"Halo 5" & The Blue Team Conundrum

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

I’ve been having some conflict over the next Halo game’s story lately, so I figured I’d reach out to the community and see what you guys think…

So, at last year’s E3 we got our first teaser trailer for the next main title Halo game - for all intents and purposes, I’m just going to refer to it as “Halo 5”. And despite Microsoft coming out and saying that the teaser was just that, and that it doesn’t really have a lot of relevance to the story at this time, they really seem to be clinging to/promoting the image of the cloaked Master Chief and his AI chip. This has me concerned for several reasons:

At this point it’s assumed the chip is Cortana’s…but my first gripe is that he simply shouldn’t have it. In the in-game scene in Halo 4 it’s clearly seen that the Chief does not pull the chip out of the pedestal before it explodes.

Now for my other (i.e. bigger) problem, the image of the Chief in battered armor and a cloak, wandering an unknown desert planet alone, has led many to the assumption that the Chief has abandoned the UNSC after the events of Halo 4 - and in conjunction with the canon-breaking AI chip, this means he is searching for Cortana. Now I get that Cortana’s death was sad and everything, and maybe it brought the Chief to a point where he’s doing some more self-reflection, but it terms of everything that’s been established about his character up to this point it makes no sense for him to do this for an AI he only worked with a few months.

Now to my final point - the Spartan-IIs of Blue Team: Kelly-087, Fred-104, and Linda-058. Anyone that’s seen me here on the boards knows I’m a staunch advocate for them to finally make the transition from the Extended Universe to the Games. They’re extremely important to the Chief’s story, and as far as we know right now, they are all still alive. So in my opinion, if 343i is indeed running with the “Chief goes rogue” plotline, they are going to have to incorporate Blue Team into the story somehow. Because otherwise it makes absolutely no sense for the Chief to go wandering off on his own when his team - his family - is still around. Maybe they’ll get killed off in the interim, I don’t know (though frankly that would make the Chief going AWOL much more plausible)…but the fact remains that they are still going to have to answer the question of what these characters have been/are doing when Halo 5 happens. Because in terms of the grand story of Halo and the Master Chief’s character development, they are just as relevant (if not more so) than Cortana ever was.

…Anyway, if you made it through all that, my final question is this: Do you think 343i is going to simply ignore Blue Team’s relevance to the Chief’s character? And would you agree or object to the “AWOL Chief” plotline if they are indeed not involved? Any other thoughts are welcome as well. Thanks!

2

> and in conjunction with the canon-breaking AI chip, this means he is searching for Cortana.

Not necessarily. A data chip could mean anything–could even just be a memento.

I highly doubt that the Chief’s “gone rogue.” It doesn’t fit at all with his character. Since both Chief and the UNSC want(ed) to find Halsey, I think it’s more likely that he’s working with the UNSC to find her and 'Mdama. If he happens to ask Halsey about Cortana while he’s there…

The E3 2013 teaser was never considered not canon. Frankie even said that “he is deliberately masking his appearance.” If a trailer is meaningless, why would they attempt to give it meaning?

> Do you think 343i is going to simply ignore Blue Team’s relevance to the Chief’s character?

I would hope so unless they are relevant to the plot. Characters should be brought into a story in order to further the story, not just for the sake of a give-the-players-fuzzy-feelings cameo.

3

> Not necessarily. A data chip could mean anything–could even just be a memento.

But therein lies the problem…why then, would the Chief cart around a random, empty AI chip simply for sentimental purposes? It doesn’t make any sense for him to do something like that.

> The E3 2013 teaser was never considered not canon. Frankie even said that “he is deliberately masking his appearance.” If a trailer is meaningless, why would they attempt to give it meaning?

That’s what I’m saying - the official statements that have been made about the Halo 5 trailer seem to contradict each other: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/25/microsoft-on-halo-5-halo-2-anniversary
So if these images we’ve seen in the trailer are indeed to be taken seriously, that is why I am so concerned about the story heading in a direction that butchers the Chief’s character.

> > Do you think 343i is going to simply ignore Blue Team’s relevance to the Chief’s character?
>
> I would hope so unless they are relevant to the plot. Characters should be brought into a story in order to further the story, not just for the sake of a give-the-players-fuzzy-feelings cameo.

