14 years after the rise of the Empire three Imperial Scarships flew through space in formation. On board the lead Scarship was an elderly blue Zeti who was kneeling before a hologram of the Raiju Lord, Eclipse "The Shinobi Knights are all but destroyed. And yet your task is not complete, Inquisitor. The Emperor has foreseen a new threat rising against him. The children of the Force, they must not become Shinobi". The Zeti bowed his head "Yes, Lord Eclipse" "Hunt down this new enemy. And if they will not serve the Empire, eliminate them along with any surviving Shinobi who will train them. This is my master's command" "And so it will be done".
On the planet of Emerald Hill at the top of a large metal tower a young two tailed fox with dark yellow fur was leaning against the railing. He was blankly staring out into the distance where there was a large city. Suddenly a large shadow covered him, he looked up and saw a Scarship fly overhead towards the city. The fox scowled at the Scarship before going back down to the ground, he got on an Extreme Gear board and followed the ship.
The fox entered the market place of the city and saw two imperial officers and stormtroopers taking an older male goat away. The fox saw that one of the officers, a large yellow Zeti, Zomom was holding a basket. The fox smirked and walked up to the officers looking very timid, he put his hands up in a begging fashion which also hid his face "Hey, mister, spare a fruit?" "Move along, kid" the zeti replied angrily. The fox nodded "Sorry, sorry. Not looking for trouble" he subtly took the commlink from the other officer as he walked away "Yet it sure has a way of finding me" the fox laughed. The goat was getting taken away when the officers heard something over the commlink "All officers to the main square! This is a code red emergency". The other officer, a male ox with a top hat and moustache, Slate stared at the goat "It's your lucky day". The zeti dropped the basket of fruit before he and the other imperials all run down the street leaving the ox "Stay on alert! Repeat, this is a code red" he turned and saw the fox talking into the commlink with a smug smile on his face. The goat picked up the basket "Thank you" "No. Thank you" the fox took a few fruits from the basket. The goat watched this surprised "What're you doing?" "Hey, I gotta eat" the fox ran away and started climbing the buildings of the market.
He headed to the main square and saw the officers speaking to another officer who was with a group of stormtroopers and two speeders carrying crates. "You called in a code red" the Slate said, "I'm not sure what you mean. My orders are to get these crates to the Imperial Portal". The fox laughed at the confusion when he suddenly felt something strange. He looked to his right and saw a blue hedgehog standing on the street with his back to him. The hedgehog seemed to sense something to because he was about to turn around. The Fox quickly ducked down out of sight; the hedgehog stared curiously at the building before walking towards the group of imperials. The fox watched the hedgehog stop next to a green lizard with pure white eyes and a brown vest. The hedgehog hit his leg and the lizard nodded. The hedgehog then stepped next to a purple swallow wearing white clothes and a Wispon mask except it was also purple. The hedgehog again hit his leg and the swallow did the same. The fox smiled "Interesting" he watched the Wispon walk past one of the speeders and threw a device on it without being seen. She walked away at a brisk pace and the device blew up destroying the speeder and killing one of the troopers. "Get those crates out of here. Keep them secure at all costs" Slate said to the remaining troopers on speeders. The fox watched "All costs, huh? I like the sound of that".
