Infinite woke up in his cabin and heard an alarm blaring. He stood up went to his door. He opened it and a trooper stopped "Battle stations, sir!". Infinite went to a sink and splashed cold water in his face to wake him up then he put his mask on. He entered the bridge where Luger was waiting "Lieutenant, are we under attack?" "No, and I intend to keep it that way". He pointed outside to a shuttle that was being chased by three TIEs "This stolen shuttle reportedly blasted its way out of Emerald Hill spaceport. I'm moving to intercept. Prepare tractor beam". Infinite nodded "I'll head up the boarding party". He heads to the airlock with two troopers. The doors open and another two troopers appear restraining fox wearing a max and armour "Let me go! You're making a mistake!" "Remove his helmet". One of the troopers did revealing it to be an angry Tails "What're you looking at, Imperial scum?". Infinite stared at him "Bring him to the detention cells". As he left the airlock opened again revealing Fixit and G-merl "Excuse me. We were aboard the shuttle when it was stolen" "Well, stay here and wait for processing". Tails was thrown into a cell and saw Infinite at the door "Leave us. I'll interrogate him myself".
Once the troopers left Infinite clicked a remote which turned off the cameras "Don't you realize how dangerous it is for you to be here. If anyone recognizes you-" "They won't. You know how big the Empire is". Infinite removed his restraints "Most troopers don't even know what I look like now" "I hope that's true for both our sakes. If they discover you here, I'll be executed for treason". Tails chuckled "You might be anyway. We think the Empire was monitoring your last O'Brian transmission" "So you got captured o warn me?" "Nope. To get you out of here". Infinite sighed "Well, I guess I have no choice now" "Look, I'm not happy about it, either. For all I know, you're playing a long game to set us up" "I could say the same to you. I suppose for now we'll just have to trust each other". They then heard someone outside "Open this door". Tails grabbed Infinite's hand and made him punch him. He fell back as the door opened "Stop! I'll tell you anything". Luger was impressed "A confession already? You are good. But it'll have to wait. Admiral Mogul's fleet has just arrived, and he has summoned us aboard his ship. Bring the prisoner". Infinite was confused "The prisoner?" "Mogul asks that any suspects be brought to him" "He's a bounty hunter, not a Freedom Fighter" "I'm not taking chances". They went back to the airlock where Fixit and G-merl were waiting "Excuse me" "I did not request robots accompany us" "My counterpart has a recording of the shuttle theft. Protocol is for us to provide it as testimony against the theft". Luger nodded "Very well". They entered a shuttle and left the Scarship "I haven't been summoned by a ranking officer since that incident with the princess from Echidnaopolis. Oh, that was not a pleasant meeting. I shall endeavour to make better impression this time" "I'm sure you will, lieutenant". A voice came over the commlink "Shuttle TYA77, transmit clearance codes" "Copy, Chimera, transmitting codes now". They entered the hanger of Mogul's Scarship and took Tails out who Luger gave to a trooper "A prisoner for the Grand Admiral. Take him to detention block. B-7". Fixit and G-merl walked out after them "We need to update our status to the retrieval team".
Fang and Sonic were in an Imperial shuttle wearing stormtrooper armour "You're where?". They heard G-merl beep "Grand Admiral Mogul's Scarship? What in blazes are you doing there?". G-merl beeped again causing Sonic to sigh "Tails got transferred there when he was captured" "Well, that really changes the plan. Our clearance codes are for the light cruiser, not Mogul's Scarship". Sonic pondered "Gem, you've got to get us those clearance codes".
G-merl and Fixit went up to a terminal in the hanger "Clearance codes? We can't just download those from any terminal. We'll have to find an officer's port". Not far away Luger and Infinite were heading to Mogul's office and saw agent stone and two other officers "Those were sector command staff. What're they doing here" "I can only guess". They went to the door where a trooper was waiting "Your code cylinders". Infinite and Luger both handed them to the trooper, and he used them to open the door "You're cleared to proceed". They walked through "Never had to do that before" "Mogul is known for being thorough". They entered a large white room where Mogul was fighting two Egg fighters "Override code Fulop" the fighters then stopped, and the door closed. Another door opened where Naugus was waiting "He's ready for us". The two entered the office where a much older Gerald was waiting. Infinite was surprised and removed his mask "Colonel Gerald. I don't know if you remember me from the academy-". Gerald smiled and shook his hand "Of course, young Agent Infinite. I keep tabs on all my star pupils" "What beings you to Emerald Hill?". Mogul then entered "We are in need of his expertise. There's a Freedom Fighter spying on me. Codename O'Brian. And perhaps today, we're going to learn their true identity".
