Halo: The Fallen

Halo: The Fallen is a planned non-profit fan film set in the Halo universe. The film focuses on a Marine of the United Nations Space Command, who is a veteran of the Human-Covenant War whose life eventually leads to the Battle of Installation 04. Many of the film's crew members are veterans of their field, including both special effects and actual military.

Previews
In preparation for the final film, the crew of The Fallen released several preview shorts relating to the film. These include The Crucible and Prologue.

Prologue takes inspiration from the Believe advertising campaign, in that it features a veteran soldier reminiscing about his experiences in the Human-Covenant War. The short contains a few canon discrepancies, including Reach and Earth being battlezones since 2525, a Spartan's helmet other than Master Chief's containing an AI chip, the helmet being implied to be Noble Six's (which actually lay abandoned for more than twenty years), and army troopers being aware of the classified deaths of Spartans. Unlike the final film, Prologue centers around Army troopers, not Marines.

''Fade in to a soldier's boots, entering a dark room. Cut to his hand holding a piece of paper.''


 * Chris Kraemer: We'd just finished setting up base in the outlands of Reach.

''Cut to an elderly bearded man. He's wearing glasses and in somewhat formal attire. Caption: Sgt. Chris Kraemer; UNSC Army (ret.) Active duty: 2523-2558.''


 * Kraemer: At that point, we'd just only heard of the Covenant. I remember Lieutenant Vargas giving us orders to go the remains of a Spartan that was MIA, as they put it.

''Fade out from elderly Kraemer. Fade in to a desert. Pan across the sparse bushes and rocks until reaching a Mark V[B] helmet.''


 * Kraemer: It seemed like an easy mission. "Light load out", he said.

''A few soldiers search in the background. A boot steps near the helmet.''


 * Soldier 1: Hey Sergeant. I think I found it.

''The soldier picks up the helmet. He hands it to a young Kraemer.''


 * Soldier 1: Private.

''Kramer pulls a chip out of the back of the helmet. A beep is heard as he grabs it.''


 * Young Kraemer: Got it.

''Kraemer pockets the chip, and holds his assault rifle. He walks away with his men.''


 * Elderly Kraemer: When our pickup arrived, we thought: Mission Accomplished. Just like every other mission we'd been assigned.

''The elderly Kraemer pauses, his throat tight with remorse.


 * Elderly Kraemer: We were young, we were ignorant, and we were certainly not prepared for what came next.

''Cut back to the past. The sergeant raises his hand and motions for his men to drop into a firing stance. They all do so as their pickup Pelican arrives.''

Cut to a Hunter's assault cannon, charging with plasma energy as the Hunter sneaks towards the men.

''Cut to the outside of the Pelican's cockpit. The pilot inside looks around as he lands, but is suddenly engulfed by a blast of green plasma.''

''Cut to a charred piece of paper, being held by the elderly Kraemer. He sighs as he examines it.''


 * Elderly Kramer: That was the worst day of my life.

He looks up sadly, as audio from the past begins to play.


 * Soldier 2: Contacts! Four o'clock!

''Cut to a Covenant lance. Two Hunters plod forward, along with a Grunt and a running Jackal. The troopers run for cover as plasma bolts come from the right. Two Elites fire their plasma rifles towards the men, and their Grunts run past them.''

''A plasma shot kills one of the men. Another soldier turns and fires his battle rifle. He kills two of a file of three Grunts. The last one charges his plasma pistol and fires. The soldiers reach some rocks for cover. One of the soldiers turns to fire at the aliens, but the charged shot hits his head, bursting it apart.''

An Elite roars and then motions for his Grunt to advance forward.


 * Elite: Wort wort wort!


 * Grunt: Yip yip!

''The soldiers jump over the rocks and hide behind them. Kraemer activates his COM.''


 * Young Kraemer: Echo Base, Bravo Three. [unclear] My coordinates. We've got a Priority One pickup!

''The soldier with the battle rifle throws a grenade, killing the third Grunt. He then begins firing over the rocks at the Covenant.