(A note to ; How the hell do you keep guessing what saga's I'm planning on doing?)

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S.O.N.I.C

S.O.N.I.C

GO, GO, GO, GO, LET'S GO!

The Rei Saga

Episode 21: The Spanner in the Works

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Several large planes adapted to carry at least several of the large G.U.N walkers were due to arrive at Area 99 any minute now. They were to arrive at o-six hundred hours to pick up several of the new Dead Shot Walkers for deployment to various bases for combat. It was hoped that with these units, a better defence against the Eggman Empire could be established. The Walker's prototype had done very well in it's test run.

At the hanger on the far end of the base, as the three huge hanger planes made their decent towards the runways, a technician who'd happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time fell to the ground as a sharp whack to the back of his head knocked him unconscious. As he fell, the mobian who'd dealt the blow quickly hurried over him towards the large Mechanoids which stood nearly completely unsupervised. All of them had been painted in various different camouflage colours ranging from jungle green to desert gold.

He had to hurry through, the security team would be in here in moments to help transfer the walkers to the planes. If he wanted to make off with one and get away with it, now was his last chance. To verify their safety and eliminated the nagging fear in his mind, he removed the two disks crammed full of information that he had downloaded from General Saddler's personal computer systems. He sighed in partial relief before replacing them and climbing the metal ladder towards the cockpit. The glass shield swung open as he released the control handle and with one swift flipped he was into the pilot's seat, his seat belt down up.

The alarms all over the base went off all at once and a second later, A missile shattered the large lock down door. Admits the smoke and momentary confusion, the fast Walker flew out of the hanger and out onto the runway. Two Big Foot walkers turned to see what was going on and a barrage of machine gun fire riddled their legs, rendering them useless. As the two large machines crashed to the ground, immobilised, The base security called out it's Flying Dog attack drones, all remotely controlled by the main computer system in the control tower. These units were designed for mauve ability, but the Dead Shot was built to take full advance of all the traits of the three obsolete walkers.

The two large missile launcher pads on each side opened up and a swarm of red flares shot forward catching the first Flying Dogs as they came over the top of the base to assess the situation.

"That's one of the Dead Shots." The base commander stated, finally getting a picture from one of their Beetle units. "Bring out the others, subdue that Walker."

"We can't sir." Someone from the technicians bay called over. "Whoever's piloting that Mech gutted the other Dead Shots. They're all but useless now." The commander grunted in annoyance.

"Well bring out the Hot Shot's, do not let him get away." Even while he was saying it, the large Walker was running across runway towards the wasteland just beyond the base perimeter. The pilot knew that he'd be easily picked up out there, but if he could get to the forest just a few miles away, then he could hide until the coast was clear. By the time he reached the end of the runway, the Hot shot's which were the fastest of three Mobile Walker types were already on their way towards him. Also, hence their name, these walkers had a large laser cannon on their fronts. In his rear screens, the pilot could see that there were at least ten to fifth teen Walkers following him. The sound of helicopter blades began to fill the air as they scrambled attack choppers to intercept him.

The Dead Shot's feet large metal sank into the sand as it ran, slowing it's pace, but the fast Walker kept going. The sand dune ahead would give it a little protection from hostile fire, giving him a good head start. A loud chorus of bullets cursed the air as several fast choppers shot past him, pillars of sand erupting from the desert floor as they narrowly missed. The pilot cursed. He was running out of time. He could simply shoot them down, with this Walker that was easy. But they were G.U.N soldiers only following orders he couldn't do that.

"Attention, this is Hot Shot Squadron Leader to hostile Walker. Surrender at once and return to base, if you do not comply, we will open fire." The voice over the radio snapped.

"Sorry, not an option." The pilot replied, before turning off the com device so he didn't have to hear the verbal reply. As he expected, a second later the Hot Shots which by now were within firing range launching an intense barrage of laser fire at him. The sand dune helped to shield him as the walker ran, it's upper body occasionally rotating around to fire a few warning shots at them.

The radar showed that the rest of those Choppers were nearly here, if those caught up with him he'd be riddled with bullets and that would be the end of that. The pilot looked up towards the horizon, there was no way he was going to make it to the forest's coverage in time, unless he did something quite drastic that is. A loud bleeping caught his attention and the controls revealed at the Walker was about to overheat as well. This walker hadn't been equipped with heat protection yet, he'd taken a crippled mech.

