In a hanger at the Imperial dome eight young cadets in white uniforms and masks were being led by Zomom "And halt!" the cadets stopped in front of Slate. "Squad LRC-077 for your inspection sir!" Zomom said, "Cadets, you entered this facility as children. And in a few short weeks, you will leave as soldiers. By the time you complete your training, you will be prepared to serve your Emperor. Today, we will test your strength and resolve. Are you ready to become stormtroopers?". All the cadets stood to attention "Sir, yes, sir!" "At ease". The cadets removed their helmets, one of them was revealed to be Tails. He stared at his own helmet when "Conner. Hey, Connor Bringas, you in there". Tails then realized that was him he turned and saw a female lemur with grey fur "Oh, yeah, Sorry". The Lemur laughed "Wow. You must really be feeling the pressure" "Sorry, Tangle. Who's under pressure? Not the guy who's won every assessment". Tangle playfully pushed him "Physical assessment. Your brain doesn't work very well". Suddenly the floor under them began to descend surprising them. Slate watched "Cadets, you are descending into the Well and must climb out with all deliberate speed. You will be given the honour of serving as aides in Imperial Headquarters. Those who lose will be cleaning the quarters by hand to give the robots a break". Tangle grinned "I'll take that prize" she was suddenly pushed from behind "Not today, Tangle".
She turned and saw it was a meerkat who Tails pushed "Back off, Oleg". Oleg pushed him "You too, Conner. You're both going down". "The assessment begins in four… three". The cadets all put their helmets on "Two… One!". Parts of the walls came out becoming platforms and hovered across the room. Tails immediately ran forward and jumped from platform to platform getting higher up "See ya at the top!" "Yes, you will" Tangle said as she and the others followed. Tails thought he was about to make it but the platform under him electrocuted him. He fell back onto a different platform and was forced to quickly jumped before he was again. He managed to still stay ahead of the others. Slate watched "Conner is impressive. Perhaps too impressive. Make a note of that". Tails helped Tangle onto a platform when he had a strange feeling "Look out!". He pulled Tangle onto a different platform right before Oleg was about to pushed them from behind. Oleg fell of the platform and right back down to the bottom of the well. Tails mockingly saluted him before he and Tangle made it to the top "First again" "I'll get you tomorrow" "You said that yesterday". Slate applauded them "Quite a finish, cadets. Conner, Tangle, you both set course records. And, um, is it Skye?" "Yes, sir" a young yellow fox next to Tails answered. Slate nodded "You three are today's winners. But rest assured, your next trial will be a great challenge. Follow". Slate guided them through the corridors, a black gizoid walked past them and Tails subtly gave it a hand signal. Skye noticed this and stared at Tails suspiciously. The gizoid entered the hanger and flashed a light from his eyes to the outside.
In the distance Wave was using her mask to see the lights flashing "Naka-Five to Hurst. Looks like the kid passed the first test. He's inside the Imperial HQ". She walked over to Tex who was impatiently waiting. She then heard Sally over commlink "Roger, Naka-Five. Hurst standing by".
The Hurst was in space with Sonic and Sally waiting in the cockpit. Sonic looked impatient "We've been standing by for weeks. I'm sick of this". Sally smirked "You're worried about Tails" "I'm not worried about the kid. I'm worried about the op. What were we thinking, putting him undercover?". Sally scoffed "What were we thinking? This was your idea" "He's just not ready. And if he gets caught". Sally calmly shrugged "He hasn't gotten caught so far" "The minute he gets the decoder, Tex yanks him out of there". Sally lanced at him and raised her eyebrows "Uh, that's the plan". Sonic didn't seem to hear her "I should've done this myself". Sally rolled her eyes "Oh, yeah. You'd make quite a cadet".
The three cadets walked down a corridor, but Tails went a different way. Skye noticed and followed him. Tails went to a door that suddenly opened and Infinite stepped out. Tails stood to attention "Excuse me, sir, I have your new data pad. Would you like me to leave it on your desk?" "No. I'll take it now. Thank you, cadet" he took it and kept walking. Once he was out of sight Tails entered a code into the door opening it and he entered. Tails took off his helmet and took a device from the desk. He typed something into it and disc came out. Tails smirked and took it then decided to take the whole device. He headed to the door which opened revealing Skye "What do you think you're doing". Tails freezes but Skye suddenly pushes him inside and closed the door. Skye then snatched the disc "Figured it would be something like this" "It's not what you think" "I think this device has a built-in sensor, which would trigger that". He points up to a device above the door "You try walking out with this thing, the whole facility goes on lockdown" "Wait. Are you trying to help me?" "You really want to discuss this here and now?". Tails took the disc back "Mmm, not so much". He put the disc back into the device and back on the desk. The two walked out.
Outside Wave saw the doors close "Naka-Five to Hurst. Something went wrong. The kid didn't get the device and he didn't come out" "Copy that, Naka-Five. Give him one more day".
Sonic sighed "This decoder better be worth the risk" "What's the alternative. Do you want to stop that shard shipment or not? You know what the Empire could do with those". Sonic nodded "Nothing good" "So, we give Tails one more day".
