Editing Halo: New Blood

{{Status|RealWorld}}

{{Center|''This article is about the novel "Halo: New Blood". For the fictional report, see [[New Blood]].''}}

|author=[[Matt Forbeck]]<ref name="announcement">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-bam-said-the-lady '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder - Bam, said the lady'']</ref>

|publisher=[[Gallery Books]]{{Ref/Reuse|announcement}}

|publication=[[2015|March 2, 2015]] (Digital){{Ref/Reuse|announcement}}<br>[[2016|March 15, 2016]] (Print)

|media=Digital;{{Ref/Reuse|announcement}} Print (paperback); audiobook

|ISBN=[[Special:BookSources/9781476796703|9781476796703]]{{Ref/Reuse|s&s}}

'''''Halo: New Blood''''' is a [[Halo novels|''Halo'' short novel]] written by [[Matt Forbeck]]. It was released digitally on [[2015|March 2, 2015]], with a paper version released on [[2016|March 15, 2016]].<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501128086 '''Amazon''': ''New Blood (Paperback)'']</ref> The print release of ''Halo: New Blood'' included an additional five-page coda, featuring a conversation between [[Veronica Dare]] and [[Edward Buck]] shortly before the events of ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-fury-s-road '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder - Fury's Road'']</ref> The book explores Edward Buck's actions after the end of the [[Human-Covenant War]].{{Ref/Reuse|announcement}}<ref>[http://www.forbeck.com/2015/01/22/wrote-halo-novel/ '''Forbeck.com''': ''I Wrote a Halo Novel'']</ref>

{{Article quote|While [[SPARTAN programs|Spartans]] get all the glory, no soldier―not even the legendary [[John-117|Master Chief]]―wins a war on his or her own. [[Edward Buck|Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck]] and [[Alpha-Nine|his team]] of [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] played a major role in saving the [[Earth]] from all-out [[Battle of Earth|invasion]] at the end of the [[Human-Covenant War|Covenant War]]―acts of bravery and ingenuity that did not go unnoticed by the [[United Nations Space Command]].

{{Spoiler/begin}}

In a report for the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], [[Edward Buck]] reflects on his military career, the [[SPARTAN programs]], and the [[Human-Covenant War]]. He notes that although [[human]]ity defeated the [[Covenant]], some [[Covenant remnants|remnant factions]] continue to battle the [[UNSC]] and the [[Insurrection]] continues. Buck mentions that he was just deployed to [[Talitsa]], a world controlled by the [[United Rebel Front]], to rescue the captured [[Huragok]] [[Quick to Adjust]] and his handler, [[Sadie Endesha]]. Sent by ONI Captain [[Veronica Dare]], [[SPARTAN-IVs]] Buck, [[Kojo Agu|Kojo "Romeo" Agu]], and [[Michael Crespo|Michael "Mickey" Crespo]] approach a URF military base and spot Quick to Adjust nearby. Suddenly, Buck feels a rifle pressed against the back of his helmet. As his squadmates warn him not to move, dozens of insurgents surround them.

Buck recalls a previous hostage situation on his homeworld [[Draco III]] in [[2554]]. He reminisces about his childhood on the planet, fishing in the [[Gold Sea]], and joining the [[UNSC Marine Corps]] after the Covenant [[First Battle of Harvest|attacked]] [[Harvest]]. After the Covenant [[Battle of Draco III|invaded]] Draco III and massacred its residents, Buck joined the [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]]. After the Covenant War, Draco III was resettled and its capital city of [[New Albany]] was largely restored. However, the United Rebel Front attempted to take control of the planet and established a headquarters in New Albany's [[Draco III capitol building|capitol building]]. Following the orders of Dare, Buck and his ODST fireteam [[Alpha-Nine]] attempt to assassinate Captain [[Ingridson]], the URF leader on the planet. The squad storms the capitol building, but they are ambushed by URF soldiers and [[Jonathan Doherty]] is held hostage at gunpoint by Ingridson. As a stand-off ensues between them, Spartan [[Sarah Palmer]] contacts Buck and asks if he requires her assistance. Buck remembers his last encounter with Palmer, when she was a lance corporal and a fellow ODST. During the [[Battle of Sargasso]] in [[2546]], Alpha-Nine and Palmer's squad, [[Gamma-Six]], were both assigned to protect [[Lethbridge Industrial]] facilities at the town of [[Belisk]]. While ONI had Gamma-Six unknowingly serve as a distraction, Alpha-Nine—then composed of Buck, [[Gomez (ODST)|Gomez]], [[Svensdottir]], and [[Samrat]]—was tasked with retrieving a valuable ONI chip containing data and research located in Lethbridge's headquarters in the town. Captain Dare coordinates the mission, and Buck vocally voices his disapproval of the operation.

