致远星沦陷

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“We knew this day would come. They have found our fortress among the stars. The Covenant are on Reach. They will burn this planet, kill millions, and when Reach falls—and fall it will—there will be nothing left to stand between them - and Earth.”

— Dr. Catherine Halsey

致远星沦陷（因为：Fall of Reach），又称致远星之战（英文：Battle of Reach）是人类-星盟战争期间规模最大，伤亡人数最多的战役之一。此次战斗开始于2552年7月25日，终于8月30日，交战双方分别是联合国太空指挥部和星盟，主要战斗发生在天苑四星系的致远星及周边。

此次战役最初的较量发生在2552年7月23日，当时一支星盟小型部队从长夜漫漫号超级母舰出发，在致远星表面建立登陆点并开始搜寻先行者遗物，由于通讯受到阻碍，UNSC方面一度以为是当地叛军作乱，因而没能及时作出反应，直到贵族小队——斯巴达III期的一支小型部队——前往调查后，UNSC才得知星盟的存在，并开始发动攻势，试图在增援到达前将其驱离致远星。然而，UNSC的作战最终失败了，由提尔·瓦达米指挥的星盟舰队赶在先头部队歼灭前抵达了致远星附近，并迅速地瓦解了UNSC防线。在UNSC不得不集结部队撤离的同时，星盟开始进行玻璃化进程，将致远星表面烧成一片焦土。但是，在UNSC部队撤离后，仍有一部分人类从玻璃化中幸存下来，并继续和星盟战斗，这些幸存者最后被约翰-117带领的小型救援队救起，并带回了地球。

尽管UNSC在此次战役中受到了惨痛打击，但贵族小队成功保护了人工智能科塔娜与她携带的关键数据，后者指引着UNSC 秋风之墩号飞向04特区，他们在那里和星盟展开了一次关键战斗，并引发了一系列相关联的事件，最终导致星盟在短短数月内分崩离析，而人类也最终迎来了战争的胜利。

战斗背景

在2552年7月19日前，海军情报办公室根据星盟的相关动向，对战争走势开展了一系列预测，根据计算结果，办公室认为星盟在5个月内发现天苑四星系存在的可能性高达87%。办公室主任玛格丽特·帕兰戈斯基海军上将为此同迈克尔·斯坦福斯海军中将进行了交流，讨论要不要将致远星作为红旗行动的舞台，二人一致认为星球表面的大规模先行者遗迹可能使致远星成为星盟的重点关注对象。然而，海军情报办公室并未就此向相关方面发出即时的警告。

在帕兰戈斯基发出消息不到一个月后，海军情报办公室预演的噩梦成为了现实。尽管在西格玛·奥克塔努斯之战中遭受了沉重打击，但星盟仍趁乱在UNSC 伊洛魁号上安装了追踪装置，并以此来寻找人类殖民地。当伊洛魁号返回致远星时，这座殖民地的存在立刻便暴露给了星盟。不过，星盟方面其实早已得知致远星的存在——从西格玛·奥克塔努斯IV星回收回来的先行者制品指出致远星上有其他制品，一如帕兰戈斯基和斯坦福斯的猜测——只是他们不知道这里也有人类殖民地。

战斗开始前

在发动大规模攻势前，星盟派出英勇审慎舰队作为先锋，前往致远星：这支舰队包括了CSO级超级母舰长夜漫漫号与数艘SDV级重型轻护卫舰。在抵达致远星后，舰队暗中向致远星的Viery Territory投放了大批地面部队。This invasion force was cloaked from UNSC sensors by sophisticated stealth pylons deployed around it. 星盟同时还派遣了一支由向斐力狂热者组成的突击队，前往维谢格拉德通讯哨站附近的发掘现场回收先行者遗物。

“ONI thinks it might be the local Insurrection. Five months ago, they pulled a similar job on Harmony. Hit a relay to take out our eyes and ears, then stole two freighters from dry dock. That cannot happen here. Reach is too damn important. I want that relay back online, NOBLE One.”

— Colonel Urban Holland

2552年7月23日夜晚，也就是战斗正式开始的两天前，星盟从英勇审慎舰队内调集了一支小型突击队，暗中渗透至维谢格拉德镇内，破坏此处通讯阵列以中断致远星同外界的联系。UNSC和海军情报办公室方面虽然注意到了维谢格拉德失联的情况，但他们误判作是当地极端叛乱分子所为，因此只派遣了数个陆军火力小组前往调查，但是不久后，这些火力小组都陆续与部队失去联系。

冬日告急

““上校，我是贵族一号，这里没有叛军，致远星上有星盟。”
"Colonel, this is NOBLE One. There are no rebels. The Covenant are on Reach."”

— 卡特-A259

维谢格拉德中继站失联一天后，斯巴达贵族小队接受命令前往调查，他们抵达后便开始队周围环境进行侦查。贵族小队很快发现袭击中继站的并非叛乱分子，而是一支试图瘫痪通讯系统的星盟尖兵部队。在清除外围的星盟后，贵族小队继续向中继站进发，结果遭到正在搜索先行者遗物的向斐力狂热者袭击。不久后，致远星发布了冬日告急指令。

战斗过程

前期战斗

““‘冬日告急’指令已经发布，所有部队各就各位。”
"WINTER CONTINGENCY has been declared, all units mobilized and ready."”

