StH - Clone Wars Ch.9

Chapter 9 - Sonic & the Secret Tomb

At the tomb, a Core ship had touched down along with a few Techno Union ships with the intention of making sure that the tomb does not get recaptured. If the Separatists cannot keep Rhen Var, then they can keep the tomb. Not far away, the Freedom Fighters' gunship proceeded towards another Core ship from another direction. "Nicole, can you give me the analysis of what to expect when we approach that Core ship?" Sally asked Nicole. "Checking, Sally." Nicole started. "The Core ship is joined by four Techno Union ships. The Trade Federation Core ship is deploying numerous reinforcements for the purpose of guarding Ulic Qel-Droma's tomb. Also, Robotnik has deployed as many SwatBots & Hover units at the tomb to help reinforce the Separatist army."

"How are we gonna distroy ze Core sheep & ze SwatBots?" Antoine asked, nervous. "It'll be a piece of cake, Ant!" Sonic answered, smirking. "Sonic, it'll take more than just the gunships to take down the Core ship." Sally explained. "We won't stop the reinforcements until we use the Mobile Assault Cannons to bombard that Core ship, along with preventing any evacuation." "What about the AT-TE walkers?" Rotor asked. "I mean the Mobile Assault Cannons can't really defend themselves against the Separatist forces being deployed from that Core ship!" "Processing." Nicole continued. "Each Mobile Assault Cannon will be accompanied by 8 AT-TE walkers. However even they alone cannot protect the Mobile Assault Cannons." "Looks like we'll have to use the gunships to trash those tank butts!" Sonic said, smacking his fist into his palm.

Just then their gunship swerved to the left towards the Trade Federation Core ship. "Hold on!" Sally ordered, grabbing onto the rails on the ceiling of the gunship. When the others grabbed onto the railings, the gunship started to fire its rockets at the nearby Separatist tanks, destroying them. "There is too many of them!" Bunnie yelled. More gunships joined to stop the flow of Separatist reinforcements. However just a few minutes later, a gunship exploded. "How in the hoo-ha....?" Bunnie started but Sally pointed out to the right of their gunship. "Stealthbots!" Sally growled. "Pilot, concentrate your fire on those Stealthbots!" "Yes, ma'am." the Clone Pilot nodded & flew the gunship to fire its laser cannons at one of the Stealthbots. The Stealthbot flew out of control & hit the Core ship. Antoine shrieked when he saw four more Stealthbots flying in from the left. "How are we gonna take down this mondo Core ship with these Stealthbutts firing at us?" Sonic asked, getting frustrated.

Just then they spotted a familiar gunship using their turbolaser cannons on the sides of the gunship to take down the Stealthbots. All of the Stealthbots flew out of control & crashed into the Core ship. "It's Anakin!" Bunnie cheered. Anakin's gunship then fired its rockets to bombard the remaining Stealthbots. "We'll take care of the Stealthbots! You just concentrate on taking care of that Core ship!" Anakin yelled on the comm. The Freedom Fighters' gunship then swerved & used the side turbolasers to continue the bombardment of the Separatist reinforcements. Just then they saw more aircraft heading right for them. But they weren't Stealthbots. "Robotnik's hovercraft!" Rotor yelled, pointing outside. But before the hovercrafts could fire a shot, they saw a hovercraft get bombarded by a white blast from the right & it instantly froze, causing it to fall to the ground like a rock.

"Dulcy!!" Sally cheered. Dulcy then breathed in for a few seconds & used the powerful wind to knock a few more hovercrafts down. She then breathed fire on the rest. Just then Sally noticed Tails was on Dulcy's back. "Tails??!! What are you doing??!! You're supposed to be on the Assault Ship!!!" Tails then jumped off of Dulcy & landed on a Droid Starfighter. He then slashed its "head" & caused it to fall. He jumped off & flew over to Dulcy. "Nice move, big guy!" Sonic congratulated Tails with a thumbs up. Tails, looking back at their gunship, gave a wink & a thumbs up while smiling. "Mobile Assault Cannons are in position." Sally said. "It'll only be a few minutes before that Core ship collapses. But we will have to keep protecting them from the Separatists!" Sonic was getting a little impatient while the gunship was bombarding the Separatist tanks while the Mobile Assault Cannons fired on the Core ship nonstop. "What is taking them so long?! That blimp's shoulda clunked by now!" Just when Sonic finished, the structural points on the Core ship reached critical & then collapsed into a huge pile of rubble.

