Chapter 01: Deep in the Shadows

It had been two years since the Battle of Endor. The Empire was beginning to tear itself apart as numerous Moffs and Admirals fought to create their own domains in what was left of the Empire. But they were all crumbling fast under the New Republic, and the New Republic worked to rebuild itself to the Old Republic's former glory and many great heroes and fighters would work to help clean up the mess left behind by Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader.

But there were powerful factions that sought to take advantage of the chaos and destruction, and find a way to rule the galaxy for as long as both the Empire and the Republic were still weakened by their constant stream of fighting. The Republic had to be on guard, for that they would find new threats rising from the shadows…

Deep within the Outer Rim, a fleet of Imperial and Victory Class Star Destroyers and an Executor Class Star Dreadnaught were hiding in a nebula while the captain of the Star Dreadnaught stood on the bridge of the ship, awaiting a message. "Captain Danko?" said an officer.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" asked Captain Danko.

"We are receiving the transmission now Sir. We only have a limited amount of time to communicate, so I advise we keep this active for at least 10 minutes." said the Lieutenant.

"Patch it through now." said Danko. "Yes, Commander?"

"Captain, this is Commander Akuji. We have infiltrated the facility, and we are beginning the search for this 'Ultimate Life-Form'. We are approaching the storage room now."

"Excellent. And hurry, we can't keep this channel clear for long, and the Admiral is growing impatient." said the Captain.

"Yes sir, we have taken care of the guards and are preparing to search the area. Stand by." said Akuji.

Deep in a New Republic Storage facility, he, along with an elite team of Imperial Storm Commandos were searching the facility for something known as "The Ultimate Life Form" aka "Project Shadow". "Commander?" asked a commando.

"What is it, Sergeant?" asked Akuji.

"What is this 'Project Shadow' anyway? I wasn't paying attention during the briefing."

Akuji sighed and said: "It was a project that was worked on 50 years ago on this planet. According to that diary our spies recovered, it was supposed to be an attempt at immortality. But the humans that once lived on this planet stopped the project and killed all involved. They placed the project here to assure that no one could find it. That is why we are going to find it."

"Wow….immortality…" said the commando.

"Commander! We've found the controls! It appears to control some kind of Cryo-Stasis Unit!" said another Commando.

Akuji ran up to the controls and reported: "Captain, we've located the controls. It appears the "Ultimate Life Form" is in Cryo Stasis."

"Good, use the password we've provided and release it!" said Danko.

"Yes sir." replied Akuji. He then grabbed a datapad and accessed his records, and then sitting at the controls, inputted: "M.A.R.I.A" into the control console.

"Code accepted. Stand by for release." said the computer voice.

Inside the chamber, massive amounts of steam vented from the Cryo-Stasis device, and then, it opened, and because it was so dark, the Commandos couldn't see the life-form properly. But then they gasped at the form of the life-form: "It….it…it can't be!" gasped Akuji.

"What is it Commander? What's going on down there?" asked the Captain.

"It….it looks like….like Sonic!" said Akuji.

"What?!!" shouted Danko.

"Wait…is it? It's walking towards us….wait, who is this guy?" asked Akuji.

The commandos were ready for combat, but when the hedgehog stepped into some light, they saw that it was black with red fur patterns and had unique shoes and had four gold rings around his wrists and ankles. "Who…who are you?" asked Akuji.

"I am Shadow the Hedgehog. You have released me from my captivity, I am most grateful. As a way repaying you, I am at your command…" said the hedgehog grinning.

Akuji and the Commandos looked at each other and Akuji replied: "Greetings Shadow. I am Commander Horikawa Akuji of the Galactic Empire. Our leader sent us to find you, and enlist your aid in our mission to uncover the secrets we have discovered relating to you. Will you accompany us back to our ship?"

"I would be more than willing to accept your offer Commander. Lead on." replied Shadow.

"A wise choice." said Akuji getting on his communicator. "Captain, we have the life-form, and we are on our way out of here."

"Well done, Commander. We will be waiting for you. Danko, out." then the communication ceased as Akuji and his team led Shadow to their DX-9 Transport for the escape.

Aboard the Star Destroyer, Captain Danko pushed a button for the ship communicator on his command console and said: "Admiral Forell, this is Captain Danko."

"Ahh. Captain Danko. Was the trip to Mobius productive? Have we secured the Ultimate Life-Form?" asked the Admiral.

"Yes sir. Commander Akuji and his team are on their way back to the Apocalypse now. We will soon have the information that we need to continue on our operations there." said Captain Danko.

"Excellent. What of the Space Colony ARK? Have we located its position in the Planet's Orbit?" asked Forell.

"Not yet, sir. We are still searching." replied Danko.

"Very well, but we must move quickly. We need the information on that Station." said Forell.

"We will double our efforts, Admiral. Danko, out." then Danko ceased communication with the Admiral.