IN THE BEGINNING The human race was settled on planets known as Reach and Earth. The Human Race was identified and classified as "unworthy" by an alien race called The Covenant, ruled by religion and hierarchy. The hierarchy consisted of three main prophets. These three prophets (Truth, Regret, and Mercy) decided on the extermination of the human race due to the Covenant's religious beliefs. There are many more prophets such as; Prophet of Pity, Supposition, Conviction, and Swag. The UNSC (United Nations Space Command) received intel that Covenant Forces had intentions of wiping out the human race. Reach and Earth were soon after, attacked and suffered a great loss of lives. In learning of Earth's attack and near elimination, Reach was able to hastily prepare for the arrival of their new foe. In that time the UNSC created The Pillar of Autumn, originally planned to be an exploration ship. Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey believed that the human race should fight back and, in doing so, they would create the new upgraded military; the SPARTAN-II Program. The program saved many of the habitants of Reach, but not all. Dr. Halsey escaped on The Pillar of Autumn, and was later on hunted by The Forerunner race, as well as the Covenant.
Thel 'Vadam (left)
John-117 (right)
THE HERO WE ALL KNOW John-117 (AKA Master Chief), the iconic spartan with a legendary dose of luck on his side, is the true savior of Reach and the human race. He is also referred to as "Demon" by the Covenant (especially The Arbiter). As a child, this savior was just known as John. There is no reliable information of a last name given to John other than "John Forge". At the age of 6 years old, John and 74 other children were kidnapped and adopted from their parents by the UNSC. John was of the best trainees in his class, and for that, he was chosen by Cortana to be his companion in battle. Cortana is an AI, and was designed by Dr. Halsey for assistance in computing allied and enemy electronic devices. Dr. Halsey inserted Cortana into John's spartan helmet. His helmet lets Cortana talk to him and navigate him (mentally and physically) through challenges. Cortana eventually runs through challenges of her own and John makes a promise for her during the battle between John and the Didact (One of his greatest foes). After receiving Cortana, John was ordered to go and take her to the Halo, that has been activated by them by mistake, and destroy it. Failure of this mission will lead to annihilation of EVERY life creature in the galaxy. The mission succeeded, but the Prophet of Regret is still alive, and plans to order an attack on The Pillar of Autumn. John-117 and Cortana accept the challenge to find and assassinate the Prophet of Regret. The mission is completed, but when Master Chief exits the sacred temple, John finds himself stuck with a Covenant battle cruiser prepared to fire a vapor beam at the planet and attempt to kill John.
Gravemind talking to Master Chief
John is then captured by a giant, leader of a parasitic species known as Gravemind (see "more" page). John makes a deal with Gravemind and agrees to team up with Thel 'Vadam (a Covenant soldier that has betrayed his race for the greater good and made up for it in order to become The Arbiter). Gravemind becomes a temporary ally with John and Thel, and agrees to attempt to destroy a SECOND Halo ring. Gravemind is the king of the species Inferi redivivus (AKA The Flood). John and Thel eventually deactivate the rings and John returns to the battle grounds of Harvest, another human-inhabited planet. The planet, Harvest, was the where the heat of the war was during the deactivation of the Halos. Master Chief returns to the Harvest to finish the fight on the innocent planet. John shows true heroic acts by doing this. He could have chosen to meet up with Arbiter and stay to take guard over the other rings, but instead he chose to go to the front lines and assist the marines in fighting off the Covenant forces. Master Chief will forever be our idol, hero, and more unworthy words. Now that you know the basics of his story,YOU CAN RESEARCH THE FACT THAT HE MIGHT HAVE BETRAYED EVERYONE (spoiler alert). Master Chief's greatest challenge yet, awaits in the new upcoming Halo 5: Guardians.