That was all he needed. An overheated engine. He paused, that gave him an idea. Instantly the onboard blue prints of the Walker flashed up on the internal screen. While this machine didn't have adequate heat project, it did have an exhaust port.

The Walker opened it's vents, thick white steam pouring out into the early morning air. The hot steam reacted with the cold air and a thick, blanketing fog bellowed forth and the Hot Shot's ceased fire, their targeting sensors no longer able to lock onto the Dead Shot's heat signature. Even the Attack Choppers, which were moments aware, were finding it impossible to find the rouge Walker. By the time the steam cleared, the Dead Shot had disappeared, a line of deep foot prints leading off towards the forest in the distance.

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"Pr. President, we have a grave situation sir." Michael, who by now was used to being woken up at three o Clock in the morning to deal with some crisis of nation security was sitting at his desk in the Oval Office as General Saddler, current head of G.U.N operations walked in with two officers beside him. "Early today an intruder inside Area 99 made off with one of our Dead Shot Walkers and several top secret files." The president looked up hopefully, looking a little stunned by the news.

"The spy?" He asked in a hurry, nearly knocking his mug over. The general nodded. It looked like the Eggman Empire agent that they had trying to up route for so long had revealed himself, at least now Captain Okida's theory of an agent could be verified. Now all that needed to be done was chasing him down, recover the Walker and the files. "Do we have any idea who it is?"

"I'm afraid so sir." Micheal raised an eyebrow at the generals' rather strange tone of voice, before Saddler passed him the clip board he had under his arm. On which there were print outs of stills taken from the security camera's inside Area 99's Walker bay. They showed a Mobian bat with large leathery wings sabotaging several Walkers before stealing the last remaining workable one. The President's eyes widened, recognising the Mobian in each photo.

"This is Captain Okida!" he stated sharply, looking up in disbelief. The General nodded solemnly.

"Freelance division has reported the Captain missing for over twenty four hours." The General rose form his chair and began passing the room.

"Okida the Imperial Agent? It doesn't make any sense." He ran his wingers through his hair, trying to make sense of it all. "He was the one who informed us of the possibly of a spy in the first place." The general shrugged.

"Perfect cover, no one would suspect him then." Michael sat down again, drumming his fingers on the table, trying to think of what he could do. "Sir, he had access to information that in Eggman's hands could prove…"

"Alright." The President said slowly. "Find him, but I don't want him harmed, we have to detain the Captain for questioning."

"Of course Mr. President."

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"Police are urging citizens, that if they see this mobian, they are not to approach him. He is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous." The report had been on the news for the last three hours, on nearly every news channel. While Okida was not being labelled as a traitor for fear of a spread of panic, they were saying that he was wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a government Walker. Vector had been watching it all from his new office, in Chaotix's new base of operations. The winnings from the Emerald Grand Prix had cleared all their debts and left enough for them to move out of a shabby room downtown and into a luxurious high rise apartment overlooking the harbour.

As promise, once construction of Station Square's new defences had been completed, all G.U.N forces had moved out of the city. However their efforts had left the whole place looking less attractive than it had been. Massive turrets stood were condemned buildings had once been, towering high into the air, each one had two large barrels capable of firing a short but deadly barrage of laser fire. These were just part of the technology G.U.N scientists had been able to salvage from the Egg Fleet and also just part of the ugly defences the military had constructed. But if they were to help the city defend itself again the Empire than Vector supposed he could live with them obstructing the view now and then.

The crocodile chuckled and put his feet up on the large desk in front of him, leaning back in his new expensive leather chair. His name if engraved letters stood out on the bronze plate sitting at the front of his deck. His office was a large, spacious oval shaped room with a set of window doors opening out onto a balcony. A silver ceiling fan rotating slowly above him. An expensive set of potted plants and trees placed around the outside edge, giving a very professional feel about it.

And this wasn't even their only room. They had an outside corridor and several sides rooms which included a kitchen and separated bedrooms for all of them. And even with all this, they still had money to spare. Vector couldn't contain his joy, let out a loud cry of happiness and spun around in his chair. So this was easy street. He'd heard so many stories, but never through he'd be here in person.