The speeders went through the streets but a transport being driven by the hedgehog got in front of him "How's it going?" he jumped out and shot the two troopers. More troopers appeared forcing him to take cover. Suddenly the lizard ran out from the ally and charged at the troopers. He picked on trooper up and threw him directly at the other. The fox then jumped down onto one of the speeders. The hedgehog stared at him surprised, the fox mockingly saluted "Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!" he speeded off. The hedgehog and lizard jumped on the other speeders and chased after him. The fox raced through the streets when the Wispon suddenly landed right behind him on the speeder "Pretty gutsy move, kid!". She took out a blaster and shot one of the crates detaching it "If the big guy catches you, he'll make sure you only have one tail. Good luck" she said mockingly. The fox raced of with the remaining crate but went down a street with stormtroopers, they were suddenly shot. The fox looked behind him and saw that it was the hedgehog who was still chasing him "Who are these guys?". They made it to the highway outside of the city where two stormtroopers on speeders started chasing the three of them. The fox's speeder got hit but he managed to keep control. The lizard pulled put a red sword and slowed down. He hit one of the speeders with the sword cutting it in half with ease. The other trooper got next to the hedgehog who smiled innocently "Okay, I give up. You caught me" "What?" "Just kidding". He threw a detonator to the trooper which then blew up. The hedgehog then released his cargo so he could go faster. The lizard looking annoyed stopped and saved the two crates "If Sonic catches that kid, I'm gonna end him". Sonic chased the fox off the highway and then got ahead of the fox and stopped in front of him forcing him to also stop. The fox sighed "Who are you?" "I'm the guy who was stealing that crate" "I need this more than you". Sonic smiled "Maybe, but I have plans for those crates. Today's not your day". The fox saw a TIE fighter flying towards them making them smirk "Mmm, day's not over". Sonic could hear the fighter "Uh, wonderful" he ran as the fighter fired down destroying his speeder. He then saw the fox race a way "Have a good one!" he said back to Sonic mockingly. Sonic smirked "This is Naka-One. I need a lift" he said to a commlink.
The Fox raced across the grassy planes with the TIE-fighter right behind him. He looked nervous "At least I know these are worth something" he said trying to distract himself. A blast hit his speeder destroying it and knocking him off. He stood up and saw the fighter making another pass but right before it shot at him it got shot out of the sky. The fox turned around and saw Sonic standing at the door of a ship "You want a ride?". The fox saw more Fighters coming and ran over to the crate and activated its hover system. He then ran and jumped with the crate and made it inside the ship. Sonic helped him bring the crate inside. The fox saw the Wispon and the lizard inside, they both glared at him. The fox didn't care and opened up the crate, he saw that it was full of imperial blasters "Oh! Do you have any idea what these are worth on the black market?". The lizard pulled the crate away from him "Yeah and you're not getting any of it". Sonic climbed up a ladder on the side of the wall "Keep an eye on our friend here". He entered the cockpit of the ship where there was a black, yellow, and grey gizoid directly in front of him. His right leg was silver not matching the rest of his body. In the pilot's seat there was a brown chipmunk with reddish hair and a blue vest. She was doing her best to avoid the fighters "You said this was a routine op. What happened down there?". The gizoid also beeped which annoyed Sonic who sighed "G-merl, please. It's been a difficult morning".
The chipmunk smiled "He has a point, love. We've got TIE fighters closing in". The ship shook "Sally, how about a little less attitude and a little more altitude?". She turned the ship which threw Sonic into the co-pilot's seat "If I didn't know better, I'd think you did that on purpose" "If you knew better, we wouldn't be in this situation. Seriously, Sonic, what happened?". Back in the cargo bay, the fox was sitting on the crate "You have a ship. I don't think one crate which will let me stay alive will hurt you that much". The lizard pushed his shoulder "You have no idea what we need these for" "And I don't want to. I just want off this ship" "I'd be happy to throw you off right now. Instead-". Sally was watching this on the screen, she laughed "A kid tripped you up?" "Aren't you a little busy at the moment". He then looked to the screen and saw that the fox was gone. He got on the Pa system "Tex, Wave. Where's the kid". Tex went over to a small compartment "Calm down, chief. He's in-" he opened it but there was nothing inside "Uh… here". The fox was crawling through the small vents of the ship. Sally smirked "Very creative. Sounds like someone I used to know", Sonic sighed and left the cockpit as the ship left the atmosphere. The fox fell out of the vents and landed on a chair in front of a window showing the black abyss of space. He was amazed "I'm... in space!". The ship was then hit "And I'm about to die!". Sonic ran into the turret "Sonic, buy me time while I calculate the jump to hyperspace" "Got it". The fox watched one of the fighters get shot down "Whoa!" Wave then grabbed his shoulder and threw him off the chair" she was now not wearing her mask. She got on the chair and started firing a turret. The fox stood behind her "Hi, what's your name?". Tex then grabbed him "My names Tex, you rat" "Entering hyperspace". They all looked out the window and the fox was amazed as as space turned blue.
