The Hurst arrived at Waspnosia and saw what looked to be a wreckage above the planet. Tails saw this from the cockpit "Intelligence was right" "Yeah, but what were they building? I've never seen an orbital construction field this big" Wave said. Sonic was concerned "The Wasps made weapons back in the Clone Wars. Whatever they were up to, I'm getting we're not gonna like it" "Must have been huge if they had to build it up here instead of on the surface" Tex said. Sally scanned the planet while Fang was watching from the lower turret "We should be quick. The bugs down there don't take kindly to guests". G-merl downloaded the results of the scan and beeped. Wave turned to him surprised "No life?". Fang didn't believe it "Are you cross-wired? There are billion of bugs on Waspnosia". Tails looked shocked "They… They must all be dead" "I don't like any of this" Tex said. Sally was sceptical "We don't know anything for sure. Let's check out that construction module". They flew into the hanger of one of the modules. Everyone got up except for Sally, Fang and G-merl.
Sonic turned to Sally "Get ready in case-" "In case things go like they usually do?" "Pretty much, yeah". The rest exited the ship and went deeper into the station "What are we looking for exactly?" Tex said, "Primary data banks. They might have records of what the Empire was making" Wave answered. As they walked through the corridors they didn't notice and Imperial gizoid watching them from behind. "My gut's telling me this is a trap" Tex said when the doors on either side of them opened revealing a group of troopers. A door in front of them then opened revealing Infinite wearing his mask and holding his sword "How perceptive". While the others dealt with the troopers Tex took out his sword and lunged at Infinite who blocked his attack "Never know when to give up, do you?". Sonic got on his commlink as the doors around them began to close "Naka-two, we're in the same situation as usual. Infinite's here. There must be some gizoid out there locking down the doors" "Agent Infinite, how lovely. I'll send G-merl".
G-merl ran out of the ship as walker entered the hanger and Fang used the turret to fire on them. G-merl saw the black and grey gizoid at a control panel and pushed it against the wall. G-merl then plugged himself in and started opening the doors but the other gizoid got back up and started fighting him. Tails, Sonic and Wave came through falling back from the troopers. They saw Tex fighting Infinite "Tex!" "Just go! I'll meet you at the ship". The others reluctantly ran into the hanger where two stormtroopers were between them and the ship. Sonic launched one of them into the wall but Tails grabbed th other and instead threw him out of the hanger and into space. They boarded the ship. It started to take of as Tails stood on the ramp "Naka-Four, where are you?" "A bit busy right now. I'll use an escape pod. Get out of here". Tails sighed and closed the ramp before Sally flew out of the hanger. Tails ran into the cockpit with G-merl "What a day we're having" Sally said sarcastically. Tails got on his commlink "Tex, are you there? Tex?" there was not answer "TIEs incoming.
Tex ran into an escape pod and he was set to launch when he got punched from behind. He turned and grappled Infinite as the pod launched towards the surface of Waspnosia. Their fight damaged the control console causing it to veer off course away from Waspnosia and instead to one of its moons. They stopped fighting so Infinite tried to get control of the pod but was unable. The two stared at each other right before crashing through an ice roof into a cave. Tex began to fall unconscious and he heard Infinite scream in pain.
The Hurst had managed to shake of the fighter pursuit "G-merl, can you track Tex's trajectory". G-merl beeped "Yes, we want him back! Find him!".
