(I do not own Sonic X, etc.)
S.O.N.I.C GO!
S.O.N.I.C GO!
Breaking the rules up until yesterday,
today being just generally loose,
With a punk philosophy,
saying to no longer run
towards the best goal,
that there is no meaning elsewhere.
With my biorhythm doubled,
the scenery is just countless lines
as the wind surrounds me.
I don't want to be
attacking Inside, Outside,
surpassing absolutely everything,
leaving nobody and nothing ahead.
Inside Outside GO! SONIC!
Absolutely Everything Yes! SONIC!
"Look Out!" and "Have a Nice"
the difference is paper thin.
Throw away the boredom, and just start running.
The rhythm of a carved heart -- that's my ism.
Being somewhat impatient.
Even if I no longer sleep, I keep running within my dreams
I am a runaway 365 days a year.
Things I want to do today, is what I will do tomorrow.
There's no difference, if I can feel it, I'll ride the beat.
Because I believe in you.
Takin' Take it GO! SONIC!
Thoroughly Yes! SONIC!
"Let's shake" and "Action Show" 1
Both are for friends.
Kick away the restraints, and do what your heart wants
I don't want to be attacking Inside, Outside, surpassing absolutely everything, leaving nobody and nothing ahead.
Inside Outside GO! SONIC!
Absolutely Everything Yes! SONIC!
"Look Out!" and "Have a Nice" 1
the difference is paper thin.
Throw away the boredom, and just start running.
S,O,N,I,C GO!
S,O,N,I,C GO!
GO, GO, GO, GO LET'S GO!
-
Episode 32: Picking up the pieces
The planet Feson was an ocean world. Over eighty percent of it's surface was covered by one thick ocean. The only landmasses were thousands upon thousands of small islands and one large continent at the planet's north pole; and most of that was frozen ice. Despite the lack of real-estate this was the centre for the Confederate Fesonian Empire. Over half a spiral arm lay within their territory and their military had encountered thousands of those species, always with one goal above all others; to ensure the expansion and solidarity of their civilisation.
With their fleets being so large it became very difficult for them to mass coordinate the ships during the many campaigns they had undertaken. What kept them organized was a single mind capable of making all those calculations at once, working tirelessly to manoeuvre their arsenals into more effective formations and positions. And that mind belonged to their co-ordinator, the ruler of the Confederates for the past few millennium and the legendary brother of the universally renowned Destroyer.
A single wet orange-red eye slid open as the Prime Minster, the direct second in command of the empire entered the imperial chamber. The Dooms Eye, as he was known across the galaxy, had once been a regular Fesonian but like his brother he had undergone genetic experimentation which had changed him. Like the Destroyer, he had great power but the mutation had forever altered his physical form into some far more simple. The body was jet black and wet, slime occasionally dripping onto the floor to be cleared away by small service machines. Like a star fish, six long arms lanced out around the circular body, each pointed end wrapped around the outreaching ends of the machine that collected the information from all over their territory and then fed it directly into the emperor's brain. All information feeds were live, so the Dooms eye would always know exactly what was going on in a battle or expansion movement the moment it happened.
The Prime Minster dropped to one knee, his tail swaying out from behind his ceremonial armour. A tight fitted suit with a chest plate and other piece of protection across the arms and legs.
"You summoned me sire?" He asked as that single orange eye with an black silt in the middle looked down at him. The Dooms eye had a size three times that of the average Fesonian and was naturally intimidating.
"Prime Mister Doran." The voice came not through sound but rather through an invasive telepathic link. The Emperor had no vocal cords, nor even a mouth with which to speak naturally so his intentions were projected telepathically into the mind of those he wished to talk with. "How far away from our territory is the Sirius Star pattern?" The Prime Minster waved his cloven hand off to his left and a holographic projection of a star map appeared before him. At first it showed the whole galaxy, then it narrowed down on the left hand side, then even further until finally it highlighted two spiral arms on the outer edge. A lot of the map was blotted out as the scout ships of the fleet had not explored that far, but a good deal of those spiral arms had already been charted.
