Fall of Reach

The Fall of Reach, also referred to as the Battle of Reach or Reach Campaign was a major military defeat for the UNSC in the final months of the Human-Covenant War. It was fought primarily on and around the colony world of Reach between August 28 and September 14, 2552. Additional conflicts were fought across the Epsilon Eridani system, though these battles are typically grouped under the Fall of Reach banner, despite later efforts to use the term "Fall of Epsilon Eridani" to better represent the duty and loss of those involved in the conflict not in the immediate vicinity of Reach. In the post-war era, the Fall of Reach remains a cultural and political touchstone of the Covenant war, with slogans such as "Remember Reach" prominent amongst the anti-alien factions of humanity.

Prelude
The events leading up to the Fall of Reach remain extremely controversial within the political discourse of humanity even following the end of the war, with multiple widespread causes linked to the planet's fall as it happened.

Insurrectionist scare
By early-mid 2552, the People's Occupation was conducting a number of operations in the more rural areas of the Visegrad region of Reach, causing a number of attacks on military and other strategic facilities in the region, coinciding with a raid on a drydock at Harmony. Around this time, SPARTAN-III NOBLE team returned from their actions at Fumirole, with Reach's extensive medical facilities on-hand to provide an artificial replacement for the arm lost by Kat-B320 in the conflict. By mid-June, NOBLE were assigned to assist the UNSC Army's SpecWar Group 3 in dealing with the local insurgent presence, and began a series of highly successful strikes on suspected rebel hideouts throughout the Highland Mountains, Visegrad and the Viery Territory in conjunction with Army teams. Nonetheless, the mobilisation of Army forces into several rural towns such as Pálháza in the region stirred up anti-Earth sentiment, leading to moderate unrest in the region.

Covenant discovery
The Fall of Reach is notable among Covenant War-era battles in the extensive ground reconnaissance conducted by the Covenant. However, the Covenant's discovery of Reach was never a coordinated process, with two separate ministerial fleets coming across the fortress world's location independently around the same time frame.

Reach was first discovered as a trove of Forerunner relics circa mid-July by Fleetmaster Rho 'Barutamee of the Fleet of Valiant Prudence. Based on the data his forces had obtained, 'Barutamee believed the planet to be a clue on the path to the fabled Forerunner capital world, Maethrillian. 'Barutamee was part of the notoriously autonomous and secretive Ministry of Fervent Intercession, on top of his personal ambitions. This meant that he withheld information of his discovery of the human fortress-world from other Covenant, even those of his own ministry, before he could complete his mission of recovering Forerunner relics on Reach and across the Epsilon Eridani system. The Fleet of Valiant Prudence was allowed to operate undetected for several weeks, scouting Reach, Tribute and parts of the system's outer asteroid belt. Despite the human strongholds and military installations, 'Barutamee was almost single-mindedly interested in Forerunner relics only. While UNSC records were never able to ascertain the precise date and time the first Covenant deployments occurred - a source of extreme investigation as to colonial aerospace security and threat detection later on - the first scouting teams are estimated to have made landfall by at least the first half of August. Later investigations of civilian and military testimonies revealed that anomalous sightings and suspicious activity had been reported throughout much of August 2552, though the ongoing anti-rebel military activity in the region was assumed to be the cause of this with the Covenant not yet seriously entertained as a true threat.

On July 17, the Covenant Second Fleet of Solemn Accord launched an invasion of Sigma Octanus IV, which was repelled at great cost by the UNSC Navy. During the conflict, Solemn Accord was able to use a spy probe to attach itself to the hull plating of the UNSC Iroquois and transmit data on the vessel's destination to the fleet, the remnants of which had now joined Fleetmaster Rurin 'Oszanolee's Fleet of Holy Respite. 'Zanvhulree was far less reluctant to share Reach's location than 'Barutamee had been, and as of August 12, the Covenant Ministry of Resolution, as well as the High Council, were made aware of the discovery of the human fortress world. Due to the location of Reach now being out in the open, 'Barutamee was forced to reveal his ongoing operations at Reach to Fleetmaster Rurin 'Oszanolee. Although 'Barutamee faced considerable admonishment for having kept the location of Reach to himself, 'Barutamee and the Ministry of Resolution came to an agreement allowing 'Barutamee to continue his covert operations at Reach but redirecting his Silent Shadow operatives to identify UNSC military targets for the eventual Covenant invasion fleet.

Meanwhile, the Covenant began gathering the invasion force for what many believed to be the human homeworld. With the heavy human military presence, along with the religious significance of the invasion, no single fleet would be deemed enough; rather, a combined fleet would be created at the order of the High Council, known as the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation. The experienced Fleetmaster Pharil 'Suranee was placed in supreme command of this fleet. Several fleets from across the Human Sphere were drawn into the combined fleet, including the Fleet of Valiant Prudence and the renowned Thel 'Vadamee's Fleet of Particular Justice.

