Operation Chastity

This article contains information about a fan-made subject that is not considered a part of the official Halo universe.

Operation Chastity
Directed by:	Pete Cooper
Produced by:	Nicola Instone
Studio:	Keyshot Productions
Written by:	Pete Cooper
Music by:	Nicholas Singer
Distributed by:	Machinima.com
Release date(s):	Cancelled
Available in:	English

"The Recon Marines of the 267th Marine Regiment was deployed in Argentina within a UNSC cordon, set up around the wreckage of the Ket-pattern battlecruiser "Chaste Ascendancy" following its crash-landing on Earth. Operation Chastity is their last mission in a forgotten part of the Human-Covenant War."

— Official plot summary

Operation Chastity was a planned fan-made feature film set in the Halo universe, centering on a platoon of Recon Marines of the 267th Marine Regiment. The film was being helmed by Peter Cooper, a British Halo fan and first-time film maker. Operation Chastity was a completely independent work, unaffiliated with 343 Industries, Bungie, or any other official party.

Plot summary

"Fireline."

The film opens in February 2553, four months after the Battle of Earth and one month before the official end of the war. Recon Marines belonging to the 267th Marine Regiment, led by Lieutenant Ashton, are sent to destroy the San Solano observatory, an abandoned base in Argentina behind enemy lines, as part of the preparation for the opening phase of Operation Chastity – a search-and-destroy operation to cleanse Argentina of the last pocket of Covenant resistance on Earth.

While setting up demolitions, the regiment spots HEV pods being deployed nearby. Shortly after they are attacked by a swarm of Covenant Grunts, Brutes, and Banshees. The Marines hold off the attack long enough to escape and call for an airstrike by the frigate Hope Springs Eternal, but are decimated to barely half of a platoon. Ashton orders them to retreat to Command HQ and regroup with Bravo Company, but creates a rift when he orders them to leave the crippled Private Rivers behind. Corporal Foster stays with him as the 267th leaves the area.

"On The Prowl."

The Marines use SATCOM imaging to find their way, but Ashton grows frustrated when he sees portions of the map are being blacked out. He suspects it might be interference from the Office of Naval Intelligence, and orders a squad to check out the dark zone. There they see numerous dead Covenant, and glimpse their killer, a Spartan-II.

Arriving at Command HQ, the Marines are dismayed to find that it too was attacked. They find only a handful of survivors, and they stay the night in the bombed out base to tend to their wounds. Securing a connection to command, Ashton receives orders for the 267th to head to Firebase Kilo, a UNSC stronghold. They leave the following morning to head to the base, passing through war-torn streets and encountering a few Covenant before making contact with Marines of the 29th Reserve Regiment, who they have mutual resentment for. After arriving at Kilo, the Marines unwind and rest, expecting to be sent home soon.

Ashton is called to a classified meeting with Lt. Commander Thordarson, of ONI Section Three. He is informed that the Covenant that attacked San Solano were from the Chaste Ascendancy, a crashed Ket-pattern battlecruiser that was carrying numerous Covenant criminals who were put into service in exchange for freedom. At his urging, the Sangheili allied with humanity were convinced not to glass the crash site. As for the ODSTs, they were part of the 11th Division and most of their pods were destroyed. Claiming there may be a few survivors, Thordarson orders Ashton to rearm his men for one more mission before they can go home. Ashton reluctantly tells them the news but assigns a few trusted Marines (Winters, Ince, and Foster) to Thordarson’s command Pelican in case the Lt. Commander tries to pull something unusual.

"Pelican Down."

The 267th and 29th are deployed by Pelican to an abandoned control tower where the ODST survivors are claimed to be. However, they do not find any troopers but instead the Spartan, Maria-062, under orders by Thordarson to investigate the area. She tells him that the ODSTs managed to put a tracker on their target before the Covenant killed them. They return to the Pelicans with Maria, where Thordarson tells the Marines of their true mission: to acquire a Covenant cargo that he suspects is a weapon of mass destruction. The cargo has been tracked to the Las Armas munitions factory, where Chaste Ascendancy's crew has assembled. As an airstrike could risk setting off the device, the Marines are deployed to capture the package.

As they reach the site, the Covenant shoot down their Pelicans and an enormous battle breaks out. Most of the Marines and Maria struggle to hold off the enemy from the crash site. Thordarson and Ashton’s select team are cut off from the others and proceed to the target through underground tunnels. The squad reaches the Las Armas factory, where they kill a few Grunts and find the weapon, which appears to be a Forerunner box that Thordarson orders them not to touch. However, before they can claim it, a Brute Chieftain and his Stalkers attack and capture the Marines.

