2553

January

 * Dr. Ruth Charet gives her inaugural address after her election as President of the Unified Earth Government.
 * Jun-A266 visits Sarah Palmer in the Lockhart medical station to recruit her into the SPARTAN-IV Program.
 * January 26: The black ops cell Kilo-Five is formed by Admiral Margaret Orlenda Parangosky. Its members include Captain Serin Osman, Naomi-010, and several ODSTs. Because of Parangosky's distrust of the Sangheili, she sends Kilo-Five on a mission to cause insurrection between the Covenant separatists led by Thel 'Vadam and the Servants of the Abiding Truth.
 * The UNSC Security Council begins the reconstruction of the colonies. Lord Hood plans a diplomatic mission to surviving UEG colonies to discuss plans for reconstruction.
 * Kilo-Five supplies arms to the Servants of Abiding Truth on New Llanelli in the Brunel system.
 * Kilo-Five retrieves ONI spy Mike Spenser from a UNSC listening post on Reynes.
 * Commander Musa holds a meeting of several admirals at HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6 to discuss the creation of the SPARTAN-IV Program.
 * January 31: Dr. William Arthur Iqbal sends a message to his colleagues, concerning the ongoing study of Forerunner artifacts.

February

 * Lord Hood arrives at Sanghelios to meet with Thel 'Vadam to formalize a treaty of peace between the humans and the Sangheili. Hood also invites Thel to attend the memorial ceremony dedicated to those who died during the war.
 * After Lucy-B091 discovers a population of Huragok within the Sharpened Shield, the Huragok assist the human survivors in establishing communications with the ONI ships prowling the debris field of Onyx. The Huragok soon bring the shield world into normal space from the slipspace bubble, thus allowing the ONI vessels to retrieve Dr. Catherine Halsey, SCPO Franklin Mendez and the SPARTAN-IIs and SPARTAN-IIIs of Blue Team. Per an order from Admiral Parangosky, Dr. Halsey is arrested by Captain Serin Osman.
 * ONI dispatches science teams to recover Forerunner technologies from the shield world, designating the sphere as ONI Research Facility Trevelyan at Dr. Halsey's request.

March

 * Andrew Del Rio is chosen as the commanding officer of the experimental ONI vessel,.
 * March 3: In a ceremony presided over by Lord Hood, a monument is erected in the Kenyan savannah near Mount Kilimanjaro to officially mark the end of the Human-Covenant War, and in remembrance of those who gave their lives in the war, including John-117, who is labeled MIA and is (presumably) posthumously promoted to Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy. A full military detail, led by Gunnery Sergeant Stacker and including PFC Chips Dubbo, deliver a three volley salute to the fallen. All the remaining SPARTAN-II super-soldiers are present for the ceremony. After the ceremony, Thel 'Vadam and his surviving brethren depart Earth for their homeworld, Sanghelios.
 * Insurgent attacks, carried out by Jiralhanae servants, results in the death of dozens of Sangheili in Ontom, Sanghelios.
 * Forces loyal to the Servants of the Abiding Truth launch an assault on Vadam, starting the Sangheili civil war.

May

 * The Ordnance Commission, headed by the major armor defense companies and sponsored by ONI, establishes several conditions on the use of MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2) variants.