"This is your empire sire." Doran explained, pointing to the upper arm. The empire covered over a hundred worlds, entire civilisations enslaved or completely destroyed during the glorious wars of expansion. "And here is the Sirius pattern." His hand lowered to the second spiral and three stars highlighted themselves and a thick line darted between to join them up. "The stars Sirius 1, 2 and 3. They all lie within Combine territory."
"Highlight star number 3." Doom's eye continued and Doran did as he was ordered, bringing up the map for that star appeared. For one star it had an unusual number of planets orbiting it, over ten in fact; but most of them were either gas giants, baked or frozen solid. Only the third planet has had life reported on the surface but at the time the survey was made the resident sentient species had been too primitive to be of any concern. According to the date on the report, that was over six hundred years ago. The confederates had had no reason to return. There was nothing on the planet to attract their attention, no resources worth having and the population was too primitive to be used as practical slaves. Their technical knowledge was limited to simple stone cutting equipment at the time. It would have been impossible to train them to operate advanced technology such as theirs. "There….that planet…I could sense him." The emperor mused, apparently unaware that the Prime Minster could still hear him ramble. "There for a blip for a single day, then gone; completely. No sense of him outside dimension space either. Destroyed, inconceivable."
"Sire?" Doran asked and the single eye blinked.
"What is the nearest patrolling fleet to this system?" Doom's eye asked, changing the subject.
"The sixth attack force sire. Currently conducting practise manoeuvres in Centurion space near the Combine border." The Confederates had over a ten fleets across the vastness of space, all patrolling a sector of their territory or waiting for the order to advance into more. Connected to the information grid, the Dooms eye could co-ordinate every last one of them but once separated from the network he had trouble remembering the name of a single flagship.
"Thank you Prime Minster." Slowly that large eye closed and the Emperor reconnected himself back into the grid; the metallic constructs around him beginning to hum in response.
An unthinkable distance across space, orbiting an ice covered planetoid was the sixth fleet. A vast, invasion force that acted as the spear for the confederate armies. They struck first then held a target until the garrison forces arrived to replace them. Once relived they would head over to a new target and repeat the whole process again. Presently, with no orders coming through they had stopped by an uninhabited ball of ice to practice their take over technique. It was always the same, analyse the defences and then disarm them if possible. Once defenceless, exterminate all who resist and contain those who do not.
The force was made up for a thousand ships, most of them carriers containing troops while others were attack fighters and battle vessels. Some of the best hardware available to the confederates was contained inside this fleet.
"Admiral, I'm receiving orders from the Co-ordinator." Admiral Bal, present commander of the sixth fleet had been enjoying a little down time when the call came through to his personal quarters. Awaking with a start, he rolled over and fell out of his bunk hitting the floor with a loud thud.
"Admiral Bal, I have a new assignment for your fleet." The Dooms Eye told him even before he was off the floor. The Fesonian found himself looked as a star map of three points, which narrowed down to one and the third planet in orbit. "I want your entire fleet to move yourselves to this solar system and observe the third planet. Investigate the planet's populace. If they have a technology level anywhere near that of practical space travel, occupy that world."
"Sire…that worlds lies in Combine space." The admiral began with wide yellow eyes. "If you wish to occupy it, then am I to assume that you wish to break the peace treaty and declare war?" The Dooms eye was silent after that, it's orange eye locked onto the fesonian with a single unblinking glare.
"You ask if I wish to declare war on the Combine?"
"That is the ultimate question I am asking sire and if you wish for me to do this, I require a definite answer."
"Then here is your definite answer Admiral….yes."
"As you command." The admiral replied with a short bow and the communication link cut itself off. The Fesonian let out a soft sigh and leaned back in his chair putting a hand to his head. Everyone knew when it was signed the peace treaty would never last. The Dooms Eye demanded conquest, not borders. The treaty signed with the Combine had been the first compromise ever undertaken by the Confederates, the first real attempt at last peace. Now it seems they were about to end that step forward.
Truth be told, not all Confederates wanted to live like this. The Dooms eye was a dictator and his people brutally oppressed, not to mention many other worlds. Some had tried to separate over the years and every attempt to make an independent state had been put down, violently. Often there were never any survivors and those that did live were made an example of.