And how, at this point, could they possibly not be relevant to the plot? How or why would the Chief just suddenly up and abandon his team? It’s long been established that they mean just as much to him as Dr. Halsey and Cortana. That’s what I mean when I say that 343i is going to have to give us something about these characters, because now that the Chief has returned to the UNSC (as of Halo 4) I really don’t see any reason why he would not be reunited with his Spartans.

4

Let us play devil’s advocate for a minute and go down the path of the trailer actually being a teaser for H5’s story.

For me, the biggest mystery above all else and the most interesting part of that trailer was that data chip. Everyone assumes that the data chip he holds is Cortana’s, given how he holds it and has it on a chain as a keep-sake. Yet, as you said, the chip itself was destroyed along with the Didact’s ship at the end of Halo 4 and as far as I’m aware, Cortana was only ever in that one chip. There was never another.

Therefore, assuming 343 aren’t going to break canon over something so small, the chip must be a different one, which to me, gives two possibilities…or rather one, with two purposes.

1) The chip is not Cortana’s, but MC has somehow come across one and is keeping it as a keepsake, to remind him of Cortana. Plain and simple. (Arguably, she is the person than knows him best above even Blue team given not only the fact she’s been inside his head, but she’s been with him all the way through these challenges…they’re no small feats.)

2) It is widely believed, including by myself, that in the trailer the Chief is on the Ark. Most likely in search of Mendicant Bias given that he is the only known A.I in history to have survived rampancy intact AND have had his personality splintered several times and subsequently all merged again in the end. It is entirely possible, that the chip is in fact intended to house a fraction of Mendicant Bias, to somehow aid MC in his personal quest to find a way to bring back Cortana ‘if’ at all possible. He grips it so tight in the trailer as it obviously conjurs up the memories and emotions he has for Cortana, and it may be his only hope to bring her back.

As far as Blue team being in the games, I’m all for it. I also think it’s long overdue…but ‘if’ my idea is a lot closer to the truth than I dare to think…there’s going to be alot going on and Chief will be on his own…the Spartan II’s will likely be decommisioned, hence why he probably goes things alone. People already believe that the Spartan II’s were ‘broken’ as per the beginning cinematic of H4. If Chief starts pushing for finding a way to bring back Cortana after he learns the Ark is still more or less intact…then people may start using his insubordination with Del Rio as a weapon against him. Coupled with his age, what he’s been through, his wanting to find a way to bring back Cortana, hell, the very natre of how he came to be a Spartan… at that point, he and likely all the other SII’s will be put in a boat stamped -Service No Longer Required- and will be decommisioned.

I, for one, don’t think the Chief will take that all too well.

He’s going to need Blue team and every other person willing to help him, which also includes Lasky and the crew of the Infinity, and possibly even Kilo-5 or members of. Things could get VERY interesting VERY quickly.

~ Duck.

5

> That’s what I’m saying - the official statements that have been made about the Halo 5 trailer seem to contradict each other: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/25/microsoft-on-halo-5-halo-2-anniversary

So the trailer content is (at least in the direction of) official, but the name Halo Xbox One is not. I don’t see the contradiction.

> And how, at this point, could they possibly not be relevant to the plot? How or why would the Chief just suddenly up and abandon his team?

And the UNSC decides that a family reunion is necessary because…?

6

> > That’s what I’m saying - the official statements that have been made about the Halo 5 trailer seem to contradict each other: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/25/microsoft-on-halo-5-halo-2-anniversary
>
> So the trailer content is (at least in the direction of) canon, but the name Halo Xbox One is not. I don’t see the contradiction.

The contradiction I was talking about mostly comes from this quote by Phil Spencer:
“For me, what we showed wasn’t the game. Nobody should be confused on that. I didn’t really want to try to show something that was clearly a thought piece by the studio around where Master Chief is in his journey, and then drop the name after it and be somewhat disingenuous about that being the game.”
To me that sounds like he’s saying “the teaser is just a teaser”. So again, why then the heavy promotion of it’s imagery? Microsoft seems to be sending a lot of mixed messages here…though maybe all this confusion will be cleared up at this year’s E3.

> > And how, at this point, could they possibly not be relevant to the plot? How or why would the Chief just suddenly up and abandon his team?
>
> And the UNSC decides that a family reunion is necessary because…?

