Written by GreenleafCM

Let me tell you about my favorite Spartan-II: Kelly-087

On September 15th 2517 in the Halo Universe, a 6-year-old girl named Kelly Shaddock was kidnapped from her homeworld of Imber by black-ops agents from the UNSC’s Office of Naval Intelligence. Under the direction of the scientist Dr. Catherine Halsey, she was sent to the planet Reach to receive military training as a part of the SPARTAN-II Program. Assigned the number ‘087′, she has since proceeded to kick some serious human-rebel and fanatical-alien ass all across the known galaxy.

Written by GreenleafCM

Halo Canon in 1000 Words or Less: A Guide to the Spartan-IIs of Blue Team

Blue Team has been longstanding convention of the Halo Universe since it premiered in 2001, but have only appeared in Extended Universe materials – novels, comics, animated shorts, etc. – up until 2015’s ‘Halo 5: Guardians’. So when it comes to people who only ever played the video games it’s no surprise that they hadn’t heard of these Spartans. Make no mistake though, they are some of the most important and well-developed characters in the series’ fiction. And this is due in part because of the fundamental role they play in the Master Chief’s own story. So hopefully this brief primer will help get anyone who reads this (and doesn’t already know them) up to speed, and possibly encourage folks to check out some of the books, videos, and comics that chronicle Blue Team’s past adventures and expand on their unique personalities and dynamics with each other.

Written by GreenleafCM

Of Hierarchies and Swimlanes: An Examination of 343 Industries Management of the Canon – Halsey’s Journal

For the past few years, 343 Industries has more or less followed along with the way that I perceive the importance of Halo stories: everything is canon (unless stated otherwise) and there is no hierarchy of canon. What happens in the other sources of the Halo lore could very well impact the story of the games and vice versa. This was not always the management style of the canon and if recent statements are to be believed may not be how the canon is managed for much longer. In this article, we are going to perform a post-mortem on the way 343 Industries has managed the stories of the games and the expanded universe to see what went right, what went wrong, and to speculate what the future holds.

Written by GreenleafCM

God Bless The Child: The Lost Childhood of the Halo Series – Halsey’s Journal

The theme of lost childhood is one you don’t really see much being discussed when talking about Halo. However, when doing some research for an article I had planned to do on child soldiers and fiction I realized that Halo has had an interesting relationship with the concept of childhood. In short, there really are no kids in the Halo universe. Well, there are, but they are not kids as they SHOULD BE.

Written by GreenleafCM

An Exploration and Thoughts on The Mantle of Responsibility – Halsey’s Journal

Originally a reflective piece on why the Precursors, the ancient race responsible for both seeding life in the Milky Way and potentially snuffing out life with the Flood, should have a minor role in the main Halo games – the nature of such research caused The Mantle of Responsibility to come up often. The Precursors crafted this belief/philosophy/justification for galactic stewardship, and is one of the parts of the Halo expanded universe becoming more known by the wider fanbase. Thus the following is a commentary on The Mantle that would be both informative, and provide views on connections not strictly related to Halo. With the goal of opening up dialogue, rebuttal, and generally new paths for exploration on this subject.

Written by GreenleafCM

Ain’t Gonna Study War No More: An Unorthodox Proposal for Master Chief’s Fate – Halsey’s Journal

A thought has been kicking around in my head for a while now is one that many Halo fans share. Specifically, what should the fate of the Master Chief be when his foray in the Halo story comes to its inevitable end? I’ve seen fans suggest he go out in a blaze of glory in order to represent the soldier we all know him to be. Some feel he should remain alive in order to train a new generation of Spartans or be a military commander who isn’t necessarily on the front lines. Yet, what if the Chief does not pursue a military career and opts to become a teacher of a different sort: a teacher of children?

Written by GreenleafCM

Two Hundred And Four Reasons: Addendum (2017) – Through All These Years

It has now been 2 years since I originally started work on “Two Hundred And Four Reasons” – and so as an addendum to my essay series chronicling the development of John-117 and Kelly-087′s relationship throughout Halo canon, I’ve decided to examine a few additional pieces of media featuring SPARTAN-II Blue Team that were released in the wake of 2015′s ‘Halo 5: Guardians’. I think both are worth taking a quick look at in regards to how they carry on the tradition of highlighting the bond between a certain Blue-One and Blue-Two.

Written by GreenleafCM

Two Hundred And Four Reasons: Part 7 – It’s in the Subtext

Though most of John-117 and Kelly-087′s time together as both teammates and friends has been chronicled in the official novels, I’d still like to take a look at some of the fiction that exists in-tandem with these pieces of Halo canon. Specifically the comics – some of which offer a slightly different perspective on certain events from the books, while others contain relevant plot details and set the stage for Blue Team’s ongoing adventures. But no matter how different they are in style, all of them serve to supplement what has long been established about Blue-One and Blue-Two, and the strong bond they share.

Written by GreenleafCM

Two Hundred And Four Reasons: Part 6 – Thinking of You

After the fall of Reach, and the events that unfolded on Installation 04, the Master Chief was thought to be the last surviving Spartan-II. John-117 wasn’t willing to give up on his teammates so easily however; and after risking everything to rescue them, he was soon reunited with the remnants of his family. Unfortunately the Master Chief’s legendary luck could only stretch so far – as his closest friend and most stalwart right-hand, Kelly-087, was separated from him yet again soon after. In the weeks that followed the two would face extraordinary challenges that would test the limits of even the greatest super-soldier. But no matter how far apart John and Kelly were physically, they never seemed to stray very far from each other’s thoughts.

Written by GreenleafCM

Two Hundred And Four Reasons: Part 5 – Before Anyone Else

It’s late August, 2552. Humanity will not survive much longer against the Covenant onslaught. And so a plan is put in motion to send the Spartan-IIs on an extremely high-risk operation in a last-ditch attempt to force a truce with the aliens. After receiving new MJOLNIR Armor and a uniquely created smart AI, the Master Chief is confident that the Spartans just might be able to bring an end to the Human-Covenant War. The series of events that followed would change John-117 and Kelly-087′s lives forever, more than anything either of them had endured before.