The Hurst was in the middle of a battle between the freedom Fighter ships and Imperials. Sally spoke to her fighter escort "Making for the freighter. Keep the TIEs off our back" "Copy that, Hurst". Sally watched the fighters do their work "Dawn-leader" "Phew. Kind of nice having a squadron watching our backs". "We always did alright on our own" she heard Sonic say form the top guns, "True, but I prefer life with our new fleet to flying solo" "You were solo?" Sonic jokingly asked. The Sneak suddenly flew in and shot the cargo being carried by the freighter "Cargo is liberated" Sally heard Wave say. Sally was about to fly in to get the cargo when two more Imperial ships jumped out of transports. Tails was on the bottom gun trying to shoot down the fighters being released. Wave saved Dawn-one, the leader of the squadron right below Sally from a TIE. Sally then heard someone over commlink "Hurst, we're taking heavy fire. We must withdraw" "Acknowledged, Commander Bristles, but first we're getting what we came for. Tex, get ready to pull those crates aboard". Tex was in the cargo hold trying to get a lock on the cargo with the tractor beam. "Come on. Come on" the crates got in range "Got ya!" he pressed a button locking crates onto the ship "Cargo locked!". Sally smiled "Hurst to Dawn Squadron, mission accomplished". Wave quickly docked with the Hurst and everyone jumped to hyperspace, Sonic made sure to get one last fighter before the Hurst did.
Angelica was sitting at her desk while Infinite was pacing in front of her "Agent Infinite, I've exhausted every resource to find information about the insurgents, but there is nothing to be found! What more does Governor Finitevus expect?". Infinite answered sounding slightly tired "He expects Emerald Hill to be punished, Minister Angelica. His own Scarship was demolished by these Freedom Fighters. He takes that somewhat personally". Angelica was getting frustrated "Well, I've doubled patrols, set up checkpoints, established curfews. I honestly don't know what do" "Perhaps that is the problem". Angelica had to use every ounce of her will to not look afraid as she saw Eclipse at the door "You lack imagination, Minister, when it comes to producing results" he stepped in. Angelica did her best to keep her eyes on him "Lord Eclipse, with all due respect, you and Governor Finitevus are asking for miracles. If the Freedom Fighters have left Emerald Hill, then-" "If the Freedom Fighters have left, then we must draw them back. And if they are here, we must draw them out. We will squeeze Emerald Hill until someone reveals the whereabouts of these traitors". Angelica could no longer keep her gaze and instead stared at her desk "I'm sorry, my lord. I am merely a public official. I have no experience with such brutal tactics" "You can explain that to Governor Finitevus when you visit him". He turned and headed for the door, "Visit him?" "He expects you tomorrow, to account for your failure" "But I… I'm needed here. I… I couldn't possibly get away!". Infinite followed Eclipse but then turned to Angelica, with slight sympathy in his eyes "Not to worry, Minister. I and… and Lord Eclipse will manage in your absence" he nodded to her before leaving. Angelic fell back in her chair and held her head in her hands.
The group were now in the command ship's bridge with Commander Bristles who was a yeti crab with a yellow shell "You and your crew have proven invaluable to our fleet, Captain Acorn. The fuel acquired in your convoy attacks has helped keep us one step ahead of Imperial patrols". Sally nodded "Thank you, Commander Bristles. I'm just sorry our intel about shield generators being on that shipment was wrong" "Perhaps with your next attack, Sally" Amy said. No one noticed Sonic sitting on a ladder looking very bored. G-merl then entered beeping rapidly "What is the meaning of this?" Bristles asked angrily. Sonic shrugged "An incoming transmission. Play it, Gem". Sally glared at him and cleared her throat before turning to G-merl "Uh, Gem, cloak us with a one-way transmission". G-merl projected a hologram of Ben from Emerald Hill, Tails smirked "Hey, it's old Ben". "I can't see you, but I can hear you, my friends. Time is short, and there's someone here desperate to speak with you. I told her I couldn't find you, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She says she needs your help". Sonic finally stood up "We're always ready to help someone in need" "Yeah, well, this one's different". Angelica then appeared on the hologram looking scared, "Minister Angelica?" Sally said surprised.
