Editing Edward Buck

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Center|'''''Buck''' redirects here. For other uses, see [[Buck (disambiguation)]].''}}
{{Character infobox
|variant=Human
|name=Edward Buck
|image={{Pageimage|H5G BuckInGame.png}}[[File:H5G-Render-Buck-head.png|300px]]
|homeworld=[[New Albany]], [[Lombard]], [[Draco III]]{{Ref/Book|Id=ENC|Enc09|Page=60}}<ref name="waypoint">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/buck '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Buck'']</ref>
|birth=[[2510#August|August 22, 2510]]{{Ref/Reuse|ENC}}{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22p96|Enc22|Page=96}}
|death=
|causeofdeath=
|parents=
|siblings=
|spouses=[[Veronica Dare]] ([[2558]]-)
|children=
|species=[[Human]]
|gender=Male
|height={{Convert|206|cm|ftin}}{{Ref/Game|Id=H5GLtd|Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition|[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers#Edward Buck|Dossier files]] - Edward Buck}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22p96}} <br>
{{Convert|188.1|cm|ftin}} {{C|pre-Spartan}}{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}}
|mass={{Convert|113|kg|lb}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GLtd}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22p96}} <br>
{{Convert|89.3|kg|lb}} {{C|pre-Spartan}}{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}}
|hair=Brown{{Ref/Reuse|H5GLtd}}
|eyes=Blue{{Ref/Reuse|H5GLtd}}
|affiliation=*[[UNSC Marine Corps]] {{C|formerly}}
**[[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]]
*[[Spartan Operations]]
**[[SPARTAN-IV program]]
|rank=*Gunnery sergeant {{C|formerly}}
*[[Spartan branch#Rank structure|Spartan]]{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22p96}}
**[[Spartan Commander]] {{C|acting, not formal rank}} {{C|formerly}}
|sn=92458-37017-EB{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22p96}}
|notable=
}}
{{Quote|But you let him live. Because you're not only a Spartan, you're the best kind. The kind with the potential to save us all. You may be a Spartan, but you're goddamn human, too, and that's something you should be proud of.|[[Musa Ghanem]] to Edward Buck, commemorating him for sparing [[Michael Crespo]]<ref>'''[[Halo: New Blood]]''', ''page 179'' (Google Play edition)</ref>}}

'''Edward Malcolm Buck'''<ref name="lootcrate2">'''[[Halo Legendary Crate]]''', ''[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2]]''</ref> ([[service number]] '''92458-37017-EB''') is a [[SPARTAN-IV program|SPARTAN-IV]] supersoldier who served with the [[UNSC Marine Corps]] throughout the [[Human-Covenant War]], the last years of which he spent as an [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]].{{Ref/Game|ODST|campaign}}

Counting time spent in [[Cryo chamber|cryo-sleep]], Buck was a 25-year veteran of the Covenant War and served in numerous battles. Regarded as an extremely skilled Marine, by the [[Battle for Earth]], he was the leader of a small specialized fireteam, [[Alpha-Nine]], which was appropriated by Captain [[Veronica Dare]] for a classified [[ONI]] mission before the [[Operation: BUMRUSH|drop]] on [[New Mombasa]], [[Kenya]] in [[2552#October|October 20, 2552]]. Following the war, Buck was promoted to SPARTAN-IV and eventually joined [[Fireteam Osiris]], led by [[Jameson Locke]].<ref name="GI">'''Game Informer''', ''July 2015 issue''</ref> By August of [[2558]], he had completed 188 military operations, including 49 full campaigns. With the onset of the [[Created conflict]], Buck left Osiris, reformed Alpha-Nine and married Dare, his long-term girlfriend.{{Ref/Reuse|Bad Blood}}