In the city, a grey jackal wearing a mask was listening to Slate "They knew our protocol and were waiting in position". The Jackal sighed "I've no doubt. You're not the first on Emerald Hill hit by this crew" "That's a relief. I assume that's why you're here, Agent Infinite". Infinite removed his mask revealing a scar on his right eye "The Imperial Security Bureau pays attention to patterns. When the Empire's operations are targeted on an ongoing basis, it could signify something more than the theft of a few crates. It cold signify the spark of a rebellion. Next time they make a move, we'll be waiting for them, to snuff out that spark catches fire".
Tex took the fox to the cockpit "Let me go!" he said angrily. Sally turned to him "Calm down. We're taking you back to Emerald Hill" "Right now? With the Imperials chasing us?" "We lost the TIEs and the Hurst can scramble its signature so they won't recognise us when we return". The fox smiled "Oh, alright. Just drop me off at the city with my blasters and-" "They're not our blasters" he turned and saw Wave and Sonic at the door. "We can't go back to the city yet. The job's not done" Sonic told him. He then crossed his arms "So, what's our name?". The fox paused before answering "Tails", Tex laughed "Your parents weren't very creative". Tails looked angry at the mention of his parents but didn't say anything.
The Hurst landed on a different part of the planet near a small village. They all got out carrying the crates. Tails looked to Tex "What're we doing?" "If I told you, I'd have to kill you…. In fact, I might just kill you anyway". Wave turned to him "Grab a crate, pull your weight". They entered the village "I've lived on Emerald Hill my whole life. Never been here" Tails said, "The Imperials don't advertise it. The locals call it Finitevus" Tex responded. Tails saw loads of villagers just sitting in the streets looking starved. Wave nodded "Named after the governor of the Outer Zones. He kicked these folks off their farms when the Empire wanted their land" "Anybody who tired to fight back got arrested for treason".
Sonic and Sally were with a blue otter with an eyepatch on his right eye and wearing a black coat. Sonic opened a crate and showed him the blaster, he laughed "Any problems in procuring these lovely ladies?" "Nothing we couldn't handle, Shellbreaker. Your intel was accurate. This time". Sally nodded "We got the goods and took a bite out of the Empire. That's all that matters". Shellbreaker smiled as his robots came and carried the crates away "Business is all that matters. But I love that you don't know that" he gave Sonic a handful of rings. Sonic looked irritated "Keep going" "I could. Or I could stop and trade the rest of the bounty for another bit of intel you've been begging after". Sally looked hopeful "The Downunda prison?" "The Downunda prison".
Tex opened up the crate he was pushing revealing fruit "Who wants free grub!" he yelled to the villagers who came towards them. Tails and Wave opened their own crates and they handed out the food to the villagers. One came right up to Tails and hugged him "Thank you. Thank you so much". The villager walked away, and Tails looked guilty "I… I didn't do anything".
Tails was siting by the Hurst waiting when he thought he could hear a strange humming coming from inside it. He slowly went inside and entered the main hall of the ship. He heard it coming from a specific room, Tails took out a small tool and started working on the control panel. G-merl saw him from the end of the hall and walked away without being seen. Tails managed to get the door open, he entered what looked to be one of the ships quarters. He went over to the bed and he began examining the side until a small drawer came out. He found a chaos drive inside although Tails didn't know that "Might be worth something" he put it in his bag. He then opened the drawer further to find a lightsaber, this he did recognise from stories. He stood up and ignited it revealing a blue blade. "Whoa" a huge grin formed on Tails' face as he examined it. The doors behind him opened. He turned and saw Sonic glaring at him with his arms crossed "Careful. You'll cut your arms off". G-merl and Sally then appeared with the former beeping in an amused tone. Tails looked curiously at the lightsaber "I know you're not going to believe me, but it felt like something was telling me to open that drawer" "You're right, I don't believe you. Now hand me the lightsaber".
