- "Beta-Red may be tough as hell, but I have no idea how long they'll be able to tie up two armor divisions."
- — First Lieutenant Jake Chapman[1]
Beta-Red, also known as Team Beta, was a splinter team of the SPARTAN-II Red Team. During the Fall of Reach, Beta-Red was the largest splinter of Red Team, consisting of six Spartans[Note 1] led by Beta-Romeo Actual.
Fall of Reach
On August 30, 2552, the Spartans of Red Team were deployed to the surface of Reach by Pelican Bravo 001. En route, the pilot, Flight Officer Mitchell, was killed by pursuing Seraphs. Senior Chief Petty Officer Fred-104, the leader of Red Team, ordered the Spartans to make a high-altitude jump to the surface; four Spartans were killed in the jump and several were wounded. After rendezvousing, Fred divided Red Team into four splinter teams: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. Beta-Red were tasked with defending Reach's orbital defense platform generators against Covenant attack.
Beta-Red managed to get a transmission to Fred and the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, warning them to stay away from the planet because most of the generators had been destroyed, and that they would attempt to protect the several remaining generators. They were eventually deployed to Recon 43's position to reinforce a Marine unit, Charlie Company, defending Facility Alpha 331 from two division-strength units of Covenant armored vehicles, fighting deep into the center of the enemy formation.[2] A dropship piloted by Iron Fist attempted to retrieve Beta-Red, but the evacuation was interrupted by the descent of three Covenant cruisers from cloud cover directly overhead.[3] Artillery support from the destroyer UNSC Majestic was called in to destroy the three cruisers and any surviving Covenant forces; Majestic fired six MAC rounds at the targets, presumably taking the lives of Beta-Red, who had remained behind to buy Charlie Company enough time to evacuate.[4]
Known members
- Beta-Romeo Actual
- Red-Four
- Red-Fifteen
- Red-Nineteen
List of appearances
- Halo: First Strike (First appearance)
- Halo: Reach (Mentioned only)
Notes
- ^ The original edition of Halo: First Strike states that Beta-Red was composed of 11 Spartans. However, the Definitive Edition of the novel states that Beta-Red was comprised of six Spartans, addressing the discrepancy in the team's size. Despite this, the radio conversations in Halo: Reach describe Beta-Red as having 11 members.
Sources
- ^ Halo: Reach - Boneyard radio conversation
- ^ Halo: Reach - Countdown radio conversation:
- "Holy <static>! You ain't gonna believe this! Beta-Red just punched right up into the guts of that Covie column! Ever see a Spartan go hand to hand with a Wraith? Unbelievable!"
- — First Lieutenant Buckman
- ^ Halo: Reach - Boardwalk radio conversation:
- "Iron Fist, this is Gamma-1 Actual; three Covenant cruisers just dropped out of cloud directly above us, holding at approximately twenty thousand feet, traveling due east at approximately three hundred knots - three-zero-zero knots!"
- — First Lieutenant Jake Chapman
- ^ Halo: Reach - Reflection radio conversation:
- "Beta-Red have gone above and beyond but there's no way out for them. They just bought us our window. Now give me the go and I'll finish the job."
- — Alpha 20
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