Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant

Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant is the second story arc in Halo: Fall of Reach, a comic-book adaptation of the first Halo novel, Halo: The Fall of Reach published by Marvel Comics.

Consisting of four issues, Covenant chronicles the early days of the Human-Covenant War. The series mostly follows the plot of the novel, though many of the details have been altered to an extent. For a full list of the differences, see list of changes in Halo: Fall of Reach.

Covenant is succeeded by one last story arc; Invasion.

Issue 1
Official summary

Synopsis The first issue begins with Captain Wallace, Dr. Halsey, and the Spartans IIs on board the en route to the Damascus Testing Facility on Chi Ceti IV in 2525. The frigate is immediately attacked by a Covenant vessel. Dr. Halsey and the Spartans escape to the surface of the planet. Upon arriving at the facility, the Spartans are introduced and fitted with the MJOLNIR Mk. IV armor. As the Covenant ship prepares to attack again, John recommends that they take MJOLNIR for a field test. John, Kelly, and Sam board a Pelican and plan to attack the ship by detonating an ANVIL-II Missile inside the vessel. The issue ends as John, Kelly, and Sam leap out of their Pelican prepared to assault the Covenant vessel.

Issue 2
Official Summary

Synopsis The second issue follows John, Kelly, and Sam as they infiltrate the Covenant vessel. As they explore the ship, Sam is struck by an overcharged bolt from a plasma pistol wielded by a Jackal while trying to protect John. They manage to make it to the ship's reactor room and plant the ANVIL-II missile. As they prepare to leave the ship, Sam must remain behind as the vacuum seal in his armor has been compromised. Rather than die in the vacuum of space, Sam volunteers to hold off Covenant forces and allow the missile to explode, destroying the entire ship. John reflects on Chief Mendez's words and tells Kelly that Sam's life was not wasted. The narrative then jumps twenty seven years forward, as the Covenant lay siege to the city of Côte d'Azur on Sigma Octanus IV in 2552.

Issue 3
Official summary

Synopsis The third issue begins with Corporal Harland's squad arriving at the destroyed Alpha HQ. He assumes tactical command but is quickly relieved by a team of Spartan-IIs led by John, now a Master Chief Petty Officer. John splits the Spartans into separate teams and plans to wipe out nearby Covenant forces by detonating a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon in the city. Meanwhile, as the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV continues in orbit. The led by Commander Jacob Keyes rams a Covenant corvette, stopping ground forces from transmitting data. The narrative then returns to Blue Team as they investigate Covenant activity at the Côte d'Azur Museum of Natural History. They discover that the Covenant are scanning a granite artifact, and sending the information to a ship in orbit. The issue ends with Blue Team suddenly coming into contact with a pair of Hunters.

Issue 4
Official summary

Synopsis The fourth issue opens with the crew of the UNSC Iroquois intercepting the Covenant transmission from the Museum of Natural History in Côte d'Azur. Meanwhile inside the Museum, Blue Team engages in a massive firefight with the two Hunters. The Spartans are victorious and manage to retrieve the artifact. With the artifact secured and remaining civilians rescued from the city, everyone at Alpha HQ is evacuated. Once in orbit, the HAVOK nuke is detonated underneath the city streets. With the Covenant wiped out and defeated, all remaining UNSC ships plot a course back to Reach. The story arc ends with the UNSC Iroquois entering slipspace, unwittingly bringing a Covenant spy probe along with it that will inevitably lead the Covenant to Reach.