On board the carrier G-merl was showing a hologram of planets to the group. Sally pointed to specific planets "Thanks to Fang's Old Republic map and the map Tex's Sand Blaster friends made, I believe we finally have a suitable location for our base". Bunnie examined it "The Yawst System. There's no sign of the Empire, but there' a small habitable moon, one that I think will provide everything you need". Bristles pondered "Promising, but Yawst is several parsecs away and our carrier does not have enough fuel to complete the journey". Fang nodded "We can't afford to leave it unguarded and immobile". Wave stepped forward ad G-merl showed a section of space "Well, I've been tracking Imperial fuel shipments. Well, I've been tracking Imperial fuel shipments. There's one scheduled to arrive at the Horizon Base soon". Sonic looked troubled "Eh, it's risky. The Empire's tightened security at all its depots in the sector" "If there's fuel there, what choice do we have?" Tails said.
The Hurst arrived at Horizon base and landed on a platform. Sonic walked out with the others "Alright. After we grab the fuel, we'll have to blast out of here fast. G-merl, be ready". G-merl waited at the door of the Hurst but then used his eyes to zoom in on a small shop nearby, he saw a gizoid leg that was black, grey and yellow. He quickly turned to Sally before she left and projected a hologram "G-merl, we're not here to shop. This mission is important and dangerous". G-merl turned away and crossed his arms "Not now. We need you on the Hurst to monitor Imperial transmissions". G-merl glanced back at the leg and Sally made him look at her "Let us know the second the Empire suspects anything", he nodded. G-merl watched her catch up with the others. He kept glancing at the leg trying to resist but then groaned. He flew over to the stand and got the bee seller's attention "Ah. I see someone's interested in a new leg. One that matches". G-merl beeped as if laughing. The bee joined in "Don't worry. I won't charge you an arm and a leg for it".
The others made it to the Imperial platform where canisters were being loaded. There were multiple stormtroopers and a walker "Sonic was right. There's more security than ever" "We can't afford to leave without getting what we came for" Sally said. Wave used her mask to zoom "I see the fuel". Sonic nodded 2Okay, but we do it quietly this time. No complications".
The bee held the leg in front of G-merl "You can look but keep your claws off the merchandise unless you're buying". G-merl beeped and the bee looked worried "Stolen? No! Some of my treasures may be unregistered, yes but it's not important where it comes from. It is the quality that matters". They hear blaster fire in the distance "Hmm. Sounds like trouble at the Imperial port. Now, are you gonna buy the leg or what?". G-merl beeped "Five hundred. Do you want it or not?" G-merl made an offer "Rings? What do I look like, a Senator? Where's your owner anyway?". G-merl pretended to be insulted and beeped. The bee laughed "Independent? A gizoid? You mean you're broke. Go on! Get out of here. You're wasting my time". The bee drew his attention to another customer. He looked away and G-merl quickly and turned to escape but he then saw the Hurst flying away. He gasped when "Hey!" the bee yelled at him. G-merl ran with the leg "Stop thief!". G-merl stopped when he spotted more Imperials. G-merl ran past them but the bee ran to the troopers "Excuse me, troopers. That gizoid stole from my shop!". The troopers spotted G-merl, nodded to the bee and chased after the gizoid. G-merl ran into one of the buildings losing the troopers. The structure suddenly shakes and G-merl releases he was inside a massive ship. G-merl slowly walks through the ship's halls holding tightly onto his new leg.
The Imperial captain of the ship, a green lizard was on the bridge reading a pad when an orange humanoid robot approached him. It looked similar to a gizoid but had no legs, instead floating above the ground. He carried a container on his back and a headpiece that resembled a hard hat and had a restraining bolt on his chest "Captain. The nav computer is off-calculation by .002". The captain rolled his eyes "Fixit, you're an inventory bot, not a navigator, you old clanker. Go log the manifest" "It is against my programming protocol to allow this imperial vessel or its cargo to be late for its scheduled deliveries". The captain stood up "It's also against your programming to allow the manifest to be tampered with. So go log it". Fixit sighed and left the room. He then saw that the door to a cargo hold was open "That's odd. This hatch should be sealed. Hello? Is anyone there? This is a restricted area. I must see your credentials". He looks behind a crate and sees G-merl "I know what you are. A stowaway. You are not authorized to be here". G-merl beeped "Imperial robot? No, I think not". G-merl pointed at him "Who am I? I am Fixit, the Imperial inventory robot charged with the safe transport of this vessel's cargo. I have logged every item and crew member on this ship, and you are certainly not on my list". He then took the leg from G-merl "Why are you carrying an extra ambulatory limb?".
