Sabin's eyes turned towards the fox.

"Many Jedi have tried to take Vader, and none have survived.", the feline said, "The last thing I would suggest is for him to go after a Sith Lord seeking vengeance, but...he does deserve to know what happened, at least. What he does with that knowledge is up to him."

The orange cat looked down at Patrick. "I would tell him. Do what you feel is right."

Patrick looked back he could partially see the fox's form sticking out from the side of the hut.

"I -Idon'tthink so." He stuttering returned. He closed his eyes and turned away from the fox, breathing in for a moment and looking at Sabin before releasing it. "The Rico I once knew... He would have the power to stand toe to toe with any one that threatened his friends. This one - nothing but guilt, doubt, and blame. He's too scared to feel love for anyone. It scares me to be near him." He looked back at the fox again. His face strained to get out a 'b' sound, "B-butI-But I can't leave him."

"I understand", Sabin said with a nod, looking over at Rico, "And I think that old Rico is still in there somewhere. He can come back if he lets go of his fear."

The feline smiled and looked at Patrick again. "You've got a good heart. Your loyalty to Rico is what will lead him on the right path. Remember to trust your feelings; they can guide you to the answer."

Patrick smirked, "It'd be easier if I could hear them over everyone elses." The smirked faded, "If only one of them had stayed. Even if Toby had died Kevin would have stopped this. But when he left to, this was the result."

"Kevin?" That was one name Sabin hadn't heard yet. Had to be someone close to the fox. He tilted his head slightly to the side and asked, "Who is Kevin? A friend of Rico's?"

Patrick looked down, the young cat's dull grey eyes fixated on some random spot of dirt, "More than that. When we were told Toby was dead, Rico's spirit died. When Kevin left, he took Rico's heart with him. After that, he became like you see him now. Distant, cold, and alone."

"More than that..." The robed feline leaned against the tree and rubbed his chin as he looked out at the fox again, contemplating that. "I see... So he's lost two people close to him, one dead and the other ran off." The fox had endured more pain than he originally thought.

Sabin muttered, "He's taking it better than I would." Sighing, he continued, "I'm not sure what I can do, particularly under these circumstances, but I'll help however I can."

Pushing off the tree, he faced the younger cat and said, "For starters, I may be able to help you with your overdeveloped sense of empathy. If you wish, I can train you to quiet your mind and control that ability. Not full-fledged Jedi training, mind you, just a few helpful pointers."

The cat looked wary, "I've had my sixth sense since I was born. It's no different than the ability to hear or see. I can control it the same way and to the same extent I can any other sense."

"Um. Time to really start booking.", spyder said as he looked at a little red led that was flashing on his wrist and noticing the sky light up.

"Why is that?", zero asked.

"Because I just intercepted a swatbot emergency signal. and someone stepped on our little present back there.", spyder answered.

"Ok so where are we going? were are they keeping her? Is she even alive?", zero asked.

spyder slung the rifle off his back and pulled back the cocking handle.

"First we moving two more blocks then were going under ground. There are smaller robots littering the sewers mostly old discarded units that have been stripped of there transmitters that and they couldnt transmit through the dense concrete anyway. so once we hit make sure your weapons are hot.", spyder answered.

They finally reached the storm drain as spyder lifted the lid.

"Quickly", Spyder ordered

zero grabbed the ladder and slid down into the darkness. spyder climbed onto the ladder and quietly slid the lid over them and slid the rest of the way down the ladder as well. upon reaching the bottom he flipped the goggles over his eyes and hit a small switch on the side of them. The pitch black was now a intense green and white.

"creepy down here", spyder said as he looked around.

They slowly and quietly made their way down the tunnels and rounded one corner.

"HOLY SHI..SHI.. @#%$!", spyder about fell backwards as he spotted the body of a mobian was hanging from the ceiling. The face and numerous other parts of the body had been bruised or cut. fingers and one of the legs were broken.

"Who did this", spyder asked.

"Lets keep moving because I sure as hell dont want to find out and it doesnt look to be more than a day or two old.", zero answered.

They moved away from that corner and continued to go straight down the tunnel into the darkness.

This forest.... it was so godforsaken large. He blinked as his feet continued on. He had been walking for a good few minutes now. His radar agreed and told him that the people that he had detected on the radar were almost a half-mile away now. He quickily came to what he didn't know was Knothole's entrance. A large log, and beyond it- according to his radar was where he could see some sort of people. He just hoped they weren't hostile people.

"Here goes nothing." he'd mutter as he walked through it and into what was Knothole....

