//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: Empty // Story: A Forgotten Trooper // by TheIronPone035 //------------------------------// Strider ran through the forest as fast as he could, his helmet's built in H.U.D. keeping him on the right trail. After a few minutes of running, the waypoint began to guide him away from the dirt path that went through the forest. His boots stomped the wild grass down as he abandoned the path and continued forwards through the trees. Even with the dramatic increase of obstacles, the trooper made good time as he weaved between thorn filled bushes and large chipped trees. He was getting very close now, his marker only a couple yards away. He jumped over some large rocks, ducked under a low hanging branch, and came to a halt behind two large trees that held a small gap between their trunks. The view through the gap confirmed Strider's suspicions. Resting at the end of a newly formed trench was a G.A.R. escape pod from the Javelin. The hatch located between the four thrusters wasn't open, making him wonder if either the crew had left it and shut the door, or hadn't opened it up yet. It could also mean nobody had boarded the pod before it was jettisoned, but he hoped that wasn't the case. Strider briefly checked the area around the pod, before advancing into the clearing and towards the piece of machinery. He gripped his fingers around the hatch and pulled at it. The first few tugs didn't seem to faze the latch, but with a few branches and one plasma bolt to the side of the hatch caused its circuits to fry, resulting in it opening up. The hatch creaked as it moved, rubbing against broken pieces of metal. The interior was quickly showered with light from the sun, giving Strider a clear view at the horrific seen inside. There were three clone trooper bodies sprawled around the pod, most likely died on impact. Several shards of metal stuck out from the walls as well as a few wires which sparked with energy. One trooper had a large chunk of what used to be a control panel lodged in his abdomen, another's head was resting at an odd angle on the piloting systems. "Hopefully the crash killed them on impact, rather than let them bleed out."" Strider mentally wished, backing out of the pod. As the clone shut the hatch, he noticed a set of fresh boot tracks in the dirt. Strider quickly turned around, following the tracks by eye sight until they reached the underbrush. Someone had survived. Strider followed the tracks away from the clearing and back into the underbrush. However, after a few minutes of walking, the tracks suddenly stopped. He scanned the area, but he couldn't find any signs of someone going through there, not even a snapped twig. "Where did they go?" Strider wondered out loud. Right on cue, the com link on his left wrist gauntlet flashed green, signalling an incoming transmission. Strider quickly pressed a button on the com link and listened for anything on the other end. "IS ANYONE OUT THERE!? I NEED REINFORCEMENTS!" Another clone trooper's voice frantically shouted through the com link. "This is CT 3719! Where are you!?" Strider inquired. "Strider?" The trooper responded, his voice filled with shock. Even though the trooper was a clone, therefore having the same voice as millions of other clones, Strider instantly recognised it. It was the leader of his squadron, Rust. "Rust! You're alive! What's your location?!" Strider asked. "I don't know! Everything looks the same! I'm currently being chased by some sort of wolf! My blaster is running low on power and I can't seem to shake it!" Rust frantically exclaimed. Strider rubbed his helmet in thought, trying to figure out how to get his brother over to him. He looked down at his own blaster, before an idea formed in his head. "I'm deploying a flare on my position, it'll lead you back to the pod. I'll take up a defensive position in the trench it formed." Strider instructed, aiming up at the sky. With a quick lever switch on the blaster, Strider pulled the trigger. A red ball of pulsating light replaced the typical blue plasma bolt as it shot up high into the sky. "I see it! Get ready to fire on this wolf!" Rust stated. Strider switched the DC-15S back to its plasma bolt setting and crouched down in the trench, aiming the barrel at the underbrush directly in front of him. It didn't take long before the sound of footsteps invaded his ears. Then, a white shape emerged from the underbrush. "OVER HERE!" Strider shouted, catching his brothers attention. Rust quickly altered his course, running towards him at fast as he could. Strider could spot the wolf right on his tail, his pointer finger resting on the trigger as he took aim at the wooden wolf. The second Rust ran past Strider, the trooper pulled the trigger, sending a blue plasma bolt hurtling towards the wolf. The bolt made contact with the wolf's head, shattering it to pieces. The wolf fell to the ground with a thud, the rest of its body falling apart onto the grass surrounding it. "Nice shot." Rust complemented, earning a smirk from underneath Strider's helmet. The clone unhooked a spare power pack from his belt and tossed it to Rust, who caught it with ease and quickly replaced his blasters empty one with the fresh one. With a satisfying click, the DC-15S he was holding was charged back up and ready for action, and not a moment to soon. The scattered remains of the wooden wolf began to glow as a lime green aura surrounded them. They suddenly began piecing themselves back together, restoring the wolf back to its original form. "That doesn't look good... " Rust muttered. "Yeah, let's get out of here before it's done reforming." Strider said, his eyes already focusing on the marker he'd placed back at the cottage. The two clones let the conversation die and took off into the forest, Strider leading the way while Rust kept his eyes moving between his brother and the wolf behind them. The nearby star had set by now, plunging the already shadow plagued