G-merl beeped "Ah, this is a replacement for your mismatched one. Your suspicious manner leads me to calculate that you stole it. You must be the fugitive that attacked the troopers at the port". G-merl shook his head, grabbed the leg back and legged it away from Fixit "Come back, thief!". Fixit chased after him "You can run, but there will be no escape". They ran into the cargo bay "There's no way out of here. You've only trapped yourself. You must have a malfunctioning logic circuit to accidentally board an Imperial freighter". G-merl turned back to him with electricity surging through his right hand. Fixit put his hands up "There's no need for violence… Wait, only military gizoids are equipped with that". G-merl beeped as he walked "G-merl? A war hero? Hm, I also served in the Clone Wars, as a military analyst on a Republic warship". G-merl stopped and turned back to him beeping "I was also part of the Knothole campaign. You know, our tactical strategies were only 70% effective". G-merl seemed o agree with this "Your Y-wing was shot down? Yes, they were always a bit buggy during atmospheric operations. How did you avoid the scrap heap?". G-merl beeped which surprised Fixit "Rescued. I would think clones would be the last people to care about robots". G-merl projected a hologram of Sally "She must be very brave. Your fortunate to have someone who cares. My commander did not survive, and I was downgraded after the war. I was the best Republic navigator in my class, but when the Empire took control, I was reassigned to inventory duty here".
The two walked together "It is not a waste. I do not mind being relegated to a tedious occupation, despite the constant disrespect from my Imperial supervisors". G-merl beeped "It is not pathetic. I have been given my orders. I must obey them". G-merl shrugged "What other options? I m bound by my protocol. I mean, free will sounds nice. I admire your fortitude". A voice came over the commlink "Fixit, report! Where's that manifest?" "Oh, uh yes, Captain. It is… I… I will have it in a moment" "Well, hurry up you old clanker. For all we know there's stowaways aboard". Fixit stared down at G-merl and paused before "I have not seen any stowaways aboard this vessel" "Good. Now get that manifest". G-merl reactivated his electric hand and Fixit backed away "Wait. What… what're you doing? I didn't report you". G-merl fired at shot at the restraining bolt breaking it "My restraining bolt. You… you freed me. What're you planning to do now?". The two walked out of the hold "Lure the crew into the cargo hold, jettison it into space? But I am responsible for every piece of inventory aboard this vessel". They heard footsteps and G-merl got out of sight. The captain arrived "Fixit, where's the manifest? What've you been doing?" "I am attending to my protocols". The captain looked down at Fixit's chest "Who removed your restraining bolt?". G-merl suddenly appeared and started hitting the captain with the spare leg. He backed away confused "What!? Where'd you come from". He grabbed the leg and held G-merl back "Captain to security. I've got the insurgent on level two. It's a gizoid" "On our way, sir".
G-merl activated his hand and shocked the captain knocking him out. Fixit sighed "I wish you hadn't done that. He wasn't that bad, really" he helped G-merl hide the body. They walked back out from a storage room "Where to now?". G-merl threw Fixi the leg and beeped "That plan has a 10.5% chance of success". G-merl ignored him and got the attention of two troopers "Hey you, stay there!". G-merl held them away as Fixit watched "This is a terrible plan". G-merl ran through the ship getting all the troopers to chase him. He led them into the cargo hold. G-merl then activated his jets and flew over them back towards the door. The troopers shot up at him hitting his foot. He crashed in front of the door and the troopers ran towards him. Fixit ran out and helped him out "Hurry!". They ran back through the door and G-merl quickly closed it "You trapped them". G-merl then detached the cargo part of the ship to the main part. He cheered and Fixit handed him the leg "I admit, that was a good plan". G-merl beeped happily "You, Captain? You're woefully unqualified. I am the captain". G-merl started running "No, the first one to the bridge is not the captain. Come back here!".
The Hurst was at lightspeed, the five of them were in the cockpit "We have to go back for G-merl" Tails said. Sally rolled her eyes "I warned him not to get distracted by that leg" "You don't even know that's what happened" "Oh, I know. I know that gizoid. He's always thinking about himself. But we have to think about the fleet first". Bristle's voice came over the radio "Dawn Home to Hurst, come in" "We read you, Commander Bristles. We're inbound with the fuel" "You must hurry. We are under attack". They jumped out of hyperspace and found the fleet battling a Scarship.