The Dooms eye claimed it was to keep their culture pure, but Bal was somewhat more intelligent than the average citizen. The emperor didn't like change and demanded all those of Feson follow his rules; or else. Still, no matter how much he resented the rulers that did not reveal him off his duty.
"Commander… assemble the fleet. We have a new target."
"War with the Combine?" The Prime Minster asked in surprise, looking a little stunned by the emperors decision. "Are you certain sire?"
"The sixth fleet with be the spearhead movement and the second and eight fleets will follow behind as the second wave. The sixth will occupy the Sirius system and this will draw the Combine's attention." The Dooms eye started, explaining his strategy. "Once their backs are turned, our fleets will strike them from behind. Even if we fail to crush them completely, we will have gained a strong foot hold in their territory."
"But what if they launch attacks on our territory as a counter measure?"
"I'm counting on it." The Dooms eye looked rather amused by the very thought. "They will have no choice but to remove us from their space first but by the time they reach our ships, we will be entrenched and they will waste many resources in battle. In their exhausted state we can then overcome them with the fifth fleet which will remain behind our lines until I give the order."
"Four fleets?" Doran looked surprised by that amount. The Combine were big rivals, but that seemed a little excessive. One or two fleets they could spare, but four? "That would leave our remaining forces hard pressed to patrol our own space."
"That is why I summoned you here Prime Minster." The Dooms eye explained. "I am hereby ordering all docks and naval yards to completely three more Battle fleets to replace their numbers. I don't care if the slaves collapse and die, I want those new ships completed." Doran managed a small smile.
"As you command sire."
-
Despite endless propaganda messages blaring on televisions screens across the globe, G.U.N's control was not absolute. In fact, it was waning as they pulled more and more troops out of the garrisons to accumulate their space fleet. Bandit groups sprung up left right and centre, controlling the deserts around the cities on every continent attacking military convoys and salvaging wrecks to make a living.
Most of American, Europe and Russia; while officially under the control of their governments had very little in the way of order. Most major cities had been severely damaged in the fighting with the Black Arm fleet and they were deserted; no one wanted to go in and start rebuilding. That is until Hexagon stepped in; already a major military contractor the company gained even more power by being the one to motivate and organise the rebuilding of the cities. Before too long, the company began almost dangerously omnipresent in the government.
"Man just look at New York." Vector remarked, glaring out across the width of the city from the penthouse in which Chaotix set up shop. The city had been very badly damaged during the battle, entire blocks crumbed into the ground. A crashed Black Arm ship lay in the harbour, one end propped up into the air by the docks with several yachts around it; probably trying to figure out how to move the damn thing. Choppers marked with the G.U.N insignia were flying overhead making surveys for the Hexagon architects, who promised they could have the city up and running inside a few months. It was common knowledge Hexagon had access so some advanced technology, but making that promise seemed beyond even their capabilities.
"It's had better days I'll tell you that." Rei replied, looking out with him as the others cleaned up the office. Their headquarters had been fortunate to avoid being hit directly during the battle, but it had managed to get a hole blasted in it's roof. Until it was repaired, they were going to have to set up temporary residence elsewhere.
"The cops are too stretched thin trying to cope with the criminal underworld and the militaries too occupied with the repairs to help either. That leaves the city in a state of utter lawlessness. I've heard over a hundred reports of stolen goods, muggings, smuggling and other sins I won't even mention thus far; not to mention all the bandits out there." Vector added in, before gaining a smirk that showed every last one of his teeth and rubbing his hands together in glee. "Which means it's open season on the scum of the streets, boys!" Espio rolled his eyes.
"I still think we should have stayed with G.U.N for a while longer." Beck remarked, looking up through the giant hole in Vector's office roof to watch a chopper pass overhead. The repairmen would be in tomorrow to fix it, all of them Hexagon contractors of course. "Get some jobs from professionals, earn some good cash."
"I'm…not so sure that would have been a good idea." Espio warned him with a very worried expression on his face. The Spider-Mech had been given to them on rent and when they returned it…
"The Spider!" Okida screamed watching the salvage team bring in the shattered remains of the Machine Federation Mech into the hanger bay of Giant Wing, the dented ruin dumped on top of a transport truck and driven in. The robotic insect had been crushed, several of it's legs were missing and it's armour was riddled with blast holes, scorches marks passed over the rest. "What have those idiots done to my Mech!" The Major demanded, looking completely distraught at the condition of his prize from the Mars campaign.
