Halo: The Fall of Reach (2015) - full transcript

Animated series adapted from the original book, Halo: The Fall of Reach. It's an explanation and backstory of the shaping and creation of Spartan 117, The Master Chief.

That never sounded like an owl, Fred.

Kelly.

We've got 2 hours to get back to base

before ONI starts spilling over time.

Where's the Chief? Where's Linda?

Quick shore leave, Chief.

We're lucky Command let us come at all.

This is it?

Most of it's gone,

but yeah, it's the place.

Then let's do this.

Private journal entry.

Encrypt Halsey 424-3.

Delete if tampered.

A long time ago, I committed myself

to a path, a direction.

There were many branches in that path,

but ultimately they all flowered, I think.

John was the first seed.

I couldn't personally screen

every candidate.

The outer colonies were simply

too scattered, too distant.

But I had to set an example

for the other extraction teams.

So the first candidate...

The first candidate,

I dealt with personally

But the outer colonies were still

very dangerous places in those days,

albeit for radically different reasons.

And so the Office of Naval Intelligence

assigned me a chaperone,

perhaps for my safety,

perhaps for theirs.

Time to wake up, Lieutenant Keyes.

We are preparing to exit slipspace

near the Eridanus System.

Dr. Halsey?

Already awake and on the bridge, sir.

Eh, of course she is.

Dr. Halsey.

Are these shuttles

all so damned claustrophobic?

There is barely room for one person

in here, let alone two.

- Doctor...

- Toran...

Awaiting your orders, Dr. Halsey.

Start a pre-burn warm-up cycle

for the fusion engines.

Understood, Doctor.

Exiting slipspace in 6 seconds.

Good. And some music.

Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 3, I think.

Now, Lieutenant,

you needed my attention?

I was going to say

I should act as pilot.

If I wished to be chauffeured, you would

already be in this chair, Lieutenant.

If you wish to make yourself useful,

take the comms

and make sure our arrival is discreet.

What are we doing here?

This area is dangerous.

It's been an Insurrectionist

stronghold for years.

Meaning?

Meaning the Insurrection isn't some

ragtag group of colonial rowdies.

Toran, list rebel acts of violence

in this sector in last 5 days.

72 hours ago,

Insurrectionists destroy emergency

food caravan.

18 hours ago, rebellion raids

merchant vessel, murders entire...

I am painfully aware

of the rebellion, Lieutenant.

Something needs to be done.

ONI agrees with me.

That is why we are here.

ONI?

But if the Office

of Naval Intelligence...

This is a recon mission?

How terribly perceptive of you.

But what could you possibly need

to recon out here?

I'm dressed like a fool.

You're dressed like a father

trying to get his daughter

into a decent school.

I don't have a daughter.

And I don't have a pony. Pay attention.

We are here to observe a boy,

the first of many evaluations

in the weeks to come.

I'm supposed to be protecting

shipping lanes, not babysitting.

This child could be more useful

to the UNSC

than a fleet of destroyers,

a thousand lieutenants

or even me.

In the end,

one child could be the difference

between peace and an unwinnable war.

Ah.

There's our young man.

Journal entry. Same encryption scheme.

Who's next?

John was the first, and he was the best.

Come on, he can't stop us all!

Even as a child,

I could see how special he was.

Sense his unformed potential.

I simply needed to carve away

everything else to get to it.

To shape it.

Form him into everything

I knew he would eventually become.

Him?

- He can't be more than...

- 6.

John, like all of our candidates,

is 6 years old.

And like the others,

he has all the genetic markers.

There's something else

that makes him of interest.

Of interest to whom, precisely?

Here, record our interaction.

I'll talk to him,

find out if his character

is as exceptional as his DNA.

Hello, what's your name?

It's John.

And what game were you playing, John?

- War?

- King of the hill.

Mom says I'm too rough

with the other kids.

You like games? So do I.

I have another game

if you're interested.

This is a coin.

Win the game and you keep the coin.

You see the two sides?

Yes. A man and a bird.

Which side will land up?

Bird.

Very good. Again.

Man.

- Again.

- Man.

Bird.

Bird.

5 out of 5, John. That's unusual.

You said I could keep it if I won.

Yes. You can keep it, John.

Yes!

I cursed myself for using his name.

I couldn't afford the luxury

of fondness.

No telling if subject 117

would even survive what lay ahead.