— UNSC军官

利用隐形和伪装技术，星盟部队巩固了自己在致远星上的登陆点：他们派遣大批部队和舰艇进行支援，同时还在周围地区设置了防空火力。

主条目: First Battle of Sword Base

File:Jorge n' Six.jpg

SPARTAN-B312 and Jorge-052 watch a Covenant corvette sinking after being neutralized by an orbital strike.

维谢格拉德镇的战斗发生两天后，星盟袭击了刺刀基地，试图靠近该基地附近的先行者建筑。然而，携带着M71防空炮的贵族小队击退了星盟的攻势，同时还恢复了当地的通讯。后撤的星盟护卫舰随后被轨道防御平台上安装的电磁加速炮击毁。

UNSC反击

主条目: Battle at Szurdok Ridge

“We are now under attack across the Viery territory, including orbital defenses. As per the WINTER CONTINGENCY, we are countering on every front.”

— Auntie Dot

UNSC ground forces charge a Covenant formation in the Battle at Szurdok Ridge.

刺刀基地遇袭两周后，UNSC派出部队深入星盟控制的地域侦查敌情，为接下来的反击收集情报。在星盟部队大部分集结于地表的情况下，联合国太空指挥部陆军、海军、海军陆战队发动了一次联合作战行动，试图在支援到达之前歼灭星盟的地面部队。陆军和贵族小队在此次战斗中担任了前锋，后者还摧毁了星盟的防空武器，为长剑号和巴黎级重型护卫舰的轰炸拓平了航路。尽管在战斗的一开始，UNSC似乎占了优势，但当CSO级超级母舰长夜漫漫号在战场上空解除隐形时，他们的优势被瞬间瓦解了，长夜漫漫号在攻击UNSC护卫舰的同时，还不断地向地面提供增援部队。而在前线战事如火如荼的同时，一支星盟部队再度袭击了刺刀基地，并取得了成功。大约在这个时候，UNSC麾下大约六成的舰队接到了召回命令，它们预计会在8月15日左右抵达致远星。

正式对抗

主条目: Operation: UPPER CUT

Long Night of Solace being destroyed.

“Air Control (COM)”

— AI Auntie Dot (COM)，ATC 2 (COM)

The arrival of the supercarrier led to Operation: UPPER CUT, in which NOBLE Team used YSS-1000 Sabres and the corvette Ardent Prayer to deliver an improvised slipspace drive "bomb" to the supercarrier and destroy it. 斯巴达-B312、乔治-052及一队空军飞行员在UNSC 稀树草原号护卫舰的掩护下登上了Ardent Prayer 并控制了它。之后，贵族五号靠牺牲自己来摧毁长夜漫漫号，然而，在超级母舰爆炸的同时，又一支星盟舰队在致远星轨道上退出了跃迁。 Despite the mission's success, the destruction of the supercarrier was an inadvertent setback for Operation: RED FLAG.

其他战斗

主条目: Siege of New Alexandria

“Your report will have to wait, Lieutenant. The Covenant are jamming all comms to Command. Kat needs your help running a counter-op.”

— Commander Carter-A259

在接下来的一周中，星盟不断地向致远星表面投放部队，而它的舰队则开始对重点目标进行玻璃化轰炸。然而，星球上大部分人——无论军队（尤其是参与红旗行动的部队）还是平民——此时仍被蒙在鼓里，他们对战斗的具体情况一无所知。 HIGHCOM withheld major counteroffensives on the far side of the planet in the hope that a Class-5 Covenant vessel, which was needed for the operation, would be drawn in and make itself vulnerable for capture. Millions perished as a result of this relative inaction.

A battle broke out in the city of New Alexandria, with large numbers of civilian evacuation transports being shot down by Covenant air and ground forces.贵族小队队员帮助了当地的UNSC部队净空空域，并成功击落一架星盟轻护卫舰。尽管UNSC清空了市内的敌人，但星盟舰队也在此时开始城市进行玻璃化。在撤退过程中，贵族小队的凯特-B320不幸中枪身亡。

随后，贵族小队和轨道空降突击队组成了一支小型部队，前往被星盟占领的刺刀基地，并准备将其摧毁。途中，他们遇到了凯瑟琳·哈尔西博士，后者向他们寻求帮助以保护自己位于刺刀基地内的实验室，并阻止星盟部队接近地下的先行者遗迹。哈尔西指示贵族六号、卡特和埃米尔将人工智能科塔娜的一个分身护送至UNSC 秋风之墩号上，而自己则跟着俊-A266前往致远星上的城堡基地。

太空作战

“Fermion Remote Sensing Outpost”