Several of Rho's Devoted Sentries, led by Field Marshal Kishun Med 'Oranee, joined the existing Silent Shadow on the ground, to ensure the continuation of the joint cooperation. For the rest of August, the Silent Shadow units on-planet were able to successfully infiltrate and observe a number of UNSC facilities on Reach, providing the Covenant with extremely valuable intel as to the composition of the planet's defences and strategic targets. Later reports identified this extensive reconnaissance as key to the Covenant's brutal assault on the planet, as extensive modelling and assessment allowed the Covenant to take the UNSC off-guard and exploit several weaknesses with extensive pre-planning and foresight. By August 27, these Sangheili special forces units had managed to identify several key industrial facilities, orbital defense platform generator facilities, bases and other strategically significant targets.

The Covenant's invasion plans were further hastened after the Silent Shadow teams managed to intercept UNSC communications pertaining to the upcoming Operation: RED FLAG. Though the Covenant did not know the particulars (such as the involvement of the Pillar of Autumn), they did gain hints of an imminent UNSC operation to attack the Covenant. Even if the infiltration force had not been exposed shortly after, the Covenant would likely have invaded in a matter of days in an attempt to stop RED FLAG from happening.

In the early hours of the morning on August 28, UNSC Army fireteams were deployed into Reach's rural Visegrad province to investigate the Visegrad Relay, a vital communications hub believed to be attacked and under the control of the People's Occupation. Contact with these fireteams was lost later that day, prompting NOBLE Team to be deployed into the region to investigate the following day. NOBLE encountered a single Silent Shadow team, but ultimately able to take back control of the Visegrad outpost and confirm the presence of Covenant scouting parties on Reach. Due to the small scale of the incursion, ONI suppressed the WINTER CONTINGENCY order before it could reach widespread knowledge, in the hopes that a reconnaissance mission could be done to assess the strength of Covenant presence on the planet before inducing a widespread military mobilisation and associated mass panic that would come with a WINTER CONTINGENCY declaration.

The UNSC responded by elevating its readiness level for an eventual invasion as well as relocating personnel and assets to Sol as well as other systems as per the OUROBOROS Directive. Officially, this was routine preparation precipitated by analysis of the Covenant fleets' invasion pattern. Even within the UNSC, information of the Covenant scouting parties was heavily suppressed and compartmentalized, largely being limited to the upper echelons and select special forces groups on a strictly need-to-know basis.

Following confirmed contact with the Covenant in Visegrad, NOBLE were swiftly redeployed to SWORD Base to help fend off a similar intrusion attempt, wherein they fought off another unit of Silent Shadow and were debriefed by ONI personnel. The action at SWORD Base saw one of the Silent Shadow's personnel captured - albeit heavily injured - and interrogated by ONI personnel. While the naturally resistant Sangheili refused to part with any useful information before his death, a recovered data disc was able to provide the ONI analysts with intelligence on the location of the Covenant's operating base on the planet.

The late hours of August 29 saw NOBLE deploy into the Viery Territory alongside Army Ranger units of SWG3 to conduct reconnaissance on what was believed to be the Silent Shadow's landing zone. The teams identified three small intrusion corvettes and a single SDV-class heavy corvette hidden under the cover of a stealth field pylon, prompting the teams to fall back while command determined what to do in response. While this mission saw little in the way of combat, the compromised nature of the attack on Sword Base and the intrusion into the titanium mine saw the Field Marshal commander of the scouting group alert Supreme Commander Pharil 'Suranee of his compromised nature, resulting in the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation jumping into slipspace to begin their assault on Reach.

August
At 0330 hours in the morning of August 30, NOBLE Team began a strike operation into the Covenant strike zone, leading an Army battalion under Special Warfare Group Three to take control of the region and capture the Covenant stealth craft, to allow ONI analysts to sieze the craft for data on additional Covenant force deployments. At 0447 hours, remote scanning outpost Fermion detected a large incoming mass of Covenant vessels, resulting in the message being relayed to FLEETCOM and WINTER CONTINGENCY being declared across the planet. At 0500, the Covenant Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation, consisting of 315 vessels exited slipspace on the edge of the system. Minutes following, a number of attacks and explosions rocked several strategic facilities in the Viery region, thanks to planted Silent Shadow teams (and bombs delivered by them) - causing mass confusion and havoc across the planet.

By 0647 hours, the battle in space had devastated the Epsilon Eridani fleet, resulting in the UNSC Pillar of Autumn escaping the battle, pursued by a not-insignificant of the Fleet of Particular Justice under Thel's command. With the battle for Reach erupting in orbit, the strike engaged by NOBLE was rendered moot, particularly following the emergence of supercarrier Long Night of Solace over the Viery territory to reinforce the ongoing battle. Despite the ongoing engagements in orbit, Rho's overeager and overzealous nature saw him place his supercarrier in low Reach orbit - desperate to claim the Forerunner relics of the world below before the Fleet of Particular Justice could attempt to lay claim to them. This out-of-place positioning allowed an opportunity Special Warfare Group Three were quick to take advantage of, managing to convince Admiral Stanforth to "lend" a slipspace drive to the cause, initiating Operations: UPPER CUT and LEFT JAB, respectively, on August 31. The operation was a success, destroying the supercarrier whole and causing the carrier's back end to impact the surface of Reach in the mountains south of New Alexandria, while the front end impacted in the sea off the coast of the region. Remaining NOBLE elements not involved in the space operation - Nobles 1-4 - led a SWG3 force to the crash site to hunt down critical command personnel from the carrier before they could be reinforced.

