ERIC NYLAND
THE FALL OF REACH
For Syne Mitchell. She watched my six, patched me up, and provided transportation to my DZ everyday—no soldier could ever ask for better support in the field... or a better wife.
Acknowledgments
Singled out for conspicuous merit and bravery under fire are the following personnel:
Eric S. Trautmann went far above and beyond the call of duty providing background material, editing, reality checks, and a constant supply of caffeine and encouragement.
Bungie for making a superb game, and in particular: Jason Jones, Alex Seropian, John Howard, and Lorraine McLees.
The brilliant tactical unit at Microsoft’s Franchise Development Group: Nancy Figatner, Brannon Boren, and Doug Zartman.
Microsoft’s User Experience fireteam: Keith Cirillo, Jo Tyo, and Matt Whiting.
The troopers at Ballantine/Del Rey: Caron Harris, David Stevenson, Steve Palmer, Crystal Velasquez—and special thanks to Steve Saffel.
PROLOGUE
0500 Hours, February 12, 2535 (Military Calendar)
Lambda Serpentis System, Jericho VII Theater of Operations
“Contact. All teams stand by: enemy contact, my position.”
The Chief knew there were probably more than a hundred of them—motion sensors were off the scale. He wanted to see them for himself, though; his training made that lesson clear: “Machines break. Eyes don’t.”
The four Spartans that composed Blue Team covered his back, standing absolutely silent and immobile in their MJOLNIR combat armor. Someone had once commented that they looked like Greek war gods in the armor... but his Spartans were far more effective and ruthless than Homer’s gods had ever been.