— Reach Station Gamma，Fermion RSO

8月30日结束后，一支大规模星盟混成舰队在最高指挥官提尔·瓦达米和他的特殊正义舰队的带领下，浩浩荡荡地进入了天苑四星系的边缘。 The fleet was first detected in slipspace by remote scanning outpost Fermion. The station's commander, Chief Petty Officer McRobb, 向舰队司令部发送了紧急信息，随后便下令空间站进入自毁程序以避免重要数据误落敌手。几分钟之后，315艘星盟飞船在天苑四星系边缘脱离了跃迁空间。 Admiral Roland Freemont发布了UNSC Alpha Priority Transmission 04592Z-83，命令天苑四星系内的所有飞船立刻向致远星方向集结，准备抵御星盟的进攻。The Covenant moved in on the orbital defenses before the UNSC fleet fully consolidated. Fifty-three belated UNSC ships, including the UNSC 秋风之墩号, ran a gauntlet of screening Covenant warships as they attempted to link up with the main fleet. At this time, only about a hundred UNSC ships were readily available to defend Reach.

File:FoR.png

The Epsilon Eridani Fleet engages the Covenant fleet in orbit over Reach.

The main Covenant force moved in on the orbital defenses. The initial salvo of plasma torpedoes was mostly absorbed by the sacrifice of three refit and repair stations, allowing the defenders to return fire. The orbital defense platforms and four nuclear mines combined to take down a full third of the Covenant fleet. The vaporized Titanium-A armor of the refit stations also served to block incoming plasma torpedoes. However, the next Covenant salvo significantly damaged the UNSC fleet, as the Covenant maneuvered for clear shots around the titanium dust cloud and moved in for the kill. They destroyed five of the Super MAC platforms, further crippling the UNSC orbital perimeter, before retreating out of range. A previously unknown warship type, armed with a powerful energy projector, revealed itself and destroyed the Template:UNSCShip and four other ships before withdrawing temporarily. The rest of the Covenant fleet withdrew to regroup after deploying hundreds of dropships to the surface. The remaining UNSC fleet of 20 ships pursued the Covenant dropships, destroying some, but many still made it through and landed on Reach's northern and southern poles.

As the surviving dropships disgorged thousands of troops, the Covenant fleet began another attack. Some ships made pinpoint slipspace jumps, putting them within the UNSC formation. This left them vulnerable for a short time but allowed them to strike the ODPs directly. Meanwhile, the Covenant vessel returned and destroyed the Template:UNSCShip and Template:UNSCShip from beyond ODP range. The Template:UNSCShip engaged the warship, launching a Shiva nuclear device timed to explode within its shields. The detonation reverberated off the shields and disintegrated the vessel.

Attack on the orbital defense generators

A CCS-class battlecruiser initiates a pinpoint slipspace jump over Reach.

“There are thousands of them. Grunts, Jackals and their warrior Elites. They have tanks and fliers. Christ, they've breached the perimeter. Fall back! Fall back! If anyone can hear this: the Covenant is ground-side. Massing near the armory!”

— UNSC Marine

Thousands of Covenant landed on Reach in an attempt to destroy the orbital defense generators, and were intercepted by Marine forces who were able to defend against the first few waves of Covenant forces while sustaining heavy casualties. The remaining Spartan-IIs who were not assigned to Reach Station Gamma were sent to Orbital Defense Generator Facility A-331 to assist in the defense of the station. Unfortunately, their Pelican transport, Bravo 001, was shot down, resulting in the deaths of four Spartans (including Malcolm-059), and some others were wounded as well. Near their crash site, the surviving Spartans discovered the shell-shocked remnants of Charlie Company.

File:Invasion - Red Team.jpg

The Spartans defend the generators from a swarm of Covenant.

Charlie Company had been assigned by Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb to find the prototype NOVA bombs. They were forced to help defend the orbital defense facilities on their way to their objective. Unfortunately, as the Covenant neared the orbital defense generators, someone at HIGHCOM panicked and ordered Longswords to bomb everything within 500 meters, resulting in the destruction of the Covenant ground forces in that location, but also catastrophic friendly fire: Charlie Company was reduced to four men, and its leaders: Lieutenants Jake Chapman and Buckman were cut off from their subordinates.

The Spartans, after being briefed on the situation by Charlie Company, responded to a distress call from Whitcomb, who requested immediate evacuation. 斯巴达部队指挥官弗雷德里克-104将幸存的红队分成了四个小组分头作战：阿尔法小组（弗雷德里克-104、凯莉-087、约书亚-029）负责消灭一处可以容纳10000名星盟士兵的营地及浮在其上空的巡洋舰(without doing anything that could damage the orbital defense generators as the EMP from a nuclear weapon would render them inoperative and accomplish the Covenant's objective for them)；贝塔小组负责保护轨道防御发电机；伽马小组（李-008、安东-044、格蕾丝-093）负责解救惠特科姆；德尔塔小组(the Charlie Company Marines and six wounded Spartans which included William-043, Isaac-039, and Vinh-030), ordered to secure the Spartans' fallback point at CASTLE Base.

