Returning to Earth.....

Community Halo Universe
1

So I just finished rereading an original print of Halo First Strike and I’m just wondering: How do you think John, Linda, Will, Fred, Cortana and Johnson’s arrival at Earth went down?

Think about it, as far as high command back at Earth knows, Reach was obliterated, Ackerson is convinced that everything and everyone on Reach is “Dead dead DEAD” and the only ship reported to have escaped Reach towards the end of the battle being The Pillar of Autumn. Then without warning a heavily damaged Paris class heavy frigate named The Gettysburg comes out of slipspace into the SOL system with 4 Spartan II’s, Cortana, Johnson and some Covenant engineers onboard and they have the craziest story ever about a ring world super weapon, parasitic lifeforms, a space and time bending crystal and a massive Covenant fleet thought to be on it’s way to Earth when it was obliterated by the Spartans, Haverson and Admiral Whitcomb.

I really want to know how that all went down. How many days was John at Earth before we see the beginnings of Halo 2 when he gets his Mark VI armor? Why were Will, Fred and Linda separated from him during the ceremony on Cairo Station? Had the MA5B assault rifle only been recalled on certain parts of the planet? I know the MA5C production on Mars went into full swing just after the initial attack on Earth but in an operation at the beginning of Ghosts of Onyx we hear about Fred, Will and Linda fighting Brutes on Earth while wearing Mark VI Mjolnir armor and using MA5B assault rifles.

2

> 2533274819939761;1:
> So I just finished rereading an original print of Halo First Strike and I’m just wondering: How do you think John, Linda, Will, Fred, Cortana and Johnson’s arrival at Earth went down?
> Think about it, as far as high command back at Earth knows, Reach was obliterated, Ackerson is convinced that everything and everyone on Reach is “Dead dead DEAD” and the only ship reported to have escaped Reach towards the end of the battle being The Pillar of Autumn. Then without warning a heavily damaged Paris class heavy frigate named The Gettysburg comes out of slipspace into the SOL system with 4 Spartan II’s, Cortana, Johnson and some Covenant engineers onboard and they have the craziest story ever about a ring world super weapon, parasitic lifeforms, a space and time bending crystal and a massive Covenant fleet thought to be on it’s way to Earth when it was obliterated by the Spartans, Haverson and Admiral Whitcomb.
> I really want to know how that all went down. How many days was John at Earth before we see the beginnings of Halo 2 when he gets his Mark VI armor? Why were Will, Fred and Linda separated from him during the ceremony on Cairo Station? Had the MA5B assault rifle only been recalled on certain parts of the planet? I know the MA5C production on Mars went into full swing just after the initial attack on Earth but in an operation at the beginning of Ghosts of Onyx we hear about Fred, Will and Linda fighting Brutes on Earth while wearing Mark VI Mjolnir armor and using MA5B assault rifles.

The ringworld thing wasn’t too big of a reveal for them, as a few days before the Gettysburg returned to Earth, another ship discovered Installation 03 after evading destruction from the Covenant, and later went to Earth. ONI detained the ship’s crew for violations of the Cole Protocol, and looked over the ship’s records of the ringworld. We don’t know how long he was at Earth, though it was only a week at the most. During the ceremony, Blue Team were busy giving their report and explaining what happened to the UNSC Council. (This was shown in a Halo 2 Anniversary terminal.)

the assault rifle and armor thing varies. Supplies dwindled and the UNSC didn’t really have time to coordinate every single outpost and ship’s supplies.

