Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all official characters that are mentioned belong to SEGA and Archie Comics. Fenix the Echidna, Spectre and Chiron belong to me.
A/N: Originally I intended not to have a pairing of official characters, however, I decided to go ahead anyway, for those interested and to warn readers who are against certain pairings, the pairing is primarily Shadow and Sally, Antoine and Bunnie, Tails and Zooey for the moment. To help ease some nerves, Sonic and Sally were married at one point and Shadow and Amy did date as well. If you have any questions or comments, I will endeavour to answer them, however, please leave your hate at the door.
Chronicles of Fenix the Echidna
Darkness Rising - Part 1
Twenty-five years have passed since the defeat of the evil tyrant Doctor Eggman and the destruction of Space Colony Ark, with one of the greatest threats to the peace and security to Mobius out of the way, the governments and heroes of the world have focused on rebuilding what had been destroyed and seeking out new adventures in space exploration. However, not everything is as peaceful as it may seem, for in the darkened corners of the universe where light refuse to travel, an ancient enemy has steadily been gaining its strength and has descended on the denizens of the Milky Way galaxy. It is 25 After Ark Fall and the fate of all life hangs in the balance.
Opening – Final Frontier by Thomas Bergersen
High above the home world of the well-known hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, a brand new station orbited high above and acted as neutral ground for trade, commerce, diplomacy, science and exploration but most importantly as a reclamation center to salvage the remains of the Space Colony ARK and the various space junk that still orbited the planet since before the Great War, the name of this giant space borne structure is High Sanctuary. Aboard the station, it was a time for commemoration as the citizens of Mobius had arrived to help remember the sacrifices made to help put an end to the tyranny of Doctor Eggman and while it may not have been the exact date, they were also using this as an opportunity to celebrate the activation of the large satellite and to do this the commander of the station had the A.I. member of the Freedom Fighters, now turned pop idol, to help liven things up a little. One year prior to the final battle with the mad scientist, Nicole had received a bio-mechanical body, which had allowed her the opportunity to find her own path in this new life.
"Like meteors, my tears begin to fall.
I shall hope you'll hear my call.
As I wait for you,
I shall stay true
And continue to give my all.
You're worth the world to me,
I want the universe to see.
Some may call me a fool,
That waiting for you is uncool.
But I believe you're my destiny."
Nicole opened her song to a slow paced rhythm and gently tone before the beat eventually began to speed up and became more energetic. On the edge of the solar system, as the concert went into full swing, a burst of electrical blue energy briefly came into being, before a sleek twenty-three-meter dagger-shaped craft emerged and entered the sector with a damaged hull that had sections exposed to space, leaking atmosphere into the cold vacuum and drifted slowly towards the planet.
"As time goes on, I shall never let you go.
Stars that shone brightly will lose their glow
My heart will never waver, even though I cried
Waiting for the day for you to return to my side.
When you come back to me, my heart is what I'll show.
My love for you is as brilliant and powerful as a nova,
And I'll make sure that what we share will never be over.
My heart will never waver, even though I cried
Waiting for the day for you to return to my side.
Even though you may be far.
To me, you will always be my star
Like a comet across the sky,
My love shall fly high
The one that I'm longing for, that's who you are.
My heart shall never waver
Our time together I shall savor
You're a galaxy away
But here I will stay
Until the day we are together"
Nicole repeated the lyrics once more before the commander of the G.U.N. Space Forces and High Sanctuary approached the stage and the spotlight shone down on him, taking the microphone from the lynx, a black and red-striped hedgehog cleared his throat before speaking. "Thank you Nicole, for that performance." He gave her a curt nod before turning to the audience. "I'm not one for long speeches so I'll keep this short. Today we are here to commemorate the destruction of the Ark and the defeat of Doctor Eggman." He was about to reveal the monument, when he was interrupted.