Tails was amazed "But this is the weapon of a Shinobi. Where did you get this?" "Give it to me, and get out" Sonic replied coldly. Tails deactivated the lightsaber and handed it the Sonic before leaving the room. Sonic split the lightsaber in half and placed the pieces on both sides of his belt "Now we'll see". Tails entered the ship's kitchen where Wave was drinking "Not too good at following directions, are you?" "Not so much. You?". Wave laughed "Never been my speciality". Tails smiled "So who are you people? I mean I'm a thief. I don't know what you guys are" "We're not exactly anything. We're a crew. A team. In some ways a family". Tail liked the sound of that "What happened to your real family?" "The Empire. What happened to yours?". The door opened and Tex waked in "Sonic wants us in the common room". G-merl entered and Tex turned to him and pointed at Tails "If he tries anything, sound the alarm or shoot him". Tex and Wave left the room and G-merl stood in front of an annoyed Tails. In the common room Sonic was speaking to the others "We have a new mission. Shellbreaker acquired the flight plan for an Imperial transport ship full of Downunda prisoners". Sally nodded "Most of the prisoners were soldiers for the old Republic". Tex sighed "I owe them. They saved some of my people" "Mine too" Sally replied. Sonic crossed his arms "If we're going to save them, we've got a tight window. They've been taken to an unknown slave labour camp. If we don't intercept this ship, we'll never find them. I have a plan but-" they heard a thud coming from a compartment. Sonic went over and opened it to find Tails listening, Tex grabbed him and threw him out "I ordered G-merl to keep watch!". G-merl then ran in and beeped "Yeah, we noticed" Wave told him. Tex growled "Can we please get rid of him". Wave got between them "No, we can't, He knows too much". Sally helped Tails up "We don't have time to take him back anyway. We need to move. I'll keep an eye on him".
The two of them were now in the cockpit "Look, I'm all for sticking it to the Empire but not this much. Who does that?" "We do". The ship jumped out of hyperspace and saw a transport in front of them "Keep quite unless you want to blow up". Sally activated the commlink "Imperial Transport 651, this is Starbird, coming around" "State your business" "Bounty. We captured an additional Downunda prisoner, a Tasmanian devil and have transfer orders to place him with you". They waited a moment then "We have received no such orders" the transport released two fighters. Sally shrugged "That's fine. We already got paid by Governor Finitevus. If you don't want the oversized devil, I'll jettison it here. I'll let you explain to your superiors why the Empire has one less slave". There was a pause and then "Permission to dock. Bay 1".
They docked with the ship, two stormtroopers entered the bay and opened the door and saw Sonic and Wave with Tex who was handcuffed. The dolphin stormtrooper stared at Tex "That's not a Tasmanian Devil" "Haven't you ever seen a rare hairless Devil before?" Sonic said. Tex tried to imitate a Devils growl however not very well "Oh, forget it". He rushed forward and punched both the troopers unconscious "Told you they wouldn't buy it" "You didn't exactly give them a chance to buy it".
Sally and Tails were listening over commlink "No troopers. Security's soft" there was suddenly static "Naka-One, come in. Naka-Four? Naka-Five? Comm's down…. No, not down. Jammed". They both looked out and saw a Scarship jump out of hyperspace "This whole thing was a set up!" Sally said as she got the ship ready. She sighed and turned to Tails "You need to board the transport and warn them. I need to be ready to take off or none of us stands a chance". Tails looked sacred and shook his head "No. I can't do that. I'm just a pickpocket. I can't-" "I know you can. Sonic told me what you did on Emerald Hill. You're better than you think". Tails looked up and saw the Scarship descending upon them. "Listen, our crew boarded that transport to rescue Imperial prisoners. They have no idea they walked into a trap. No idea what's coming. You have to warn them, Tails". Tails thought for a moment before sighing "Oh, I can't believe I'm doing this!", Sally smiled "I can".
Infinite and a squad of stormtroopers boarded the ship and was met by a weasel officer "Welcome aboard, Agent Infinite. The insurgents are headed for the brig where quite the surprise awaits". Elsewhere Sonic and Tex were at the cell door placing a detonator on it "This is going better than our last op" Tex said. "It's a trap! We gotta get out of here" they turned and saw Tails running towards them "Sally sent me. It's a trap". The cell doors suddenly opened revealing a squad of troopers. The three of them ran with Tails using an electric sling shot device on his wrist. It fired a ball of energy that hit a pipe on the wall causing small explosion in front of the troopers, slowing them down. "Where's Wave and G-merl?" Tails asked, "They'll be fine. They know the plan" Sonic answered. Wave was in the control centre when G-merl started beeping "Gem, stop grumbling and work that gravity generator. I've got the back up ready". Sonic and the others were running down a corridor and saw Infinite's group at the end "Push on" "What!?" Tails yelled. Sonic smiled and the gravity suddenly turned off, everyone started to float. Sonic fired on the troopers as the three of them crawled on the walls to move.
