Invasion! The planet Eurish

is under Separatist attack. Shadow the

Hedgehog and his apprentice, Amy

Rose, rush to the rescue as they

lead a squadron of starfighters to

the planet below...

Amy was in her fighter with her gizoid Charyb, she heard Shadow over the commlink "Amy, punch a hole for the gunships to get through" "I know the drill, Master" she relied happily. They entered the atmosphere of the planet and headed towards the city which were built into the ring-shaped rock structures. A squad of Eggrobos followed behind the squadron and started shooting down the fighters. A missile was fired at Amy and Shadow, but it missed and flew past. It then exploded revealing Slicers which landed on Shadow's fighter "Uh, Amy, I have a bit of a problem. How bad did you get hit?". Amy looked around her fighter "I'm all clear" "What? You always get it easy, Snips". She watched Shadow push the slicers of his fighters with the Force "They've done too much damage. You're trailing smoke" "I think its just a small malfunt-" "Master? Master, come in". Amy then heard Emerl beeping "Unconscious? Fly back to the cruiser". Emerl again beeped "Okay, tip the wing. I'll see how bad it is". Emerl turned the fighter so Amy could see the bottom part which was covered in Slicers "Oh, that's not good. Okay, Emerl, land on the cliff edge in front of us. Charyb, take over the ship. I'm going after Shadow. Somebody has to save his skin".

She flew next to the fighter and opened her cockpit. Shadow's fighter hit the cliff and began sliding towards the other end. Amy jumped out onto the other fighter and quickly pulled Shadow out before it flew off the other side. She saw the ship crash into the cloudy ground below "Emerl!". Emerl then suddenly flew up using the jets on his feet "Uh, don't scare me like that, buddy". She then heard Shadow waking up "Are you okay, Master?" "Yeah, what'd I miss?" he rubbed his head with his hand. Amy shrugged "Oh, not much" "Wait a minute, wasn't I flying? Where's my fighter? How'd I get here?". Amy smirked "Fighter crashed. I saved you. So pretty much a normal day for us". Shadow rolled his eyes "Alright. Fang, Amy and I need a little help" he said through his commlink, "Right away, sir". As they waited for the gunships a hologram of Blaze appeared on the commlink "Master Blaze" "You and your apprentice must return to the Shinobi Temple quickly". Shadow looked at the battle that was still going on over the city "We're kind of busy, Master Blaze" "The reason we need you is important, Shadow. The Temple hanger has been bombed. We need your assistance to find the terrorist". Amy was surprised "Who could successfully bomb the Shinobi Temple?" "We'll be right there, Master" Shadow told Blaze before deactivating the commlink.

Shadow and Amy were now standing in front of the Council "How could the Separatists infiltrate the Temple?" the former asked. "It's worse than that" Blaze said, "What could be worse, Master Blaze?" Amy asked. The Council members all looked between each other before Merlin finally answered "Everything is on the table. We have to look at the possibility that it could've been anyone in the Temple, even a Shinobi". Blaze nodded "If it is a Shinobi, then they have fallen to the dark side". Amy looked surprised "I… can't believe a Shinobi would attack a place this sacred". Merlin looked to Shadow "We'd like for you two to lead the investigation. We can't trust anyone who was here, even a Shinobi. You and Amy will provide an impartial point of view free of assumptions". Shadow nodded "We'll do everything we can" "You must be careful, Shadow. If this attacker is willing to destroy the Temple, then they will go to great lengths to keep from being caught". Shadow nodded "Then I guess we'll have to go to even greater lengths to catch them.

They entered what was left of the hanger, it was full of destroyed fighters and also had robots scanning the area for evidence. Shadow closed his eyes sighed, "Are you okay, Master?" "I'm fine. It's just I can hear the screaming". "Do you believe what they said about a Shinobi being responsible?" Amy asked trying to make him focus on something else. "Not every Shinobi agrees with this war, Amy. There are many political idealists among us" "But a traitor?" she said doubtfully. "I'm afraid one can eventually become the other. Remember Dimitri or General Zavok. That's how they started too". One of the robots, a tall blue robotic hedgehog came up to them "I am Mecha, Crime Scene Analyser for the Shinobi. I will be working with you and your apprentice on this case. I was assigned by Master Merlin". Shadow nodded "Okay, Mecha, I want you and Amy to begin interviews" "I would rather interview the witnesses alone". Amy was confused "Why?" "Many of the wounded have heard rumours that a Shinobi was behind this explosion. There will be ill will toward you". Amy's face dropped, Shadow noticed and looked to Mecha "I think you're overexaggerating. There were Shinobi killed in that blasts along with maintenance crew and clones. Take Amy with you and let me know if you find anything". Amy nodded "i will, Master".

