Reach: Difference between revisions

{{Era|Human|UNSC|HCW|Post}}

{{Ratings}}

{{Disambig header|the planet|the game|Halo: Reach}}

{{Clear}}

==Overview==

For a young planet with an age of no more than one billion years, compared to the 4.6 billion years of Earth, Reach is remarkably geologically stable.<ref name="bnet"/> Reach is larger than Earth, having a diameter of 15,273 kilometers, compared to the 12,756 kilometers diameter of Earth.<ref name="comparison">[http://twitpic.com/1f46ee '''Twitpic''': ''Earth and Reach comparison'']</ref> Reach was originally inhospitable for human life, requiring some degree of [[terraforming]] before it could be colonized. Mostly a rugged and harsh wilderness filled with towering mountains, deserts and weather-beaten forests, Reach's surface is pockmarked with meteor impact craters, some of these forming large seas.<ref name="gi">[http://gameinformer.com/mag/haloreach.aspx '''GameInformer''': February Edition]</ref> It is also located near a small nebula, which has a visible effect on the planet and its moons, casting an "aura" similar to the Aurora Borealis, though this could be caused by a stronger magnetic field.

==History==

First planetary confirmations of Reach were in early 21st century.<ref name="bnet"/> Originally colonized in the early 25th century<ref name="EDGE"/> for its rich titanium deposits, Reach exported more of it than any other non-automated human world<ref name="bnet"/> and had mines throughout it running thousands of meters deep. ONI's secret CASTLE base was located in one of these mines underneath [[Menachite Mountain]]. ONI commandeered the mine after it breached a [[Menachite Forerunner Complex|secret complex]] beneath Reach's surface containing a [[Forerunner]] [[Forerunner Crystal|artifact]] that was highly desired by the Covenant. The fact that this artifact was so valuable to them is perhaps the main reason anyone survived the aftermath of the [[Fall of Reach]] at all, as the Covenant were afraid of destroying it. This facility was also the birthplace of the legendary [[SPARTAN-II Program]].

Despite its position as the UNSC's largest naval base, strategic headquarters, and second-largest population center, the Epsilon Eridani system was wracked by [[Insurrectionist]] activity throughout the early 26th Century. Reach's sister planet, [[Tribute]], was one of the fronts for the UNSC's anti-terrorist campaign, [[Operation: TREBUCHET]]. In [[2525]], mere months prior to the outbreak of the [[Human-Covenant War]], Reach was the site of a major terrorist bombing against the luxury liner ''[[National Holiday]]''. Two taxi-shuttles filled with explosives were crashed into the liner, resulting in the liner to lose control and plummet into the atmosphere, incinerating everyone on board.

===The Fall of Reach===

{{main|Fall of Reach}}

Reach's darkest hour was near the close of the [[Human-Covenant War]] in [[2552]]. The Covenant discovered the location of Reach from a [[Forerunner]] artifact recovered during the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]]. That artifact disclosed its locality, as Reach was the location of yet another artifact. Coincidentally the Human presence on Reach was revealed when the destroyer [[UNSC Iroquois|''Iroquois'']] returned to Reach ensuing the battle, unaware that a Covenant spy drone was attached to her hull near the engines.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 216''</ref>

The battle was a disaster for the numerically-inferior UNSC fleet, despite the [[Orbital Defense Platform|Super MAC Guns]], resulting in the planet's destruction by means of [[glassing|plasma bombardment]]. CASTLE base was destroyed after the planet's fall and the Covenant began searching for a [[Forerunner crystal]]. UNSC forces finally abandoned the planet during the [[Raid of Reach]], a few weeks later.

==Gallery==

File:Reach_map.png|A map of Reach.

File:Reachtoearth.jpg|A comparison of Earth's size to Reach's.<ref name="comparison"/>

File:Reach E310 Firefight Beachhead03.jpg|The city of [[New Alexandria]] on Reach.

File:Halo Reach Powerhouse.jpg|A [[Unidentified hydroelectric power plant|hydroelectric plant]] on Reach.

File:Reach mpbeta boneyard 02.jpg|A [[Boneyard|ship breaking yard]] on Reach.

File:Reach FF Courtyard01.jpg|[[Sword Base]] on Reach.

File:Viery.jpg|A satelite view of the [[Viery Territory]] note the UNSC order of battle for the [[Battle of Viery]].

</gallery>

<references/>

*[[Halo: Reach]]

*[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]

*[[Halo: First Strike]]

*[[Epsilon Eridani System]]

[[de:Reach]]