enters the Reach System. Captain Keyes orders the Pillar of Autumn back towards Reach [it was about to leave on a mission which required most the Spartan II's participation], but the Master Chief convinces him to allow the Spartans to continue their mission by finding a damaged Covenant ship to capture and take to Covenant space. Reach's fleet, about a hundred ships and twenty Orbital Defense Platform on hand, engages the Covenant fleet, but takes massive losses. However, the Super MAC platforms manage to repulse the initial Covenant assault.

The Covenant return and land troops on Reach with the objective of destroying the generators for the Super MAC Cannons, the only things which are stopping the Covenant. At the same time, the UNSC realizes that the Circumference, a Prowler, is still docked at a station orbiting the planet of Reach just before its fall and has not initiated the Cole Protocol [wiping the co-ordinates of Earth and the Inner Colonies from its database]. John takes Linda and James to deal with the Circumference, while the rest of the Spartans were sent down to the planet to defend the Orbital MAC generators.

John's team crashlands their Pelican on the station which the Circumference is docked on, and they move towards the NAV data. However, James's thruster pack for maneuvering in vacuum is hit by a Needler shard and explodes, sending James flying uncontrollably into space. John and Linda proceed to the Circumference, where they find Sergeant Johnson and his Marines, including Jenkins and Bisenti, also fighting to wipe the data. With John's help, the Marines are successful, but tragically Linda is shot by five seperate plasma blasts. The humans fall back to the Autumn, but Linda dies of her extensive wounds and is placed in a cryotube. The humans are also unable to locate James.

The surface of Reach is also overrun. The Spartans which John sent to the surface are presumably overrun and all slaughtered. Without the generators, the Super MAC Cannons fall silent and are destroyed by the Covenant, who soon proceed to begin glassing the planet. The remaining UNSC ships are all destroyed, except for the Pillar of Autumn, when Cortana plots an exit vector in compliance with the Cole Protocol, though not completely at random. She had decrypted Forerunner glyphs found by the Master Chief on Sigma Octanus IV. The NAV coordinates led the Pillar of Autumn to what the Covenant had been searching for: Halo Instillation 04.


In FS, which is after Halo: Combat Evolved, The Master Chief returns to Reach to discover that the planet has not been entirely glassed, that there are Spartan's still alive down their, I'll now give you what Halopedia saysThe prologue begins before the Battle of Reach flashing back to Chapter 34 in Halo: The Fall of Reach where Captain Keyes informed the Master Chief of the matter of the unsecured NAV database. Frederic-104 is made the leader of Red Team and ordered to take the other SPARTAN-IIs down to Reach to protect the generators powering the orbital MAC guns.

The narrative then follows Red Team as they ride a Pelican down to the surface, but are forced to make a supersonic hard landing to the ground after the pilot gets hit by plasma fire from Seraph Fighters. The impact killed four of the Spartans and leaves many more seriously injured. Most lost their weapons and ammunition, Fred-104 and Kelly-087 improvise using rocks until they were able to police Covenant weapons from a group of Jackals they had killed. The Spartans then grouped up with the remaining four Marines in Charlie Company. The Marines summarized how the battle had gone, saying that they were the only ones who survived the entire battle.

Vice Admiral Whitcomb contacts Fred and orders him and the Spartans to extract him and his staff claiming that he was the current officer in charge of the defense of Reach. Fred takes Kelly and Joshua-029 on a mission to destroy a large Covenant camp in a valley near the bunker Charlie Company once occupied. Taking three Banshees, they delivered a Fury Tactical-Nuke into a Covenant ship. Joshua's Banshee slipped under enemy fire described as a large needler round and is presumed dead. Fred and Kelly completed the mission without complications.

Despite their efforts, however, the Covenant managed to overrun the reactors on Reach. The Covenant Starships began glassing Reach, even though they glassed only the poles. Fred however, refuses to sit around and die comes up with a plan. He and Kelly take their captured banshees, and together they fly away from the scene.

The narrative then returns to Reach where Kelly and Fred after destroying the Covenant ship, crash-landed their Banshees into a pair of Hunters, confusing one and disabling the others gun. They then steal a pair of Wraith tanks, and blasted their way into Castle Base under Menachite Mountain. There, they met up with the surviving Spartans of Delta team, the injured Spartans, including Isaac-039 , Vinh-030 and Will-043. They met up with Doctor Halsey, who treats their injuries, and sends them to retrieve some new weapons, which in Halo 2 appear as the Battle Rifle and the M6C Magnum Sidearm.

At the lab, Dr. Halsey discovered Colonel Ackerson's plans, which were extensive lists on "Her Spartans", a star chart reference, and a third file labeled "King Under the Mountain". Before she could access these, however, a UNSC AI appeared and attempted to stop her by threatening to kill one of the Spartans. She destroyed it using a bypass code she herself had programmed, but caused some concern with her personal AI. The Covenant then invaded the base, and the Spartans and Doctor Halsey escaped to the old Titanium mines beneath Castle Base, right before it's destruction, which destroyed their only exit. Having no other alternatives, the Spartans and Dr Halsey venture deep into the tunnels.

