Halo: Fractures

Halo: Fractures: Extraordinary Tales from the Halo Canon is a collection of short stories released on September 20, 2016, serving as the spiritual sequel to Halo: Evolutions. The stories within the anthology range from the Forerunner era, to the aftermath of the Human-Covenant War, to the events of Halo 5: Guardians. Joseph Staten's Halo: Shadow of Intent and Frank O'Connor's Halo: Saint's Testimony are also included in Fractures.

Lessons Learned
Follows the activities of Spartan-IIIs Lucy-B091 and Tom-B292 after their service with Blue Team. Written by Matt Forbeck, the story also contains significant narrative connections to Forbeck's Halo: New Blood and Halo: Legacy of Onyx. A preview for Lessons Learned was included with the first Halo Legendary Crate.

What Remains
Follows Evelyn Collins and a group of survivors on Meridian after the Guardian's activation during the events of Halo 5: Guardians. It was written by Morgan Lockhart.

Breaking Strain
Tells the story of the tensions between the crew of the shipwrecked and the independence-minded colonists of Losing Hand in the aftermath of the Human-Covenant War in 2553. It was written by James Swallow.

Promises to Keep
Chronicling the final days of the Forerunners' recorded history following the activation of the Halo Array, Promises to Keep contains several revelations as to resurgence of the Domain as well as the fates of several characters from The Forerunner Saga. It was written by Christie Golden. Due to the revelation of Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns being 000 Tragic Solitude, it has narrative connections to Halo: Hunters in the Dark.

Shadow of Intent
Focuses on a conflict between Tem'Bhetek, a vengeful San'Shyuum Prelate, and Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum several months after the Covenant War. It was written by Joseph Staten and was previously released as a standalone work.

The Ballad of Hamish Beamish
A poem detailing the tragic life of Corbulo Academy janitor Hamish Beamish. It was written by Frank O'Connor, who portrayed Beamish in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn and his other appearances.

Defender of the Storm
Tells the story of Adequate-Observer, a low-ranked Forerunner Warrior-Servant stationed aboard a remote gas mining platform in the later years of the Forerunner-Flood war. It was written by John Jackson Miller.

A Necessary Truth
Follows Veta Lopis and her Ferret Team—comprised of Spartan-IIIs Ash-G099, Olivia-G291, and Mark-G313—during a training exercise gone awry three months after the events of Halo: Last Light. It was written by Troy Denning, who also wrote Last Light. The story also contains significant narrative connections to Denning's Halo: Retribution.

Into the Fire
Focuses on a salvager named Rion and her crew operating off Venezia in January 2557. It was written by Kelly Gay and comprises the first part of her novella Halo: Smoke and Shadow and as such has narrative connections to Kelly Gay's full novel Halo: Renegades.

Saint's Testimony
Explores the world of smart AIs through the eyes of Iona as she attempts to prevent her own decommissioning. Previously published as an individual novella, it was written by Frank O'Connor.

Rossbach's World
Follows the activities of Serin Osman, Black-Box and Terrence Hood during and after the events of Halo 5: Guardians. It was written by Halo 5 lead writer Brian Reed.

Oasis
Taking place in a Joint Occupation Zone in July 2558, the story follows a young woman named Dahlia as she attempts to retrieve medical supplies for her ill parents from a nearby Sangheili settlement. Written by Tobias Buckell, it contains connections to Buckell's novel Halo: Envoy.

Anarosa
Takes place in March 2556 and follows ONI agent Prauss and his AI companion Leo as they attempt to convince the brother of the recently deceased Anarosa Carmelo to donate her brain for smart AI creation. It was written by Halo Wars 2 writer Kevin Grace.

Untitled story
An untitled and uncredited short story at the end of the collection reveals the ultimate fates of the IsoDidact and Chant-to-Green.

Trivia
The cover art of the novel depicts a scene from Fractures ' last, untitled story, in which the IsoDidact remembers seeing Installation 07 through the cracked viewport of his ship.