Team Alpha hijacked three Banshees and approached the Covenant encampment (they were ignored by the Grunt Zawaz, who assumed they were Elites on a secret mission) and used Fury Tactical Nuclear Weapons within the shields of the Covenant ship, destroying the encampment and negating the EMP effect that would have disabled the orbital defense generators. Joshua was killed in the process by mass light weapons salvos from the 10,000 Covenant ground forces encamped around the Cruiser. The remaining Spartans of Team Alpha then fell back to CASTLE Base, blasting their way through the remaining Covenant in the area with two commandeered Wraiths. Team Gamma accomplished its mission and fell back to Camp Independence with Whitcomb, where they survived the partial glassing of the planet. Team Delta fell back to CASTLE Base, but in the process lost the remaining Charlie Company marines and every Spartan save for Vinh, Isaac, and William. When the remnants of Team Alpha and Team Delta arrived at CASTLE Base, they found Catherine Halsey there.

Team Beta was unable to stop the Covenant, who attacked in swarms of thousands. The orbital defense generators were compromised, and the Covenant, after eliminating the powerless, immobile ODPs in geosynchronous orbit around the planet, began the glassing of Reach. The planet, having been steadily weakened during the invasion throughout the prior weeks, had fallen with relative ease to the might of the Covenant invaders.

Mission to Gamma Station

The Covenant fleet bearing down on Reach.

During the space battle, the AI Doppler, controller of Reach Station Gamma, was unable to destroy the vital information onboard the Template:UNSCShip, an ONI Prowler involved in Operation: HYPODERMIC. As the Covenant deployed troops to the station, Doppler reported this violation of the Cole Protocol to the Pillar of Autumn before self-destructing himself to keep from further violation. In response, Captain Jacob Keyes sent John-117, James-005, and Linda-058 to the station. They accomplished their task and destroyed the NAV database onboard Reach Station Gamma, but at the cost of James and Linda. While onboard, they rescued some Marines onboard the station: Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson and Privates Wallace Jenkins, Bisenti, and O'Brien. They were then evacuated by Pelican back to the Pillar of Autumn. Linda-058 was clinically dead, but there was still a chance of saving her, so she was placed in a cryo chamber. John-117 asked Lieutenant Hall to scan for James (who had been blown into space) but they were unable to find him.

Battle at Asźod

主条目: Battle of Asźod

With the battle for Reach now nearing its conclusion, the Pillar of Autumn set down at the Asźod ship breaking yards for repairs as well as to receive the fragment of Cortana that Halsey had tasked NOBLE Team with delivering to Keyes. Covenant forces soon descended on the shipyards and began landing troops. Although the docked Autumn managed to hold off the Covenant attackers, most of the facility and the surrounding area was occupied.

The remnants of NOBLE Team, consisting of Carter-A259, Emile-A239, and SPARTAN-B312, arrived on the outskirts of the facility. Carter sent Noble Six and Emile to deliver the package to Keyes. He then sacrificed himself to destroy a Scarab. Six and Emile fought their way to the shipyards, where they linked up with some surviving UNSC ground troops. Keyes then contacted the Spartans and ordered them to clear Landing Platform Delta so that he could pick up the package. Upon arriving at the platform, Emile took charge of a mass driver and used it to provide cover fire for the Autumn. Six, meanwhile, cleared the platform of Covenant troops.

The Pillar of Autumn escapes.

With the platform cleared, Captain Keyes arrived in a Pelican and personally took possession of the package from Noble Six. Just then a Template:Class appeared and started heading toward the Autumn. Keyes ordered Emile to take out the cruiser before it destroyed the Autumn. Emile, however, was attacked by a pair of Sangheili Zealots. The Spartan killed the Zealots but was also killed, leaving the mass driver cannon unmanned. With the cruiser closing in on the Autumn, Noble Six volunteered to stay behind to take charge of the gun.

凯斯带着包裹回到了秋风之墩号号上，并准备让飞船起飞。同时，贵族六号控制了the mass driver and destroyed several Phantoms and Banshees before the Covenant cruiser came within range. As the cruiser prepared to destroy the Autumn with its energy projector, Six fired directly into the ship's exposed glassing port. The resulting explosion crippled the cruiser.

空域安全后，秋风之墩号起飞并逃离了致远星，进入轨道后，它立刻执行跃迁，飞往04特区（由科塔娜暗中安排）。十几艘星盟飞船发起了追击，而剩余的星盟部队则留在星球轨道上完成玻璃化过程。在船厂内，孤立无援的贵族六号继续同星盟战斗，最终在向斐力人的围攻下英勇牺牲。

战争影响

File:Glassed Reach.png

Reach after its glassing.

“We are not wasting a single UNSC ship to confirm what we have already seen a dozen times before: Reach is gone. Everything on it is blasted to bits, burned, glassed over, and vaporized. Everyone on Reach is dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.”

