Chapter 19: Svenson

Svenson returned to Firebase Veles just in time. The Covenant Phantom had just entered the planet's atmosphere, and it was headed straight for the firebase. Svenson and the other troopers were outside with their weapons ready, the base's defence turrets were also trained on the alien transport as it made its way down.

When the Phantom came into view it seemed very different from the other Phantoms Svenson had seen. It was significantly larger than a normal one, and the doors on the sides each had two large plasma cannons protruding from them. Instead of the blue colour other Phantoms had, this one was a reddish-brown.

"What kind of Phantom is that?" one of the troopers asked, echoing Svenson's thoughts.

"Looks like one of those space Phantoms," said another. "I've seen a few in the vids from Reach."

"Cut the chatter, everyone!" Sergeant Nagata shouted as she joined them. "Clear the area! That thing looks like it's coming down hard!"

Svenson hadn't realised how fast it was moving until Nagata mentioned it. At the rate it was moving it seemed like it was about to slam into the ground. Svenson and the other troopers spread out around the courtyard, and continued to wait in silent anticipation. He could tell the troopers were itching for a fight, and so was he. But so much of this seemed wrong, he wasn't sure if any Covenant were going to step off that thing or not.

The thrusters on the underside of the Phantom fired, burning so hard that they scorched the ground as it came down. The Phantom was surprisingly able to make a complete stop, and that was when everybody trained their guns on the gravity lift. Any second now a bunch of Covenant could drop out from under there, and they had to be ready.

Time seemed to slow down. Svenson could see every small motion of the gravity lift as it opened and activated, for a short moment he was even able to see its inner workings. The last time he was close to a Covenant that wanted him dead, he experienced the same thing. Something in his mind was telling him that he was about to die, and something else was telling him to be patient and wait to see what was going to come out. And what did come out was the last thing Svenson was expecting.

Spartans. Not just one Spartan, but two. Svenson felt so much relief wash over him that he was scared he was about to faint. Holy shit… Spartans! Was all Svenson could think. He and the other troopers lowered their weapons, and the relief faded as Svenson took a moment to actually pay attention.

One of the Spartans was clad in white armour with blue accents, he had a long helmet with a thin gold visor, and a prosthetic right arm. Svenson wondered what the story was behind that, but he figured he wouldn't get the chance to ask. He was carrying the other Spartan, who didn't even seem to be conscious.

The second Spartan was clad in turquoise and grey armour, he wore a very blocky helmet with a thin green visor. Svenson recognised the EOD markings all over the Spartan's armour. The problem though was that both of the Spartan's hands were missing, and they had been very hastily bandaged up. The scorch marks on the Spartan's forearms indicated that an explosives related incident had occurred.

"Spartans?" Nagata asked. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Long story ma'am," said the Spartan in the white armour. "This Spartan needs medical attention now."

Nagata nodded and gestured to Svenson. "Understood. Svenson, you're with me. Let's give these boys some help."

For a second, Svenson wondered why he was asked to help, but he remembered that he was essentially ONI's pet for the time being. Svenson would be surprised if he didn't have the clearance to hear what happened to these Spartans.

Nagata called in a squad of engineers to remove the wounded Spartan's armour, and medical personnel to take him when his armour was stripped. Any kind of gurney the medics tried to put him on would be crushed under the weight of the armour if it wasn't removed. Svenson didn't know the first thing about Spartan armour, so he just helped keep him still.

Svenson was still in disbelief that these Spartans had just shown up unannounced in a Covenant Phantom. He had seen the Master Chief several times when he served on the Pillar of Autumn, and he had also seen a few on Reach, but seeing Spartans at any point was like seeing something from a dream in real life, or like meeting a celebrity. He couldn't stop the feeling of the hair raising on the back of his neck when the other Spartan stared down at him, though he couldn't really tell if he was looking at him or something else.

The wounded Spartan's helmet was lifted off to reveal a bald, dark skinned man underneath. Though the man was unconscious, his face was still twisted in pain. Svenson had never had the opportunity to see a Spartan's face before, he had only ever seen them fully armoured up. It felt good to see that they were still people underneath all of that, even if they were nothing like him at all.