Buck reminisces about the first time he met Veronica Dare in [[2545]] after he was ordered to take shore leave when Draco III was attacked. Meeting at [[Castellaneta]], a resort orbiting [[Saturn]], the two spent the week together, until Dare revealed that she was an ONI operative and the two parted on rough terms. Back at Sargasso, Buck and his squad reluctantly agree to carry out Dare's mission. After Alpha-Nine eliminates the scattered [[Sangheili]], [[Jiralhanae]], and [[Unggoy]] soldiers at the Lethbridge headquarters, Buck retrieves the data chip and the squad prepares to leave the town in a civilian truck. While en route back to base, Buck intercepts a transmission from Palmer to Command requesting extraction. When Command is unable to extract Palmer and her squad due to the overwhelming amount of hostiles at her position, Buck disobeys Dare's orders and leads his squad on a mission to rescue Palmer and her squad. By the time Alpha-Nine arrives at Palmer's location, the rest of her squad has been killed. Together, the five ODSTs eliminate the Jiralhanae, [[Kig-Yar]], Unggoy, and [[Type-26 Banshee|Banshees]] in the area and return to base in the truck. For disobeying her orders, Dare threatens to charge him with insubordination and warns him to trust her in the future. The two avoided each other for a majority of the war's remainder. Buck jumps to his first encounter with the SPARTAN-IV program in [[2553]]. While on vacation on [[Sundown]] with Dare, former [[SPARTAN-III]] [[Jun-A266]] meets with Buck and offers him a position in the first class of SPARTAN-IVs. Much to Jun's surprise, Buck declines as he feels that he would be abandoning his teammates and Dare.

Buck then recalls [[Halo 3: ODST|the events]] that his squad was involved with during the [[Battle of New Mombasa|Battle]] of [[New Mombasa]] in [[2552]]. Alpha-Nine, now consisting of Buck, Romeo, Mickey, [[Taylor Miles|Taylor "Dutch" Miles]], and the Rookie, worked with Captain Dare and ultimately rescued Quick to Adjust. After the squad finally regrouped, they traveled to an [[ONI orbital facility]] over [[Earth]] to interrogate the Huragok. When Quick to Adjust began to give information on [[Portal at Voi|what]] the Covenant was looking for at [[Voi]], Alpha-Nine returned to the field. Dare and Buck develop their relationship, and the two begin to trust each other. Back in the capitol building of Draco III, Buck signals for Mickey and Dutch to sneak up to the floor where Ingridson and the rebels are holding the Rookie hostage, while he and Romeo distract her. Buck declines Palmer's help, as he believes the arrival of Spartans would lead to the Rookie's death. While Buck and Ingridson debate their respective views, Dutch and Mickey get themselves into position. On Buck's orders, Mickey and Dutch attack Ingridson and her rebels, while Buck asks for Palmer and her Spartans to eliminate the rebels approaching their position. When Mickey, hesitant to kill humans, orders Ingridson and the rebels to stand down, Ingridson desperately executes the Rookie, to the shock of the rest of the squad. Dutch kills one of the rebels and Ingridson with his shotgun, while the other insurgent surrenders. Mickey contemplates executing the rebel, but Buck orders him to stand down. Having wiped out the rebels throughout the city, Palmer and her Spartans rendezvous with the remainder of Alpha-Nine in the capitol building. The ODSTs have a funeral for the Rookie and bury him at sea on Draco III. During the funeral, Dutch announces his decision to retire from service with the UNSC military.

 

 

 

The Spartans return to Mars, where Mickey is put into custody by the [[Spartan Operations|Spartan branch]] instead of ONI at Buck's insistence. Afterward, Buck is congratulated by Musa for his actions on Talitsa. At Buck's request, Musa reassigns Romeo and Buck to another team, with Buck serving as a member of the team rather than as its leader. After reporting to Jun, Buck then decides to rest and contact Veronica.

{{Clear}}

*[[Buck family|Lou]] {{Fm}}

*[[Buck family|Lucy]] {{Fm}}

*[[Marisa O'Day]] {{1st}}

*[[Musa-096]]

*[[Olympia Vale]] {{Mo}}

*[[Jonathan Doherty]]

****[[Spartan Operations]]

******[[ORION Project]] {{Mo}}

**[[New Alexandria (location)|New Alexandria]] {{Mo}}

*[[Sargasso]]

**[[Belisk]] {{1st}}

*[[Sol system]]

*****[[Kikowani Station (location)|Kikowani Station]] {{Mo}}

*****[[NMPD headquarters]] {{Mo}}

*****[[Tayari Plaza (location)|Tayari Plaza]] {{Mo}}

***[[Wikipedia:Sparta|Sparta]] {{Mo}}

**[[Mars]]

**[[Battle of Sargasso]] {{1st}}

**[[Spartan-IV station terror attack]] {{1st}}

**[[Operation: COALPEPPER]] {{1st}}

*[[Blooding Years]] {{Mo}}

*[[M7S SMG]]

*[[Gravity hammer (fiction)|gravity hammer]] {{Mo}}

*[[Paegaas Workshop Spiker]] {{Im}}

*{{Pattern|Pez'tk|fuel rod gun}}

*{{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} {{Mo}}

*[[Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle]] {{Mo}}

*{{Pattern|Deutoros|Scarab}} {{Mo}}

*{{Pattern|Ru'swum|Phantom}} {{Mo}}

|title-8=Technology and equipment|

*[[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2)|MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor [GEN2]]]

*''New Blood'' is the first official work to feature at least one member from every generation of the [[SPARTAN programs]].

 

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