3

> 2533274974033696;2:
> > 2533274819939761;1:
> > So I just finished rereading an original print of Halo First Strike and I’m just wondering: How do you think John, Linda, Will, Fred, Cortana and Johnson’s arrival at Earth went down?
> > Think about it, as far as high command back at Earth knows, Reach was obliterated, Ackerson is convinced that everything and everyone on Reach is “Dead dead DEAD” and the only ship reported to have escaped Reach towards the end of the battle being The Pillar of Autumn. Then without warning a heavily damaged Paris class heavy frigate named The Gettysburg comes out of slipspace into the SOL system with 4 Spartan II’s, Cortana, Johnson and some Covenant engineers onboard and they have the craziest story ever about a ring world super weapon, parasitic lifeforms, a space and time bending crystal and a massive Covenant fleet thought to be on it’s way to Earth when it was obliterated by the Spartans, Haverson and Admiral Whitcomb.
> > I really want to know how that all went down. How many days was John at Earth before we see the beginnings of Halo 2 when he gets his Mark VI armor? Why were Will, Fred and Linda separated from him during the ceremony on Cairo Station? Had the MA5B assault rifle only been recalled on certain parts of the planet? I know the MA5C production on Mars went into full swing just after the initial attack on Earth but in an operation at the beginning of Ghosts of Onyx we hear about Fred, Will and Linda fighting Brutes on Earth while wearing Mark VI Mjolnir armor and using MA5B assault rifles.
>
> The ringworld thing wasn’t too big of a reveal for them, as a few days before the Gettysburg returned to Earth, another ship discovered Installation 03 after evading destruction from the Covenant, and later went to Earth. ONI detained the ship’s crew for violations of the Cole Protocol, and looked over the ship’s records of the ringworld. We don’t know how long he was at Earth, though it was only a week at the most. During the ceremony, Blue Team were busy giving their report and explaining what happened to the UNSC Council. (This was shown in a Halo 2 Anniversary terminal.)
>
> the assault rifle and armor thing varies. Supplies dwindled and the UNSC didn’t really have time to coordinate every single outpost and ship’s supplies.

Thank you for the reply first of all.

What is the source for the story about the ship that found Installation 03? Was this a story and if so what book?

Also I don’t give too much credibility to the Halo 2 Anniversary terminal since it has quite a few inaccuracies such as Will not being present for that debriefing and that it is laughable to think that John would be sent to an award ceremony before high command even fully understands what they are giving John, Johnson and Keyes an award for. The terminal also inaccurately puts Linda and Fred in Gen II armor before gen I mark VI hasn’t even hit the battlefield yet. Now some claim that they are “testing prototypes” but that is pure speculation until an official statement is made. 343 Industries has screwed up armor continuity in the past and has admitted to it. Remember the Halo 4 prologue cutscenes?

Also, if we are to follow the format of previous high command debriefings such as the one after Sigma Octanus, high command likes to have every individual sent in to give their report individually. One can assume this is to ensure everyone gives more or less the same story. There is no reason to assume Blue Team’s debriefing would be any different after First Strike.

As for why Will, Fred and Linda are not present during the awards ceremony…
This is purely my opinion but if we are to follow what I believe logically makes sense is John probably didn’t want to attend any award ceremony seeing as he and his team were going to receive the new Mark VI armor. Realistically he probably had his team trying out the new armor and training planet side while he reluctantly agreed to go with Johnson to a ceremony on a Cairo Station, the same ceremony that Johnson told Chief “there wouldn’t be any cameras”.

Then when the Covenant attacked Earth, Will, Fred and Linda were probably too far away to reach the battle in South Africa before Chief, Johnson and Keyes made the slipspace jump to Installation 05. After which we know that Fred Will and Linda were fighting Brutes on the surface near the base of a space elevator that they use to steal a Covenant destroyer.

What do you guys think?

4

> 2533274819939761;3:
> > 2533274974033696;2:
> > > 2533274819939761;1:
> > >
>
> Thank you for the reply first of all
> What is the source for the story about the ship that found Installation 03? Was this a story and if so what book?

The source for the Installation 03 information came from the Eleventh Hour Reports , which were released online prior to Halo 4’s release.

> 2533274819939761;3:
> > 2533274974033696;2:
> > > 2533274819939761;1:
> > >
>
> Also I don’t give too much credibility to the Halo 2 Anniversary terminal since it has quite a few inaccuracies such as Will not being present for that debriefing and that it is laughable to think that John would be sent to an award ceremony before high command even fully understands what they are giving John, Johnson and Keyes an award for. The terminal also inaccurately puts Linda and Fred in Gen II armor before gen I mark VI hasn’t even hit the battlefield yet. Now some claim that they are “testing prototypes” but that is pure speculation until an official statement is made. 343 Industries has screwed up armor continuity in the past and has admitted to it. Remember the Halo 4 prologue cutscenes?

