What I am about to say is completely my own opinion, and has no evidence of ANY kind (yet ) to back it up, but I just feel like taking a shot in the dark…

Tricia Helfer’s character “Dare” in Halo 3: ODST is the main character currently known as “The Rookie”.

Yes, I said it.

I just have a strange feeling that this is the case, and here are a few reasons as to why I personally think so:

1 – The Halo Trilogy had a heavy focus on the tough, but silent Master Chief, and his wry AI companion Cortana. In the trailer for ODST, we see the New Mombasa AI, known as “The Superintendant”, communicating using street signs and billboards – possibly implying a less “vocal” role. To balance it out to the tried and true Halo formula, a more dominant character would be needed for the lead.

2 – The Halo Trilogy had a strong female characters such as Cortana and Miranda Keyes, and both of them are with the Master Chief on Delta Halo during this game, so a new one would be needed…

3 – The name ‘Dare’. Merriam-Webster defines “dare” as “to have sufficient courage”. While this name would fit any ODST, the main character in this story is the sole ODST to make it through Truth’s slipspace rupture – only to have such a devastating crash that the Superintendent rates the odds of fatality at a staggering 99.99%. Bungie likes to play with their words, and for a character named “Dare” to survive a virtually unsurvivable crash just seems to fit perfectly.

4 – Tricia Helfer made this announcement herself at the Pre-E3 show on G4 – and she is the first truly “announced” voice actor for the game. Why would Bungie let her go on and make such an announcement if she wasn’t a major part of the game?

And that’s pretty much it for now.

As to whether or not I’m right, I guess that will have to wait until Monday. Until then, discuss in the comments – maybe you can think of something I didn’t!