Chapter 14: The Cortosis Pride

Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Bunnie, Rotor, Antoine, and Cream were waiting inside the briefing room at the base, when Sally arrived, holding NICOLE's handheld.

"So where are y'all at, Sally-girl? Y'all got a plan in place for how we're gonna be gettin' our friends outta theah?" said Bunnie.

"NICOLE and I ran over the list that Marquand gave us. I think we've found a suitable vessel that should allow us to get us on and off the planet without raising any red flags. NICOLE?"

NICOLE began projecting the image of a cargo ship via her holoprojector.

"The Cortosis Pride, it's a tramp cargo ship that regularly delivers goods to Mobius and is scheduled to deliver those as part of a convoy scheduled to arrive in the Mobia Sector in a few days."

Sonic looked unimpressed.

"That's it? Sal, couldn't you have found something cooler?"

"Sonic, we don't have that kind of luxury to be picky. This is the best one we could find, it's a ship that doesn't have to be anywhere, and nobody will be able to trace it easily," said Sally.

"Will the crew cooperate?" said Knuckles.

"That's what Marquand and Captain Carrera are trying to find out. They're gonna ask around and get more intel on the ship's crew. But you know these types...they're not very trustworthy, but right now, we're desperate and in need of help, so hopefully, we won't have to pay too much a price for the lives of our friends," said Sally.

"So what's the plan once we get the Cortosis Pride?" said Rotor.

"We're gonna take the Star Tornado and land inside one of it's hangar bays. We'll keep it there as an outrider in case we need to make a quick getaway. Jericho and his squad will provide support on this mission, they'll place the Storm Ranger aboard as well," said Sally.

"Great, we're working with those guys again," said Sonic.

"Yes, Sonic. We are. Now, getting in is the easy part. We'll slip through the customs checkpoint over the planet's defense network, and we'll land at the Spaceport in the city. Once we're on the ground, we have to make our way to the junkyard and into the bunker. There, we will assess the situation and how many we got in there. Once we're there, we have to figure out how we're gonna get them aboard," said Sally.

"Wait, you mean we're flying blind on that front, Sally?" said Rotor.

"Zat does not inspire ze confidence, moi Princess," said Antoine.

"I know. But we don't have any way of confirming who's in there. But even one person deserves rescue, so we have to do this. We also don't know how much the Empire has improved security all around, so we may have to improvise once we're down there," said Sally.

"Improvisation is what we're good at, Aunt Sally," said Tails.

"Indeed, Tails. And remember, we're gonna be way outnumbered here, so we don't want to start something down there. The Empire has had ample time to solidify their control over the planet, so if we get caught down there…the Empire isn't gonna repeat the mistake they made with us," Sally said.

"You got it, Sal. We'll save the blowing stuff up for another day," said Sonic.

"Considering you've already blown up plenty of stuff already," said Knuckles.

"Can it, Knux!" said Sonic.

"That's enough, you two. Tails, are those TC9s ready for use?"

"They sure are, Sally."

"Good. We're gonna take them with us, they might come in handy for ground transportation. Lot of freelancers use them, they shouldn't raise suspicion down there. And one more thing; we can't expect much in the way of support from the Rebellion down there. Most of our assets are probably gone, but regardless of how we do it, once we get off the planet, we'll rendezvous with the Salvation and get everyone back safe," said Sally.

"Yeah, even if it's just one group that survived, that's still plenty," said Bunnie.

"For now, get ready, I'll get back to you guys once I hear back from Marquand," said Sally.

"You got it, Sal," said Sonic.

The Freedom Fighters then dispersed to continue with their preparations. Meanwhile, in another part of the base, Jericho was overseeing Natalia, Athena, Kirk, and Terry as they did warm-ups.

"I'm gonna have you guys run the course again, for Athena, this is gonna be part of training, for the rest of you, just to make sure you haven't lost a step since Jedha and Scarif."

"Even though Athena and I weren't on Jedha, sir?"

"You were still on Scarif, Ryback, that still counts," said Jericho.

"Sorry we have to upgrade this to a crash course, Athena, but this Freedom Fighter business, you know," said Kirk.

"I know, I know. But I'll just observe and learn from you guys as I always have...but I'll take whatever practice I can get," said Athena.

"Any practice is good practice," said Terry.

"Okay, so this will be the basic assault course...I want you all to work in pairs," said Jericho.

"Pairs?" said Natalia.

"Yeah, pairs. Just like we've practiced before, Scrapper," said Terry.

"Wait, 'Scrapper'? That's their nickname for you?" said Athena.

"Unfortunately," said Natalia.