In the tunnels, the Spartans received armor upgrades and Fred discovers several symbols which ultimately led to a huge tunnel that led into an even larger room. In the center of the room, they find a crystal. The Spartans and Halsey found that if they walked straight towards it, it would bend the space around them and, if brought to Slipspace, would allow them to travel further using the same amount of energy used in the same vessel. They retrieved the crystal, but the Covenant found them due to emission of radiation from the crystal. They landed forces inside the giant room using reversed gravity lifts, forcing the humans to retreat. Fred ordered Isaac and Vinh to stay behind to form a rearguard action, but they were overwhelmed and killed. The remaining Spartans and Dr. Halsey continued to flee through the tunnels, but as the Covenant followed them, they ran into a dead end.


There is more, but that should be enough.

I hope this clears up some confusion and busts some theories... Thank you to Halopedia (go there for more information).

Also go here, to discuss the Halo: Reach artwork.

[Edited on 06.25.2009 8:22 PM PDT]

  • 06.01.2009 11:15 PM PDT
Subject: Halo: The Fall of Reach - Important information to reduce forum clu...

To answer your question: Yup, I was naked!

I'm sure thats useful information, but in the words of Strong Bad:
"Too long, Clanky, too long"

  • 06.01.2009 11:17 PM PDT
Subject: Halo: Reach - Important information you should know before speculat...

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

It's as brief as possible, how can you summarise two books full of information?

Also could people link sites that have factual information in it, I'll add them to this post here.

[Edited on 06.03.2009 12:54 AM PDT]

  • 06.01.2009 11:20 PM PDT
Subject: Halo: The Fall of Reach - Important information to reduce forum clu...
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Reach is ok. I would rather play Halo 3 though.
I won my VIP nameplate. It was during Bungie All Stars Week 17, it wasn't just handed to me through the playlist.

try reading the bboks when you have the time. because when you try to be brief, the fact is, is that you cant.........

  • 06.01.2009 11:23 PM PDT

Good job Lai, I was going to do one of these myself. Could a mod pin please?

  • 06.01.2009 11:24 PM PDT

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

RasenZangetsu ~ But it gives a brief idea... Though the books are almost a must. (Have them all <_<)

Wolverfrog ~ Great minds think alike...

  • 06.01.2009 11:31 PM PDT

Still doesn't rule out a time slip from the conclusion of the events of Halo 3. This doesn't have to follow the books exactly, history can be rewritten. I haven't seen too many people say Halo 4.... I think we all know it's based on the events of the fall of reach.

  • 06.01.2009 11:33 PM PDT

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

Some of the threads on the first page are quite shocking "I told you Halo 4" etc...

What do you mean by "time slip" as in Forerunner artifact stuff or side effect from the half portal jump?

  • 06.01.2009 11:39 PM PDT

"I hope nothing, I fear nothing, I am free"
"A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free." - Nikos Kazantzakis
"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs" - Hasan al-Basri
Black Chapter, for all religious and political debate that doesn't fit in the Flood.

Make plenty of sense for them to have condensed the two books into one, I suppose, and only deal with the stuff pertaining to reach. So, a prologue with MC and Linda on the orbital station, then cutting to the ground. Could be good.

Cheer for throwing this up, though, was getting very annoying dealing with folks saying 'it happens after Halo 3!!11!one!' and so on.

  • 06.01.2009 11:40 PM PDT

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

Yeah, though it keeps on dropping down amoung the pistol debates and so called new theories.

Is anybody more excited for this than ODST? I am much more excited for this.

  • 06.01.2009 11:55 PM PDT

"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks

Joshua's Banshee slipped under enemy fire described as a large needler round and is presumed dead.
Small correction. Joshua's banshee was destroyed by plasma fire from the Covenant ship. The large needler rounds are what damaged Fred's banshee when he and Kelly were moving to return to the others.

Otherwise, very nice synopsis.

One final thing you missed out on: the 3 Spartans sent to rescue Admiral Whitcomb (Grace, Li, and Anton, if I remember right). When the Master Chief returns to Reach in FS, he makes contact with them, and Admiral Whitcomb mentions that while the events of Halo:CE were taking place, he and those Spartans had armed the Nova bomb and then spent their time doing hit-and-run attacks on the Covenant.

Seems like a possible setting for the game, since there are no details of those missions.

  • 06.01.2009 11:55 PM PDT

Check out the group, Planet Reach and talk about Bungie's next game without the annoyance of the public forum. Oh and it's nice there too.

You thought you had lag, it took Jesus 3 days to re-spawn.

Posted by: Primum Agmen
Cheer for throwing this up, though, was getting very annoying dealing with folks saying 'it happens after Halo 3!!11!one!' and so on.


Agreed. Good look on putting this up. Should stop some of the pointless threads. Although, those people probably wouldn't take the time to read this anyway..

OFF TOPIC: Now we need something similar in the ODST forum

Oh and Lai, I'm still more excited for ODST, if for no reason other than we know more about it.

