Veronica Dare

Captain Veronica Dare[4][5] (service number 73998-38490-VD)[1] is an intelligence officer in Section One of the Office of Naval Intelligence.[6][7] During the Battle of Earth, she took command of Alpha-Nine, an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper team led by Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck.

Early life and military career
Veronica Dare was born on the human colony of Actium on December 4, 2515.[1] Dare graduated from a Naval Academy, which led to her eventual posting with the Office of Naval Intelligence. At some point, she served as an intelligence officer on the UNSC Say My Name.[8]

Dare first met Edward Buck at Castellaneta, over Saturn. The two spent their week together, until Buck eventually realized that she worked for the Office of Naval Intelligence.[9] Although the two parted on rough terms, at some point they reconciled and Buck even asked her to marry him, though Dare unfortunately remained silent, a decision that would continue to haunt Buck throughout all of his career.[10][11] The two were eventually forced to split up due to Dare's job with Section One of ONI.[12]

Battle of Sargasso
In 2546, Dare ordered ODST squad Alpha-Nine, led by Buck, to retrieve important research data from a laboratory at Lethbridge's headquarters in the town of Belisk before the Covenant did.[13] ONI intentionally kept the rest of the UNSC unaware of Alpha-Nine's mission. Dare believed that if the UNSC knew about the data, they would engage in standard operating procedure by encircling the lab and digging in. By doing so, the Covenant would become aware that the laboratory contained something valuable to the UNSC. Thus, another ODST squad was used to serve as a distraction, while Alpha-Nine recovered the data.

Battle of Mombasa
On October 20, 2552, during the early stages of the Battle of Earth, a large element of the 105th Shock Troops Division was to be inserted onto the Solemn Penance, flagship of a small Covenant invasion fleet, stationed over New Mombasa.[14] Dare, however, was under orders to perform a classified mission in the city and she needed a squad of ODSTs to assist her. Dare requested a particular ODST squad from an Admiral aboard the UNSC Say My Name to partake in her mission.[15] The admiral was hesitant at first, but was forced to fulfill her request, seeing she was actually an ONI Section One operative, and thus did not report to the Fleet.[16]

At one point before the drop, Dare contacted the NMPD Headquarters, asking the communications duty officer there to go against Commissioner Kinsler's orders and turn the Superintendent back on. They soon started an argument, and after Dare threatened to fire the officer for insubordination, the enraged communications officer hung up on her.[17] Moments before the ODSTs' drop, Dare took command of the squad led by Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, causing some confusion among the squad members, and told him that infiltrating the Solemn Penance was not their mission anymore.[3] During the drop, she ordered the squad to change their drop pods' course at the last moment so they could perform her mission, just as the ship entered slipspace, damaging the city and releasing a large EMP wave which disabled the pods' electronic systems and scattered them throughout the city. Dare's pod landed in Tayari Plaza. However, she was unable to leave her pod due to the damage it had sustained during the drop. She then radioed Buck for help. Before Buck arrived to her location, Dare somehow got out of the pod before a Covenant Phantom arrived. When he arrived at the pod, he found it to be empty; he presumed her dead when he saw her helmet in the grasp of an Huragok. Thinking the creature would kill Buck, Romeo killed it and in the resulting explosion her helmet was launched through a window and into the viewscreen where the Rookie would later find it lodged.[18]

Six hours after the drop, Dare had made her way to sub-level 9 of the Superintendent's data center. Following her trail was the Rookie; Dare was surprised to see him as he arrived. With him, she made her way to the core, explaining to the Rookie that their original mission was to retrieve crucial information that the Superintendent had on a seismic anomaly prior to the Covenant invasion. The mission, however, would have been suicide to go alone, as Dare needed a team behind her. As there were only two ODSTs battling through Covenant forces, Dare was impressed with the Rookie, amazed he survived alone in the city.[19]