Tell me you recorded that.

It all fell into place

so quickly after John.

It wasn't long

before I had my final candidates.

These are the 75, Deja.

Confidential journal entry.

Red encryption using my private key.

As I said before,

I don't regret any of this.

I've thought it all the way through.

I am certain it will be worthwhile.

Right at that moment,

across several star systems,

children were being acquired

and shipped,

like freight to the planet Reach.

We were replacing the children

with flash clones.

Imperfect simulacra

but nigh impossible to detect.

If I could have used the clones,

of course I would have,

but the damn things broke down

faster than we could grow them.

We needed real children.

Whole children.

It was a regrettable

but necessary deception.

I needed those subjects.

ORION-II would not have succeeded

built on a foundation of compromise.

ONI would have its soldiers,

and I would have my solution.

May God have mercy on us all.

Doctor, they are here. They are ready.

Send them in.

And, Deja, on second thought,

don't save this file.

What happened? How did I get here?

I don't know.

Take a seat. All of you.

Per naval code 45812,

you are hereby conscripted

into UNSC's special project

code-named ORION-II,

also known as SPARTAN II.

Your parents are gone.

The planet Reach is your new home.

Your fellow trainees

are your new family.

Each of you has been hand-selected

and called to serve.

Your bodies are already faster

and stronger than other children,

and we are going

to make them even better.

Chief Petty Officer Mendez,

escort the children to the mess hall,

feed them, get them to bed.

Trainees, fall out!

John.

Johnny, you need to wake up.

Mom?

Wake up!

Wake up, trainee!

I said up! Do you know which way up is?

Last one up gets it, Jorge!

My name's pronounced "George."

Don't you back talk me, Jorge!

- What's happening?

- I don't know. Just go, go!

Come on. Everyone's headed this way.

- I'm Sam, by the way.

- I'm Kelly.

It'll be okay, Kelly.

Trainees, I am Chief Mendez.

I am your commanding officer.

Every day, dawn till dusk,

you will do exactly what I say,

when I say, how I say.

- Am I clear, trainees?

- Sir, yes, sir.

Naturally, they didn't all make it.

We expected drop-outs.

There were accidents,

incidents, bad luck.

Better that we separated

the chaff from the wheat immediately.

Come in. Class is about to begin.

We trained their minds

as well as their bodies.

War strategy, theoretical tactics,

Sun Tzu,

nothing in the sprawling history

of conflict was overlooked.

We taught them about Thermopylae,

about the unbeatable Spartans.

Xerxes wanted to steal Greece

from the Spartans.

His forces numbered in the thousands.

Why didn't Xerxes just sail around them?

Xerxes wanted to send a message, John.

He failed

and just 300 Spartans saved Greece.

Yes!

That is all for today.

But tomorrow I will tell you

about wolves.

Today's mission is ring the bell.

When every member of your team

has rung the bell, cross this line.

Question, trainee?

- What do we win, sir?

- You win dinner, 117.

- Last team to finish goes without dinner.

- Oh, no!

Make ready. Go!

I knew John was

a natural leader, even if he didn't.

John, a little help?

First.

A leader must inspire passion,

and 117 certainly did that.

Hey, thanks for nothing.

Good work, trainees.

Everybody eats,

except 117 and his team.

But I was first.

You were first,

but your team came in last.

And you don't win unless your team wins.

Get out of here.

- Kelly!

- No. Kelly's right, Sam.

He could've helped us today,

instead he left us in the dirt.

I'm sorry, guys.

I stole them a few nights ago.

They're stale but better than nothing.

- It's not turkey.

- I know.

It won't happen again. Promise.

And that was it.

Logic, consequences,

spark of leadership.

All things I saw in him from the start.

You are each being handed

a portion of a map of the area below.

The mission is simple.

You will be individually deployed

and use your piece of the puzzle

to navigate to the extraction point.

Last trainee to make it to extraction

will be left behind.

And it is a very long walk back.

- 117, you're first.

- Yes, sir.

- Sam, the river.

- I got it.

Pass the word, quietly.

117, front and center.

Good luck, 117.

You sound nothing like an owl, Sam.

- Ah, I've been practicing.

- It sounded exactly like an owl.

I was just drawing you out of cover.

Look what I found.

Blueberries? Nice!

I hope these are blueberries.

Better than the food in the mess.