"Don't worry Major, we'll be able to fix it." Topaz told him but her sentiments did little to calm the vampire bat down. "And I'll bet since it's advanced technology it'll help our researchers."
"If I ever meet those dead beats again I'll NAIL THEIR WORTHLESS HIDES TO THE WALL!"
"I think you're right on second thoughts." Beck mused, scratching the back of his head before shuddering. Part of the reason Vector insisted they come back here so quickly was to avoid being hunted by a crazed Major with an Anubis Walker.
"You know, it amazes me that you let Fang walk away." Rei began to Espio privately as Vector began running through the cost of building repairs on his pocket calculator. Espio just kept putting their valuables in boxes. "I mean, he did killed that friend of yours."
"I know that." Espio replied this time, sealing the box and standing up. "But still, he did help us out against that Krish guy. I feel like we owe him at least one chance." The chameleon managed a smile, flipping a shuriken between his fingers like a coin. "Besides, I'll catch him next time." Rei blinked once, looking slightly confused.
There was a knock at the front door of the office that consequently caved in to reveal Vanilla standing there with a stunned look on her face, apparently not expecting the office to be in this bad a shape.
"Your place got hit as well?" She asked, looking up at the new sky light. "Our apartment building got demolished." Most cities now looked like post war France, ruins of buildings absolutely everywhere.
"Yeah, so we're moving out." Charmee told her, buzzing through the air with a card board box in his hands.
"You do have a place to go, right?" Vanilla asked as Cream walked in past her quickly followed by her robotic guardian Emerl.
"Sure." Vector replied, helping Beck to stack the last of their stuff that survived the fighting into boxes. "There's another pent house across town we can set up in." Vanilla suddenly looked taken aback, almost disappointed. "What about you?"
"We're going to the Caribbean." Cream replied with an innocent childish smile. Every Chaotix Member looked up in surprise. Even Charmee turned around to stare, consequentially flying into the side of the wall.
"The what?" Espio asked in awe.
"Oh...it's just someplace to go for an extended Vacation." Vanilla replied with a nervous smile. "It didn't get as badly hit as other places so I thought we could go there. Just until the city gets back together again." Vector opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it again, his eyes wide with a dazzled expression.
"Ooo…Ooo, Vector? Why don't we do that?" Charmee asked, buzzing across the crocodiles head incessantly.
"Say what?"
"Go on Vacation until the bad guys come back?"
"I'm up for some fun in the sun." Rei remarked with a goofy smile. "A couple of weeks getting a tan, white sands, blue seas…" He gained a sudden far off look. "Babes in bikinis as far as the eye can see." He was practically drooling now.
"Pervert…" Espio sighed rolling his eyes.
"Makes sense Vector." Beck added in. "I mean, we did just help save the world. I think we're owed a little time off."
"Who's gonna hold all our stuff until we get back, and get the new place ready?" The chameleon asked sceptically, believing that with the world on the point of breaking down that now was probably the worst time for a vacation.
"We can pay somebody." Rei announced. "Come on, even you can't say no to some down time." Espio would be lying if he said that it didn't sound appealing, but he hated leaving things unfinished.
Still, it looked like once again the final word was Vector's. At first, Vector was going to side with Espio; still adamant to get down to brininess with the crime wave he expected to sweep the city. But at that moment, the image of Vanilla in a swimsuit passed through his mind and that was that.,
"Pack your bags boys!" He stated with a wide grin, putting his fists on his hips. "Hunting season's being postponed for a while, we're hitting the beach!"
Fang watched the pent house from across the distance between the two buildings. The weasel had been left confused by the events he had been forced to endure over the last few days. True it was necessity that compelled him to fight alongside Chaotix against Krish, but still; fighting the same enemy with Espio at his side had forced him to remember something he felt long forgotten. A stirred feeling of regret and doubt had torn itself unbidden and refused to be banished no matter how hard he insisted.
"Bunch of softies." He muttered, before turning to leave.
