Chronique:Canon Fodder - Fleetcom Fiction
Issue 156
By Alex Wakeford
Welcome to the last issue of Canon Fodder before its tenth birthday!
Next month’s issue will, of course, be all about celebrating those ten years with some fun treats, but in case this is the first issue you happen to be jumping into, allow us to give you an introduction (and if you’re a regular reader, a reintroduction).
Canon Fodder is dedicated to highlighting, showcasing, and at times creating lore and storytelling elements for the Halo universe. Once upon a time, discussion of Halo fiction existed in occasional community updates and on forum platforms, but over the last decade it has been Canon Fodder’s goal to serve as a regular outlet for all things fiction—and since May 2021, we have released at least one issue per month. (That’s a hot streak right there!)
The objectives of Canon Fodder as a feature can be thought of as threefold:
- CURATIVE: We curate Halo’s extensive lore, providing readers with an official source of authority about a variety of different aspects of the fiction.
- INFORMATIVE: We point readers to where they can experience this lore for themselves, provide updates on upcoming projects, highlight community lore content, and answer questions.
- CREATIVE: We provide new storytelling elements in a variety of formats to expand the Halo universe—whether that’s Armory Infinitum entries, Waypoint Chronicles, or new lore information and art.
The presence and pitch of these three pillars naturally varies per issue, but the ultimate goal is simply to foster awareness and appreciation for what we love: the lore and storytelling of this beloved franchise.
Canon Fodder has traditionally been a blog series, with the occasional live panel at Outpost Discovery and the Halo World Championship; as we wrap up these first ten years we’ll be looking at new ways to bring the content of these issues to you in other formats. More on that below!
CANON FODDER CODEX[modifier]
A new program we’re experimenting with is Canon Fodder Codex, the debut of which has gone live on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Over the years, we’ve been evolving some of our regular community programming, such as the weekly #FictionFriday feature which has gone through a few different iterations. Previously, we’ve used screenshots, we experimented with some themed “cards” last year, but we ultimately arrived at using videos to better showcase cinematic and gameplay moments tied to the fiction. Think of CF Codex as a bit of an evolution of that.
The goal with CF Codex is to explore how we can make the lore featured in Canon Fodder issues even more accessible and digestible to fans on other platforms, as of course not everybody is out here reading detailed lore blogs that typically average around 2,500 words! So, for existing readers, do not fear: we aren’t looking to section off “exclusive” fiction information in CF Codex videos that might be harder to cite as sources.
“What does it mean to be Banished?” is our first video in this series, and we look forward to doing more of these in the months to come!
FLEETCOM[modifier]
Let’s talk FLEETCOM!
Halo Infinite’s latest Operation is themed around FLEETCOM—but what is it, and where has it appeared before? It’s one of those things you might have heard about, but don’t necessarily know how it fits into the overall picture of the Halo universe.
UNSC Fleet Command (FLEETCOM) directs the movement and tasking of naval squadrons, and is ultimately responsible for the proper allocation of all Navy warfighting assets to maximize their combat efficacy.
FLEETCOM is something that is broadly present throughout many of Halo’s stories. Let’s run over some of the highlights.
OLYMPIC TOWER, REACH
- Olympic Tower
Halo: Reach screenshot of the Olympic Tower and surrounding buildings.
At the end of the mission New Alexandria in Halo: Reach, Noble Six is directed to the Olympic Tower with the objective of neutralizing Shade turrets that are preventing evacuations.
The Olympic Tower itself is the headquarters for ONI on Reach, but it is part of the larger complex of other FLEETCOM buildings in the immediate area—a nexus of seven skyscrapers surrounding the tower which serve as the home for administrative facilities, laboratories, command information centers, military barracks, and more.
There’s a cool bit of connectivity between the game and book here too, as the Olympic Tower was first mentioned by Dr. Halsey in Halo: The Fall of Reach.
When the Spartans started racking up successes, the Admiralty’s reticence vanished. Her meager budget had mushroomed overnight. They had offered her a corner office in the prestigious Olympic Tower at FLEETCOM HQ.
She had, of course, declined. Now the brass and VIPs that wanted to see her had to spend half the day just getting through the security barriers to her lair. She relished the irony—her banishment had become a bureaucratic weapon.
~ Halo: The Fall of Reach, Chapter 25
ADMIRABLE ADMIRALS
You know what they say, an organization is all about the people, and FLEETCOM has some personnel you’re sure to recognize.
Terrence Hood, Margaret Parangosky, Michael Stanforth, Serin Osman, and the legendary Preston Jeremiah Cole are a few of the familiar names from the games and expanded universe who serve as part of FLEETCOM, as they are Admirals of the UNSC Navy.
INFINITY INBOUND
FLEETCOM gets several direct name-drops throughout Halo 4 in the missions Forerunner, Infinity, Shutdown, and Midnight.