Infinite tried to get closer to them. Wave placed detonators on the control console before leaving with G-merl. The gravity suddenly turned back on, Wave and G-merl reached the airlock and saw the others running towards her. "Where are the prisoners?" "No prisoners! I want you to man the nose gun. Gem, tell Sally to take off!" "Right". The three of them entered the ship, Tails and Tex were right behind them with the former at the back. Infinite caught up and grabbed Tails "Ah, let go!". Tex turned around and took out his red sword which fired a laser out of the tip at a trooper next to Infinite. But he saw more stormtroopers coming and they fired at him, he sighed "Sorry kid! You did good". He ran through the airlock leaving Tails with the imperials looking terrified. Tex made it to the storage bay "We're out of here!" he heard Sally over the PA. Guilt came over his face as the ship took off, he fell back into the walls and slid down. Sally flew the ship away "Attention, renegade ship. Surrender or be destroyed. This is your only warning" "Blow it out of your exhaust vent. Wave". Wave in the turret controls presses the detonator, destroying the prison ship with in the Scarship's hanger. Wave sighed "Ugh, I can't see it from here. How did it look?" "Awesome, Wave. As always". Sally jumped the ship to hyperspace and gave a sigh of relief. Sonic and Wave entered the cockpit "The whole thing was a setup" "You think Shellbreaker was in on it?" Wave asked. Sally shrugged "He'd sell his mother to Nerbs for a couple of rings. But we're a source of income for him. Odds are he didn't know". Tex entered and sat in the final seat not saying anything. Sally smiled "The kid did all right", Sonic nodded "Yeah he did. Where is he, Tex?". Tex sighed "He… He got grabbed by that ISB agent" "What!?" the other three said. "The kid got grabbed okay" "Tex!" "Oh, come on. We were gonna drop him off anyway. They'll go easy on him. He's just a kid".
Tails was sitting in a cell when Infinite entered, Tails put on a brave face as Infinite spoke "I am Agent Infinite of the Imperial Security Bureau and you are…" "The Iron King". Infinite silently stared at him "Look I just met those guys today. I don't know anything" "You're not here for what you know, Jun. You're here to be used as bait upon our return to Emerald Hill". Tails scoffed "Bait. They left me, remember? They're not going to come for me. People don't do that". Infinite stared at him before eventually leaving "Search him then secure him here". Two troopers entered the cell, Tails tried to stop them taking his bag "No, don't. Those are-" they hit him to the ground and walked out with the bag. Tails stood back up and rolled his eyes "'You have to warn them, Tails'. What was I thinking?". He took out the Chaos Drive he hid on himself; he threw it against the wall in frustration and sat back down. He sighed and closed his eyes to compose himself. He had a strange image in his head, he saw a shape that looked vaguely like a person. Tails focused on the image trying to make it closer and clearer. It hurt his head, but he managed to make the image slowly form into a chameleon then "This is Master Espio the Chameleon". Tails jumped and opened his eyes; he saw the chaos drive now floating in front of him projecting a hologram of the very same chameleon. "I regret to report that both our Shinobi Order and the Republic have fallen with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning to any surviving Shinobi. Trust in the Force" Tails watched the message with astonishment.
Tex was shaking his head "No! No, no! No way! You cannot be serious!", Sally angrily turned to him "It's our fault he was there!" "Come on, Sally! We just met the kid! We're not going back for him!". Wave sighed "They'll be waiting for us. We can't save him". G-merl then beeped making Sally smile "That's two against two. Sonic, you have the deciding vote".