The derelict, smog choked streets of robotropolice stood as eerily quiet as a ghost town, bearing the scars of brutality that the Doctor's oppressive regime had brought to this once peaceful place. Clinging to her glimmer of hope was all the young princess could do not to shiver with cold remembrance every time she sneaked her way though these derelict boulevards, echoes of happier times lingering near the shadow cast doorways and empty market squares, taunting her diminished existence. Sonic was already becoming impatient with her slow pace, constantly loud mouthing about 'how quicker it would be if he led the way', but she had dealt with his fiery attitude many times before, and knew that if she kept her foot down he'd stay at heal. With this new and as yet unknown threat, Sally was not about to take any chances with their getaway, insisting on a longer rout back that took them away from the hives of robotic activity that were beginning to spring up all over the city. Plus, she also had one last stop to make before they could head back to home base. Only a few minuets before she had stopped at an old hardliner terminal and patched Nicole into the phone network, not knowing whether the signal the palm sized computer had sent out had been received by its intended party. Yet every now and again, the ground squirrel glanced upward toward the roof tops high above the desolate streets upon which they stood, as though expecting something, or someone, to descend from their heights at any moment. However, even though she had been expecting it, the dark voice that drifted calmly from the shadows of an abandoned warehouse still caught her off guard, her hart leaping a few inches in her chest from as the tension, constructed by the wintry atmosphere of constant peril, was released in a split moment.

"You rang?"

The young princess quickly gathered her wits and stared into the thick darkness from which the voice had emanated "I was starting to wonder whether you got the message at all?"

There was a genteel 'humph' from the shadows, from which a large figure emerged, moving with a certain feral elegance despite his black body armor and heavy coat that flapped against the back of his knees with the motion of his body.

"There's very little that doesn't seep down into the RailRoad, M'lady. Even if you don't intend it too."

Sally nodded nervously. Logan was one of those people whom suspicion and rumor seemed to follow like a freak snowstorm, immediately bringing a chill to any room where only the mythology that sounded him and the RailRoad were known. Those that operated a little closer to him would tell you that the hybrid was nothing extraordinary, just that extraordinary things seemed to happen around him. Sally couldn't really pass opinion herself, having only met the Fulf a few times despite the constant stream of info his operation fed the freedom fighters of knothole. But one thing was for sure, he was just as notorious to the common freedom fighter as he was to the overlord himself, and one of the most silent ally's the resistance had.

"Of course, how are things on the Railroad?" She said, smiling slightly as her usual footing returned.

Logan tilted an ear, almost as though he was disgruntled by the trivial question young heir to the Acorn throne had posed. His tail swished as the Fulf frowned slightly at squirrel "We both know you didn't drag me out here for small talk, your highness."

Sally frowned back slightly, seeing that the wolf, though possessing respect for her position and rank, had no time for polite conversation. "hmm I take it you already know of Robotnics new visitors."

The Fulf nodded deeply "We were linked into the defense grid at the time. From the looks of things that first transport descended from an extremely high altitude, beyond the sensor range."

This news defiantly got the young squirrels attention "That must be close to space?"

"Nicky thinks it might be some sort of new low orbit craft, extremely fast and virtually undetectable until it descends to a sensible height as to where it came from. Well we have our theories, but nothing solid yet."
"So it could be some new bots from the other continent?" the impatient hedgehog butted in, leaning against a wall and stretching his arms as though board by the whole conversation.
Sally nodded "Logan, I need your people to lay low for a while. Keep your focus on the Net system rather then relying on surface patrols and tactical espionage. We don't know what we're dealing with, and I'm getting a really bad feeling about the whole thing." The squirrel shifted her weight again as she pulled out the small palm held computer and extracted a small card from its side "Also... I know this is going to sound a little rash, but I want you to re-establish the radio link to Knothole."
The fulf, who's gaze had been wandering slightly, looked back to the princess with curious eyes, accepting the chip from her "I'm going to assume theses a damn good reason behind you suggesting that. You know Robotnic monitors all the Mz frequencies."

"That chip contains modifications for Station 6's transmitter, a pet project of Rotor's." the girl explained "It should disguise the single as background static. We need constant updates on the position and status of these visitors."

There was a lengthy pause as the hybrid stared at the chip in his hand, the ice finally broken by Sonic tapping sally on the shoulder "Now can we get the heck out of here"

Sally sighed, sliding Nicole into her satchel and looking to the Fulf for confirmation that her orders had been understood.
Logan pocketed the tiny chip and turned back to the shadows, "I'll have Elmo make the modifications..."

With this reassurance, Sally bade her surveillance contact farewell and led the way through the honey comb of gutted buildings toward the edge of the grate forest. Sure of their safety from the prying eyes of hover bots, sonic took over and blazed a trail back to the hidden village deep in the twisted hart of the woods.

OOC: Ahh here we go then X.x took me long enough didn't it, sry for the delay Froggy. I'll post up Sally's arrival at Knothole sometime tonight or tomorow, depending on how much time I have.

