Events:
- CFHT-MARS discovers an anomaly nearing human space whilst capturing the Rosette Nebula. This discovery is sent to Dr. Catherine Halsey for evaluation.
- Insurrectionists hit the luxury liner National Holiday above Reach, detonating explosives against its hull. The ship plummets into Reach's atmosphere, burning up via re-entry. The Office of Naval Intelligence, with the help of OFI, manages to portray it as a tragic accident.
- Staff Sergeants Nolan Byrne and Avery Johnson lead two four-man teams on a raid in the city of Casbah on Tribute to find rebel bombs. The assault is part of Operation: TREBUCHET.
- The freighter Horn of Plenty emerges from Slipspace in error, courtesy of a radiation leak, and sends out a distress beacon. The beacon is futile, however, as the ship being attacked and captured by a Covenant vessel.
- Horn of Plenty's navigation box is retrieved by Covenant forces and its contents are analyzed by the Huragok Lighter Than Some. Lighter Than Some finds the vessel's point of origin. The Covenant ship, Minor Transgression, heads off to obtain more spoils.
- Horn of Plenty's signal reaches Harvest, being received by the Artificial intelligence construct Sif.
- The UNSC Two for Flinching, carrying Staff Sergeant Johnson and many others, arrives in the Epsilon Indi System.
- Minor Transgression's crew launches a raid on the freighter This End Up, killing its captain, Henry Gibson. A while later, Sif reports the attack to al-Cygni, both realizing that it was the only ship in the area with a human crew.
- The Prophet of Restraint impregnates a female San 'Shyuum, despite his defective genes making it illegal for him to reproduce. With the mother refusing an abortion, a scandal starts brewing over the issue.