That night Tails and Skye snuck out of the barracks and went into the armoury "What do you need that decoder for" "My friends need it to stop an Imperial shipment. How'd you know about the sensor". Skye crossed his arms and leaned against the wall "From my sister, Melody. She was the star cadet in this place. She knew the entire Imperial complex backwards and forwards" "What happened to her?" "Well, they told us she ran off. But I don't believe it. What were you doing breaking into Infinite's office? That's a great way to get shot". Tails shrugged "Long story, but I need that decoder. And I could use a partner who knows his way around" "What's in it for me?". Tails smirked "Do you really need a reason to mess with Empire?" he held out his hand. "No, I don't" Skye shook it. Tails nodded "Good. We have to finish in the top three tomorrow if we're gonna get back inside Imperial HQ" "Then let's do it".
The cadets were back in the pit with Slate and Zomom looking down at them "Today's assessment will be a little more challenging. You will need to shoot the targets to activate the panels necessary to climb out". The panels all had red lights. All the cadets fired at the lights releasing the platforms. They jumped up with some of the cadets pushing others back down. Sate grinned "Oleg seems to have taken your correctio to heart, Mr Zomom". Tangle jumped onto the platform Tails was on. He looked down and saw that Skye was too far "I'm not gonna make it". Tails sighed "Sorry, Tangle" he pushed her off the platform. Tails then climbed out of the pit making him first followed by Oleg and then Skye. Slate walked over to them "Cadets, follow Conner's example. There is no friendship in war. The only thing that matter is victory. Victory at any cost. Tomorrow' final trial will push all of you to your limits. The reward for success will be a training session aboard an Imperial walker". Tangle climbed out walked over to Tails "Connor, what the hell!?" "I did what I had to do". He walked away and Tangle glared at him "Good to know".
Angelica exited her office; she didn't notice Tails and Skye hiding. Once out of sight the two of them snuck into her office "How are you gonna reach up there" "Don't worry. I've been training to be a Shinobi" "Yeah, right. Who isn't?". Tais jumped on the desk and climbed up into a vent. He crawled through and Skye walked back out of the door. Tails made it back to Infinite's office. He looked down and saw Infinite sitting at his desk. There was a knock at the door "Come". The doors opened and Skye stepped in "Sir, your rocket shoe parts have been delivered. If you'll just sign off here, I'll bring them up". Infinite stood up and walked over to Skye "Obviously, there's been a mistake. What would I want with rocket shoe parts?" "No, mistake, sir. It says right here". With his back to his desk Infinite didn't see Tails slowly lifting the disc towards him with the Force. Infinite saw Skye glancing behind him and turned but the disc was out of sight "So, are you gonna sign it?". Infinite turned back around "Cadet, are you ignorant?". He leaned closer "I said this is a mistake" "Sir, yes, sir! Sorry, sir". Tail crawled back through the vent and then heard a voice beneath him "As usual, the assessments have proven quite illuminating". Tails opened the grate slightly and saw Slate talking to a hologram that was out of sigh "I believe we've identified two cadets, Conner and Tangle, that meet your special criteria, Inquisitor" "Excellent, Commandant. Tomorrow, I will arrive on Emerald Hill to test them myself. If the tests are conclusive, I will take them into custody" it was Zik.
Wave and Tex were waiting in the city when a disguised G-merl arrived "Did you get the decoder?". G-merl handed it to them "Good. Where's Tails?", the gizoid beeped "What? Why is he still there?". G-emerl's eyes projected a hologram of Tails "Guys, I know you're expecting me, but I have to stay at the Academy. There's this kid there, Tangle. And she'll get scooped up by the Inquisitor if I don't help him". Tex groaned "An Inquisitor? Is he out of his mind?" "You probably think I've lost my mind. And you're probably right. But it's your fault. A few months ago, I'd be walking out of here with enough rings to last a month. I've spent too long with you guys. Decode the hyperspace coordinates and get them to Naka-One. And if you're not too busy, attack the Academy tomorrow at noon. I could use the diversion so I can get out of here. Naka-Six out".
Sonic and Sally were still waiting in the Hurst when they heard Wave "Naka-Five to Hurst. Sending coordinates for Imperial jump route. If you leave now, you should still be able to intercept" "Coordinates received. We're heading out" Sally responded. Sonic smiled "Good work, Naka-Five, and you too, Naka-Six" "Uh… Naka-Six isn't with us". Sonic's face dropped "What? Where is he?". Sally jumped to hyperspace stopping Sonic from hearing the response "Naka-Five, repeat! Where's Naka-Six?" "Sonic, we're out of range. All we can do now is complete the mission and get back as soon as possible".
Tails put his hand over a sleeping Tangle waking her up "Huh?" "Shh. Come with me. Tangle, trust me. Please". Tangle paused and nodded. Tails released her and they both ran out of the room.