A loud coughing suprised Sabin and Patrick. Rico's body jerked from deep burst of air coming from his lungs.

"Rico'ki?" Patrick suddenly blurted out sprinting over to the fox, kneeling down and trying hold him up straight. The cough subsided but the young cat still remained holding on to Rico. "I'm fine." Rico muttered lowly. "But Rico'Ki.. oof!" The fox shoved the youth off him and back onto his rump. He let out a final cough and growled, "I don't need your help. What did I tell you about touching me?"

The kitten looked down eyes tearing up, "Sorry Rico'ki, I- I forgot."

"Pickin' on the kids again Ricky?" Came a smug retort from nearby. The voice was all to familiar, Rico looked over with a glare to see Sonic, Sally and the others walking up. Behind them was a long fox, as alien looking as Rico, one he didn't know.

"He was getting gushy again, you know I hate that stuff. Find anything interesting or was it just a fieldtrip for you kids?" Rico snapped sacastically.

Sabin didn't seem to notice Sonic, Sally, or the odd, blue fox coming up behind them. The orange feline had leaned down to take Patrick's arm and lead the younger feline back to his feet. His green eyes were locked intensely on Rico.

Anyone who had been paying close attention to the cat would have noticed one hand moving closer to his lightsaber.

The Jedi stood back up, leading Patrick to his feet. His eyes motionless, never leaving Rico, Sabin said, "Hello again, Princess. I assume you have many questions you wish to ask me."

A look of terror crossed Patrick's face. He broke free of Sabin's grip and shot back over to Rico grabbing his collar, eyes still teary. "STOP IT! STOP IT! HE'S NOT GOING TO! JUST STOP IT!" The sudden outburst from the normally shy boy seemed to shock everybody. Everybody except Rico, the fox grimaced and looked down for a moment. All eyes went to the scene, Patrick was a sensitive youth who had never aggressively spoke to anyone. So yelling and physically grabbed anyone was beyond what anyone thought he was capable of.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! JUST ST-" He was cut off by Rico grabbing his wrists and wrenching them loose growling lowly, "Then get out of my head." Patrick gritted his teeth and the fox released him. "I'm tired of this, I'll need some air." The fox walked off slowly, as if he was dizzy.

Patrick looked horrible, watching the fox with a look of pure despair, tears starting to stream even without sobs.

"THE DARKNESS!", zero shouted at the top of his lungs with a big smile on his face. His voice now echoing off the walls.

"Haha would you shut up. I miss home and everything about it. F*** your couch. Especially that show.", Josh laughed in response.

Zero lit up a cigarette
"So which way?", He asked as they came to a split.

"Right. Never get up on the left side of the bed. Its bad luck", josh answered.

"So many superstitions so little time", zero joked back as he took a right. He slung the m4 over his shoulder.

"This planet if it wasnt so war torn would be a great place to live. We got to see that for atleast a couple weeks before robotnik took over and completely destroyed everything. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Now... Well lets just say I dont think that would ever happen again", Zero said dragging on the cig.

"I know what you mean", Josh answered.

They continued down the tunnel til they came to an exit only to find it was blocked off with iron bars.

"Any ideas?", zero asked.

Sally was still stood a few meters away, watching the scene with stunned silence, mouth still partly open as her response to Sabin was cut short by Patrick's outburst. While not fully understanding the boy's abilities, the gist of them had been explained to her by Rico when their unusual guests had first arrived, and from what the child had said, she could deduce that the alien fox must have been 'thinking' something quiet malicious for the boy to have acted so out of character. Clearly, tension had been building in her absence. Patrick looked a right state, tears still streaming down his cheeks and dripping off the underside of his muzzle, fur ruffed up slightly as though he'd been under tremendous stress. Silently, the young princess walked forward and gently put her arms around the kitten, gathered him into a not-quite hug from behind while quietly rasuring the distressed cub, "Its ok. I'm sure what ever it was he didn't mean it."

A loud overly exaggerated yawn broke the moment, Sonic stretching back his arms and openly making a scene "Well, this scene is dead, I'm gona get something to eat."

Sally looked back at her partner, keeping her arms around the kitten while glaring ever so slightly at the obnoxious hedgehog "You know youre completely intolerable sometimes."

Arms still behind his head, the blue 'hero' shrugged slightly and turned toward the general direction of the kitchens "Whatever. Give me a call if anything interesting happens."

The princess' tired frown followed Sonic until he disappeared from sight, all of two seconds later as he sped off deeper into the village. Some times she had to wonder.

"Your highness?"

She snapped out of the virtual trance of thought at Sabin's voice, standing up while keeping a genttel paw reassuringly on the kitten's shoulder "Oh, of course." Quickly she switched back to politician mode, lining up her questions and worries that required resolve "Well, first of all, I hope our hospitality has been to your liking so far?"

