Disclaimer/Claimer: I don't own Halo or any or it's characters, even though I'd love too. Just mine.

A/N: Chapter one is here! Many thanks to those who reviewed the prologue, I think that even though this has hardly anything to do with the game series that it is going to be good. In this chapter we have the introduction of the main character, Jacob, and his squad who are currently aboard a freighter heading towards earth. Enjoy!

Chapter I: Briefing

- Aboard the Solaris.
- 9:00 A.M. July 26th, 2557.

Groaning softly as his eyes fluttered open, Jacob Scott looked around and then sat up, pushing back the cover of his sheets and stretching out his aching muscles. Climb out of his bed he rubbed the side of his head as he looked around. He was the only one from his squad up at the moment and when he looked down at his watch he noticed why. It was rather early for him, but he figured it was time to get up either way.

Jacob yawned softly as he walked over to where his locker was at and then opened up the metal door. He grabbed some fresh clothes out of the bottom and then changed out of his warn out uniform, putting it into a small waste basket then changing into his fresh fatigues.

The barracks were quiet, the only sound coming from him breathing as he sat down on his bed, reaching down and redoing the laces on his boots as he waited for the others to get up. Looking off to his right Jacob could see one of his friends stirring and so he decided that maybe he should head down to the mess hall so that he could eat some breakfast.

No doubt that Commander Slater was going to be sending him and his team out on a mission once they landed on earth. They were overdue for a galactic trip to one of the star systems and since his team was the only team on board the ship that didn't already have preset orders once they landed he was sure they'd get shipped out. He wasn't to thrilled about it though, Jacob was hoping to be able to at least see his family before being put back in the field.

Exiting their room Jacob walked down the corridor, passing by other soldiers and researchers as he made his way to the mess hall. His stomach rumbled softly in protest at how poorly he'd been keeping his nutrition for the past week. It wasn't his fault though, all he had time to do mostly was the training simulations. Commander Slater was a real dick sometimes.

When he reached the elevator Jacob pressed the call button and silently waited as the elevator descended down from the upper floors. Silently he waited as the humming of the elevator grew louder until a soft ping went off and the doors opened, along with those that were waiting with him he stepped inside. Pressing the button for the second floor he waited until the door opened up not even a minute later and he stepped out, and took a left.

Pushing through the doors of the entrance to the mess hall Jacob was greeted by the dull roar of the rest of the crew that were present in the room. Walking over to where the line began at he grabbed a tray and then walked through the line. Jacob was into having a good breakfast this morning so he grabbed two biscuits, a piece of sausage and a spoon of eggs. Grabbing a bottle of water he continued through the line and then headed over to sit down at a table.

Biting into his biscuit after stuffing it full of sausage and eggs he looked over to his right at the door and watched as two of his team mates walked through the door and over to where he was at. Walking over to where he was at they sat down at the table.

Jacob continued to eat as they sat down. Natalie Ortega, who was sitting at the other end of the table that she was also sitting at. She is a Corporal in his squad. Her luxurious, wavy, shoulder-length hair is the color of coffee with cream, and was worn in an elegant, severe style. She is very short and has an elegant build. Her skin is tanned. She has high cheekbones and small feet.

The other one, a guy, was just as tall as he was, had a full goatee and looked to be quite the bodybuilding. His name was Keith Roberts, just like Natalie he's a Corporal in his squad and although you'd think he was a very mean person he was quite the opposite. Keith was actually a really nice guy once you got to know him. He was just a smartass a lot of the time though.

"Hey guys," Jacob said as they began to eat.

"Aren't you a site for sore eyes," Keith commented sarcastically. "You don't usually get out of bed for another hour."

Jacob stared at his friend for a few moments, deciding on whether or not to say anything. However, before he could Natalie broke in.

"Get off his back, I'm sure there's some reason why." She flashed a smile in his direction.

"All I'm sayin," Keith said through a mouthful of food. "Is that J.B. here usually is up all night attending to the courses in the training center, the guy needs to get laid and soon."

"And let me guess," Natalie said in an annoyed tone. "I'm that girl?"

Keith nodded.

Jacob shook his head in annoyance. He hated it when Keith called him J.B. For those who didn't know, his middle name was Bradley, and he hated being called by it but Keith was the only one who could get away with it. If you were to ask him it seemed like that was the only reason he teased him about it was well. Of course, he did know when to stop.

Both of them had known each other since they were kids, having grown up next to one another in the same house and even going to the same school together. It was strange to him as well because he had always thought that he would be the one who would never join the UNSC, but of course Keith had been able to convince him to join and before you knew it they were soaring through the ranks.

They'd both been involved in the wars against the Covenant and the Flood, both times ironically being in the same squad together. Jacob often thought that this reason was what had kept them alive through the years, watching each others back and not letting anything happen to them.

After the war they'd been assigned to several routes throughout space as guards aboard the ships, security in checkpoint stations, the list was endless. Now, after a long grueling six months they were heading home to earth to spend some time with their friends and families.

"Tell me first thing you're gonna do when we get back..." Keith said as he leaned against the side of the table.

"I just wanna see my family," Natalie said with a sign.

"I heard that," Jacob agreed.

And then there was Natalie. The sweet, compassionate brunette that had come into his life just two weeks ago after being transferred from Gamma-6. She was the medical officer for their team if they were to encounter any problems aboard the ship and often remarked that she felt like the little sister to the rest of the guys.

It was true though. Everyone in their squad treated her like a little sister and often called her Nat for short because she always seemed to be buzzing from place to place for some odd reason. Not that Jacob cared, but it was somewhat weird in it's own kind of way. Still though, Natalie was a good person and Jacob liked her.

