Halo: Hungry Buzzards
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Digital short story |
Halo: Hungry Buzzards is a short story written by longtime Halo novel author Troy Denning, released alongside Halo: Campaign Evolved on July 28, 2026.[1] The story is a digital exclusive included in purchases of the Campaign Evolved Premium Edition and Collector's Edition, as part of the Digital Story & Art Collection alongside the game's art book and digital manual.[2]
Hungry Buzzards ties in with Operation: METEORITE, the three new prequel missions contained within Campaign Evolved.
Official summary
| “ | In the heart of a UNSC testing facility on Reach, the Master Chief showcases to Colonel James Ackerson that no matter what competition they are up against, a Spartan is capable of things no other military asset can achieve. It’s a reality that will be put to the test as a team is assembled to board a Covenant research vessel found orbiting the recently glassed world of Promise. Written by award-winning author Troy Denning, Halo: Hungry Buzzards leads directly into the events of Operation: METEORITE, the new three-mission adventure included with Halo: Campaign Evolved.[2] | ” |
Plot summary
Hungry Buzzards begins on July 13, 2551, during a test battle on Reach. In the battle, John-117 is pitted against the eight Force Recon Marines of the "Hungry Buzzards"—the unit had been destroyed in a battle at Legopo, leaving only a handful of survivors to escape in a captured Covenant Spirit dropship. The uneven odds are even further stacked by the marines' use of experimental Mark I (H) exoskeletons—the purpose of the exercise is to pit the veteran SPARTAN-II against the marines to test the exoskeletons' capabilities. The exercise starts with several ADS-equipped marines pushing John into a chokepoint, leading him into an ambush covered by three marines in the ceiling rafters who had removed their exoskeletons. Despite this being a violation of the exercise's rules—which require the marines to stay in the ADS suits—John admires the resourcefulness. However, he quickly picks them off with his rifle. After this he begins to push a Warthog into the path of the exoskeleton-clad marines, using it to knock over a barricade onto one of the marines, then picking up a machine gun to attack the rest, only to find the remaining marines retreating and the expected gunner to be absent.
Before he can react though, the exercise is interrupted by an order for all combatants to stand down and halt the test. After this the standby gunner reveals themselves to have been standing in the kill zone, taking advantage of the training rounds' inability to penetrate hard cover. The marines complain that they were just about to win the test, though John disagrees, considering the Mark I[H] suits' lumbering and slow nature a liability. The marines attempt to banter with the Spartan though he does not respond, only noting his predictions about how the test would have continued had he been able to continue, while also not wanting to let them get overly cocky about unproven technology. Internally he notes the marines' openness to insult him, implying they trust him enough to speak without fear of repercussions.
The group meets the centre of the test site, where they are greeted by a party of senior officers including Colonel James Ackerson (the overseer of the ADS program) and Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb (the overseer of the ADS' parent programs, HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL). Ackerson quickly begins talking, noting that an emergent situation in the ongoing war has presented a new opportunity: a lone Covenant logistics ship has been spotted in orbit over the recently-glassed world of Promise, and the UNSC believes it may be able to conduct a boarding of the ship to capture Covenant astronavigation data similar to an operation conducted by John and the Spartans earlier in the war. The hope is to potentially locate the Covenant homeworld. Given the time-sensitive nature of the mission, the UNSC cannot afford to waste time, so John is to lead the Hungry Buzzards in the boarding action with the equipment they currently have.
John notes Ackerson's confidence in the mission as already-assigned versus Whitcomb's cooler hesitation, and argues that the Hungry Buzzards—and their clunky exoskeletons—are the wrong tool for the job, both ill-fitting for the tight quarters inside a spacecraft and powerful enough they might risk ripping the ship apart with hull breaches from their weapons. Ackerson snarkily responds, offering to replace the suits' weapons with pea shooters, getting increasingly defensive as John notes the suits' flaws. Eventually, the group come to a compromise: they will simulate a test environment resembling a Covenant ship interior, with five of the marines deployed in tight quarters—John needs to get through them to the Warthog behind them to win.
As soon as the test begins, John immediately detonates a flashbang grenade, blinding the nearby marines, causing them to blind fire down the corridor at him, which begins to chip away at his Mark IV MJOLNIR's experimental energy shielding. He fires his rifle, locking up the battle training uniform of the first Marine, then runs up to her and pushes her back into one of her fellows, which in turn pushes the second marine into the third's line of fire. With the marines in chaos, John uses the cover to flank the fourth marine and put several training rounds into her helmet and back. He then throws the last, unarmed, flashbang at the marines' squad leader, causing her to look away from the expected flash, giving him cover to fire at her and lock up her exoskeleton, allowing him to reach the Warthog and take the victory.
When meeting back with the officers, Whitcomb agrees with John's assessment and berates Ackerson, noting that the Mark I [H]s were the cause for the Marines' failure and clearly not ready for deployment. He then gives John authorisation to decide what he needs for the upcoming mission—Operation: METEORITE—himself, though he has to be quick about it. John considers the Buzzards, though notes their training and mission is not suitable for extra-vehicular activity or boarding, before remembering the Spirit dropship they had previously captured. He requests this from Whitcomb, intending to use it to covertly infiltrate the Covenant logistics ship. Given the dropship's size, Whitcomb asks how many Marines he needs, to which John responds with just one—revealed in Halo: Campaign Evolved to be Sergeant Major Avery Johnson.
Appearances
Sources
- ^ Halo Waypoint, Halo: Campaign Evolved - New Missions Reveal Trailer (Retrieved on Jun 7, 2026) [archive]
- ^ a b Xbox, Digital Story & Art Collection - Halo: Campaign Evolved (Retrieved on Jun 7, 2026) [archive]
- ^ a b Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Lore de Force (Retrieved on Jul 7, 2026) [archive]