With Particular Justice's command element retreating and Valiant Prudence's commander dead, the remaining Covenant vessels in the Epsilon Eridani system were thrown into disarray, though Shipmaster Kantar 'Utaralee was able to eventually unit a significant fraction under his command to regroup near Turul. Nonetheless, this gave the final remaining UNSC aerospace forces at Reach a brief respite to reorganise and repair. While Reach was undoubtedly lost, the fight was still ongoing and it was still possible to evacuate the cities that hadn't been yet attacked.

By the end of August 30, the first waves of UNSC reinforcements began arriving from Epsilon Eridani's other planets to assist the already battered forces at Reach. Over the course of August 30 and 31, the remaining forces of the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation poured landing craft and insertion pods onto the planet, hesitant to indiscriminately glass for fear of damaging the numerous relics scattered across the world. New Alexandria, Manassas, Esztergom and Sopron - among others - became targets of brutal sieges by the Covenant, with Jiralhanae shock troops deployed into the warren-like metropolises of these cities to root out the humans while the Sangheili had the honour of beginning excavation efforts elsewhere.

September
As September 1 rolled around, the Covenant forces remaining in the Reach AO began to consolidate under Kantar 'Utaralee, beginning targeted strikes on remaining areas of UNSC resistance. The now Ministry of Fervent Intercession-led fleet elements refocused the attack on Reach with an emphasis on obtaining and taking control of the numerous Forerunner artifact sites scattered across the planet. While Zealot-led Sangheili forces were deployed to these prized relics, Jiralhanae shock troops were sent into the urban metropolis of Alexandria to root out humans by any means possible while the fleets were still engaged in combat in orbit. The Siege of New Alexandria saw human forces hold out against these troops for several days, thanks to particularly effective use of snipers to pick off Covenant infantry from above. Over the course of September 1–3, the New Alexandria Police Department coordinated with the UNSC (including NOBLE team) to evacuate over 100,000 civilians from the city, though these efforts ultimately culminated on the eve of September 4 as the city became a target of glassing by CCS-class battlecruisers. The evacuation of the ONI Olympic Tower saw Kat-B320 assassinated by a Devoted Sentry Field Marshal.

During these days, UNSC Naval battlegroups continuously poured into the Epsilon Eridani system from deployment in nearby star systems, only to find the planet they had been called to defend a cinder. These reinforcements were able to extend the fight in orbit past the initial August 30 date, taking advantage of the chaos in Covenant ranks caused by the departure of the Fleet of Particular Justice to make a stubborn holdout for nearly a week, though by September 5 all activities in the Reach Defense Coordination Zone had ceased. Nonetheless, these vital days of fighting were able to provide cover for countless civilian evacuation craft to escape and, provided the necessary cover for several covert operations across the planet to enact the Cole Protocol on a number of vital research facilities - collectively named Operation: WHITE GLOVE. One such operation saw NOBLE Team deploy to SWORD Base on September 5, where they were ultimately charged with scuttling the base, while teams ECHO, RED and GAUNTLET were deployed to similar such facilities.

During their mission, NOBLE Team were commissioned by SWORD Base's surviving AI construct Auntie Dot to take a data packet containing the collated data from the UNSC battlenet of the Covenant's activity on Reach alongside research conducted at SWORD and CASTLE (among other) facilities and deliver it to the UNSC's covert slipspace communications launcher, still intact due to its hidden, largely underground nature. The launcher would be used to deliver the data to Earth in order to both inform the UNSC of the progress of the battle and ensure the survival of the vital research at Reach.

Even following the official cessation of activities in the Reach AO by UNSC Naval forces, survivors on the ground continued to wage a lengthy ground campaign against the now-consolidated forces of the Covenant. With Covenant fleets in orbit victorious, forces organised under the Minor Prophet of Candor began a consolidated occupation of key critical Forerunner sites across the planet, deploying heavy equipment to begin excavation and reclamation of the relics. These occupation forces were continually harassed by human guerillas made up of a combination of UNSC personnel, local police departments and paramilitary forces and former insurrectionist troops coordinated by surviving UNSC commanders. One particularly notable group commanded by Vice Admiral Whitcomb operated within the Highland Mountains, forming a large militia operating within the pioneers' home territory. These forces holed up in abandoned former-Titanium mines across the territory, and were able to employ some of the numerous caches of weapons and equipment held by the regional insurrection, once intended to fight against their UNSC enemies. However, many other regions of the planet continued to host human survivor groups, who continued to ensure the Covenant occupation would not go undisturbed.

