Chapter 10: Facades
Shamar, Midesta Region, Mobius
An Imperial convoy was making its way across the sandy roads, an AT-AT was leading a long line of AT-ACTs with several AT-STs and AT-AAs following alongside. Atop a nearby mesa overlooking the road, a green female Fennec fox was watching the convoy through her macrobinoculars, she looked anxious, but then, she looked to her left, and there was another convoy coming in the opposite direction preparing to pass the other.
"Oh, this isn't good…"
The girl put away her macrobinoculars and ran towards the edge of the mesa, carefully climbing down to the ground before running towards the city. When she entered the city, the streets were eerily quiet, as she saw many people were hiding in their homes and other hiding places. She soon came to one building where a male Mobian Porcupine and a male Mobian Mole were waiting around. The porcupine approached her.
"How bad is it, Sonar?"
"It's even worse than before, Spike and Trevor. We're completely surrounded...and outgunned."
"What? Are you serious?" said Trevor.
"Yeah. The off-worlders have convoys moving troops and equipment all over the main roads out of town," said Sonar.
"These...Imperial forces are way better organized and armed than Robotnik ever was. Oh, this is not good, they've upset everything!" said Spike.
"All our hard work for nothing! Now the balance of power here is firmly against us!" said Trevor.
"It's not helping anyone if they find us here! Maybe we should contact Neph &..."
But Sonar was interrupted when a communication terminal beeped.
"Whoa...how does she do that?" said Spike.
"Never mind that, Spike!" said Sonar.
Sonar walked over to the terminal, and soon, the image of Sub-Boss Nephthys the Vulture appeared.
"Neph? Oh, you're a sight for sore eyes!" said Sonar.
"Spike, Sonar, Trevor. I'm glad to see you're all still in one piece...I take it you understand the situation by now?" said Nephthys.
"I just got back from scouting things out, Neph. The Imperial forces are everywhere. I fear it's only a matter of time until they track us down," said Sonar.
"How are we supposed to make this stalemate work now?" said Spike.
"We don't. This is where we finally have to pick sides to survive," said Nephthys.
"Are you kidding? That's not what we do!" said Trevor.
"Neph...we're friends. We promised we'd look out for each other...that we'd work together to keep this place safe, keep the balance of power in check!" said Spike.
"And the Empire isn't stupid. If we continue this arrangement, they're gonna know someone is keeping you guys one step ahead. If they figure it out, we're all dead. I know we've done much good keeping the war here from going in either side's favor...but now we have a wild card in form of the Empire. I overheard they are preparing to scour the city and track you all down, and they'll either kill you or roboticize you," said Nephthys.
Sonar sniffled.
"So what do we do now?" she said.
"I can't help you three get away from the Empire, but I can give you a head start. I overheard the Imperial Officers saying they'll have Probe Droids scouring the city within the next hour. You all need to get out now. Get out and go join your friends, the Freedom Fighters, wherever they are. Sonic and his allies are still good people. You three will have to fight the war on their terms now," said Nephthys.
"But, what about you? We can't just leave you here," said Spike.
"He's right, Neph, we're not leaving without you," said Sonar.
"Yeah! We're in this together!" said Trevor.
"If I go with you, you'll be in danger. Robotnik can track me through my cybernetic implants…"
Nephthys then removed her mask.
"...and I need to stay here and ensure things don't get further out of hand. I can't stop the Empire, but I can minimize the damage they do. Maybe someday, we will reunite, but until things calm down...this is where we part ways."
Sonar shed a few tears and rubbed her face.
"We'll miss you, Neph."
"Yeah, it ain't gonna be the same without ya," said Trevor.
"Yeah…" said Spike.
"Do not worry, dears...I'm not ready to give up. Neither should you. One last thing...remember that data disk I gave you when we first started this?" said Nephthys.
"How can we forget, Neph?" said Sonar.
"Yeah, what about it?" said Trevor.
