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• May 21st: ONI Section Two publicly unveils the SPARTAN-II Program in order to boost morale during the Human-Covenant War. Because each super solider is said to have killed thousands of Covenant troops, many consider the SPARTANs to be the "stuff" of legend, unless having encountered one. The existence of the SPARTAN-III program remains confidential.
• July 7th: The Rookie enlists in the UNSC Marine Corps.
• September 4th: The UNSC frigate Tripping Light is dry-docked for repairs. Dr. Catherine Halsey uses the ship's Slipspace drive in an experiment to build an AI housing fractal within Slipspace. While the test is eventually a failure, the Assembly takes note of this as an incredible scientific breakthrough and even discusses the possibility of permanently moving into such construct to escape in case humanity were to lose the war.
• The colony Skopje is attacked and subsequently glassed by Covenant forces.