//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Gunship Repairs // Story: A Forgotten Trooper // by TheIronPone035 //------------------------------// To say that the L.A.A.T. was broken, would be an understatement worthy of the archives. One of  the fuel tanks had been cracked open and any remaining fuel inside had leaked out into the grass. One of the massive wings was hanging on by a set of wires which sparked with every attempt to push power back into them. The power systems had been heavily drained. The whole front including the chin mounted turbo lazers had nearly been torn to shreds from the crash.  Even with the ship in pieces, Strider was happy to have it out of the forest and back into his possession. However, that happiness faded when he had to bury his dead brothers. He chose a quiet area just far enough for Fluttershy to pay it no mind, and dug the graves with a shovel he had found resting against one of the cottage’s walls.  Once they had all been buried, he put their respective helmets he had taken off them earlier on top of their graves, before giving them a salute.  “Rest easy brothers, i’ll make sure to scrap three times as many droids for you." Strider proclaimed as he looked at the graves. When he finished, the trooper returned to the gunship and began removing any cargo crates in the main hull. Next was the backup storage crates which would of been stored in the cargo hold, which had luckily survived the crash.  Strider opened up the cargo hold and took a look inside, spotting the outlines of three crates near the back. He grabbed the closest one and pulled it out of the hold, the crate’s grey color clashing with the bright green grass.  Strider lowered a crate and popped off the lid, exposing the items inside to the sunlight. What he found within the crate made a grin spread across his face behind his helmet.  Inside were a few DC-15S blasters, a bundle of thermal detonators, and a stack of power packs. A perfect weapons crate. Strider grabbed one of the DC-15S's and examined it, noting the already loaded power pack inside. It wasn't like his DC-15A, but it would do.  Strider set the blaster down next to him on the ground, before grabbing another crate from the cargo hold. This crate had a few medical packs as well as spare gause and some healing stims.  “Medical crate, definitely good to have.” Strider stated, setting the lid back over the crate and pushed it over to the weapons crate.  Strider looked back into the cargo hold and eyed the final crate which was located in the very back. He tried to grab it but it was just out of his reach, forcing him to climb a little ways into the hold for him to get it. The trooper grabbed the crate and began dragging it towards him, but stopped when something came into view that had previously been hidden behind the crates. He pushed the crate to the side and got a better look at what it was, and once he realized what it was, his grin widened even more.  "No way, what are you doing back there?" Strider questioned out loud, grasping the object with both hands before he pulled it towards himself.  It was about half way from reaching the trooper when he felt a few drops of what he assumed was rain landing on his armor. He let go of the object for a moment and backed out of the cargo hold, his eyes locking onto the massive wave of storm clouds that now filled up the skies. “This storm came out of nowhere…” Strider muttered to himself, before shrugging the sudden storm off and resumed. His fingers wrapped around part of the object again and with one sharp tug, dragged the object out of the cargo hold and into the rain. Resting in his hands was a fully loaded Z-6 Chain Gun, the dust around the grey metal quickly getting washed away by the rain.  "Oh this baby is just itching for a fight!" Strider claimed, staring in awe at the weapon.  Strider set the Z-6 down on the ground and went to grab the final crate, grasping it in his hands once more and pulled it out of the cargo hold. Once it was clear of the gunship completely, the rain seemed to stop. He let go of the crate again and looked up at the sky, spotting several ponies with wings pushing the clouds away.  "Huh, guess they control the weather here." Strider commented, watching the ponies work.  Strider went back to looking at the final crate, it's lid practically begging to be taken off. He obliged, removing the lid and peaked into the crate. Inside, were what seemed to be several tools and spare parts, along with a few datapads.  "Maintenance crate, i’m definitely gonna need this." Strider stated.  He looked up at the severely damaged gunship, then back to the maintenance crate. This wasn't going to be anywhere near enough to fix the ship.  Strider set the lid back into place atop the crate and set it aside with the others, shutting the cargo holds door afterwards. He glanced upwards at the twin cockpits, the main piloting seat being the one that had taken the most damage due to it being closer to the front. He would have to fix that area in order to fly, but first he was gonna need to see the extent of the damage. One thing was for sure though about the ship, it’s gonna be harder to repair than taking on a full battalion of droids with a single DC-17 pistol.  By the time night had rolled by, the trooper was still hard at work unscrewing multiple panels that covered up main components that needed to be checked. He fought back a yawn as he rotated a wrench that was currently fixated on a stray bolt which was the final object keeping him from taking the panel off.  Strider was about to start twisting the wrench, but stopped when he heard a faint voice from the other side of the gunship. He took a peak around the front of the ship, spotting Fluttershy who was currently making her way over to the front door of her home, a shiny rectangular object held in her mouth.  Fluttershy caught a glimpse of the trooper and halted, her gaze quickly locking onto the armored clone. She changed her course, trotting over to the gunship and stopping a few feet away from him.  Fluttershy took the object out of her mouth, before looking up at Strider. "Do you want to come inside for the night?" She asked.  "No, thanks for offering though. I've still got work to do, not to mention I can now use the gunship as a base instead of intruding in your cottage." Strider explained.  "You really are working hard on this machine aren't you?" Fluttershy pointed out.  "It's the only ship I have left, not to mention it could come in handy to get me back to the G.A.R. But that would be the last resort. I only have so much fuel left in this thing." Strider stated, trying not to yawn between sentences.  "Well, if you want to come inside, my door is always open. Good night Strider." Fluttershy said, before putting the object back in her mouth and began trotting back towards the cottage.  "Wait!" Strider called out, causing Fluttershy to freeze.  "esh shomthin ron?" Fluttershy asked, her words slightly restricted due to the object still being in her mouth.  "No, I was just wondering what you've got in your mouth. Is it some sort of currency or-?"  "Oh," Fluttershy said, before removing the object again and smiled at the trooper. "It's a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. My friends and I are gonna go to it together and i'm looking forward to talking with all the different animals there." She exclaimed.  "Grand Galloping Gala? Is that some sort of festival?" Strider questioned.  "Yes, it's a celebration for when Canterlot was founded. It's one of the most well known celebrations that i've wanted to attend, sort of." Fluttershy stated.  "Are the Princesses are gonna be there?"  "I think so."  "Hmm, alright then, good night Fluttershy." Strider finished, before getting back to work with the gunship “Good night, Strider.” Fluttershy repeated again, before she resumed trotting towards her home.  Strider watched the pony vanish inside the cottage, the red front door gently shut and locked out the outside world. Not long after did the lights from within go dark, leaving Strider in the darkness of the gunship.  The trooper got back to work, thoughts swirling around in his mind about the knew knowledge he had. He assumed a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala must be hard to get considering that Fluttershy claimed she wanted to go but never got around to it until now with her friends. That means that he can't just simply get a ticket. B However, if he fixed up the gunship, then he could simply get to the capitol by air and simply ask the princesses for a moment. The place was also likely to have guards, with the building being the home of the rulers of the country. He could simply show up at the front door and let the guards do the rest. And even if the guards don’t, he could use the Gala as the perfect distraction to get in undetected and inform them himself. But that would require figuring out the layout of the building and where all the guards would be stationed, maybe he could-- Strider's thoughts quickly shifted back into reality when the sound of a snapping noise filled his ears. He looked down to see that he had snapped the bolt he was unscrewing, leaving part of it still lodged in the panel. "This is gonna be difficult." Strider told himself, staring at the broken bolt in annoyance.