"Spartan, report," Nagata said as the other troopers began to clear out.

"Simone-A144 reporting for duty, sir," the Spartan said, giving Nagata a salute with his robotic arm.

"At ease," Nagata said. "Let's get you debriefed."

Nagata gestured to Svenson again, and he let the other personnel take care of the wounded Spartan. Simone glanced at Svenson with an expression that he assumed to be confusion. No part of the Spartan's face was visible behind the helmet, it was hard to tell that there even was a real person underneath all that armour at all.

Simone and Svenson followed Nagata to Firebase Veles's debriefing room, where they were alone. Nagata even made sure to lock the doors on the way in, whatever this Spartan had to say, it wasn't something she wanted anyone else hearing. It was almost like she expected this moment to come, but she had seemed as surprised as everyone else when she saw them leave that Phantom.

"Alright, Spartan," Nagata said, crossing her arms. "What the hell happened out there?"

"Does this trooper have clearance, sir?" Simone asked.

"Marine, actually," Svenson spoke up. When Simone and Nagata stared at him he realised he shouldn't have said anything.

"Whatever you want to tell me, Svenson can hear it," Nagata said, turning back to Simone.

"Very well," Simone stood tall with and clasped his hands behind his back. "I was fighting on Zehar VI, and I tracked the Covenant assault carrier Song of Unity as it left the planet during the siege. I contacted Spartan Ezekiel-G462 and his explosives squad to help me with a mission to destroy the carrier from the inside, a mission that clearly went south. We were able to cause significant damage to the carrier, but we weren't able to destroy it. During our mission we discovered that the carrier was on its way here, so we stole a Phantom to get Ezekiel and the other Marines out, and we brought it here."

Nagata squinted as Simone quickly delivered his report. Svenson couldn't tell if she didn't believe him, or if she was just examining the information he gave. The Spartan stood completely still, waiting for Nagata's response. He was so still that he looked like a statue, nothing at all like a human.

"So you're telling me that a Covenant assault carrier is on its way here right now?" Nagata eventually asked.

Svenson felt the dread building up inside of him. As much as he had been wanting something to do lately, he wasn't sure he was ready for a Covenant invasion. But the Covenant never gave humanity a choice.

"Not just a carrier, ma'am, an entire fleet," Simone said. "Damaging the carrier hopefully slowed them down, I estimate we have until the end of the week before they arrive."

"Shit…" Nagata sighed. "I thought we'd have more time… We don't always get warnings like this, thank you, Spartan. We'll begin civilian evacuations right away."

"What about the military?" Simone asked. "If we have the chance, everyone needs to go. You don't have nearly enough ships to take them on."

"This planet is important," Nagata said. "We can't abandon it, not yet."

"What is important enough that you're risking all these lives for it?"

Nagata glanced at Svenson. "Would you like to tell him?" she asked.

Svenson took a deep breath. With how professional this Spartan was being, he knew for a fact that he wouldn't believe a single thing. But Svenson would explain it anyway. He gave Nagata a nod. She gave him permission to talk about it, so he figured he could freely talk about anything he wanted relating to it.

"This planet is an artificial creation," Svenson explained. "Built around a hundred thousand years ago by a non-Covenant race of aliens. It's hollow, and there is an intelligence somewhere inside that our scientists are attempting to communicate with, we believe it wants to help us."

Simone stared at Svenson as he explained, the Spartan's stillness was making him a little uncomfortable. Nagata turned back to the Spartan and nodded to him, letting him know that what Svenson was saying was real.

"If this thing can help us against the Covenant, you bet your ass we're going to let it," Nagata said. "I'm not usually one to bet on things, but this intelligence could very well be what we need to win this war."

"I… I understand," Simone nodded.

"I'll relay the message, and get the civilian evacuations going," Nagata said. "We'll need as many forces on the ground as we can get, that includes you, Spartan. And hopefully your friend will be better by then as well."

Simone nodded. "Ezekiel is tough, he won't be kept down for long."

"Good. Get some rest, Spartan," Nagata ordered. "The moment those bastards land on the ground we'll all be fighting like hell. Dismissed."