He was looking forward mostly to being able to relax most of all. After several years of being in service and not getting a break, sometimes you just wanted to be able to relax and kick back, maybe have a margarita or two with your girlfriend if you had one.

From behind them footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the mess hall. They all turned and watched as a woman dressed in full military clothes walked in their direction, the last thing he was hoping for was that she was coming to talk to them. And of course, when she came to a stop right in front of him Jacob knew all to well that it meant that they were about to be assigned to some kind of duty.

"Sir, I need you, Roberts and Ortega to come with me." The female soldier said softly.

Jacob nodded and looked over at his friends, signaling for them to follow him.

When they left the mess hall, Jacob and the others followed the cadet down the hallway and over to where the elevator was at. The command bridge was just on the next level and Jacob had to wonder what could be so urgent that they'd need them this early in the morning. Slater was an ass, but he wasn't an idiot when it came to having a reason for his actions.

Stepping into the elevator they exited out onto the floor above and continued with following the woman.

"So," Keith said, trying to strike up some talk. "What's Slater got for us?"

"He wouldn't tell me," The Cadet said shyly. "Apparently it's top secret."

"Wow, must be something bad." Natalie remarked.

Once they reached the command bridge, Jacob looked around. There were several people going back and forth, he'd never seen the workers here so busy it was like something had just happened. This made Jacob wonder if something had happened on earth and they were being called here because of that. If something had happened to his family, he didn't know what he would do with him.

Off to their right, Commander Slater was talking with one of the doctors from the medical bay.

"I don't care," Slater spat. "Find out what you can about the information on the cruiser, all of my analysis are working on this and we need more help."

"Yes, sir." The doctor said and walked off.

Jacob could tell by the look in Slater's eyes that there was definitely something wrong. Maybe it was the fact he had been screaming at that doctor who clearly didn't belong at an information computer on looking for some kind of cruiser. What he was talking about though, Jacob had no idea and was starting to wonder if maybe there was something going on that he didn't want to know about.

Of course, all that changed the moment Slater acknowledged that him, Natalie and Keith were there.

"Ah, good you're here." Slater said, for some reason he actually looked happy to see them. "Scott, Roberts, Ortega, over here."

"Sir, why did you bring us up here?" Jacob asked as they joined him near the control panel.

"Just listen," Slater replied as he began to type on the panel.

Slater brought up a file on the hologram screen in front of them and began to input the password for access to the file so that they could listen to it. Already Jacob didn't like where this was going, it had an eerie feel to it.

"...Ave...-5...need...nc...myself...killed...respond."

"What was that?" Natalie asked.

"We believe that is an S.O.S. message from the Avenger 10-5," Commander Slater informed them. "The thing is, no ones heard from them in three days. They were rescuing survivors from a cruiser that had a mechanical failure, but something happened."

"And let me guess, you're sending us in to find out?" Keith said sarcastically.

"Our job is to help them if they're stranded," Slater replied darkly. "Your job as well."

From behind them the door opened and Jacob saw that the rest of his team was coming over to where they were at. Six soldiers who he knew pretty well and knew that they could watch theirs, as well as his back when the time came for it. They all looked quite tired, obviously they'd just been woken up while Jacob, and the others were at breakfast.

"Good, now that the rest of your team is here." Slater continued. "I want your team to assemble and head to the ship, we're not that far from it and should be a five minute ride. See if you can find any of it's crew and get brought up to speed on their situation."

"Yes, sir!" They all said at once and snapped a salute.

Turning, they all left and headed out of the command bridge and to where the elevator was at. Once inside they all traveled down to the first floor and took a right, heading to where the barracks were at and to the armory to gear up for their missions.

Stepping through the doors of the armory Jacob and his team made their way over and went to each of their respective lockers. Jacob sat down on the bench in front of his and opened the metal door, grabbing his army fatigues and then began to strip out of his clothes. Jacob was standing next to Natalie, who was getting looks from Ronnie Pierce and Leo Clarke. They both wanted to hook up with her.

After he was changed into his uniform Jacob walked over to where the weapons were kept and he put in the code to open the glass case. Inside was the standard MA5C rifle, it was the standard weapon for the UNSC Marines and his had a few modifications to it. It was lighter than the average one, held an additional ten bullets per clip and had a more balanced sight. Quite the toy that he loved to fight with, all the others had one also, but with their own modifications.

There was a second locker below it. He opened it and in it appeared a custom handgun that they used in a holster with six spare magazines and a utility belt with pouches to keep them in. Jacob pulled on his armor and hooked on the belt. He put the magazines in their separate pouches and picked up the gun. He looked at it for a moment. It was well polished and nicely developed. Then, he put it in the holster and strapped it on.

"Is everyone ready?" Jacob asked as he walked over to the others.

After receiving nods from everyone, Jacob handed out their guns and then headed for the door.

They had a long hour ahead of them if it meant that they were going to have to search the cruiser for any signs of survivors. Hell, there wasn't even a guarantee that they would find anyone alive. But that was no reason for him to give up hope that there were.

"Let's move out!"

Here's the much anticipated next chapter of Walking Dead.

In this chapter we saw the introduction of the three main characters: Jacob, Keith and Natalie. I do plan to expand more on them as well as expand on the other members of their squad who will be getting named in the next chapter (excluding Ronnie and Leo) but for now they remain a mystery.

I'd like to take this time to thank my friend Keith for allowing me to use his name in the story as well as helping me in developing the characters of his and Natalie. Without your help I'd still be thinking up their personalities.

~Later.