"Oh yes, it has been.", the orange feline replied, bowing his head slightly, "You have been most generous, Princess, and it is my wish to repay you in some way for this."

Sabin pushed thoughts of Rico out of his mind. He would deal with him later. For now, he had the feeling that Sally would have plenty of questions concerning their new visitors and his own origins...

OOC: "NOICE" on the Sally performance Ast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, a blast hit an area quite some distance from the forest. "Hit the dirt shorty!" The gray rabbit from before tackled the gerbil moments before a massive object few inches over their heads and crashed into the ground not far from their huddled forms. Wind and dirt flew out from the force of the impact forcing the two men to cling for their lives for a few fleeting moments that must have seemed like hours.

It was silent for a moment, the larger rabbit still covering the gerbil. Suddenly a thud was heard, the rabbit eyes bulged. He gagged and was throw off by a rather pissed off little rodent, "WHO YOU CALLING SHORTY! DAMMIT JOHN I'M GONNA -mrf" The hare put a hand over his muzzle, "Quit squawking for a second, Kevin. That ain't no robo craft. Look." He point at the crash sight, easily visible from the only quarter mile or so from them. Kevin's eyes narrowed, "What the... Whats going on here lately. That ship is Kydane." John looked semi serious, "Not just from Kyzarie. It survived the impact. Only Sodalitas craft are build to withstand that."

Kevin sneered, "Wardens... Here?" John's eyes narrowed, "Lets get moving, be ready." He sighed and started toward the ship, rifle draw and ready muttering, "Warden are almost as bad as Jedi. Damn finger wigglers." Kevin shoulder strapped a large futuristic looking rifle that almost as long as he was tall, "Tell me something I don't know. Nothing the LLC can't handle though." John's serious expression faded, "Just don't send yourself into orbit. You know about the kick on those lightning rifles right?" Kevin sneered and growled lowly, "Nothing I can't handle, or was that another short joke?" The rabbit snickered nervously, "I ain't that stupid. Mocking a guy holding a lightning cannon is bad even for me."

"Good lets get this over with, maybe there's some equipment we can salvage. Since you blew that droid into so many pieces I can't even use it as scrap." The gerbil said following him finally. John smiled oddly contining towards the downed ship, "You know I get excited around metal." The response was only, "Freak."

The young princess smiled and waved her hand in a light dismissing movement "You're aid in that fight was more then payment enough, you really pulled our tails out of the fire. However," She added, head tilting slightly, still remaining neutral but reinforcing her genuine concern over the next question "While we were in the city several unusual transport ships landed near the palace, carrying troops which we've never seen before. Being around Rico has taught me what to expect from foreigners to the Acorn Kingdom, and as you've yet to explain where you came from in any detail, I can't help but be a little suspicious."
The squirrel was already feeling a little uncomfortable, not wanting to offend a possible ally and yet needing to know the full extent of his involvement. She never did like politics, perhaps why she made such a good choice as leader for the knothole resistance.
"I know what this is going to sound like, but I need to know if these 'visitors' have anything to do with you're arrival here?"

"The troops wearing white armor...", the feline said quietly, "They have everything to do with me. They've come here to kill me."

Sighing, Sabin leaned against a nearby tree, arms crossed over his chest, eyes looking towards the ground. Mobius never had been pulled into galactic affairs before, so he doubted that Sally knew anything about the Empire or the Jedi Knights.

Looking up again at her, he said, "What if I were to tell you that Robotnik was merely a small, unimportant servant of a far larger and more powerful Empire which spanned and controlled this galaxy?"

"He's... Imperial?" Patrick breathed quietly, still clinging to Sally.

Sally glanced from the feline to the child clinging to her side, rapping an arm around him reassuringly as she razed an eyebrow of curiosity to Sabin, not knowing quiet what to make of this striking teory that the strange visitor had just surgested. To say the least, she would need a little more convincing and a definite in depth explanation, should it be true. But for the time being, she wavered on the side of skepticism "I'd say he must have been doing a pretty bad job if we can give him so much trouble."

"The Empire never cared about Mobius, nor the Republic before it. That's one of the reasons I'm here", the feline explained, "This is a good place for me to hide. The fact that I originated from here also helps matters."

Sabin shrugged and continued, "The Empire didn't think it was worth it to establish a garrison here, and so left Robotnik to his own devices. But since they discovered me here...that could very well change soon."

He sighed and shook his head, "I am one of the last of an ancient order known as the Jedi Knights. We were the guardians of the Galactic Republic until about ten years ago when the chancellor made himself Emperor and declared the Jedi enemies of the state. Since then, we've been hunted to the brink of extinction."

"Though they forget the sins date, they... will - suffer the same fate." The final line a mere whisper from his lips. Patrick remembered a line Rico had once taught him from his people's religious texts. Though it was a ambigous phrase that simply meant what goes around comes around, Rico had always used it when he was saying he would be revenge for his brother's death.