Tex started to wake up and saw the pod's red emergency lighting. He then saw Infinite and quickly stood up and raised his sword. Infinite however groaned in pain and Tex saw that Infinite's right leg was trapped under debris. Tex lowered his sword and then opened the hatch, grabbed Infinite and pulled him out "Ah! What're you doing!?". Tex threw him to the ground "I'm thinking about how easy I could crush your head, even with that mask on". Infinite held his leg and tried to shuffle back. Tex sighed "But… I'd rather wait for you to heal so we can finish our fight fair and square". Infinite scoffed "You're expecting your friends to come to your rescue? Your friends fled. If anyone finds us it'll be the Empire, and you will be captured". Tex rolled his eyes and looked into the pod for supplies "I'm sure the Empire really care about you". Infinite saw his sword in the sand and tried to crawl towards it. He reached out his hand but Tex then stood on it "That's not happening". Infinite sighed and turned to his back and saw the hole in the ice ceiling "It'll be night soon". Tex chuckled as he took a small machine out of the pod "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark" "It's not just going to get dark. It's going to get colder, too cold for that to keep us warm". He glanced at the machine that Tex activated revealing it to be a heater. Tex hit the machine and it lit up "I thought Waspnosia was a desert planet". Infinite pointed up at the orange sphere above them "That is Waspnosia. We are on its moon. How is it you've bested me even once" "Well, if I have, what does that say about you?". Tex climbed back into the pod and came back out with a small device which Infinite recognised "The transponder, probably damaged in the crash. If you can repair it, reactivate its signal, maybe the Empire will find us before we freeze". They suddenly heard roaring in the distance "Or worse". Tex picked up his sword "I'll take my chances with the cold and whatever we're sharing this hole with. I know what happens to Sand Blasters in an Imperial prison". Infinite crawled towards the heater and held out his hand "You don't know much. Cooperate and you will get a trial". Tex scoffed "Right" they heard roaring again and he raised his blaster. Infinite stared at him "You better decide soon".
Tails and Sonic were in the Sneak flying back to the Hurst. Tails sighed "We should make another sweep. Maybe we missed him somehow". Sonic activated his commlink "Bio-signs on the planet are still negative, and there was no sign of the pod anywhere on the surface" "What about it's transponder?" he heard Sally ask. Sonic sighed "I checked all the frequencies. Nothing" "It's only a matter of time before Imperial reinforcements arrive. If we're not gone by then…" Fang said, "Well, then we need to work faster. Widen all scans" Sally told him.
Tex was working on the transponder "There. Fixed it. And I adjusted the frequency. Now anyone can pick up its signal". Infinite chuckled "So, I might get killed. Doesn't matter. The Empire will still win. Everyday we recruit more informers. Everyday, we persuade your sympathizers to reconsider their allegiances". Tex pulled the heater closer to him "And every day, more beings get fed up with Empire and join us". Infinite was about to say something, but the heater started flashing before turning off "It's power cell is frozen". Infinite curled up to try and regain heat. Without the buzzing of the heater Tex heard a bubbling sound behind him. He turned and saw a glowing liquid coming out of a small geyser. He walked over to it "What're you doing?" Infinite asked. Tex kneeled down and put his hand in the geyser. He took out a glowing rock "Huh. It's warm" "What is it" "I don't know". He came back over and showed it to Infinite "Probably a meteorite" "Yeah. Here, warm yourself up" he passed it to a surprised Infinite. The two stared at a moment before Infinite removed his mask before holding the rock near his face. They both heard roaring again "Do you really think we'll survive whatever that is? Plus, the temperature's dropping and out only heat source is this thing. And who knows how long it'll last?".
Tex rolled his eyes "You're so quick to give up hope. Like I said, the transponder's working. My friends will find us" "The transponder's signal will never get through the ice" "Huh. Yeah, you're probably right. But Sand Blasters never know when to give up, remember? We'll just climb this up to the surface. Simple". Tex walked over to one of the walls, placed down Infinite's sword and started to climb however he quickly fell back down "You're going to hurt yourself!" Infinite yelled. Tex stood back up "Will you shut up?". He again tried to climb but still fell as Infinite limped over to him, he laughed. Tex growled "How'd you like a few more broken bones?" he then heard a growl and turned around to see a large reptilian creature "Like this day couldn't get any better". Tex ran and the monster chased him completely ignoring Infinite who limed over to the wall where Tex placed his sword. He picked up and raised it to them and he hesitated on who to shoot. He saw the creature knock Tex to the ground and quickly shot it before it killed him. The creature charged at Infinite but just before it reached him Tex fired with another rifle driving it away. The two of them then shot the creature together forcing it to retreat. Tex took a breath "What was that?" "Don't know, but it's probably going to come back" "Yeah, and it's probably gonna bring its friends". They backed away slowly towards the pod "That is the order of things. The strong survive, the weak perish".
