Chapter 4: Svenson

"Shit!" Svenson pulled back through the door to the armoury. Faraday had pulled back as well, she was completely frozen. Her eyes were locked on the pile of blood and melted flesh that used to be Gerrel.

Svenson took a deep breath. He could hear the Covenant approaching, and a single pistol wouldn't be enough to hold them all off. I'm sorry, Gerrel, he thought to himself before rushing out and grabbing the assault rifle off the floor next to Gerrel's body. The Covenant fired at him, but he was able to get past the plasma bolts before they could hit him.

"Faraday! Help me out here!" Svenson shouted.

Faraday seemed to come back from whatever unconscious state she was in, and she nodded. She reloaded the DMR and continued firing from her cover, pulling back as plasma rounds slammed into the wall beside her.

Svenson saw the blue flash that indicated shielding failure on one of the Elites, and he fired at them with his assault rifle, taking it down with what was left in the gun's magazine. Purple blood spattered on the wall and floor as the Elite fell. Plasma rounds began to slam into the walls close to him as well.

"Svenson! Where the hell are you?" O'Hale's voice shouted through his radio. "I've been trying to get to Gerrel but he isn't responding."
"Gerrel is dead," Svenson said over the sound of Faraday's DMR firing, "we're trapped outside uh… Armoury B."

"Shit… Alright, stay there. I'm coming to get you."

Svenson closed his eyes, keeping back a frustrated sigh. The bloody assault rifle he stole from Gerrel's corpse was running out of ammo, and he hadn't been able to scavenge for more.

Faraday eventually stopped firing her DMR, it had most likely ran out of ammo as well. At least she was in the armoury, but Svenson figured she wouldn't even think to go grab some more ammo. She was too green, she didn't stike Svenson as someone who could even think on their feet.

A hail of plasma bolts flew past and slammed into the walls close to them. Svenson pulled back as he could feel the heat from the plasma rounds even when they were nowhere near him. The distinctive buzz of the plasma rifle firing started coming closer, and over it he could hear the heavy footsteps of an Elite. They were out of time. The Covenant weren't going to sit around and have a standoff on a ship that could go down at any minute.

Svenson dropped the assault rifle and took the M6D magnum back off his hip. He wondered if he was going to die. Or if he was somehow going to best whatever alien creature was coming to kill him. But he didn't have enough time to think about that. The Elite rounded the corner, Svenson had never been closer to one.

Its deep grey blue skin was something he'd seen more times than he could count, but the gaping maw of its mouth was absolutely disgusting. Teeth lined its four mandibles the same way they lined a shark's mouth, and he swore he could see some kind of saliva dripping from every part of its mouth.

Being close to death was interesting. Svenson would have never been considering all the ugly details of the alien about to kill him if it wasn't about to kill him. He spent so long considering what he was seeing that he didn't even raise his gun and try to fight. A part of his mind just accepted his death. But it wasn't a death that ever came.

Svenson's ears exploded as gunfire rattled throughout the hall. The blue flare of the Elite's shields blinded Svenson for a second, and soon the Elite wasn't there anymore. Its body erupted into a purple mess, spattering the walls and floor around it. Svenson pulled back as he was sprayed with the alien's blood.

He took a moment to collect himself before stepping over the mess that was once the Elite, and glancing down the hallway. Standing there were Sergeant O'Hale and the rest of Fireteam Delta. They sprayed their guns down the hall, Svenson could hear the characteristic high-pitched screams of Grunts, and the low wails of Elites as they fell.

"Your ass almost got put down," said O'Hale as the gunfire stopped.

All Svenson could do in response was nod. He used the back of his glove to try and wipe Elite blood off his face only to find out the glove already had Gerrel's blood on it. Now he was just a mess.

"Private Faraday? You here?" O'Hale called out.

"I'm here…" came a soft voice from the armoury doorway.

Svenson looked up. Hearing Faraday speak was the most surprising thing that had happened all day.

"Good. We've got new orders. We're getting the hell of this ship."

"But… Where are we going to go?" Svenson asked, being brought out of whatever near-death trance he was in.

"Something's out there," O'Hale explained, her southern American accent becoming more exaggerated, "no fucking idea what it is, but we're landing on it. Get your asses in gear because we're heading out. There will be no time to change your panties, we got to go now."

O'Hale slung her MA37 assault rifle over her back and grabbed an MA5B from another marine, Private Clarke, before handing it over to Svenson.

"Thought you could use a real gun," O'Hale said with an unreadable smile.

Svenson nodded and took the rifle. Even though he was right next to the armoury, he knew he wouldn't have enough time to actually get some more ammo. He figured he could just get some passed to him on the way out.

The sprint through the ship was significantly more uneventful than Svenson had thought it would be. The only things they passed were the dead bodies of Covenant and UNSC soldiers. There was nothing either side would be able to do about the dead. The Fireteam passed a lifeboat bay on the ship's starboard side. The bright blue flashes of plasma from the Covenant fleet outside were pretty, but Svenson knew any of them could probably kill him.

The Marines passed through lifeboat bay after lifeboat bay, all of them empty. Countless other personnel faster than them had made it out already. Eventually they made it the last lifeboat bay they hadn't checked, and none of the lifeboats there had left yet.

"About damn time!" said Corporal Arceneaux as he approached the controls to one of the lifeboats. Every member of Fireteam Delta except for O'Hale and Arceneaux crouched and aimed their weapons down both ends of the corridor. Svenson aimed back the way they had come.

After about half a minute of waiting, O'Hale spoke up.

"We're gonna have to split into groups of two, we can't all fit into one lifeboat. Corporal Arceneaux and I will lead each group since we're also the only two here qualified to fly one of these things. We've only got a few minutes, so please do not take your time picking what group you want to be in. Our lives are in danger here. Now, eight of us to a group. Go."

Svenson watched the other Marines get into groups. He didn't have much time to choose one, as O'Hale had just said, but he wanted to be in with Faraday. Wherever the hell they were going, he wanted to make sure Faraday wasn't going to die. He had promised her that.

Privates Clarke, Kormanyos, Seguin, Lopes, Dunn, Roscoe, Rizo, and Skenandore all lined up with O'Hale. O'Hale gave Arceneaux a sharp nod before leading them all into her lifeboat. Arceneaux was left with Stevens, Hanoi, Kamal, Jilani, Wave, Faraday, and Svenson. Arceneaux's group was short one, a spot that should have been taken by Gerrel. Gerrel was one of the few members of Delta that Svenson had been close to, and now there was barely anything left of him. Whatever was left of him would probably be gone by the time the Autumn got wherever it was going, if it didn't explode on the way.

"Alright, all aboard!" Arceneaux shouted. The lined up Marines proceeded into the lifeboat, oddly calm for the situation that they were in.

Svenson found a seat close to the lifeboat's door, right across from Faraday. They were the last two in.

"I slaved the other lifeboats to ours, once we launch so will the rest," Arceneaux said. He probably was speaking to O'Hale instead of them, that wasn't something that the Marines in the lifeboat would know about or understand.

Arceneaux waited about a minute before the lifeboat rattled as they launched. Every lifeboat that was left aboard the Autumn launched in order to distract the Covenant's guns. Svenson figured they were the last ones out if Arceneaux launched all of them that were left.

"You doing okay?" Svenson asked Faraday, who seemed more uncomfortable than usual. Who wouldn't be in this situation?

Faraday gave him a simple nod that he knew was a lie, but he didn't push it. He looked past the heads of the other Marines in the lifeboat and out through the windows. Now he could see what O'Hale was talking about.