Spike was looking around in the desk and found the disk Nephthys was talking about.
"I recorded a message on it. It's a confession to what's been happening here...in the event the Freedom Fighters figure out what we've done. That will ensure you three don't end up imprisoned for anything, it will all be on me. As far as anyone should know and understand, you three were only helping me do the right thing, even if others don't see it that way. Promise me you will do everything you can to help your friends save us all from the Empire," said Nephthys.
Spike slowly nodded.
"We promise, Neph. We won't fail you," said Spike.
"Don't worry about failing me. Don't fail yourselves," said Nephthys.
Sonar sniffled again, wiping away more tears.
"We won't. That's a promise," she said.
"This is it. Goodbye, Spike, Sonar, and Trevor Burrow...and I hope we meet again," said Nephthys.
"Goodbye, Neph...and good luck," said Spike.
"Stay safe, Neph," said Trevor.
And with that, Nephthys ended the transmission.
"Well guys...this is it. Time for us to be Freedom Fighters for real. Let's start packing...and wipe the computers we can't take with us," said Spike.
"All our hard work…" said Sonar.
"I hate to wipe everything we spent so much time and effort one, but what choice do we have?" said Trevor.
"Yeah, so...let's get to it...Sonar? Are you okay?" said Spike.
Sonar was sadly sitting in front of the communicator terminal, clenching her fists.
"I just...I didn't think it would ever come to this, Spike," said Sonar.
"Neither did I but what choice have we got now? If the Empire finds out, Neph and us...we're all dead or Roboticized," said Spike.
"And we can't let that happen!" said Trevor.
"Trevor...while you're over there….get the sequencer charges," said Spike.
"Reading my mind, are you, Spike?" said Trevor.
"Mine too?" said Sonar.
"Yeah...when the Empire finds this place...they're in for a surprise," said Spike.
Headquarters for Midesta Sub-Boss Nephhys, Outside of Shamar, Midesta
Nephthys was busy working on her computer, wiping the last of her files, and was just finishing up deleting her last transmission to the Desert Raiders when she heard the door open behind her. Her spine surged, and she turned around, and to her surprise, was Dr. Robotnik.
"Dr. Robotnik! I...I was not expecting to see you here...I thought you were still in Robotropolis-"
"My plans have changed a little. I'm here to oversee the destruction of Sand Blast City, and to round up anything of use. Those few that managed to survive are still out there, and where they'll go eludes me. As for you...any information on the Desert Raider Freedom Fighters?"
Nephthys looked behind Robotnik at the two ShadowBots standing behind him, their speech garbled by their scramblers, like the Imperial Death Troopers.
"So far, the Probe Droids are still scouring the city, but I think we're getting very close," she said.
"Good. Keep me informed of your progress, cause you know the consequences for us will be grave if they're allowed to escape and potentially reunite. Even worse...if the Rebellion gets them. Failure will not be tolerated," said Robotnik.
Nephthys gulped.
"Yes, doctor," she said.
"Good. Carry on, then, Sub-Boss," said Robotnik.
Nepthys then fell back in her chair, sighing and placing her hand on her face.
"Be safe…"
A Probe Droid hovered above the neighborhoods of Shamar, scouring the area until it suddenly stopped and turned. It's optics focused on a generator next to a small house. It slowly hovered closer, the ominous humming sound it made deepened. It then spotted an open door on the house. The probe droid then raised two antennae and began transmitting a signal. Within the next several minutes, several ITTs arrived on the scene and several Stormtroopers deployed from it, storming the house and began clearing the rooms. They searched high and low, under every table and bed, every chair, and inside every closet. But for every place they looked, they found nothing. One trooper approached a desk and looked at the computer, but saw it had been wiped. The trooper then began to hear a beeping sound, and looked around, as did the others; the trooper then slowly crouched down and saw a sequencer charge planted under the desk, almost out of sight. Soon, the house exploded into flames, killing all the Stormtroopers inside and damaging the ITTs outside, while wounding anyone caught in the blast. Outside the city, atop an overlook, Spike, Sonar, and Trevor Burrow were watching the scene from afar through their Macrobinoculars. Spike, holding the detonator, grinned.
