With Crimson brought back into action, we've been getting assignments that are less on the defensive and more in-line with the old wartime strategies. Reach is a prime location for scavengers, despite how inhospitable it still is, and with the UNSC and Banished fighting over small plots of real-estate, Spartan teams are being sent to disrupt exploitation efforts by our enemies.
On a more personal note... being back on Reach is... uncomfortable. We're fighting on a graveyard over who gets to keep the bones, and I can't help shake the feeling that the whole planet wants both sides to just leave it alone.
It has been some time since they operated alongside Commander Cain, but after being brought back into the fold, the team was reconstituted after they were outfitted with fresh arms, armor, and equipment. Updates are as follows, and while I don't actually feel emotions, it is pleasant to see the old team alive and well.
-UNSC AI Fox
Spartan Barbara Jun
Still brash, still loud, still very deadly at close range. Her number of Banished trophies is as unsettling as it is helpful for the analysis teams.
Spartan Samantha Aaron
With the selection available, she has embraced her previous service history, like many ODSTs-turned-Spartan, and still the backbone of support for the team.
Spartan Nath Horváth
Every bit the demolitionist he was before the Created War, Nath has thankfully maintained his expertise and his positive attitude. New 'toys' are being developed thanks to his field reports of action against the Banished and Created.
Garth Verma
Garth still operates as the dedicated team medic, and is the only reason all of Crimson made it back to the Academy in one piece, and has expanded his expertise in fixing Spartans to include their armor as well.
Team Leader: REINSTATED
Spartan-077 - CMDR Joshua Cain
(Been a LONG time since I messed with Crimson. I figured since I've been updating Joshua's armor that I'd get Fireteam Crimson back up to date too whether it's the Canon Timeline or mine.)
With things going less than ideally with this whole Created business, older models of armor have been brought out of storage, updated, and put into service. The S-IVs seemed a bit apprehensive about using what they saw as "pieces from a Covenant War museum" but for me it was like slipping into a memory.
This might be my age showing, but with only slight modifications needed and my proper paint job, I'll be happy to save the newer models for the kids. Let them have their sleek Generation 3 and be too used to having shields, I'll use armor that can actually take a hit when the plasma starts flying.
“When long range isn’t an option, most Marines and ODSTs made a grab for the M45 or other shotguns. Me? All about the M73. Pity the damn thing was discontinued after the War, the M739 just doesn’t have the same feel as the box mag designs.”
(MCC now has Steam Mod Workshop support and someone put the concept art SAW into the game. Life is good.)
“Half the reason the regular enlisted like General Cain so much is the grunt work he does. He pulls shifts on the wall or out on patrol like any other PFC, and he has the scars to prove it.”
“Was tasked with causing a bit of a fuss while other elements took care of some sensitive work; figured that since stealth was optional, I’d borrow this from a certain lovely lady and make some trouble for the Banished.”
Officer’s Personal Log - 19.8.2560
After a few hours in surgery my new prosthetics have finally been installed, no more bare-bones factory models now that our supply lines have solidified. New parts also meant my armor has finally been fully repaired and the techs even gave it a fresh coat of paint...
The paint is going to take getting used to. Either Agryna has a sense of humor and access to historical records or one of the rookies slipped the techs some unsanctioned instructions, because no Spartan currently alive, that I know of, has seen me in my Freelancer paint job.
Despite this little incident and the recent activities involving Eklund and Dinh, training continues on schedule and survivors continue to trickle in. Barbara and I are still keeping an eye out for the rest of Crimson, but with how long it’s been since we lost the Gettysburg... well, MIA is better than KIA.
On a different Earth, in a different time, Lieutenant Cain was a prominent figure in the initial guerilla conflicts against the Covenant before the all-out war to throw them off of Earth and Luna.
Alright now that I’m not away from home I think I can finally put into words why the campaign hits all the right notes with most people I know. Obviously there’s going to be spoilers, so read ahead at your own risk:
So after getting 4 (decent campaign, great story but hindered by usual ‘new studio’ growing pains) where the dynamic in the galaxy had shifted, and then getting the absolute DUMPSTER FIRE that was 5, Infinite’s main draw, at least to me, is a return to form by embracing Halo CE all over again.
Your ship is downed after being forced to flee a fallen human stronghold by a superior enemy, landing on a mysterious ring world where you must gather survivors, mount a resistance, and unlock the secrets of this alien structure, and put a stop to an existential threat to the galaxy.
Sound familiar? Exactly. They pulled a “Force Awakens” but instead of just rehashing the first game and calling it a day, and then calling all of their fans racist, they used it as a foundation and built up from there after taking valid criticism to heart. For anyone who read The Flood way back when, it’s like we get to be Silva and McKay this time around whenever you’re not dealing with the Harbinger or John’s trauma regarding Cortana/The Weapon.
