- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
At the end of First Strike, there are 4 Spartans headed to Earth. As to what happened between the book and the end of Halo 2, I have no idea, so these Spartans could be alive or dead.
Also, there are three Spartans that were not at Reach to begin with, so it is possible that they are alive.
As to 25 Spartans being hidden somewhere, since when do all surgeries have a perfect success rate, particularly one of such complexity. The 5% death rate was only one side effect. A combination of the others, or rejection of the new materials being put into the bodies, or simply the random mishaps that happen when someone is in surgery could very easily have killed the other Spartans.
[Edited on 7/25/2006]