"It was a joke, cause Natalia had to basically scrap her way through life, live off the land, if you know what I mean," said Kirk.

"Oh, right...you lived as a survivalist huntress, didn't you?" said Athena.

"Yes," said Natalia.

"Alright, now, Vogel and Ryback, you two pair up," said Jericho.

"Yes, sir," said Kirk.

Terry simply saluted as Jericho turned to Natalia and Athena.

"That leaves you with Athena, Natalia," said Jericho.

"Yes, sir…Athena, are you gonna be okay? You know...working with me?" said Natalia.

Athena gazed at Natalia.

"I guess we're about to find out. Just one question."

"Yeah?"

Athena held up her blaster pistol.

"Remind me again how you take the safety off."

Natalia looked at Athena, bewildered if she was serious. Then Athena chuckled.

"Hey, I'm only kidding. Come on, 'Scrapper', can't you take a joke?"

Natalia simply pouted. Jericho then pointed to Dayton, who was standing on another balcony nearby.

"Dayton will be administering this run. Take it away, brother," said Jericho.

"Thank you, brother. All right, people! Stand by for holographic targets!" said Dayton.

The four stood ready, blasters drawn and ready to fire. Soon, the force field deactivated.

"GO! GO! GO! ACROSS THE FIELD!"

The four made their way across, engaging holographic Stormtroopers. Terry & Kirk managed to work in tandem, taking down targets efficiently and quickly, making their way towards the building on the other side. Natalia and Athena, meanwhile, were working much slowly, as Athena efficiently took down whatever targets were in the way, but Natalia was keeping a slower pace, taking down any target she saw, forcing Athena to slow down a lot to let her catch up. They eventually made it to the other side of the field, outside a small building.

"Don't pat yourselves on the back! In the building! GO! GO!" said Dayton.

Terry and Kirk went up the stairs into the upper floor of the building just as Natalia and Athena approached.

"The men went high, so you ladies go low! Inside the building! GO! GO!" said Dayton.

Natalia and Athena went inside the building's lower level. They checked around corners, engaging the holographic Stormtroopers inside, and Natalia took the chance to take the lead. But then, she felt Athena's arm across her abdomen, holding her back.

"Hey!"

Athena then gestured towards the floor in the next doorway. Natalia looked down, and saw a laser tripwire, leading to a mine.

"Ah, thank you," said Natalia.

Athena nodded as the two of them carefully walked over the tripwire and continued to clear the lower floor of the building. After they reached the exit, they saw Terry and Kirk were already there, as Dayton observed.

"Ryback and Vogel, good. Mydaus and Spector...you're a little slow."

"Ran into a laser trip mine inside, Natalia here almost set it off if I didn't stop her," said Athena.

"Yes, indeed," said Natalia.

"Heh, heh. You found the wild card, the training mine, and you handled it well. Good work. It reminds you of one major rule when in combat," said Dayton.

"Be prepared for the unexpected wild card, sir," said Kirk.

"Exactly," said Dayton.

"Isn't that the whole point of doing these courses, sir? Keeping our skills sharp?" said Natalia.

"That, and teamwork," said Terry.

"Teamwork?" said Natalia.

"It means you don't get to pick and choose who you work with, Natalia, even if you don't like that person. War calls for a little swallowing of pride, you know," said Terry.

"Exactly. Mydaus, you need to keep pace with your squadmate, and Spector, you need to do the same. Perhaps another go is in order?" said Dayton.

"All right then, I'm game. It's coming back to me, but I want more practice," said Athena.

"Me too," said Natalia.

Later that night, Sonic and Tails were busy loading equipment onto the Star Tornado, including tools, weapons, and medical supplies. They had just finished loading some rifles into the ship's weapons locker when Dayton approached.

"Sonic, Tails. Get your butts out of there and come with me. We've had a development that requires your help."

"*Our* help? Did you hear that, Tails? They must require something smashed if they're asking us specifically," said Sonic.

"They could just need some other kind of help, Sonic," said Tails.

"Oh, no. Experience tells me they require stuff smashed or blown up," said Sonic.

The three of them made their way to the briefing room of the base, where Sally, Jericho, and David were waiting for them.

"Sonic, Tails. We've hit a bit of a snag regarding the Cortosis Pride. David?"

"Aye, after Marquand paid their captain a visit, we asked A.J. to sneak aboard with a crew member we bribed for intel to see what he was considerin', since he took our offer a bit too quick for Marquand's tastes, ya know? Anyway, A.J. contacted us, says the Captain of the Cortosis Pride spoke with crew about what they could do with us once we're aboard. Marquand thinks they're plannin' to sell you guys out once you're aboard," said David.