Vector pressed the button on his intercom, then paused. An intercom, like the kind those big men of business use. His head was swimming.

"Espio, a moment please." Almost at once, the ninja chameleon began visible again and dropped down to the floor from the ceiling. "Must you do that?" Vector asked. Espio shrugged.

"I'm a ninja." Was his simple reply. "Look, make it quick, I'm still trying to make the organisation sound appealing to people with the slightest bit of ambition." The crocodile narrowed his eyes at me disapprovingly.

"Take a look at this." He began, turning the small television set on his desk around so Espio could get a good look at the screen. The news report about the renegade G.U.N officer with a stolen walker was still on. Espio watched it sceptically for a couple of moments before crossing his arms. "Isn't that that guy we raced against in the Tournament?"

"Think of the publicity if we bring him in alive." The chameleon cocked his head.

"They're not even offering a reward." Vector turned of the set.

"There's more to life than money." Espio was completely silent, staring at the crocodile with wide eyes.

"Ok…" He began slowly. "Who are you, and what you done with the real Vector?" An unimpressed frown crossed Vector's large scaly lips and he slammed his hands down on the desk.

"Look we have a large amount of money from the races, but that won't pay the bills forever." He slapped his hands together. "If we're to get into big business, then we have to advertise our deductive skills to the world. And tracking this criminal might just be the way to do it." There was a loud screeching sound followed by the familiar shattering of a plant pot outside the office door. The two of them could see the silhouette of a potted tree outside fall to the ground through the window in the top of the door. Vector cringed and hide his eyes behind a hand, groaning. On que, Charmee came bellowing through the door, tumbling through the air and straight into Espio, knocking the two of them over into a great big heap. "Can we help you?" The crocodile asked, leaning over the edge of his desk to give Charmee a long hard glare.

"Oh VectorVectorVectorVectorVectorVectorVectorVectorVectorVector." Charmee began said in a rush, buzzing around the crocodiles head once he pulled himself off the floor. "There's a guy outside." Vector waited for the bee to continue but only silence, disturbed by the buzzing of Charmee's wings endured.

"And?" The crocodile asked eventually.

"Andhesayshewantstojoin!" Charmee blurted that last bit out sp fast it took several seconds for either Espio or Vector to decipher it.

"Join?" Espio repeated, scratching the back of his head. "I hadn't even advertised that we were hiring yet." Vector rubbed his hands together with glee. Apparently, news of their organisation had gotten around quicker than even he had imagined.

"Show him in." He added, sitting back down in his chair. "Let's see if he has any talent." Charmee nodded an in a flash he was gone. The door flapped widely as he buzzed past it, showing the plant he'd knocked over on his arrival. "Espio, Remind me to hire a cleaner later." Vector added, rolling his eyes.

Charmee quickly returned with a mobian following closely behind. He was a flying squirrel, with golden fur and bright brown eyes. A short quiff to head fur stood up straight on the top of his head, another two falling over his eyes. Thin stretches of skin lined edge side of his body, running from his arms to his legs. A long flat tail training out behind him. Like most mobians, he wore gloves and sneakers. His footwear was blue in colour, with a metal rim around the toes. A large golden buckle lined a white stripped that ran vertically up each shoes, very much like Sonic's old pair. Apart from this, we was also wearing canvas yellow shirt that hung loosely around his shoulders.

"Hey." He said with a smile, raising a hand in greeting. His voice showing that he was younger than eighteen. "Name's Rei." Espio and Vector exchanged a glance before turning back.

"Good to have you here." Vector began. "I'm Vector, the head of this organisation. My comrade over here is Espio and our hyperactive friend is Charmee."

"He says you're interested in joining." Espio started slowly.

"YesheisYesheisYesheisYesheisYesheisYesheis." The bee began in a chorus, buzzing around the room.

"Charmee, you still have to organise our moving paperwork." Vector sighed. The bee saluted in mid air before disappearing again.

"I've already done it." Espio began. Vector winked at him.

"I know." He replied with a s mug smile before turning back to their guest. "Well are you, interested in joining?" Rei smiled, putting his arms behind his head.

