Chapter 12: Svenson

There was something about Alpha Base that made Svenson feel a certain way. It looked just like any other UNSC base, but the idea of it being on this giant ringworld made it surreal. And the grey metal structures around the base that seemed to be everywhere on the ring made it even moreso.

Svenson and the members of Fireteam Delta stepped off their Pelicans. The ride there had been largely uneventful, but Svenson was glad of that. He'd gone through enough events since the Pillar of Autumn left slipspace above the ring.

"Hope I get to relax some," Kamal said, clapping Svenson on the shoulder as he walked by.

"Me too," Svenson said with a sigh. He let Kamal go off on his own, he disappeared inside a tent. Svenson took a seat on the ground and breathed in fresh air, air that was free from the stench of blood, smoke, and burning plasma.

He heard footsteps in the grass behind him, and someone sat next to him. It was Faraday.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey," she said back.

Svenson nearly flinched. It certainly wasn't the first time she'd spoken to him, but it always took him by surprise when she did. Then again, usually they were all in a near-death situation when she talked.

They were quiet. There really wasn't much for them to say to each other. He told her he wouldn't let her die, and here she was. She took off her helmet and the mask covering her face, and set them next to her. Her short brown hair was all over the place, she looked like she'd seen hell and come back. She didn't look like the quiet and scared Marine that she was.

"You okay?" Svenson asked.

Faraday frowned slightly and shrugged. It was an expression Svenson understood. He responded with a nod, and began thinking. Faraday looked tough as nails, but she also always seemed to be afraid of everything. A lot of people were like that nowadays. He thought back to his past. The loss of everything he'd known on Draco. The loss of Gerrel on the Autumn, and of the others in that metal tower.

Everyone in the UNSC had lost something to the Covenant, some more than most. That was the reason everyone in the UNSC fought back against the Covenant. Everyone who had lost something felt like that should get revenge. That was what kept him going. He wanted to see the looks in the aliens' faces as he killed them, he wanted to make them feel what he and his friends had felt.

"I lost my family after I joined the Marines," Svenson said. Faraday didn't look at him, but he saw her shift her attention to him. "After them I lost most of my friends back on Draco III. And then I lost Draco III.

"We've all got reasons for being here, and for being who we are. We've all lost someone, or something to the Covenant. Don't be afraid of telling people. I know sometimes it hurts bringing it back up again, but it feels better when you let it out."

Faraday nodded and looked down at the ground, she nervously fiddled with her hands. Svenson didn't think she was going to speak until she did.

"I was born on Harvest," she said. She didn't even have to continue for Svenson to know what had happened to her. Harvest was the very first planet lost to the Covenant. The original massacre that had started the Human-Covenant war. Barely anyone had made it off the planet.

"I was barely more than a baby," Faraday continued, "but I remember everything like it just happened yesterday. I remember my parents handing me off to the soldiers, the soldiers that had to leave them behind to save me.

"I've gone from family to family, they've all been killed by the Covenant at some point. Most of the Marines I trained with are gone too. Everyone I've known for a long time is dead."

Svenson looked down and nodded. It was a story he understood, something similar to what he'd gone through.

"I know Fireteam Delta well, better than anyone else at this point," he said, "you just stick with us, and we'll get you out of this. There is gonna be a time when we'll be fully out of this. We'll be able to go home, look up in the sky, and not be afraid of there being a Covenant ship there. I know that day is gonna come."

He was able to say it convincingly, but he really didn't know that day was going to come. He just wanted to hope, but with the way the war was going it probably wasn't going to happen. There had been very few victories against the Covenant, and there likely wasn't going to be many more.

Faraday seemed to figure he was telling the truth. She looked at him and for the first time, he saw her smile. He smiled back, and gently held her hand.


Word of the weapons cache had spread quickly, and Captain Keyes was already organising teams to secure it. Fireteam Delta was going to be one of those teams.

"Covenant do a shitty job at keeping things under wraps," Kamal joked.

"And that's good for us," O'Hale said, standing across from him.

The members of Fireteam Delta were gathered around a holotable, they were all going over the view of the building that was said to be a Covenant weapons cache. Svenson was suspicious of how easily they got the information. Maybe it was a weapons cache, but not a Covenant one. Maybe there were no weapons there at all. They wouldn't know until they got there.

"With the losses we've already suffered we won't be able to split up," Arceneaux said, "so just keep your eyes on each other and we'll be in and out."