[Edited on 06.02.2009 12:02 AM PDT]

  • 06.02.2009 12:00 AM PDT

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

mamoru ~ Never trust wikia's. I read it all, but it has been a while since I read the books. I'll confirm and change it asap. Thank you.

Another one ~ Bags not doing that tonight. If someone does do it can they post a link in here so I can support it, I dislike factual threads getting lost among the clutter.

  • 06.02.2009 12:05 AM PDT

"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks

No worries. I was just reading it (again) the other day, so it's still pretty fresh in mind. :)

  • 06.02.2009 12:09 AM PDT

Bah, Humbug.

Thanks SOOOOOO much fo putting this together, my m8 said ther'd be no more halo games i was sad but halo: reach has just made my day, or month, or year........ decade? anyway cheers
for this, very "brief"

  • 06.02.2009 12:11 AM PDT

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

My thoughs exactly... Am I missing anything important?

  • 06.02.2009 12:14 AM PDT

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Excellent thread! +rep! Oh wait..

  • 06.02.2009 12:23 AM PDT

Phoenix is dead, long live Phoenix!
Is it?

List of Characters alive and active during the Battles at Reach...

Spartans
~All except Gray team

Civilians
Dr Catherine Hasley

Other Military
Admiral Whitcomb - How he smuggled that Nova onto a covenant ship would be an interesting side story...
The four Marines of Charlie Company
Flight Officer Mitchell - Known to be KIA
First Lieutenant Jake Chapman - Known to be KIA
First Lieutenant Buckman - Known to be KIA
Lieutenant Wagner - Prowler Captain

Other Military arriving from Halo 04
Sergeant Johnson
ODST Corporal Locklear
Petty Officer Second Class Shelia Polaski
ONI Lieutenant Haverson

Spartans known to have survived Reach
Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-II John-117
Senior Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-II Fred-104
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Kelly-087
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Linda-058
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Will-043
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Li-008
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Anton-044
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Grace-093

Missing Anybody?

  • 06.02.2009 1:11 AM PDT
Subject: Halo: Reach - Important information you should know before speculat...

F**ken Rights

Fred died did he not?

edit: no he didn't... >.<

[Edited on 06.02.2009 1:39 AM PDT]

  • 06.02.2009 1:33 AM PDT
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Although the game Halo Reach will take place during the timeline of the novel The Fall of Reach it is an assumption that the game will actually follow the exact events of the novel. They may alter things or change things completely.

  • 06.02.2009 1:42 AM PDT
Subject: Halo: The Fall of Reach - Important information to reduce forum clu...

"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks

Spartans
~All except Gray team
--SNIP--
Missing Anybody?


A couple of other Spartans are out of the picture:
- Sam (dead in the first encounter between Spartans and Covenant)
- Kurt (on Onyx training SIIIs)
- Sheila (dead, according to Dr. Halsey in "Ghosts of Onyx")
- Randall (MIA, but no other information given, again mentioned by Dr. Halsey in "Ghosts of Onyx").

  • 06.02.2009 2:18 AM PDT

Posted by: x Lai Tasha x
List of Characters alive and active during the Battles at Reach...

Spartans
~All except Gray team

Civilians
Dr Catherine Hasley

Other Military
Admiral Whitcomb - How he smuggled that Nova onto a covenant ship would be an interesting side story...
The four Marines of Charlie Company
Flight Officer Mitchell - Known to be KIA
First Lieutenant Jake Chapman - Known to be KIA
First Lieutenant Buckman - Known to be KIA
Lieutenant Wagner - Prowler Captain

Other Military arriving from Halo 04
Sergeant Johnson
ODST Corporal Locklear
Petty Officer Second Class Shelia Polaski
ONI Lieutenant Haverson

Spartans known to have survived Reach
Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-II John-117
Senior Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-II Fred-104
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Kelly-087
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Linda-058
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Will-043
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Li-008
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Anton-044
Petty Officer Second Class SPARTAN-II Grace-093

Missing Anybody?


You're my hero XD
Thank you!! You just saved me the trouble of looking up all their names :P
and thank you for using their full ranks!!

  • 06.02.2009 2:29 AM PDT
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ReSSuM3

how did gray team die. i read the book, the cole protocol and from wat i read i just assumed they were still alive becuase they asked oni for a new prowler. so if u could tell me thatd be great

  • 06.02.2009 2:51 AM PDT
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ReSSuM3

- Kurt (on Onyx training SIIIs)

sorry to say mate but kurt died near the end of the ghosts of onyx
along with will, and sum spartan III's

  • 06.02.2009 3:03 AM PDT

"Honour is panoptic"
Kappa Omicron

I'm trying to purchase all of the Halo books I can get my hands on at the moment, once I have them all i'll start to read them in order myself. I've always wanted to know more from the Halo universe. So far I have:

Halo: First Strike.

Halo: The Fall Of Reach.

Halo: Contact Harvest.

Halo: Ghosts Of Onyx.


I think there's a couple motr left for me to get, but once I get them all i'll indulge myself into them.

^^

P.S

Great work on this thread!

  • 06.02.2009 3:22 AM PDT

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