Veronica Dare

"Orders are orders."

- Veronica Dare

Veronica Dare is a Captain in the UNSC Navy and an Intelligence Officer in Section One of the Office of Naval Intelligence. During the Battle of Earth, she took command of a Shock Trooper squad led by Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck.

Biography
Veronica Dare was a graduate of a Naval Academy, likely the Officer Candidate School on Luna, which led to her eventual posting with the Office of Naval Intelligence.

Some years prior to the Battle of Earth, she was in a romantic relationship with Edward Buck and was, for a time, assigned to the UNSC Say My Name as an Intelligence Officer.

Battle of Mombasa
On October 20, 2552, during the 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 fulfill her request, seeing she was actually an ONI Section One operative and therefore did not report to the Fleet.

At one point before the drop, Dare called the NMPD Headquarters, asked the Communications Duty Officer there to go against the commissioner's orders and turn the Superintendent back on. They soon started an argument, and Dare threatened to fire the Officer and the enraged Duty Officer hung up on her.

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. However, she was stuck in her pod, so she radioed Buck for help. But when he arrived at her location, her pod was empty; he presumed her dead when he saw her helmet in the grasp of an unknown alien creature. Thinking it would kill Buck, Romeo killed it and in the resulting explosion her Recon Helmet was launched through a window and into the TV screen where the Rookie found it later.

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. With him, she makes her way to the core, explaining to the Rookie that their original mission was to retrieve crucial information that the Superintendent has on a seismic anomaly prior to the Covenant invasion. The mission, however, would've 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.

When they got to the Data Center, she discovered an Engineer that she initially believed was trying to harm Vergil. Upon further investigation, she had realized the Engineer was actually trying to help the Superintendent by repairing it. Her investigation also led her to believe that the Engineer 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 the Engineer, the Rookie and Dare began an attempt to evacuate it to the surface.

The trio rendezvoused with Buck, who had figured out where Dare was, just as the Brutes start swarming the core. Once they reached an elevator, Dare punches 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 Vergil looking on. Upon getting back to the surface, already a Covenant armada comes 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 Vergil; they argue to the point where Dare confesses that she'd thought she'd never see him again. Vergil then grabs their attention by getting into an Olifant, fixing it and honking its horn. They make their way across the coastal highway to Buck's stolen Phantom, 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".

A month later, Admiral Terrence Hood grants Sergeant Major Johnson clearance to interrogate Vergil as to what the Covenant wants on Earth. Dare warns him to be gentle with their ally. As they enter the room, Vergil was in the process of accessing the Covenant Battle Network, which the squad was unable to comprehend as to how it maintains a remote connection. Johnson tossed the Engineer his lighter; Dare warns him that the creature is very flammable; Johnson cut straight to the chase, telling Vergil to answer his questions as to why the Covenant is "digging".

Trivia

 * It is noted that an Admiral aboard the UNSC Say My Name referred to her as an "S-1 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. "S-1" actually refers to ONI, as Section One is the main intelligence gathering section of ONI and she herself is an Intelligence officer.
 * Dare is the first playable female character in the Halo series.
 * 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.
 * The number 035 and the emblem of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence can be found on the left side of Dare's helmet. It is possible that this means she is a member of ONI Recon 035, a reconnaissance and intelligence unit, as she is an intelligence officer and even wears a Recon armor variant.
 * 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. Another reason for the supposed disproportional helmet could possibly be that Dare wears no shoulder pad armor, making the helmet appear bigger than it should be. Her choice of light armor also contributes to this illusion. Contrary to the above misconception, Dare's armor is actually smaller in comparison to the other 5 ODST armors available for Firefight mode.
 * Dare's Recon helmet is unlocked for Xbox Avatars by getting the Vidmaster Challenge: Endure Achievement.
 * Dare is unlocked for play in Firefight by beating the Campaign on Legendary.
 * Dare is the only non-playable squad member in the Halo 3: ODST campaign.
 * The bottom part of the Marathon symbol can be seen at the bottom part of the strap on Dare's backpack.
 * When played in Firefight mode, enemies will say things like, "There he is!" or, "I found him!", even though Veronica is a woman. This may be an oversight when the game was made, but it can easily be accepted that Covenant footsoldiers are unable to tell because of Dare's armor, or are even unable to distinguish male and female humans in general.
 * Veronica Dare was made into an action figure by McFarlane Toys, and was released March 2010. There were two different types released; one with a helmet and one without.