"This day is also a time to reflect on the sacrifices made in the battle and also we celebrate fifteen years of the station, which to some have become a home, being operational. allow us to present to you the High Sanctuary Memorial Park." Queen Sally nodded to the G.U.N. commander and they placed their hands on top of a large red button and pressed it together, illuminating the green area with soft light, which also included a large and ornate fountain in the center of the park and even had some Chao that had been carefully transported into space. Once everyone had a chance to take in the sight, the inhabitants and the guests all clapped and began dispersing soon after, talking amongst each other, returning to the departure lounge to go back to the surface or to their cabin to turn in for the night
Shadow stood in silence as the turbolift ascended towards its destination of main operations as he listened to his step-daughter talk about what was going on in the Republic of the Kingdom of Acorn. back on Mobius in great detail. Roughly eighteen years ago before Sonia and Manic had been born and even before Sally had known she was pregnant, Sonic had left his role as King as he had felt that the role was suffocating and he didn't feel comfortable staying in one place with all of the responsibility that came with his title, after this had happened the chipmunk had turned to the G.U.N. agent for support. During a period in Mobius #29's history, Shadow had acted as a bodyguard to Sally Acorn as she sought to strengthen the ties between the Federation and the Republic of the Kingdom of Acorn and had eventually become one of her closest friends and confidants, at first the thought of marriage hadn't even come up, however, she had to secure her position and both had agreed that it would be better than leaving it up to a line of possible suitors and help reinforce the ties between the Federation and her Kingdom. After they had tied the knot, Shadow knew that he wouldn't make the best King and that he would just get in the way of the Queen, so he left the stately affairs to Sally, while he decided to continue to protect Mobius as a Commander within G.U.N.'s new line of defence. Once they had reached operations, both of them were excited at the sight before them however Manic was the only one that made a sound "Whoa! This is cool! What does this do? Hey what about this? Am I doing anything?" He darted about the area pushing buttons on the various consoles, using his supersonic speed.
"Manic! Slow down, you're annoying everyone! Father brought us up here to look around!" Sonia tried to get Manic to stop pushing buttons and was afraid that he might accidentally put the station out of orbit.
Shadow placed a hand on the young chipmunk's shoulder. "I accounted for this, everything has been rerouted to engineering, all he can do is use the food synthesisers." He stated calmly to his step-daughter, letting her know that it was all right. Both of them were taken aback by the stink eye that they had received from Manic.
"HE'S NOT MY DAD!" The blue hedgehog had shouted and ran for the lift on the other side of the room, the staff on duty looked at Shadow and then at the ground, feeling sorry for the dark hedgehog at the attitude that the step child had shown him.
Sonia was about to say something to reassure Shadow, however, he just shook his head in response. "It's fine. I don't expect him to accept me nor am I going to force it." He said coolly, earning a sympathetic look from the princess.
Back at the park stage, in the dressing rooms, Sally had decided to catch up with Nicole and see how she was doing. "Come in! Sally!" The lynx said after a knock on her door and was surprised when she saw her friend standing at the entrance to the dressing room and greeted her with a friendly hug.
"Hi Nicole, how are you?" The chipmunk asked and took a step back, after being released from the embrace.
The A.I. that was once restricted to a holographic former walked over to the mirror and sat down and began to comb her jet black hair. "I'm fine Sally, really I am. Sonic says hi and that he misses you." The lynx noticed the hurt look on the chipmunk's face and decided to follow it up. "Amy says hi too, to both you and Shadow..." Her voice trailed off, knowing that it only helped to alleviate the tension ever-so-slightly. After Sonic had decided to continue playing hero on Bygone Island, Amy had decided to end her relationship with Shadow in order to make sure that Sonic would be all right on his own, and knowing full well that the 'Blue Streak' would find some way to get himself into trouble and with the maturity of an eight-year-old, he needed someone to look out for him and felt that it was her duty to do so, even if Sonic had originally chosen Sally. While Shadow had been hurt by the decision, he didn't stand in Amy's way and allowed her to follow her decision through.
The queen of the Republic of the Kingdom of Acorn mused for a moment, taking a seat on a sofa. "Is everything really all right Nicole?" She pried.
