Chapter 10: Svenson

Svenson found it hard to leave his room, but every so often he made an attempt. Now was his chance for a break, and he knew he should make the most of it. But the Covenant had found Earth. Humanity's home and last bastion. He was sure that everyone else was scared shitless.

The gatherings of civilians on the beach were long gone. Barely anybody was outside. Only then did it feel like the people of New Tampa knew there was a war going on. The battle of Earth wasn't being completely televised, but the people still knew it was happening. As a UNSC soldier, Svenson was regularly updated on the battle. The Covenant had breached Earth's defences, and were landing on the planet.

Svenson managed to leave the apartment building, where he looked up to the sky. He couldn't see the fleet in orbit, but he knew they hadn't left. Could things be going different on Earth if they had a handful of extra ships? Probably not, but at least things might've been going better.

Clouds began to obscure the sky, and soon rain began to pour down onto the city. It was as if the planet's weather knew what was happening lightyears away on Earth. As far as Svenson knew, he was the only person in the whole city outside their home. He relished in the solitude as the rain washed onto him, he didn't care that he was getting his clothes soaking wet.

Svenson pulled his hand terminal from his pocket and continued to watch the feeds from Earth. He partly wished he was there, he wanted to feel like he was doing something for humanity. But he knew that if he was there then he would probably be long dead. Survive one horror and immediately get thrown into the next. That was all it had been for humanity lately. One nightmare after another.

Svenson waited outside for a long time. The rain only began to let up as the sky darkened, and night fell over them. By that time the fighting on Earth had died down significantly. The Covenant fleet left out of nowhere, in search of whatever it was they were after. But Covenant soldiers remained in New Mombasa where they had landed, and fights were going on all over the city.

Everything Svenson was seeing had happened hours, or maybe even days ago. Earth was too far away to watch anything in real time, and it was a complicated mess of a setup to even get news from Earth to the outer colonies.

When the rain stopped, Svenson walked back into the apartment building. He didn't care if he got the floors wet, that wasn't his problem. He was a UNSC Marine. He solved all his problems with bullets. He would deal with the fallout later if there even was any.

It hadn't even been a full day since he landed on New Tampa, and he was already losing it. He didn't want to be alone, but he didn't want anyone to know that. He needed something to do, but there wasn't much he had done in the past months that wasn't shooting at something. He undressed as he entered his room, leaving his wet clothes in a pile in front of the door, and he jumped onto his bed. He so desperately wanted to sleep, but that sleep never came.

Before he knew it, the sun was rising in the distance. Even if he never did get to sleep, the night still passed in the blink of an eye. He silently stepped into the shower after getting out of bed, the first time he'd used a private shower in ages. Doing everything alone was agonising. He changed into a fresh set of clothes and left the apartment complex.

Life had already gone back to normal in New Tampa, as if everyone had just forgotten that humanity's homeworld was under attack. The days on New Tampa were similar in length to days on Earth, though the nights were slightly shorter. Though Svenson had never been to Earth, he knew that much. It hadn't yet been a full day on either planet since the attack started.

Svenson made his way down a sidewalk that was damp from the previous night's rain. He didn't know where he was going, but he was moving with a purpose. Even with the crowds of people he moved past he still felt alone, but the feeling of loneliness wasn't quite as bad as the previous day.

He eventually made it to the entrance of a restaurant that he didn't bother to read the name of. He hadn't fully realised how hungry he was until he stepped through the doors. The restaurant was nearly empty, only a few people sat scattered around at the tables and booths. A clean shaven man that couldn't be more than 20 years old approached him with a friendly smile.

"Hi, how may I help you today?" the man asked, his voice just as cheerful as he looked.

"Booth for one, please," Svenson said.

The man nodded and led Svenson to a booth in the corner of the restaurant. He sat next to a window with a view of the crowded streets outside. The restaurant's menu was a screen built into the table, which seemed awfully inconvenient. He couldn't even remember eating at a restaurant since he was just a kid, he couldn't even remember eating anything other than MREs since the day the Pillar of Autumn found Alpha Halo.

Svenson silently scrolled through the menu looking for something to eat. He wasn't hungry for anything in particular, yet at the same time he was a picky eater. The quietness of the restaurant made it easy for Svenson to hear the footsteps approaching his table. He looked up expecting to see a waiter, but it was just a man in a casual plain blue shirt.

"Hey, you're the new guy in town," the man said.

Svenson couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. As much as he didn't want to be alone, he didn't want random people coming up to him just because he was well known for one thing or another. He put on his best friendly smile and nodded.

"Mind if I have a seat?" the man asked.

"Go ahead," Svenson said, nodding to the booth across from him.