The stormtroopers were standing at the cell door and could hear Tails inside "You guys know the Emperor Solaris is my grandfather right. I'm gonna make sure he-" they suddenly heard him coughing. The troopers opened the door and ran inside but didn't see anything. Tails hid at the side of the stairs and once they passed him, he ran out of the door "Bye, guys" he closed the door. He went to a storage room where he found his stuff. He then looked through a rack of helmets and found one for foxes. He put it on and the commlink activated "The delay was insignificant. The transport ship Agent Infinite diverted will dock on Chemical Plant within two hours. The prisoners will be offloaded to work Spice Mine K-76". The frequency then changed, and he could hear a different voice "This is Stormtrooper LS-005, reporting to Agent Infinite" "Infinite here" "Sir, the prisoner's gone". Tails could hear surprise in Infinite's voice when he said "What? I never dreamed the insurgents would be foolish enough to attack a Scarship. How did they get aboard?" "Sir, the Fighters didn't free him. He, uh-". A different voice then came on "Agent Infinite! There's a security breach in the lower hanger". Tails gave a slight laugh before going through a vent hatch "I don't know how, but the Fighter ship approached without alerting our sensors". He smiled "They came back!". Tails raised his head and hit the roof of the vent "Ow! I don't believe it" "Order all stormtroopers to converge on the lower hanger. I'll meet them there". Tails cleared his throat "This is Trooper LS-123, reporting intruders in the upper hanger. I need support!" "Squads five through eight divert to the upper hanger. The rest converge as ordered".
The Hurst landed in the hanger; Sally stayed at the door with a blaster "Find Tails. I'll be ready" while the rest ran out, Wave quickly stopped and sprayed paint on the floor before following the others. Sonic looked to Tex "Hold this bay until we get back" "And this time try not to leave until everyone's back aboard" Wave added. Tex stopped "That was not my fault!" "Well, that's debatable". The three of them stopped and Tails landed in between them and took off his mask. Infinite and troopers appeared at the end of the corridor. They all ran back to the ship, Sonic got on his commlink "Naka-One to Hurst, we're leaving" "That was quick". They all ran aboard with Tails being pushed by Tex "This time you board first". Sonic was the last one on, the ramp closed, and the ship took off. Infinite and the troopers got behind the crates and fired on the ship. Infinite then noticed the paint on the floor which looked like a lightsaber and wings. He smelled the paint and his one visible eye opened wide "Take cover!". They ran just before the paint exploded creating a hole into space. Infinite grabbed into part of the floor to save himself from getting sucked in. A trooper in front of him lost his grip and fell back screaming. Infinite caught him by the hand, saving him "Turn on the shield". A trooper near the door made his way to a button on the wall and pressed it. The shield activated saving everyone and they watched the Hurst escape and jump to hyperspace.
Sally sighed in relief as Tails entered the cockpit, she smiled "Welcome aboard. Again" "Thanks. Thank you. I… I didn't think you'd come back for me". Sally set the coordinates "I'll get you home now. I'm sure your parents must be worried sick". Tails' face dropped "I don't have parents", Sally turned to him and his face went blank "And you've got somewhere else to be". Sonic and Wave then entered along with G-merl. They sat down and Tails suddenly remembered something "I know where they're really taking the prisoners from Downunda. Have you heard of Chemical Plant, it's near where they do the Final Rush?". They all suddenly looked worried, Wave turned to him "Slaves sent there last a few months, maybe a year" "It's practically a death sentence" Sally added. Tails pondered and decided to follow their lead "Then I guess we better go save them". They all looked confused "We?" "I've come this far. Might as well finish the job". Sally smiled and turned back to the controls "Setting course for Chemical Plant".
Sally flew the ship into Chemical Plant and headed for the mining structure. She saw a group of Downunda slaves being led by a group of troopers. She fired down on them taking the latter out, the slaves cheered. Inside the ship, the others were getting ready "Try not to get killed. I don't wanna carry your body out" Tex. The doors opened, they ran out and took cover from blaster bolts. Sonic nodded to Tails who then went around the crates while the troopers where firing at the others. He made it to the prisoners "Don't worry, I'm here to help!" he used a tool to release their restrains on the prisoners who then all ran to the troopers and very quickly dealt with them. TIE fighters then appeared behind the Hurst and fired but Sally managed to make them scatter with the rear gun but an Imperial transport then appeared forcing Sally to move the ship out of the way. The transport landed, releasing Infinite and more troopers. They charged and fired on the group who were forced to take cover. Tex and Tails saw a Koala prisoner run out of cover and get shot in the shoulder, they ran out and Tex helped him up "I've got him". Tails looked where the Koala was running and saw a child getting chased by a stormtrooper. There was too much heavy fire from the stormtroopers, and he was forced to run back to the others.