The pop idol looked at the dressing table and grimaced as her thoughts turned back to the ceremony and dwelled on the meaning of the day. "I just…I never really liked this day, it brings up bad memories." She had a look of hurt on her features as she thought of the events that led up to this current stage of relative peace and how she managed to get to where she was today.
Sally knew what she was getting at and walked over, placing a hand on the lynx's shoulder. "I understand and I am sorry." Nicole turned around in her seat and hugged her friend tightly, after what seemed like a long while, the two let go of each other. "I should go and see if Manic and Sonia are okay…well I want to check and see that Manic hasn't had one of his tantrums." She patted the lynx's hand and made her way over to the door and glanced back. "I'll come back to see how you are doing. Okay?" Nicole gave her a curt nod and watched as her longtime friend disappeared into the passage way and was left to her own thoughts, stretching out a hand she touched the mirror and her ears drooped from a feeling of sorrow, as she recalled how she got her current body.
Once arriving in main operations, Queen Sally Acorn looked around main operations, surveying the area in an attempt to spot her son, however, all she saw was her daughter and husband. "Where's Manic? He hasn't had one of his tantrums has he?" She asked them both, knowing full well that was exactly what had happened.
Sonia looked away from her mother, feeling guilty. "We got an update from security, he's at Chuck's Star Dogs in the commercial district." Shadow replied, without taking his eyes off of the main screen. "Satellites near Saturn spotted this craft entering the system, just in case it is hostile, I quietly put our forces on alert to avoid causing a panic and I have evacuation shuttles ready, should the worse happen." He stated calmly to his queen, keeping her updated on what was happening.
Sally nodded in approval as she turned to look at the large screen hanging from the ceiling and at the image that it displayed. "There's a 'but' isn't there?" She asked briefly glancing to the dark hedgehog.
It was his turn to nod in affirmation and he fixed his eyes on the chipmunk. "It's displaying an I.F.F. code that hasn't been used for twenty-five years." That caught Sally's attention. "It's the old it's the old identification of friend or foe code that was used by the Letter of Gabriel during the last battle with Eggman." He stated matter-of-factually and walked over to the science station to view the long range sensors.
The queen of the Republic of the Kingdom of Acorn pondered, Shadow's words carefully but wound up shaking her head, unable to come to a conclusion. "Who'd have access to something that would be buried within G.U.N.'s archives? Why use an I.F.F. that isn't even being used?" She followed the hedgehog over the alcove and looked over his shoulders, crowding the officer that was working at the station.
"The ship will enter optimum scanning range of our satellites in thirty-two minutes." The officer at the science station reported to the two people that were hovering over her shoulder.
Sally and Shadow backed off and decided to head to the station commander's office with Sonia in tow, to wait for the results of the scan on the strange vessel that had entered the system. "So why did he run off this time?" Sally asked her husband and daughter, wanting to know exactly what had set Manic off running.
"I referred to Shadow as our father." The younger chipmunk bowed her head, accepting full responsibility for her actions, even if she saw nothing wrong with what she had said, with Sonic playing hero on Bygone Island, Shadow had been more of a father figure to the both of them and treated them like they were his children, however, after learning that the dark hedgehog wasn't his biological father, Manic had been acting like a child ever since the discovery and wanted nothing to do with the Ultimate Lifeform anymore.
The queen pinched the ridge of her nose and let out a sigh before speaking. "He's overreacting again…I can't blame him for wanting to know more about Sonic, but he doesn't have to act like him." She said dejectedly, taking a seat in front of Shadow's, jet black desk.
The hedgehog leaned against the surface "I can't really blame him for acting the way he does, he feels lost, confused and betrayed." Had stated, taking Manic's side, understanding full well the feelings that the young hedgehog was experiencing at this moment, however, he had handled things differently that the son of the 'Hero of Mobius' but nonetheless did sympathize with the young speedster.
Sally smiled affectionately "Of course you wouldn't. Even though our marriage was primarily politically driven and seem to put up a strong front, you are gentle at heart and thoughtful too." She teased playfully, which caused the dark hedgehog to look away with a blush on his muzzle and she giggled at his expense.