Aftermath and legacy
Although the Human-Covenant War has no shortage of crushing human defeats, the loss of Reach was on such a massive scale that no equal existed in the entire conflict to date. In spite of decades of building up its fortifications, the advancement of technology, and experience in fighting their superior opponent, the heart of the UNSC's war effort had been taken in less than a week, far less than even the shortest estimates had been. It also took with it hundreds of trillions of credits in war material, millions of human lives, and vital industrial facilities, all of which slowed the UNSC's ability to recover even years after the war concluded. More pressingly, its loss revealed just how dire the war was for the UNSC, owing to its perceived invincibility and proximity to Sol. It became clear that Earth would now become the Covenant's next major target, and morale plummeted across the general population.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Covenant began consolidating their forces and counting their dead. Although their attack had been a stunning success, it was an extremely costly engagement: two thirds of the combined 300-ship strong fleet had been destroyed. By this metric alone, it was one of the highest casualties they had been inflicted throughout the war. What remained of the survivors required repairs to some extent, and it was estimated fewer than three dozen ships were in any fit state to continue operations. Because of this, the other major colonies of Epsilon Eridani - Circumstance, Tribute, and those around the gas giants Aegir, Tantalus and Jericho - were able to hold out for months afterwards, with some resistance movements still fighting when the UNSC returned months later.

Regardless, following the battle, the Covenant strengthened their control over Reach. Although they were unsuccessful in saving the Babd Catha Forerunner ship, there was enough of it that remained to justify establishing an extensive research outpost in the area, and Reach's location made it ideal as a forward resupply base. Because of this, the Covenant established a series of shipyards and orbital installations above the planet. The threat these posed to Earth and the other Inner Colonies was one of the primary reasons for the planning and execution of Operation: FORTRESS SIEGE - the last major conflict of the Human-Covenant War.

The UNSC's inability to notice the ongoing infiltration has been the subject of extensive investigation and debate ever since the existence of the advance scouting parties first came to light. While many have sought to find the individuals responsible, the catastrophe is usually attributed to a pile-up of oversights both individual and systematic, with hubris, bureaucracy, and incompetence being commonly cited reasons. The Covenant's atypical approach to the invasion is also notable; it has been argued that early warning signs were ignored by otherwise capable personnel because the Covenant's usual ways of carrying out a planetary assault were anything but covert. However, rumors of a covert Covenant presence had been circulating within both the UNSC military and civilians on Reach since the first half of August. Many Reavian farmers later reported having observed suspicious activity, but few brought these concerns to the UNSC or regional authorities; those who did were dismissed as seeking fame or deliberate misdirection by rebel sympathizers. Later investigations into the "Reach fiasco" revealed that even low-ranking members of the UNSC military had reported suspicious sightings or died under unclear circumstances, only for these reports to be lost somewhere along the chain of command. Between August 2 and 27, military and commercial traffic-monitoring satellites had registered several anomalous sensor pings, but not enough to be recognized as a pattern indicating the presence of stealth ships until later on. Rumors of Covenant on Reach eventually became so pervasive as to create an impending sense of unease, dread and even civil unrest, prompting ONI to tighten their AI-driven information control measures across the planetary and intrasystem data networks to prevent the spread of rumors and speculation. The UNSC took some measures to bolster their military readiness over the second half of August, but this is universally agreed to have been both too little and too late.

The Fall of Reach also had an unexpected result. As it became clear the planet was doomed, the refitted Halcyon-class cruiser UNSC Pillar of Autumn escaped on a course that led it to Alpha Halo. Its subsequent destruction sent into motion the fracturing of the Covenant, and the foundation of the UNSC-Concord alliance.

Timeline of events

 * July 18
 * The Battle of Sigma Octanus IV concludes with the defeat of the Second Fleet of Solemn Accord. A spy probe manages to attach itself on the Iroquois as it jumps toward Reach.


 * July 19
 * Fleetmaster R'haal 'Andulomee of the significantly-reduced Second Fleet of Solemn Accord confronts Rho 'Barutamee over 'Barutamee's artifact-retrieval teams' interference in the Sigma Octanus invasion.


 * July 21
 * Dr. Laszlo Sorvad sends Dr. Halsey an encrypted message concerning a "latchkey discovery" in Visegrad.


 * July 24
 * The six remaining ships of the Second Fleet of Solemn Accord rendezvous with the Fleet of Holy Respite. The fleets' joint Council of Masters agrees to appoint Fleetmaster Pharil 'Suranee as Supreme Commander of both fleets for the remainder of the ongoing campaign.


 * July 29
 * Epsilon Eridani's remote-scanning outpost Boson logs a sensor blip possibly matching a Covenant light corvette's translight mass signature, but as further scans yield no results, this is dismissed as being caused by a miscalibration.


 * Early August
 * Fleetmaster Rho 'Barutamee of the Fleet of Valiant Prudence deploys covert intrusion teams to the Epsilon Eridani system via intrusion corvettes, intent on locating and recovering Forerunner artifacts. First setting up a base in the outer asteroid belt, the teams soon approach the inner planets, namely Reach and Tribute, and find covert landing zones. Due to the covert nature of their operations and the human presence, the teams impose a communications blackout with one another at the inner planets. The teams' mission is to recover Forerunner relics first and foremost, with other priorities coming second. Due to 'Barutamee's ambitions and the secrecy of the Ministry of Fervent Intercession's operations, the Covenant at large are not informed of the discovery of such a major human system.