-
Okida had been true to his word, G.U.N had indeed managed to keep people off Angel Island while the Echidna guardian had been away. A large wire rim fence marked with G.U.N warning signs had kept any develops away. Not many people wanted to cross the military after the last few emergency powers had been voted in, unfortunately however since the President's term in office was over he had the government revoke the powers so that his successor would not have the same abilities he had in war time.
This meant that the Echidna had arrived home just in time. Any sooner and people would have been perfectly within their rights to start building housing estates on the island.
"Tourists…" Knuckles muttered to himself, shaking his head at the sight of a cruise ship heading out of the island bay. He watched them go and as soon as they were beyond the confines of the shallows before carrying on. For reasons he dared not even think about, the Master Emerald he was carrying seemed heavier than it had before. Possibly perhaps because it contained one half of the Destroyer. More likely it only seemed heavy because it was now contaminated in his mind. Krish had been the source of all ill to befall both Earth and Mobius and had made many lives, including his own, miserable.
"Krish is divided, his mind carved in two." The words of Queen Illumina still hung in his mind as he walked through the jungle paths. "Without two halves of the whole he is no longer sentient and will pose no threat, so long as the Precious stone and the Master Emerald do not join together in one location." The fact that half of the being ultimately responsible for the destruction of his people was now trapped inside the object he was honour bound to protect did not sit well with him.
"Home sweat home…" He breathed, coming out off the jungle edge and out into the open hilly area of the island. In the distance he saw his final destination. Sitting on the top of the large hillock was the Emerald Shrine, a faded and grey ruin long since claimed by vines and creepers. It was here he had fled to so long ago as an infant, running through the jungle rain before finally ended up in the presence of the Master Emerald. He could remember nothing before that. He had always been the Guardian of the Emerald and the island which it kept aloft.
Angel Island wasn't that large but it had quite an extensive forest and jungle on it's surface, as well as three small mountains jutting up directly in the centre. The ruins of the Echidna city lay scattered around the island, absorbed by the undergrowth. Occasionally he would come across statues half embedded in the jungle plants. Depictions of heroic Echidna warriors marching out to war in defence of their home country, murals of battles won, great conquests. For a long time, Knuckles had felt proud to be a part of something so grand even if it was long gone. Now, he felt sickened by it. The murals no longer held the same pull because he knew what they were; ancient propaganda. The Echidna's were conquerors, subjugating other mobian races in the name of their god.
"History is written by the victors." He remembered Chuck had told him once although he forgot when exactly. He knew the murals left out the massacres, the death and injustices performed by their warriors in their conquests. He wondered briefly what story those subjugated would tell is they saw these depictions now?
Reaching the bottom of the shrine, he put the Master Emerald down on the stony ground and paused. Something was wrong. It wasn't something dangerous, but something profound. The feeling of homeliness here had faded and most of what he got from looking at the place where he had spent most of his life was a depth of loneliness.
He had spent the past few months fighting Machine Federations, alien sects and dark gods; charging into battle alongside Sonic and the others. And now he was about to return to his life of isolation. True he liked solitude most of the time, but that was because he had grown up alone. Actually spending time amongst other people had left him with a longing for company. The Master Emerald glowed in response. Yes, the jewel was would always be here but it wasn't much of a conversationalist.
A shadow fell over the shrine steps and he glanced up to see a new addition to the scenery. Rouge was sitting there, on top of one of the stone pillars that had once held the canopy roof.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked, gesturing to the empty space at the top of the shrine behind her.
"The mood." Knuckles replied, leaning back against the stone looking melancholy. "Something just seemed wrong." The Master Emerald was mere meters away from it's proper place and right now he couldn't summon the willpower to move it up the steps.
"Want to talk about it?" She asked, floating down to his side and sitting with him. The red echidna shook his head and leaned back, crossing his arms behind his neck and staring up at the clouds.
"Nah…I'm ok." He managed, closing his eyes and just enjoying the feeling of the grass on his back. Rouge watched him for a minute, before leaning back herself. Silence endured between them for a moment before Knuckles cast her a quick side glance. Rouge was just laying there looking up at the sky above with a short smile on her face, her sapphire eyes unblinking. "Won't the Major be wanting you to report back to Freelance soon?" He asked before thinking. Rouge closed her eyes and her smile widened a little.