Shadow promptly brushed the comment and her giggling aside before continuing. "In any regard, it is best to wait until he cools down before approaching him and addressing his behaviour. Let him know that he can come to you with any problems that he might have." The Ultimate Lifeform advised, even though he knew full well that Manic had a problem with him.
Auburn haired mobian woman looked down as she played with her fingers, feeling bad for her spouse and still believed that her son's actions were inexcusable. "You've been nothing but a good father to both Manic and Sonia, I just don't see a reason for him to act this way." She said in defeat.
"There is nothing that can be done until he actually opens up to us." He stated, "For now, all we can do is wait for him." The hedgehog walked over to the chipmunk and raised her chin slightly and gazed lovingly into her cerulean blue eyes, letting her know that he didn't mind the current situation at all and that he is willing to be patient with his step-son.
"Oh…you" She got up and wrapped her arms around the hedgehog in a tight embrace, while she had been enamored by Sonic's carefree attitude and his like any princess in a fairytale, fallen in love with the hero, the fact that he was always looking for the next big adventure and on the run, had taken its toll on her and she wanted to slow down and wanted something a little more stable, unfortunately the blue speedster had proven that he wasn't able to provide that. Even though Shadow was able to keep up with Sonic, he was willing to maintain an even pace with her and was proving to be more reliable.
Sonia rolled her eyes, at the affection that the two were sharing "Mother…" She complained.
Her mother removed one arm from Shadow and stood at his side. "Once you find someone, you'll understand." The queen replied to her daughter.
Shadow was about to ask Sally how was the Kingdom holding up, when the science officer paged the commander of the space station that she had the scan that he had wanted. "We'll have to pick this up later." He said and got to his feet and helped his wife to hers before exiting the office. "What do you have for me lieutenant?" The dark hedgehog asked.
"From what I am able to get from initial scans, there appears to be a single lifeform on board and judging by the shape of silhouette, it appears to be humanoid, it is quite possible that it may be a Mobian." She stated going over the sensor data in front of her. "There also appears to be hazardous levels of hazardous gases in the rear compartments of the vessel and oxygen levels are decreasing at a steady rate, quite possibly due to a fire." She continued.
"I see…" Shadow mused in thought. "Put me through to the Full Prower Workshop's." He turned to the operations officer.
Sally raised an eyebrow at the request. "Why are you contacting Tails?" She wondered.
"The docking bays are currently focused on servicing those that are already docked and those that are waiting to dock." He said to the Chipmunk, "Additionally we have VIPs and dignitaries aboard and I do not want to spread our security too thinly." The hedgehog let her in on his plans.
The auburn haired Mobian smirked in response. "You must have faith in Tail's abilities then."
Shadow just looked up the view screen and didn't remove his gaze from the monitor "If I didn't, I wouldn't be contacting him now." He said plainly, just as the fox's face appeared before them.
"Hey Shadow! Long time, no see. What can I help you with?" He asked his next door neighbour. Full Prower Workshop's being a modest facility, located not too far from High Sanctuary.
He stepped forward into the middle of the operations center and nodded to his science officer to transmit the images that she had taken to Tails' computer. "We have a ship that has just entered the system and his drifting towards Mobius, it is broadcasting an outdated I.F.F. and we can't risk bringing it aboard. I was wondering if you would be able to retrieve the vessel for me, you will be compensated for your efforts of course." Shadow asked the fox, hoping that he would understand that he wasn't in a position to risk the lives of politicians for something that may very well be a trap.
The twin tailed Mobian fox smiled, obviously the hedgehog didn't know him too well. "Do you really think that I'd miss the chance to get a look at some alien technology before G.U.N. does?" He quipped. "Consider it done, Shadow. I'll see you and Sally when you get here." He stated and quickly closed the channel, knowing full well that the commander of High Sanctuary would handle the situation personally and of course the Queen of the Republic of the Kingdom of Acorn would want to get in on the action too.