Tex scoffed "We can't trust her. She's an Imperial" "Please, I beg you. Listen to my request". Sonic stared coldly at her "End transmission now, Gem" "Wait! Minister, what do you want?" Sally asked, "My life is in danger. I need you to give me safe passage off Emerald Hill. I assure you my intentions are sincere. To prove it, I will trade secret Imperial information". Wave and Tails stared at each other before the former asked "You're defecting from the Empire?" "Yes, I am". Sonic closed his eyes "She's telling the truth. I can sense her fear". "So, what do you have to trade?" Sally asked, "A list of Freedom Fighter sympathizers on Emerald Hill and other nearby systems". Bristles looked sceptical "How come these sympathisers have not been arrested" "Some have powerful friends in the Senate. Imperial command watches them but can do nothing. I know you need allies. Get me off Emerald Hill, and I will give you the list". Wave shook her head "We shouldn't even consider this. It's obviously a trap" "There's something else. I've discovered the true reason the Empire came to Emerald Hill". Sally rolled her eyes "We already know that. The Empire has a factory and they're stripping the planet's resources to fuel it" "No. There is another reason known only to a few and ordered by the Emperor himself". Everyone else started to discuss but since this was his home she was talking about Tails made his decision "We have to do this".
Amy and Sonic turned to him "I agree" "So do I". Sally nodded "Alright, if Commander Bristles approves of the mission" "I believe it could be worth the risk". Sonic nodded "Minister, we'll get you out. Send us your coordinates". Angelica sighed in relief "Thank you". The message ended and Sonic left the room with Sally staring at him disapprovingly before following. She caught up in the corridor "Hey, what's with you. Do you have any idea how inappropriate that was?" "Actually, no I don't" he answered while still walking. Sally stopped him "You can't just tell G-merl to project a hologram in a secret debriefing without authorization". Sonic turned angrily to her "Authorization, procedure, that's what's bothering me" "Alright, talk to me" Sally said calmly. Sonic sighed "After this mission, I want us to go back on our own. Fighting alongside soldiers isn't what I signed up for". Sally pushed him into a small room "You seem to be forgetting these soldiers helped save your life" "And I'm grateful. But that doesn't mean I want to join their little army. When you and I started together, it was rob from the Empire, give to the needy. Now we're getting drawn into some kind of military thing. I don't like it". Sally sighed "Sonic, we are fighting a bigger fight, but it's still the right fight". Tails walked past and noticed them, he listened "I survived one war. I'm not ready for another one. I saw what it did" "To the Shinobi?" "To everyone".
Later the group were on a stolen civilian transport with G-merl piloting. "So, we're not takin the Hurst and we're letting G-merl drive?" Wave asked clearly not fond of the plan. Sally regretfully nodded "After our stunt on Flame Core, there's a good chance the Empire will be able to track it" "Great mission so far" Tex said sarcastically. G-merl mockingly mimicked the movements of a transport robot before taking off. Sonic holstered his blaster "So what's the plan" "We've received intel that Minister Angelica is scheduled to visit Finitevus tomorrow. She leaves Emerald Hill via a shuttle at 1800" Sally answered. Tails nodded "We'll just wait at the hanger, steal the shuttle and take her to safety" "Why are we helping her again?" Tex asked. "Because it's the right thing to do" Tails answered determinately but this didn't convince Tex so Tails added "Her list will help us out".
The transport jumped out of hyperspace near Emerald Hill "Shuttle 583, this Emeral Hill control. You are cleared for landing". Tails suddenly looked troubled; Sonic turned to him "What is it?" "I don't know. I feel… I feel so cold". The ship flew over the capital which now had multiple Scarships flying above it "It's gotten worse" Tails said horrified by the sight of his home. They landed in a bay and the group exited "Alright, Tex, G-merl, stay with the shuttle in case we need a quick exit" Sally told them. The rest headed for Bay 23 where Angelica was leaving from. The made it to the street outside of the hanger bay and saw two guards. Sonic smirked and turned to the others "Okay, you guys repel down from the roof" "What about you?" Sally asked confused. Instead of answering Sonic saw one of the troopers walked down the street. He followed it until it was out of sight of the other troopers "Hey, did we meet in basic training. You look familiar". The others then saw Sonic beat the trooper to the ground and drag him into an alley.
