: I imagine that, given the sheer number of recent Spartan defectors (Zane,
: Scruggs, Mickey, Rudolf Schein) ONI probably has an automatic protocol.
: Then again, nobody has accused ONI of acting entirely rationally in recent
: years.

: I also have to wonder, will the revelation that the Chief isn't actually
: dead, when he (presumably) starts kicking Cortana off human worlds, come
: as a shock to the populace? It'll be the second time he's come back from
: the dead to save humanity. You know what they say: third time's the
: charm...

I think the reason ONI declared them dead is because they more needed to hide the Chief's defection from the Infinity's crew, not the spartans but the normal everyday guys who work in like engineering and stuff. The needed a way to explain why Blue Team was absent from the Infinity.