11 Years Too Late Noticing Halo 3 Ending Plot Hole....

Spoilers, I guess, but this game came out in 2007, if you haven't played it by now... Um... yeah....

But legit question after finishing the game again, recently... At the end of the game, Chief and Arbiter end up on the same ship, Arbiter piloting it while Chief waits in cargo with Cortana...

Fast-forward and the Arbiter's at the war memorial, while Chief is still floating around in space??

What the eff happened? Am I missing something, or is this one of the biggest plot holes in gaming history?

Because only the front half of the ship (Forward Unto Dawn from memory) with Arbiter in it makes it back to Earth... the ship was split in two because of the collapse of the slipspace drive halfway through the jump, due to the force from the Halo detonation. So the rear of the ship containing Chief & Cortana were stuck in space (that's where Halo 4 picks up).

I can't remember, but this may have been better explained in the legendary ending.