First and foremost, I'm tempted to ask why it is that you would be so excited and active on forums, particularly this one, without having first read the books. Really...Why speculate on what -could- be there when it is, just a few wonderful pages away?
Now, to start:
I haven't read all the forums here. So, for some of you no doubt what I am about to say is a bit of a repeat.
I understand that the books aren't dead on Bungie. However, they bear Bungie's seal of approval and the Halo logo. That enough is proof that these books are accurate, and should be taken as fact when it comes to the Halo storyline.
Now, let's start off with the basics:
Halo Reach will not have anything to do with the master chief, or him coming back. For any of you theorists who use pictures and hints, I'll throw one at you. At the -very- beginning of Halo: combat evolved, you hear Cpt. Keys ask Cortana if the covenant followed him from Reach. Bam....Reach was before. So, from the gaming perspective, there's your proof.
But, really, that's not why I'm here. I'm here to educate the un-read about what Reach really is.
Let's start at the beginning. Reach was THE military stronghold of the UNSC. It was where the Spartans were trained, it was where most of the spartans fell, and it is the only planet that's defenses matched that of Earth's. (Orbital M.A.C. cannons, etc.)
The Pillar of Autumn, from the first Halo, was a ship fully loaded with Spartans and weaponry. Their original mission? Hijack a covenant warship, go deep into covenant territory, and kidnap a Prophet. All in a days work for a Spartan, right?
As the team was preparing to leave, they got a distress signal. All and every UNSC ship was to make all haste to Reach, no exceptions.Keys guns them to the battle. There, the UNSC fleet engages a massive Covenant armada. Chaos ensues.
Two major events occur. First and foremost, the battery and shield generators on the grounds are threatened to be overrun by Covenant ground forces. Should these fall, the orbital M.A.C. guns will cease to work, and the planet will fall. Secondly, and just as important, a disabled UNSC cruiser is spotted. Inside there is a stealth vehicle, courtesy of ONI, that has a fully capable, un-destroyed AI. The issue? If the Covenant gets this vehicle, they get the star charts of the UNSC. Get the star charts, and the location of earth is given away.
Spartans are worthless in space, but deadly on the ground. Thus, they break up. The Master Chief handpicks two other Spartans to go and eliminate the AI from the cruiser. The rest are loaded into pelicans and launched earth side.
In short, the Master Chief makes it into the cruiser. Of the three (Master Chief included) that land, only two make it out. Of those two, one is put into a coma (I believe it's Linda...But, if someone knows better, please correct me. It's been a while since I read the books.). Master Chief gets back into the ship, cryo-freezes Linda, and shoots away to parts unknown. After all, Reach is falling.
Meanwhile, the Spartan team going earthside is hit. Hard. The landing goes awry, and it comes to a full-on drop with no pods. The survivors move to the nearest generator, where they hold up and prepare to face a wave of covenant. You know, hundreds of wraiths, thousands of ghosts. Flying V's of Banshees fifteen deep...The usual.
-That- is Reach. The Spartans, doomed to fall, hold off waves of covenant. Not only that, they strike the enemy at their core, save generals, and head deep into the mountain to find Dr. Halsey...Following that? Read the books :p
Sorry, I couldn't resist nerding. Thought some of you would like to hear about the facts (At least, how i remember them.). Anyone with something to add, by all means, please do so. Any questions? Drop a line here, I'll see if i can help.