I remember the Halo 4 prologue cutscenes, but that wasn’t necessarily for canon purposes. They used the assets they had to create a cutscene that gave a general example of the Human-Covenant war; in other words, what we see in that cutscene never happened, the planet never existed, and what we see there is purely representational. In the H2A terminal, they likely used that armor as a little ‘pre-look’ to introduce new fans to the squad for Halo 5.
There simply isn’t much explanation beyond what I gave because Bungie typically kept the games separate from the novels. The H2A terminal is as canon an explanation as we can get, as unorthodox as it is.

> 2533274819939761;3:
> > 2533274974033696;2:
> > > 2533274819939761;1:
> > >
>
> This is purely my opinion but if we are to follow what I believe logically makes sense is John probably didn’t want to attend any award ceremony seeing as he and his team were going to receive the new Mark VI armor. Realistically he probably had his team trying out the new armor and training planet side while he reluctantly agreed to go with Johnson to a ceremony on a Cairo Station, the same ceremony that Johnson told Chief “there wouldn’t be any cameras”.
> Then when the Covenant attacked Earth, Will, Fred and Linda were probably too far away to reach the battle in South Africa before Chief, Johnson and Keyes made the slipspace jump to Installation 05. After which we know that Fred Will and Linda were fighting Brutes on the surface near the base of a space elevator that they use to steal a Covenant destroyer.
> What do you guys think?

Makes sense to me.

5

> 2533274819939761;1:
> So I just finished rereading an original print of Halo First Strike and I’m just wondering: How do you think John, Linda, Will, Fred, Cortana and Johnson’s arrival at Earth went down?
>
> Think about it, as far as high command back at Earth knows, Reach was obliterated, Ackerson is convinced that everything and everyone on Reach is “Dead dead DEAD” and the only ship reported to have escaped Reach towards the end of the battle being The Pillar of Autumn. Then without warning a heavily damaged Paris class heavy frigate named The Gettysburg comes out of slipspace into the SOL system with 4 Spartan II’s, Cortana, Johnson and some Covenant engineers onboard and they have the craziest story ever about a ring world super weapon, parasitic lifeforms, a space and time bending crystal and a massive Covenant fleet thought to be on it’s way to Earth when it was obliterated by the Spartans, Haverson and Admiral Whitcomb.
>
> I really want to know how that all went down. How many days was John at Earth before we see the beginnings of Halo 2 when he gets his Mark VI armor? Why were Will, Fred and Linda separated from him during the ceremony on Cairo Station? Had the MA5B assault rifle only been recalled on certain parts of the planet? I know the MA5C production on Mars went into full swing just after the initial attack on Earth but in an operation at the beginning of Ghosts of Onyx we hear about Fred, Will and Linda fighting Brutes on Earth while wearing Mark VI Mjolnir armor and using MA5B assault rifles.

Most of the unsc except probably Ackerman would have believed him,especially lord hood…if I remember correctly halo 2 takes place like 2 weeks after Halo ce

6

> 2533274830166194;5:
> > 2533274819939761;1:
> > So I just finished rereading an original print of Halo First Strike and I’m just wondering: How do you think John, Linda, Will, Fred, Cortana and Johnson’s arrival at Earth went down?
> >
> > Think about it, as far as high command back at Earth knows, Reach was obliterated, Ackerson is convinced that everything and everyone on Reach is “Dead dead DEAD” and the only ship reported to have escaped Reach towards the end of the battle being The Pillar of Autumn. Then without warning a heavily damaged Paris class heavy frigate named The Gettysburg comes out of slipspace into the SOL system with 4 Spartan II’s, Cortana, Johnson and some Covenant engineers onboard and they have the craziest story ever about a ring world super weapon, parasitic lifeforms, a space and time bending crystal and a massive Covenant fleet thought to be on it’s way to Earth when it was obliterated by the Spartans, Haverson and Admiral Whitcomb.
> >
> > I really want to know how that all went down. How many days was John at Earth before we see the beginnings of Halo 2 when he gets his Mark VI armor? Why were Will, Fred and Linda separated from him during the ceremony on Cairo Station? Had the MA5B assault rifle only been recalled on certain parts of the planet? I know the MA5C production on Mars went into full swing just after the initial attack on Earth but in an operation at the beginning of Ghosts of Onyx we hear about Fred, Will and Linda fighting Brutes on Earth while wearing Mark VI Mjolnir armor and using MA5B assault rifles.
>
> Most of the unsc except probably Ackerman would have believed him,especially lord hood…if I remember correctly halo 2 takes place like 2 weeks after Halo ce

