Halo: New Blood

Halo: New Blood is a Halo short novel written by Matt Forbeck. It was released digitally on March 2, 2015. The book explores Edward Buck's actions after the end of the Human-Covenant War.

Plot synopsis
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 humanity defeated the Covenant, some 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 "Romeo" Agu, and Michael "Mickey" Crespo approach an 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 attacked Harvest. After the Covenant 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 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 were ambushed by URF soldiers and the Rookie is held hostage at gunpoint by Ingridson. As a stand-off ensures 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, 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 Banshees in the area and return back to base in the truck. For disobeying her orders, Dare threatens to charge him with insubordination and warns him 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 the events that his squad was involved with during the Battle of New Mombasa in 2552. Alpha-Nine, now consisting of Buck, Romeo, Mickey, 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 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 were holding the Rookie hostage, while he and Romeo distracted 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.

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