The first trailer for Halo 4, called “Awakening,” is short, fast, and unnervingly unapologetic about not explaining what the holy Halo is going on. Questions about Microsoft and developer 343 Industries’ planned post-Halo 3 trilogy abound: What’s the plot? Where is Master Chief? When is Master Chief? We dissected the trailer — complete with observations and theories — then looked to Frank O’Connor, Halo’s franchise development director, for guidance.

OXM says: We first hear Cortana shouting “I need you!” to Master Chief. Given that “Wake me when you need me” were Chief’s last words to his A.I. cohort before slipping into cryogenic sleep at Halo 3’s end, it means something just went pear-shaped. We don’t know what’s up yet, but it seems pretty serious as our boy bursts from his cryo-chamber (with extra-reflective visor technology in tow). “I’m here,” Chief says in that calm, soothing tone. Cue chills.

OXM says: Everything around John-117 is exploding; snow’s being shaken loose from the piles that’ve accumulated along the walls. We’re just as disoriented as he is as he picks up a panicking Cortana. We suppose Forward Unto Dawn, the UNSC ship where we last saw Chief, couldn’t hose down the raging fires — what with the hull being cracked wide open at the end of Halo 3 and all.

Frank says: “This theory presupposes those fires have been burning since the Chief went into Cryosleep. That seems unlikely in a vacuum; I’d personally have thought something else was happening above and beyond latent damage from the Slipspace event after Halo 3.”

OXM says: Whoa, wait, what? Chief didn’t have a jetpack when he took a nap. Did he grow one in his sleep? Or go out and about for some upgrades before catching more Zs on this busted ship? MC doesn’t seem to be thinking about that, though, or even bothering to see exactly what’s wrong — but then, this isn’t his boat; he just wants to get right out of town. He bursts through a door, narrowly dodging a hulking metal container before kicking his way into the next room. Are we going to be able to maneuver with such acrobatic grace during zero-gravity segments? He’s like a gymnast.

Frank says: “Well, there’s a couple of things to note here. For one, limited EVA maneuverability is already built into some variants of the MJOLNIR Mark VI armor that Chief was wearing at the end of Halo 3 (as opposed to in-gravity jetpack tech), but it’s fairly obvious that the Chief’s armor has changed in appearance as well as functionality. The question is, how and when? And there are layers of answers — the most obvious being that it’s a new game, and the Chief’s armor has changed aesthetically with every single game release — but the technical aspect is something that will be addressed in story. And it’s pertinent to what you see.”

OXM says: More explosions! More dodging! Hey, what’s all that junk floating around? Wait, that’s not junk…those are pistols! We’d love to think one of them is the original Halo pistol, or the modified version we fell for in Reach, but these guns have a different look. The one with the clearest view above and to the right of Chief looks more like the Half-Life 2 pistol than anything we’ve seen in this franchise — it’s got a fat snout and a standard, not-so-sci-fi look to it. Yay! New toys!

Frank says: “Every single Halo game has shipped with new weapons. Shouldn’t be much of a surprise that a military frigate is packed full of material and equipment — some of which will be familiar, some new.”

OXM says: It’s tough to tell if the gun Chief snatches from the air is the same one we noticed elsewhere, but this little guy packs a punch. It’s like a compact, one-shot rocket-launcher. 117 fires at the dead end ahead and punches a hole in Dawn’s hull; the explosion doesn’t rattle MC at all — maybe it doesn’t have splash damage. Also, is Halo embracing destructible structures, á la Battlefield or Red Faction?

Frank says: “There will be destructible elements in Halo 4, but don’t look for a game mechanic that relies on that heavily. This is a Halo game at heart.”

OXM says: Oh, hey, Chief, that’s a nice new suit of armor you’re wearing there. It looks a lot like the MJOLNIR Mark VI armor from Halo 3 with some slight modifications. The sweet action pose and confident reload (did he also grow ammo for this new gun during his slumber party?) shows us that Mr. Chief is ready to rock no matter what caused the Dawn’s destruction. Explosions continue to hit the ship, but we can’t see a clear sign of an attacker or enemy of any kind. Maybe it’s coming from inside? Maybe it’s a self-destruct sequence? Whatever the reason, we’re gonna kill it.

Frank says: “Again, it’s a military frigate, replete with toys and gadgets, as you’d expect. As to what’s happening to this frigate, well, that would be telling. But it’s not a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say between stints in the pokey.”

OXM says: What…the hell is that? That Death Star-lookin’ contraption is some super-space-age stuff. We’d bet a leg that we’re looking at Forerunner technology. Remember the Legendary ending to Halo 3? The Dawn drifted toward an unknown planet, which, if this is it, means Chief wasn’t out cold for very long. We’re also wondering if this metal sphere is a shell — if you’ve read Eric Nylund’s Halo: Ghosts of Onyx novel, you may recall Onyx was encased in a similar structure. Onyx took a serious beating in the end, though, so we’re wagering this is another place. It’s not a Halo, though, which gives us hope for one thing: no more Flood.

Frank says: “Well, the Legendary ending of Halo 3 featured a world-sized object with obvious technological aspects. Might be something worth paying careful attention to, if you’re an augmented supersoldier or a curious A.I.…”