Posted by: Spartan IJS
Here's just one thing (out of many things) that bother me about Halo: Reach.
So as we all know, in the original events of The Fall of Reach, Reach fell in a single day (a matter of hours to be precise) and that day was August 30th.
The Covenant attacked with about 300 warships against Reach's defenses, which included about 120 UNSC warships and 20 MAC-platforms. It takes 7 UNSC destroyers to match one Covie destroyer, and heavy human casualties always ensue. Those numbers are from memory so they might be a little off.
I'm also given to understand from an earlier comment that the number of Covie warships was changed from about 300 to about 700. I will point out that is not totally random. In Halo 2 when the prophet Regret arrives at Earth with his 15 ships, Lord Admiral Hood says, "Something's not right; the fleet that destroyed Reach was 50 times this size." If you take 15 and multiply it by 50, you get 750. But since TFoR originally stated the number to be about
300, I took Hood's statement to be hyperbole. Guess they decided to make that literal. Whatever.
Wow, where was I? Oh, right--Halo: Reach plotholes--specifically the assault on Reach as depicted in the game.
This is what we know about the Covenant's battle strategy: they overwhelm their enemies with great numbers and superior technology, proceed to glass the planet, then leave without so much as blinking. The only time they've ever diverged from this path is when there is something of interest, namely, Forerunner artifacts. They then go about overwhelming their opponents with great numbers and superior technology, then NOT glassing the planet but sending excavation teams and what-have-you. This is how they conducted the assault on Reach.
This is what bothers me. In the game, Reach is invaded towards the end of July and does not fall until approximately one month later. This is stupid for so many reasons. Where do I start?
Since I've already devoted about 2000 characters to Covenant attack methodology, I really should stick to that.
So the game opens with Noble Team investigating a downed relay outpost thinking it might be Insurrectionists trying to steal some ships. Since I've mentioned "Innies", as they are colloquially called, I might as well mention that this in itself is a little silly because Reach is the second most important planet after Earth AND it is the quintessential military fortress world of the entire UNSC. Their main shipyards are there and it's home to the top-secret Spartan-II Program, as well as other military projects. You know how every centimeter of ground in and around Area 51 is (or was) guarded and monitored by satellites and Lord knows what else? Imagine the same thing for Reach only with 500-year-future tech on a planetary scale. Not to mention an overwhelming military presence, including ONI CASTLE Base. Talk about security. This is the UNSC's most fortified planet next to Earth, and (at this point in the timeline) the last line of defense between the Covenant and our homeworld. The idea of Innies (who are extremely insignificant at this point) infiltrating Reach is contrived to say the least. If they're looking for freighters or cargo, why not just hit one of the less fortified UNSC worlds if that's all you need; there were 800 of them--though, admittedly, I don't know how many of those were left by 2552, but I find it hard to believe the Covenant got them all (800!). Their chances of finding a non-glassed colony world are much higher than cracking Reach's security.
Wow, side-tracked again. That's how plot-hole ridden Halo: Reach is.
So with everything I have said in mind, the Covenant somehow managed to sneak a small fleet passed Reach's outer defenses, all so they could build a landing zone and their Zealots could look for relics... whaaat?
Putting aside a number of new problems this creates, this is the most inefficient way for the Covenant to handle the problem when we know they are capable of carrying out a much faster and more efficient method. What they do in the Reach game is an incredible waste of time, resources, and troops when all they have to do is overwhelm the UNSC's defenses in a matter of hours, THEN they can search for artifacts. There is no reason for them to hold back their 300 (or 750) ships. What, is mobilization a problem? There's no need to rush, they have time and Reach isn't going anywhere. They also have thousands more ships at their disposal they can use. Yikes, Covies, hold your horses...
I could end this here, but frankly, I'm just getting started.
The other problems this raises are issues with canon, Covenant technology, and consistency (that seems to be a major theme here).
Let's look at the Covenant's procedure to Reach-domination in the game:
I. The Covenant sneaks a small fleet of an unspecified number of corvettes and one assault carrier past the defenses of Reach using, according to Halo Waypoint, a variation of their cloaking technology.
II. They simultaneously knock out a relay creating a blind spot in the security grid for 26 hours (Reach has a 27 hour day, but I guess that's neither here nor there); the blind spot allows them to
III. have their Zealots search for Forerunner artifacts and
IV. build more stealth pylons, giving them precious hours so they can continue to build a landing zone and teleportation towers for a surprise invasion after potentially having the relay brought back online.
This plan is good... if you don't think about it too hard. I'll tackle each problem numerically as presented.
I. Now remember everything I said about Reach's defenses in addition to what I'm about to say. Up until Halo: Reach there has NEVER, in any other piece of canon, been mention of the Covenant possessing cloaking technology for their ships; not for their corvettes and definitely not so for something as massive as an assault carrier. You might say, cloak tech for Covie ships doesn't sound that far-fetched, and you'd be right but for one thing: it isn't necessary anyway. Covie ships can perform slipspace jumps with unprecedented precision. They could pop up right next to you and you'd be non the wiser until it's too late. It is its own sneak and surprise mechanic; what's better than cloaking? Not being in physical space! But there's one problem: even UNSC scanners can pick up objects traveling through long before they exit (See TFoR), so if slipspace doesn't work, how on earth would a cloaking mechanic be any more effective? (Not only that, but the Covies didn't realize they could jump into atmosphere with their own technology at that time, but that's a moot point anyway.)
II. Knocking out the relay is a redundancy with problem I.
III. N/A
IV. Up until this game, NOWHERE in the canon have the Covenant possessed teleportation technology. That was strictly Forerunner. I suppose I might be able to believe it if the towers collectively created a crude portal similar to the Forerunner Gate on Earth so that more Covenant ships could slip through, but unfortunately that's not how the towers work. Each appears to be an individual teleporter for ground troops specifically from... the assault carrier?
Whaaaat...?
Why not just use your bloody gravity lift? Look, even if it's not for that specific carrier, it's still a moot point because of everything else I have brought up.
So in short, the ENTIRE plot of Halo: Reach is undone by the fact that the Covenant could have easily steamrolled over Reach, THEN search for their stupid Forerunner crap.
I could conclude this analysis here, but frankly... you guessed it... I'm just getting started.
In conclusion (for now), Halo: Reach is a plot-hole ridden mess that disregards and disrespects the (nearly) flawlessly told story that Eric Nylund laid down in the first place. The fact alone that the UNSC now suddenly holds out against the Covenant at Reach for a little over a month either insults or degrades the Covenants former strength which maims the tension and disparity we originally felt over the Human-Covenant War in The Fall of Reach novel.
Now I'm going to bed. I'm tired.
Someone wanna help me make a new batch of plothole filling?