It didn't take long before two hatches on the top side of the space borne 'workshop' opened to the vacuum and several small drones were launched to intercept the ship that had entered the solar system, knowing full well that the vessel would take years to reach Mobius at its current speed, Tails had prepared for such an occasion and equipped the drones with a miniature Chaos Warp Drive that would allow them to travel to the edge of the system in a blink of an eye, however, at the moment it was only experimental because until now, he had no real reason to even use such devices or the opportunity to do so. "All right! Link to the drones have been established, coordinates are set, core temperatures and power flow is stable. Commencing local warp test in three; two; one! Now!" He shouted and pressed a button at his computer console aboard his home away from home, and the drone's engines grew brighter before the machine's themselves suddenly stretched as they sped off to their destination that was now half way passed the planet of Jupiter.
The damaged ship sparked and twisted in space as the recovery drones eventually arrived at their target, each section that had been exposed to the vacuum of space was sealed off with a force field which revealed that there was indeed parts of the vessel that had internal fires, and not one to through caution to the wind, Tails had one of the drones fly over what looked to be the main cockpit and surveyed the interior, what he saw caused him to taken aback. "No way…" The orange fox gasped "Shadow is going to love this, but this brings up a lot of new questions" He said, bringing a hand under his muzzle in deep thought as questions began to fill his mind and he began thinking up possible answers to them , however, he shook these thoughts from his head, before he got sidetracked completely. "Right, back to the task at hand." Tails then began using the controls for the drones and split the robots into groups of three, where he carefully maneuvered them to latch onto the port and starboard sides of the vessel, before once again using the Chaos Warp Drives to open a portal so that the craft could be transported, two hundred and fifty kilometers away from the Full Prower Workshop and he'd be able to guide the vessel into the docking bay and to begin a closer inspection.
As the drones began moving their payload, a shuttle from High Sanctuary, made its approach to Tails' station and aboard it was the dark hedgehog and his queen, with her children. "Looks like he's bringing it in now." Shadow stated as he glanced out to the starscape on his right.
"Whoa, totally awesome sight." Manic said, looking at the bright vortex in awe. "Totally sick ride too." He was impressed by the sleek design of the alien vessel that was exiting the portal.
As Shadow maneuvered to the secondary, smaller docking bay of the 'workshop', Sally noticed that the doors were wide open and nodded in approval, noting that the fox had been waiting for their arrival. "At least we won't have to announce our arrival." She gestured to the empty landing area.
The hedgehog nodded and set the craft down in the space that had been left for them and waited for the doors of the docking bay to close and for atmosphere in the hangar to be adjusted so that they could exit the shuttle safely. This took about five minutes and they were given an all clear when the red lights in the docking bay turned off. "Let's go." He stated coolly and pressed a button on the side of the exit ramp, leading the family out onto the station and to the main control room, where he'd expect to see Tails waiting for them. Which he'd be proven right, after exploring the facility and finally reaching their destination.
"So what do you think?" The fox asked slyly, unable to keep himself from taking a stab at how Shadow had gotten lost in the workshop. At this point the vessel that had been transported to the small station, was now aligned with the main doors and ready to be guided in.
The dark hedgehog folded his arms across his chest, a sour look on his face. "It would have helped, if you had signs or a map." He said coldly, focusing his gaze on the silver ship.
The chipmunk gave her husband a nudge. "Don't be like that Shadow. You have a nice place here, but it is a bit cluttered, don't you think?" She asked him and all she got from the fox was a shrug.
"I did my own preliminary investigation of the vessel, before I transported it here. There is a fire in the main section of the ship, fire suppression system on board have managed to keep it from damaging the vital systems, however, the CO2 scrubbers and Oxygen plant seems to be sustaining the fires." The inventor stated to the family as he went over his own notes, before turning back to them. "You'll never be able to guess who is aboard either." The fox said enigmatically, which piqued the interest of those present. The craft then landed inside the docking bay and the doors closed and the repressurization process then begun. "Fenix."
Sonia raised an eyebrow "Who?" The daughter of Sonic and Sally asked.