Your lips are blue.

So are yours.

In the end, the wilderness mission

wasn't a test of strength or survival

but of friendship, camaraderie, loyalty.

What are you doing?

I'm putting our mark on this place,

so we can remember it.

Now and forever.

- We should meet up with the others.

- Then what?

Someone is still gonna get left behind.

Then I find a way to get everyone home.

One of those map fragments was bogus.

But I'm sure this is the extraction point.

Almost a day's hike from here.

Then we better get moving.

Hold.

You guys with me. Fall out.

And keep quiet.

I heard something.

And what I find fascinating is that

even though you think

you've prepared for every eventuality...

They're armed

but they aren't in uniform.

And they don't look like soldiers.

Insurrectionists, maybe?

...every contingency...

So what now?

...every permutation...

Wolves.

When Deja taught us about the wolves,

how they hunt...

What does that...

The wolves.

...children still manage

to surprise you.

Wolves, children, are fierce hunters.

But while any wolf

can hunt and kill a rabbit,

one wolf against larger prey

can face a grisly end.

- What the...

- I need help! My friend is hurt!

- Go bring that girl back.

- Yes, sir.

But when wolves hunt in a pack...

- Where's the girl?

- I think I broke my leg.

Oh, I got your broken leg

right here, kid.

...they take down larger prey with ease.

What the hell, Vince?

One little girl

too much for you to handle?

Ah, Doctor.

Trainee 117 was just explaining

why he attacked and injured UNSC soldiers.

And why he stole the property

they were left to guard.

Ma'am, the craft was UNSC,

but the men in the force were hostile

and were not in regulation uniform.

- You flew home?

- Not exactly.

I rigged the autopilot

to return to base, ma'am.

And you brought them all home?

According to orders, last trainee

to the ship was supposed to walk.

Instead, we stuck together,

like the Spartans at Thermopylae.

In the real ending of the story, 117,

the Spartans are betrayed

and slaughtered.

It is their sacrifice

that actually saves and unites Greece.

But we had more choices.

The men you hit with rocks didn't.

No, sir, they did not.

So, Doctor, what do we do with this one?

Well, Mendez,

I suggest a promotion to Squad Leader.

Thank you, sir.

What is the highest rank I can attain?

As a non-commissioned officer, 117,

the highest rank you can attain

is Master Chief Petty Officer.

Then I will.

Perhaps you will at that,

but your next mission won't be so easy.

And there will be casualties.

What is that mission, sir?

Your mission, John,

is to survive.

Samuel-034, Blue Team mission report.

I don't remember the operation,

but when we awoke,

we were something new.

Unbreakable materials

grafted to our bones, gene therapy.

Muscle density increased,

enhanced skeletal and muscular growth.

Of course,

we had no clue

what we had to live through first.

Replay the message, Deja.

Message from Admiral Ysionris Jeromi.

Chief Medical Officer,

research station Hopeful.

Catherine, I wish I had better news.

Further analysis

has yielded zero alternatives

to mitigate the risks in your proposed

hypothetical experimentation.

But I understand

the theoretical framework, Catherine,

and admire the imagination.

But I hope it is

in fact a hypothetical study

Details are in the attached files.

But your proposed treatments

could result in any of the following,

cell necrosis, stroke,

cardiovascular failure

and even Fletcher syndrome.

You proposed the use of lab animals,

simian proxies, in your tests.

I must be blunt.

I cannot imagine any more than half

of the subjects surviving this process.

I would hate to see

the poor creatures destroyed

in some Section III project, Dr. Halsey.

Well, I've said my piece.

Best of luck to you, Catherine.

Doctor, augmentation was always

a vital but statistically dangerous stage.

How many?

ONI was promised soldiers,

and you were the only mind

that could accomplish it.

How many dead, Deja?

27 deceased.

36% of the candidates.

Children.

36% of the children.

The subjects are just

one-half of the equation, Doctor.

Both MJOLNIR and the cognitive impression

modeling are critical.

You're correct.

- Doctor?

- This is our only option.

Every day the Insurrection invents

new acts of terror

to pull humanity farther into the muck.

Our civilization is balanced

on a razor's edge,

and the insurgents threaten

to bring it down around our ears.

If even one candidate survives

and balance is restored,

history will absolve me

for the greater good.

Duty.

Honor.

Self-sacrifice.