What is the UNSC going to do? Lock him in a hole and refuse to let him see his family, or block them from trying to see him? Granted anything is possible, but this is the Master Chief and the Spartan-IIs we’re talking about here, what logical reason is there for them to be separated? The Chief went to the burning remains of Reach to search for them on the off-chance they were still alive (see the novel ‘First Strike’), I highly doubt he would just forget about them or abandon them now (or vice versa) - and for him to do so, as I’ve said, would be a betrayal to his character.

7

> What is the UNSC going to do? Lock him in a hole and refuse to let him see his family, or block them from trying to see him?

Seeing as how nobody has seen him for the better part of 7 months since the events of the First Requiem Campaign and Didact’s raid on Earth, maybe.

> Granted anything is possible, but this is the Master Chief and the Spartan-IIs we’re talking about here, what logical reason is there for them to be separated?

Chief was introduced to the presence of a long-dead Forerunner who did something to his genetics, you don’t think ONI would want to know just what the Hell happened to him?

> The Chief went to the burning remains of Reach to search for them on the off-chance they were still alive (see the novel ‘First Strike’), I highly doubt he would just forget about them or abandon them now (or vice versa) - and for him to do so, as I’ve said, would be a betrayal to his character.

Or the UNSC is keeping him hidden for reasons unknown, which is very likely given he vanished for 5 years and turned up on a Forerunner shield world and came back with his “evolution” accelerated.

8

> what logical reason is there for them to be separated?

Maybe separate and different missions?

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You make some fair points, A41 Ninja Duck.

However, I guess the overall point of what I’m saying is that I just don’t want to see such interesting and important characters like the Spartan’s of Blue Team simply tossed aside for no logical reason other than to beef up the already pretty nonsensical notion they seem to be promoting that “Cortana is the most important thing in Chief’s life.”

I’m all for the Chief and his AI being friends, but a few months of partnership (in my mind) does not trump 30+ years of training, bonding, battles, and teamwork experiences he’s had with his Spartans. Also Cortana was never really “in the Chief’s head”. She was in his armor and could read brain activity via his nural-lace, but that’s hardly a some sort of psychic connection. And simply for the sake of argument, what does Cortana really know about the Chief anyway? They’ve never really had any deep personal conversations (in the games or the books) - and Cortana is an AI, she has no personal experiences to speak of and the basis of her personality simply stems from that of Dr. Halsey’s (which explains her affinity for the Chief in the first place).

If they want to have the plot-bunny of Cortana being revived (though personally I prefer she stay dead in order to avoid big-time super-special-snowflake syndrome), okay fine …but to have the Chief’s journey completely hinge on that with total disregard to his history and his bonds with other characters? I say that only does a major disservice to both the story and the Chief as a character.

10

> > what logical reason is there for them to be separated?
>
> Maybe separate and different missions?

That is as plausible as anything else. But keep in mind that the Spartan-IIs were designed to function as a unit, so unless the UNSC really is keeping the Chief locked in a dark hole somewhere, it seems odd for them not to be reunited and working together.

11

> > What is the UNSC going to do? Lock him in a hole and refuse to let him see his family, or block them from trying to see him?
>
> Seeing as how nobody has seen him for the better part of 7 months since the events of the First Requiem Campaign and Didact’s raid on Earth, maybe.
>
>
>
> > Granted anything is possible, but this is the Master Chief and the Spartan-IIs we’re talking about here, what logical reason is there for them to be separated?
>
> Chief was introduced to the presence of a long-dead Forerunner who did something to his genetics, you don’t think ONI would want to know just what the Hell happened to him?

Yeah, that comment made by Scruggs about the Chief not being seen since the events of Halo 4 in Escalation is part of what concerned me and made me want to start this thread…
Some other people I’ve talked to have suggested that maybe the UNSC is simply keeping the Chief out of the public eye in order to better contain the situation about the Didact, and that nothing bad has happened to him (yet). But that speculation is about as weightless as any other right now. :
My overall point still stands though - that 343i at least needs to say what’s become of the other Spartan-IIs in order for the Chief’s next actions to really make any sense (or not make any sense, depending on what happens).

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I would hope so. Blue Team coming back is perfect timing seeing as how Cortana is KIA.