Simone nodded again, and quickly left the debriefing room without a look back. Svenson wasn't sure how he felt about the Spartan, he seemed way too professional. Every other Marine Svenson had served with had been pretty relaxed, but this Spartan seemed almost like he had a stick up his ass.

Svenson thought it would be better to get to know him first, he figured that with the coming fight he would have a lot of time to. As tempting as it was to chase after him, he figured it would be best to leave him alone for now.

"You're sure this place was built by the same aliens that made Alpha Halo?" Nagata asked before Svenson could leave.

"I'm positive," Svenson nodded. "The structures underground were identical."

"Then those Covies are gonna be a hell of a lot more careful than usual," Nagata said. "They won't risk glassing the planet either. We might have a good chance here."

No member of the UNSC ever expected to survive a battle against the Covenant, but that didn't mean they didn't try. Hearing that they actually had a chance to win against the Covenant was almost exciting.

"According to reports, the Covenant refused to fire on the Pillar of Autumn because they were afraid of damaging Alpha Halo," Nagata continued. "They could very well refuse to shoot at any of our ships up there when they arrive."

"But do they know what we know about this world?" Svenson asked.

"They have to. They wouldn't be on their way here with a full fleet if they didn't… Either way I guess it wouldn't hurt to know for sure. See if you can squeeze any more information out of Simone, I need to get our people off this planet."

"Yes sir," Svenson said with a salute.

"Dismissed, Corporal," Nagata said.

Svenson made his way out of the debriefing room and closed the door behind him. As he searched through the halls for the Spartan, Nagata made her announcement to the base about the coming fight. Every trooper and staff member paused what they were doing to listen to the Sergeant.

"Ladies, gentleman, and other members of the UNSC, this is Sergeant Nagata," she said, her voice echoing through the halls. "Moments ago we received word of an incoming Covenant attack on our little paradise here, so the time to get off your asses and get to work is now. I don't need to spell it out for you how important it is to keep the Covenant's slimy claws off our planet, so just know this: No matter where you're from, you will fight for this place like it's your home.

"This planet is not like the others, it holds what could very well be the key to winning the whole war. So keep your heads in the game people, we will not be losing New Tampa! Not today, not tomorrow, not ever! Everybody knows what they have to do, so get to it. Good luck, and good hunting. Sergeant Nagata out."

With the end of Nagata's speech the alarms in the base began to blare. The Army troopers that had been itching for action for so long made their way through the base, getting ready for the fight that could start at any minute. Announcements over loudspeakers began to come from the city around them as the civilian evacuation started, the people of Kujo City were rushed into freighters that would get them off the planet.

Svenson found Simone in the base's medical ward, standing next to the gurney where his friend lay. Ezekiel-G462, Simone had called him. Simone was still fully clad in his armour, which he seemed like he wouldn't ever take off; there weren't any chairs in the base that would be able to hold him up with all of it on.

The only thing Svenson really knew about Spartans was that they were all engineered to be killing machines, he would've thought they didn't even feel emotions if Simone didn't seem to be so hurt over his friend's wounds.

"Need something, Marine?" Simone asked quietly, not turning away from his head. Whether or not he did, Svenson still wouldn't be able to tell where he was looking.

"I was sent to interrogate you," Svenson said in an awkward joking tone. With how professional Simone had seen, he wondered if he understood jokes. "If you don't mind."

"What do you need to know?" Simone asked, turning away from Ezekiel.

Svenson felt the same feeling he'd felt underneath the mountain at the anomaly site as the massive Spartan stared down at him, like he was insignificant. He had never been this close to a Spartan, or even talked to one until this point. He was almost surprised the man was even talking to him.

"Just what the Covenant know about this planet," Svenson said. "If you were able to find out anything about that."

"All I know is that they call it 'Seiginis III'," Simone replied surprisingly fast, as if he was preparing to be asked that question. "And that their leader is obsessed with it. We didn't have the time to get any more information."

"I see," Svenson slowly nodded. That was already enough to tell him what he needed to know. If this Covenant leader was obsessed with the planet, then hopefully they wouldn't risk damaging it. "Well, that's all I needed to know actually."