We were 14 when we lost almost half

of our comrades to augmentation failures.

Death does not diminish

these qualities in a soldier.

We shall remember our dead.

Honors, attention!

Kids I grew up with,

never said goodbye to.

We commit the bodies of our fallen

to space.

I still remember their names.

The deaths affected

each of us differently

Fire teams came and went,

but core loyalties and friendships endure.

Even beyond death.

Of course, it didn't sit well with John.

Where are you taking my men?

Let 'em go, Squad Leader.

They can't fight anymore.

They don't belong here.

What happens to them?

The Navy takes care of its own.

Their minds are still sharp.

And our war effort can always

use soldiers for less physical duties.

John never left anyone behind.

Not if he could help it.

Was there something else, son?

Sir, I'm Squad Leader.

Members of my unit died.

What should I have done

to keep that from happening?

117.

John.

What your class went through,

that any of you survived at all

is a testament to your strength.

Walk with me.

A leader must be ready to send the men

under his command to their deaths.

Your duty is to the mission.

I'm sorry, sir, but I fail to see

how that applies to this situation.

The lesson is sacrifice.

It is acceptable to spend lives

when necessary, Squad Leader.

What is not acceptable

is to waste said lives.

Which was this, sir? Spent or wasted?

Get some rest, Squad Leader.

- What did Mendez say?

- Not much.

Let me guess.

Something about duty and sucking it up.

That sounds nothing like him.

Like your owl.

It sounds exactly like him.

Me and Kels are going

to the shooting range later. You in?

No. I'm going to hit the gym.

John was still processing our losses.

Emotionally and physically

For weeks after augmentation,

every bone in our bodies ached.

Our eyes throbbed and bled.

We got headaches.

Fell down.

Clumsy in our new skins.

Dr. Halsey told us our brains

would have to relearn

how to work with our new bodies.

Learn how to use new strength and speed.

But it wasn't easy.

And it was frustrating.

The thing about John is that

he really only knew 3 ways

to react to people.

If you were his superior officer,

he obeyed you.

If you were in his squad,

he would die for you.

But if you were a threat?

Then God help you.

Heart rate steady. Pulse level.

He's barely breaking a sweat.

What is he doing?

What we built him to do. He's winning.

I'm gonna stop this now.

How is his adrenaline level, I wonder.

Attention!

At ease.

Your workout is over for today.

Sir, those men.

Was this a test?

You engaged and neutralized a threat,

Squad Leader.

They started it.

I was defending myself.

But still they were fellow soldiers.

People die.

Sacrifice is a necessary consequence

of war.

But, sir, they were wasted, not spent.

Because of me.

Your priorities are to follow orders,

and to preserve your life

and the lives of your team.

Is that clear, Squad Leader?

Yes, sir.

We heard what happened.

Everyone on the ship did.

It was an accident.

That didn't make it any easier for John.

Apologies, Doctor,

but I have been attempting to decode

a transmission from the Planet Harvest.

- And?

- It's fragmented and incomplete.

And it stopped repeating.

Show me what you have.

Gods.

Deja, give me a feed from Harvest.

- Scanning spectrum.

- Anything.

A comm station, a news feed,

a grain elevator, damn it.

Not found.

It may be interference or a problem

with the slipspace beacon relays.

Harvest is on a 12-hour signal delay.

Get Mendez, but keep scanning Harvest.

I'm accelerating the schedule.

I want a test in a combat mission.

Ma'am, that's needlessly aggressive.

I disagree.

Brass wants Spartans deployed,

and so do I.

There's a mission ONI has been saving

for the right team.

Colonel Robert Watts

earned his rank in the UNSC,

but in 2512 he went turncoat.

And now leads the Insurrectionist forces

in the Eridanus system.

Watts has spent 12 years leading raids

against UNSC targets,

killing civilians and military alike.

We have Intel that Watts

is planning to attack

medical satellites

in the outer colonies.

Recently, one of Watts' men

cut a deal with ONI.

We have known for some time

that Watts' forces

were launching

from the Eridanus asteroid belt.

But there are millions of rocks

scattered over billions of kilometers.

Our informant did not know

the exact location.

However, he did know that

the freighter Laden is a supply vessel.

Mendez.

Laden is set to leave dock in

6 hours for routine engine recertification.

And yet, she's been loaded with

enough food and water

to supply a small city.