"Scratch one Core ship!" Sonic cheered along with the other Freedom Fighters. "There's another Core ship ahead, Sally." Nicole announced. "There's anothar??!!" Antoine yelled. "Sadly yes." Sally answered. "But the good news is it's right in front of Ulic's tomb. If we take it out, then Robotnik & the Separatists cannot stop us from entering." "Anakin, we just received word of a convoy heading for Ulic's tomb." Obi-Wan announced on the comm. "Destroy that convoy before it reaches that Core ship or our forces will be overwhelmed." Anakin's gunship, along with the Freedom Fighters', saw the Separatist convoy right when they blasted through a wall of ice. "Fire!!" Sally ordered & both gunships used their rockets & turbolasers on the convoy. "We're not gonna make it!" Antoine cringed. "They are almost at ze Core sheep!" "Don't bet on that!" Sonic cheered as the last unit from the convoy was turned into a burning pile of rubble.

"Just one more Core ship & the tomb is ours!" Sally spoke to herself as they neared the next & final Core ship. "Take down the Techno Union ships before they have a chance to take off!" "Yes, ma'am." the Pilot accepted. Their gunship swerved to the left & fired on the first Techno Union ship. Anakin also helped to take down another one as well. "Thanks, Anakin!" Sally thanked, giving him the thumbs up to his gunship. "No prob, Princess." Anakin smiled. After they destroyed the remaining Techno Union ships, both gunships proceeded to destroy the reinforcements that threatened the Mobile Assault Cannons & the AT-TE walkers. "Why can't those gunships just carry those cannons to the Core ship?!" Sonic asked impatiently. "Sonic, those Mobile Assault Cannons are too heavy for the gunships to carry." Sally explained. "Besides they'll be here in a minute." "Can't they get here in 30 seconds?" Sonic asked with Sally rolling her eyes.

"Finally!" Sonic sighed with relief as the Mobile Assault Cannons finally arrived & started to fire on the Core ship while both gunships destroyed the Separatist tanks that were firing on the AT-TE walkers. "Sir, we lost a walker." a Clone Trooper announced. "We still have plenty more to hold off against the Separatist reinforcements." Sally told the Trooper on the comm. "What is taking them so long? I'm not sure how long we can hold off against all of these Separatist tanks!" "Look!" Rotor pointed at the structural points on the Core ship. "It's collapsing!" "Then we better juice!" Sonic suggested. Both gunships flew out of the way just in time to avoid the huge explosion caused by the Core ship. When the gunships landed right in front of Ulic's tomb, Sonic & Sally instantly ran out to join Anakin. When they got inside, Sally stopped. "I have a bad feeling about this." "What's wrong, Sal?" Sonic asked. "I get the feeling someone is watching us." "Like who?" Anakin asked but then he got that same feeling. "I'm sensing something strange." "We better be careful." Sally suggested. "If I guess it right, there could be powerful guardians protecting Ulic's tomb."

They slowly proceeded, awed by the crystals all over. "This place is amazing." Sally whispered in awe. "What if there are booby traps?" Sonic asked, remembering the time when he & the other Freedom Fighters were searching for the Secret Scrolls months before. "Most likely." Sally nodded. "We'll have to be careful." After walking for a few minutes, while looking at the ancient symbols from the Jedi during the Great Sith War, they reached a chamber full of strange generators powered by the crystals. "Master, I'm sensing something strange." Anakin spoke on the comm. "I feel it too." Sally added. "Yeah." Sonic agreed. "They won't let you enter without a fight." Obi-Wan explained. Just then strange ghost-like tanks appeared. "Uh oh!" Sonic managed to say. "Hold here, guys. I'll take these guys out!" "Sonic wait!" Sally protested but Sonic zoomed ahead. He went into his Buzz Saw Spin to slice the guardian in half. But he went right through it. "What the??" He managed to say with a confused look. "Yeeow!!" He managed to barely jump out of the way just in time to avoid another guardian's fire but not before realizing a small part of fur on his rear was burned off.

"Sal how do we take these guys out??!!" Sonic yelled, panicking. "Hmmm. Looks like the guardians are powered by these generators." Anakin pointed. "Let's do it to it, then." Sally suggested, igniting her lightsaber & charging forward at the first generator. Anakin did the same & a few guardians disappeared. "That seems to have an effect." Anakin cheered. "Sonic! Go for the generators!" "No prob." Sonic nodded, igniting his lightsaber. "Juice & jam time!" He zoomed ahead & zipped right through the generators at tremendous speeds. Within five minutes, the guardians were no more. "Don't you ever mess with the hedgehog." Sonic boasted, talking to a disabled generator. Just then they looked around to see all entrances blocked by some strange energy. "Mondo bad feeling!" Sonic managed to say when the entrances were blocked. Just then a secret entrance opened, revealing none other than Dr. Robotnik.