From what Sabin had described this Emperor had beaten Rico to the goal.

A moment of sollis passed over the conversation, the princess giving serious thought to what the 'jedi' had said, looking down at the soft earth and eyeing the dandelions that poked up above the coarse grass. If this was true, and this 'empire' really had come to the turbulent surface of mobius, then the whole resistance could be in danger. She gave the kitten a gentle rub with her supporting hand, his reaction to the news of 'the empire' arrival apparently backing up the elaborate tale, but she wanted to know for sure.
"Patrick? Do you know anything about this too?"

Patrick was still mildly in shock from the incident with Rico but did his best, closing his eyes and taking in a breath. "Yes. Sabin's telling the truth. I didn't know about the jedi being hunted to extinction though. It's, been a long time since I was off this planet. Rico might have known... but I doubt it."

With this confirmation, the ground squirrel looked back to the leaning Jedi, a serious expression spread across her normaly calm features "So, if this really is 'the empire', and they're after you, what kind of direct danger is the resistance in? Knothole is hidden either way, but there are other resistance forces across the planet to consider."

Sabin closed his green eyes and sighed. He knew exactly the kind of danger the Empire presented to the resistance and all the people of Mobius. He didn't know any gentle way of breaking it to her, so he was blunt about it. He opened his eyes.

"I imagine there's already a star destroyer in orbit. If they want me dead bad enough, they could just blast the Great Forest into a big sheet of glass. I doubt they'll go that far, though. They might just go after me and leave you alone. They might kill you all for giving me a safe haven. Whatever the case may be, I fear I've put you and everyone else in grave danger, and for that, I cannot appologise enough."

Kinnear let out a loud whistle, "Man no buttnik blaster did THIS kinda damage. Somethin mean hit this puppy." The hare put a paw into a large charred hole the craft's hull.

Kevin was already sitting cross legged, laptop booted. He ran a small device over the charred area, scanning information into the computer. He tapped on the keyboard for a minute before muttering, "Mmmm, you're right." The hare laughed, "All that geek stuff for that? Lord Kev I coulda -" "Imperial Ion Cannon." The gerbil interrupted, shocking the hare. "The Empire? Dammit did they follow us?" Kevin squinted his eyes looking up at the hole and back at his screen. "No. I don't think this ship was their intended target either. The strike patterns look are random. Almost like the ship stumbled blindly into an imperial battleship and then tried to run. Blast patterns are consistant with that, residue analysis comfirms its a ion canon blast from some kinda large weapon, and pattern of th... HEY! You aren't even LISTENING TO ME! KINNEAR!" He growled and set the laptop aside, popped to his feet and charged into the craft grumbling loudly.

"Kinnear I swear you got less brains than a droid. When I get my hands on... what?" The rabbit was knelt holding something intently. "Adiabat... Is this what it looks like?" He stated very seriously, picking up a small green backpack. The gerbils face wiped out, he could feel the faintness coming on. "N... no way. That can be." John swallowed and opened the bag slowly, looking through the contents.

"Oh man... Kevin you better look at this." The hare said slowly pulling out a neatly wrapped long rectangular boxed present, the small note said one thing, "Rico." "We better find that kid." The rabbit stated sternly. Kevin staggered out of the ship muttering painfully, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Sally closed her eyes and sighed inwardly, knowing that things had probably gone from bad to worse as far as their cause was concerned. "What's done is done I suppose." She muttered, giving the boy next to her a comforting rub "If they're anything like Robotnic, they'll still tear the forest apart looking for you, even if you did leave. As long as we have time to prepare we should -"
A loud rush of unnatural wind interrupted the princess mid sentence, the blue hedgehog screeching to a dust kicking halt as he reached her side, getting the first word in before she could pass comment on his intrusion "Before you start, Rotor sent me to fetch ya. The connection's up, Logan wants to speak with you, annn' he sounds annoyed at something about something as usual."
The squirrel nodded lightly, knowing what Logan could be like if ordered to do something he didn't really accept "Alright, go tell him I'm on my way" Turning back to the 'jedi' as sonic jetted off once again, she quickly pulled together a few exit lines and managed to explain her departure without gritting her teeth "You have to excuse me you can come if you want, but I better reply before he cuts the line" quickly she ducked down to Patrick's eye level, hand still rasuringly on his shoudure "I think we should give Rico some space for a while, hum?"

Patrick looked down, "The last thing he needs is to be alone. Maybe someone else should talk to him though. My empathic abilities scare him."

Sally sighed, using her spare hand to gently lift the kitten's chin so that she could see his watery eyes again "Okay, tell you what. This isn't going to take long at all, ten minuets tops. So we'll go over to the radio hut and as soon as we're done I'll go talk to him myself, m'kay?"

