“My name is Terrance Hood. I am an admiral in the United Nations Space Command Navy. I have worn this uniform with pride for most of my life. Today... I faced the rewards of my own hubris. I was the man who could have saved Captain James Cutter. Instead, my actions damned him to an unknowable fate.”

- Lord Admirable Hood, Escalation.

Today, February 18, 2017, our long-lost, beloved crew of the 'Spirit of Fire' in Halo Wars 2 Ultimate Edition will be awoken early to those who pre-ordered a copy, while the standard edition will arise on the 21st. There was a beacon intercepted from a long-range communications buoy among our outer satellite array, it was encrypted, but we managed to decode it -- just of the first four missions, sadly. Nonetheless, valuable information was intermittently and brilliantly woven inside a soundtrack of the incursion. An added precaution, the crewman warned, but necessary. He said it helped him become immersed into it, to understand the beauty of the echoes of war.

A crewmember of ours aboard has unfrozen from cryo sleep several days ago, and he has firsthand accounts of what to expect of our unprecedented, ferocious new enemy, The Banished. Deckhand Haruspis witnessed 12 original missions that took him roughly 7 hours to complete in a straight sprint. Although, he mentioned in the entry logs that there were several side missions and opportunities that, however, do not progress plot in anyway, but the rewards for them are up for grabs, in the end. A whisper of skulls and collectables, I heard him say grimly of the sight.

Indeed, him along the rest of the crew aboard the Spirit of Fire are still at siege with The Banished, Deckhand Haruspis states there is more content coming later to the campaign, a “DLC of two packs, possibly that of The Banished’s point of view,” possibly collected data and recordings from viewports and hacked cameras -- much like the documents and viewings presented to us by the Arbiter. Of course, it is all in theory, and we can only speculate until its time of arrival to the game, if conscripted to the season pass, of course.

In the messages, Deckhand Haruspis did discuss the likelihood of massive opportunities for more media, perhaps printed and maybe animated. He has also attached his journal of many admissions, filled with information and knowledge of our enemies all around us, inside and out, logistically adding to the paths that may lay ahead. This has, of course, caught the attention of ONI Section Zero, and wish to... speak with him via way of their famous “invitation.” They are eager to drown these files in black ink, no doubt, along with him, as well.

Our records show that Deckhand Haruspis has studied literature and writing while enlisted in the UNSC for five years, prior to the time of being abandoned with his crew to the unrelenting void of space, obviously. His evaluation before departure for service was to become a teacher after fulfilling his duties as a soldier.

Perhaps this is all a warning, a way in telling us to stay away, never to follow them into the howling darkness they have been left to -- or conceivably, could it be a request for back-up. Regardless of his intent, we will not allow them to be lost with all hands any further. No more will the unforgivable ocean of blackness be their prison, speckled with false glimmering lighthouses taunting their navigation homeward. Now, all hands on deck, Spartans! We have a ship out there sinking…let’s go get her back.