2525

Deaths

 * Sam-034 dies aged 14, detonating ANVIL-II ASM warheads whose blast went on to destroy a Covenant ship. He was the first Spartan II to die in combat.

Major Events

 * The Ninth Age of Reclamation begins for the Covenant.
 * The first class of Spartan II soldiers 'graduate' from their training.
 * First contact with the Covenant.

03/02/2525
Contact with Harvest, an outer colony world is lost shortly after the colony itself had made contact with an unknown object. The Colonial Military Administration sends the scout ship Argo to investigate.

06/03/2525
The planet Onyx is declared classified by ONI.

09/03/2525
The Spartans undergo a radical series of biological, neurological, and physiological augmentations. 30 die, 12 are permanently disabled, 33 successfully adapt to the alterations.

30/03/2525
Onboard the UNSC Atlas, the newly augmented Spartans have a ceremony for the 30 who did not make it through the augmentation process.

20/04/2525
The Argo arrives at in Harvest's system and makes one confirmation transmission. No further reports are received.

11/09/2525
At Reach, Mendez shows the Spartans take on a squad of soldiers wearing Mark I MJOLNIR armor in a Capture the Flag Scenario to Dr. Halsey. They’re successful, like many other occasions. Their augmentations have made them stronger than anticipated. Halsey determines that it’s time for their first real mission.

12/09/2525
The Spartans' first "official" mission, to infiltrate the rebel base in the Eridanus asteroid belt and capture the rebel leader, Colonel Robert Watts, is successful.

07/10/2525
A UNSC battle group consisting of one Destroyer (Heracles, Captain Veredi) and two Frigates (Arabia and Vostok) enter the Harvest system and discover that everything on the planet has been completely incinerated, and the surface melted down to glass. In orbit around the remains of the colony, is a single alien ship, which proceeded to attack the battle group, destroying both Arabia and Vostok and badly damaging the Heracles. Intercepted communications identify the enemy as The Covenant. The message "Your destruction is the will of the Gods... and we are their instrument" is broadcast in UNSC language.

01/11/2525
Vice Admiral Preston Cole mobilizes the largest fleet in human history to retake Harvest.

02/11/2525

 * The Spartans learn of the attack of the Covenant at Harvest and Project MJOLNIR commences.
 * CPO Mendez leaves to train the next group of Spartans.

27/11/2525

 * Project MJOLNIR, a comprehensive package of scientifically enhanced armor, custom-tailored to the biologically augmented Spartans is completed and introduced to John and his squad at the UNSC Damascus Materials Testing Facility, on the planet Chi Ceti IV.
 * The team of Spartans destroy a Covenant ship by carrying an Anvil-II air-to-surface missile, and detonating one of them inside the Covenant ships engine room. The explosion from that the energy being held in by the shields and was sufficient to destroy the ship. Sam-034 was unable to escape the ship, due to critical damage sustained in combat to his Mjolnir Mark IV Armor and he volunteered to stay behind and detonate the warheads.