"Someone who we thought had died, saving myself, Tails, Sonic and the planet from Eggman." Shadow turned his head, somewhat shamefully away from the children, as did Tails and Sally. A truth that had been kept hidden or somewhat embellished by the people of Mobius, everyone on the planet had automatically assumed that Sonic was the one that had triumphed over the Doctor and his final solution, however that far from had happened.
Sally placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "He was someone that sacrificed himself so that we could be free. From what I've been told, he was bleeding badly and looked sickly, but still managed to bring down the shields on the Super Egg Carrier and stopped Eggman from fleeing before it was taken out by the ARK." Her knowledge of what had happened aboard the Doctor's knowledge was only second hand and were from the reports given to her by Tails, Shadow and Sonic.
"So everyone is believing in a lie and no one thought to correct them?" Manic asked, unimpressed.
Shadow shook his head. "People will believe what they want to believe. To them Sonic is their hero and Eggman was the enemy, they automatically assumed what had happened."
Tails sighed. "It's not like that we didn't try, by the time the news had spread of Eggman's defeat, it was already too late and all we could do was acknowledge the sacrifices made." However even with these words, the children still thought that it was wrong. "Anyway… we're getting distracted. The pressure has equalized, however, I advise not going in until the Firebots have extinguished the flames." The fox stated and sent the robots out to do their assigned task.
The commander of High Sanctuary stood next the inventor and watched the machines go about their duties. "Have your medbots take Fenix to our shuttle, we'll transport him over to the medical facilities aboard the station."
The fox nodded, giving orders to cut the power to the force field on one of the exposed sections, so the interior could be accessed, however, the sudden change in temperature and fresh air created a small fireball, which set off the fire alarms, but Tails was quick off the mark and switched them off as the situation was well under control. It didn't take long for the small orange and red robots to put out the flames inside the ship and to access the main cockpit of the vessel. Once the corridor had been cleared of debris the medbots then rushed in with a stretcher and began examining their patient. "Patient is an Echidna, Mobian that appears to be in his early twenties and is in a comatose state and there are signs of dehydration, CO2 poisoning and blood loss." A robot stated as two others began transferring the Echidna to the stretcher and transporting it to Shadow's shuttle.
As this was happening the conscious Mobians began to examine the craft more closely, once an access ramp had been located, "I'm impressed, even though there was a roaring fire in here, there doesn't appear to be much damage to any of the surfaces." Tails said and touch the surface of a nearby console "And even with minimal power, systems still be functioning." He was astounded by the craftsmanship that went into the spacecraft and the technology that went into it.
Shadow and Sally nodded in agreement, so far the ship seemed pretty impressive but that didn't answer the question how a Mobian that was supposed to be dead got their hands on an advanced vessel such as this, Sally mulled over this question again and again, while making her way upfront and as she entered the forward compartment, something caught her attention "GUYS!" Almost everyone rushed to the female chipmunk's call. "I think we found the answers to our questions." She brush the grime off of an old and modified G.U.N. Beetle robot.
Tails opened a panel and looked at the machine and shook his head "Chiron is pretty banged up." He brought a gloved hand under his muzzle, the situation looked pretty grim for the Beetle which had been modified with arm attachments. "But I am certain that I can get him up and running again."
"UH! DAD!" Came a cry from down the hall, which caused Manic to twitch out of irritation.
Shadow came running down the hall, to the main section of the ship and went to the starboard side and to what looked like the main living quarters. "What is it Sonia?" He asked in concern, however he glared at the figure before him, when he realized what the younger chipmunk had been concerned about.
She brushed the faceplate "Why does this robot look like you?" Sonia was curious about the red and black machine.
"Spectre and it was a crude attempt by Eggman to make a metal version of me to support Metal Sonic in combat." Shadow said to his step-daughter and she took a few steps back in fear of the machine.
"Nicole, managed to reprogram it by copying some of her own adaptive programming to give it some free will and has since considered her to be its mother, however, for some reason it decided to stay with Fenix." The Sally stated, calming down herself once she realised what the commotion was all about.
The teenaged chipmunk considered the machine once again. "So it's safe?" She asked the group of experienced fighters.