"And we don't have a lot of time," O'Hale said, "we suspect the Covenant will be there before us, and they'll likely be setting up defences as soon as they get there. So make your snack and potty breaks quick, we'll be moving out in fifty."

A chorus of yes sir sounded around the table, and the team left the tent they were all in.

"Looks like you don't get to relax," Svenson said to Kamal as he followed him out.

"You don't either," Kamal replied with a shrug.

"What's the deal with this weapons cache anyway?" Lopes said from behind both of them. The three Marines stood outside the tent as the other members of the Fireteam rushed out and made their best use of the fifty minutes they had.

"Hell if I know," Kamal said, "but with the amount of resources they're movin' to it it's gotta be really important."

"This is definitely a trap," Svenson gave his opinion, "Covenant aren't exactly known for giving up their intel that easily."

"That's true," Kamal shrugged, "but in the event it isn't? Takin' down the Covies with their own guns is gonna feel so nice."

"That's not really what I meant," Lopes leaned on the side of another tent next to them and crossed her arms. "Why is this cache so damn important? Especially considering they've got all their ships up in uh… orbit."

Lopes hesitated when she said orbit, Svenson figured why. It was another thing that weirded him out about the ring. The Covenant's ships were stationed in the middle of the ring, above its surface, so they weren't exactly orbiting it.

"That's another thing I was thinking of," Svenson replied, "if it is a weapons cache, what if it's not Covenant weapons? What if the weapons there belong to whoever or whatever built this ring in the first place."

"That's a good point," said Kamal, "it could've been a misinterpretation."

"Whatever it is, it's important," said another voice coming up to them, it was Arceneaux. "Recon confirms that the Covenant are shifting massive resources to that location. If this was some kind of trap, they'd be a hell of a lot quieter about it."

"Also true," said Kamal.

"Let's just hope that this gives us another edge in this war. If we can kick the Covenant off this ring and keep it for ourselves, who knows what we can do with it? Anything that can give us an edge, we take it."

"Yes sir!" Svenson said with a salute. Kamal and Lopes did the same.

"Now take what time you can here. That swamp is gonna be hell compared to this pretty landscape."

Svenson nodded and saluted again. He figured he should spend his time finding something to eat, he hadn't been able to do that since before the Autumn was attacked. And if he had to shit later on he could do it in the swamp.

He made his way to the hastily put together mess hall. It was really just a big tent with a bunch of benches underneath it and an MRE dispenser. They didn't have the time or resources to set up a proper place to eat. Svenson grabbed an MRE without looking at what it actually was, and looked for a place to sit down. He spotted Faraday at a table by herself near the corner of the tent.

"Nervous?" Svenson asked after sitting down.

Faraday nodded, and then said "a little bit."

Svenson wondered if he should try to be reassuring, or if he should just be honest. He figured being honest would be more reassuring.

"Me too," he said before opening his MRE. "But like I said, we'll get out of this. And when we get that weapons cache, maybe we'll be able to get out of this for good."


The fifty minutes they were given were over pretty quickly. Fireteam Delta was lined up behind their Pelican, the pilot was ready to take off at any second.

"We're gonna be the third team in," O'Hale shouted over the loud blasting of the Pelican's manoeuvring thrusters. "We'll be holding the entrance after the Captain gets in, so yeah, we've got the easy job. Any questions?"

There was no response. Everyone knew the mission well.

"Alright!" O'Hale shouted again, louder this time, "everyone in! The faster we move the faster we get there!"

Fireteam Delta boarded the Pelican. Svenson found a spot between Kamal and Faraday, the two people who he knew the most on the Pelican. Even if he had known everyone else for longer.

The boarding ramp soon closed, and then they were away. They passed another Pelican on its way to the base as they moved out. It was a little weird to think about how much of the ring the UNSC controlled after being stuck in a canyon for hours after landing there.

From there it was smooth sailing, at least until they eventually got into the swamp. With the dense foliage, there weren't many good places to set a Pelican down. They ended up needing to land at the edge of the swamp, which was a considerable distance from the weapons cache.

"First two squads have touched down," Arceneaux said, rapidly tapping on a pad before putting it away, "we'll be the last ones there, which is perfect."

"It's gonna be a long walk," O'Hale said as she moved over to the Pelican's access ramp. "You kids ready?"

A chorus of yes sir sounded around the Pelican, sounding exactly the same as it had around the holotable, and all the Marines stood up from their seats with their rifles in their hands. The access ramp lowered, and they all rushed out into the wilderness.