Patrick just nodded sullenly and shrunk away.

The blue fox leaned against a nearby tree as he took in the information he had heard. "Sure, sounds like a fun time. Heh." he snorted as he straightened his jacket and glanced at the skies.

"Perfect day to get shot down by the Grawl."

Patrick looked up and over at the fox, "I'm sorry, Rico was so - I just - I knew you wanted me to say something but I couldn't." He wiped his face with his arm and blinked again the tears. "Are you one of us?"

"Meaning if I'm from any planet relatively in this solar system? -No. I come from a planet far from here. My names Nero. And well, I crashed here." he smirked and looked at the boy.

"No need to be upset....by the looks of this Rico, he seems like a Mr. IminabubbleandIwontletanyonein." he snorted.

Patrick looked down once again muttering, "Yeah, a contracting bubble."

He nodded and retrieved the same digital device from before and put some digits in and spoke into it. "Okay, can you see if the ORION is in range of this planet by vocal or video communication?"

The small machine beeped. "Location of Furcadian Galactic Battleship, ORION is not in the area for communication with video nor audio with my services. Perhaps a radio tower may broaden range."

"Thanks, Mr. Nohelp." he snorted as he closed down the machine and clipped it back on his belt. "....no contact with Orion, ship grounded, and a Empire is here. Not that this empire contradicts with what I have to do to get in touch with Orion." he muttered.

He slid to the ground, and sighed. "Oh boy."

Sabin left Patrick and the fox on their own and followed after Princess Sally. He had the feeling that he would want to hear what was being said over the radio.

"Ok what did we miss. was there a ladder or something back this way?", spyder asked.

He shined the flashlight down the tunnel. They fortunately hadnt run into any robots or storm troopers.

"And who where those guys in the white armor.", spyder continued.

"Get down!", Zero ran towards spyder and leaped onto his back plowing him into the water and then under it as a large explosion ripped through the tunnel. The once solid iron bars that were blocking the tunnels exit were now twisted and mangled.

Spyder and zero resurfaced.

"Was that necessary?", Josh asked." Now every bot and whoever those guys in the white armor knows where we are at."

"Um sorry?",Zero kinda shrugged.

'More new commers?' sally thought irratubly, she symply didn't have time for this now. However, it was best to at least make a formal introdcution, and she briskly walked over to where the alien fox was now sat.
"I'm sorry about that, I didn't see you there. You'll have to forgive me, I'm needed over at the radio hut, but if you'd like to follow me we can make formal introductions there."
She quickly looked down at the kitten with a gentle smile "Are you comeing Patrick? Or are you going to stay here?"

Every emotion in his body screamed at him to go look for Rico. But his brain made a more rational thought, Rico would want infomation on the imperial threat and this communication seemed very important. Maybe an enemy to focus his anger on would help him. Patrick took in a breath and forced a shy smile to his face, "I'm coming."

<"Elmo! Can't ya- - - ost the power or something? Its like look- - - a sno - - storm!"> Came the broken, static clogged voice from the other side of the screen. There was a moment or two of interference, then with a blink the line suddenly cleared, the picture coming into focus freed from all but a few speckles of noise. In the background, a young squirrel could be seen clambered half way up a elaborate scaffold that looked although it were constructed from bits of scraped swatbots.
<"Thats as good as its gona get!"> he yelled, wrestling with various wires that dangled below a large antenna <"We'll end up blowing out the hard-line if we try to increases the single anymore.">
The Fulf had his back to the screen as Sally entered the small shack that housed the only technological equipment in the entire village. Rotor stood up and handed the mike to the young princess, just as a large shower of sparks sent Logan diving for cover. Clearly things were not going entirely to plan in the Railroad's main outpost.
<"God Damn Peace of Jehak!">
Logan clawed his way back onto screen, muttering profanities and tucking wires back into the panel that had exploded.
<"Rotor, can you do anything from your en- Sally! Damn, it's about time! Look, we've not got long here, the transmitter is like three generations too old to take Rotors alterations, we've got to shut down before we blow the hard-link">
"Lust tell me what I need to know Logan," The princess said clearly over the mike, glancing back at the kitten standing a few feet behind her "And try to mind you're language. What have you found?"
Alering a few settings, the Fulf looked back to the screen with an expression that immediately told the princess something was very wrong <"Its worse then we thought, Ma'am. We tracked another one of those shuttles. They're decending from a much higher orbit then should be possible. Nicky patched into the 'Cypher' dish, Robotnic's personal stargazer telescope. We got this back.."> A hazy picture popped up on the right side of the screen, the outline of a large diamond shaped craft visible in the haze of grays and false colour. <"these things are coming from high orbit, there's one big ass mother ship sitting right outside.">
Sally's eyes goggled slightly, a look of dismay crossing her features as she braught a hand up to her mouth in disbelief " how big is it?"
<"With the data we got from the scope we recken its between sixteen and twenty Pactors long, at least the size of Robotropolice itself. There's no telling just how many troops that thing is carrying.">
The princess swallowed hard, eyes still set on the data that Logan was conveying " how howmany are there?"
<"Just the one for now,"> Came a new voice replied over the com, a slender Raccoon female steping into shot, loading a disk into the computer below the camera point and leaning over Logan to tack a few command lines into the system to bring up various transcripts of interpreted transitions. <"This is all the data I managed to get before I was kicked out of the network. It seems like these alien visitors are 'fiends' of the good doctor, and they're apparently looking for something called a 'Jedi Knight'. Any idea what that is?">