The others sit down as Mogul moves to the front of his desk "A traitor in our ranks is feeding the Freedom Fighters information. That is the only logical explanation for their success. And our failure. There are few above suspicion. ISB Colonel Gerald will question each of you". Gerald nodded "In the meantime, be vigilant. Watch your subordinates closely and your peers even closer" "Our spy must be unmasked quickly, as I'm on the verge of locating the Fighters base in this sector". He pressed a button on his desk and dozens of planets were projected "I've narrowed it down to these worlds". A few of them turned red surprising Naugus "From among thousands. How?" "An analysis of their hyperspace routes, their attacks on Imperial ships and facilities and rather importantly, proximity to Emerald Hill. You're dismissed". The four of them exited the office and Gerald stopped Infinite "Agent, you've had multiple encounters with the Freedom Fighters in this sector. Any thoughts on our traitor?" "A high-level intelligence leak suggests an officer" "True, but in our technological system, accessing information tends to be easier then having the means to transmit it without the Empire's knowledge". Infinite pretended to ponder "Perhaps the communication division?" "Too obvious. Whoever their spy is, they have a method of transmitting that we are yet unaware of". Infinite nodded "If I can do anything to help" "I'll let you know. Agent". Gerald re-entered the office as Infinite put on his mask and walked away. He met with Luger in the hall "It is said no traitor escapes the eye of Gerald for long" "I guess we'll see". Nephthys appeared in front of them "I saw a report that a shuttle theft from Emerald Hill was prevented" "Actually, Lieutenant Luger was responsible for that" "Really? Well, that deserves commendation". Luger was surprised but bowed his head "Tha-Thank you, Governor". She walked past and Infinite nudged Luger forward "Step carefully. ISB is watching her. You should too" he sneakily switched their code cylinders around. Luger was surprised by Infinite "What? You mean she might be the spy? Is… that why she wasn't at the meeting!" "Mogul has no proof yet, but I'm sure he'd be grateful if you kept an eye on her" "He can count on me".
Nephthys entered Mogul's office "Any progress?" "I'm certain the spy was present at our interviews. Now to see if they take our bait and warn the Freedom Fighters". Gerald stood up "I may have something. A coded message was beamed from this ship right after an off-ship prisoner was transferred to your detention block, B-Seven". Mogul smirked "Well, then. Shall we visit this mysterious prisoner?".
Fixit and G-merl were in the cell block "No, we should get the codes before we release Tails". Infinite then appeared and used Luger's cylinder to open the cell and turn off the cameras "This way". They entered but it was empty "Please stop that". Tails then jumped down from the ceiling "What? It worked before. Now let's get out of here". Fixit shook his head "None of us will be leaving without the clearance codes to this ship" "I hadn't thought of that" Tails said as Infinite removed his restraints. "I'm afraid there's another complication. I've just learned that Mogul is very close to locating your base. You have to tell me where it is". Tails scoffed "So you can tell him? No way! You'll find out when we get there" "Not if Mogul destroys it first. I need to know its location so I can remove it from his database" "If it's even on his list". Fixit put his hand up "If I may. We can accomplish both of our goals by infiltrating Grand Admiral Mogul's office. Agent Infinite can keep our base hidden and we can gain the clearance codes we so desperately need". Tails nodded "Okay, we'll do it. But how will we know if Mogul is in his office?". Infinite took out his commlink "Lieutenant Luger, where are you?" "Following Nephthys. She's headed to detention cells with Admiral Mogul and Colonel Gerald" "Stay on her. But remember, Lieutenant don't let them see you". He led Tails and the others out of the cell "We'll have to get you a uniform".
Not long after Mogul arrived at the cell "Surveillance has been deactivated" "And where are the guards?" Nephthys asked. Gerald opened the cell, "And where is the prisoner?" Mogul said. Gerald checked the panel "The code records show your Lieutenant Luger was the last person to access this cell".
Tails was now wearing a trooper uniform "I like being a bounty hunter better" "We all make sacrifices". Once they saw a door Tails turned to Fixit "Aright, stand guard here and let us know if anyone's coming" "Oh, good, the thankless job". They walked towards the door being guarded by a trooper. Infinite leaned close to Tails "Can you use your whole hand wave thing to make him believe your Lieutenant Luger" "I can. What species is he?" "Echidna. Here's his code cylinder". Tails stepped in front of the trooper "I am Lieutenant Luger. Mogul told you to expect me". The trooper stared at him and saw Luger "You are Lieutenant Luger. Mogul told me to expect you". Tails handed him the cylinder which he plugged into the terminal opening the door. He let the three of them entered the office. Tails saw Sally's family computer on a stand, he was about to reach it, but Infinite grabbed him "We're not here to steal a computer" "G-merl's stealing codes". G-merl plugged into the desk and transmitted the codes to Sonic. Infinite sighed in frustration "Are you crazy? They'll intercept the transmission!" "Yeah, that secret code was transmitted from Mogul's office" "Good point".
Sonic and Fang were still going through lightspeed "Gem, what's going on?". G-merl beeped "The codes are coming through now" "Good job, G-merl. Tell them to get to the hanger. Hurry!".
