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Author's Notes:

Tails of the Old Republic is a crossover between the Sonic the Hedgehog universe and the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game.

Sonic and all related IP belongs to SEGA/ Sonic Team
SW: KotOR and all related IP belongs to Disney/ Lucas Arts/ Bioware Corp
No copyright or trademark infringement intended.

Series rated "Web-14" for violence, mild language, and suggestive themes.

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Lower City Taris — Vulkar Base, part one

Despite the protests from both Mission and Carth, Miles Prower insisted upon completing their objective with them. The orange adolescent stubbornly refused to back down, even though his body was on the verge of falling apart. His bones creaked, his joints popped, his muscles ached, his skin burned, and his mind had a dense fog around it from both sleep deprivation and all the chemicals that were being pumped into his system just to keep him going.


The remainder of Tails' clothing had been completely ruined by the rancor monster's gastric juices. His pants, already shredded from his battle against the rakghoul swarm, now disintegrated under minimal stress, and both his pairs of gloves and boots were soaked through with acid. With no way to dry them or clean them, they would continue to eat into the fox's skin. Tails had been joking when he mentioned finishing the mission in a towel, but now it seemed he really would have to go naked. The boy could care less about the pants, and he was too tired to really care about his exposed hands and feet. Tails' nudity wouldn't have bothered him at all, were it not for the fact he was now walking barefoot on the filthy floor.


The entrance to the Black Vulkar base was at the far end of the rancor's pen. From here on, it would be a running gun fight, and the group gathered to discuss their possible tactics. Tails could hardly pay attention, though his neural implants built several maps and nav markers for him as Mission related the base's details. The Mobian fox once again relinquished his neuromuscular controls over to his cybernetics, knowing his internal AI would do a better job keeping him alive than his organic brain would at this point. The AI still had to follow his commands, but it would handle automatic response and reflexes, and would force his muscles to accept whatever load he dictated. Tails felt like a ghost trapped in his own body during these sessions, but it couldn't be helped. The boy had programmed his cybernetic systems with all possible safeguards, but there was always a lingering fear his body could start running away from him at any moment.


“Are we ready?” asked Mission.


Everyone nodded and grunted in agreement. Carth and Mission activated their energy shields, and a faint bluish aura enveloped their bodies. Opening the wide blast door, the team rushed in and greeted the first two Vulkar guards. The Human and Twi'lek gunned them down without hesitation or remorse. Both Carth and Mission took hits, but their shields absorbed and scattered the shots. Passing through another door, they entered the Vulkar base proper, and found it surprisingly empty. That didn't mean there were no defenses though, and several guards arrived to stop them.


Details blurred inside Tails' head. Blaster bolts sizzled past him, and the fox returned fire on the vague shapes in the background. Tails aimed for his opponents' own weapons, and nine shots out of ten, his targets pulled back a charred stump. In spite of all his accumulated injuries, Tails moved like water, ducking and weaving and running like hell. Carth, Mission, and Zaalbar were less reserved about their targets, and shot to kill.


The Vulkar base was a tight network of rooms and corridors, and one area looked almost identical to another. Gang members grouped to drive back the invading party, and guard robots were brought out for extra persuasion. Mission had already burned through two charges for her shield, and Carth had burned through three. The guard robots were shielded themselves, and took a focused hail of gunfire to take down.


The defenders began to thin out, and the four made it into the base's armory. There was a brief firefight, and one green Twi'lek male surrendered.


“I surrender, I surrender!” he exclaimed. “Please, don't kill me; I'm not like these others. I'm not like Brejik and his new Vulkar gang!”


Carth approached him while the others secured the area. “You're not part of the Vulkar gang?” Carth part asked, part demanded.


“I'm a Vulkar,” the Twi'lek man answered, “but I was here long before Brejik took over. I was a Vulkar back when it meant something, back when we had honor. Then Brejik and his followers took over, and turned our gang into a bunch of violent thugs and bloodthirsty punks. Now they treat all us original Vulkars like second-class citizens. Take me, for example. I used to be one of the highest ranking Vulkars in the gang. Now I'm stuck on guard duty here in the back, all thanks to Brejik.”


It was clear this man hated Brejik and what the Vulkar gang had become; probably the only reason he remained there was because he was forced to.


“Where can we find the swoop engine accelerator?” Carth asked.


“Right — that gadget that Brejik stole from the Beks. He's got the accelerator in the basement garage. The only way down is using the security elevator in the back of the base.”


The Twi'lek man explained they needed a find a pass card to use the elevator and bypass the turret defenses, and only one of Brejik's lieutenants would have one. That meant the entire base would likely have to be cleaned out before they could move on. Neither Carth, Tails, Mission, nor Zaalbar liked that prospect, but it looked as if they had no choice. The party was able to pick through the armory and replenish their weapons and essential supplies, and they found four fresh personnel shield generators as well.


With their permission, the Twi'lek man took off, and the party continued scouring the Vulkar base for that pass card. Even when Tails' shield absorbed an incoming shot, enough of its heat still leaked through to sizzle the boy's skin and fur. His skin already compromised from the rancor's stomach acid, each further injury made him bleed. Even now, traces of acid remained on Tails skin, and the fox's sweat ensured that it could continue nibbling at his flesh. Tails was already pushing himself far beyond his body's limits, but his cybernetic augmentations wouldn't let him stop.


After about twenty minutes of fighting, the party finally got what they needed to access the lower level.


The lower level appeared to be a giant parking garage. Swoop bikes and all sorts of machinery littered the floor. The team found a doorway that lead to a well-defended office and storage room. Carth and Zaalbar took the lead, with Mission hanging back with Tails. All four of them recharged their personal shield generators and then stormed the building.


Two Twi'leks, a green male one and an orange-and-purple female, immediately confronted them, backed by two heavy assault droids.


“Looks like we have visitors,” the green one snarled. “Lackeys conned by Gadon into stealing our swoop accelerator, I bet!”


The team took defensive positions, and Mission shouted back, “Brejik stole that engine from Gadon; it was never yours to begin with!”


The green Twi'lek snorted. “Well, I didn't go to all the trouble of acquiring the prototype just so you could steal it back!”


“Would you like me to dispose of these Bek spies, Kandon?” the orange one said. Something in her silky-smooth voice immediately set Tails' nerves on edge.


“Wait,” said Kandon, the green one. He regarded the four intruders a moment, then said, “You aren't wearing Hidden Bek colors — you must be freelance mercenaries. Instead of trying to steal back the swoop accelerator for Gadon — you'll fail — why don't you come work for us? The Black Vulkars could use people like you!”


Tails knew what the green one was doing. Their energy shields only held a charge for three minutes at best, then they would have to wait for the power cells to recycle or manually load a fresh charge. Kandon was eating up precious seconds.


Carth Onasi gingerly exposed part of his face from the support pillar he was behind. “I think we know all about the Vulkar gang. Hand over the engine immediately, and we'll consider letting you go.”


“Be smart; Gadon Thek is old news!” Kandon bellowed. “He's a blind fool in more ways than one! Brejik is a visionary — soon, he'll control the entire Lower City! Don't shackle yourselves to the losing side!”


"Forget it," Mission shouted out, "we're not going to betray Gadon!"


Tails got to thinking that subtlety wasn't one of Mission's strong points.


The green Twi'lek sighed. "I can see there's not much chance to convince to come join our side. Most unfortunate."


The female, orange-and-purple Twi'lek beside him cooed, "Can I kill them now, Kandon?"


"Yes, darling, kill them," Kandon replied. "Kill them all."