forest into complete darkness. Rust activated his helmets lights, whilst Strider switched his helmet to night vision mode to make up for his helmets lack of lights. "I really should get those attachments for my armor. But I've gotta get back to the G.A.R. first." Strider exclaimed to himself. The troopers pressed onwards through the underbrush, doubling the pace when they heard the wolf's loud howl. It must of reformed itself by now, and was ready to hunt down its prey again. Strider continuously glanced down at the dropping number next to the marker, signaling that they were getting closer. "It's good to see you again Rust, I thought those droids might of finished you off." Strider stated. "It'll take more than a few tin cans to finish me off, but the rest of the crew wasn't so lucky. The Javenin was being evacuated when I entered the pod. I hope the rest of the team was able to get out of there, I'm sure the main reactor was hit." "So those troopers in the pod?" "I don't know who those men were, but they looked like shinies. To bad they weren't able to dirty their armor before biting the dust." Rust exclaimed, his words holding traces of sorrow in them. Strider didn't blame him. But before he could respond, a loud howl echoed just a few yards behind them. The two troopers glanced back, instantly noticing how close the wolf had gotten, its sharp wooden teeth in clear view from the nearby orbiting moons light. "It's gonna catch us before we reach the border, we're gonna have to fend it off." Strider explained. "On the count of three, roll to the right. I'll go left and we'll flank it." Rust said, waiting for Strider to nod in affirmation. Once he did, Rust held up his free hand and began lowering his fingers. Three, two, one, GO! His hand tightened into a fist, signalling the plan into action. Strider rolled to the right while Rust dove to the left, letting the wolf's momentum propel it past them. The two quickly rose their blasters and fired, each blue bolt of plasma striking its timbered backside. The wolf howled in pain, before pulling a sharp one eighty on its claws and charged at the clones. Strider kept up the pressure, his bolts striking its legs and chest. This caused it to wobble and fall, once again falling apart until it was a mere pile of twigs and leaves. "Alright, that should buy us enough time to-" Strider cut his sentence off as the sound of blaster fire rang from behind him. Strider immediately turned around just in time to see Rust get tackled into an overgrown bush by a strange looking creature. His white armor faded from sight through the thick trees and bushes, only two more shots ringing through the air before the blaster went cold. "Rust!" Strider called out, rushing towards the bush where his brother had been tackled into. He shoved the growth out of his way as he pushed through the bush, expecting to see Rust on the other side. But as he emerged on the other side, he couldn't see his brother anywhere. "Rust?" Strider called out, but he didn't receive any reply. The trooper's eyes shot towards his helmets radar on the display screen, revealing a few nearby red hostile creatures nearby but no yellow ally dots. That could only mean one thing... "No, no I would of heard him scream or call out to me. He can't be dead." Yet, neither his eyes or his radar could find the clone anywhere. The only things close was the wolf and whatever had attacked Rust. Speaking of which, a faint rustling could be heard from a nearby bush. Striders gaze was on the bush instantly, his eyes just catching the faint outline of a reptilian-like tail retreat into the wilderness. But something else was quick to catch his attention. Resting next to a large array of rocks was Rusts DC-15S, lying on its side in the grass. Strider advanced towards the blaster and picked it up, his hands making contact with the weapon finally cementing the idea that his brother was gone. He'd been so close, but that forsaken creature had taken him and was probably dragging his body back to its den for its feast. A growl from behind caused Strider to turn, his helmets night vision making him notice the wooden wolf immediately. It must of repaired itself and was ready to find its own feast, but it had just make a fatal error. It had just signed its death certificate. Through rage fueled anger, Strider un-holstered his blaster and fired both weapons right between the wolf's eyes. The barrage of plasma bolts struck its head, causing the wood to splinter and break. Strider kept firing, unloading both blasters power packs into the wolf. Only when blasters clicked empty and both barrels had steam emerging from them did Strider stop pulling the triggers. The wolf was on the ground, its head completely shattered into thousands of wooden chips along with its neck and parts of its body. It barely resembled anything that was once living, its lime green eyes completely empty and dark. Even with that, Strider wasn't taking chances. He unhooked a thermal detonator from his utility belt and activated it, dropping the explosive into the pile of timber. The detonator went off, sending wood flying everywhere throughout the area. Into bushes, against trees, and on the ground. Whatever that wolf was, it was definitely dead. Strider holstered his blaster, but replaced Rusts power pack with another fresh one and primed it. If anything came across his path, he was gonna give it a real bad time. He eyed the marker on his display screen and the numbers below it, his grip tight on the blaster as he began walking towards it. Above the trooper, some clouds had begun to develop and blocked out the moonlight. Not long after did drops of water begin to spill from them and onto his armor. Strider wiped some of the droplets off of his visor with a free hand, but kept going towards the marker. Strider's helmet shielded his face from any creature, therefor hiding the small bits of water that had developed under his right eye. It was definitely not from the rain...