The hologram of planets appeared, and Tails stared at one "You were right. Mogul is close to finding our base" "Gizoid, erase that planet and add another as a decoy". G-merl nodded but Infinite's commlink activated "Unfortunate news. Grand Admiral Mogul is headed for this office". Tails turned to him "What? Try and stall him!" "Oh, wait, I can't. He's at the door" "I'll handle it" Infinite said. Outside the guard was speaking to Mogul "Lieutenant Luger is inside, sir" "Ready your weapon and follow me" they entered. Tails was rushing "G-merl, shut down the holo-map. Come on, hide". He and Tails got out of sight, not knowing where Infinite was. Mogul and two troopers entered, Infinite poked his head out of the training room door and watched them. Mogul activated the holo-map and examined the planets "Is everything alright, sir?" "Apparently so. Yes". Suddenly two Egg fighters entered the office and beat the two troopers to the ground. Mogul backed away "Override code, Fulop" they ignored him, and they tried to attack but Mogul jumped over his desk to the other side. He tried dodging their attacks eventually turning his back to the door. Tails and G-merl quickly ran out. Mogul turned around just as Tails was out of sight "Luger!" he yelled. Tails met with Infinite "Fighters?" "You're welcome". They met with Fixit and started running. Mogul made it to the blaster on the floor and quickly shot the robots down. He then calmly got on his commlink "Colonel, listen to me carefully…".
Fang jumped the ship out of hyperspace "Here goes nothing". He was surprised to see multiple Scarships "Whoa" "Hey, gramps, you want to fill me in?" "There's a lot of ships". Sonic sighed "Can you give me anymore information?" "Don't worry about it. Just transmit the codes. Fast". Sonic did so "Shuttle TY992, you are cleared to land". They landed in the hanger and put on their helmets. Infinite and Tails entered the hanger from the opposite side but then saw Nephthys walk towards the shuttle as Sonic and Fang exited. She stood in front of them "Troopers, stand down and remove your helmets. I'm placing you under arrest". Sonic waved his hand "There must be some kind of mistake, Ma'am. I'm sure we can-" "Shoot him" the trooper next to her fired a stun blast at Sonic. Fang quickly shot him, but Nephthys charged forward and beat Fang to the ground. Luger was watching from behind a crate "She is the traitor". G-merl sealed the door behind Tails and Infinite before they ran forward. Gerald watched form a high platform. Nephthys was about to kill Fang when Luger ran out and stunned her which Gerald spotted before running out. Luger ran up to Fang as he helped Sonic up "Trooper, are you alright" "I'm sorry, who's side are you on?" Fang asked in confusion. Before Luger could say anything Infinite stunned Luger. "Alright, come on!" Tails said but Infinite kneeled down over Luger's body and switched the cylinders back around "There's been a change of plans now that I've captured O'Brian. I can do more good here". Tails paused before nodded and running onto the shuttle which then took off. Gerald and a group of troopers blew the door opened and entered the hanger where they saw Infinite firing on the escaping shuttle. Once he did, he picked up and shook Luger's body "Traitor! You're the spy! Troopers! Seize him". Luger was looking around in a panic "What? What're you talking about" "Take him away" Gerald ordered. The troopers took Luger "Wait! Please. I'm not the spy" he said sounding terrified. Gerald turned to Infinite as a trooper helped Nephthys "It seems you stopped our spy from escaping, Agent Infinite".
They were now in Mogul's office "Luger's code cylinder confirms our suspicions. He used to override security, released the prisoner, and contact the Freedom Fighters" Gerald said. Nephthys nodded "I have my own proof of Lugar's treachery. Thank you for your brave actions, Agent Infinite. Well done". Infinite sighed "Unfortunately, not in time to stop him from assassination attempt on the Admiral. My apologies, sir" "None required. He did not succeed. The Empire will make a note of your service, Agent Infinite. You may go". Infinite, Nephthys and Naugus left the room. Mogul and Gerald stood up "Things have fallen into place a little too perfectly for my liking. And I don't think Lieutenant Luger is capable of what you've accused him of" "I agree. Especially with his family at risk". A trooper entered holding the helmet from Tails' disguise "Sir the prisoner's effects have arrived, as you requested". Mogul examined the helmet and saw a painting on top "Colonel Gerald, what do you think of this design?" "Looks like a beast of some kind". Mogul shook his head "A stylized expression of a cheetah, a ubiquitous native of Emerald Hill. And rendered by a very familiar artist. The use of this specific colour, the angle of the line, this is the work of the Freedom Fighter Wave Voyance. I believe this helmet belongs to her compatriot, the young Shinobi and our escaped prisoner, Miles 'Tails' Prower". Gerald was surprised "Tails. If Tails was the shuttle thief, why didn't Infinite alert us?" "Because, Colonel Gerald, Infinite is the spy, O'Brian. He used Luger's cylinder to impersonate and implicate him. And more importantly, he used the young Shinobi's power to gain access to my office and reprogram my robots. Very skilfully, I might add". Gerald sighed "I would never have suspected one of my best students was capable of this betrayal" "And that is why you and so many others have been deceived. I believe Agent O'Brian will prove far more useful to the Empire than Infinite ever was".