"So, hedgehog." Robotnik asked, laughing when he walked inside with Snively & a squad of SwatBots. "What do you think of my new ray shields?" "It stinks, RoButtnik!" Sonic growled. "Really?" Robotnik grinned evilly. "What could we add to make this scenery better? Ahhh I know! How about some portable Roboticizers! Snively?" "Yes, sir." Snively accepted, mentioning the SwatBots to bring in the portable Roboticizers, the same ones that Sonic saw in his nightmare some time ago when Robotnik tried to seed clouds with acid rain on the island of Nimbus. "Portable Roboticizers?" Anakin repeated. "Trying to capture us with your SwatBots won't do you any good. You're gonna have to try better than that!" "Oh I wasn't finished, young Skywalker." Robotnik cackled. "I even decided to bring in some new & improved Droidekas that I designed just for all of you!" Robotnik's versions of the Droideka was similar to the original Droidekas but they resembled SwatBots & they even could issue orders to other robots as well. Even worse, their weapons consisted of not only laser cannons but miniature heat-seeking missiles as well.

"Yo, RoButtnik!" Sonic yelled. "Do you honestly think these things can stop the hedgehog? Well check this!" He pulled out his Power Ring, ignited his lightsaber, & zoomed ahead towards the new Droidekas at full speed. They activated their shields but Sonic zipped right through them, tearing them apart. Then he zipped right through the portable Roboticizers & the SwatBots. "Hedgehog!!" Robotnik roared with rage. Sonic stopped right in front of him & Snively. "You're surrounded, Buttnik!" "I don't think so, rodent!" He then fired a laser from his finger right at Sonic's feet, causing him to jump. "Let's get out of here, Snively!" They wasted no time getting out of the tomb from the secret entrance & closing it. "Thanks, Sonic." Sally thanked, smiling at Sonic & kissing his cheek. "Anytime, Sal." He smiled back. "OK now that we scared Robotnik off, how are we gonna get to Ulic's tomb?" Anakin asked. "Nicole, is there a weakness in the ray shield generators?" Sally asked Nicole. "Checking, Sally." Nicole started. "The ray shield generators are made of cortosis, a mineral that resists lightsabers. The only way to disable them is to manually put in a code." "I know that's not good news." Sonic spoke. "Anakin & I could try it." Sally suggested.

Anakin & Sally got to one of the dashboards on the generator protecting Ulic's tomb. "Looks like a Separatist code." Anakin explained. "No I recognize it." Sally shook her head. "Looks more like a code Robotnik uses. Lemme try something...." Sally punched in a few buttons & then the generator was shut down, along with the ray shield. "Sal?" Sonic asked. "Looks like I'm not the only one who's good with machines." Anakin chuckled. "Well you should talk to Rote; he's got a knack for machines!" Sonic suggested. "Not now, we'll have to disable this generator & then get to Ulic's tomb." Sally suggested, moving to disable the other one. After a few minutes the other ray shield was shut down & the three Jedi moved inside Ulic's tomb. They slowly walked inside, looking around to see the crystals of all colors everywhere. "Oh my gosh. It's beautiful." Sally whispered in awe as they saw the crystals radiating numerous colors from the little light that was inside the cave. "Yeah." Sonic agreed. "Past cool."

When they reached the sarcophagus that contained Ulic's body, instantly the Force Spirit of Ulic Qel-Droma appeared. "You have passed the tests, young Jedi." The spirit of Ulic congratulated. "Truly, you three are all gifted in the ways of the Force." "Ulic Qel-Droma." Sally whispered in awe. "You helped to defeat the Dark Reaper during the Great Sith War! Could you show us how to stop it again?" "Yes I can teach you to harness the power of the Force around you." Ulic answered. "Making you immune to the Dark Reaper's effect....for a short time. But this comes at a great risk." "No prob!" Sonic smiled, giving a thumbs up. "I am willing to take that risk." Anakin added, agreeing with Sonic. "The knowledge that you three, Anakin Skywalker, Sonic the Hedgehog, & Princess Sally Acorn, seek is very powerful." Ulic warned. "Use it very carefully. Or it will lead you to the dark side." "I'm not afraid." Anakin dismissed the warning. "You should be." Ulic continued. "I once thought I was impervious to the allure of the dark side....but I was mistaken." He finished by revealing his scarred face, causing Anakin, Sonic, & Sally to back away in fear & alarm. "Please do not take the same path as I." "Please teach us." Sally requested. "We are ready."