A very subtle solution to a question surrounding the Fall of Reach can be found in Halo 2. It appears like Halo 2 is preparing for Reach’s demise at the end of the season, which is a significant tragedy in the history of the games and books in which the UNSU’s primary colony world was decimated by the alien coalition known as the Covenant.
In light of this, a significant Easter egg appears to have provided an answer to a persistent query about one of the most distinctive Spartan teams in the franchise.
In the first two episodes of Halo season 2, Master Chief John-117 (played by Pablo Schreiber) finds it difficult to persuade his superiors of the presence of Elite Sangheili forces on the colony world of Sanctuary before its glassing by Covenant forces.
In a similar vein, the Chief becomes more and more worried about Cobalt Team, another Spartan team that was sent into action without prior notice of a possible Covenant presence. To that aim, a fresh Halo Easter egg might provide some light on Black Team’s whereabouts in the run-up to the impending Fall of Reach.
Black Team Was Not Reachable During Reach’s Decline
John-117 is shown tensely observing a board that shows the standings of other Spartan teams outside of his own Silver Team while Cobalt is away. Because of this, Cobalt’s deployment status being changed to “standby” is cause for concern.
In defiance of James Ackerson (Joseph Morgan), the new director of the Spartan program, the Master Chief decides to find out where the squads are. But the board also says that the Black Team is out on a mission right now.
Although the Halo television series follows a different timeline from the original games and books, Black Team’s off-world location provides the most satisfactory explanation for the fireteam’s whereabouts during Reach’s collapse.
Unlike their fellow Spartans, the Black Team was a distinct group of soldiers with cutting-edge matte-black armour who answered directly to the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Their prolonged absence from Reach during its devastation has always been puzzling, given that they were involved in the Human-Covenant War for several years.
But it makes perfect logic to think that they were just off-world on another ONI operation. Notably, colony worlds are already being glassed ahead of Reach, as verified by Halo season 2. In light of this, ONI may have sent the Black Team on a mission to look into the movement of the Covenant.
Given Ackerson’s connections to ONI before assuming command of the Spartan program from Doctor Catherine Halsey, it’s also possible that additional ties to Black Team may emerge in Halo season 2.