Simone nodded, and Svenson turned to leave. But the Spartan stopped him. Simply hearing his name coming from a Spartan was almost surreal.

"Svenson, is it?" Simone asked, and continued when Svenson turned to him and nodded. "Sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. I've been on edge since we launched the mission against the Song of Unity."

"That's alright," Svenson said. "I've been a little on edge since I got here too."

"Can I ask you something?" Simone asked.

The Spartan actually wanting to talk to Svenson caught him by surprise. He wasn't expecting Simone to want him to stick around.

"If you're a Marine, then what are you doing down here with the Army?" Simone asked.

Svenson went silent for a short moment, and he quickly looked around the room. It was just them, so in theory he could speak freely. Even then, he still hesitated to tell Simone the truth. He didn't know if it was acceptable for a Marine to lie to a Spartan, but he had already lied to the ONI interrogator before coming to New Tampa, so it shouldn't have been that big of an issue.

"It's… Complicated," Svenson sighed. "I'm the Office of Naval Intelligence's 'expert' on this ancient alien stuff. But to tell you the truth, I mostly have no clue what I'm doing."

"Sounds like ONI," Simone said. "You're not the only human who has seen this ancient alien stuff, believe it or not. I've seen some things back on Zehar."

"I guess those aliens just put shit all over the galaxy, huh?" Svenson sighed. "I'm only an 'expert' on this stuff because I somehow survived Alpha Halo."

"Halo?" Simone asked, Svenson finally heard some emotion in his voice. "You better watch what you say, everything about Halo is classified."

Svenson realised that he had been getting too comfortable, and that he made a mistake by actually mentioning Halo. He couldn't get it off his mind, so it was no surprise that he let that information slip. Luckily they were still alone, there weren't any ONI agents standing by ready to drop him.

"I heard there weren't even any survivors from that place," Simone continued. "How did you end up here?"

"I guess I just got lucky," Svenson sighed. He chose to stop talking, he didn't want to let any other information slip.

"I won't ask anymore," Simone said. "I'm aware of the consequences of talking about ONI secrets."

"I was the one who brought it up, that's my bad."

"Don't worry about it, I won't tell anyone."

Svenson let out a slight chuckle. Simone didn't seem that bad, even if he did seem to have a stick up his ass at first.

"Thanks," Svenson said. "I won't take up any more of your time."

Simone gave no response to that, he just turned back to Ezekiel and continued to wait for him to wake up. Svenson left them alone, and decided to distract himself in the base's mess hall. No matter what, he couldn't stop the dread he felt knowing that a Covenant fleet was on its way. He didn't even feel hungry, but he tried to eat anyway.

The mess hall was mostly empty, all the Army troopers were busy preparing for the fight. Who Svenson saw there wasn't someone he was expecting, but it was someone he should've expected. Joseph Graves, the military police officer. He had mentioned that he might run into Svenson sometime at Firebase Veles.

Graves didn't seem happy, Svenson couldn't blame him. No one was ever excited to fight off a Covenant invasion, not even those who signed up to the UNSC just to fight. But when Graves sat down across Svenson without saying a word, he realised that the anger in his face was not at the looming invasion.

"Matthew," Graves said slowly, staring down at Svenson with ice cold eyes.

"Joe?" Svenson asked, confused.

Graves reached under the table, and Svenson felt something press against his hip. The barrel of a sidearm. Svenson froze, scared and confused. Was Graves just messing with him? Or was he some kind of insurrectionist?

"You really need to watch what you say," Graves said slowly. He didn't even seem to blink as he stared at Svenson.

"I-," Svenson started, but Graves cut him off.

"ONI is always listening," Graves said, keeping his voice low so Svenson was the only one who could hear him. "I don't give a shit if who you talk to has the clearance to know about Halo or not, you will not mention it to anyone but an ONI operative."

Now Svenson knew what this was about, he didn't think that anyone could hear him when he was alone with the Spartan, but he had been warned that he would constantly be monitored. He wondered just how Graves had heard him, but he wasn't in any position to ask that question. He had entirely forgotten what the punishment for talking to anyone about Alpha Halo was.

"You're lucky I like you," Graves said through gritted teeth, causing Svenson to question if that was true or not. "If I didn't, you'd be getting dishonourably discharged right now."