As the UNSC Infinity is pulled into Requiem, we hear several transmissions from everyone’s favorite then-Captain Andrew Del Rio broadcasting situation updates to FLEETCOM. When the Master Chief and Cortana rendezvous with Infinity’s crew and head to the bridge, Del Rio states that their by-the-book priority regarding the Didact is to file a threat assessment of the new Forerunner presence to FLEETCOM.
At the start of the mission Shutdown, while exploring the hangar bay you can encounter a Marine and an Officer discussing the Master Chief’s refusal to obey Del Rio’s order to hand over Cortana.
Marine: "Look, I fought to get this assignment. I'm just saying--"
Officer: "A chain of command is still a chain of command."
Marine: "C'mon, who do you think FLEETCOM's going to side with? Don't be naive."
And finally, FLEETCOM is an active presence at the start of Midnight, Halo 4’s concluding mission, heard over radio chatter when the Didact reaches Earth.
As the Master Chief makes contact with the UNSC Infinity, Captain Thomas Lasky reveals that FLEETCOM didn’t take too kindly to Del Rio abandoning humanity’s greatest hero on Requiem and subsequently removed him from command. Thus began a not-so-fruitful pivot into a washed-up senatorial career for Del Rio.
DON’T MESS WITH DIMAH
Alas, poor Dimah Tchakova...
In Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, as the cadets and personnel of Corbulo Military Academy are gathered at the orbital tether for evacuation, Dimah splits off from Hastati Squad to jump the queue. She is stopped by a Marine, but is granted access to the elevator car after she confidently asserts that her mother is secretary of FLEETCOM.
Our favorite nepo baby Dimah pulling parental rank sadly does not end well for her. As her elevator car ascends the tether, Covenant ships emerge through the clouds to—in the very mortal words of Drowning Pool—let the bodies hit the floor...
HELLO, OPERATOR?[modifier]
Operator was designed for agents within the Asymmetrical Action Group of ONI’s Beta-5 Division. The AAG was formed in the later years of the Covenant War, comprised of veterans of unconventional warfare and experts on Covenant battle tactics—of the latter, few were as experienced and knowledgeable as Spartan super-soldiers.
Beta-5 worked with Chalybs Defense Solutions to create Mjolnir-compatible variants specifically for AAG operatives in the field, such as Joshua-029. The Operator suite provided detailed, on-the-fly intel through transmissions that could circumvent most Covenant security networks, providing invaluable data on the alien alliance’s tactics and technology.
Where humanity once faced a single unified empire, recent years have provided no end of factions vying for power. In response, the AAG has been expanded by Beta-5 and Operator assets were put into production to once again aid in the deterrence, disruption, and defeat of novel threats to the UNSC. This revised form of the Operator helmet has implemented a variety of learnings from its previous incarnations along with several requested updates from AAG operatives.
COMMUNITY QUERIES[modifier]
You asked, and we answered.
- Vol & Bros.
Halo: Spartan Assault screenshot of Merg Vol.
TheTrekspert: Are Parg Vol and Merg Vol related?
Parg and Merg Vol are indeed brothers. In Halo: Spartan Assault, set in early 2554, Merg Vol is among the first Covenant remnant leaders to continue hostilities with humanity after the formal end of the Covenant War. He was eliminated by Spartan Sarah Palmer.
After his brother’s death, Parg Vol saw Jul ‘Mdama’s Covenant as the most effective way to avenge his brother and pledged loyalty to the Didact’s Hand. Parg Vol was neutralized by Fireteam Crimson during an operation on the shield world Requiem in 2558.
And as for their third brother, Blarg... well, everyone knows Blarg!
TheEld: The Chief says Cortana led an attack on Sydney. Does that mean the UNSC Plateau crashing didn't just wipe the city out?
The Halo: Fractures short story “Rossbach’s World” takes place concurrently with the events that conclude Halo 5, with Cortana arriving at Earth after dispersing her Guardians to occupy and police many inhabited systems, beginning her uprising in earnest.
No interaction between Hood and Cortana is directly shown in “Rossbach’s World,” as it is told exclusively from Serin Osman’s point of view, but when she and Hood link up, Hood tells Osman in no uncertain terms that the voice they are hearing is Cortana’s. It can be inferred that the declaration Cortana makes to Hood (as heard in Halo Infinite) occurred prior to meeting with Osman, as they are immediately taken off-world and have no contact with anyone upon reaching Rossbach’s World.
As Hood and Osman escape with Spartan Orzel, a Guardian descends upon Sydney and a battle breaks out with local UNSC forces. Though the outcome of the battle is left ambiguous in “Rossbach’s World,” it is noted that multiple ships are destroyed upon surface impact with the city, and the fate of the frigate UNSC Plateau is unknown.
