The rain came down heavily on Strider, soaking his armor and exposed pieces of his body glove. But his armor being drenched wasn't on his mind, far from it. He'd followed his marker in silence, never having to raise his blaster because no creatures crossed him. Guess they found the wolf and decided to give him space.
Good for them...
The long tredge back to the cottage went by in seconds, with the trooper emerging from the forest just a hill away from the gunship. He walked towards the ship, his movements punctual and emotionless like a soldier. It made sense. Still, it gave off an empty vibe, like the life within the armor had dwindled.
Strider took shelter in the ships open transportation bay, making the harsh assault of water on his armor seize. He tried to close the bays doors, but the button which performs the action only let out a faint buzz and a few puffs of steam. The circuits still needed repairs, meaning the doors were stuck open for another night.
Strider was radio silent as he sat down against one of the bays walls, his brothers blaster resting beside him with an equally wet coating. It would be fine, and so would his armor. They were designed for rough conditions, not to mention the planet both the armor and himself had been made in had near constant rain. Of course they could handle water. But that wasn't the problem going through the clones head.
Strider was piecing together bits of information he'd learned. The escape pod Rust had been in had only now reached the planets surface, and the gunships sensors had been one of the first things he'd repaired which meant that no other pods had snuck past the sensors. Even if they did, they'd automatically transmit distress signals to any G.A.R. ships nearby, and he would of seen them when he'd first discovered Rusts pod.
That meant that no other pods had landed on the planet, and it had been around five to six rotations when he'd crashed. If only one pod found this planet in near six rotations, then it was unlikely anymore would be arriving. That brought with it a terrible conclusion. The Separatists had most likely destroyed most of the pods after they'd been launched, and the crew aboard the Javelin was most likely captured or dead.
Speaking of the Javelin, it probably wasn't a ship anymore. Left a floating junkyard of pieces for scavengers to pick apart for parts to sell. That meant that there wasn't a Republic ship that could rescue him, and no defenses around the planet. If the Separatists sent one single battalion of droids, this planet would most likely be captured, along with the population. If the architecture and technology of this town was anything to go by, they'd be fighting with wooden spears against metal droids with blasters. It would be hardly be classified as a war.
"Well, they've got me." Strider pointed out, but sighed immediately after. "Yeah, one clone trooper against an army of battle droids. If I was smart I'd still only make a dent in their forces, and that's hardly enough to keep those clankers out."
The rain continued to batter down on the gunship, each drop of rain sending a pitter pattering noise through the air. A low rumble of thunder came from the forest, but it hardly mattered. Strider looked over at the rain for a while, pondering about the situation. What was he supposed to do now? The gunship was hardly prepared for space travel, it could barely travel across the planet if Strider fixed it up the best he could.
Their were only a few options left. One was to get the gunship operational and fly to the capitol and inform the Princess of the war. Another would be to simply wait for the G.A.R. to send a ship and look for any survivors. The ladder was probably the most unlikely. Who'd waste a couple ships and manpower just to search for a skeleton crew of clones?
He wasn't going to get rescued anytime soon. He'd be deemed as lost in battle, left to die on this unmarked planet, forgotten...
At least, that's what he thought. But a certain someone helped remind him that he wasn't going to be forgotten anytime soon. Or more accurately, somepony.
Striders helmets radar picked her up before he could hear the clopping of her hooves, so he was fully prepared when he saw the cream colored pegasus trot into the bay. Her long pink mane and tail were drenched in water, causing them to drag a bit on the ground, catching a few weak blades of grass and dirt.
Fluttershy's cyan eyes quickly locked onto the clone, then around the empty transportation bay. She didn't need to guess what had happened.
"Strider? Do you wanna go inside?" Fluttershy asked gently.
Strider looked over at the pegasus, taking a quick glance behind her at all the rain that was beginning to enter the bay thanks to the wind. He simply nodded, maintaining radio silence as he hopped down from the transportation bay and walked with the pegasus over to the cottage. Fluttershy pushed the front door open and let Strider inside, before shutting it behind her after entering herself.
