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Halo: The Master Chief Collection Season 6 added brand new Halo 3 armor permutations based on an ODST squad. However, they’re not from Buck’s squad in Halo 3: ODST, instead, these new Helljumper armors in Halo: MCC are based on the equipment of Fireteam Raven — the titular ODST squad from an arcade game made by Raw Thrills. Similar to other Raw Thrills’ popular titles such as The Walking Dead Arcade and Transformers – Human Alliance, Halo: Fireteam Raven is a coin-operated on-rail shooter where each player controls a turret. Debuted in 2018, depending on the setup, a maximum of four players can play through the game together simultaneously.
And that’s the introduction to the Halo: Fireteam Raven game, but it definitely still didn’t explain who these new ODSTs are and what their roles are in the Halo: MCC universe. Well, read on below, and let’s get right on it!
Members of the Fireteam Raven ODST Squad
- Ethan Graves (Blue – ODST\TAC – Player 1): A native of the Jovian habitat clusters on Io, Ethan grew up listening to his father’s tales about how Jupiter protects Earth from asteroids, comets, and other natural incursions thanks to its gravitational influence. He later joined the UNSC Marine Corps to both get away from a life in factories and to fight the Insurrection. His sharp intellect and decisiveness as a leader helped him rise quickly through the ranks. When the Covenant attacked, the 37 years old soldier immediately requested admission to the ODST, as he knew that Earth is under threat once again.
- Marcus Hudson (Orange – ODST\COMM – Player 2): Marcus was barely school-age when the first contact with the Covenant occurred. His fellow New Alexandrians believed that the Covenant’s attack could never happen to them. Marcus himself wasn’t so sure. Backed by his talent as a gifted student-athlete and his dedication to preparing for the unthinkable, his name reached the sights of top-level accelerated enlistment programs within the UNSC which considered the 30 years old male to be a natural fit for Operation: RED FLAG.
- Victor Ramos (Green – ODST\HVY – Player 3): Born in Casbah City on the colony world of Tribute, Victor knew well the horrors of the Insurrection’s uprisings. Once that fear turned into an existential dread of Covenant invasion, he enlisted in the UNSC to give his loved ones a reason to never be afraid again. However, as Ramos and his fellow ODSTs were forced to watch the Fall of Reach, he realized that the Covenant is also razing his own homeworld at the same time. When the Pillar of Autumn jumped to Alpha Halo, the 20 years old soldier was left to ponder the fate of his family back on Tribute, and promised he’d make it back as soon as he could.
- Ava Lang (Purple – ODST\DEMO – Player 4): Growing up around technologies because of her mother’s job as an engineer for Acheron Security in the Chicago Industrial Zone, Ava was eventually inspired to study the workings of explosive ordnance disposal. After enlisting in the UNSC, her skillset expanded to include the employment of explosive ordnance in more offensive capacities. The 23-year-old Earthborn’s deft decision-making and unflappable resolve landed her a spot in the ODST ranks and she was soon assigned to Fireteam Raven.
The team is commanded by UNSC officer and battle-hardened Helljumper Major Antonia Silva. During their missions, a fourth-generation dumb AI named Wellsley keeps them updated with the latest combat intel available.
Timeline
The Fireteam Raven ODST story in the Halo: MCC universe starts and ends with Halo: Combat Evolved. Or in the four days of September 2552 in the in-universe timeline. Their story began on September 19, 2552:
- As the Pillar of Autumn is getting boarded by the Covenant forces and Master Chief was just woken up from his cryo sleep, Fireteam Raven was tasked defending the Autumn until all surviving personnel was evacuated. The ODSTs eventually had to evacuate the cruiser using drop pods before Captain Jacob Keyes crashed it onto Alpha Halo, the Installation 04.
- Following the capture of Captain Keyes by Covenant forces, the UNSC establishes Alpha Base firebase atop a large mesa already fortified with ancient Forerunner structures. Housing surviving UNSC personnel and ODST squads, Alpha Base serves as the primary staging area for the UNSC as they plan their next moves.
- Fireteam Raven pods’ landed on the Alpha Halo. Under the guidance of Wellsley, they move to Pillar of Autumn’s crash site on a 28-hour long trip.
- During this time, the Master Chief embarks on a rescue effort to gather other groups of surviving Marines. He and Cortana later lead a group of Marines to assault the Covenant cruiser, Truth and Reconciliation, and successfully extracted Captain Keyes.
September 20, 2552:
- While Master Chief and Cortana search for the ring’s Silent Cartographer, Fireteam Raven regrouped with other UNSC forces.
- They then had to fend off a swarm of Covenant forces near Autumn’s crash site, to try securing any remaining supplies or survivors on the cruiser. Despite heavy losses, Fireteam Raven completed their objective, and Autumn’s survivors all made their way to Alpha Base.
- While the Chief looks for the Control Room, Keyes and his group of Marines are attacked by the Flood.
- Master Chief successfully locates the Control Room, but Cortana immediately orders him to rendezvous with Keyes as soon as possible. They then discover Keyes’ team fate and the deadly Flood outbreak.
September 21, 2552:
- Roughly 60 hours after Fireteam Raven’s landfall, the Covenant managed to discover Alpha Base and a massive battle followed. They helped to repel the Covenant troops. But before the battle ends, they’re recalled to the Control Room on another part of Alpha Halo to deal with a newly emerging threat — The Flood. They tried to relieve the few Marines still holding their grounds, but the base is overrun by the Flood and the team escapes on a Falcon.
- Along the way to the Control Room, a three-way battle eventually broke out. Punching a hole through Flood forces, Fireteam Raven unknowingly helps the Master Chief to proceed on his own mission. Their Falcon sustained serious damage as it retreated.
- Master Chief finds 343 Guilty Spark. However, when they returned with the Index, Cortana confronts them both with the true purpose of Halo — eliminating all sentient life in the galaxy to stop the Flood infestation. Cortana confiscates the Index and the pair escapes with Guilty Spark in hot pursuit.
- Hoping to cripple the Halo’s activation and draw Guilty Spark’s attention elsewhere, Master Chief destroys the ring’s pulse generators.
September 22, 2552:
- Master Chief returns to the Truth and Reconciliation, arriving too late to save Keyes’ life. He then recovers Keyes’ neural implants and escapes the Covenant ship.
- Not long after, Major Silva’s forces arrive at the Truth and Reconciliation to finish off the assault. After clearing the area, Silva plans to commandeer the Covenant craft back to Earth. But his Executive Officer, First Lieutenant Melissa McKay, realizes that Silva’s action would violate the Cole Protocol and risk another Flood infestation. Lieutenant McKay quickly damaged the control of the Truth and Reconciliation and caused it to crash back down onto the ring’s surface.
- Fireteam Raven’s Falcon crash-landed near an unknown Forerunner installation overrun with Flood and they’re forced to seek cover inside until an evacuating Pelican could arrive to extract. Upon successful extraction, Raven was informed of Master Chief’s intent to detonate the Autumn’s fusion reactors to destroy Halo. A last-ditch assault by the few surviving UNSC forces was able to keep most of the Covenant forces at bay from reaching Master Chief’s position.
- All members of Fireteam Raven are KIA when Installation 04 was destroyed.
Although it never becomes a part of Halo: MCC games, the short-yet-heroic journey of the Fireteam Raven ODST squad still plays a part in Master Chief’s own story. It’s quite a shame that so far they haven’t appeared in the comics, novels, or any other spin-offs. What do you think of the arcade game and its story? Drop feet first into the comments like an ODST and radio in The Nerd Stash for more intel on Halo: MCC and Microsoft games series.