Infinite sat back down and held his leg. Tex glared down at him "Is that what happened on Waspnosia. The weak needed to perish" "The only thing I know about Waspnosia is that the population is gone. I never asked questions". Tex scoffed "Why? Afraid of the answer? Worried you'll learn that the Wasps were wiped out by your precious Empire" "Why would we do that? What could possibly be the gain?" "Ah, good questions. Chase the answers and maybe you'll learn". Infinite glared at him "You know, you'll never get out of here without my help". Tex threw him a med kit "You're in no shape to help anybody" "I can tell you exactly how to climb out of here". Tex stared at him before sighing "Alright. We'll work together". Tex examined Infinite's sword "I see you modified the laser module. Impressive. But you shouldn't have it. It's not a trophy. Now hold still". He put the sword to Infinite's leg and used a bandage to turn it into a brace. Infinite groaned and then tried to stand "I didn't take it as a trophy. I…". He stared at Tex sympathetically "The Sand Blaster I faced. He fought well, died with honour. He gave it to me before-" "The Boosahn Keeraw". "What?" Infinite said not understanding, "The Boosahn Keerah, the Sand Blaster warrior way. When one is defeated by a superior, he gifts his weapon". Infinite sighed "I was… I was only doing my duty. I was nothing personal" "Yeah, well, what the Empire did on Sand Blast, I'll never forget it".
Infinite sat back down "We all have things we won't forget" he placed a hand on his face where his scar was. Tex sat down "Why are you so loyal to the Empire?". Infinite paused "Well, seeing as how we won't survive for you tell anyone". A regretful look entered his eyes and he quickly put his mask back on "I was on my own as a child living on the lower levels of Mobotropolis. I stole when I could to survive although there was rarely anything worth stealing". In the one eye Tex could see anger "Then the War started. More money started going to it. The few people I knew were losing their homes, jobs. When security got tighter on the surface and only the surface, criminals, syndicates and bounty hunters started all heading down". He sighed "It kept getting worse, murders, kidnapping". He paused for a moment "One day one of my friends were taken. I… I still don't know what happened to him" his voice broke. He cleared his throat before continuing "Then one day in the second year I remember seeing two Shinobi, a green and a pink hedgehog arrive at the lower levels. I'd never seen a Shinobi before but from the stories I heard I thought they were here to help us. I followed them to a bar and waited outside. I… heard fighting inside, I thought they were arresting the criminals. Sending a warning or something". He started breathing heavily "Then they left. Back to their temple. I waited months thinking they were going to return but they never did. They knew what was happening and like the rest of the planet they just forgot about us".
He took a breath trying to release his anger "Then in the final year the Chancellor made his announcement that the war was over. And about the Empire. I didn't care, I thought it would just be the same. But then clones started descending, wiping out the syndicates, making the streets safer. Then the economy began to improve, the streets weren't just back to normal, they were better. I got sleep in a bed for the first time. The Empire did more for me in a day that the Republic did in ten years" "Yeah, because they cared so much" Tex said sarcastically. Infinite glared at him, Tex rolled his eyes "Tell me, once those troopers wiped out the syndicates, did they leave, ever? Or are they still there patrolling the streets? Making sure nobody steps out of line". Infinite glanced away from him for a moment "I don't know. I haven't been back to the lower levels in years. Not long after, the Imperial Academy opened. I had no reason to stay where I was, so I signed up hoping to aid the Empire that saved me". He chuckled "I remember my first unit. The boys and I were deployed to Delphius to bring peace and security to a troubled world torn apart by the Separatist. We were on a routine patrol and ran into one of your Freedom Fighter friends. A Sand Blaster mercenary who worked for Harvey Who. I… I was lucky, knocked out by the first blast". He again put his hand over the right side of his face "I came to but found I couldn't move. And then I saw him, he was a rabbit, calmly walking through the smoke and fire to finish my unit off, one by one. The injured never had a chance. I always wondered why he let me live".