— Colonel James Ackerson

致远星沦陷后，UNSC失去了数以万计的军人和平民，以及人类在太阳系外规模最大的工业基地，还有上百艘战舰——其中包括了像UNSC 巴士拉号、UNSC 特拉法尔加号、UNSC 武藏号这样短时间内难以建造的巡洋舰和超级母舰。同时，在天苑四星系落入星盟控制之下后，通往太阳系的航路上已再无险可守，有人估计人类在数周之内就会陷入全面战败的境地，而海军情报办公室则怀疑太阳系内可能存在防御漏洞，也开始着手将一部分重工业设施和指挥系统迁移至其他星系。

另一方面，尽管致远星一役对人类而言是一次灾难性的失败，但UNSC依然发挥出了自开战以来的最好表现。在面对人数多出一倍，而且装备、科技等各个层面都远胜于己的对手时，他们依然给星盟制造出了巨大的伤亡，这其中有很大一部分要归功于致远星轨道上的20座轨道防御平台。The ferocious defense was so effective that at least one Covenant ship outright fled the battle. The AI Cortana commandeered the fleeing Template:UNSCShip to the previously undiscovered fourth Forerunner Halo. While the Battle of Installation 04 was tangential to the main front, the containment of the initial Flood outbreak - and the experience gained - was just as critical to the survival of the UNSC.

While Reach was the Covenant armada's main target, the other colonies in Epsilon Eridani would also come under attack. Tribute was besieged by Covenant forces for several months, ending only when the Great Schism caused the Jiralhanae and Sangheili to turn on each other, ignoring the human defenders. The small colony on Beta Gabriel was destroyed when Valorous Salvation deserted the Covenant fleet and fled there; ODSTs arrived shortly thereafter and killed all the Covenant deserters without incurring losses.

救援行动

主条目: Raid on Reach

在星盟开始摧毁致远星地表的时候，一些幸存的斯巴达战士们依然在战斗。Team Gamma; a Red team splinter composed of Anton-044; Grace-093 and Li-008, had managed to survive and complete their mission to rescue Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb from HIGHCOM. Too late to reach CASTLE base, they hid in the mountains attacking Covenant units with the use of guerrilla tactics as opposed to a conventional assault. They programmed their MJOLNIR suits to transmit the "Oly Oly Oxen Free" secret code on E-Band radio, hoping that any surviving Spartans would discover it and help them.

同时，在城堡基地的废墟下，哈尔西博士和弗雷德、凯莉、威尔、荣、艾萨克等五名斯巴达战士花了五天时间来徒步通过一座废弃的钛矿井，结果被星盟困在了废墟回廊中。They managed to retrieve a Forerunner crystal that the Covenant were seeking, but it emitted a burst of radiation which alerted the Covenant to their presence. Vinh and Isaac fell at the hands of overwhelming Covenant forces, and the others escaped by blowing the hallway down behind them.

After the survivors were recovered by Ascendant Justice, a Covenant Flagship captured by John-117 after the Battle of Installation 04, the ship drew a group of Covenant vessels out of the system in pursuit to Eridanus Secundus, leading to the destruction of the asteroid colony, and the destruction of the artifact and the recovery of only a small number of pieces by the Covenant. The Ascendant Justice also destroyed around sixteen Covenant warships during the escape in slipspace and at the rebel base.

时间线

2552年7月23日

• The Fleet of Valiant Prudence is sent to the Epsilon Eridani system to begin the attack on Reach and to prepare the planet for the Covenant's main offensive.
• Fireteam 3 Charlie, along with other special warfare fireteams under command of Colonel Holland, are sent to invetigate Visegrad after contact with the comms relay is lost.

July 24, 2552

• 0728 Hours: Noble Team is ordered to investigate a possible Insurrectionist activity at the disabled Visegrád Relay. Shortly after, the team learns that the Covenant are responsible for the attack on the relay. After retaking the relay, Noble Team discovers a data module on one of the dead staff. WINTER CONTINGENCY is declared.

July 26, 2552

• 1128 hours: A Covenant corvette attacks ONI Sword Base. Noble Team is deployed to secure the base and surrounding outposts. After the corvette is destroyed by orbital bombardment, Noble Team meets up with Dr. Catherine Halsey and hands over the data module retrieved from Visegrád Relay.

August 11, 2552

• 2630 hours Two members of Noble Team, Noble Six and Noble Three, investigate a Covenant-held "dark zone" in the Viery Territory, which UNSC instruments are unable to penetrate. The pair pushes into the zone, encountering moderate Covenant resistance, and locates a Covenant stealth pylon. After rigging the pylon with explosives, Six and Three push further into the zone and discover that the Covenant have covertly established a large landing zone, with at least two Corvettes and many ground assets.

2552年8月12日

• 0800 hours: The UNSC Army begins a full scale assault on the Viery Territory. Noble Team is sent to gather intelligence of Covenant-occupied sites and to destroy an EMP-emitting Covenant tower. The UNSC learn too late that the tower served as a teleporter linked to a cloaked Covenant supercarrier. The Template:UNSCShip is destroyed by the supercarrier's energy projector.