 * August 12
 * Battle Group Leviathan returns to Reach from Sigma Octanus.


 * John-117 and Corporal Harland are debriefed at Camp Hatchcock.


 * The Covenant spy probe attached to the Iroquois at Sigma Octanus transmits Reach's location to the Fleet of Holy Respite, now participating in a joint-ministry operation with the Fleet of Valiant Prudence at Beta Hydri.


 * August 13
 * In response to the data of Reach's location, the fleetmasters of the Fleet of Holy Respite and the Fleet of Valiant Prudence convene a Council of Masters session. Rho 'Barutamee is forced to reveal his already-ongoing operations at Reach. While Rho 'Barutamee finds the independent discovery of Reach by another ministry less than optimal, taking part in the combined invasion is now his best and only option for recovering the artifacts he seeks. 'Barutamee suggests that they use his stealth corvettes and Silent Shadow operatives to continue the incursions at Reach in order to scout out the UNSC's key military bases and industry as priority targets for an invasion along with potential landing zones for troop deployments, with the personal intention of also locating artifacts. This is put into action in the coming weeks, though with the elevated UNSC readiness, infiltrating Reach proves challenging and time-consuming.


 * August 14
 * Having received word of the discovery of Reach and the ongoing scouting missions there, the High Council orders the creation of a combined fleet to prepare for the invasion of what is widely thought to be the human home system. Most major Covenant fleets in the region are to join the Fleet of Holy Respite and the Fleet of Valiant Prudence and form the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation.


 * August 17
 * Out of security concerns, the UNSC Security Council and various other key organs of FLEETCOM are relocated to Sol. Before shipping out, Colonel James Ackerson has his sabotage of the upcoming MJOLNIR Mark V armor test arranged.


 * August 21
 * The Prophet of Candor joins the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation as its religious legate to oversee the religious aspect of the eventual purification of Reach. This proves to be infinitely frustrating to the fleetmasters, who have to suffer the Prophet's repeated insistence to attack immediately while the infiltration teams are still gathering vital intel.


 * August 23
 * Thel 'Vadamee's Fleet of Particular Justice joins the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation upon redeployment orders.


 * August 25
 * In CASTLE Base, Dr. Halsey and Cortana review the selection of the Pillar of Autumn for RED FLAG, as well as verify John-117 as Cortana's carrier.


 * Gihan 'Oskinamee's Fleet of Sacred Wonder joins the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation upon redeployment orders.


 * August 26
 * The Fleet of Righteous Vigilance, under the command of Fleetmaster Taral 'Rahanee, joins the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation.


 * August 27
 * The Silent Shadow team on Reach infiltrates the UNSC's communications relay hub in Visegrad. With the UNSC suspecting People's Occupation to be responsible, UNICOM Special Warfare Group 3 teams are dispatched to investigate.


 * The remaining mainline SPARTAN-IIs gather in the FLEETCOM Military Complex for the briefing on Operation: RED FLAG.


 * Warmaster Molgax's Fleet of Furious Redemption joins the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation. The presence of a Jiralhanae fleet commander angers the Sangheili fleetmasters, though with express orders from the Prophet of Truth, they can do little but grumble.


 * August 28
 * NOBLE Team is deployed to investigate the Visegrad hub going dark after contact is lost with the first special forces group. Contact is made with a single Covenant Zealot team. While the incident is covered up from the populace as a response to the ongoing People's Occupation activity, the UNSC is put on alert. ONI concentrates all efforts on finding the source of the Covenant infiltrators, though these remain discreet so as to not prompt the Covenant to call for help.


 * A minor skirmish occurs in SWORD base, resulting in the successful capture of one of the Sangheili Silent Shadow operatives.


 * In response to the Covenant incursion, ONI begins preparations to relocate key personnel and copies of strategic data from Reach to Sol and systems further galactic spinward, expediting progress on the projects carried out under the OUROBOROS Directive.


 * August 29
 * John-117 receives the second-phase Mark V MJOLNIR armor and is introduced to Cortana. The pair are nearly killed as a result of Colonel Ackerson's interference with the test.


 * Fleetmaster Phar 'Zanvhulree's Fleet of Imperishable Faith joins the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation.


 * Massing at the refit platform Unyielding Hierophant in the Delta Geminorum system, the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation undergoes its final briefings and battle-preparations, assumes jump formation and enters slipspace bound for the Epsilon Eridani system.


 * July 27
 * After a possible anomaly is located by Reach's planetwide sensor network, Noble Team, with the support of other special forces, are deployed to scout out a Covenant outpost in Reach's Viery Territory.


 * August 30


 * Engagements in the Viery Territory continue in the early morning.


 * 0447 Hours: The remote scanning outpost Fermion detects a fleet of incoming Covenant vessels. An emergency message is relayed to FLEETCOM. The outpost then self-destructs per the Cole Protocol due to an unsecured science library and nearby Covenant forces.


 * 0459 Hours: The Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation, comprised of 314 vessels, exits slipspace on the edge of the Epsilon Eridani system.