Two birds flew over to Fluttershy with a towel in their talons. They gently set it down on Fluttershy's back before flying off. However, instead of using the towel, Fluttershy held it towards Strider. The trooper held up a hand, shaking is head.
"I don't need it, i've got armor and you don't." Strider exclaimed.
"Please." Fluttershy said, still holding the towel out towards him.
He reluctantly took the towel and have his armor a quick rub down, drying it off the best he could. Strider used the towel as a seat afterwards to keep from staining the wooden floorboards. Fluttershy took a seat next to him, already holding another towel that had probably been brought in by the same birds. She quickly dried herself off, before mimicking Strider and sitting down atop it on the ground.
The two were silent for awhile, the only noise coming from the rain making contact with the windows and the roof as well as the occasional animal scuttering about. Eventually, Fluttershy broke the wordless stalemate.
"Was no one there?" She asked.
"...no. That's what made it worse." Strider answered blankly.
"Oh... " The room faded back into silence, but it didn't long this time.
"Three of my brothers were in the escape pod when I found it. They'd died on impact. But one of its occupants did survive." Strider stated.
Fluttershy looked up at him with a smile at the news, but Strider's blank tone and stillness caused it to rapidly fade away.
"Where are they?" She asked, afraid of the answer.
"He was being chased by one of those wooden wolves," Strider exclaimed.
"A Timber wolf?" Fluttershy questioned.
"I guess, but with a quick signal, he soon ended up with me. I fended off that 'Timber wolf' and set off with him towards the marker I put on the gunship. We were attacked by the wolf again, and another creature jumped him. He was gone right after vanishing from my sight. I never even heard him scream."
Fluttershy remained silent, stunned at what the trooper had said.
"The creature that killed him was gone as well, probably took his body with them back to their cave or hole, or whatever its home is." Strider muttered.
He let his shoulders slump down while recalling what he had done next.
"I unloaded two power pack on that Timber wolf, as well as a thermal detonator. It won't be getting up from that." Strider finished.
After another round of silence, before Fluttershy asked in a sorrowful tone. "What was his name?"
"Rust... He was the leader of my squad, a fantastic soldier, and a great brother." Strider exclaimed.
Strider waited for a reply from Fluttershy, but instead, he was greeted with a hoof on his shoulder. He glanced over to see Fluttershy looking at him sympathetically.
"I'm, I'm sorry. I know this must be painful for you. I've never lost a friend to the great beyond, but I have lost family. I know it's hard, and I promise you that you're not gonna be alone in this." Fluttershy stated.
Strider felt a smile brew under his helmet. "Thanks, for everything."
"That's what friends are for." Fluttershy exclaimed, a small smile returning.
Friends... That was something rarely throughout the clone army from anyone but clones. They were all brothers and stuck together, but the battalion that he was in is led by a Jedi who usually stuck to protocol and was very distant. Strider also wasn't ever stationed in one spot on a planet near its inhabitants. Knowing that Fluttershy saw him as a friend and not just a strange creature helped brighten the mood, if only by a little.
Strider and Fluttershy began talking about things. These ranged from the planets Strider was stationed on, to Fluttershy's years in flight camp.
Unknown to both of them, a set of Blue eyes watched from a window behind them. That set of eyes then vanished as the pony they belonged to turned around and left.
The rain kept falling outside the cottage, battering the building with water, but it no longer gave off a dark ambiance. Instead, it began to fall in rhythm, like a calming beat.
The rain also masked the sound of hoof-steps trotting away from the cottage. A shadowy figure ignored the rain pelting their mane and exposed fur not protected by their cloak as they trotted down a path towards Ponyville. The figure took a few glances back at the cottage, their blue eyes locking onto the yellow light flowing through a closed window.
The figure gave the window one last look, before letting out a sigh and continued to trot towards town. They had other things to do and had plenty of time on hoof.