The ARF trooper hid in the deep foliage, clutching his DC-15S on his knee. "Sir, I hope you have a plan," said the trooper to his left, "Or we're screwed." The captain replied with a brief "Shut up" and began scouting the maladroit tanks clumsily stumbling through the rough terrain. "We were supposed to scout the enemy positions, not ambush them, Stalemate." Stalemate was offended. "Snake, then what are we supposed to-" Snake grabbed Stalemate, holding down his helmet and shushing him from inside his helmet. Clumsy droids clamored past them. "See anything?" one questioned. "Nothing," replied the other, kicking the bush they were hiding behind. Stalemate bit his tongue. "Nothing here." The droids stumbled back towards the horde, as Snake and Stalemate made their way out. Stalemate lugged his chaingun across the foliage, gently scraping it on every possible surface. "Can you stop scrubbing your blaster on the plants?" asked Snake sarcastically. "I try," replied Stalemate simply. Snake lunged through the foliage to find his commander standing in front of him, bent over a holographic map of the surroundings. "Commander Ponds," he began. "The droid army is marching through this area, being very cautious." He gestured to a small path through the thick foliage. "They have tanks and troop transports." The commander nodded. "I'm assigning you two and Blindfire to this. We'll do a series of hit-and-runs on their line." "Yes sir!" Blindfire stepped out of the line of troopers. "Blindfire, Stalemate, onward." The trio vaulted onto their chicken-walkers, charging through the forest. Snake bent over the front of his walker. "Here we go, boys, let's get 'em!" Snake charged, jumping over the enemy lines completely. Snake threw two explosive charges down into the line, as Stalemate and Blindfire emptied half their packs of explosives. The line broke, the droids going into havoc. "GET IN THERE!" The three charged, this time jumping and diving straight into the chaos. Stalemate fired his chaingun while Blindfire fired his blaster randomly. Snake took out his second DC-15S, firing both into the line. The droids were in havoc. "NOW, LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" Blindfire emptied his pack of explosives, setting the charges on a timer. "RUN!" The three bounded up to the cliff, when suddenly three resounding blasts could be heard, and all three walkers fell. "GAHH!" Snake fell down onto his shoulder, turning to look at a dead Blindfire and a wounded Stalemate. He pried Stalemate out of his walker. "I can walk!" replied Stalemate, grabbing his chaingun and firing. "THIS IS IT!" Stalemate shouted, grabbing a super battle droid with one hand and firing into it with the other. Snake fired down two droids with his pistols, yet more kept coming. They fanned into the middle, letting the droids surround them as Stalemate wiped them out with his chaingun. "Wait- I'm forgetting-" Snakes eyes grew wide. "STALEMATE THE CHAR-" The entire path exploded as an artillery shell rolled towards a dropped explosive as they detonated, starting a huge chain reaction. Snake exploded upward. Blood rushed to his head. Air smashed against the back of his neck as he fell into the thick foliage of the other side. He gently was set down under the shade of a tree, looking to his right and seeing Stalemate, dead. He checked his communications. Nothing. He felt his armor, feeling a huge dent in his side and a hole in the flesh of his chest, a laser. He groaned, grabbing his medical pack. He struggled upright, looking towards the system's star setting towards the camp. He took off his helmet, his face stained and bruised. He turned, his head still tilted towards the camp, and walked away.