2552年8月13日

• 2007时：星盟部队发动了全面进攻。Noble Team begins developing a plan to destroy the enemy supercarrier with a Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine used as a makeshift bomb. Auntie Dot informs Noble Team that 60%的UNSC舰队正在赶赴致远星，第一个战斗群预计将在48小时内抵达星系。

2552年8月14日

• 1248时：星盟部队再度袭击了刺刀基地并占领了此地。袭击发生时，凯瑟琳·哈尔西博士遁入设施地下，逃过一劫。

• 1248 hours: Noble Team assaults and retakes the Sabre launch facility and use it as a staging point for a battle above Reach. Using the Slipspace drive from the Template:UNSCShip, Noble Team disables and boards one of the Covenant corvettes and use it as the detonation point for the bomb. Due to a malfunction with the triggering mechanism, a member of Noble Team is forced to detonate the bomb manually. The supercarrier is destroyed just as a larger Covenant fleet arrives above Reach.

August 18, 2552

• Siege of New Alexandria: Covenant invasion force under the command of Jiralhanae begin an assault on New Alexandria.

August 23, 2552

• 1534 hours: The Covenant fleet begins glassing targeted areas of Reach, and a battle breaks out in New Alexandria. Noble Six and remaining Army troopers assist in the evacuation of civilians from the city.

• 1857 hours: Noble Six links up with the rest of Noble Team. The team destroys three jammers installed by the Covenant, allowing the UNSC to safely evacuate all personnel from the ONI HQ. When the team reunites, they are ordered by Colonel Holland to proceed to Sword Base. New Alexandria is glassed, and another member of NOBLE Team is killed by a Sangheili Field Marshal shortly after its commencement.

August 26, 2552

• 贵族小队幸存队员搭乘鹈鹕号撤离新亚历山大。

August 27, 2552

• 0800 hours: 25 of the 28 surviving Spartan-IIs assigned to Naval Special Weapons, （剩下的人均是灰队成员）, are recalled to the FLEETCOM Military Complex and are debriefed by Dr. Halsey and Captain Keyes on Operation: RED FLAG.

August 29, 2552

• SPARTAN-B312 and a team of ODSTs secure a landing zone for NOBLE Team's Falcon. Later NOBLE Team proceeds inside Sword Base only to learn their true mission: escort a part of Cortana to the Pillar of Autumn.

August 30, 2552

Reach being glassed by the Covenant.

• 0447 Hours: The remote scanning outpost Fermion detects more incoming Covenant vessels. An emergency message is relayed to FLEETCOM. The outpost then self-destructs per the Cole Protocol due to an unsecured science library and nearby Covenant forces.

• 0500 Hours: A Covenant armada comprised of 315 vessels exits slipspace on the edge of the system. With the planet's defenses weakened by the invasion fleets that had arrived previously, the fleet begins to press forward.

• 0517 Hours: Admiral Roland Freemont (FLEETCOM Sector One Commander) issues a general order to all vessels in the Reach system. All vessels and stations initiate the Cole Protocol and rush to Rally Point ZULU.

• 0534 Hours: Covenant vessels make pinpoint slipspace jumps attempting to destroy any incoming or outgoing human vessels before they can regroup. A Template:Class targets the Template:UNSCShip but is destroyed.

• 0545 Hours: The Covenant vessels begin a frontal assault. As the Covenant and human fleets engage above Reach, it seems to be a stalemate, as Covenant ships take out UNSC ships, while the UNSC ships and MAC cannons take out an equal number. The first salvo by the UNSC vessels destroys a third of the remaining Covenant fleet. An unidentified Covenant warship arrives and destroys several UNSC ships while outside human weapons range.

• 0558 Hours: Station Gamma Dockmaster AI Doppler is unable to implement the Cole Protocol on the Template:UNSCShip, an ONI prowler docked at Reach Station Gamma, due to measures taken to maintain the secrecy of Operation: HYPODERMIC. Doppler sends priority message to FLEETCOM concerning this violation. Covenant intrusion software detects this oversight, and the Covenant deploys troops to seize the NAV database aboard the Circumference.

• 0616 Hours: The Spartan-IIs are dispatched from the Pillar of Autumn. John-117, Linda-058, and James-005 form Blue Team and go aboard the Dock to destroy the Circumference, while the remainder form Red Team and head to the surface of Reach to defend the power generators for the MAC guns. James goes MIA when a Needler hits his thruster pack and propels him into space during combat. Blue Team continue through the station, rescuing Staff Sergeant Johnson; Private O'Brien, Private Bisenti, and Pvt. Wallace A. Jenkins from Kig-yar and Sangheili.

• 0620 Hours: Most of the Covenant fleet retreats from the system after deploying more dropships toward the surface. The UNSC fleet fires on the ships, destroying many although hundreds still land on Reach.

• 0621 Hours: The boarding craft are landed and the armory is overrun; the Covenant fleet re-enters the system. The Covenant split their 150+ remaining ships. One fleet attacks the UNSC ships, while another takes out the MAC cannons and send in troops to land on Reach. The UNSC try to split their 50+ remaining forces to engage the Covenant, but there are too many platforms to cover and too many casualties. The supercruiser continues to destroy UNSC ships, allowing the other ships to attack the MACs. Eventually, the supercruiser is destroyed by the Pillar of Autumn, but the UNSC fleet is practically decimated so it is too late to do any good.