"Heh, stupid Imperials. Works every time," said Trevor Burrow.
"Yep, that should buy us some time," said Spike.
"I guess...but now what? Where do we go?" said Sonar.
"Don't worry, Sonar. I know just where we can go," said Spike.
"Where?" said Sonar.
"Yeah, Spike, where?" said Trevor.
"Not too long after we met up with them, Princess Sally had me memorize the coordinates to a secret hideout in Robotropolis, in case something like this happened. She trusted me enough with that, but I had to memorize them, since they're not on any computer," said Spike.
"Good thinking for her," said Sonar.
"Yeah, some things you just have to keep inside your head," said Trevor.
"I know where we're going, the question is, how are we gonna get there?" said Spike.
"Yeah, Robotropolis is across the ocean," said Sonar.
"We'll need to fly there," said Trevor.
"I know, but we can't go back into the city, so we need to find another way. Lemme check this…" said Spike.
Spike was just turning on his locator when Sonar spotted something in the sand.
"Hey look! Over there!"
Spike and Trevor looked in that direction as Sonar ran over and crouched down for a closer look.
"What is it, Sonar?" said Trevor.
"Tracks. Looks like a convoy was here a while ago. The way the sand is….it came from the south. Maybe there's something there that can help us," said Sonar.
"Maybe a base or outpost. And you know what that means?" said Trevor.
Spike grinned in agreement.
"Let's follow those tracks."
The three of them hopped into their speeder and set off to follow the tracks. They drove across the terrain for several kilometers and dusk began to set in on the skyline. They drove until they saw beams of light ahead. Spike then pulled off the road and stopped the Speeder in the cover of some brush.
"Grab your gear. We're on foot from here. We'll be more stealthy this way," said Spike.
"If you say so," said Trevor.
"Let's get up on that ledge, and see what's down there," said Sonar.
The three of them climbed a ledge nearby until they reached the top, and saw a large base down below. Sonar then handed Spike the macrobinoculars and he began looking down at the base.
"What do you see, Spike?" said Trevor.
"Lotta activity. Transports, cargo carriers, not a whole lot of troops, looks like some SWAT Bots thrown in there for good measure. Otherwise, not many defenses…"
Sonar's ears then perked, and she gasped.
"Stay down!"
Spike and Trevor barely were touching the ground when they saw a pair of TIE Strikers fly over their heads.
"Whoa...that sound…" said Spike.
"Yeah, like a pair of flying banshees," said Trevor.
"I saw some transports on those landing pads. Let's see if we can find out where they're gonna go," said Spike.
Sonar nodded, but before she could say anything, she signaled them to "get down" again, and hid behind another rock barrier. Trevor sighed.
"Sonar, I'm kinda gettin' sick hiding behind all these-"
"Quiet! Look!" said Sonar.
The three of them looked back, and saw some Shadow Bots had discovered their speeder. They then began communicating with each other.
"I hate all that garbled talk they make, what are they saying?" said Trevor.
Sonar, holding a small listening device to her ear, pointed it at the Shadow Bots.
"From what I can gather...they're gonna tow it back to base for inspection. They don't know we're here, yet."
"Good thing that device really works," said Spike.
The Shadow Bots then began speaking with each other again, and acknowledging each other.
"What are they saying now, Sonar?" said Spike.
"Uhh….I think they just said that Sand Blast City is a crater now. Jack Rabbit made a last stand….and was killed. The rest are likely gonna be roboticized," said Sonar.
"Geeze...those idiots didn't really think they could win, could they?" said Spike.
"Well, it was their home. What would you all have done in their position?" said Trevor.