Spartans, you will be dropped

at the Eridanus II space docks.

You'll be dressed the same

as members of the Laden crew.

Once in the base, you will infiltrate

the installation and take Watts alive.

If you can.

They would've detected a UNSC ship.

They wouldn't detect us.

Be prepared for anything.

Finally, Squad Leader,

you are hereby promoted

to Petty Officer third class.

Everything went off without a hitch.

Before long, we were safe

in the micro gravity well.

I can never get shut-eye

before a mission.

What are you doing?

Scanning freight and shipping documents.

Read it to me. That'll put me to sleep.

10 hours out, Blue Team.

We'll rotate sleep cycles.

- Find anything, Kelly?

- Everything.

Laden doesn't have a ship board AI

and their security is a joke.

Course setting.

We've got a loose trajectory

into the belt, but no final destination.

Meaning insurgents

don't even trust their own people.

Keep digging, and wake me in 4.

I'll take over watch.

Where did everyone go?

John?

Where were you when we needed you?

I'm up. What've you got?

I picked up where Kelly left off

and I found something odd

in the ship's manifest.

Hidden in the standard rations,

there's a single crate of cigars,

steaks and chocolates.

Luxury items.

That crate is going to Watts.

Precisely what I was thinking.

Follow me. Stay quiet. Blend in.

Kelly, get a bearing on that crate.

On the monorail, headed towards

the tallest building in town.

Only the best for Colonel Watts.

NAV marker at 443 meters and holding.

Top floor, helmets on. Move out.

Fresh batch, Colonel.

It was going well. We felt good.

We got cocky.

Well, I did.

Sam, look out!

John!

John, can you hear me?

It should've been me.

Secure the area.

The biofoam will keep your guts

where they belong till we get home.

It's going to hurt.

That was stupid, John.

Queen doesn't sacrifice everything

to collect a pawn.

All the pieces go back in the same

box when the game is done.

- You hit?

- Nope. I'm lucky.

Some idiot caught my bullet for me.

Do not make me

laugh right now.

You won't take me alive.

My men will come for you.

Empty the crate. Sam, load the cargo.

Cargo? Unhand me, boy.

I don't know who or what you are,

but I know two things, son.

One, none of you are gettin' out alive.

And two, I am absolutely not

getting in that damned box.

We believed we had dealt

the Insurrection a mortal blow.

Maybe we did.

But everything was about to change.

Who's that?

Uniform says Keyes.

Maybe he's here to interrogate Watts?

Nice work, 117.

- John, isn't it?

- Yes, sir.

Have we met?

A long time ago. You wouldn't remember.

You were just a kid

fighting in the dust.

Now you're a warrior.

And just in the nick of time.

- Sir?

- You'll know soon enough.

Dismissed.

Amphitheater, Spartans. On the double.

What do you think it is?

Insurrection revenge strike?

It's something else. Something big.

At ease, Spartans.

I am Vice Admiral Stanforth.

This is Harvest.

Population of 3 million.

A peaceful and productive farming world.

On February 3rd, at 1423 hours,

the Harvest orbital platform made

long range radar contact with this object.

After that,

all contact with Harvest was lost.

Command assembled a battle group.

What they found

was all that was left of Harvest.

3 million lives lost.

The colony burnt to ash.

Power like humanity has never seen.

Then they encountered this.

A starship of unknown design.

It destroyed the Vostok and the Arabia

in under a minute,

using highly advanced weapons

and impenetrable shielding.

The Heracles escaped into slipspace

with substantial damage

and brought this Intel back.

They will not negotiate,

they will not communicate.

They cannot be reasoned

or bartered with.

We had just fought the Insurrectionists,

stopped a plot to murder millions.

Only to realize that this could be

the very end of humankind. Period.

Humanity will fight back.

We've already seen that we cannot do it

with the blunt instrument of a fleet.

We need the surgical precision

of a scalpel.

The SPARTAN program is that scalpel.

We received a message before the attack

in UEG base English.

Play the message, Beowulf.

Humans, your destruction

is the will of the gods.

And we are their instrument.

Kelly-087 of Blue Team. Mission debrief.

We were on the Commonwealth,

en route to Chi Ceti IV.

When we weren't in cryo,

we were all crammed into the bunk room,

there was always more prep,

more planning.

Damn it!

- You're still dropping your shoulder.