• 0631 Hours: Red Team's Pelican is shot down. They have no choice but to jump from the crashing Pelican and make a "hard landing" on the ground. Results in four dead and six seriously injured.

• 0637 Hours: John-117, the clinically dead Linda-058, and the Marines board the Pillar of Autumn.

• 0647 Hours: Captain Keyes of the Pillar of Autumn orders the vessel to retreat from the system. However, Dr. Catherine Halsey contacts the Autumn, urgently requesting that Keyes drydock at the Asźod ship breaking yards on Reach to collect Cortana's fragment and the vital information she held. Keyes used the brief time on the surface to make minor repairs to the Autumn.

• 0649 Hours: Red Team sets up defenses around ODG Facility A-331.

• 0711 Hours: Fred-104, Joshua-029, and Kelly-087 plant a nuclear warhead through the gravity lift in a landing Covenant cruiser, leaving Joshua-029 MIA, (presumed KIA) in the process.

• 0720 Hours: The Covenant destroys ODG Facility A-331 by aerial bombardment, though some Spartans escape. The surviving MAC guns are now offline and are quickly destroyed by plasma torpedoes. Remaining UNSC vessels have no choice but to retreat. The Covenant warships are split into two groups: five-ship teams that hunt down the surviving UNSC vessels and a group of ships that align themselves in formation and begin to glass Reach.

• 1652 hours: The remainder of Noble Team consisting of Carter-A259, Emile-A239, and SPARTAN-B312 head to the Asźod ship breaking yards to deliver a fragment of Cortana, which holds important navigation data, to the Pillar of Autumn. Carter rams his Pelican into a Scarab, allowing the remaining parts of Noble Team to pass. Emile and SPARTAN-B312 head to platform D in the ship breaking yards to meet with Captain Keyes and to deliver Cortana over. Emile dies when he is stabbed by a Covenant Zealot wielding an Energy Sword. SPARTAN-B312 successfully delivers the package to the Autumn and allows the vessel to escape by destroying an incoming Covenant battlecruiser using a mass driver. The Pillar of Autumn, pursued by a dozen Covenant vessels, retreats from the system, heading for Installation 04.

• 2000 Hours: SPARTAN-B312 is one of the few standing survivors at the ship-breaking yards of Asźod and the planet Reach. The Spartan makes a final stand, fighting off waves of Covenant ground forces, eventually being overwhelmed and killed by a swarm of Sangheili warriors.

2552年9月

9月5日

• UNSC舰队终止了在致远星协作防御区内的活动。

9月7日

• 0002时：斯巴达红队幸存者和哈尔西博士在城堡基地下的废弃钛矿井中步行数日后，抵达了一处充满先行者标志的回廊。
  • 不久后，星盟为搜寻他们而制造了一系列爆破，造成荣-030和艾萨克-039阵亡。

9月11-12日

• 时间不详：04特区之战的幸存者们重返致远星——由于先行者水晶故障造成的时空异常，将他们送回到了两周之前。

参战力量

UNSC

太空装备

• 母舰
  • 布匿级超级母舰
    • UNSC 特拉法尔加号
  • UNSC 武藏号
• 巡洋舰
  • Template:UNSCShip, Template:Class
  • 翡翠鸟级轻型巡洋舰
    • UNSC 秋风之墩号
  • 马拉松级重型巡洋舰
    • UNSC 汉尼拔号
    • UNSC 利维坦号

驱逐舰

• Template:UNSCShip, Template:Class
• Template:UNSCShip, Halberd-class
• Template:UNSCShip
• UNSC Tharsis
• Template:UNSCShip

护卫舰

• 巴黎级重型护卫舰
  • UNSC 巴黎号
  • UNSC 格拉夫顿号
  • UNSC 晨誓号
  • UNSC 稀树草原号
  • UNSC 萨拉托加号
• 卡戎级轻型护卫舰
  • UNSC 命运之盾号
• 伟岸级轻型护卫舰
  • UNSC 伟岸黎明号
• Template:UNSCShip
• Template:UNSCShip

Prowlers

• Template:UNSCShip
• Template:UNSCShip
• Template:UNSCShip

Other/Unknown type

• Template:UNSCShip
• Remote Sensing Station Fermion
• Anchor 9
• Reach Station Gamma

部队

地面部队

• 第124机械化步兵旅
  • 第1团
  • 第6团
  • 第13团
  • 第47团
  • 第127团
  • 第501团
• 第11突击营
  • A-9小队
• 3 Charlie
• 第34步兵旅
  • 第4团
  • 第14团
  • 第581团
  • 第594团
  • 第554营
  • 第1337营
• Charlie Company
• Echo Team
• Gauntlet Team
• 贵族小队
• 斯巴达II蓝队
• 斯巴达II红队
  • 阿尔法小组
  • 贝塔小组
  • 伽马小组
  • 德尔塔小组
• Third Mechanized