 * 0517 Hours: Admiral Roland Freemont, FLEETCOM Sector One Commander, issues a general order to all vessels in the Epsilon Eridani system. All vessels and stations are to initiate the Cole Protocol and rush to Rally Point ZULU in high orbit above Reach. These orders are also relayed to all neighboring systems with a UNSC presence, but with the limited wavespace communications of the time, they take several hours to arrive.


 * Covenant vessels make pinpoint slipspace jumps attempting to destroy any incoming or outgoing human vessels before they can regroup. A Covenant carrier targets the UNSC Pillar of Autumn but is destroyed.


 * The Covenant vessels begin a frontal assault. As the Covenant and human fleets engage above Reach, it seems to be a stalemate, as Covenant ships take out UNSC ships, while the UNSC ships and MAC cannons take out an equal number. The first salvo by the UNSC vessels destroys a third of the remaining Covenant fleet. A Covenant supercruiser destroys several UNSC ships while outside human weapons range.


 * Station Gamma Dockmaster AI Doppler is unable to implement the Cole Protocol on the UNSC Circumference, an ONI prowler docked at Reach Station Gamma, due to measures taken to maintain the secrecy of Operation: HYPODERMIC. Doppler sends priority message to FLEETCOM concerning this violation. Covenant intrusion software detects this oversight, and the Covenant deploys troops to seize the NAV database aboard the Circumference.


 * The Spartan-IIs are dispatched from the Pillar of Autumn. John-117, Linda-058, and James-005 form Blue Team and go aboard the Dock to destroy the Circumference, while the remainder form Red Team and head to the surface of Reach to defend the power generators for the MAC guns. James goes MIA when a Needler hits his thruster pack and propels him into space during combat. Blue Team continue through the station, rescuing Staff Sergeant Johnson, Private O'Brien, Private Bisenti, and Pvt. Wallace A. Jenkins from Kig-yar and Sangheili.


 * Most of the Covenant fleet retreats from Reach's orbit after deploying more dropships toward the surface, focusing on FLEETCOM Heaquarters in the Highland Mountains. The UNSC fleet fires on the ships, destroying many although hundreds still land on Reach.


 * The boarding craft are landed and the FLEETCOM armory is overrun; the Covenant fleet re-enters Reach's orbital space. The Covenant split their 150+ remaining ships. One fleet attacks the UNSC ships, while another takes out the MAC cannons and send in troops to land on Reach. The UNSC try to split their 50+ remaining forces to engage the Covenant, but there are too many platforms to cover and too many casualties. The supercruiser continues to destroy UNSC ships, allowing the other ships to attack the MACs. Eventually, the supercruiser is destroyed by the Pillar of Autumn, but the UNSC fleet is practically decimated so it is too late to do any good.


 * Red Team's Pelican, Bravo 001, is shot down. They have no choice but to jump from the crashing Pelican and make a "hard landing" on the ground. This results in four Spartans dead and six seriously injured.


 * John-117, the clinically dead Linda-058, and the Marines board the Pillar of Autumn.


 * Captain Keyes of the Pillar of Autumn orders the vessel to retreat from the system. Pursued by a dozen Covenant vessels — the surviving vessels of the Fleet of Particular Justice, under the command of Fleetmaster Thel 'Vadamee — the Autumn retreats from the system, heading for Installation 04.


 * Red Team sets up defenses around ODG Facility A-331.


 * Fred-104, Joshua-029, and Kelly-087 plant a nuclear warhead through the gravity lift in a Covenant cruiser holding position above Longhorn Valley, leaving Joshua-029 MIA, (presumed KIA) in the process.


 * The Covenant destroys ODG Facility A-331 by aerial bombardment, though some Spartans escape. The surviving MAC guns are now offline and are quickly destroyed by plasma torpedoes. Remaining UNSC vessels have no choice but to retreat. The Covenant warships are split into two groups: five-ship teams that hunt down the surviving UNSC vessels and a group of ships that align themselves in formation and begin to glass Reach.


 * Regrouping at Menachite Mountain, Fred, Kelly, William-043, Vinh-030, and Isaac-039 join up with Dr. Halsey at the entrance to CASTLE base, the doctor now the sole remaining occupant of the facility. The group enters the base, where Halsey gives first aid for the Spartans, retrieves her files from her office and initiates Operation: WHITE GLOVE, deactivating both Araqiel and Kalmiya in the process. Pursued by the Covenant, the group subsequently retreats into the old titanium mines below while CASTLE base is destroyed by explosive charges.


 * The Covenant intercepts the UNSC's defense groups incoming from the gas giants Tantalus and Jericho. Approaching Reach at full burn after a slipspace jump toward the inner system, the Tantalus group manages to loose high-velocity MAC volleys that destroy several Covenant ships but the Jericho one is less fortunate as the Covenant perform a slipspace jump behind them and promptly destroy the UNSC ships before most of them have a chance to flip around to bring their MACs to bear on the Covenant.


 * August 31


 * With the bulk of the UNSC forces defeated and the rest scattered, the Covenant proceeds to launch numerous artifact hunting or data-retrieval missions across the Reach. Executioner forces are deployed into population centers.