- I know.

Let's go again.

Does Project MJOLNIR

mean anything to anyone?

Gotta be some kind of weapon.

Brass isn't very imaginative

with codenames.

Spartan 117, report to the bridge.

Yes, ma'am.

Sam, get everyone ready. On the double.

You heard the Petty Officer.

Dog the distractions

and into uniforms, Spartans.

As we scrambled to get ready,

John was dragged into a pissing contest

between Dr. Halsey and the captain.

Ma'am. Captain Wallace.

There it is again.

Doctor, that puts

our ghost at 80 million clicks.

Even if it were a ship,

and I don't concur that it is,

it would take an hour

to get within weapons range.

Besides, it's disappeared again.

Captain, it is my recommendation

that we go to battle stations.

We have plenty of time.

Unless there's something

you're not telling us.

This is not widely known, Captain,

but the alien ships

at Harvest disappeared,

then reappeared, much closer.

- An intrasystem jump?

- We believe so, Spartan.

Not possible.

I can tell you that slipstream space

simply cannot be navigated

that accurately.

You mean we cannot navigate it

with that kind of accuracy.

We'll take the dropship.

I will see these Spartans make it

to Project MJOLNIR.

All hands to battle stations.

This is not a drill.

Reactors to 90%.

Come about to course 125.

All hands, brace for impact.

We were being hunted down like dogs.

Our only chance was whatever

was down in that testing facility.

They call themselves the Covenant.

Energy shields. That's amazing.

Bring the ship around. And arm the MAC.

Unlike the missiles, the MAC round

101 is an unguided projectile,

so the firing solution has to be

perfectly aligned to hit.

Ready another MAC round.

MAC system destroyed, Captain.

The Commonwealth carries

nuclear missiles, correct?

Detonation at this range

will destroy us as well.

Excuse me, sir.

The alien tactics have been

unnecessarily vicious.

They didn't have to take

that second MAC round.

In my opinion, sir, they would

engage anything that challenged them.

They're sending a message.

Longsword Squadron Delta,

get those ships into the black, boys.

Buy us some time.

Roger that, sir. On our way.

Arm the nuclear warhead.

Proximity detonator at 100 meters.

Fire.

3, 2...

Power us back up. Slowly.

Sensors coming back on.

All Longsword interceptors vaporized.

Covenant ship intact, sir.

No.

It is moving off, though, sir.

Most likely to make repairs.

I have my orders.

To get you and yours

to Chi Ceti IV at all costs.

As we execute a flyby orbit,

your dropship will take you

and your crew planet-side.

If the Covenant return,

we will lure them away.

Damascus Materials Testing

Facility to incoming Pelican. Identify.

This is Dr. Catherine Halsey,

Damascus clearance 197371-Alpha.

Doctor, you're cleared

for landing. Pad 4.

This is Project MJOLNIR.

MJOLNIR wasn't just weapons tech.

It was Halsey's endgame.

Her force multiplier.

We were only half of the plan.

The armor was the other.

The armor's shell is a multilayer alloy

of remarkable strength.

An onboard computer

connects with your neural interface

to continually track

tactical information.

And the inner structure is composed

of a new reactive metal liquid crystal

that is amorphous, yet fractally scales

and amplifies force.

Ma'am, so you're saying

this exoskeleton enhances

both the wearer's strength and speed?

Yes, 104, by a multiple of 5.

- Sign me up.

- And the drawbacks, ma'am?

This system is so reactive

that our previous tests

with unaugmented volunteers

ended in failure.

The amplified movements broke their bones,

tore their muscles.

Their own agony-induced spasms

killed them.

But you are not normal humans.

Your enhanced musculature and skeletons

should be enough to allow you

to harness the armor's power.

- Now, I'll need a...

- I'll do it. I'll be first.

I thought you might.

Of course, John volunteered.

He was always the first to explore

the unknown for the rest of us.

Move very slowly, deliberately.

The armor cannot be powered down,

the response cannot be scaled back.

It's shifting.

Each suit has a gel-filled

layer to regulate temperature and fit.

- John, ready for your first step?

- Yes, ma'am.

We couldn't watch,

but we couldn't turn away.

If felt like the entire fate of humanity

lay in one step.

Come on, man, you got this.

It's lighter than I expected.

Easy now.

Well? How does it feel?

Like I was made to wear it, ma'am.

