From February 3, 2525, when Harvest lost contact, to the present day, July 24, 2552, the all-out war between humanity and the powerful, warlike Covenant had dragged on, on and off, for nearly twenty-seven years...
After years of determined resistance against the Covenant's overwhelming technological superiority and immense military strength, the results achieved by humanity's space fleet amounted to little more than face-saving phrases like "steadily losing ground" and "suffering heavy casualties."
By now, the higher-ups within the UNSC (the United Nations Space Command) had gradually come to understand that the war between humanity and the Covenant was nothing more than a hopelessly lopsided contest. After all, humanity had spent far too long fighting among itself on Earth, and far too little time in space. It had built up far too little strength. It was like a child who hadn't even grown up yet, going into battle with a sword against an adult.
So they understood all too well what their efforts over the years had achieved. Perhaps the only thing that could give humanity even a sliver of hope was that Reach, a colony fortress of vital strategic importance known as "Earth's gateway," was still standing.
Of course, it was only a sliver. The UNSC knew perfectly well that things were nowhere near as rosy as the morale-boosting statements they made to the public suggested.
But speaking of Reach, one had to mention the Solar System and Epsilon Eridani...
They were generally regarded as sister systems, since Epsilon Eridani, in the constellation Eridanus, was one of the closest neighbors to humanity's home system. It was a planetary system just 10.5 light-years from Earth, part of UNSC Sector One. Several colonies of the United Earth Government were located there, including Reach.
Reach was originally an ordinary human colony close to