Mark lied on his bed, with his leg's kicked up he supported his data-pad. Looking through old messages from back home, mainly from his brother and sister who were currently living with their Aunt. He missed being back home, he wished this war could of never started. Everyone would still be alive, he'd still be waking up in the morning excited for what was next, not terrified of dying or losing friends in the next mission. He knew the next mission wasn't going to be nice either, he hadn't really paid much attention to the briefings but he did know Ghost had gained a number of new recruits, those who had barely seen combat and would more than likely be dead within the first few hours of the mission. You could tell they were new to the fighting, especially with one who was constantly trying to crack jokes with the others. They'd be more serious if they had truly been exposed to what the war shown them. 

This was a war where many Spartans had already been lost, what chance do fresh recruits have? Or even Professional ODSTs for that matter? He though back to the old saying of "A Spartan never dies, they just go missing in action". If he only ODSTs worked that way, then at least he could rest a bit more easy knowing most of his friends were going simply being sent to their deaths sooner or later. As his was lying there he felt his stomach growl a bit, with a grin he decided it was probably time to eat something and went to see what food would be left lying around at the cafe. Ultimately he just ended up getting a standard ham and cheese sand which and took it back to his room to eat, he didn't much care to see anyone else at the moment. It seemed odd though that Mark was the one who was so worried about the price of war, and the recruits dying considering he is the youngest member of Ghost. Perhaps he was just shaken by having been present in a invasion back when he was a civilian. But surely, most ODSTs should relate? Many would of joined for similar reasons, or maybe they did relate. Mark wouldn't of known, he has barely gotten to know his squad members in his time being here.