"No." She replied simply as she crossed her legs in front of herself. "I quit." Knuckles sat bolt upright in response, his expression utterly priceless.
"Say what?" Rouge began giggling; she wished her had a camera at this moment. The look on his face had to be captured for future generations. "You…actually…quit?" So stunned the Echidna was left with his mouth hung open in utter shock. "
"Don't get me wrong, I love the whole spy gig, but I think I'm getting too tangled up with G.U.N." She winked at him. "But this is one gal who wants to make her own choices in life. So I guess I'll be doing some 'truly' freelance work from now on." The Echidna breathed out before lying back down.
"Well, whatever floats your boat." He muttered before closing his eyes. He could just put the Master Emerald in it's place and get the Island back up into the sky but for some reason he found the caw of the seagulls too soothing to be interupted.
"'But first I think I'll take a vacation." Rouge continued. "Somewhere sunny and warm, isolated, away from the hustle of everyday life." Knuckles shot her a sideways glance sceptically and Rouge just smiled at him.
"Somewhere like 'here' for instance?" He said the words before she had the chance to. Rouge's smile refused to leave her face.
"Why Knuckles, what a great idea. It's perfect. I can spend several months up here taking it easy. Taking in the sun…" He paused to eye the Echidna's well built muscles under the red fur. "And the sights." Knuckles turned even more red then he already was. "Isn't this the point when you tell me to leave your island?" The Echidna paused, before standing up.
"You can stay." He stated after a moment. He was blushing furiously and was desperately trying to keep her from seeing it to save himself some embarrassment. Rouge blinked in surprise, apparently not having expected this reaction at all. "You'd be welcome company." He added after a moment, before picking up the Master Emerald and hoisting it onto his shoulder.
"Ok, who are you and what did you do with the real Knuckles?" She asked coyly as the Echidna began his way up towards the top of the shrine.
"I'm serious." Rouge followed him up, his arms crossed behind her back. Finally they two of them reached the top to behold the jewel encrusted stone dip that had held the Master Emerald upright for centuries. "I thought for some time that once all the fighting was over I could just go back to the way everything was. Just by myself on the island, the way I'd grown accustomed to." He paused, managed a smile. "Guess I was wrong." The female bat smiled in response and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I don't want to be that lonely again, to be separated from everyone who treated me like a family member." He stopped to draw in a deep breath and gather his courage before turning to look her back directly in the face. "Especially you Rouge." A second later, he lowered the giant jewel back into it's proper place. In the moments in took for the power to begin surging through the island again, Rouge slipped her arms under his and hugged him from behind; her chin resting on his shoulder.
"Hey Froggy, this looks like a good a place as any!" Big began, settling down on the entrance to a thick river; his amphibian friend hopping after him.
"Croak." Froggy replied, leaping from the ground up onto Big's shoulder. The large cat sat down on the sand and cast out his line, the lure sliding beneath the coastal waves a short distance away. After the fighting was over, Big had said good bye to everyone and wandered off on his own again; fishing rod in hand. The cat was the nomadic type. He liked living apart from people, they were far too noisy for his taste and besides; he had Froggy for keep him company.
"Oh I've got a bite already!" Big yelled out as the end of his fishing pole began to twitch. Before he could start to reel in, the ground beneath his feet began shaking like a thousand earthquakes were happening at once. He lost balance and rolled over and nearly squashed Froggy in the progress. "Oh, it's a really big one!" He muttered through clenched teeth as he tugged at his fishing rod for all he was worth.
Both of them watched in awe as the far side of the bay began to slowly ascend, reaching higher and higher into the sky before finally tugging free of the ground all together; the remains of vine growth trailing the link between the two landmasses before they all began snapping one by one.
"Croak!"
"You can say that again Froggy…" The cat put a hand over his eyes to protect them from the glare of the sun as he watched. Slowly Angel Island moved at first, before it began gathering speed; accelerating it's ascend. The hole it had left in the water was quickly filled by a massive tidal wave that surged in to fill the empty space and soft end of it smashed into Big end on and swept him and his amphibian friend back into the trees.