==Biography==
===Early life===
Edward Malcolm Buck was born on [[2510|August 22, 2510]]{{Ref/Reuse|ENC}} to working-class parents{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} in [[Draco Mercy]] in [[New Albany]], [[Lombard]] on [[Draco III]].<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 91'' (Google Play edition)</ref> Buck's father was a dockworker and his mother formerly served in the [[UNSC Marine Corps]], until she retired to raise Buck and his younger sister, [[Buck family|Lucy]]. During his summers, Buck apprenticed with his uncle [[Buck family|Lou]] as a fisherman on Draco's [[Gold Sea]]. Serving aboard an industrial fishing ship, Buck and his uncle worked to catch the massive [[naeori]] that dwelled in the sea.<ref name="nb15">'''Halo: New Blood''', ''pages 15-18'' (Google Play edition)</ref> During one of the fishing runs, a crew member of the ship fell into the sea. To prevent her attached safety line from snapping, Buck grabbed it while Lou hauled her back into the ship. Afterwards, Buck performed [[Wikipedia:Cardiopulmonary resuscitation|CPR]] on her until she coughed up the water in her lungs.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 87'' (Google Play edition)</ref> Buck's last known place of residence is [[Karnak]] on Draco III, where he is also a citizen. His civilian occupation is listed as student.<ref name="squad">[http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=Halo3ODSTsquad '''Bungie.net''': ''Meet the Squad'']</ref> When he was young, he used to play a fair bit of [[Wikipedia:Football|football]] on Draco III.{{Ref/Level|Id=meridian station|H5G|H5G:Meridian Station|Meridian Station}}

===Early military career===
On [[2528|December 5, 2528]], at the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the UNSC Marine Corps.<ref>[https://twitter.com/HaloWaypoint/status/408611799164940288 '''Twitter''': ''Halo Waypoint - Today In Halo'']</ref> The night before he had to report to the UNSC for the first time, his father and uncle Lou threw him a going away party at the [[Leeward's]] dive bar. It resulted in him still being intoxicated when he reported to the recruiter's office the next day.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 103'' (Google Play edition)</ref> Upon enlisting, he trained at several training facilities at [[Earth]] and [[Reach]].{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} In sniper school, Buck earned the top marks of his class.<ref name="nb26">'''Halo: New Blood''', ''pages 26-29'' (Google Play edition)</ref> After the [[Covenant]] [[Fall of Madrigal|invaded]] [[Madrigal]] in [[2528]], Buck was deployed to assist in its defense.{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate2}} At an unspecified date following his enlistment, Buck participated in [[Operation: ABLE SENTRY]], a force reconnaissance mission to prepare the way for [[Operation: PHALANX]], which involved the evacuation of civilians and observation of enemy invasion patterns on [[Circinius IV]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GLtd}}{{Ref/Note|A precise date is never given for Operation: ABLE SENTRY. It may have occurred at any point during the war following the planet's initial [[Battle of Circinius IV|invasion]] in [[2526]], and might have even begun before Buck enlisted in the UNSC.}}

Buck would serve in many more battles throughout the [[Human-Covenant War]], including the [[Harvest campaign]].{{Ref/Reuse|squad}} During this campaign, Buck and his unit were posted at the ruins of the capital city of [[Utgard]] and he was later commended for his actions during the Liberation of [[Harvest]]. While at Utgard he was part of [[Operation: ASTUTE TIGER]], which revolved around the placement of ADMs at predicted Covenant landing zones during a UNSC evacuation.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GLtd}}{{Ref/Note|"ADMs" could refer to either atomic demolition munitions or area denial munitions.}}

Though the efforts to retake Harvest would not end until [[2531]], Buck would be called elsewhere in the midst of it. On December 24, [[2530]], he was attached to [[Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]]'s fleet during the [[Battle of the Great Bear]] over [[Groombridge-1830]].{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate2}} He was part of one of two tactical strike teams that recovered a [[Sangheili]] [[Subject 386|survivor]] within an enclosed compartment that had survived landfall at [[Waterford]], [[Lemuria (province)|Lemuria]] on the planet that day at approximately 1805 hours [[Military Standard Time|MST]]. It was from this Sangheili, dubbed Subject 386, that the UNSC first truly learned why the Covenant was waging a war of extermination against humanity. In [[2532]], Buck fought in the [[Battle of Vodin]]. During that same year, he enrolled in an enlistment survey program for the [[ODST]] program. Three years later, he participated in the [[Battle of Charybdis IX]].{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate2}} Come [[2542]], he found himself fighting in the [[Battle for Alluvion]].

