JJ Reviews: FUD THREE

The third episode of Forward Unto Dawn has been released. It is finally time to sort the men from the boys, the cadets from the captains of war.

It's time to introduce the Covenant.

You might have read me bitch about how slow the build up has been thus far in the FUD series - so it was pleasing to see some real action happen. The Covenant have found the UNSC training base and have sent in three ship loads of Covenant forces to destroy all that they can find.

We got to see an enormous elite, a betrayal and finally the Big Green Guy. Hopefully the action will continue and even ratchet up a notch, as for me, Halo is not about allergies to drugs that prevent you from joining the war or pashing the girl from Narnia, it's about taking down the bad guys. Which has actually yet to happen.....

The quality of the film is pretty good, there's some good acting, nice music and the general tone is pitched just right (aside from being slow).

Watch the video here:

Coded Halo 4 message revealed by 343

Well I totally missed it but Little English Halo Blog didn't.  Hidden within the text of the latest Halo Bulletin lies this curious message from the Surgeon to the Coalminer (operatives for the Office of Naval Intelligence, ONI). 

Here's the coded message (and here's the first message).

PLNB PRIORITY TRANSMISSION [CLASSIFIED]
ENCRYPTION CODE: [CLASSIFIED]
PUBLIC KEY: N/A

FROM: CODENAME SURGEON
TO: CODENAME COALMINER

CLASSIFICATION: ELEVENTH HOUR [2/5]
SUBJECT: OVER THE FENCE

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/
/START FILE/

SPECIES CANDIDATE//LINE RECORD 94:73:02:75

UNGGOY// Sensors at Balaho indicate stability, no off-planet transport recorded since Solipsis. Runners are claiming that Buwan has been abandoned as well, but we’re keeping our eyes on it anyway. Moderate Unggoy populations have been observed in Sangheilian systems at various intervals.

KIG-YAR// Eayn’s native population continues to grow and expand within reasonable governing parameters; its economic and social lines have stabilized in the wake of the war. Muloqt, Kaelarot, and Valyanop, the primary interplanetary colonial sites, all remain static, with little notable movement. There are rumors of mercenaries operating alongside a handful of more conservative Sangheili states, although that has yet to be substantiated.

SANGHEILI// Most intel here originates from ground contacts, but sensors have assisted with validation. The primary issue with the Sangheili is that of discordant cultural symmetry. It is difficult to assess military growth across several dozen active colonial vectors all with disparate political structures. Nevertheless, any and all visible military activity appears to be internecine in nature.

NOTE: A cluster of Sangheili frontier worlds saw a sudden and anomalous convergence of unregistered ships, largely cruisers of varying classes according to a handful of remote relays stationed nearby. By the time sensors were deployed, the ships were gone. The relays can’t assess numbers or strength, but the readings we have indicate that this wasn’t an expeditionary voyage or something tied to a single state. It appears to have been much larger.

/END FILE/

Space Command takes over the UN's responsibilities

Auntie made a bit of a blooper this week 

During a piece on Amnesty and the United Nations Security Council's response to the turmoul in Syria, the BBC used a graphic to represent the Council. For some unknown reason (but most likley a bad use of good image search) they decided to use the logo of Halo's UNSC - otherwise known as United Nations Space Command.

Perhaps if the Chief was sent into Syria he could sort the Arab Spring out? As in bring democracy to the people of those nations.