"I would've at least tried, but even I would've known when to retreat," said Sonar.
"Let's hope the other Freedom Fighters were smart enough to go underground. Now let's go. We don't have much time before they find us," said Spike.
The Desert Raiders quietly hustled off the ledge and slid down the side towards the base perimeter, and after climbing over a fence, made their way into the container yard of the base. Sonar led the way, listening carefully for any Imperial troops nearby. Whenever a patrol came near, Sonar held Spike and Trevor back as they avoided the many Stormtrooper and SWAT Bot guards patrolling the yard. They made their way across the yard until they made their way to the side of a large warehouse. They made their way through an open side door, and climbed atop the containers in hopes of avoiding being seen. But they were only a quarter of the way through the warehouse when they heard the main doors open, and an AT-ACT slowly walked in, being guided by workers to the loading bay. The Desert Raiders, feeling the impact of every step the AT-ACT took, made their way towards the main door, and Spike peeked outside, spotting the landing platform, and several transports landed there. He gestured the others to look, and Sonar looked skeptical.
"I dunno, Spike…"
"Let's get there, find out where they're going," said Spike.
"Anywhere's better than here," said Trevor.
They snuck outside and climbed atop the containers and ran towards the landing platform as they overheard the workers.
"Those containers were supposed to arrive yesterday!"
"We're lucky they arrived at all! Those Sand Blasters were a nightmare to deal with!"
"Quit talking! We have a deadline to meet!"
Suddenly, Sonar's ears perked again and she gasped as they heard the sound of an AT-ST coming around the corner of the warehouse nearby. The AT-ST soon appeared and turned in the direction of the Desert Raiders, but it did not see them as it looked around, it then continued walking around the side of the warehouse and past the Desert Raiders, who were hanging by the side of the container with their bare hands, praying it didn't turn to see them. They breathed a sigh of relief when it walked past, and they dropped down and ran as fast as they could, trying not to be seen. One of the workers turned towards the Landing pad.
"What's the status of those transports?"
"Almost ready for take off...destinations….Transport 1 to Sand Blast City, Transport 2 to Mercia-Avalon, Transport 3 to Robotropolis, Transport 4 to Downunda. Confirming destinations, get moving!"
"Yes, sir!" replied one of the pilots.
The Desert Raiders, who overheard the talking, quickly climbed up to the landing pad and ran up to Transport 3, and quickly climbed aboard through the open door, and hid behind the crates as best they could, praying nobody saw them. The pilot and co-pilot climbed aboard, and the Desert Raiders held their breath as they stood there.
"Co-Pilot, we need to get moving to Robotropolis! Everything ready?" said the pilot.
The Co-Pilot looked around, making sure containers and other items were secure for the flight, and he failed to notice the Desert Raiders hiding nearby. They tried so hard not to even breathe hard.
"All's well, come on, we're already late," said the co-pilot.
"Finally, let's take off," said the pilot.
The two of them made their way to the cockpit and closed the door. They then powered up the transport's engines and it slowly took off, leaving the Shamar region behind in its wake. The Desert Raiders breathed a sigh of relief, and Sonar, out of curiosity, opened a container and beamed at what she found; some food and water.
"Bingo!"
"Alright! I'm starving!" said Trevor.
"Yeah, they won't miss a few of these!" said Spike.
"Who wants one of these meilooruns?" said Sonar.
"Oooo, me!" said Trevor.
Spike grinned and held up his water.
"Here's to our new beginning, and hoping the other Freedom Fighters can help us."
"Here, here!" said Sonar.
"I'll drink to that!" said Trevor.
They drank their waters as the transport flew off towards the setting sun.
Sonic was inside one of the guestrooms at the Laurent house, trying to sleep, but he was soon awoken by the sound of frustrated grunting on the balcony outside. Sonic got out of bed and walked outside, where he saw Sally with NICOLE, looking frustrated.