"Sure." Was his simple reply. Vector put his forefinger and thumb to the end of his snout.

"Got any experience in detective work?" He hesitated. "Apart from watching Sherlock homes movies?" Rei paused, scratching the side of his chin for a moment.

"Well…" He began slowly. "I do help the police a lot with their cases." Espio and Vector gave each other another glance. "I helped send a dangerous drug dealer to prison for twenty years." Vector blinked. He remembered reading about that in the paper. This guy, he forgot his name, was supposedly shipping in a tanker full of powder. He would have walked if the police hadn't found evidence of smuggling in his organisation. He came out his daze and looked the squirrel over. Of course Vector couldn't simply take his word that he helped. "I can tell you don't believe me." It pointed at their faces. "You paused for precisely five seconds, narrowing your eyes in a disapproving way." Vector blinked again in confusion. "Oh, and your bee friend found no paperwork for him and will be back in five seconds."

"What are you…" Espio began before Charmee came flying into the room, nearly colliding with Vector's desk.

"I found the paperwork Vector." The bee began quickly. "But someone had already done it."

"Well go outside for a walk."

"Yes sir." With that, he was gone again. Espio groaned, shaking his head.

"Nice desk." Rei began. Vector looked up questioningly. "English oak, I believe. Purchased fro Al's Furniture store." The two reptiles looked at him completed stunned. "There's a chip missing from the second left leg." The squirrel pointed out. Vector ducked underneath to look and found it right were Rei said it would be. ""Al's purposely chips all his furniture so that if anyone tries to sell him back his own stuff, he'll know at once if they're trying to cheat him."

"Wow…" Vector muttered into the air with wide eyes. "Espio, you've got to admit, that's pretty damn impressive." Before the chameleon could answer the crocodile rose from his seat. "Ok Rei, we'll take you on and see how you do in the field. Help us a crack a case, and your hired." The squirrel shrugged.

"Sounds good to me." He put his hands in his pockets. "So what's the case?" Vector answered by simply turning the television set back on. Rei blinked and stared at the screen.

"And authorities still have no leads to the location of Koji Naoko Okida, former Captain of G.U.N freelance division. Police are urging anyone sighting him to refrain from confronting this dangerous criminal, instead call the authorities at once. This mobian is wanted for the theft of various government files and a military walker. We repeat again that is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous."

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Just as he'd predicted, the forest had been able to provide him with sufficient cover to escape detection from the base. He'd spent most of the night and the next day, while keeping his walker out of sight, gaining as much distance as he could. About noon his heating system finally gave up the ghost and he was forced to stop for repairs.

Okida groaned, wiping his forehead with his fur matted with sweat and black oil. He wished the government could apply that steam dependant technology they used to create Giant Wing to their walkers, it would simplify things greatly. Shutting the metal hatch, he hoisted himself back into the pilot seat of the Dead Shot. All of the walkers there, he had to take this one. He hadn't had time to examine each one, so his choice of walker that bee totally down to luck of the draw. Well, at least he had managed to escape the base with the files.

His next move was an obvious one, replace the cooling system in his mech and then replace the ammunition he lost. Only once those things were taken care of could be start of on his real mission. With a loud reluctant groaning, his walker reared itself up from his sitting position, the patches the captain had installed into his machine hissing loudly. As it rose, pone of the large legs buckled slightly, nearly tipping the entire machine over. If the captain hadn't fired the emergency grappling hook just in time, wrapping the line around a thick tree trunk, the walker would have gone straight over the edge of the large rock to a long fall down to a swamp below. Eventually the patch held it's own and the leg became workable again. The captain flexed the controls a couple of times to test it, before switching to manual mode.

Finally the mechanoid pulled itself up without any complaints and it strode off into the forest, keeping itself well below the canopy lines. Those search choppers from the base were still patrolling the area for him. With any luck he might be able to avoid them and make his way back to a populated city and mingle amongst the crowds.

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Flip card 1:

Name: Dead Shot Military Walker

Age: Prototype developed several months ago.

Specifications: The armour of a Big foot, the firepower and speed of a Hot Shot and the Flying capabilities of a Flying Dog.

(R&R)