Sonic frowned.

"That's pretty low, even when you're helping desperate people," said Sonic.

"We're not going to take any chances, so we're going to...relieve him of command," said Sally.

"We're gonna hijack that cargo ship?" said Tails.

"In a manner of speaking," said Jericho.

"Here's the deal. You two are gonna be goin' in Y-Wings, and you're gonna go to this asteroid field outside the Mobia Sector, well away from any Imperial patrols. The Cortosis Pride is gonna be makin' an...unscheduled stop due to a hyperdrive failure. Your task will be to disable it for capture," said David.

"Isn't it already crippled?" said Sonic.

"He can still resist with no hyperdrive, Sonic. Once it's done, David here will arrive in his ship, the Revenant and capture the ship," said Jericho.

"Be careful, though. A.J.'s transmission indicates the ship's captain hired some mercenary Z-95 Headhunters for security. So you'll have to take them out first," said Sally.

"Shouldn't be too hard," said Sonic.

"Geoffrey will come along as well, this is a prime opportunity to test out that electronic warfare package on the Andromeda, and we will need to jam their comms so they don't call for help," said Jericho.

"Seriously? You want St. Jerk to be our backup on this one?" said Sonic.

"You don't got a choice in the matter, Sonic. Now get moving, we're on a tight schedule," said Jericho.

"Whatever. Let's get going, Tails," said Sonic.

"You got it, Sonic," said Tails.

Sonic and Tails walked outside, where they were directed to a hangar bay where two Y-Wings were being prepared for them to use. They saw a pair of R3 units be inserted into the droid sockets by technicians.

"Great, those new droids I requested are here. Sonic, I figured we'd need astromech droids for missions, so I managed to acquire this set to work with you and me," said Tails.

"Heh, you're right on that front, Tails," said Sonic.

"They're both R3 units, as you can see, yours is R3-S91, and mine will be R3-S92."

"Okay, they're gonna need nicknames, cause that's gonna get confusing real quick, Tails."

"I'm sure we'll think of something. Now let's go. Don't wanna keep our friends waiting."

Sonic and Tails climbed into their Y-Wings and as soon as the crews were clear, they began to take off and leave the hangar. The Andromeda, which was on the landing strip, slowly rose up and followed the two Y-Wings into the sky and eventually off the planet.

"Alright. Sonic, Tails, you read?"

"We read you, St. Jerk. Let's get this done so I don't have to be within smelling distance of you," said Sonic.

"Ha, ha. Funny. I can say the same about you. Once we pass through Derecho Alley, we'll make our way to the target area," said Geoffrey.

"I have our course locked in," said Hershey.

"Thank you, Hershey," said Geoffrey.

"Hershey, you're running with him?" said Sonic.

"Of course I am. He asked me to be part of his group after that remedial training you guys had us do. By the way, Sonic, is it true you found a Chaos Emerald in the hands of the Empire?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, were you ever gonna discuss it with Lady Soledad?" said Geoffrey.

"Relax, don't get your tails in a twist, you two, it's safe. I stashed it aboard the Tornado for safe keeping. I'd rather keep it close by than risk it being elsewhere. If the Empire had one, there's no telling where the others ended up," said Sonic.

"You got a point, for once. I'll pass along to the rest of the Rebellion, we'll keep an eye out for more, I got a feelin' we'll be needin' all of 'em," said Geoffrey.

"Yeah. Good thing Knuckles and Amy know how to help find them, since Knuckles is a natural detector of Chaos Emeralds and Amy knows that Mystic Melody from that underwater city you guys got to visit...uh...what was the name?"

"Meropis, Tails. And I hope they're okay, too. Sal told me that the Rebels' intel says the Empire is coming down hard on Mobius. That's why we gotta rescue our friends," said Sonic.

The group made their way through Derecho Alley before exiting the other side.

"I have the coordinates of our jump locked in," said Hershey.

"Okay, let's go!" said Sonic.

Sonic pulled the lever and his and Tails' Y-Wings entered hyperspace with the Andromeda following close behind. They soon exited hyperspace near an asteroid field.

"Let's stop inside the Asteroids, that'll mask us from their scanners until we're ready to spring the ambush," said Geoffrey.

"Got it," said Sonic.

The three vessels flew carefully into the asteroids, positioning themselves where they could see the Cortosis Pride arrive. Sonic tapped his foot.

"Great, waiting in this slow can...now that I think about it…what am I gonna call you, R3?"

"Whirr, Boop Beep."

Sonic read the translation on his ship's computer.

