: By the way, why do you rag on the Covenant for large, utilitarian spaces in
: their warships, but not the Winnebago that the Lonsword has for a cockpit?

I don't believe I have before. In any case, the Covenant can undoubtebly afford all the space in the world aboard their vessels. Not only do they have a seemingly endless surplus of resources and material to allow for it, but it's also a necessity with such large species in their ranks like the Sangheili, Jiralhanae, Huragok, and Mgalekgolo.

Aboard UNSC ships I think the opposite needs to apply. The UEG likely doesn't have a fraction of the raw materials the Covenant can acquire and refine for shipbuilding. To cut down on costs, labor, and to ration materials to make as many hulls as possible, their guts need to be more like a modern CVN than a cruise liner. The only spaces that need large passageways are where you'd need to transfer munitions, material, and supplies.

Imagine how harder it would have been for the Covenant to board Pillar of Autumn and harass her Marine detachment if the bulkheads were designed with average sized Humans in mind. Of course, all this was for gameplay purposes, but in the realm of canon it would have made life a lot harder for any Covenant baddie who won't go down with a single headshot.

As for the Longswords, her design came pre-war when these birds were likely used for long-range intercepts, patrols, and bombing missions. Basic accommodations would keep crews sharp, motivated, and ready to perform their duties. I know that the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, similar in size and mission to the Longsword, has similar features. Spirits include a head, a bunk, and an oven to prepare small meals. Generally the B-2 will fly from their bases in the Midwest directly to their assigned area of operations like Afghanistan, Diego Garcia, Guam, Iraq, South Korea, Taiwan, etc.

: I think 343i put him in the pilot seat so that the rest of Blue Team can have
: a quiet conversation about his mental health. It would be kind of awkward
: if Linda was in the pilot's seat and Fred questioned the Chief's sanity
: right in front of him.

Oh, no doubt about that. I'm just saying that he seems to take over the stick when any other Spartan would have probably let Cortana take over the controls.