Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or any of its original characters, Bungie does.

A/N: Well, this is my first shot at a fanfic so don't be so harsh in reviews. I would like to know any ideas that you might have so I can make it better. Anyway, the chapter starts off slow and ends up with a little action, but not much. Until the Master Chief hits the ground (his specialty) he won't do much fighting. But don't worry, you don't have long to wait. Well then, enjoy!

A New Mission:

It's a few hours after the events of Halo: The Flood (the game for those who don't read the books). The Master Chief was sleeping in the pilot chair of the Longsword fighter he used to escape from the ringworld Halo, just before it blew up. The Chief was having nightmares of all the battles he's had against the Covenant. From when he first saw them to the ones he had seen not so long ago on board The Pillar of Autumn. He was suddenly awoken by a familiar voice.

"Chief. Chief?" asked a female voice. "Wake up!"

The Chief slowly woke up. He was still a bit tired because of all the running and killing he had done back on Halo. "Cortana? What is it?"

"Chief, I'm receiving an emergency distress signal. It doesn't seem to be that far away." said Cortana.

"Where is it coming from?" asked the Chief.

"Apparently the Covenant have found another human world and are icing it now. Most if not all of the civilians have been killed considering most of the major cities have already been destroyed, or so it says in the message. But there are still a couple of Marines who are pinned down in an area that's still overrun with Covenant ground forces. They're requesting any available UNSC ship to provide backup. Chief, what should we do?" asked Cortana.

"What we're trained to do." said the Chief. "First thing's first. I've been taught to help allies in need. Cortana, send them a message: tell them reinforcements are on the way and ask them to provide coordinates of their location."

"Alright. Give me a minute." said Cortana.

The Chief then began to access the Longsword's NAV computer to check for any planets that would be near them. Cortana then highlighted one that wasn't very far away. "That's the one. Planet Arcadia." she said. "Apparently they're held up in a small town. If we don't hurry up they might not make it."

"In that case we should go there quickly." responded the Chief. "We'll need all the help we can get to get back to Earth."

With that said Cortana displayed the coordinates on the Master Chief's HUD while he entered commands on the Longsword's NAV computer. After a few minutes they were on their way to Arcadia.

About half an hour later, Arcadia came into view. "According to the computer's files, Arcadia is not that different from Earth. Oceans, continents, ice caps, the works." said Cortana.

The Chief then responded, "Not anymore." As soon as "they" could get a good view of the planet, they saw something terrible. The same thing the Chief had seen many times before. More than half the planet was already glassed. The Covenant were doing their job well.

"I just hope that we're not too late." sighed Cortana. As soon as Cortana was done with her sentence an alarm went off.

"Cortana! What's wrong!?" asked the Chief.

"A Covenant cruiser is approaching at an alarming rate. I estimate we have three minutes until the cruiser is all over us." said Cortana. "I suggest we take evasive action."

"I second that thought." replied the Chief. He then started to enter more commands into the Longsword's computer. The ship then increased its speed. "Here we go again."

Another alarm then started to sound throughout the ship. "The cruiser is charging its weapons! Chief, if we get hit, we're done for! Even one of those blasts is enough to eat through the Longsword's hull." Cortana said.

The Chief then calmly replied, "Don't worry, I have an idea. Cortana, how many Shiva warheads do we have on board?"

"According to the ship's data banks, we have two warheads on board. What do you have in mind?" asked Cortana.

"Arm one of the warheads and get ready to fire it. Set it to remote detonate." said the Chief.

"Acknowledged. Shiva warhead is armed and ready." replied Cortana.

"Good. Let's hope this works." said the Chief. The Covenant cruiser then started to fire its plasma guns at them. Luckily the Chief managed to pilot the Longsword around each of the blast by going side to side at top speed. Then when he was close enough to the cruiser he gave the order, "Cortana, fire the warhead now!"

The Shiva was then launched out one of the Longsword's missile tubes. After a few seconds the Shiva's engine turned off and it merely drifted in space. The Chief piloted the Longsword under the cruiser and managed to come out from under the other side. The Covenant cruiser had been so preoccupied with the Longsword flying underneath it; it had forgotten one thing, the Shiva warhead that was right over it! As soon as the cruiser started to charge for another volley of plasma shots and as soon as the Longsword was far enough from the cruiser the Master Chief gave another order, "Detonate the warhead, now!"

With a bright flash of light the warhead detonated and sent a shockwave through space, making the Longsword shake violently. But the distraction had worked. The explosion drew the Covenant's attention toward the area of impact long enough for the Chief to pilot the Longsword into a nearby asteroid field. 'This should provide the cover we need.' thought the Chief.

"Yes it should." Cortana retorted.

"Would you please stop doing that?" said the Chief.

"Sorry, I can't help it. Anyway, what's the plan?"

"If the NAV computer is correct, then this asteroid field should come pretty close to the planet if we follow this course." The Chief then highlighted a path on the screen.

"I get it. You're thinking on using the asteroid to protect us from the Covenant while we also use it to travel to Arcadia. Nice plan."

"Thank you. But we're not out of the woods yet. We still have to get down to the planet in one piece." The Chief then plotted a course into the Longsword's computer and the ship altered its course so as to follow the asteroid field. And they were on their way to Arcadia.

A/N: Well, that's it for the first chapter. Let me know what you think of it. Chapter 2 should be done soon so just wait for it.