Tex stared down at the ground in surprise "Well, you can't judge all of us the same" "Does that sentiment apply to Imperials?". Tex stood up "All the Imperials I know" he held his sword. Infinite held out his hand "I'll take that for you. For the climb". Tex raised his eyebrows before just throwing the sword up to the edge of the hole. He then threw the glowing rock and then the transponder "We'll get it when we reach the top. Time to go". He turned around and Infinite climbed on his back. Tex stepped forward but "Hold it. Don't climb the walls. Go up the pillars" "What? Pillars will never hold my weight, never mind yours added on" "They hold up this cave, don't they?". They then heard roaring "If you're wrong, I'm feeding you to that thing" "Fair enough". Tex with some struggle started climbing the pillar "This is a terrible idea" "Just climb!". The heard the roaring getting closer and saw two of the creatures enter the cave. Tex started climbing faster "You're heavier than you look". Tex used his claws to latch onto the climbing and started climbing towards the hole. Infinite fell off but Tex quickly grabbed his leg with one hand. Infinite started screaming in fear as the creatures tried to reach him. Tex tried to hold on "Hold still and hope this works" "Hope what works?". Tex threw Infinite out of the hole. The creature then tried to bite Tex, so he jumped to the edge of the hole and tried to climb out, but he then saw Infinite in front of him pointing the sword at him. Tex thought he was about to be shot but Infinite instead fired at one of the creatures forcing it to back off. He leaned down and helped Tex out as a snowstorm hit them "Better activate that transponder. It's a lot colder up here" "Yeah, but I think I'd rather freeze than be eaten". Infinite then handed him the sword and the two walked into the storm.
The two were now in a small cave sitting around the rock "Let's hope this works. Of course, since you 'adjusted' it, we don't know who will pick up it's signal". Tex activated it "Guess all we can do is wait. Least we got this to keep us warm". Infinite stared curiously at him "Still think your friends will find you?" "Unless the Empire gets here first". Infinite paused then "On Sand Blast… It… It wasn't supposed to be a massacre. But I realized the Empire wanted to make an example". Tex sighed "What happened on Sand Blast, it's over for me. I've moved on. It's Tex by the way. My name is Tex" "I know".
The next morning the two of them were sleeping against the wall with Tex resting his head on Infinite's shoulder. They quickly woke up and quickly pushed each other away but they then heard engines "That's a ship" "Yeah. But whose?". Tex stood up then held out his hand "Come on". They poked their heads out of the cave and saw the Hurst "I guess your friends did find you" "Like I said they would. You know, we'll treat you fairly". Infinite chuckled and stepped back into the cave "I'll take my chances with the Empire… Tex". Tex turned to him, put his hands together and bowed his head. Infinite did the same thing and the two parted ways. Tex ran to the Hurst where the other happily greeted him "Tex!" "You made it!" "We picked up your transponder. We were so worried". Tex shrugged "It wasn't so bad. We've all been in tighter spots. I knew you'd find me eventually". Tex glanced at the cave before entering the Hurst with the others before it took off.
Infinite was back on the Scarship still holding the rock. He was walking exhausted through the corridors. He met with Naugus "Admiral" "Agent Infinite" he said back barley acknowledging him. Infinite entered his quarters and sat down on his bed. He took of his mask and placed it and the rock on a shelf. He then sat in silence, deep in thought.