John was right. He was made to wear it.

We all were.

Spartans, this is what we've

trained our entire lives to do.

If we lose here, we lose everything.

- Let's send our own message.

- Sir, yes, sir!

Commonwealth to Dr. Halsey.

I'm here, Captain.

The Covenant ship is moving.

They'll be on us inside 10 minutes.

I'm sorry, Doctor.

It looks as if you're on your own.

Dr. Halsey, let us take a shot.

We're the best possible option.

Your only option.

Blue Team is ready, and you know it.

John was right.

And Halsey either did know it,

or at least knew better than to argue.

Godspeed, John.

I'm just saying, you could have

volunteered Red Team instead.

You want me to pull over?

Let you out right here?

As Chief Mendez would say,

"It's a long walk home."

Look, you know I trust you and everything,

but how are we supposed to take on

a Covenant ship in a Pelican?

Drown them in our blood?

I was thinking, the Commonwealth's

Pelicans are carrying nukes.

Nukes won't even scratch 'em.

No. Not from outside their ship.

That's right.

We can't beat them

with brute force, remember?

Scalpels, surgical precision.

We're small enough,

they won't see us coming.

I hope.

Gear up.

Ship's on autopilot.

Course can be tracked via our HUD.

You heard this plan?

And we're still doing it?

I think it's a great plan.

I seriously love this plan!

I'm on board. I love this plan.

I love it, too.

All right, here we go.

John? If we miss...

We won't.

The turrets!

The shields have to at least

IRIS for them to fire.

If we time this right,

we're behind their shields.

We time it wrong, we're smoke.

Sam, Kelly, with me.

Fred, Linda, take the other side.

We'll rendezvous

somewhere in the middle.

On my mark.

Mark! Go! Go! Go!

I'm not going to make it!

Everyone makes it.

I need Intel.

I've got Cherenkov radiation

readings from all over the ship.

Could be anything.

Agreed, but the largest reading

is coming from the center.

Likely the ship's reactor.

Sam, you take point.

Kelly, in the middle, guiding the way.

I'll bring up the rear.

The pressure doors were immense.

The ceilings were 3 meters high,

the air thick and oily

Different symbols, different languages.

ONI had theorized the Covenant

was more than just one race.

This helped confirm it.

They aren't bulletproof. Good to know.

Collect samples. Tissue, armor, weapons.

ONI will want it.

Think we should've tried communicating?

They understood us just fine.

Come on.

We don't know what else is on the way.

Clear.

John!

My heart stopped

when Sam took the shot in the chest.

I'm okay. Just burns like nothing else.

You'll be fine.

But biofoam won't seal this.

That was stupid, Sam.

- You did the same thing for me.

- That was different.

They can't afford to lose you, John.

This is the source

of the radiation spike.

I have no idea what it is.

Doesn't matter, as long as it explodes.

I'll arm the warhead, you two...

Contacts!

- They've got shields.

- Only in the front.

I'll seal the door.

John, finish arming that warhead.

I remember thinking

that no matter how dark the future,

we could face it as a team.

Warhead countdown set. Let's move!

Or so I thought.

You guys should get moving.

You guys? You're not coming?

Kelly...

No! We don't leave anyone behind.

My suit is breached.

I step into that vacuum

and I'm dead anyway.

No. No! We don't leave anyone behind!

He's not staying to die, Kelly.

He's staying to fight.

Go. Our new friends aren't gonna wait

for us to argue.

I know Spartans don't cry,

but for once, I was glad for the helmet.

Sam was our first loss

since augmentation.

We thought training,

augmentation, armor made us untouchable,

invulnerable, immortal.

Blue Team.

We were wrong.

We were children.

This was the only thing

John was ever afraid of.

Losing one of us.

And we knew

we weren't finishing this fight,

we were just getting started.

I was 14 then.

All I can think about was that day.

Sam carved our mark into the world,

right here in the wilderness,

before it was all burned.

For Sam.

Sam fell first, and yet he showed us

that the Covenant could be killed.

Sam proved we could win this war.

Every battle won is built

on the foundation of that sacrifice.

If we survive this,

it's because Sam showed us the way.

Chief?

Sam was my friend. He was my brother.

He was our brother.

Last time we were here,

I asked Sam to trust me to take us home,

to follow me.

Will you trust me now?

Will you follow me?