The man sat down, not dropping his smile. He had tanned skin and dark hair, with a full beard covering his jaw. His eyes were bright blue like Svenson's. He was very handsome, and in another life Svenson could see himself being attracted to him. He realised that the other life was before the battle of Alpha Halo.

"My name's Joseph Graves," he said. "You can call me Joe, or whatever else you'd like."

"I'm Matthew," Svenson said, having to fight to introduce himself with his first name.

"Nice to meet you, Matthew," Graves said with a smile. "Just saw you around and wanted to introduce myself. I'm off duty right now, but I'm a military police officer over at Firebase Veles. I have a feeling we'll be working together in the future, so I wanted to say hi."

Svenson didn't entirely trust the man after hearing that. Firebase Veles belonged more to ONI than to the UNSC Army, and now Svenson figured Graves was actually some ONI officer sent to keep watch on him. To make sure he didn't say anything he wasn't supposed to.

"I'm sure we will," Svenson said with a smile that only came across as nervous.

"Mind if I join you for your meal?" Graves asked. "You don't have to worry about the check, Marines eat free here."

Maybe this won't be so bad, Svenson thought. Even if he didn't trust Graves, he really needed a friend. And this was his best shot.

"Go ahead, I don't mind," Svenson said.

"Thanks, friend," Graves said. He scrolled through the menu on his side of the table.

Svenson eventually decided on ordering a steak, while Graves went for a moa burger. The thought of eating a burger from a now extinct species, on a planet he had personally seen be destroyed, made him sick. The meat was tank grown, but the thought was still upsetting.

"So, Matthew," Graves started while they waited for their food to arrive. "Where have you served?"

Svenson's service record wasn't very long, nor was it pretty. Before the battle of Alpha Halo, the only major engagements he took part in were tragic losses for humanity. He had seen friends die, and worlds glassed. Though he was proud to have fought for humanity, he wasn't proud of the conflicts he took part in.

"I was at Fumirole," Svenson said, recalling the first major battle he was in. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to remember, though that was the same with the rest of his service record. "And I was there during the battle of Reach."

Svenson stopped himself before he could bring up the battle of Alpha Halo, that was something he wasn't allowed to talk about. Even if Graves really was an ONI agent, he still couldn't bring it up.

"Damn, really?" Graves's expression turned to concern. Even those who didn't fight during the battle of Reach knew almost everything about it. "You must have seen some shit."

Oh you have no idea. Even the endless tide of Covenant and the glassing of planets were nothing compared to what he saw on Alpha Halo. They weren't just killed. They were turned into monsters. All Svenson could do was nod in response.

"Everyone at Veles talks about you like you're some kind of seasoned veteran," Graves said. Svenson could hear some admiration in his voice. "Now I see that you are."

Though the battles of Fumirole and Reach only sounded like two different battles, they were so much more than that. They were planetary invasions filled with several different conflicts, some large and some small. Svenson recalled the siege of New Alexandria in particular, where he had seen Covenant Brutes ripping the limbs off of civilians. Covenant corvettes dominated the skies, Banshees flew between buildings performing attack runs on UNSC positions.

Even though Svenson didn't really feel like a veteran, he sure as hell was one. A waiter eventually brought them their food, and suddenly Svenson wasn't hungry anymore. He wanted to be in a trench with his fellow Marines holding off squads of Covenant, at least that was familiar to him.

Svenson slowly cut into the steak and ate it very unenthusiastically. Even if he was no longer hungry, he knew he still needed to eat. He eventually finished eating well after Graves, and he didn't even finish his meal. Graves wiped off his hands and paid for his food.

"Thanks for the meal, Matthew," Graves said as he stood up from the booth. "I'll get out of your hair."

"No problem," Svenson said. He felt Graves clasp a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll see you around."

Yeah, he's definitely an ONI agent. Graves left Svenson alone with his unfinished steak, and he eventually gave up on trying to finish it. He stood up from the booth and left the restaurant. Just as he walked through the doors, he felt a buzzing in his pocket. He pulled his hand terminal out and saw that he was getting a call, which he quickly answered.

"Svenson. It's Nagata," Sergeant Nagata's voice came through.

"I'm here," Svenson said as he walked down the sidewalk back to the apartments.

"I'm sorry to cut your break short, but there's been a pretty big development. A transport is being sent to Bay plaza. Be there as soon as possible."

"Yes ma'am," Svenson said. Nagata dropped the connection on her end, and Svenson slid the terminal back into his pocket.

Even though he had wanted the break at first, he realised more and more that it was only making things worse for him. He was thankful that Nagata had something for him to do so early. He started jogging through the sidewalks, making sure he didn't bump into anyone along the way.