Eventually he came back out wearing the troopers armour and helmet. Tails smirked "I'm jealous. I only have helmets" they all climbed up one of the buildings and made it to the rood of the hanger bay. Tails then saw Angelica arriving on a speeder but was then surprised to see Infinite with her "Oh, fantastic". Sonic was on the ground and watched the two of them exit the speeder "Thank you, Agent Infinite. But there's really no need for an escort" "Lord Eclipse asked me to make sure you reached your shuttle safely". Sonic followed them inside. Wave jumped down behind them and fired on them Infinite took out his blaster "Minister, take cover!" he yelled. Sonic then pressed a button sealing the bay before jumping to cover. The others jumped down and surrounded Angelica "Minister, get to the shuttle. We'll be right behind you" Sally told her. Wave made it ack to the group and watched Angelica running into her shuttle. The others were about to follow when the shuttle suddenly blew up launching them back. They stood up and then "You did this!". Thy turned and saw Infinite, his one visible eye being filled with rage. He fired on them as the troopers got the bay open and reinforced him. Wave got on the commlink "Tex, we need a pickup. Now!" "On our way". The others took cover and little did they know that far above Eclipse was watching them curiously. The transport arrived and Tex gave the others cover as they ran inside. Infinite watched the transport ascend and then saw a probe robot appear next to him taking pictures. Wave jumped onto the transport and it managed to escape but took heavy damage from blaster fire. The engines blew out and it crashed onto an empty street. Everyone was disoriented "Come on. Come on! Up, everybody! We're moving!" Wave said. The group ran out and were seen by scared looking civilians.
Eclipse was in Finitevus' office speaking to a hologram of Infinite "Inform the populace that insurgent assassins hide in their midst. Lock down the spaceport and make it known that any ship attempting to leave will be destroyed". Infinite bowed "Yes, my lord" he said sounding disappointed in himself.
The group were in the hidden room of Tails' old home. Wave was working on an old holo-nit which then projected an imperial rabbit officer "A beloved citizen of Emerald Hill, Minister Angelica's life was cut short by this criminal band of so-called Freedom Fighters". It showed an image of Tails, Sonic and Sally standing in front of the destroyed shuttle "If you see them, summon Imperial authorities immediately. Trooper corps have been mobilized in an extensive sea…". Sally turned it off "They did this to turn Emerald Hill against us. We can't do any more here. We have to leave, for good" "We can't just run. They need to know the truth" Tails said angrily. Wave sighed "I don't think the Empire is giving us much of a choice". They suddenly heard G-merl beeping in an alarmed tone. They climbed back up and heard troopers talking outside of the door that G-merl sealed "That won't hold them long" Sonic said. Tails ran over to a back wall and pushed a bookcase aside revealing a ladder going upwards "This way!". They quickly climbed up and opened a hatch, the found themselves on the roof. Once they made it, they heard the door below get blown open and laser fire. They quickly closed the hatch and were not seen "If they know about this hideout, they'll know about our others" Tails said. Sally sighed "There's no more hiding. We need a ship. Maybe we can try one of the local Imperial airfields. Wave shook her head "They're locked down. Besides, we'll never get out of the". Tex sighed in frustration "The Empire's looking everywhere for us". Sonic got an idea "Not everywhere", Sally got what he meant straight away "No. No. Not the Imperial complex. Are you crazy?" "Does anyone ever say yes to that question". Wave nodded "Deploying troops to block every city exit has spread the garrison thin. It sounds crazy but the area with the least troops will be near the factories. They have landing platforms outside of the hangers. They're our best chance if we're going to find a shuttle". Sonic nodded "I'm already dressed for the part" he put his helmet back on. They all jumped to the next building without getting spotted, Tails looked back at his home on fire. He looked angry but turned away and followed the others.
A stormtrooper and a cadet were pushing two crates into the Imperial Complex "What's this?" a guard asked. "Power cells in need of recharging for the insurgent pursuit" the trooper answered. The guard walked over to the crate "I'll have to check inside" "No, you don't have to check inside" the cadet said waving his hand. The guard grabbed his shoulder "Did you just try to give me an order, Cadet?" "No. He just said, you don't have to check inside" the trooper repeated. "I don't have to check inside" the guard said letting them pass. "I wish that worked for me" Tails said, "I wish that worked on you". They entered an empty armoury and stopped. Tex, Wave, G-merl and Sally burst out of the crates. They all ran through the suspiciously empty complex and made it to the shuttle. They were about to go but Wave spotted something "Sally" she pointed and a grouped of machines. Sally smiled in surprise "Shield generators. Military grade. Tex, Tails, give us a hand. The fleet could use these". They did so and pushed them towards the shuttle when Sonic and Tails suddenly stopped "Do you feel that?" Tails asked sounding uneasy. "The cold" Sonic turned and saw Eclipse ignite his lightsaber at the entrance to the platform.