They saw the Hurst getting chased by a fighter, Sonic commlink activated "I can't maintain my position!" "Go! Lead the TIEs away and give yourself manoeuvring room!" "I'm not leaving you behind". Sonic looked around and saw a large cargo container "No you're not. We're doing a 22 pickup". Wave turned to him "Seriously?" "You have a better option?" "Alright, I'll be back. Make sure you're ready". Tails looked confused "You gonna let me in on what the secret is?", Sonic sighed "Kid, I'm about to let everyone in on the secret". Sonic calmly stepped out of cover and walked towards Infinite and the troopers while easily avoiding blaster fire. Infinite told his men to stop firing and watched as Sonic put the part of his lightsaber together and ignited it. Infinite and his troopers were stunned for a moment then "All troopers focus your fire on the… on the Shinobi!". The troopers fired but Sonic managed to deflect all of it. Tex stood up "Everyone, into the container!" he took the wounded prisoner inside while the rest followed. Tails saw the wounded Koala desperately reaching out to where the child was running. Tails sighed and ran around the fight towards the child, but Infinite saw him. Sonic was backing away towards the container "Tex! Sally's incoming" "We have a new problem. I think you inspired the kid into, well, doing something like you would do!".
Tails was chasing a stormtrooper who was chasing the koala child across a railing. Tails fired his slingshot device at the trooper knocking him off the railing "Are you alright?" Tails asked the young koala when "It's over for you, Shinobi". They turned and saw Infinite advancing on them with a blaster "A Master and an apprentice. Such a rare find these days" "I work alone" Tails responded when "Not this time!". The Hurst suddenly rose up next to the railing with Sonic standing on top and the cargo container being carried underneath. Infinite fired on the hedgehog, but Sonic deflected the shot back at him, knocking him off the railing. "Jump, kid!" Sonic yelled, Tails and the Koala did so, and the ship took off.
Later the Hurst was docked with a small shuttle, the crew said their goodbyes to the prisoners who entered the shuttle. The Koala and his child were the last to leave, he smiled at the Hurst crew "If you ever need help. Downunda will be there" "Thank you" Sonic said. They entered the shuttle and closed the airlock. Tails' face dropped "So I guess you're dropping me off next" the others stared at each other.
The ship was back on Emerald Hill, Tails walked out of the ship where Sonic and Sally were waiting. Tails stopped, reached into his bag and took out the chaos drive "If you're a Shinobi then this is probably important" he threw it to Sonic who was surprised he didn't have to say anything. Tails then walked away. Sonic examined the chaos drive and Sally smirked "He opened it. He passed the test". Tails went back to the top of his tower from the beginning and entered a small room full of random junk. He then realised someone was behind him "What's the Force?". Sonic entered and stood in front of him "The Force is everywhere. It surrounds us, penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. And it's strong with you, Tails. Otherwise, you never would have opened the chaos drive". Tails didn't understand "What does that mean for me?" "It means I'd like to offer you a choice. You can stay here, live a difficult but quiet life. Or you can come with us, come with me, and learn the ways of the Force. Learn what it truly means to be a Shinobi". Tails was taken aback by the offer "I used to listen to stories of the Shinobi. But the Empire told us they were wiped out" "Not all of us". Sonic left the let Tails think it over on his own.
Sonic was in his quarters of the ship holding the chaos drive. He concentrated and opened it in front of him. It again showed the Espio "This is Master Espio the Chameleon. I regret to report that both our Shinobi Order and the Republic have fallen with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder to any surviving Shinobi. Trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain. Avoid Mobotropolis. Avoid detection. Be secret... but be strong. We will each be challenged: our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere, and, in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you always" the message ended. Sonic opened his eyes and saw that Tails was now standing at the door.
Onboard a Scarship, Infinite was speaking to a hologram of the Inquisitor "Excuse the intrusion, Inquisitor. But in the course of my duties, I have encountered a cell of insurgents. The leader of that cell made good use of a lightsaber". This interested the elderly zeti "Ah, Agent Infinite, you did well to call".