Amy was now in the med room speaking to an injured maintenance snake "Did you notice anything unusual about the hanger?" "Not really, but I was in the hallway when the hanger exploded". Amy nodded "Did everything seem normal before that" "Nothing out of the ordinary I could see". He then nervously looked around "Is it true a Shinobi might be responsible for the attack". Amy paused before answering "We're not certain of anything at this point". She walked away towards Mecha "This distrust is troubling. Some of these people have worked at the Temple for years" "Fear makes even the most trusting individual irrational". An injured horse walked up to them "I think I know who did it" "Who?" Amy asked. "I believe it was Jackar the Echidna. One of the maintenance crew in the hanger" "Why do you think it was him?". The horse sighed "I passed him a I was going on my shift change. He… he had been working all morning in the section the blast came from. It was the last place I saw him". Mecha checked Jackar's profile on a data pad "Is this him". The horse nodded "Yes" "I need to know, have you seen him since the explosion?" "No. Truthfully, I didn't see much of anything after the explosion". Amy put her hand on the horse's shoulder "Thank you for your time" she and Mecha left the room. "Looks like we need to find Jackar" Amy said when they ran into Shadow "Did you find anything?" Amy asked. "No, but the rumour about it being a Shinobi is growing, Amy. I can feel the anger and confusion throughout the Shinobi Temple". Amy nodded "Mecha and I have a lead. We're looking for one of the Temple Workers, Jackar the Echidna. One of the witnesses saw him in the area right before the bomb exploded". Mecha showed him the path "And we have not been able to find him anywhere" "It would have to be well planned out to get past the Shinobi and just disappear. I'll talk to security".

Shadow went outside to the main entrance of the Temple. There was a crowd of protestors on the steps. A Shinobi duck, Master Quack and a group of clones were standing in front of the crowd making sure they didn't enter the Temple. Shadow walked up to quack "They're all family and friends?" "Yes, looking for answers". Shadow took out a holo-unit "So am I. We have a suspect. If you see him, alert me immediately" he showed a projection of Jackar. "Is that Jackar!?", Shadow turned and saw a red female echidna in a blue dress "You know him?" he asked. "He is my husband. I've been trying to reach him since I heard of an explosion. Where is he?", Shadow paused before answering "I need you to come with me".

Later Shadow entered a room where the echidna was sitting down in a chair with a drink "You have no idea where Jackar is?". Shadow sighed "No" "You're a Shinobi, and you can't find him?" "I… understand your frustration". She banged her fist against the table "Don't! Just find my husband!" "Teri, I need to know do you think Jackar could have done something like this, blow up the Temple?". Teri-Lu glared at him "Do you have any idea what someone has to go through to work at the Shinobi Temple, hmm? Jackar dedicated his life to serving the Shinobi. It has been his dream. Not just anyone can walk into your precious Temple. He passed all the entry tests that were needed". Shadow raised his hands slightly "Okay, I had to ask. Unfortunately, everyone's a suspect" "Jackar would never do anything like this. Please find him".

Amy and Mecha were watching a holographic recreation of the explosion "Hmm, based on the trajectory of the debris, it seems the blast came from there". She went to a spot where there was a gunship. "Why is there no bomb residue?" Mecha asked. Shadow then entered "So you think whoever did this triggered a ship to explode?" "We think so. Mecha's using the shrapnel to determine that now. The witness says he saw Jackar in the area. Maybe Jackar planned to do this and just kept quiet". Shadow crossed his arms "Or?" "It... actually was a Shinobi". Mecha raised his head "I found something, an anomaly. The wreckage of the gunship is covered with microscopic robots of a highly volatile nature" "Nanobots?" Shadow sad curiously, "Yes". Amy sighed "Great. Now we're chasing nanobots" "Mecha, go through security footage. Try to see if Jackar went to other parts of the Temple. Amy let's go find out how Jackar got his hands on these nanobots". The two Shinobi headed to the lab where a robot gave them Jackar's file "He's a munitions expert" Amy said, "Yeah, he was the foreman over all the gunships, bombs and weapons. His specialty was nano-weaponry".

Later they entered the surveillance room where Mecha was watching al the screens which were playing at top speed "Isn't that going a little fast to make out?" Shadow asked. "It is simple data. At this pace, I am able to view hundreds of hours of footage. I however have not found Jackar". Shadow sighed "Alright, get the other robots to search the Temple. If he's still here he might be planning another attack", Mecha nodded.

