Halo: Shadows of Reach
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Halo: Shadows of Reach - A Master Chief Story is a Halo novel written by Troy Denning, released on October 20, 2020[4] after a delay from its original release date of September 22, 2020.[1] It is the third novel instalment of the A Master Chief Story project. Limited-edition copies exclusive to Wal-Mart contained an additional short story, Sacrifice,[5] though the story was later released as a free PDF download.
On October 15, 2020, a short excerpt of the story was released on YouTube, narrated by Steve Downes - the voice actor for John-117 in the Halo games.[6]
Shadows of Reach follows up on some of the plot threads established in Denning's non-Master Chief novels Last Light and Retribution. Similarly, the book has a direct sequel outside of the Master Chief Story format, 2021's Halo: Divine Wind.
Official summary[edit]
| “ | October 2559. It has been a year since the renegade artificial intelligence Cortana issued a galaxy-wide ultimatum, subjecting many worlds to martial law under the indomitable grip of her Forerunner weapons. Outside her view, the members of Blue Team—John-117, the Master Chief; Frederic-104; Kelly-087; and Linda-058—are assigned from the UNSC Infinity to make a covert insertion onto the ravaged planet Reach.
Their former home and training ground—and the site of humanity’s most cataclysmic military defeat near the end of the Covenant War—Reach still hides myriad secrets after all these years. Blue Team’s mission is to penetrate the rubble-filled depths of CASTLE Base and recover top-secret assets locked away in Dr. Catherine Halsey’s abandoned laboratory—assets which may prove to be humanity’s last hope against Cortana. But Reach has been invaded by a powerful and ruthless alien faction, who have their own reasons for being there. Establishing themselves as a vicious occupying force on the devastated planet, this enemy will soon transform Blue Team’s simple retrieval operation into a full-blown crisis. And with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance, mission failure is not an option…. |
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Plot synopsis[edit]
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The story opens with the Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and the other Spartan-IIs of Blue Team—Fred-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058—aboard the UNSC Special Delivery, an D102 Owl stealth insertion craft, en route to the surface of Reach, a once-thriving colony and the heart of the UNSC military that had been glassed by the Covenant seven years prior to their mission. Blue Team had been ordered to retrieve potential war altering assets from within CASTLE Base, hidden deep under the Highland Mountains. The Owl's small flight crew of three of the UNSC's best remaining operatives—crew chief Stella Mukai, pilot Major Eznik Van Houte, and co-pilot First Lieutenant Maks Chapov—had been tasked with the delivery of Blue Team and their excavation equipment to the planet's surface. However, they soon realize that the simple snatch-and-grab mission will be considerably more difficult than expected. The Special Delivery is spotted and attacked by enemy aircraft. They narrowly makes it to the ground while under fire from Seraphs.
Back on solid ground, the Spartans aren't given much time to recover before the attacking Seraphs make another pass. Blue Team is forced into a defensive hold while attempting to unload their cargo and crew from the wreckage of the Owl. After briefly gaining control of the situation thanks to Fred's improvisation with the excavation equipment's plasma drill, John notices the sigil of the Banished on the hull of a downed Seraph, revealing that the ruthless faction of mercenaries had occupied Reach. As per protocol, the Owl is destroyed via an internally-stored octanitrocubane charge to cover their tracks.
Meanwhile, Castor, a Jiralhanae Dokab of the Keepers of the One Freedom, investigates the charred remains of the insertion craft, considering why the humans might have come to Reach. He and Inslaan 'Gadogai, a Sangheili blademaster serving the Banished, consider the possibility that it may be for the same reason that the Banished and their newly acquired factions—the Keepers of the One Freedom, the Legion of the Corpse-Moon, and the Ravaged Tusks—are on the planet. War Chief Escharum had sent forces to the glassed world to search for a fabled portal to the Ark. Atriox had contacted him, ordering the portal to be found and opened for him to return to the galaxy. As such, Castor orders his forces to follow the humans in hopes that they will lead the way to the portal.
Blue Team gets clear of their landing zone and starts the long trek to CASTLE Base. Not long after they get moving, another wave of Banished reinforcements close on their position. With very little in the way of cover, Blue Team is soon forced into the Arany Basin where a number of pioneer settlements had been set up by colonists intending to retake their homeworld. The Spartans notice that the nearest of these settlements had been raided and taken over by the Banished. As they move into the basin with the intent of reaching the settlement, they are attacked by waves of Banshees; John's leg is critically injured and Fred receives a severe concussion. Before reaching the outpost, John, Fred, and Kelly are forced to take shelter in a winding passage beneath the glass. John's MJOLNIR [GEN3] armor stabilizes his wound, but Fred will need greater medical attention than his armor can provide. While John recollects himself, they are found by members of the Viery Militia and taken back to their makeshift base of operations. Linda and "Special Crew," as the flight crew of the Special Delivery had come to be called, found their own way through the subterranean caves of glass.
Castor meets with Deukalion, leader of the Legion of the Corse-Moon, and Ballas, leader of the Ravaged Tusks. He convinces them that the humans must also be looking for the same portal that they are and that their two factions should assist the Keepers in a plan to follow the humans to their prize.
At the militia's base, John learns that most of the surviving humans on Reach are former inhabitants of the planet before its