In the Halo Infinite mission Repository, the Master Chief references this event and says that Cortana’s forces wiped Sydney out—leaving those familiar with “Rossbach’s World” to conclude that Plateau’s engine core did indeed detonate.
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As the prowler flees for orbit, the Plateau sends a pair of MAC cannon blasts into the Guardian’s torso area, but there is no discernable effect. Instead of succumbing to the onslaught, or returning fire on the Plateau, the Guardian unleashes a spherical energy wave over the city.
Later, when she can finally watch the footage from the prowler’s sensor logs, Serin expects to see the blast wave leveling buildings. Instead it seems to affect only ships. As the blast passes across their frames, the ships each fall from the sky, the trick to flight forgotten, and impact on crowded streets, erupting into fireballs.
When the blast wave hits the Plateau, the frigate lists to one side, then drops. That’s the very instant the prowler entered slipspace, so the footage cuts to black before the Plateau can hit the city below. If the Plateau’s engine core detonated on impact, Sydney would be nothing more than a crater right now.
There must be millions dead.
~ Halo: Fractures, “Rossbach’s World”
ARMORY INFINITUM[modifier]
Ah, the Needler—a truly iconic mainstay of Halo’s sandbox!
It’s a weapon that has simultaneously evolved a lot throughout the series in terms of its usage, but broadly speaking has remained exactly the same. Hold that trigger down and watch as those blamite shards (or “kemuksuru,” as the Sangheili call it, which we learned in Battle for the Blood-Moon) supercombine into a pink mist.
The Needler has also had a number of variants introduced in recent years—most recently, the Pinpoint Needler in Halo Infinite. In the campaign, you will find it wielded by Writh Kul, a Kig-Yar skirmisher, shipmistress, pirate, and Banished high value target.
As a purely coincidental side note to this: August is International Pirate Month and you can get a nameplate for it in MCC by logging in at any point this month. So go and claim that bountiful booty!
Writh Kul was ready to play her last hand.
Her prize sat in the middle of the table—a unique variation of the standard needler with a white chassis, boasting a larger magazine and enhanced target acquisition. It was a personal heirloom of the pirate queen Vrak’is, who sat opposite Writh Kul, her Ibie’shan face heavily scarred. Once, a plume of golden hair had covered her head, but that too had been burned away.
The Sangheili term for the game they were playing was rwr'u a'uamr'ep, which translated more directly as “cube gambit.” It was a sport of chance requiring players to detect the deception of their opponents which had gained popularity among many Kig-Yar groups decades ago while living aboard an asteroid station alongside humans. They had simply called it “liar’s dice.”
“Five fours,” Writh Kul lied.
“Liar!” Vrak’is hissed immediately.
They turned over their cups and, sure enough, Writh Kul had only four twos to her name—a poor hand and an even poorer attempt to deceive the old pirate queen.
“Five of kind,” Vrak’is said triumphantly, her jewelry emphatically clinking together as she stood to receive silent adulation from an invisible audience. “Five of kind! Five fives!”
Writh Kul allowed her to enjoy the moment; Vrak’is was the one person she could accept losing to. Once, the pirate queen had been possessed of a formidable fleet and many devoted followers and slaves, but a recent encounter with the UNSC had changed her fortunes dramatically.
Now she was a reclusive figure aboard her lone raider craft Daggerboard, roaming Kig-Yar space to challenge treasure-seekers to eccentric games in exchange for her trinkets and bounties.
“Take anyway,” Vrak’is motioned dismissively to the needler. “No more fight for me, better use for you. Good relationship with Banished. Take it.”
COMMUNITY LORE CORNER[modifier]
Following on from our last Waypoint Chronicle, Anvil Accord, Covenant Canon has done a video on the modern state of the Ussans and their integration with the Swords of Sanghelios.
The fall of the Forerunners came as the result of many factors beyond the sheer strength and scale of their parasitic foe, and in his latest video PainTJM takes a closer look at the societal and cultural divisions that had taken root within the ecumene.
MegMage’s Halo 5 playthrough continues where, after exploring Genesis, she arrives on the shores of Sanghelios!
Personally speaking, I love watching lore reaction videos and seeing series newcomers explore the deeper, darker corners of Halo. LizzGotHere recently finished Halo: Combat Evolved and has capped off her playthrough of the original game with a watchthrough of the Terminals.
Lore Tours is back and has enticed us all with a compelling premise: five minutes of the weirdest Unggoy lore. From the tragedy of Balaho’s glassing to their superior brains, and even their love of human soap operas.
The Banshee is, of course, one of the coolest vehicles ever—of all time. This is a universally agreeable statement. MetaNerdz Lore has done a complete breakdown of the Banshee variants that we know to span five-thousand years of history, from the time of pre-Covenant Sangheili to the 26th century.
That’s a wrap for Issue #156. We’ll be back in early September to kick off the festivities for Canon Fodder’s tenth birthday—so stay tuned!