Veronica Dare

"Orders are orders."

- Captain Dare

Captain Veronica Dare is a Company Grade Officer in the UNSC Marine Corps and an operative in the Office of Naval Intelligence. She is the commander of a Shock Trooper squad.

Biography
Some time prior to the First Battle of Earth, she was in a romantic relationship with Edward Buck.

In October 20, 2552, during the First Battle of Earth, a large ODST force was to be inserted onto the Prophet of Regret's Assault Carrier stationed over New Mombasa. Dare however, was under orders to perform a classified mission in the city and she needed a squad of ODSTs for it. Dare requested a particular ODST squad from an unnamed Admiral aboard the to partake in her mission. The admiral was hesitant at first, but was forced to fullfill her request, seeing she was actually an ONI Section One operative and therefore did not report to the Fleet.

Moments before the ODSTs' drop, Dare, wearing an ONI's Recon variant of the ODST armor, took command of the squad led by GySgt Edward Buck, causing some confusion among the squad members, and told him that attacking the Carrier was not their mission anymore. 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 around the city. Dare's pod landed in Tayari Plaza.

Behind the Scenes

 * It is noted that an Admiral aboard the referred to her as an "S1 type". Originally, S1 was thought to possibly refer to SPARTAN-I, a program that predated the Human-Covenant War, but she was confirmed by Joseph Staten not to be a Spartan. A more probable theory is that "S-1" actually refers to ONI, as Section One is the main intelligence gathering section of ONI and she is an ONI officer.
 * In the modern United States military, the S1 is a personnel and administrations officer, whose subordinates are typically supply personnel; in this context it is used as an insult, as some one who fills an S1 billet is commonly not seen as fit, or particularly desired by commanders, to participate in combat operations. This would also explain the Admiral's words “Didn’t think you S1 types ever left your cave.”
 * Veronica is voiced by Tricia Helfer, who is widely known for her portrayal of "Number Six" from Battlestar Galactica. Helfer's likeness was also used to model Dare. She joins Katee Sackhoff as another Battlestar cast member lending their voice to the Halo games.
 * A running joke on Bungie.net pokes fun at Dare's Recon helmet, which to some appears disproportionate. However, Bungie has said that her helmet is entirely proportional to her body. The illusion of disproportion may be due to the helmet being seen on Spartans, whose armor is much thicker than that of ODSTs.
 * Dare is unlocked for play in Firefight by beating the Campaign on Legendary.
 * In the Terra Incognita ViDoc, a light grey Recon helmet is shown in the hand of an unknown covenant. The ridge & black "triangles" on the top of the helmet are clearly identifiable. Due to the lack of Spartans in ODST and the color, this is likely Dare's.