海军部队

• 天苑四舰队

人员

• Admiral Roland Freemont
• 迈克尔·斯坦福斯海军中将
• Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb
• 雅各布·凯斯海军上校
• Captain Kristòf Jen
• Captain Santos
• 卡特-A259海军中校
• Lieutenant Commander Kat-B320
• Lieutenant Aki Hikowa
• Lieutenant Dominique
• 斯巴达-B312海军上尉
• Lieutenant, Junior Grade Bill Streeter
• Lieutenant, Junior Grade David Brightling
• Ensign William Lovell
• 约翰-117海军一级军士长
• Chief Petty Officer McRobb
• 弗雷德里克-104海军二级军士长
• 詹姆斯-005海军中士
• 李-008海军中士
• 约书亚-029海军中士
• 荣-030海军中士
• 艾萨克-039海军中士
• 威尔-043海军中士
• 安东-044海军中士
• 琳达-058海军中士
• 麦尔康-059海军中士
• 凯莉-087海军中士
• 格蕾丝-093海军中士
• Colonel Urban Holland
• 乔治-052海军二级准尉
• 埃米尔-A239海军二级准尉
• 俊-A266海军二级准尉
• Sergeant Major Duvall
• 爱德华·巴克三级军士长
• Gunnery Sergeant Stacker
• 艾弗里·约翰逊上士
• Major Antonio Silva
• First Lieutenant Buckman
• First Lieutenant Jake Chapman
• Corporal Errera
• Corporal Taylor Miles
• Corporal Travis
• Corporal Wilkins
• Private First Class Wallace A. Jenkins
• Private Bisenti
• Private O'Brien
• Gabriel Thorne
• Spartan NV66
• Spartan NOLA

星盟

太空装备

• 母舰
• CSO级超级母舰
  • 长夜漫漫号
• CAS级突击母舰
  • Seeker of Truth

巡洋舰

• Truth and Reconciliation

Destroyers

• Esteem

Frigates

• Penance

轻护卫舰

• Ardent Prayer

不详

• Valorous Salvation

人员

• Supreme Commander 提尔·瓦达米
• General Ardo 'Moretumee
• Shipmaster Rho 'Barutamee
• Unidentified Shipmaster
• Chieftain Parabum

单位

舰队

• Fleet of Holy Respite
• 特殊正义舰队
• Fleet of Righteous Vigilance
• 英勇审慎舰队

花絮信息

• Chief Petty Officer McRobb compared the Fall of Reach to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He noted that, like Reach, Pearl Harbor was once thought too strong to attack.
• At the time of the invasion, at least one hurricane was raging on the surface of Reach.

图片册

Noble Team on their way to investigate the communications disruption at Visegrád.

Carter watching a Covenant corvette from a UH-144 Falcon.

UNSC ground forces engage a Covenant Banshee formation.

The Grafton and Saratoga engaging Covenant ground targets.

Jorge-052, Jun-A266, Emile-A239 and SPARTAN-B312 watch as Kat-320 formulates a plan.

A space battle over Reach during Operation: UPPER CUT.

A battle raging around Anchor 9.

The {{UNSCShip|Savannah}} being escorted by a formation of Sabres.

The Savannah and a Sabre engage a Covenant corvette over Reach.

A Covenant fleet entering the system just after the destruction of the Long Night of Solace and Ardent Prayer.

A destroyed UNSC frigate above Reach.

Noble Six looks on as the Long Night of Solace burns.

Noble Six arrives at New Alexandria as it is invaded by Covenant forces.

The surviving members of Noble Team scan the glassed ruins of New Alexandria.

H2A Terminals - Human city.png

The Covenant fleet glasses a major city on Reach.

HR Highlands Glassing.png

The Military Wilderness Training Preserve is glassed.

The ONI facilities at SWORD Base are destroyed.

A planetary MAC cannon fires upon Covenant cruisers descending upon Asźod as surviving UNSC forces mount their escape.

The Pillar of Autumn escapes as Reach is glassed.

UltraMythos.jpg

A Sangheili Ultra leading troops in the battle in Halo Mythos.

HGC - Covenant.jpg

A Covenant armoured column in Halo: Ground Command.

TFoR-as-concept 5.jpg

The members of Blue Team meeting up in Reach's glasslands in 2558 to remember Sam's sacrifice.

登场作品

• 《光环：致远星沦陷》（首次登场）
• 《光环：战斗进化》（提及）
• Halo: The Flood （提及）
• Halo: First Strike
• Halo 2 (Flashback)
• Halo: Ghosts of Onyx （提及）
• Halo 3: ODST （提及）
• Halo Legends
  • Origins
• Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
  • Dirt （提及）
  • The Return （提及）
• Halo: Reach
• Halo: Fall of Reach
  • Invasion
• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary （提及）
• 《光环4》
  • Infinity Briefing Packet （提及）
• Halo: Broken Circle Template:Im
• Halo 2: Anniversary (Flashback)
• Halo: New Blood （提及）
• Halo: Fleet Battles
• Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series
• Halo 5: Guardians
  • Limited Edition （提及）
• Halo: Ground Command
• Halo Mythos
• Halo: Fractures
  • Breaking Strain （提及）
• Halo: Envoy （提及）
• Halo: Retribution （提及）
• Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual
• 《光环：孤狼》（提及）