"What about arming the people working in the factories and mines as a diversion?"
"Negative, Sally. A riot would alert the Empire of a potential revolt, and my calculations suggest the Empire would sooner massacre them with bombardment tactics."
"Ugh! Come on, NICOLE! We have to at least have some idea of how we can do this! I can't go back to those people and tell them that I have nothing!" said Sally.
"Current tactical options yield only a 19% success chance, Sally," said NICOLE.
"No! We gotta make it higher, NICOLE!" said Sally.
"Sal? What are you doing?" said Sonic.
"GAH! Oh, it's you, Sonic. Don't scare me like that, okay?" said Sally.
"Sorry. But what are you….are you planning on how to liberate Mobius?" said Sonic.
"And I can't figure out how to do it," said Sally.
"Sal, wasn't it you who agreed with the Rebellion's belief that liberation was a bit of a stretch?" said Sonic.
"I know that, Sonic! But after seeing all those people in the camp...I dunno...I felt I had to come up with something, anything, that shows we at least have a plan to get our homes back! If I don't...they're gonna think we're….giving up...I have to try...I need to try…" said Sally.
"Sally, we haven't given up on anything. In fact, this doesn't feel any different from back home all those years ago. You have to remember that we've had some progress against Robotnik. I mean, we've made a fool out of Robotnik in front of his Imperial superiors, especially after we blew up the Death Star," said Sonic.
"There's that….but all those people...this is so big, Sonic...bigger than how it was back home...all those people looking up to me...I gotta have an answer for this problem, Sonic," said Sally.
Sonic rolled his eyes.
"Sally. Look at me."
Sonic cupped Sally's chin and turned her head to look at him in the eye.
"Robotnik may have powerful allies backing him up, but he is far from invincible. We WILL defeat Robotnik, all we have to do is believe in ourselves, inspire others across the galaxy, & show that there is still hope. I know it's difficult & frustrating, but we need to be at our best. We need YOU to be at your best. If we give in to despair right now, then Robotnik & the Empire wins. If we inspire hope across the galaxy, then we can show that we're stronger than Robotnik & the Empire. Yes, we can't win every battle. Yes, we can't save everyone. But that doesn't mean we can't save our home. It's going to take time, but all we need to do is light that spark of rebellion to create a fire across the galaxy. All you have to do is give them a chance to prove themselves. Make ten men feel like a hundred."
Sally was surprised, confusing Sonic.
"What? Was it something I said?"
"That was...surprisingly inspiring, Sonic. I'm just not used to getting pep talks from you. Usually I'm the one giving you a pep talk when you're down."
"I...think it just came to me. We're a team, Sal; we're all in this together. We need to stop worrying about the big problem and focus on the little ones for a while. We may have lost Mobius, but the Rebellion must not lose the galaxy," said Sonic.
"I...yes. You're right Sonic...I picked a bad time to have a nervous breakdown, did I?"
Sonic laughed.
"Sal, you've been having nervous breakdowns since we were kids. You wanna know how I deal with anxiety?"
"Lemme guess...you run 200 kilometers in an hour?"
"Besides that. I just...breathe," said Sonic.
"Breathe? You're not one to stand around breathing."
"Sal, all you have to do is relax, then close your eyes...& breathe. Trust me, it works."
Sally closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths as Sonic suggested.
"So, how do you feel? Is it working?"
"You know what? I have plans already...for how we can start whipping this cell into shape. You're right, Sonic...we need to focus on gathering our resources so we can help the Rebellion. We help them...they help us."
Sonic was bewildered by Sally's sudden change in demeanor.
"I...uhhh..."
"Thank you, Sonic. What would I do without you?"
Sally then kissed Sonic's cheek, leaving him speechless. Sally giggled a bit.
"Uhhh...thank you? Or is it...you're welcome?"
Sally giggled again.
"Oh, Sonic Hedgehog."
