Halo: Fireside
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Halo: Fireside is a short story entry in the Halo Waypoint Chronicle series, written by Alex Wakeford and published by 343 Industries on February 21, 2024 - the seventh anniversary of Halo Wars 2's release. Accordingly, the story acts as a compilation of snippets from the Halo universe, revolving around the crew of UNSC Spirit of Fire and their conflict on the Ark following the conclusion of Halo Wars 2: Operation: SPEARBREAKER.[1]
Official synopsis
| “ | May 2559. Having emerged into the unknown after twenty-eight years adrift in space, the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire find that new foes are not the only challenge they face on the enigmatic Ark—but the past they left behind. | ” |
Summary
Halo: Fireside is set on May 21, 2559 - shortly after Operation: SPEARBREAKER. The story is divided into a number of short segments, each focusing on a different set of characters predominantly from Halo Wars 2 and its DLC expansions, and depicting day-to-day life aboard the ship and in the Second Ark Conflict. The story begins with a short monologue written by Isabel on the nature of hope, with her hoping to gain more of an understanding of the concept and how the various crew of the ship (including Mary, Andrew Sandmoore, and Jerome-092) percieve it - with the goal of being able to factor it into her calculations on how to fight against the war. The monologue then concludes with her wondering what the Banished hope for.
The second section of the story focuses on Captain James Cutter heading to the bridge of Spirit of Fire, and reminiscing on his service aboard the ship immediately prior to and during the events of Halo Wars - including his interactions with Serina and Ellen Anders, both of whom now missing from the ship's crew.
The third section of the story focuses on Lieutenant Colonel Morgan Kinsano and her Firestorm Battle Group, and depicts an alternate perspective on the events first detailed in the Phoenix Log for the multiplayer map Sentry. Kinsano and her forces are deployed to Site Ricochet (the in-universe codename for the Sentry multiplayer map), with the goal of reconnoitering the site and how large of a presence the Banished have there. While scouting, Kinsano reminisces on her own youth as a child on Reynes and her early career as an insurrectionist. The scouting party is then interrupted by the emergence of a Forerunner construct, which fires upon the Banished troops and leaves all but one dead. Kinsano reports as such to Cutter, before being ordered to retreat in light of new intelligence about a Banished attack on Fort Jordan.
The fourth section of the story depicts Sunray 1-1's celebrations at Quebec Base following the completion of a successful mission - a long-range assassination of a Jiralhanae Chieftain first mentioned in the 100th issue of Canon Fodder.[2] The section focuses on characterising the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, the majority of whom were never given any screen time in Operation: SPEARBREAKER, and fleshing out their intra-team interactions - showcasing a rare moment of downtime for the team.
The story concludes with a final monologue from Isabel, noting that she has found the most obvious symbol for hope to have emerged in the form of fire; something that can symbolise many things to many people, and concluding that "a spirit of fire is a spirit of hope".
Appearances
Gallery
Halo Wars 2 concept art for Spirit of Fire's observation deck, reused in the short story.
Artwork for the map Sentry, the location of Site Ricochet in the story.
Concept art of Sunray 1-1.
External links
- Halo: Fireside- The official Waypoint post in which the short story was released for free.
- Official Halo: Fireside PDF - The PDF of the short story released on Halo Waypoint (Archived copy).
- Halo: Fireside | Audiobook - The audiobook narrated by Alex Wakeford.
Sources
- ^ Halo Waypoint, Halo: Fireside (Retrieved on Feb 21, 2024) [archive]
- ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Sweet Centennial (Retrieved on Sep 24, 2021) [archive]
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