Halo: The Fall of Reach: Difference between revisions

==Story Synopsis==

The story begins on the planet [[Jericho VII]] on February 12, [[2535]], and reveals the Spartans as a whole, as well as their purpose. As the seemingly unstoppable Covenant war machine moves into place to [[glass]] Jericho VII, Spartan Red and Blue teams are sent to prevent the destruction of the planet. The Spartans manage to kill a thousand Grunts and even destroy a Covenant air strike with [[Fougasse|fougasses]]. However, soon the situation in space deteriorates, and the Spartans are forced to retreat before the surface of Jericho VII is [[Glassing|glassed]].  

The story itself begins with [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]] and Lieutenant Junior Grade [[Jacob Keyes]] on board the ''[[Han (Ship)|Han]]'', a [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] diplomatic shuttle. Their mission is to identify a potential candidate, [[John-117|John]], for Halsey's [[Spartan-II program]]. Dr. Halsey finds John in a school playground on [[Eridanus II]], where she tests if he is good enough to be a Spartan. Using a coin, she tests John's reflexes by flipping the coin in the air and having him identify the side it will land on. John catches it and correctly identifies the side: the eagle. During this time, Halsey gives John the coin, which is later taken from him.

The plot then goes on to show in detail the brutal indoctrination and training regime that John and his fellow Spartans are put through. [[Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez|Mendez]] trains the Spartan-IIs, showing them the many necessary virtues of a soldier (e.g. courage, teamwork, skill, etc.) while [[Deja]] teaches them history, mathematics, and physics. After a daring training mission in the wilds of [[Reach]], where the young Spartans regroup and escape with pieces of a map that they all put together and stole a [[Pelican]] back to base, where John-117 is made squad leader of the remaining Spartans. When the Spartans are fourteen, they undergo [[SPARTAN-II Augmentation Procedures|intense biological enhancements]], such as effectively increasing their strength by three times, drastically decreasing reaction times, making their bones practically indestructible, increasing blood flow to the eyes so that they can almost see in the dark, and other various improvements. However, of the 75 Spartans, less than half emerge still fit for combat; the rest washed out (died during the operations) or were horribly injured by the augmentation progress.

On February 3, [[2525]], first contact is made with an alliance of alien races that refers to itself as the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]]. On that day, a single Covenant warship exterminates the entire surface population of the Outer Colony [[Harvest]]. Three UNSC warships, the destroyer ''[[UNSC Heracles|Heracles]]'' and the frigates ''[[UNSC Arabia|Arabia]]'' and the ''[[UNSC Vostok|Vostok]]'', are sent to investigate this incident, initiate first engagement protocols, and attempted contact, engage the Covenant ship in battle, and are subsequently routed. Only one, the ''[[Heracles]]'', manages to return to Reach, having been badly damaged. By December of the same year, the UNSC has mobilized a massive [[UNSC_Fleet|fleet]] under the command of famed war hero [[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]], with orders to reclaim the Harvest colony and stop the Covenant advance.

Cole's fleet manages a victory at Harvest, but at a high cost - two thirds of his ships are destroyed. Despite significant tactical brilliance on the part of certain Human commanders, Covenant technology combined with effective use and tactics guarantee a three to one kill/loss ratio in most space battles. One by one, the Outer Colonies fall to the onslaught and, by 2536, all have been destroyed.

To protect the location of [[Earth]], the Vice Admiral Cole establishes the [[United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1]], more commonly known as the [[Cole Protocol]]. If any Covenant forces are present, selective purges of databases on all ship based and planetary data networks are to be activated. When human forces are forced into retreat, they must not execute a [[Slipspace]] jump in the direction of Earth, or any major population center, even if this forces them to jump without the necessary navigational calculations (a "blind jump"). If such a jump is not possible, and if capture is imminent, the commanding officer must order a self-destruct. The on-board ship [[Artificial Intelligence]] construct, normally imperative to navigation and tactical decisions, must either be destroyed or removed.

Due to the shortage of effective officers, Keyes is promoted to Commander and assumes command of the [[UNSC Iroquois|UNSC ''Iroquois'']]. Shortly thereafter, he foresees a Covenant attack on [[Sigma Octanus IV]] thanks to a paper by Spartan [[Fhajad-084]]. His actions result in the destruction of a [[Covenant Destroyer|Covenant destroyer]] and two [[Covenant Frigate|frigates]] as well as the routing of a [[Covenant Carrier]] with a daring maneuver dubbed the "[[Keyes Loop]]". This unprecedented victory against a Covenant force earns him a promotion to Captain and helps him to become recognized by the entire UNSC. Keyes and the ''Iroquois'' remain in the Sigma Octanus system to partake in the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]]. He later returns to Reach, inadvertently disclosing the location of the planet to the Covenant via a homing beacon attached to the ''Iroquois''. He is debriefed by an [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI]] council. Here he meets John-117 once again.

By [[2552]], many of Humanity's [[Inner Colonies]] have been destroyed by the Covenant. In a move of desperation, ONI Section 3 orders the execution of a secret plan to capture a Covenant ship using the Spartans. The ship would be taken to the Covenant [[High Charity (Structure)|home world]] in order to capture a [[San'Shyuum|Prophet]], one of the aliens' religious leaders, and then use the Prophet as a bargaining chip to negotiate a truce.

To aid the Spartans in this mission, an AI, [[Cortana]], is created based on a younger Doctor Halsey. John is introduced to Cortana during a live-fire mission to test their capabilities working together, and they perform spectacularly. With Cortana's aid, John manages to overpower a full squad of [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]], pick his way through a minefield, destroy automated chain guns, and even evade an air strike from a [[Skyhawk Fighter|Skyhawk fighter]], all of which are using live rounds.

This plan, however, is interrupted when a [[Fleet of Particular Justice|massive Covenant fleet]] of over 300 ships enters the [[Epsilon Eridani System]]. Captain Keyes orders the ''Pillar of Autumn'' back towards Reach, but the Master Chief convinces him to allow the Spartans to continue their mission by finding a damaged Covenant ship to capture and take to Covenant space. Reach's fleet, with about a hundred ships and twenty [[Orbital Defense Platform|Orbital Defense Platforms]] on hand, engages the Covenant fleet, but takes massive losses. However, the Super MAC platforms manage to repulse the initial Covenant assault.

The Covenant return and land troops on Reach with the objective of destroying the generators for the Super MACs, the only things which are stopping the Covenant. At the same time, the UNSC realizes that the ''[[Circumference]]'', a [[UNSC_Prowler|Prowler]], is still docked at a station orbiting the planet of Reach just before its fall and has not initiated the Cole Protocol. John takes Linda and James to deal with the Circumference, while the rest of the Spartans are sent down to the planet to defend the MACs' power generators.

The surface of Reach is also overrun. The Spartans who John sent to the surface are presumably overrun and all slaughtered. Without the generators, the Super MACs fall silent and are destroyed by the Covenant, who soon begin glassing the planet. The remaining UNSC ships are all destroyed, except for the ''Pillar of Autumn'', as Cortana plotted an exit vector in compliance with the Cole Protocol, though not completely at random. She had decrypted [[Forerunner]] glyphs found by the Master Chief on [[Sigma Octanus IV]]. The NAV coordinates led the ''Pillar of Autumn'' to what the Covenant had been searching for: [[Installation_04|Halo]], an extremely sacred Forerunner artifact. The book ends with Captain Keyes looking through view screens at the ring, asking Cortana to identify the object.