"Yes. Me", said the feline Jedi as he stepped into view beside the princess. Gazing at the screen, Sabin reached out with one finger and ran it across the fuzzy image of the orbiting warship. "That's an Imperator-class star destroyer. They've come here to hunt down and kill me."

Shaking his head, the feline turned his eyes towards the raccoon. "My name is Sabin. I need to know something...Asides from the troops and equipment, did you learn about anyone else coming down in those shuttles, perhaps through an image or document you may have hacked? Someone who might be leading the troops?"

There was some shuffling of paper reams on the other end of the trasmition, Nicky eventually getting tired of having to lean around the Fulf and pushing him clean off the com chair <"Move over ya lump.">
After several moments of tacking away at another keyboard, she finally turned back to address the screen <"Nothing much mostly new troop dispatches and orders to double swatbot production in the southern quarter Hay.. Waait a minuet, here's something Robotnic's political accommodation sweet was refitted an hour ago. I'll see if I can-">
The raccoon seemed to become immersed in concentration as she scanned though the stolen data, looking for any hints as to the new occupant of the most luxurious apartment the palice could afford, ignoring the disgruntled hybrid scrambling to his feet and muttering something about 'ruddy women'. Finally she stopped, staring unblinkingly at the unseen monitor as she double checked and rechecked the info she had come across.
<"Hmm.. this could be it. Vader. The name reoccurs in three of the four direct troop order lists, voice command only. That means Robotnic must have been dealing with the room personally And this "> The screen blinked again, the video feed squashing to the far right hand side to make room for the uploading image <"Is a shot from the security footage of that first transport landing. Real formal do by the looks of things too.">
Gradually, with almost teeth grinding monotony, the photo slowly crept in to view, pixel line by pixel line. But about half way down, after roe upon row of formally arranged swatbot platoons, the unmistakable black helm came into view, and a deep chill of foreboding suddenly descended upon the small Radio shack as the face of the greatest threat to the mobian peoples emerged from the grey screen.

OOC: Don-don-don-dun-de-dun-don-de-dun

Sabin's eyes widened as they stared the dark figure on the screen, his mouth dropping open and his face beneath his fur turning pale. Unconciously, the cat's tail curled down between his legs, hidden by his long cloak.

"Vader...", he whispered, his hand trembling slightly against the screen. He took a deep breath and swallowed down the surge of fear which had gripped his heart. This was worse than he thought. Much worse.

"Do not confront Vader under any circumstances, do you understand me?", the feline said strongly. He continued to stare at the image of the dark lord, his claws extending and retracting rythmically.

<"I don't any of us have any intention of doing so--">
The hybrid was cut short by a sudden loud yell from the maintenance squirrel, now off screen but clearly in some sort of distress.
<"Shh-"> Logan remembered his audience and quickly abandoned the profanity <"... Sall we're gona have to cut the line, the transponder's over heating, Elmo thinks it'll crack at any minuet. We'll keep our ears to the ground and contact you again if we find anything.">
With that, the Fulf leaned over and clicked a switch on the side of the camera, the screen glitching before vanishing in a blanket of static fuzz. There was a moment of silence, Rotor clicking a few dials and confirming that the connection was gone.

Sally leaned back on the chair, hand lightly touching her lips in thought, a multitude of worry and questions floating around in her head.
"I take it," She said with suprising calm "That this 'lord vader' is bad news?"

OOC: *large post removed* After much discussion with the GM. I'm going to have decide on a new subplot other than having Toby leave Rico with a lightsaber only he can use, since anyone can use one.

*later* I got it. It's been done, but it rocks and I'm up @#%$ creek with two broken paddles right now so originality can F-off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're saying he lied. Why would Rico lie about Toby being dead?" Kevin said staring at the rabbit.