When they got to the data center's infrastructure, she discovered a Huragok called Quick to Adjust[20] that she initially believed was trying to harm the Superintendent and its subroutine Vergil. Upon further investigation, she had realized Quick was actually trying to help the Superintendent by repairing it. Her investigation also led her to believe that the Huragok was assimilating the Superintendent's data in order to help the UNSC discover the Covenant's intentions for the city. With the data secure inside Quick, the Rookie and Dare began an attempt to evacuate to the surface.[19]

The trio rendezvoused with Buck, who had figured out where Dare was, just as the Jiralhanae started swarming the core.[19] Once they reached an elevator, Dare punched him in the face for "abandoning the mission". Buck complained that she was missing and his squad was scattered, only for Dare to spontaneously kiss him for coming back; they both became embarrassed with the Rookie and Quick, looking on. Upon getting back to the surface, they discovered more Covenant ships coming out of Slipspace over New Mombasa. Dare was dismayed that Buck neglected to mention it; he snapped that he was too busy watching out for Quick; they argued to the point where Dare confessed that she'd thought she'd never see him again. Quick then grabbed their attention by getting into an Olifant, quickly repairing it and honking its horn for their attention. They made their way across the coastal highway to the Phantom the squad had stolen previously, allowing the squad and Vergil to escape the city, as the Covenant began to glass it. As they flew away, Buck asked Dare if they can have a relationship again; she held his hand and told him, "Win this war...then ask me that again".[21]

Approximately one month later, Admiral Terrence Hood granted Sergeant Major Johnson clearance to interrogate the Huragok, currently held in an ONI orbital facility, as to what the Covenant were looking for on Earth. Dare warned Johnson to be gentle with their ally. As they entered the room where the Huragok was being guarded by the squad, Quick was in the process of accessing the Covenant Battle Network. Johnson tossed Quick his lighter; Dare warned him that the creature was very flammable; Johnson cut straight to the chase, telling Quick to answer his questions as to why the Covenant were "digging".[22]

Post-war era
After the end of the Covenant War in 2553, Dare and Buck traveled to Sundown for a vacation together while on shore leave. In 2554, the United Rebel Front attempted to take control of Draco III, which was finally being resettled for the first time in nearly two decades. She sent Buck to lead the mission to eliminate the rebels on the planet, as he was one of the few Draconians left.[23] Later that year, Dare spent a week-long vacation on Desdoron V with Buck, who later departed to Mars where he underwent the necessary augmentations alongside Mickey and Romeo. During his last recovery round, she visited him and warned him that an unknown individual covertly loyal to the United Rebel Front had succeeded in becoming a SPARTAN-IV.[24]

Personality and traits
Veronica Dare has held a high authority over the military operations she has been in. During the Battle of Mombasa, Dare has placed a higher priority on her covert assignment without explaining the reasons to her squad barring Buck.[3] To the civilian populace prior to the battle, Dare was considered to be an unreasonable person who cares little about their plights.[17] Buck's perception of Veronica is ambivalent with her evasiveness of answering personal questions.[18] Despite having a seemingly cold personality, Veronica genuinely cares for Buck and regrets her line of work interfering with their relationship.[19] Dare and Buck reconcile towards the end of their operation, making attempts to meet each other whenever taking shore leave from their respective assignments.[25]

Relationships
Dare developed a romantic relationship with Edward Buck, a veteran Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. At one point, Buck proposed to her, but Dare remained silent, feeling that her job would force them to split.[26] The two eventually agreed to end their relationship.[12] The two first met on Castellaneta, a resort orbiting Saturn. Although the two enjoyed their week of shore leave together, Dare left him after Buck realized that she was a "spook".[9] After their encounter on Sargasso, the two avoided each other for the remainder of the war, until they were forced to work together in the Battle of Mombasa. Although he thought he had buried his feelings for her, Buck's search for her during the battle made him realized that he had not gotten over her.[27] After their time together on Mombasa reignited a spark in their relationship, the two vacationed together on Sundown.[28] Despite being a high-ranking ONI agent, Dare had reservations about Jameson Locke when Buck was assigned to Fireteam Osiris, warning him that Locke is "ONI to the bone." She also expressed genuine concern that the nature of Fireteam Osiris would possibly get Buck killed, making him promise to stay alive for her sake.[29]