At some point prior to [[2545]], Buck's father was killed in a traffic accident.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 17'' (Google Play edition)</ref>{{Ref/Note|When entering a vehicle in ''Halo: Reach''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Firefight mode, Buck may sometimes say, ''"Hey hey! My father had one of these! It's how he died."'' While it is obvious that his father's vehicle was not of Covenant origin, this quote may be said when Buck enters any vehicle.}} In 2545, after an extended period of [[Cryo chamber|cryosleep]] during a [[slipstream space]] jump between [[Mars]] and [[Hardscrabble]], Buck learned of the Covenant attack on his homeworld and the slaughter of all its citizens, including his family and relatives. He obsessively watched video footage of the [[Unggoy]] and [[Kig-Yar]] hunting down and devouring the human survivors, which fueled his hatred of the Covenant and further steeled his fighting resolve. He requested an official transfer to the [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] immediately afterwards; his request was granted three weeks later, on February 27.{{Ref/Reuse|nb15}}<ref>[https://twitter.com/bsangel/status/703617603453870081 '''Jessica Shea Twitter''' ''Today in Halo 2/27/2545'']</ref> He was placed in the [[103rd Shock Troops Battalion|103rd Battalion]] of the [[65th Shock Troops Division]].{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate2}} His [[commanding officer]] ordered Buck to take some shore leave, claiming that his presence was "jeopardizing others". Only when she threatened to send him in for a psychiatric evaluation, did he relent. He took his shore leave at [[Castellaneta]], over [[Saturn]], where he first met Captain [[Veronica Dare]]. The two spent their week together, until Buck eventually realized that she worked for the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].{{Ref/Reuse|nb26}} Buck had hoped their fling wouldn't end after their leave was over, but his poor reaction to Dare's job ensured their relationship was over, a decision that continued to haunt Buck throughout all of his career.{{Ref/Game|ODST|gameplay quote|Quote=The last person who looked at me like that was the Captain and I asked her to marry me, so... you know.}}<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level ''[[H3ODST:Tayari Plaza|Tayari Plaza]]'' ('''Dare''': ''"You don't really remember, that night? What you asked me in the morning?"'' '''Buck''': ''"I remember not getting an answer."'')</ref> The two were eventually forced to split up due to Dare's job with Section One of ONI.{{Ref/Level|Id=plaza|ODST|Tayari Plaza}} Buck soon gained command of the ODST [[squad]] [[Alpha-Nine]]. Throughout the remainder of the war, Buck intentionally sabotaged and turned down numerous promotions in order to remain a squad leader.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GLtd}}

===Battle of Sargasso===
{{Main|Battle of Sargasso}}
During the battle on [[Sargasso]] in [[2546]], Dare tasked Alpha-Nine—then composed of Buck, [[Gomez (ODST)|Gomez]], [[Svensdottir]], and [[Samrat]]—with retrieving [[Lethbridge Industrial]]'s research data from its laboratories in the town of [[Belisk]] before the Covenant did. Fellow ODST squad [[Gamma-Six]] was charged with unknowingly distracting the Covenant, while Alpha-Nine retrieved the data chip. Buck voiced his disapproval of the mission, as he was reluctant to allow Gamma-Six to die on what was essentially a suicide mission.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 25'' (Google Play edition)</ref> Buck eventually relented and Alpha-Nine was covertly dropped off by a [[dropship]] five kilometers away from Belisk, rather than being deployed in [[Human Entry Vehicle]]s from orbit. The squad reached Lethbridge's headquarters in the town and, after eliminating scattered Covenant forces, Buck retrieved the data chip.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''pages 30-37'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

As Alpha-Nine completed their mission and prepared to leave the town of Belisk, Buck overheard [[Sarah Palmer]] of Gamma-Six questioning Command about their lack of extraction. Command informed Palmer that the amount of hostiles at her position made extraction infeasible, and ordered for her to retreat to a safer location. Buck ignored ONI's orders and led his squad to rescue Palmer and Gamma-Six. By the time Alpha-Nine arrived, Palmer was the last remaining member of her squad. Together, the ODSTs eliminated the [[Jiralhanae]], [[Kig-Yar]], [[Unggoy]] and [[Banshees]] assaulting their position and returned back to base in a civilian truck.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''pages 38-44'' (Google Play edition)</ref> Buck was reprimanded by Dare for disobeying her direct order and he was threatened with a charge of insubordination, but he did not receive any other apparent punishment.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 47'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