Negus was onboard the ship when a human officer waked over "Sir, a ship that escaped the Horizon Base has entered the system" "So that's why their fleet hasn't attempted to jump. They need fuel. Order our fighters to intercept that ship. Keep it from docking at all costs".
Sonic saw that TIEs were coming for them "Looks like we're getting special attention!". Wave tried to shoot them from the turret but there were too many. Suddenly Bunnie's ship flew in and destroyed the TIEs "Hurst, I'm on your wing".
G-merl and Fixit entered the bridge "Alright. Because of your help, I'll allow you to be captain. I'll hold your ambulatory limb while you take the helm". G-merl handed him the leg "Oops". He dropped the leg and as G-merl went to pick it up sat in the captain's chair. G-merl beeped angrily "What? You abandoned your post". G-merl groaned and plugged into the console "Why are you changing course? Where are you taking us?". G-merl beeped "The Freedom fleet? Why would I go there? How do I know your Freedom Fighters will show me any more respect than the Empire?". Whatever G-merl said next surprised Fixit "Because I am your friend?".
Sally was heading straight for the hanger of the Carrier. Wave smiled "Thanks for the held, Bunnie" "You owe me one". Sally could tell they were going to fast "Everyone, get ready! We're coming in hot!". The hanger crew scattered as the Hurst hit the hanger floor and scraped across the ground "Tex, Tails, the fuel" "We're on it!". The two unladed the fuel and the hanger crew started draining them. Sally waited when she heard a familiar beeping over the commlink "G-merl, where are you?" she asked angrily. G-merl responded and Sally looked sceptical "Really? So, you didn't leave the Hurst to go after that leg? Uh, I don't have time for this. We're still trying to refuel the carrier so we can jump to the Yawst System". She then heard Fixit "The Yawst System? No. No, no, no. I'm afraid the Yawst System will not be safe for your friends at all. The Empire's data network reports an Imperial fleet has recently been dispatched to that system. It appears to be a trap of some kind". Sally stared at the speaker "G-merl, who is that?". G-merl beeped "You stole an Imperial freighter?". She then heard Tails "Sally, refuelling's finished. Let's get out of here" "Hold that thought. G-merl, are you sure it's a trap?", G-merl answered. Sally sighed "Then we need new coordinates to safe system, now" "We could cross-reference your data with the Imperial network". She then heard Bristles "Captain Acorn, the fleet must jump. Are you ready?" "Commander, I have received new intel. Yawst is now controlled by the Empire. But we have new escape coordinates incoming" "New coordinates? To where?". Sally didn't have an answer for that yet "Incoming. G-merl, hurry".
G-merl and Fixit were trying to find new coordinates when "STOP!". They turned and saw the captain pointing a blaster at them "Get away from there!". Fixit turned to him "What took you so long. This rogue gizoid has taken me prisoner". G-merl rushed forward and hit the blaster away from the captain and chased him around the bridge "Where are those coordinates". Fixit turned back to the console "Uh, sorry, G-merl is um, unavailable at the moment" "Who is this?" "I am G-merl's friend". He then heard Sonic "Friend?" "G-merl doesn't have any friends" "He most certainly does. Just as when he was rescued from that Y-wing fighter, I am rescuing him now. I believe we have isolated a safe system for Freedom Fleet". The captain kicked G-merl back "Freedom Fleet?". He picked up his blaster and shot Fixit in the back before he could send the coordinates. Fixit was still functioning and reached for the button. He hit the button sending the coordinates and the captain shot him in the back again. Fixit yelled and fell to the ground. G-merl charged forward with his jets and whacked the captain over the head with the leg knocking him out. G-merl then ran over to the downed Fixit.
Sally received the coordinates "Bristles, I have the new coordinates" "Jump!". Sally took a nervous breath "The entire Freedom Fleet is betting on G-merl" "Yeah. Try not to think about it" Sonic said smirking. All the ships jumped to hyperspace.
G-merl mournfully beeped and took Fixit's hand "I…. I won't forget you, my… my friend" Fixit powered down.
The fleet approached a red planet "It checks out. G-merl really came through this time" "So did his new friend. I'll go check him". Sonic went to the common room where Wave was working on Fixit who she was able to activate. Fixit looked around "What… what happened? Where am I?" "Don't worry. You're alive and well. I replaced your damaged thermo sensor with the ones from the leg G-merl stole". G-merl stepped forward and Fixit stared at him "You sacrificed your replacement leg for me". He got up "Well, you shouldn't have. I knew you had a malfunctioning logic circuit". G-merl followed him and angrily beeped "That sort of language confirms it. You could be disintegrated in six systems for saying such things. I might just report you myself".