13

> > > What is the UNSC going to do? Lock him in a hole and refuse to let him see his family, or block them from trying to see him?
> >
> > Seeing as how nobody has seen him for the better part of 7 months since the events of the First Requiem Campaign and Didact’s raid on Earth, maybe.
> >
> >
> >
> > > Granted anything is possible, but this is the Master Chief and the Spartan-IIs we’re talking about here, what logical reason is there for them to be separated?
> >
> > Chief was introduced to the presence of a long-dead Forerunner who did something to his genetics, you don’t think ONI would want to know just what the Hell happened to him?
>
> Yeah, that comment made by Scruggs about the Chief not being seen since the events of Halo 4 in Escalation is part of what concerned me and made me want to start this thread…
> Some other people I’ve talked to have suggested that maybe the UNSC is simply keeping the Chief out of the public eye in order to better contain the situation about the Didact, and that nothing bad has happened to him (yet). But that speculation is about as weightless as any other right now. :
> My overall point still stands though <mark>- that 343i at least needs to say what’s become of the other Spartan-IIs</mark> in order for the Chief’s next actions to really make any sense (or not make any sense, depending on what happens).

They are undergoing classified missions.

14

> They are undergoing classified missions.

I’ve heard that before; I believe it was one of the more recent visual guides that made this hint, correct? …But still, that’s hardly a detailed explanation as to what their status is or a good reason for them to completely write these characters out of the story again (as Bungie was wont to do before every main title game - but at least there were entire novels dedicated to what they got up to while they were away). 343i has said they want to tie the narratives of the Games and the EU together better, and frankly I don’t think bringing in Blue Team is even as drastic of a step as bringing in the Didact was. (Of course what a company says and what a company does are two totally different things, but that’s another topic for another time…)

15

What I’ve gathered from this thread is that Halo 5’s campaign is gonna be *** awesome.

16

You are seriously understating the Chief’s relationship to Cortana. You say that it wouldn’t make sense for him to care so much about her because, “She only worked with him a few months.”

You see the problem is that unlike Chief’s Spartan team Cortana was literally inside his mind. Familial relationships like Chief’s to Blue Team are strong, but come on when was the last time you told your parents everything about yourself and how you feel about everything. For those months Cortana went through more with Chief than any of the Spartans went through with him. In addition to that she sensed pretty much everything he felt and went through it through his eyes.

Chief’s Blue Team members went through a war with him, but they never had that level of intimacy with Chief feeling wise at least not that we’ve seen in any novel or comic book. We don’t know anything about the plot, but the best bet is Chief is carrying Cortana’s empty chip to remind him why he’s fighting and that he needs to learn to be human.

Unless the Spartans have a part in that then they don’t need to be in the story. Although they really need to appear in the new novels or comics.

17

First, there was the Linda 058 Easter Egg in Halo: Anniversary.
Then, I heard some random dialog in Halo 4 while switching weapons with a marine over and over; he said (severe paraphrasing here) “I spotted for a class-II back in '38. Spartan 058? Did you know her? Best shot I ever saw” or something along those lines.

Bungie kept promoting Chief as “The Last Spartan” even though the books said otherwise, while 343 seems to be hinting at the larger Halo Universe.
I have a feeling we’ll be pleasantly surprised in the future. And those who have only played the games will be extremely confused, as they often are.

18

> You are seriously understating the Chief’s relationship to Cortana

And I say you are seriously overstating the Chief’s relationship with Cortana. Everything you said is largely based on opinion and no more based in unbiased canon than my own is. Like I said before, I do not think a few months of partnership is equal to years and years of teamwork, trust, and friendship.

Cortana was never “inside his mind” - she was inside his armor and can read his brain activity via a neural-link. This is not the same thing as direct thought sharing or some sort of psychic connection. Cortana also cannot experience the world the same way the Chief does; she is an AI, everything comes to her as pure data (in fact this is referenced in Halo 4 when she talks about Requiem’s sun). Also you are forgetting that the Chief was reunited with the Spartans between Halo:CE and Halo 2 and worked with them again for a while, and for the majority of the events of Halo 3 Cortana was not with him at all and he functioned just fine. He functioned just fine all those years of War without an AI because he had his team. Why now would they suddenly not be enough? The Chief has shown in canon that he cares just as much for his Spartans and has taken just as many risks for them as he did for Cortana. I have never seen the Chief treat her any more special than he has them; in fact, at several points in the books he’s just as distant to her as he is to anyone else he doesn’t know well. They’ve never had a deep personal conversation in either the games or the books, and Cortana’s affinity for the Chief stems directly from the fact that he is Dr. Halsey’s favorite. So, if Blue Team is indeed still alive, how on earth is it healthy or in character for the Chief to suddenly discard all bonds he has with the only people he sees as his family simply because he is upset that his AI got destroyed? In fact, that notion spits in the face of what Cortana sacrificed herself for in the first place - to bring him home.