 * The Covenant splits off smaller elements of the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation to Tribute and Circumstance. By this point, remaining UNSC Naval forces in the system are utterly exhausted and scattered, and even as small groups reconsolidate they are focused on harassing the Covenant at Reach. This allows the invasions of Tribute and Circumstance to proceed with relatively minimal opposition; while both are defended by small numbers of light orbital defense platforms and UNSC Aerospace Force garrisons, these can do little but slow the Covenant down. Over the coming days, smaller raiding groups, largely Jiralhanae-led, break off to the lesser colonies in the system, namely Beta Gabriel, Hadur, as well as outposts around the system's outer gas giants. With the Covenant's attention focused on Reach and the other planetary colonies, a most smaller stations in the asteroid belts and minor planetoids are able to avoid destruction by going dark.


 * September 3
 * UNSC reinforcements from the UV Ceti system reach Epsilon Eridani.


 * September 4
 * UNSC reinforcements from the Sirius system reach Epsilon Eridani.


 * Lieutenant Wagner returns to Earth aboard a prowler and reports on the evident destruction of Reach to the UNSC Security Council at HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6 in Sydney, Australia. Hood determines that the location of Earth is compromised and decides that all ONI theaters of operation must be relocated. The Security Council also begins planning for the final defense of Earth.


 * September 5


 * UNSC reinforcements from the Anu system reach Epsilon Eridani.


 * The Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose, personally led by Imperial Admiral Xytan Jar 'Wattinree, arrives to take over the Covenant operations in the Epsilon Eridani system. Remaining UNSC Naval forces are promptly destroyed or driven to retreat.


 * UNSC fleet actions in the Reach Defense Coordination Zone conclude.


 * All remaining naval forces are consolidated into a single command grouping: the UNSC Home Fleet.


 * UNSC reinforcements from the Asimov system reach Epsilon Eridani and promptly retreat to Sol via a series of Cole Protocol-compliant jumps.


 * September 7


 * 0002 Hours: The Spartan Red Team survivors and Dr. Halsey, after days of walking through the abandoned Titanium mines below CASTLE base, reach a vast subterranean Forerunner installation. Pursued by Covenant forces, Red Team and Dr. Halsey are subsequently stranded in a section of the Forerunner facility. Vinh-030 and Isaac-039 are presumed dead while covering the rest of the group's escape.


 * September 9
 * Reinforcements arrive in Epsilon Eridani from the 61 Ursae Majoris system and promptly retreat to Sol via a series of Cole Protocol-compliant jumps.


 * September 10
 * Reach's destruction is confirmed by prowler reconnaissance from Earth.


 * September 12
 * A battlegroup from the Eta Cassiopeiae system arrives in Epsilon Eridani and, finding the system's colonies devastated, promptly retreats to Earth in a series of Cole Protocol-compliant jumps.

Note: this date is disputed due to the temporal effects of the Forerunner crystal on the various parties that interacted with it.
 * September 23


 * The survivors of the Battle of Installation 04 arrive at Reach. They rejoin with the survivors at Menachite Mountain and escape to slipspace aboard the hybrid ship Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice with a Forerunner slipspace crystal from the ruins under Reach.

UNSC

 * Space
 * Epsilon Eridani Fleet (152 ships)
 * Orbital defense platforms (20)

Covenant

 * Space
 * Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation (314 ships)
 * Fleet of Holy Respite (73 ships)
 * Fleet of Particular Justice (49 ships)
 * Fleet of Valiant Prudence (38 ships)
 * Fleet of Boundless Piety (47 ships)
 * Fleet of Righteous Vigilance (41 ships)
 * Fleet of Furious Redemption (29 ships)
 * Fleet of Sacred Wonder (22 ships)
 * Fleet of Imperishable Faith (15 ships)
 * Second Fleet of Solemn Accord
 * Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose (TBD ) - Commanded by Imperial Admiral Xytan Jar 'Wattinree (late in battle)