Yeah but in those two or so weeks we have the events described in the novel First Strike. I’m just wondering how long was Chief at Earth before the Ceremony at the beginning of Halo 2.

7

> 2533274819939761;6:
> > 2533274830166194;5:
> > > 2533274819939761;1:
> > > So I just finished rereading an original print of Halo First Strike and I’m just wondering: How do you think John, Linda, Will, Fred, Cortana and Johnson’s arrival at Earth went down?
> > >
> > > Think about it, as far as high command back at Earth knows, Reach was obliterated, Ackerson is convinced that everything and everyone on Reach is “Dead dead DEAD” and the only ship reported to have escaped Reach towards the end of the battle being The Pillar of Autumn. Then without warning a heavily damaged Paris class heavy frigate named The Gettysburg comes out of slipspace into the SOL system with 4 Spartan II’s, Cortana, Johnson and some Covenant engineers onboard and they have the craziest story ever about a ring world super weapon, parasitic lifeforms, a space and time bending crystal and a massive Covenant fleet thought to be on it’s way to Earth when it was obliterated by the Spartans, Haverson and Admiral Whitcomb.
> > >
> > > I really want to know how that all went down. How many days was John at Earth before we see the beginnings of Halo 2 when he gets his Mark VI armor? Why were Will, Fred and Linda separated from him during the ceremony on Cairo Station? Had the MA5B assault rifle only been recalled on certain parts of the planet? I know the MA5C production on Mars went into full swing just after the initial attack on Earth but in an operation at the beginning of Ghosts of Onyx we hear about Fred, Will and Linda fighting Brutes on Earth while wearing Mark VI Mjolnir armor and using MA5B assault rifles.
> >
> > Most of the unsc except probably Ackerman would have believed him,especially lord hood…if I remember correctly halo 2 takes place like 2 weeks after Halo ce
>
> Yeah but in those two or so weeks we have the events described in the novel First Strike. I’m just wondering how long was Chief at Earth before the Ceremony at the beginning of Halo 2.

Not too long I think look up the dates on halopedia

8

I believe Fred was interrogated by an ONI agent about allowing all the Spartans to jump out of the Pelican during the beginning of the Battle of Earth, which is why He wasn’t with John.

Bungie made a joke in the Halo 2 Dev Commentary about missing assault rifles and a sabotage team sent out to destroy CE Pistols. (lol)

John was testing Mark VI in Cairo Station on Oct. 20, but the arrive to Earth in late Sept.
Also Fred at the very least was testing CENTURION prototypes (Example)

9

> 2535442569875751;8:
> I believe Fred was interrogated by an ONI agent about allowing all the Spartans to jump out of the Pelican during the beginning of the Battle of Earth, which is why He wasn’t with John.
>
> Bungie made a joke in the Halo 2 Dev Commentary about missing assault rifles and a sabotage team sent out to destroy CE Pistols. (lol)
>
> John was testing Mark VI in Cairo Station on Oct. 20, but the arrive to Earth in late Sept.
> Also Fred at the very least was testing CENTURION prototypes (Example)

Thank you for the reply. I really appreciate all the comments guys.

Hmmm interesting about Fred.

Lol at Bungie.

sighs I really hate how 343 Industries keeps trying to retcon armor and story. Bungie is guilty of it too with ODST and Reach but damn… They couldn’t even get the armor right for the Halo 2 terminal. At least the copy I have of Ghosts of Onyx has the Spartans in their correct armor. Kelly was wearing the Mark V Mjolnir armor, the other Spartan II’s wearing the original Mark VI and the Spartan III’s and Kurt wearing SPI armor.