Svenson slowly nodded. He hadn't gotten to know Graves much, so he didn't know what it was that the officer liked about him, but that was another thing he wasn't in the position to question.

"You're not gonna get another warning again," Graves continued. "Mention Halo one more time to anyone, and you're gone. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Svenson said with a slow breath. "Can I get back to my meal?"

"Nice to see you're taking this seriously," Graves growled.

Svenson felt the barrel of the sidearm pull back, and he let out a sigh of relief. Graves slid it into the holster on his side, and stood up from the table. The punishment for mentioning Halo was getting discharged from the Marine Corps, but Graves had seemed very intent on killing him. It wouldn't surprise him if the punishment was actually death, and ONI wanted to keep that from him.

"Remember: ONI is always listening," Graves said quietly before leaving the mess hall.

Svenson let out another slow breath as Graves left. As much as he wanted to try eating before, he simply couldn't now. He dropped the remains of his food in the recycler, and made his way out of the Firebase. Svenson wasn't scared anymore, he was pissed off. Not at Graves, or at ONI, but at whatever higher power there was in the universe for putting him there. He didn't care where he was, or if he was fighting the Covenant or not, he just wanted to do it on his terms.

He needed to go somewhere where he could be alone, back to his boring little apartment that he had been assigned when he first got there. The troopers at the gate to Firebase Veles stopped him as he approached, and he barely heard what they told him.

"Sir, you need to leave your gear at the base before you can leave if you're off duty," said one of the troopers, a man who seemed like he was too short to even be in the Army.

"I don't give a shit," Svenson said. "Get out of my way."

"No, sir," the trooper said. "You're not leaving until you abide by the rules."

"I am going to go home because I need to rest," Svenson said slowly. "A God damn Covenant fleet is on its way here with the intent to kill every single one of us in horrible ways, and we don't even know when they're going to get here. If they show up while I'm asleep and my gear is here at the base, then I won't be able to get to it and fight back, will I?"

"I understand, sir," the trooper replied. "But there are rules here that need to be followed."

Before Svenson could come up with another response, the trooper received a call on his radio. He sighed and took it, Svenson crossed his arms when he heard Sergeant Nagata's voice coming through it.

"Let the man through, I don't give a good God damn what he does with his gear," Nagata said.

Svenson almost chuckled, but he held it back; despite his anger, he didn't want to seem snobby. Nagata reminded him of Sergeant O'Hale, like she was somehow reborn in Nagata in some way. Maybe most Sergeants were just like that.

"Alright," the trooper sighed, and pulled the gate open for him. "You may leave."

"Thank you, trooper," Svenson said as he walked out.

The bustling sounds of city life were gone, replaced with the panicked cries of civilians rushing out of their homes and taking everything they could with them. The sound of civilian freighters rising in the distance was carried by the air. They were so far that Svenson couldn't see them, but he heard them as if they were right next to him.

Svenson wondered what it was like to have to leave everything behind. When he had left home to join the Marines, he hadn't had many possessions other than merchandise for a rock band from Tribute. Material possessions never really meant anything to Svenson, but he understood that others cared about them a lot.

Now that he thought about it, there wasn't much he really missed about his home. But he still missed it. If the war with the Covenant was on more even ground, he would have even had the possibility of returning to it. But with the threat of a Covenant attack, most people knew they would be seeing their homes for the last time.

Svenson made it back to Bay Plaza after a long walk, there was no one to drive him this time. The whole place was empty, and that was more unsettling than anything else. Every other time he'd been there dozens of civilians had been there, enjoying the virtues of life in a city. Now there was no one sitting in the benches, nobody walking between the stores, no kids playing in the water fountains.

Kujo City's time was over, and so was New Tampa's. Even if it was possible to beat the Covenant attack back like Nagata had hoped, there was no way life would be able to return to normal.

When Svenson arrived at the door to the apartment building he found that it was locked. He forced his way in with little regard to the property, there was nobody around to care about it anymore. He made his way back to his room, and threw himself on his bed without taking any of his gear off.

When the Covenant attack would eventually come, everyone else would be ready. But Svenson wouldn't.