Tails nodded. "If Nicole reprogrammed it, then it is a safe as it can get." He said, confident in the abilities of the A.I. and gave a small nod of her own, agreeing with the fox, while Shadow just folded his arms across his chest, he never liked the cheap imitation that Eggman created, reprogrammed or not.
"We need to get going. Tails, forward me Chiron's and Spectre's memory files on anything that can reveal as to what happened here and how Fenix is still alive. In return I'll keep G.U.N. off of your back while you play with the ship." Shadow began giving out his demands, while giving him first dibs on the alien craft.
While he thought Shadow could have been less brusque about his offer, he appreciated the offer and took him up on it by shaking his hand. "If I find anything, I'll transfer any and all information that pops up." He said and had some utility robots to help move Chiron and Spectre inside the workshop.
Once the shuttle had returned to High Sanctuary, Fenix had been rushed to the hospital and placed under medical supervision as he recovered. "So we have someone that is supposed to be dead but is somehow alive, an alien vessel and a robots that have been placed in standby mode until the former is able to turn them on again." Sally took a seat across from her husband, inside his office and took a sip of tea.
He raised an eyebrow at her statement. "I managed to survive a fall to Mobius, Sonic was whisked away to the other side of the galaxy and presumed dead, then there's the Echidna spirit trapped in the Master Emerald and I could go on with other examples but suffice to say, it is nothing new." Shadow listed off in no particular order.
"Thanks for reminding me." She rolled blue her eyes at his comment. "However, Tails is confident he can access their memory banks." She added.
Before the conversation could continue, there was a chime at the door. "Come!" Shadow called.
"Sorry to be a bother, but I wasn't able to get a hold of Sally." Nicole said as she entered the sparsely decorated office of the station commander.
The chipmunk's eyes widened at statement and placed her tea down before standing up and taking the lynx's hands into her own. "I am so sorry! Please forgive me! Something came up all of a sudden and we needed to see Tails." If she were to give exact details, Sally was afraid that Nicole would worry.
"No, it's all right" Nicole shook her head, letting Sally know that everything was fine. "I just wanted to let you know that I'll be leaving the station soon to continue my tour." The former assistant turned pop idol, informed her friend of her itinerary.
Shadow got up and walked over to his desk and began typing on a hand held, known as a Limited Electronic Data Storage device or L.E.D.S. for short. "We'll let you know when Fenix recovers." He said giving his wife a cursory glance, noticing the surprise and the sour look that she was giving him because he had for mentioning the Echidna.
"What?" Her amber eyes lit up, hoping this wasn't some cruel joke.
He handed her the L.E.D.S. device and she looked it over and she rushed out of the room to the hospital. "Why did you…" Shadow walked over to the chipmunk and placed a finger on her lips.
"You two need time to catch up and it wouldn't be right to keep it from her." His voice was filled with compassion as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Killing two birds with one stone."
She let out a sigh, while she did not approve of his methods, it was the thought that counted. "Just don't do it again okay." She poked him in the chest before rubbing her nose against his.
The atmosphere was ruined, when Shadow's desk began buzzing from an incoming transmission. "What is it?" The hedgehog asked, leaning over the polished, black desktop and pressing touching a button.
"Sir, you have an incoming hail from Full Prower Workshop's." The communications officer reported to his superior officer.
Both Shadow and Sally let go of each other and walked to a nearby wall monitor "Put it through on a secure channel." He ordered.
"Aye sir!" The officer replied and closed the channel to put the one from the independent facility through.
The dark hedgehog straightened his uniform before accepting the personal call. "Have you found something?" Shadow got straight to the point.
The fox nodded in response. "I have, however the information that I've been able to retrieve can only be accessed in chronological and must been played fully before it proceeds to the next. I suspect it is part of Chiron's programming though, to help give people context." He mused.
The station commander turned to the queen and they looked at each other before Sally gave him a nod in affirmation. "Go ahead, I'll transfer you to a personal terminal." The hedgehog responded and transferred the call to another monitor near the sitting area in his office, where both he and his wife sat down to watch the Chronicles of Fenix the Echidna play before them.