===Fall of Reach===
{{Main|Fall of Reach}}
[[File:BuckInFalcon.jpg|thumb|250px|Buck piloting a [[UH-144 Falcon|Falcon]] in New Alexandria.]]
At some point between the Battle of Sargasso and the Fall of Reach, Buck fought during the Covenant's attack on [[Bounty]].{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate2}} He was then present along with the rest of Alpha-Nine during the [[Fall of Reach|Fall]] of [[Reach]] in [[2552#August|August 2552]], where he served with the [[11th Shock Troops Battalion]]. During the battle, squadmate [[Baruti Komen|Baruti "Gramps" Komen]] was killed. At the time of his death, the squad was merely holding a piece of ground for reasons undisclosed to them, leaving Buck to wonder later if Baruti had died for a noble cause.<ref name="nb56">'''Halo: New Blood''', ''pages 56-57'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

He participated in the failed defense of [[New Alexandria]] as part of [[Operation: SWORD 52]],{{Ref/Reuse|H5GLtd}} during the Covenant's [[Siege of New Alexandria|assault]] on the city.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} On August 23, he requested assistance from [[SPARTAN-B312]] of [[NOBLE Team]]. After receiving assistance from the [[SPARTAN-III program|Spartan]], Buck left the center of the city.{{Ref/Level|HR|Reach:New Alexandria|New Alexandria}}{{Ref/Note|In the level ''New Alexandria'', Buck can request the player's help in one of three objectives: He may ask for assistance in rescuing some of his squad members either from a collapsed building or from a nearby [[Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom]]. Alternatively, he may require escort on a classified operation. In some playthroughs, Buck might not appear at all. However, both ''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'' and ''[[Halo: New Blood]]'' confirms that Buck received some form of assistance from the Spartan.}} Buck and the surviving members of Alpha-Nine were later evacuated as Reach fell to the Covenant, escaping to Earth.{{Ref/Reuse|nb56}} At some point just before the fall of the planet, Buck met [[Jun-A266]].<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 49'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

===Battle of Mombasa===
{{Main|Battle of Earth|Battle of Mombasa}}
During the early stages of the Battle of Earth on [[2552#October|October 2552]], [[Alpha-Nine|Buck's squad]] was attached to the [[65th Shock Troops Division]]{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate2}} that was to be inserted from the {{UNSCShip|Say My Name}} onto the [[Prophet of Regret]]'s [[flagship]], ''[[Solemn Penance]]'', which was stationed over the city of [[New Mombasa]], as part of [[Operation: BUMRUSH]]. His mission changed when Veronica Dare, now a [[Captain (Navy)|captain]] in the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], took control of the squad immediately before the orbital drop, in order to use them for her own classified mission. At 1602 hours,{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate2}} BUMRUSH was greenlit, but during the drop, Dare ordered the squad to adjust their [[M8900 drop pod|SOEIVs]] trajectory away from the [[Covenant assault carrier|assault carrier]]. Immediately after this, at 1603 hours,{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate2}} the carrier jumped into [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] while above the city, generating a massive [[electromagnetic pulse]] that disabled the pods' electronic systems. As a result, the pods were scattered throughout the city.
[[File:Buck.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Buck fighting in the streets of Mombasa.]]
After the EMP, Buck's pod ricocheted off the side of a building and landed upside down into [[New Mombasa Sector 6|Sector 6]]. He immediately made radio contact with Dare, whose hatch malfunctioned and would not open. After a brief discussion, he realized that Covenant forces were heading for Dare's crash site. On his way to the crash site, he found the corpses of several [[Sangheili]]; upon asking Dare about the matter, and noting that the [[Jiralhanae]] [[Great Schism|appeared to be responsible]], Dare told him that the information was classified. Later, Veronica contacted him, telling him the Covenant had found her and were moving in on her location. After fighting his way through a large unit of Covenant, including a Hunter pair, he made it to [[Tayari Plaza (location)|Tayari Plaza]], Dare's crash site, where her pod was under fire by a trio of [[Unggoy]]. After dispatching the Unggoy he opened up her pod to find it empty. A [[Huragok]] approached him holding Dare's damaged helmet, and Buck backed away from the Engineer before [[Kojo Agu|Romeo]], on a balcony overlooking the crash site and believing the Huragok to be hostile, shot it through the head.{{Ref/Reuse|plaza}}

