Well, in the most recent Data Drop my theory of how Reach’s defenses were bypassed was almost confirmed. I posted this on Bungie.net first because I do not like these beta forums.
My theory was that the rebels in some way “sold” a path to bypass Reach’s defenses (much like Thermopylae). In other words humans intentionally letting them invade.
In the Data Drop, it strongly hints at Margarat Parangosky lowering Reach’s defenses to let them in as an excuse to initiate Operation RED FLAG.
It doesn’t perfectly match my theory but in the way that it was humans letting them through for their own needs, it’s very similar.
Not the rebels. ONI is most certainly at play here. Not letting the population of Reach know they’ve been invaded for over a month definitely sounds like a set-up to me, and like you said, giving them the oppurtunity to initiate Red Flag. The only hiccup they saw was probably (speculation time) not letting Keyes and the Spartans know that they were intentionally letting Reach get destroyed, and they ended up trying to defend it in vain instead of continuing with their mission.
My concerns are being alleviated, as I had hoped. Reach isn’t as canon-breaking as some people think, and with time, 343i will do things like this to answer some questions.
> Well, in the most recent Data Drop my theory of how Reach’s defenses were bypassed was almost confirmed. I posted this on Bungie.net first because I do not like these beta forums.
>
> My theory was that the rebels in some way “sold” a path to bypass Reach’s defenses (much like Thermopylae). In other words humans intentionally letting them invade.
>
> In the Data Drop, it strongly hints at Margarat Parangosky lowering Reach’s defenses to let them in as an excuse to initiate Operation RED FLAG.
>
> It doesn’t perfectly match my theory but in the way that it was humans letting them through for their own needs, it’s very similar.
What I got from the DD was that after Winter Contingency was declared on Reach, Parangosky knew it would fall, so she came up with a way to use it as an advantage. While the Covies were fully distracted in the battle of Reach, the PoA would infiltrate the Covenant Controlled space and capture a Covie ship that will later infiltrate High Charity and a high prophet will be kidnapped and used as the key trade in exchange for piece. Parangoski lowered Reach’s defenses purposely so it will be kept a secret that it was under attack, and that people wouldn’t rush to fight a battle that is already condemned, and with them, all the Spartans and possibly humanity’s last hope. If the Spartans would have been debriefed it would have been likely it would have affected their mission and possibly even paused it as they tried to fight. Then again, Keyes knew about the Covie Invasion (at least to some extent- as seen in the Adjunct of TFoR 2010) but for some reason decided to go protect the planet when the full Covie army arrived. Maybe ONI didn’t expect a full Invasion force THAT soon, and thought they could begin evacuation before the planet was fully sacrificed.
lol ONI are @$$holes.
> lol ONI are @$$holes.
Indeed they are. I’m excited to read Glasslands to get more insight into ONI, as well as the post-war universe.
> Well, in the most recent Data Drop my theory of how Reach’s defenses were bypassed was almost confirmed. I posted this on Bungie.net first because I do not like these beta forums.
>
> My theory was that the rebels in some way “sold” a path to bypass Reach’s defenses (much like Thermopylae). In other words humans intentionally letting them invade.
>
> In the Data Drop, it strongly hints at Margarat Parangosky lowering Reach’s defenses to let them in as an excuse to initiate Operation RED FLAG.
>
> It doesn’t perfectly match my theory but in the way that it was humans letting them through for their own needs, it’s very similar.
But then why, when the Covenenat got to Reach, did the Spartan ll’s momentarily put “Red Flag” aside and go to the surface. If ONI’s plan all along was to lure the Covenant to Reach, they would have committed all ll’s to that mission as soon as the attack began.
Maybe ONI/Parangosky didn’t believe that the Spartans, even as loyal and command/mission-oriented as they are, would follow along with such a plan, so she had to decieve the Spartans too. After all, many Spartans consider Reach their home. And even though Spartans have shown that they are willing to do what is necessary to win the war, many of the Spartans have also shown that they have respect for their fellow military personell and human life in general. Also, Spartan’s certainly would not be comfortable losing a fight without trying their best.
I never picked up on the Thermopylae reference before. Wow whats wrong with me.