The hedgehogs were now back in front of the Council "So you have nothing so far?" Merlin said. "We have a lead we're following. But we still don't have answers" Shadow answered. "It is imperative that the truth be found soon. There are whispers the Senate will have a meeting to decide whether the military police will need to become involved in the investigation". Amy was surprised "They can't do that" "Clones died in that explosion, maintenance clones working on the gunships as well as civilians. The Senate tends to take notice of these things no matter where they happen" Merlin said. Shadow's commlink activated "Master Shadow, we have found Jackar" "Great. Lock down all exits so he can't escape" "I don't think that'll be necessary".

They entered the morgue where Mecha on his own was waiting "Well, where's Jackar's body?" Shadow asked. Mecha led them to a table that had a red hand on it "This is all that remains of Jackar. The rest of him exploded" "Because he was so close to the bomb?" Amy asked. "Because he was the bomb. The Nanobots were in his bloodstream" he gave them a pad showing them "The nanobots. How did they get in his blood?". Shadow sarcastically smirked "Well this just keeps getting better and better. We're going to have to search Jackar's home for evidence".

The two hedgehogs entered a lower-level apartment building, Amy thought it looked run down "I would've thought working for the Shinobi paid better" "More money's been going to the war". They knocked on the door but there was no answer. Shadow eventually used the Force to open it and they looked inside; it was dark "Teri-Lu? Are you here?". He saw that there were crates inside "See if you can find those nanobots. Remember he was a munitions expert. I'd rather we didn't set anything off. I'll see if he left a note". Amy used a scanner to search the apartment, she went into a different room. Shadow checked a painting on the wall but there was nothing behind it. Amy entered the kitchen "Teri-Lu?" there was no answer. Shadow then heard a beeping coming from a table, he saw a device and he cautiously touched it. It activated showing a hologram of an anti-war symbol "Master". Shadow went through to the kitchen an saw Amy "I'm picking up something from the disposal. The nanobots were in the food". Shadow pondered "I guess the question now is, did he eat them willingly, or did someone feed them to him?" "Wh-what are you doing here?". Shadow turned and saw Teri-u standing at the door looking scared "We've learned Jackar was involved in the bombing" "That can't be true". Shadow stared at her coldly "See if she has any nanobots on her, Amy". Amy went up to her with the scanner "She's clean" "What do you mean, nanobots?" Teri-Lu asked. "We believe someone set Jackar up and made him into a bomb". Shadow stepped forward "Teri-Lu, I want to bring you in for more questioning. Maybe you can help us make sense out of all this" "I'll answer any questions I can".

They led back down the building and outside but once they were in the open Teri-Lu pushed Amy aside and ran as fast as she could through the streets. Shadow and Amy chased after her, she ran into an ally, but Amy jumped over her and he was now trapped. "What do you know about the bomb?" Amy asked. Teri-u looked scared "I don't know anything. You're trying to blame me for Jackar's murder". Shadow stepped closer to her "We never said he was dead". Amy aggressively pushed her to the wall "People blamed Shinobi because of you. People were killed because of you" "You can't prove anything". Shadow glared at her "Did you feed the nanobots to Jackar?" "Did you send your husband to die?" Amy said sounding disgusted. "You're dealing with things you don't understand" "Well you'll have plenty of time to explain where you're going" Amy grabbed her arm, and they took her away.

Shadow was walking with Amy, Blaze and Merlin through the Temple "We're holding Teri-Lu in the cell below the temple to await further questioning". His commlink then activated and he heard Mecha's voice "I'm pleased to report there were no other nanobots found in the sweep of the Temple. I am also pleased to report that based on the security footage, Jackar acted alone which means no Shinobi was involved". Amy smiled "Thanks, Mecha. Good job". "Did this woman say what her reasons were for attacking us?" Merlin asked, "Not yet, but we're working on it" Amy answered. Merlin sighed "I think we can easily guess her motives. Public opinion is swaying against the Shinobi. That is becoming clear. This war is becoming less and less popular every day it persists". Amy and Shadow walked away "Master, I'm relieved we solved this case, but-" "What if it had been a Shinobi?". Amy nodded "Yes. I don't know how I would have felt if a Shinobi was really behind this" "There are going to be Shinobi who disappoint us, Amy. But as long as there are still some of us who fight for what's right, it makes it all worthwhile".