"I know you already have a name, but that name is just letters and numbers. You need something that works better. If I'm gonna be working with you, I wanna call you something that isn't boring," said Sonic.

"Beep bop boop."

"Well, it is boring, I'm sorry for voicing my opinion," said Sonic.

"Sonic, picking up several craft approaching on scanners," said Tails.

"We see them too, Tails. Large cargo vessel and several small fighters. Configuration is a match for the Cortosis Pride," said Hershey.

"All right, time to see if this electronic warfare package works as advertised. Prepare to jam their comms, don't want them callin' for help," said Geoffrey.

Within the next minute, the Cortosis Pride existed hyperspace, with a squadron of Z-95 Headhunters providing escort.

"Right on time. Looks like they're slowing to a stop. Probably hoping to repair it," said Tails.

"Too bad for them," said Sonic.

"Alright, time to introduce ourselves. Full power to weapons and shields," said Geoffrey.

Sonic and Tails powered up their Y-Wings' weapon and shield systems as they fired their engines to fly out of the asteroids and into view. It didn't take long before the Cortosis Pride and it's escorts took notice.

"Captain, we got three craft exiting the asteroids! Looks like an ambush!"

"Pirate craft! Cease your approach and leave at once, or we open fire!"

"Guess again, boys. We were sent by a mutual friend, someone who does not take kindly to being backstabbed in times like this," said Geoffrey.

"Oh…Marquand sent you...Rebel fools! I was gonna offer you up to the Empire, but I guess corpses will have to do. Kill 'em boys!"

"Heh, these guys have no idea what they're in for. Let's go, Tails."

"Right behind you, Sonic!"

Sonic and Tails piloted their Y-Wings to confront the Z-95s, which opened fire on them. Sonic and Tails evaded the wave of blaster fire from them and turned to engage them. Sonic tailed one Z-95 and took it out with his own blaster fire. Tails meanwhile flew a battle of maneuvers with another and eventually took it out with his blasters. The Andromeda meanwhile, slowly approached the battle, and it began to engage the Z-95s. As Sonic took out another Z-95, he chased another that was being shot at by the Andromeda's guns.

"Hey, St. Jerk! Your gunners realize I'm here, right?"

"My gunners see you clear as day, Sonic. Quit complaining," said Geoffrey.

Sonic rolled his eyes and continued engaging the Z-95s. Tails, meanwhile was having no trouble outmaneuvering the Z-95s in the slow moving Y-Wing, taking out three more of them. Sonic meanwhile, took out another three while the Andromeda destroyed the remaining group, leaving the Cortosis Pride vulnerable.

"Good shooting, Tails! That's the last of 'em!"

"You too, Sonic! Now, let's disable the Cortosis Pride!"

The two of them turned towards the crippled ship, and they armed their Y-Wings' Ion Cannons, and began shooting at the Cortosis Pride, until it's shields failed and the cannons disabled the ship.

"Target disabled," said Tails.

"Nice, very nice. I'll call it in. Sit tight for a minute," said Geoffrey.

"Hey guys. Won't have to worry about the Captain of this vessel anymore."

"A.J.? That you?" said Geoffrey.

"Yeah, man. He wasn't too happy with how things turned out when I arrived on the bridge. But he quieted down, after I stunned him," said A.J.

"What about the rest of the crew? How did you get them to back down?"

"Told 'em I had a bomb hidden in my lunch. They're sitting here, offering me all sorts of stuff in exchange for not blowing them up. I'm sure Marquand will offer them good hazard pay for this," said A.J.

"New ship on scanners, Providence-class," said Tails.

"That'll be the Revenant," said Geoffrey.

Sure enough, the Revenant exited hyperspace, and began approaching the Cortosis Pride to dock with it.

"She's all yours, Davey-boy," said Geoffrey.

"Aye. Good work, boys. Irvin, soon as we're docked, dump the ship's logs. I'm gonna have a good long chat with the crew about me step-dad's new offers for them. You boys head on back to Sapphyrus, we'll have this thing ready to go in no time," said David.

"What are you gonna do with the Captain?" said Tails.

"He's gonna be a guest in my ship's brig for a while. Marquand is gonna have a nice long chat with him too," said David.

"Okay…," said Tails.

"C'mon, Tails. Let's get back to Sapphyrus. We gotta get ready to go home and rescue our friends," said Sonic.

"Coming, Sonic," said Tails.

"I'll stay here and help Davey-boy here get things ready, we'll be here when you guys are ready," said Geoffrey.

"Good, less stink to worry about. Let's go, Tails," said Sonic.

The two Y-Wings flew off, and headed into hyperspace on course back to Sapphyrus.