By the time he made it back to the plaza, there was a transport already waiting for him. They hadn't bothered getting a civilian driver this time, what was waiting for him was an M12 Warthog with a troop carriage on the back. A UNSC Army trooper stood next to the passenger seat and waved Svenson over when she spotted him. She climbed back into the passenger seat as he arrived.

Svenson lifted himself into the carriage on the back and sat down behind the trooper in the passenger seat, and the driver immediately drove them away from the plaza. Though he was a little thankful that the troopers weren't as talkative as the last driver he had, the silence was a little uncomfortable. And he would much rather talk to military personnel than a civilian.

"Any idea what this is about?" Svenson asked, making conversation.

"Sergeant didn't say," the trooper in the passenger seat said. "I take it it's some ONI bullshit."

There was hostility in her voice, but it wasn't toward him. She knew that he didn't have a choice in working with ONI, he would be on Earth fighting back the Covenant invasion if he did. The Warthog was let through the gate and the driver parked it next to the Pelican landing pads. Svenson and the troopers quickly hopped out.

"Sergeant's this way," the driver said, pointing to a command tent toward the back of the firebase.

Svenson and the two troopers made their way to the tent, but Svenson was the only one who was let inside. In the tent was Sergeant Nagata, and several other Army Sergeants gathered around a holotable.

"Just in time," Nagata said. "I know you wanted a break, but we've lost that luxury."

"I don't mind," Svenson said. "I'm a Marine, I serve where I'm needed."

"Good. There's two things."

Nagata pulled up a projection on the holotable. It showed the whole star system before zooming in at the edge of it. There he saw the projection of a Covenant Phantom, and it was approaching New Tampa rapidly.

"A single Phantom slipped into the system several hours ago," another of the Sergeants said. The nametag on her chestplate read 'Rosenfeld'.

"It's on a fast track toward us, but we don't know if it's an attack," Nagata said.

"If it is, then whoever's leading it has got some unorthodox tactics," Rosenfeld continued.

"Yeah, I've never seen an attack like this," Svenson said. The battle of Fumirole had started with a Covenant fleet entering the system, and the battle of Reach started with a stealth insertion of Elites. Sending a single Phantom without any kind of stealth on an attack was suicide, even for them.

"We've got a few more hours before it gets close enough to land," said Nagata. "We've been attempting to hail it, but we've gotten no response."

"We are prepared to shoot it down," Rosenfeld said, "but we've been thinking it might be some of our own there, and this is the closest place they could get to."

"And if it isn't, then we're more than prepared to handle whatever's gonna come out of it."

Svenson really didn't like this. He didn't want to risk letting the Phantom land on the planet, but he knew that it was a suicide attack if it really was the Covenant who launched it at them. Either way, he didn't have a say in the matter. He knew he was just being warned. But that wasn't all they had for him.

"What was the other thing?" Svenson asked.

"Several scientists have gone missing at the anomaly site," Nagata said. The display shifted from the view of the system to the underground structures he had been shown earlier. "If this is a Covenant attack, I want to find out what happened to them before it happens."

"You're our expert on this stuff," Rosenfeld said. "So I've heard anyway."

Rosenfield wore the uniform of an Army Sergeant, but she didn't have the ONI patches on the uniform that Nagata did, so Svenson was surprised to hear that she knew about his experiences. He didn't have time to dwell on it though. He was needed, and he would do whatever he was ordered.

"A Pelican is loaded up and ready to take you there," Nagata said. "You'll head in and find out what's happening as soon as possible. Clear?"

"Clear," Svenson said with a nod.

"Good. Head into the base and gear up, then head to Victor-842 on landing pad seven," Nagata ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Svenson said with a small salute.

"You're dismissed."

Svenson quickly left the tent, and made his way into the base. When he entered the armoury, he immediately saw a locker with his name on it. Inside it was his armour, the same as it was when he escaped Alpha Halo, but freshened up. It still had the camo paint that he wore during the mission to the weapons facility in the swamp.

He tried not to think about the swamp as he slipped into the armour. He grabbed a rifle on his way out, and sprinted over to the seventh landing pad. The Pelican sitting on it was marked Victor-842, and Svenson felt a wave of relief when he saw who's it was.

Cas stood outside the Pelican, conversing with an Army trooper. He saw Svenson and waved, and the trooper quickly entered the Pelican.

"Nice to see you geared up, Svenson," Cas said, his voice sounding excited.

"It's nice to be heading out," Svenson said.

"Indeed it is. You ready?"

"Ready as ever."

Cas smiled, and Svenson returned it. When he was alone and thought he needed a friend, he had forgotten that he had already made one that wasn't some kind of undercover agent. The two climbed into the Pelican, and Svenson got himself strapped in while Cas entered the cockpit.

"Alright fellas, we will be launching in five," Cas spoke over the intercom. "Get ready to enjoy the rodeo."