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- A marine sergeant nicknamed Ghost and his demolition team are sent to destroy a prototype weapons facility to prevent it from falling into Covenant hands. Not wanting a repeat of his last mission, in which his entire platoon was killed, Ghost commandeers the heavy armor suit and uses it to provide cover for his squad as they evacuate. While Ghost deals massive damage to the Covenant forces, he is heavily outmatched and seriously wounded. As the last evacuation ships fly away, he uses the suit's self-destruct to destroy the nearby Covenant and complete his mission.
Animated by Studio Bones, Directed by Tomoki Kyoda and Yasushi Muraki, featuring production designs by Shinji Aramaki. (en)
- "The Duel" was produced by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and directed by Hiroshi Yamazaki, with creative supervision by Mamoru Oshii. The story follows an Arbiter who does not want to follow the Covenant religion. One of the Prophets accuses Fal of heresy. Fal will not yield and the Prophet sends another Elite to kill his wife in order to drag him to a trap. (en)
- On board the ship Forward Unto Dawn , the artificial intelligence Cortana and Master Chief are stranded after the events of Halo 3. Cortana muses on her existence and what she has learned about the noble and ancient race known as the Forerunners. Cortana narrates past events: thousands of years ago, the Forerunners were a great civilization, but they came under attack by the parasitic Flood. The Forerunners underestimated the Flood, by which time it had spread, gaining the knowledge of the life it consumed. Though the Forerunners fought bravely, they eventually realized it was a futile fight. After trying other methods, they developed a weapon of last resort; an array of ringed megastructures called Halos that would destroy the Flood and their food supply—every sentient creature in the galaxy. While the Flood and Forerunner were wiped out by the Halo Array's activation, the Forerunners reseeded catalogued life throughout the galaxy.
The second part of "Origins" follows the rise of human civilization. Humanity's exploration and colonization of other worlds coincides with the rise of the Covenant, a theocratic alliance of alien races that worship the Forerunners and reverse-engineer their technology. The Covenant launches a massive war of extermination against the human race. The events of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3 are summarized; a band of Covenant Elites ally with humanity to stop the Flood from spreading into the galaxy again, and the long war ends between human and Covenant. In the present, Cortana cryptically warns that the Halos are only one of the galaxy's many secrets.
"Origins" was a chance to tell the story of the entire Halo universe in a clear fashion; many parts of the franchise had only been explored in what O'Connor called a "piecemeal" fashion. (en)
- Produced by Bee Train, executive produced by Koichi Mashimo, written by Hiroyuki Kawasaki and directed Koji Sawai.
On Harvest, UNSC forces are pinned down by Covenant. A Spartan codenamed Daisy-023 arrives and helps evacuate the UNSC forces. While in battle, Daisy has flashbacks to her past in the SPARTAN-II supersoldier project. When she decides to escape the project and return home, she finds a replacement clone of herself. Daisy draws her firearm, but cannot kill the clone and decides to return to the military. The clone gives Daisy a small teddy bear, similar to what Daisy had before she was inducted into the SPARTAN-II Project. In the present, Daisy is shot and killed; her body is found by the Master Chief, who picks up the teddy bear beside her and places it in her hands. (en)
- On board a cloaked human ship, a group of elite supersoldiers called Spartans are briefed by an intelligence officer about their mission. A Covenant fleet is momentarily trapped in the system, and is carrying an important "package" the Spartans must retrieve. The ship decloaks and deploys the Spartans in small ships called Booster Frames. Solomon detects the package on one of the ships, but discovers too late that it is a ruse; Solomon is killed when the ship is destroyed. Master Chief deduces that their target is actually in the Covenant flagship. Arthur is killed trying to cover Kelly during the battle, and the rest of the Spartans board the Covenant ship. Making their way through thick Covenant defenses, Master Chief manages to recover the package—human scientist Catherine Halsey in cryonic hibernation—and the two escape via a Covenant escape pod. The remaining Spartans are recovered by the stealth ship and leave the system. (en)
- Animated by Toei Animation Company written and directed by Daisuke Nishio, Odd One Out is a parody of the Halo universe and is not canon. It follows the adventures of Spartan 1337, a member of Master Chief's unit who suffers both from a severe ego and horrendous bad luck, although still a fairly competent fighter in his own right. He finds himself accidentally stranded on a planet after falling out of his transport. The planet is inhabited by dinosaurs and a group of stranded kids, the two oldest having superhuman strength. The Covenant test their latest weapon, a bestial warrior called Pluton. 1337 and the kids fight back, but are overpowered. However, the kids' ship launches the beast into slipspace. When Cortana senses it, she tells Master Chief to leave it, as it is happy. 1337 makes for the rendezvous point, before being carried off by a pterodactyl. (en)
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