Buck abandoned Dare's original mission, initially thinking her to be dead, and focused on reuniting with his squad and evacuating the city. He and Romeo eventually made their way to the building housing the [[New Mombasa Police Department]]'s [[NMPD headquarters|headquarters]], where he made contact with [[Taylor Miles|Dutch]] and [[Michael Crespo|Mickey]] via an NMPD officer. Dutch and Mickey, who were at the [[ONI Alpha Site (location)|ONI Alpha Site]], offered Buck an air evac. via a Pelican. On the way to the landing zone, Buck tried to contact [[Jonathan Doherty]], but received no response.

When Dutch and Mickey's [[D77C-NMPD Pelican|dropship]] arrived at the NMPD headquarters, it was ambushed and shot down by two patrolling [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees]]. Romeo and Buck then moved through the NMPD Headquarters to find and rescue their squadmates on top of a neighboring skyscraper, defending it from waves of Covenant aircraft and infantry assaults. During the ensuing fight, [[Jiralhanae]] [[Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftain]] [[Bracktanus]] badly wounded Romeo with its [[Gravity hammer (fiction)|gravity hammer]], puncturing one of his lungs with its hind-blade, before being fatally stabbed in the neck by Buck.{{Ref/Level|ODST|NMPD HQ}} Buck then led the other ODSTs to [[Kikowani Station (location)|Kikowani Station]], intending to take the train out of the city, but found that the train tunnels had been flooded. He decided to have his squad steal a Phantom dropship to escape the city and escorted them with a stolen Banshee. As they made their way out of the city, Buck flew up to where he could see a Covenant fleet in the distance and wondered what they were looking for. Continuing with the escape, Buck killed many Huragok in their [[Huragok recharge station|recharge stations]] on the way out. They encountered a [[Deutoros-pattern Scarab|Scarab]] as well, which Buck destroyed. After finally making it out of the city, he realized where Dare might be and ordered Mickey to fly the captured Phantom back into the city.{{Ref/Level|ODST|Kikowani Station}}

He headed into the [[Superintendent]]'s Data Center alone, going right through the [[Yanme'e]] hive. When he neared the Data Center's infrastructure he was reunited with Dare, Jonathan, and the [[Quick to Adjust|Huragok]] that had absorbed the Superintendent's subroutine, [[Vergil]]. Unaware as to the importance of the Huragok, he had a quick conversation with Dare as to why Vergil was so important, letting slip to Dare that he had killed "one or two" Huragok on the way, much to her annoyance. After finally making it to the [[elevator]], Dare punched Buck in the face, for "abandoning the mission"; a furious Buck complained that she had been [[missing in action]], and that his squad was scattered only to be cut off by Dare, who gave him a passionate kiss for "coming back". Remembering Jonathan and Vergil were present, and that they were rather awkwardly watching, he congratulated the former on doing a good job.{{Ref/Level|ODST|Data Hive}}

[[File:H3ODST AlphaNine Kikowani.jpg|thumb|250px|Buck and most of Alpha-Nine.]]
After battling through a Covenant outpost, and boarding another elevator for the highway, the presence of the Covenant fleet was revealed to Dare. Irritated that Buck had neglected to inform her of the fleet, the two began arguing again, Buck protested that he had been preoccupied with keeping the helpless Vergil alive. Taking the gunner position on various [[M12 Force Application Vehicle|Warthog]]s and a [[M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion tank]], Buck and Jonathan covered Dare and Vergil's [[M312 Heavy Recovery Vehicle#Olifant|Olifant]], which they commandeered, down the coastal highway, witnessing the arrival of more Covenant ships—including two assault carriers—and marveling at their size. Upon seeing a carrier beginning to [[Glassing|glass]] the city, he was reminded of Reach and briefly began to panic before Dare calmed him down. The Olifant was later severely damaged by a Scarab. Knowing that the Covenant had glassed the highway farther along, Buck ordered Mickey to meet them at the entrance to the [[Uplift Nature Reserve]].