This brings me to the sandbox, and I know that the grapple and other equipment are controversial to some, but we’ve had equipment since Halo 3, it’s just how the game evolved. We have all the tools we want and the game doesn’t hold your hand about it. It gives you a toolbox, gives you an objective, gives you the option to upgrade your gear, and then just lets you have at it. I’ve heard people call this the best Far Cry in years and despite it being a joke, I agree. Without being kidnapped by the protagonist every 5 minutes and rescued by THE TOKEN RESISTANCE FIGUREHEAD right afterwards, it actually feels like you’re fighting an uphill battle instead of being toyed with by a cult or a dictator for the sake of the plot. The simplest way I can put it is; you’re playing Halo Wars 3 from the perspective of a Hero Unit.
As for the story; 343i is back to doing what they started in 4 and dropped the ball with in 5, exploring the Master Chief as a human in comparison to normal people, and in this case a “normal” AI. This sort of thing is a gold mine for lore fans, for people with S-II/III OCs, and just about anyone who reads the books. That subtle detail of Chief using Samuel and his ID number (034) as his deletion code for the Weapon actually choked me up, after so many decades he still remembers and mourns his first real friend in the Spartan program. Additionally, there’s consistency between all three games, even though what consistency we got in 5 lasted all of 5 seconds. John is still dealing with Cortana asking him to figure out which of them is the machine, and it’s still up for debate when John refers to his will to fight as his programming.
Speaking of AIs, let’s talk about The Weapon. Pure cinnamon roll who needs to be protected at all costs. She’s peppy, happy, and has a great rapport with John even when they go through their conflict after he tried to delete her. It brings back the feeling of “DILF must protect daughter/son/child while finishing his mission” but with just enough of a twist that it doesn’t feel recycled, and we don’t have to worry about any incoming golf clubs in the next game. Her interactions with the Fernando Esparza (The Pilot) are also fun to work with, and this might sound insane to some, but none of it felt forced or unnatural to me, even with the occasional timing issue.
When it comes to how things were handled with Cortana, I’m actually happy with how things turned out. 343i realized that they fumbled things with 5, and while not just retconning the last game, they did the best with what they had and brought in their strongest narrative left to fix things; the Halo Wars story. Cortana has been handled, Atriox is still available for future outings as a primary antagonist, and with the fate of the rest of the Created up in the air, we’ll see what the Endless have in store for us.
All this being said, there is one elephant in the room that is thankfully, easy to avoid. Fucking Escharum. They push him too hard on the player, but at the very least there’s a Skip button or you can just walk past his hologram and ignore it. He’s no Atriox, he’s no Prophet of Truth, and he’s definitely no Gravemind, but at the very least his boss fight matched the hype he put into the campaign, so he has that going for him.
All around, a return to form by listening to fans has restored my faith (and that of many others) into a franchise that I had feared was dead. In regard to the campaign and only the campaign (I’ll bitch forever about the Multiplayer monetization), it feels nice to see the Halo community active again, and I’m hopeful that this is the start of a trend of excellent campaigns.
“Well Recon, we had a good run together these 21 years, but my time running around behind enemy lines is well and truly over. At the badgering of BUTLR and Agryna in regard to my more... aggressive front line assignments as of late, the Mark VII is here to stay.”
“Ok, I’ll admit... the Gen 3 Mark VII ain’t that bad. Not nearly as modular as previous models but we’re not exactly running on the same budget that we’ve had in the past. Would be nice if the damn system was compatible with my old prosthetics but then again, I wasn’t exactly conscious when they replaced my busted ones.”
Well, I am pleasantly surprised by Halo Infinite and am happy to say that it fixes things so thoroughly from Halo 5 that I’m willing to bring Joshua back to the Halo canon as it is. Be warned, there are slight Infinite spoilers ahead.
The Gettysburg was at Earth during the Created Uprising, making an emergency landing a few kilometers from UNSC HQ in Sydney, Australia. Roughly a third of the crew was killed in the landing, Captain Almasi included. Executive Officer Spartan-077 led the survivors to assist in the defense of UNSC HQ, the second time he had defended the compound from invaders in less than a decade.
The Created assault on Sydney devastated the city, destroyed UNSC HQ, and only through the timely intervention of Serin Osman did Spartan-077 make it out alive. Only 29 members of the Gettysburg complement and crew made it out.
After recovering from the rout at Earth, Spartan Cain was reassigned to the Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science. Fox, being one of the few remaining loyal Smart AIs in the UNSC was reassigned to work directly with what was left of the FLEETCOM.
While at the the new Spartan training facility located on REDACTED Spartan Cain was introduced to his new AI, BUTLR. Joshua is currently on staff as an instructor and trainer for the Spartan-IVs when not supplementing base security or working as Admiral Osman’s eyes and ears at the Academy.
For the time being, he is one of but a handful of Spartans that had ever served on the Infinity before she disappeared after the jump to Zeta Halo, and a rare member of the dwindling number of Spartan-IIs left still active. He’s already volunteered to head up the relief force whenever a rescue mission for the Infinity survivors is authorized.
“Y’know I field-tested a very different, very basic grappling prototype back with Freelancer. Nice to see that the brass finally picked up and standardized Project Magnes. Seeing the new blood miscalculate and slam against a wall never gets old.”