If anything the other Spartans are his reason to continue to develop a more human character over the course of the next games. Because not only does it give him 3 more characters to play off of and interact with, it gives him something to hold on to but at the same time something he can’t afford to lose/fail to protect (like with what happened with Cortana). That in itself presents a much more interesting avenue for story and character development rather than just having him run off on his own without reason, or strictly because of his guilt over Cortana’s death.

This is exactly the sort of thing I’m worried about with Halo 5…canonically it really doesn’t make sense for Cortana to suddenly be the defining aspect of the Chief’s character (again, simply from the incredibly limited way and amount of time they’ve interacted with each other), but because of fan sentiment for the AI I’m worried 343i will force the story to go in a direction that disrespects the other good characters the Halo Universe has to offer, as well as the Chief’s history and his integrity as a character.

19

I’m not trying to underrate Blue Team’s bond, but you are wrong on a few things. Cortana really was in his mind. What do you think the point of the AI implantations was? The chip she used was implanted straight into his skull so they’d essentially be joined in their minds. This would speed up his reaction times and make him more effective in combat. Read the times in Thursday War or Glasslands where BB implants with Naomi and you’ll get what I’m talking about. This means that Cortana did a lot more than just “read his brainwaves”; she saw everything thing he saw and essentially felt everything he felt during some of the most important parts of his life. She literally knew him and how he felt in every aspect during some of the most trying and mentally scarring times in his life.

I’m not trying to promote her, but my statements have been based on pure canon. Look it up. Spartan Neural Interface on the Halo wiki. Or better yet read Halo Glasslands or The Thursday War, whichever had those scenes I was referring.

I state again, we know nothing so unless a good plot reason is brought in that necessitates Blue Team then I’m all for it. Hell for all we know Chief could be with them on these classified missions.

20

Actually I’m not wrong. There is no “slot” in the back of the Chief’s (or any Spartan’s) head that the AI chip goes into. The chip goes into his helmet, then the chip interacts with the Chief via the helmet’s connection to his nural-lace implants at the base of his skull (I can provide images of this from Dr. Halsey’s journal if necessary - or you should check the Wiki again, because it does confirm the chip goes into the helmet). Their minds were never “melded” - Cortana uses the data she receives from both the Chief and his MJOLNIR armor to help boost the armor’s power systems in order to give him increased speed and agility while wearing it (this is all detailed in ‘The Fall of Reach’). She can detect his brain activity and vital signs, so this is sort of a way she can “read his mind/emotions”, but again, they never directly shared thoughts. This also brings up the common problem of giving Cortana human traits she does not have; Cortana doesn’t see, and Cortana doesn’t feel, what she does is interpret the world around her through data she receives via the Chief’s armor and reacts according to her programming. It’s noted several times in the books and in a few instances in the games that the Chief doesn’t exactly understand Cortana and vice versa, but by connecting through the armor they can still make a very effective team. In fact, it’s probably a good thing that they don’t directly share thoughts; because in Halo 4 the Chief would certainly not be able to function if he was sharing brainspace with a rampant AI that was just barely holding it together. Also it’s irrelevant to compare Cortana to Black Box - they are completely different AIs, and Karen Traviss’ books also are written in a totally different style than previous authors and also she has shown to have a limited knowledge of established Halo canon - so her works are not a good place to look in that regard.

You are right though about the fact that we know next to nothing about the plot of Halo 5 either way. So any and all speculation is still pretty weightless. And I will concede to you the fact that Cortana was an important friend to the Chief, and she gave him the support he needed when his team was separated from him both before and after Halo:CE. What I’m just saying is that I don’t want to see every other person that has been important to the Chief’s character up to this point be tossed aside for no logical reason other than to further the Chief’s manpain over Cortana.

I guess only time will tell what road 343i is going to take with the Chief’s story though…