Buck and the others took the next exit off the highway, and Jonathan and Buck secured a building to hold and wait for Mickey's dropship to arrive. After fighting off waves of Covenant, Mickey arrived, and as the squad was evacuating, an assault carrier arrived close to their position. A frightened Vergil then refused to get on the Phantom, and was shoved in by Buck while Dare pulled it into the [[gravity lift]]. The group successfully escaped the city as it was glassed by the Covenant fleet.{{Ref/Level|Id=coast|ODST|Coastal Highway}}

===Respite and redeployment===
[[File:RookieAsleep.png|thumb|200px|left|Buck with his squad in the Quito Terminus.]]
Buck and his squad guarded Vergil in the [[ONI]]-appropriated Crimson Wing of the [[Quito Space Tether]]'s terminus for the following weeks, giving him time to catch up with Dare after spending six years apart.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 72''</ref> Approximately one month after the battle, they watched as [[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery Junior Johnson|Avery Johnson]] interrogated the Engineer. Shortly after this, Alpha-Nine was redeployed in the field and fought in the concluding battles of the war.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 81'' (Google Play edition)</ref> One of these operations, known as [[Operation: JOINT MONITOR]], consisted of biohazard containment in the [[Voi]] Exclusion Zone, at some point following the [[Battle of Voi]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GLtd}}

===Post-Covenant War===
After the end of the Covenant War in [[2553]], Buck and Dare traveled to [[Sundown]] for a vacation together while on shore leave. Near the end of their vacation, on [[2553#February|February 15, 2553]],<ref>[https://twitter.com/bsangel/status/699269947944382464 '''Twitter''': ''Today in Halo 2/15/2553'']</ref> [[Jun-A266]] met with Buck and offered him the opportunity to join the first class of the new [[SPARTAN-IV program]]. To Jun's surprise, Buck declined the offer, as he felt that he might have to abandon his team and Dare. Buck was the first individual that declined Jun's offer to join the [[SPARTAN-IV program]].<ref name="nb49">'''Halo: New Blood''', ''pages 49-55'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

In [[2554]], the [[United Rebel Front]] attempted to [[Draco III rebellion|take control]] of Draco III, which was finally being settled for the first time in nearly two decades. Dare sent Buck to lead the mission to eliminate the rebels on the planet, as he was one of the few Draconians left.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''page 19'' (Google Play edition)</ref> Returning to Draco for the first time in years, Buck and the rest of Alpha-Nine traveled to [[New Albany]] and stormed the insurgents' headquarters established in the city's [[Draco III capitol building|capitol building]]. After breaching their way into the building's legislature chambers, their entrance was quickly blocked off by some rebels. Buck sent the Rookie to secure the emergency exit, but he was ultimately captured and held at gunpoint by Captain [[Ingridson]], the leader of the United Rebel Front on the planet. Spartan Sarah Palmer, who was battling insurgents elsewhere in the city, contacted Buck and offered her assistance with the situation.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', ''pages 22-24'' (Google Play edition)</ref>

However, Buck declined the aid as he believed that the appearance of Spartans would lead to the Rookie's execution. As a stand-off ensued, the URF soldiers were positioned safely on the presidential balcony, which was protected with [[energy shielding]]. Buck signaled for Dutch and Mickey to sneak up to the balcony, while he and Romeo distracted Ingridson. Buck and Ingridson engaged in a conversation about each others' views, with both individuals attempting to stall the other. Buck soon learned of Ingridson's intent when Palmer notified him that URF soldiers were surrounding the capitol building. Once Dutch and Mickey got into position, Buck ordered the squad to attack the rebels while having Palmer and her Spartans engage the approaching rebels outside. In the ensuing firefight, Buck was shot in the arm. Realizing she was out of options, Ingridson executed