"Aftermath."

Managing to get a Warthog working, Maria and Ashton drive to the target in hopes of rescuing their men. The captured squad has been put in cages, and the Chieftain forces Thordarson to open the artifact. It turns out to contain a single Pod infector, and the Chieftain lets it infect Thordarson so as to begin a plague that will wipe out humanity – a final act of desperation, and a plan conceived by the Prophet of Truth to ensure victory for the Covenant.

Just in time, the Spartan arrives, kills the Chieftain and the Flood combat form, and rescues the Marines. The squad regroups and they flee the area while Longswords bomb the remaining Covenant. During the retreat, however, they take further casualties, including Lt. Ashton.

After the battle ends, Maria-062 leaves the group and disappears using active camouflage. The Marines return to Kilo Base, where they mourn their dead and assemble their belongings, ready to leave the battlefield for good. The last to go, Private Winters, gets in contact with his family in a refugee shelter before boarding a medical Pelican with the rest of his unit, finally able to return home after a long war.

Characters

• Lieutenant Dean Ashton: The commanding officer of the 267th Marine Regiment’s recon platoon. Though pragmatic about the war to the point of ruthlessness, Ashton harbors deep regret for the lives lost under his command.
• Private First Class Carl Winters: The recon platoon communications specialist. Winters has a wife and young children, and is constantly trying to get internet reception for his laptop, as his family was in Cleveland when the Covenant attacked it and he must know if they've survived. He eventually discovers they were rescued and are living in Stockholm. He keeps a photograph of them at all times, which at the end is too stained in blood to be cleaned.
• Corporal Ash Westwood: The sniper of the 267th. His family was killed during the Siege of Paris IV and since then he has been completely committed to his job. He has sympathy for Winters, though he does scold him when the private's attempts to contact his family risk compromising their location.
• Private Rob Savage: Westwood's spotter. He is not as collected as Westwood, and thinks the sniper doesn't consider him a partner. Though he thinks of Winters as a coward, Savage himself is frequently reluctant in combat. He is unable to drive a Warthog, but useful with the turret. He has a sister living on Ascension.
• Private Ada Legzdins: Legzdins is steely and unflappable, even when faced with incoming Banshees or Brutes about to tear her alive. The only thing to cause her fear is when Foster is in danger, who she is in a relationship with. Allegedly she bruised McCready when he tried to hit on her. She is fond of heavy metal. At Las Armas her arm is badly bitten by an Unggoy.
• Corporal Stephen Foster: An experienced squad commander of the 267th. He is in a relationship with Legzdins, and despises Lt. Ashton after he orders the regiment to leave Rivers for dead. Although he punches Ashton when the two unexpectedly meet again at Firebase Kilo, the lieutenant respects him enough to assign him to the select squad to "guard" Thordarson. During Las Armas he is struck down by a Brute Gravity Hammer, but survives.
• Private James Kearton: A machine gunner of the 267th. Kearton is too wounded to fight for most of the plot after a Banshee's plasma shot sears his chest. He is loyal to Ashton, and wishes he could participate in their classified mission.
• Private Chris McCready: A Marine of the 267th. During the observatory attack he's cornered by the Covenant and chooses to detonate the bunker with himself still inside.
• Sergeant Neil Sorvel: Caught literally with his pants down when the Covenant attack, he is mortally wounded by a Kig-Yar sniper.
• Sergeant Daniel Murphy: The leader of the platoon left after the regiment is attacked. He is sympathetic and calm.
• Petty Officer Marcia Bignot: The Navy corpsman with the group. She is slight in build and grumpy. She has a wife, and sympathies for the Insurrection. She is knocked unconscious during Las Armas when she charges at a Brute with a Brute Shot, but survives.
• Private Mark Rivers: One of the Marines applying C7 in the abandoned satellite observatory. He is crippled from the waist down during the observatory attack, and is left behind on Ashton's orders, though Foster manages to get him to Firebase Kilo alive. He remains unconscious and in hospital care afterward.
• Private Majid Bougherra: One of the few survivors of the Covenant's attack on Company HQ. He joins the regiment after they discover him alive. Bougherra is often unfazed and snarky in otherwise serious situations. He is of African descent, from Coral, and implied to be Muslim as he refuses to eat pork. He is killed during the assault on Las Armas.
• Corporal Clayton Ince: Another survivor of the HQ attack. He is a close friend of Ashton, and insists his decision about Rivers was right. He is defiant to the Brutes, yelling that humanity will wipe them out just like the aliens tried. During the Las Armas attack his eardru