They were now in the barracks with Skye "Yes. So, you need to come with us and leave tomorrow" "No. No way. This is just another dirty trick. You're trying to get me busted out of the Academy". Tails nodded "Uh, yeah. But not the way you think. The Inquisitor" "Please. Inquisitor? If I got trained by him, I get a top rank in the Empire". Sky sighed "Tangle, you got a family?" "Uh, it's juts me and my Mum" "And how would she feel if she never saw you again? My sister disappeared from this place. And I'm betting it was the Inquisitor who took her away. So, unless you ready to say bye to your Mum forever". Tangle backed away looking scared "Okay. What's the plan?". Tails grinned and brought them both into a huddle "Simple. The three of us have to win tomorrow's challenge" "How's that gonna get us out of here?" "Because it gets us inside that walker".
Sally jumped the ship out of hyperspace in front of three ships "Sonic, there are three ships. And we'll only get one shot at this". Sonic was in the cockpit of the Sneak. His eyes were closed "The Chaos Shard resonates with the Force….". His eyes opened "It's in the middle ship" "You sure?" "I'm sure". He flew the Sneak towards the three ships which released TIEs.
The cadets were performing their final test. Tails was guiding Tangle and Skye up the platforms. Oleg was bellow and tried to shoot at Tangle "Look out!". Tails jumped down and was hit by the stun blast. He fell off the platform back down to the bottom. Tangle, Skye and Oleg climbed out and Sleet greeted them "Cadets Tangle, Skye and Oleg win the day and the prize". Tails climbed out and Skye helped him "You were supposed to be on the walker with us. Ow what?" "Stick to the plan. I'll find a way to get on board".
Sonic was in a dog fight with the TIEs "Come on, boys. Take the bait". The ships released the rest of the TIEs "Sally, you're good to go" "Copy that". The Hurst flew towards the ships who fired on her.
G-merl was standing next to a walker and casually planted a bomb on the leg. In a hanger nearby Skye, Tangle and Ogle were inside the cockpit of a walker with a crocodile pilot. Skye was asking him questions "So these control movement, and this fires the cannons. But what are these?" "Gyroscopics. Here, I'll show you". As the crocodile worked the controls Skye sneakily took his gun and handed it to a nervous Tangle. Tails was standing outside of the walker and spotted G-merl standing next to a transport". Tails nodded, G-merl ran and the leg of the walker outside blew up and it collapsed. The walker pilot leaned forward in his chair to see what happened and Tangle hot him in the back with a stun blast "Sorry". Ogle saw it "What're you doing?", Tangle shot him "Not sorry about you". Skye pushed the pilot of the chair and sat down. The blasts doors started to close, Skye made the walker head forwards. Zomom saw it "Commandant! Whoever's controlling that walker is part of the attack!". Transports outside fired on the walker damaging it.
Sonic was trying to avoid fire from the TIEs "Sally, that transport is about to make its jumps. Take the shot". Sally dived down and fired on the engines of the middle transport destroying it. Energy was released from the shards and destroyed the transport, and the shockwave threw the other two back. Sonic and Sally tried to fly away but the shockwave catching up "Sally!" "I see it! Come on!". The TIEs behind then were disintegrated by the blast. Sonic linked the Sneak back with the Hurst which then jumped to hyperspace.
Tails ran beside the walker and climbed up the loading stairwell. He jumped on top of the walker "Let me in!". The legs of the walker were hit, and it fell forward. The doors fell onto the head which stopped it from closing. Tails was lying on the ground when he saw a Stormtrooper standing over him with a blaster. The trooper was suddenly shot in the back by Tex. Wave then jumped down and helped Tails up "Thanks" "Don't mention it" "Give me a hand!". They ran over to the walker and opened the hatch releasing Tangle and Skye "You guys okay?" "Yeah. Let's just get out of here". Skye stopped and shook his head "Wait. Give me that blaster". Tangle turned to him "Uh, sure. Why?" "Because I'm staying". Tails stepped to him "What?" "It's the only way I'll ever find my sister". Wave used her mask to look ahead "Tails, we got bucketheads inbound". Tails sighed and looked back to Skye "I'll keep in touch". They ran to a speeder which Tex got in the driver's seat. As they speeded away Skye pretended to fire at them.
Skye was now in an office with Infinite and Slate. They were standing to attention facing Zik who just heard their report "This is a black mark, Commandant. I don't know this one" gestured to Skye. He then showed an image of Tails "But this one I know. This is the youngling I encountered on Tralius". Slate nodded "He went by the name Conner, sir. He escaped with another, Tangle. Cadet Skye here came very close to stopping the escape. He was part of the squad and knew the two well or thought so". Zik stared at Skye and smiled "How admirable. Well, Skye, let's take a walk, shall we? I want to know everything about your former friends".
The group were standing outside of the Hurst with Tangle. Sally was reassuring her "Tangle, we'll take you to your mother but you'll both have to go into hiding" "Yeah, from the Empire. No problem" "We'll help with that too". They entered the ship, but Sonic stopped Tails "So how was it, kid?". Tails smiled "Forgot what it was like to be on my own" "You miss it?" "No grumpy robots, no smelly lizards. It's good to be back". Sonic gave a slight chuckle "At ease, cadet" "Sir, yes, sir".