"Maybe because something happened. I mean, Rico DID visit him not a week before we he learned he died. Did he ever tell you ANYTHING about that visit?" Kinnear said rhymically tapping the present on his paw. Kevin looked down, "No, we weren't on the best of terms. But if you're insenuated Rico had ANYTHING to do with Toby's death you're as insane as his father, without Toby Rico's turned into a complete wreck. All he did before I gave was ramble about not being strong enough and studying that Teras Kasi and Jedi Force crap. You know he actually did some stupid experiment that torn his whole hut down? And another that set half the forest on fire. I'm telling you, Rico maybe a heartless self absorbed @#%$ but he would never hu-Kinnear... what is it all of a sudden? You've gotten all serious and crap."

John stopped walking, "Remember the bounty for the Rebels? The one you didn't want to take? Two hundred and fifty thousand credits for the man calling himself Kenji Pendragon?" Kevin stopped and turned around, "I told you, Kenji Pendragon is dead. The Rebellion is just grasping at straws looking for him. They aren't going to find the jedi slayer, he's been dead for 10 years." He looked down and started walking.

*ch-click*

The gerbil froze hearing the sound of a gun cocking behind him. "Kinnear - what?"

The rabbit's eyes narrowed, "Tell the whole truth, I've been with you long enough to know when you're leaving details out on purpose." Kevin sneered, "You're with the Rebellion?" Kinnear rolled his eyes, "No, I'm with the money and so should you. You're still carting around a flame for him, he dumped you like a bad habit."

Kevin soured, "What are you planning?" John sighed, "We, what are WE planning. I told Rico I'd take care of you, and I intend to do that." He let out a breath and lowered the rifle. "Tell me the truth, on Oakmaek, did Kenji kill those jedi?" Kevin tensed, "I don't know for sure." John glared, "Officially the Alliance reports seven hundred and fifty casualities tied to a man calling himself Kenji Pendragon. If he was killed on Coruscant ten years ago how could be have been murdering Alliance men and women a year and a half later?" Kevin shrunk back, "I don't know, I was on Mobius."

The rabbit grunted, "According to several reports the person that killed several of these men AND women was dog-like, human size, AND wore a cape AND a sword. Does that sound like anyone you know?" Kevin folded his arms, shaking as if the temperature had suddenly plumpted 30 degrees, "A lot of Kydane wear overcoats and carry family ceremonial blades. He could have just been dressing up too."

John slid around the smaller rodent and looked him straight in the eyes, "Did Rico really come right back here after a week on Coruscant?" Kevin wrinkled his nose, "YES." John smiled, "And he stayed here from that day on?" The gerbil's face suddenly fell. "I... I left him right afterward. After he just left for corosaunt without saying anything to me. I..."

John increase his stare as the gerbil started to look terrified, "You told me he 'got all self absorbed'. What did that mean?" Kevin's ears lowered, calming down some thinking back, "The worse thing was this horribly goddy white man... Oh my god." "A White Mantle, just like Kenji Pendragon, the one said was killed. You don't know where he was while a dozen jedi and rumor claims 1000 men and women were being slaughtered for siding with them?" Kevin looked destroyed, "Rico said he killed Kenji..." Kinnear nodded, "You know what I think? Kane, the real Kenji, went to stop your little boyfriend from doing something stupid on Oakmaek after he'd heard Toby was killed. Rico killed him, took his name and his armor and then started killing. Killing to avenge this cult that stole his little brother and got him killed."

Kevin fell to the ground staring at nothing, "I... I didn't want to believe." Kinnear snorted, "That the guy you love is the same one the Kydane call Kenji Pendragon the Jedi Slayer, Kenji the Manslayer, and far worse names. He's hated worse than the Sodalitas Warden. Well, by the free people of the universe anyway. Maybe we should bring this little bag back to him, see if he took a trip about a year ago. That was the last report of a manslayer sighting anyway." The teary gerbil nodded weakly, John helped him to his feet and they started for Knothole.

They probally would of continued walking if it was not for a invisible object stopping them from doing so. Of course, it had been the space-fighter that the pilot; Nero had crashed in upon earlier. Of course it's cloaking defenses stayed perfectly the same. However, not too far away was Nero. He had decided not to go with the Princess, and said he'd talk to her when she returned from her little mission. While they decided to do such he decided he should check out his ship and examine it on a closer spectrum since he was recooped with energy, water, and rations. Courtesy to the Princess. But he stopped as his ears twitched. He heard the clank, yes the 'clank' of someone running into his ship. Just what he didn't want.

Crap.

He hurridely approached his ship, silently.

"The bloody hell?" John squawked out rubbing his nose. "Some kinda energy field?" Kevin dejectly drug over and raised a fist.

*clang clang clang*

"Sounds more like a ship." He said still looking like an ad for death. "Kyzarie's had cloaking technology for awhile, Empire probably does too. Can we go? I just wanna get this over with and prove its not him." Kinnear growled and kicked at the ship, missing and stumbling to the ground, "God dammit, I'll show it." He dropped his rifle into his hands and raised it to fire.