Greetings,
I have just read Fall of Reach and I have some questions. In Fall of Reach, Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn are in orbit around Reach and participate in a prolonged conflict in orbit after traveling from Sigma Octanus IV. Yet in Halo Reach (2010), the final mission of the game sees Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn leaving just moments before the planet is glassed. This has lead me to consider several questions:
- How much time had Chief, Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn spent on Reach after arriving from Sigma Octanus IV? - How long did it take for Reach to fall? I’ve heard some people say months, I’ve heard others say weeks or days. - How long were there Covies on Reach before the planet was glassed? In Reach, we see that ground forces have started attacking humans in remote agricultural districts. - Where are Ensign Lowell and Lt. Hikowa in Halo CE? If they were in Stasis, were they killed when their pods ejected? - How does Halsey’s journal play bridge the gap between Reach and Fall of Reach? (I heard its useful). I would appreciate any answers or links to cannon.
> 2535428762901352;1:
> Greetings,
>
> I have just read Fall of Reach and I have some questions. In Fall of Reach, Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn are in orbit around Reach and participate in a prolonged conflict in orbit after traveling from Sigma Octanus IV. Yet in Halo Reach (2010), the final mission of the game sees Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn leaving just moments before the planet is glassed. This has lead me to consider several questions:
> - How much time had Chief, Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn spent on Reach after arriving from Sigma Octanus IV? - How long did it take for Reach to fall? I’ve heard some people say months, I’ve heard others say weeks or days. - How long were there Covies on Reach before the planet was glassed? In Reach, we see that ground forces have started attacking humans in remote agricultural districts. - Where are Ensign Lowell and Lt. Hikowa in Halo CE? If they were in Stasis, were they killed when their pods ejected? - How does Halsey’s journal play bridge the gap between Reach and Fall of Reach? (I heard its useful).I would appreciate any answers or links to cannon.
You know I have the same problem quite often
Halo lore can be very confusing at times die to the fact that there are multiple writers. Also the book the Fall of Reach came out I think in 2004 or something like that.
halo lore will often have parts of it cris-crossing its self
One last thing, Bungie did not follow every book written about the halo universe. It just kind of ignored a few things here and there . And with all this said I haven’t answered your question.
Well I think in Official Canon was the games.
I believe Bungie ignored a few things from that book.
I believe the Covies were n reach a few weeks.
I did not know about Hikowa and Lowell tho, dunno what to say to that.
Hope this helped some.
Cheers! 
Ensign Lowell and Lt. Hikowa were killed on the Halo ring before the Covenant took Keyes. Ensign Ellen Dowski had betrayed the group, thinking that if by telling the Covenant who the Captain was, they would be spared, not knowing that the Covenant weren’t interested in taking prisoners. Not only did she get killed, but Hikowa took a plasma shot to the head after she lept at Dowski, and Lowell got hit by plasma fire as he attempted to grab a sidearm.
> 2535428762901352;1:
> Greetings,
>
> I have just read Fall of Reach and I have some questions. In Fall of Reach, Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn are in orbit around Reach and participate in a prolonged conflict in orbit after traveling from Sigma Octanus IV. Yet in Halo Reach (2010), the final mission of the game sees Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn leaving just moments before the planet is glassed. This has lead me to consider several questions:
> - How much time had Chief, Keyes and the Pillar of Autumn spent on Reach after arriving from Sigma Octanus IV? - How long did it take for Reach to fall? I’ve heard some people say months, I’ve heard others say weeks or days. - How long were there Covies on Reach before the planet was glassed? In Reach, we see that ground forces have started attacking humans in remote agricultural districts. - Where are Ensign Lowell and Lt. Hikowa in Halo CE? If they were in Stasis, were they killed when their pods ejected? - How does Halsey’s journal play bridge the gap between Reach and Fall of Reach? (I heard its useful).I would appreciate any answers or links to cannon.
If you do a quick forums search for “fall of reach” or “reach continuity”, you’ll find TONS of threads discussing this. Checking Halopedia will also shed some light.
Bungie made the game Reach with little regard toward the book Fall of Reach - they weren’t very good with universe building besides the games.
Halsey’s journal serves to tie up a lot of loose ends. That is your best bet to get most of your questions answered. Regarding how it does this, the journal presents the reader with a bunch of "emails” between some of the more prominent characters from that time, as I recall. Additionally, YouTube is a great source as well since many creators explain the whole timeline and summarize Halsey’s journal in their video as well.
> 2533274809226598;3:
> Ensign Lowell and Lt. Hikowa were killed on the Halo ring before the Covenant took Keyes. Ensign Ellen Dowski had betrayed the group, thinking that if by telling the Covenant who the Captain was, they would be spared, not knowing that the Covenant weren’t interested in taking prisoners. Not only did she get killed, but Hikowa took a plasma shot to the head after she lept at Dowski, and Lowell got hit by plasma fire as he attempted to grab a sidearm.
Ooooooof dude, did not know that. Feels bad man. You know which book this went down in? I’m getting caught up on them at the moment. I just finished Fall of Reach and I’ve moved onto Ghosts of Onyx. I think I need to check out Contact Harvest at some point though.
> 2535428762901352;6:
> > 2533274809226598;3:
> > Ensign Lowell and Lt. Hikowa were killed on the Halo ring before the Covenant took Keyes. Ensign Ellen Dowski had betrayed the group, thinking that if by telling the Covenant who the Captain was, they would be spared, not knowing that the Covenant weren’t interested in taking prisoners. Not only did she get killed, but Hikowa took a plasma shot to the head after she lept at Dowski, and Lowell got hit by plasma fire as he attempted to grab a sidearm.
>
> Ooooooof dude, did not know that. Feels bad man. You know which book this went down in? I’m getting caught up on them at the moment. I just finished Fall of Reach and I’ve moved onto Ghosts of Onyx. I think I need to check out Contact Harvest at some point though.
Yeah, the books can be pretty… descriptive in the deaths, lol. In the same book a Hunter fires a shot and creates a hole the size of a dinner plate through a marine.
The book is called Halo: The Flood. You have Halo: The Fall of Reach, Halo: The Flood, and Halo: First Strike. The last two take place on the Halo ring and minutes after its destruction, bridging the gap between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2.
Marty O’Donnell said that they didn’t let the books get in the way of stories they wanted to tell in-game in this interview: https://youtu.be/0zG18XfsnvI?t=3097
So when it came time to make Reach, they made their own story. Reach, in Bungie’s eyes, was the only canon story of Reach so there was no discontinuity with Fall of Reach.