**Spartan Strike: Operation E — Brother's Keeper**

**Spartan Strike: Operation E — Brother's Keeper** Mission spoilers. Operation and challenge guide; not a complete navigation walkthrough. If Operation E is still locked, check your gold stars before looking for another story trigger. You need gold in every mission of Operations A through D. That is 24 gold medals, not merely 24 completed missions. Brother's Keeper adds six missions that revisit the wider operation from another Spartan's side. They have their own gold medals, Assault Ops, and two specific achievement attempts worth planning separately. **The six missions** **E-1, Behind Enemy Lines:** rescue the Marines. Its challenges include Grizzly kills on Grunts, vehicle destruction of Shade Turrets, and melee kills on stealth Elites. Do not flatten every Elite with the tank if you are specifically trying to finish the melee task. **E-2, Glyphology:** reach the downed Hornet, recover the Forerunner glyphs, and evacuate the survivors. This is the mission for Mine Sweeper, covered below. Keep a careful first clear separate from rushing the Shade Turret and melee-kill challenges. **E-3, Foothold:** establish a forward operating base on Gamma Halo. The challenges distinguish Kestrel kills on Ghosts, Warthog kills on Covenant, and Shade Turret kills on Elite Commanders. Those are three different vehicles or emplacements, not a general vehicle-kill counter. **E-4, Finders, Keepers:** the cleanup tasks use a Kestrel against turrets, a Magnum against Crawlers, and an Incineration Cannon against Covenant. In particular, do not spend all your cannon ammunition on Prometheans and expect progress toward the Covenant requirement. **E-5, Portal Control:** keep the required weapon pairings in mind: Shade Turret against Covenant, Binary Rifle against Watchers, and Scattershot against Prometheans. Save appropriate ammunition before pushing into the next fight. **E-6, Hold the Line:** defend the extraction and get the other Spartan out. This is the final Vidmaster mission, not just another level to sprint through. **Glyphology: Mine Sweeper** Finish E-2 without being hit by a proximity mine. Treat both the explosion and the needles released by it as hazards. When a mine activates, retreat into clear space and keep watching after the initial blast instead of immediately walking back toward it. Watch the ground while fighting, including mines introduced during enemy encounters. A route that was clear when you entered the fight may not stay clear. Do not corner yourself behind a tiny obstacle with no room to evade the projectiles. Some older guides recommend using Bubble Shield to absorb a mine. Other players report failed unlocks after doing that. For a clean attempt, avoid having the mine hit you or your shield rather than relying on that shortcut. The reports are inconsistent, so there is no reason to turn an uncertain workaround into a mandatory step. If a clean run fails to register, try a fresh mission attempt and check the achievement again. **Hold the Line: Vidmaster Challenge E** Enable **Hollow and Black Eye** before starting E-6. You have shields without the ordinary health buffer, and melee is the normal route to restoring those shields. Overshield gives you a useful emergency option; Damage Boost can shorten the dangerous encounters. The mounted guns are important here. Use them to handle the early waves and the Shade Turrets when that objective appears, but keep checking the gun's condition. Leave a failing emplacement before it explodes. Do not interpret a strong turret strategy as an instruction to stay seated until you die. The defense then shifts toward protecting the Hornet. Watch the suicide Grunts approaching the aircraft while dealing with the larger enemies. A Knight in your face is dangerous, but ignoring a Grunt running straight at the extraction craft can lose the mission just as quickly. Avoid firing through the Hornet or throwing heavy explosives beside it. Protecting it includes not damaging it yourself. Reposition if your line of fire crosses the aircraft. When the other Spartan approaches, cover the movement and board the Hornet when instructed. If the next stage has not triggered, check the active objective and remaining enemies rather than waiting forever on the same gun. Finish all six missions for **No Loose Ends**. Gold in these missions completes the medal requirement for **Battle Hardened** once A–D are also gold. Their Assault Ops also belong to **Thorough**; unlocking E does not mean that separate checklist is already done.