What We Fight For

From: T. WYATT
To: E. WYATT
Subject: Just for you.

One of our satellites picked up these beautiful images... I'm not supposed to send you these, but you've always had a passion for outer space. I might be home late for dinner this evening, so tell your mother I'm sorry, okay?

- Thomas Wyatt

Images Enclosed:

"Moonrise"


"Fiery"

Winter Contingency has been declared

SPOILER ALERT!

In-progress Mission Report: Sierra 320.

07:35 Hours: Command lost contact with the relay outpost at Visegrad. After a team of Army troopers went missing in that area, Col. Holland insisted that Noble Team would be sent to investigate.

"Prepped for Insertion"

08:01 Hours: We've touched down. Something's wrong here. A lot of buildings are burning, and a lot of people are gone.

"Smoke Signals"

08:07 Hours: Emile found a distress beacon, but there was no clue of the people who'd left it there. A lot of blood, though.

"Scene of the Crime"

08:23 Hours: Emile encountered some colonists, and unsurprisingly reacted with hostility. Thankfully Jorge was there to diffuse the situation. We've already got far too much people with anti-UNSC sympathies out there, no need to put oil on the fire. The colonists said something attacked them during the night... Insurrectionists?

"Just Farmers"

08:32 Hours: We proceeded through the village, and made an unsettling discovery: the mangled corpses of the missing Army troopers. Their bodies showed signs of interrogation. Insurrectionists may be brutal, but I don't think this is their handiwork. There are clawmarks all over the place.

"CSI: Reach"

08:35 Hours: Something's seriously wrong here. I don't think we're dealing with Insurrectionists. The entire team feels it, but we don't want to say anything. I suspect we're just dealing with the tip of an iceberg here.

"One of these things does not belong in this picture."

08:39 Hours: Our worst fears have been realized: the Covenant are on Reach. Putting our shock and disbelief aside, Noble Team went to work. The Covenant had been alerted to our presence, however, and commenced a counterattack.

"That's the Spirit!"

08: 42 Hours: This, as expected, severely brightened up Emile's day.

"Why so serious?"

08:50 Hours: Even Noble Six joined in on the 'festivities'... I'm starting to wonder if he'll become a liability.

"The Dukes of Reach"

08:51 Hours: At least he's effective.

"Only death in their wake."

08:53 Hours: I guess they didn't call him a hyper-lethal vector for no reason.

"Dimming the Lights of Sanghelios"

09:00 Hours: And even though we defeated the Covenant at Visegrad, I have a sense things are going to get worse before they get better. Winter Contingency has been declared: it's only a time before Reach goes the way of Harvest. Noble Team is still planet-side, however, and, to quote Jorge, "The Covenant are in for a world of hurt."

"Falcon in the Sky"

Familiar Surroundings

From: Codename NINJA
To: <>

Uhh... Why am I here?

There's No Place Like Home


From Blood Gulch With Love

Transmission

PLNB Transmission XX077G-XX
Encryption Code: OMEGA-FOUR
Public Key: N/A
From: CODENAME NOMAD
To: CODENAME SHEPHERD
Subject: THE FALL OF REACH

For the last month, my team and I have been investigating the remains of Reach from orbit. While the Covenant didn't glass the entire planet, they did a number on it nonetheless. My specialist predicts mass extinctions to kill off most of the remaining fauna and flora within the next year.

So far, we haven't found any trace of survivors. The Covenant are, if nothing else, thorough.
Surprisingly, a lot of the planet's datasphere remains intact. To date, we've intercepted numerous UNSC and Covenant transmissions, just bouncing around the magnetosphere. Most of these are standard "end of the world"-fare, with their senders and recipients long dead. Occasionally, however, we run across something interesting. We've found plenty of packets of ONI data: video footage, information on the Covenant, and so on.

What I'm writing you about is the discovery of one particular packet, which seems to have originated at SWORD BASE. The contents, a parting gift from Sierra 320, may not always be easy to look at, but may give us a better understanding of why and how the Covenant are doing this. Through these images, we may be able to prepare ourselves a little better, should they find Earth. That's why I'm forwarding these images to you: I hope they serve their purpose.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking. Maybe they've found Earth already. Maybe this message will never reach you. But I believe we'll get through this. And I'm going to help in any way I can.

CODENAME: Nomad.
1400 hours, October 19, 2552 (Military Calendar) \
UNSC Out of Shadow, Synchronous Csodaszarvas Orbit (Far Side)