His fur matted with sea water and Froggy upside down in the bush nearby, Big watched Angel Island disappeared through the cloud cover and finally disappear from sight. "Well there goes Knuckles." The cat sighed, before reclaiming his fishing rod before the churning tide swept it away. "Come along Froggy." He picked the frog up and place him back on his shoulder. "Let's go find another spot to fish."
-
The President's term in office officially came to an end next week, upon which time his successor would enter the White House. Michael would be lying if he claimed he didn't feel slightly apprehensive about leaving everything in charge of another, but since he had been fighting to preserve the whole point of democracy then he guessed he had little option. Besides, the world had managed to get along fine for several thousand years without him before.
The Black Arms had settled on Mars, creating a colony on the jungle continent to repair their fleet and replenish their numbers, according to their command at any rate. No one had the nerve asked him exactly what 'replenishing their numbers' entailed. A few cabinet members had been upset that the President had agreed to this, finding the prospect of a new world for them to explore too hard to resist. But Space travel was still quite limited to the military, at least for the time being and the average citizen hadn't much incentive to travel the cosmos. In any case, Mars looked too beautiful from the Earth now to be spoiled by wrecked by expansion.
Everything looked pretty good for the future now, at is until Commander Rikoye returned to the White House to give the President grave tidings.
"The Confederates are on their way." Was his simply statement. The President sat rigid in his chair, his eyes wide in the stunned expression. "When Krish was destroyed, he must have sent a physic shockwave radiating out through space. A wave completely invisible to all creatures bar one." The commander hesitated briefly as if afraid to say anything more, before he summoned some courage and continued. "His brother, the Dooms Eye."
"Dooms Eye?" Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The Emperor. A creature ancient by your standards, an extremely intelligent mind; capable of controlling the movements of entire fleets at a single time." The commander gave over a brief account of the emperor, a creature snapped like a star-fish by armed with terrible physic power. He could tear creatures apart using only his mind. "Our early warning sensors have detected a spearhead fleet leaving Confederate Space and heading directly towards this planet."
"My god…" The President began in a hushed whisper, running his hands through his head. Just one thing after another with this job! "How well equipped are they?"
"Confederates…as you say…do not play around." Rikoye replied flatly. "Their military technology is cutting edge. You will be out numbered and out paced by technology and if our estimations are correct, they will enter your solar system within two of your years." Michael fell forward onto the desk with a loud groan.
"Now this is very interesting." Doctor Eggman remarked with a thick smirk, running his fat fingers through the ends of his moustache as he observed the meeting though one of his robotic spies that had infiltrated the White House. The metallic insect was hiding in the light on the ceiling of the oval office, it's camera sending the live images directly back to the Egg Moon.
So, more aliens were on their way where they; an invasion force no less. "Oh yes, this fits in with my plans perfectly." The Doctor snickered, his eyes glinting evilly behind his glasses. The Egg Carrier 4 was currently docked with the imperial main headquarters for adapting, as well as replacements for the Egg Fleet to be replaced. It was going to take a lot of resources but thankfully, a good deal of the bandit gangs on the surface of the Earth were in his employ and were supplying him with good salvaged materials.
It was a shame the Armageddon station had been destroyed. With that under his control, The Doctor could have overtaken both the Earth and Mars within a couple of days and with a power base established, set out to conquer the rest of the universe. Still, it was probably for the best. The Armageddon station had caused too much trouble to be worth it and quite frankly Eggman was glad to finally see the back of this entire affair.
"Your plans Doctor?" Becoe asked, looking up at his creator as Eggman sat in his metallic throne. Holographic reads outs showing imperial reports spun around him and his eyes were slowly travelled from one to another. "What plans?"
"I thought we were just building up our forces?" Decoe added in, before the two robots shrugged in unison.
"Oh we've got two whole years to do that." The Doctor replied with a short chuckle, rubbing his chin with an evil grin on his lips. "Besides, I'm thinking ahead to the future." His smile widened as plans began forming in his mind. "And this could prove extremely advantageous."
-
Flip card 1:
Name: The Dooms Eye
Description: Brother of the Destroyer and ruler of the Confederates.