Ignatio Delgado

"So, why are you joining, Mr. Delgado?" "I'd like to shoot down some Covenant ships, Mr. ONI man."

- A conversation between Ignatio Delgado and an Office of Naval Intelligence Agent

Ignatio Delgado was a highly trusted resident of The Rubble. He was chosen by the community's security council to keep control over a data chip that contained the location of Earth.

Early life
Ignatio was born on Madrigal, several years prior to the Human-Covenant War. When the Covenant glassed the planet, he escaped aboard an Insurrectionist ship when he was just fourteen along with his good friend Maria Esquival, but not before getting separated from his parents, who were killed along with the majority of Madrigal's population.

While growing up in the Rubble, Diego Esquival, a young Insurrectionist and Maria's brother, played the part of his father and mentor. Ignatio later went to join the Rubble Defense Force, pledging to never again let what happened to Madrigal happen to the Rubble.

The Battle of the Rubble
Ignatio had been being aided by and aiding a group of Spartans known as Gray Team during the events leading up to the Battle of the Rubble. He was captured by Peter Bonifacio and some of his cronies before the battle and forced to give up the NAV datachip, and he was also alongside Diego Esquival when Diego was shot. Bonifacio damaged the ship's airlocks and left Delgado to die from lack of air. Delgado was subsequently rescued by Gray Team.

He also assisted then-Lieutenant Jacob Keyes, Grey Team and a battalion of ODSTs take a Kig-Yar ship and afterward, defeated a few dozen Jackals alongside the ODSTs, Spartans and his fellow Rubble Defense Force members. During the final stages of the battle, Delgado flew a Pelican to retrieve ODSTs and Spartans from the surface of Metisette, where they had planted a timed nuclear device. Soon after the battle and helping Habitat Exodus and the Rubble's surviving population evacuate to the 18 Scorpii system, he made the decision to join the UNSC Navy after attending the funeral of his friend and former mentor, Diego Esquival on Falaknuma.

Personality
Delgado is known for being loyal, such as still attending his co-pilot's funeral when most of the attendants blamed him for the death. Additionally, when the Spartans of Gray Team asked for his assistance in locating the data chip, he refused, as he disliked the UNSC.

Despite being close to Diego Esquival, he still felt awkward due to his parents' views toward people like Diego (a known Insurrectionist), who used to plant bombs in passenger ships and engage in other rebel activity for money, which his parents called "blood money".

Trivia

 * He owned a handgun called Señora Sies. Ignatio's uncle had altered his standard M6 pistol by replacing the standard stock with a very rare oak back on Madrigal. Ignatio said he had made a piece of art out of the standard issue pistol. Delgado later gave the pistol to the injured ODST Faison on board a Covenant vessel. After Faison's death, it was presumed lost or destroyed.
 * His childhood nickname was Nacho. Only Maria Esquival continued to call him that as an adult.
 * In The Cole Protocol, it states that he was fourteen when Madrigal was glassed in 2528, implying he was born in 2514. However, if his birthday was later in the year, after Madrigal was glassed, then he would have turned fifteen in 2528, thus he would have been born in 2513.
 * Delgado, as well as most of the residents of The Rubble are likely of Spanish origin. This may be due to most of the Rubble residents having Hispanic names and partaking in Latin American customs such as the quincieñera. This implies that most people that lived in the colony of Madrigal, as well as the Rubble, came from Spain or Latin American descent.

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Cole Protocol