Halo: First Strike: Difference between revisions

{{Title|''Halo: First Strike''}}

{{Novel infobox

|image=[[File:First Strike.jpg|300px]]

|author=[[Eric Nylund]]

|publisher=[[Del Rey Books]]<br>[[Tor Books]] (2010 edition)

|publication=December 2, 2003 (original)<br>December 21, 2010 (2010 edition)<br>March 19, 2019 (2019 edition)

|length=352 pages (original)<br>438 pages (2010 edition)<br>480 pages (2019 edition)

|ISBN=[[Special:BookSources/0345467817|0345467817]], [[Special:BookSources/978-0345467812|978-0345467812]], [[Special:BookSources/978-1982111656|978-1982111656]]

}}

''Halo: First Strike'' fills the gap between ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' and ''[[Halo 2]]'', in addition to continuing the story of the [[SPARTAN-II Program|Spartans]] and [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Halsey]] on [[Reach]] where ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' left off. The story is continued directly in ''Halo 2'' and the subsequent novel ''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''. ''First Strike'' also ties up several unresolved plot threads, including how Sergeant [[Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson]] survived the attack of [[the Flood]].

===Definitive edition by Tor===

{{Article quote|Rounding out Tor’s series of reissues of the original three Halo novels, this newly edited and revised edition of First Strike is a must-have for all Halo fans. Featuring author Eric Nylund at the helm, this tale bridges the events that take place in the game Halo: Combat Evolved (as novelized in The Flood) and its blockbuster follow-up, Halo 2.  

===Section 3: Rescue===

The narrative then flashes back to [[2523|July 14, 2523]], when the young Spartans played capture the flag against [[Tango Company]]. Despite Tango Company's use of live-fire rounds, the teenage Spartans capture the flag and win the "game". While hiding from Tango Company Marines searching for the flag, John uses the "Oly Oly Oxen Free" signal to inform his teammates that all is clear.

John, Fred, Linda, Grace, and Will enter the station without incident, but are forced to detour through a temple complex. There, they encounter [[Jiralhanae|Brutes]]. The Master Chief grapples with one, barely making it out alive, and Grace is killed in the skirmish. After the fight, the Chief activates the fail-safe system in Grace's suit, killing many Covenant in the process. The four remaining Spartans make it to the reactors and rig them to explode. With ten minutes to escape, the Spartans commandeer three Banshees with the help of Linda's sniper fire. The Master Chief then rescues Linda from oncoming Covenant reinforcements.

On the other side of the moon, the Spartans find the ''Gettysburg'', but no sign of the ''Ascendant Justice''. On board, they learn that the crew removed the Covenant ship's slipspace engine and installed it in the ''Gettysburg''. Whitcomb and Haverson, who took the Covenant ship, crashed it into the central section of the ''Unyielding Hierophant''. Faking the crystal's appearance with a [[Holography|holograph]], they broadcast a message to the Covenant fleet in an attempt to lure them onto the ''Ascendant Justice''. When the ''Unyielding Hierophant'' reactors detonate, the explosion destroys the ''Ascendant Justice'' alongside almost five hundred ships of the Covenant invasion force, leaving a dozen left. The five human survivors - John-117, Fred-104, Linda-058, Will-043, and Sergeant Avery J. Johnson - and Cortana proceed to a random location under the Cole Protocol, and then return to Earth to warn them about the impending Covenant invasion.

***[[Covenant Special Operations]]

***[[Fleet Security]]

*[[Unified Earth Government]]

**[[United Nations Space Command]]

*[[SPARTAN-II training]] {{Mo}}

|title-6=Vehicles|

**''[[Beatrice]]'' {{1st}}

*[[Clarion spy drone]] {{1st}}

*[[Covenant destroyer]]

*[[Covenant escape pod]] {{1st}}

*[[Covenant cruiser]]

**[[Covenant cruiser at Longhorn Valley]] {{1st}}

***''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' {{Mo}}

*[[Covenant supercarrier]] {{1st}}

*[[D77-TC Pelican]]

**''[[Bravo 001]]'' {{1st}}

**''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' {{1st}}

*[[GA-TL1 Longsword]]

*{{Class|Marathon|heavy cruiser}}

**{{UNSCShip|Hannibal}} {{1st}}

*[[Orbital defense platform]] {{Mo}}

*[[Prowler]]

*[[Scarab]] {{1st}}

*[[Type-26 Banshee]]

*[[Seraph]]

*{{UNSCShip|Basra}} {{1st}}

*[[UNSC corvette]]

*[[Energy stave]] {{1st}}

*[[Fury tactical nuclear weapon]] {{1st}}

*[[Heavy plasma cannon]]

*[[M19 surface-to-surface missile]]

*[[Satchel charge]] {{1st}}

*[[SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle]]

*[[Type-25 Brute Shot]] {{1st}}

*[[Type-25 plasma pistol]]

*[[Type-33 needler]]

|title-8=Equipment and Technology|

*At the beginning of the novel, it is stated that twenty-seven Spartans were carried to the surface of Reach aboard ''Bravo 001''; however in ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'' it is stated that "two dozen Spartans" were present at Reach, in addition to the Master Chief, with three other Spartans (later revealed to be Gray Team) "engaged on fields of combat too distant to be easily recalled". Therefore, the Pelican that Fred-104 takes to the surface should only have twenty-two Spartans, (including Fred) since John-117 takes two Spartans with him in a separate Pelican for the mission to ''Gamma Station''. Several recent sources have definitively stated that twenty-two Spartans were assigned to Red Team, with the three-member Blue Team dispatched to ''Gamma Station'' and Gray Team behind enemy lines and thus out of contact.<ref>'''[[Data Drop]]'''</ref><ref>'''Halo Wars''' timeline</ref><ref>'''Halo: First Strike''' (2010) Adjunct)</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/user/HaloWaypoint#p/a/DF8EE7CCE045CAA0/0/jh7Q3fjIIwc '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Defiant to the End'']</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''', [[Library (feature)|Library]] - Pelican</ref>

*In the original printing, the Longsword that John and the other survivors of the Battle of Installation 04 used to board ''Ascendant Justice'' is consistently referred to as a Pelican. This is corrected in the revised edition.

*In the 2010 version, Brutes are no longer described as a never-before-seen Covenant species.

*In the 2010 adjunct section, Fred-104 is incorrectly referred to as a lieutenant during his psychological evaluation, which takes place during the early stages of the [[Battle for Earth]]. He actually held the rank of senior chief petty officer at this time and was not promoted to lieutenant, junior grade until the [[Onyx Conflict]].

===Cover art artwork===

<gallery>

File:FS_cover_full.jpg|2010 cover art of the novel.

</gallery>

===Other===

<gallery>

File:FS_2010_jacket.jpg|Full jacket of the 2010 edition.

</gallery>