 * Personnel
 * Minor Prophet of Candor - Religious leader of the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation.
 * Minor Prophet of Composure
 * Minor Prophet of Stewardship
 * Supreme Commander Pharil 'Suranee† - Overall commander of the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation.
 * Fleetmaster Rho 'Barutamee† - Commander of the Fleet of Valiant Prudence.
 * Fleetmaster Thel 'Vadamee - Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice. It is a longstanding assumption among the fandom that Thel led the Covenant forces at Reach, or that the Fleet of Particular Justice encompassed the 314-strong fleet that arrived on August 30. However, this is never directly stated, and several facts make it dubious. In the intro cinematic to Halo 2, Thel states that he followed the Pillar of Autumn "with all the ships in [his] command", which implies there were ships not under his command at Reach. With the context of Halo Reach, one could argue that the other ships were from the other fleets that arrived earlier, but there is still nothing indicating that Thel was in charge of the overall invasion force or that he arrived leading the fleet of 314 on August 30 in the first place. Thel clearly did not take the entire invasion force with him to Halo, and from what we see, the Covenant fleet at Installation 04 is hardly a grand armada. Thel being the commander of the entire theater would also make his leaving to chase the Autumn questionable, as he would be deserting his much more important duty as the leader of the Covenant invasion force at Reach to pursue one fleeing human ship. What would, however, seem more plausible, is that Thel and the Fleet of Particular Justice were not indispensable to the Reach campaign at all by that point, allowing him to disengage his fleet from the theater with ease. We've solved this by creating the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation and its many component fleets. Reducing Thel's role in the battle and making him merely one of several commanders rather than the supreme commander of the entire theater gives him more flexibility to remove his fleet from the battle, knowing that they were not indispensable. Thel is generally known as Supreme Commander, but the title is interpreted here as "whoever is in charge of the overall combat theater" - i.e. Thel did not lead all forces at Reach, so would be referred to by his title as a Fleetmaster in this context. When he arrived at Halo, he was Supreme Commander again because he led all the forces in the system.
 * Fleetmaster Molgax† - Commander of the Fleet of Furious Redemption.
 * Fleetmaster Phar 'Zanvhulree† - Commander of the Fleet of Imperishable Faith.
 * Fleetmaster Gihan 'Oskinamee - Commander of the Fleet of Sacred Wonder.
 * Fleetmaster R'haal 'Andulomee - Commander of the Second Fleet of Solemn Accord.
 * Fleetmaster Rurin 'Oszanolee† - Commander of the Fleet of Holy Respite.
 * Shipmaster Kantar 'Utaralee†
 * Imperial Admiral Xytan Jar 'Wattinree (late in battle) - Commanded the Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose.

Behind the scenes
The basic premise of the Fall of Reach in the Daybreak Continuum is that the version of events shown in The Fall of Reach and First Strike is, for better or worse, definitive. This does not, however, preclude expansion of those events, or new perspectives that weren't available to the characters in those novels (since they are limited to a small set of characters operating in a specific area of the planet). However, we still try to avoid trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, an example of which would be the assumption that the Covenant conveniently stayed on one side of the planet for weeks, and that battles were fought in orbit without most of the planet knowing. ONI may be good at their job, but not that good. Also, the Pillar of Autumn being on the ground on August 30 is difficult at best to justify, so it is left out. In fact, Keyes' involvement in the battle hinges on him not knowing about any Covenant activity before the invasion fleet on the morning of August 30; he makes the decision to abort RED FLAG and return to Reach when the Covenant invade, which would not make sense if he already knew of a Covenant presence.

While version of the battle shown in The Fall of Reach may come off as anticlimactically abrupt in light of the longer battle presented in Reach, there are ways it can make a fair bit of sense. One of these is the notion of Covenant conducting robust forward reconnaissance with covert scouting parties, an idea introduced in Reach that Daybreak is actually keeping. By carefully gathering intel on the UNSC's defenses and strongholds on Reach, the Covenant managed to land the crippling decapitating strike shown in the novel. The largest divergence from what was implied in Nylund-era canon actually occurs after the initial attack on August 30. While largely smashed by the initial attack, UNSC forces retain a foothold on Reach and continue the fight against the Covenant for several days. This is also when most of the events of the game take place.

Indeed, the events of the the Nylund novels are largely concentrated on the FLEETCOM Military Complex in the Highland Mountains, with little mention of invasions elsewhere on the planet. This fits with the notion of an initial surgical strike against the UNSC's military centers. The largest change from the original print is the nature of glassing, specifically the speed at which the Covenant are capable of conducting the process. In The Fall of Reach and First Strike, the Covenant are implied as having already set most of the planet alight in a matter of hours, an observation reported by Lieutenant Wagner to the Security Council. As outlined in the data pads for Halo: Reach, this would imply some staggering power-generation capabilities for the Covenant which are not reflected elsewhere across their civilization. As well, later prints of First Strike would re-phrase Wagner's statements about Reach's glassing to be more vague, which is supported by imagery from Halo: Reach. Even though Daybreak generally defers to pre-2009 fiction when it comes to characterizations, events and many other matters, some of the implications of the capabilities and numbers in the older novels are suspect in light of the wider universe, and the later changes to glassing are regarded as being well-justified for the sake of a cohesive setting. As such, Daybreak leans more on later, less energetic depictions of glassing even as the Assembly's rather pessimistic assumptions from the data pads are not taken entirely at face value; while the Covenant are capable of torching virtually the entirety of a planet, this takes weeks or months of effort by a large fleet rather than mere hours.

Elements incorporated from Halo: Reach into our version of the canon include:
 * Much of the worldbuilding, imagery and locations on Reach
 * Many of the visuals and designs, particularly on the UNSC side, e.g. the armor variants and the basic "mix-and-match" approach to armor customization, cross-branch and cross-system compatibility of armor pieces, as well as the notion of custom variants being largely built around add-ons on top of the armor as opposed to changing the core armor set itself.
 * Covenant scouting parties on Reach prior to the main invasion, as this only makes sense for such a major operation. However, these would have to be very small and low-key, to the point the UNSC would barely catch onto what's going on.
 * Noble Team makes an appearance, though the specifics of those characters may be tweaked (e.g. the atypical ages of characters, especially Carter). Similarly, the non-company Spartan-III backstory is slightly tweaked to preserve the thematic weight of Ghosts of Onyx.