"It really is the [i]Burning Hope[/i], isn't it?" James-G043's astonishment didn't speak for all of the group, but there was a certain relief in his tone that the others resonated to. After nearly two days of hiking, sneaking, and generally doing everything in their power to avoid being detected, seeing the sight of a UNSC craft as whole as this brought some worthwhile to this group of displaced Spartans. Perhaps, indeed, there was some hope after all.

Fiddling with the integral zoom on his suit's visor, Marcus relished in the sight of the frigate. Despite the obviously tough landing and the intense shear down the starboard side, the Burning Hope had managed to keep itself upright and intact. "It even managed to make it down mostly intact. I'm surprised," G214 though out loud.

"Don't be," Jackson-A081 tersely retorted, "The Paris-class is built to hold its own against cruisers. I'd call this less of a crash and more of an 'emergency landing'." Marcus quietly sighed at the comment.

A beat of silence, then James spoke up again, "You think there are many survivors?"

"I think a better question," Brian politely interjected, "-would be, 'Did any other ground troops think to trace the ship to it's wreckage?'" As if to directly ask the question to his commander, Brian's helmet turned to face Jackson.

He seemed to weigh the question for a bit before responding, "Maybe, maybe not. Depends on whether or not they thought it would be worth it." The Spartan crossed his arms, letting the pistol in his left hand rest carefully on the crease of his armored arm. "After all, the [i]Burning Hope[/i] isn't outfitted to support ground troops- if they don't think anyone survived the crash, then it would be a pointless effort to try and get there."

"What about the Covenant?" Marcus asked, observing another dropship coming in from a different zone. "You'd think they'd be all over this, even if they thought the same way."

"That's exactly the other reason we came out here," the team leader replied, somewhat matter-of-factually. "The Covenant hasn't had the chance to expand their influence all over this world. Out here is territory they've yet to explore. That being said," Jackson uncrossed his arms, tapping his thumb on the hammer of his handgun, "They'll probably be sending a few more search parties once they realize there are survivors around.

"Speaking of-" The Spartan turned back to Brian, "How many can you make out?" Marcus forced himself not to respond, even though he was clearly already looking at the scene down in the valley.

"Two Spirits, so far. Not unreasonable to assume they have more on the line just in case."

Jackson clicked his tongue. "Two Spirits, equals a couple dozen or so Grunts and half as many Elites... or more, if we're unlucky."

Brian and James looked back to their commander. "Weighing our odds?" Brian inquired with a trademark smirk, invisible beneath his thick helmet.

"As if we need to. They're out of their grounds."

"Either way, it'll take a couple of hours to get down there, barring any other encounters."

"Then we'll double-time it, and hope they don't call backup. On me, Fortune!" Jackson announced firmly, allowing his squad to snap to attention. "We're reuniting with the survivors of the [i]Burning Hope[/i], and no alien scum is going to get in our way. Am I clear?"

[b]"Sir, yes, sir!"[/b]

A081 nodded, satisfied with the group response. "Move out!" He ordered, leading his fireteam in a headlong march down the hill. Their hope was certainly burning- not in ashes, but with passion.