Chapter 2 for this story is here! Just in case no one knew, I edited chapter 1. Changed some scenes, added some other stuff. Did some stuff. Go check it out.
OH! Before I forget, I added links on my profile on what SU ships and armor was designed off of. So, check those out too.
Disclaimer is in the first chapter.
328 AKI
SU-Held System Pearl
SVS Stalwart Determination
Naruto's whole demeanor changed in the blink of an eye, where at first he was friendly and casual, though respectful, now he was full of authority and power and experience. He sat down with his elbows on the table, his hands interlocked together in front of his face, covering all except for his eyes which shined past and seemingly looked into your soul.
"First, I would like to properly introduce myself. I am Captain Cutter of the UNSC Spirit of Fire, of the United Nations Space Command, the military, scientific, and exploratory arm of the United Earth Government. I arrived here with my ship by absolute accident after putting all crew except our AI into cryo due to the fact we lost our mode of Faster Than Light travel. We are not looking for a fight, just trying to get home." Cutter's face showed his fatigue, the bags under his eyes visible.
"We expected to find ourselves back in our home system, or at least a system we held after we entered cryo. At current, we have limited resources, no way home, and far out of known space. On top of that, our ship is damaged after fighting a covenant of alien species who made it their mission to exterminate humanity because they found us as an, and I quote, 'Affront to their gods.'" He looked into each of their eyes, meeting their gazes for a few seconds before moving to the next.
"At this moment in time, I am asking for help, even if it's just to get us out of your system faster."
The room was silent after Cutter's appeal for help. All five leaders were staring at Cutter, their thoughts unknown, their eyes giving nothing away. After a few minutes of silence passed, Naruto spoke up, "Is there any possibility of negotiation with them?"
"No, every time we attempted to send ambassadors they were killed. Every message we sent was given no reply. Also from what we can find, they won't stop for anything other than our extermination, or their extermination. Their hatred of our humanity also has the possibility of transferring onto you since you are also human."
"That is a grave problem. How long have you been at war with them?" That was Gaara, the Fifth Wind Shadow.
"At the moment, our calendar says that it has been twenty-seven years since the start of the war. I have no idea what the situation at the moment is though. We went into cryo in 2531 after the fight in a Forerunner shield world. Do you know who or what Forerunners are?" Cutter questioned the five, seeing as they had similar technology.
The five kages then quickly looked between themselves, before they returned their attention to Cutter and Naruto spoke up again, "We do actually. Very much so. Our technology, as you have probably guessed, is based on Forerunner technology that we acquired several centuries ago after a certain incident. But first, why don't we explain some details about the Shinobi Union to you, seeing as you have already explained a bit about the UNSC."
Then, Darui spoke, "We, as the five shadows, are the leaders of the Shinobi Union. The Shinobi Union is the government that was formed after our Fourth Ninja World War. After an incident a very short while after its formation, we discovered the Forerunners, which propelled our people into the void of space."
Kurotsuchi, "But with the advent of Forerunner technology also came many new advances into many branches of science. Medicine, physics, chemistry, but most importantly we learned about our past and the fact that there might be another human race out there besides us, along with many other alien species."
"So that is why you weren't all that surprised when we showed up…" Cutter 'hmmm'ed' in thought.
Chojuro, "Due to the new influx of information and technology, we expanded into the stars, our population boomed, technology advanced at a rapid pace, and we prepared for eventual First Contact with another race. Although we hoped that if it was true that there was another human race, that we achieved contact with them first. Which we did with your arrival."
Gaara, "We know what it is like to hang under the threat of extermination. Even though it wasn't as direct as yours, we would not wish it to happen if we knew about it. We, long ago, agreed that if we did meet our human cousins that we would pursue friendly relationships. We are both human after all, so why should we fight each other?"
Naruto now spoke up, "As such, we feel it our duty to help our human cousins now, to help you against this Covenant. Starting with the repair of your ship, and with your permission, some enhancements. We will not stand idle whilst our cousins be under threat of genocide, no sentient species should be under threat of such a thing. As dictated by the Mantle of Responsibility that has been passed down to all current humans, Reclaimers as we are otherwise called, by the Forerunners to continue to be the guardians of all life." Naruto ended with a smile on his face, which in turn elicited smiles on the other kages.
Cutter on the other hand, couldn't believe what he had just heard. Not only will he be able to get help for his crew and ship, in all possibilities, he just managed to find allies to help them against the Covenant. Even the Spartans behind him, stiffened ever so slightly at the news, which the kages all noticed.
Cutter broke out into a euphoric smile, "Thank you, so much… How long will it take to repair our ship?"
"It should only take a couple of days. With your permission, we would like to enhance your ship to our standards as is your right." Chojuro replied.
"Of course, go right ahead. If possible, would you allow my crew for a break on the planet? Let them stretch out their legs a bit?"
"We can allow that. Hashirama will give you the details. Other than that, would you like to hash out our agreement in further detail?" Naruto said, prompting an AI to appear at the center of the table. He was dressed in red armor with brown eyes and dark brown hair and when he appeared, bowed to the group.
"Very well." The future of the UNSC looked bright, that is, if it wasn't destroyed already.
18.7.2552 UNSC Calendar
SU-Held System Pearl
UNSC Spirit of Fire
It's been over a week since the Spirit of Fire found itself in SU space. True to their word, the Spirit of Fire was repaired and enhanced by their engineers. Although it was very surprising to see a Covenant Huragok floating around and fixing stuff; with a bit of explanation though, it was cleared up. The fact that they never attacked anybody during the war helped a lot though.
Captain Cutter was standing in his newly repaired bridge. The walls still the same gunmetal grey, except this time they were replaced to the standards of an SU ship. It could take a plasma torpedo head on and come out only a little scorched. The ship was equipped with a new shielding system that was on par to a Covenant assault carrier which was powered by a pair of Forerunner power cores, with another pair of deuterium power cores as backup. The Slipspace drive was also replaced, this time it allowed travel of up to 3750 LY per day.
Along with a new hull plating and shielding system, the Spirit of Fire received new weapon systems. This included the Z-8070 Heavy Directed Energy Weapon that was mounted on the sides for additional anti-ship capabilities, the Z-8500 Point Exterior Defense Network replacing the previous 50mm PDW for point defense against fighters although it can increase its charge for close range anti-ship duty. Along with upgrades to the MAC that meant it could fire multiple times before needing to recharge and a small energy projector just below it.
His bridge crew were sitting at their positions, their consoles improved with increased processing power and memory banks. Serina also was improved, her life-span increased, along with processing power and memory.
Now, after everything that has happened, he was ready to go back home. The men were well-rested and itching to get back into the fight. The ship was repaired to be even better than before.
At first he was apprehensive to allow an alien race stepping into the Inner Colonies, Earth especially, but the Cole Protocol only concerned Covenant forces. Another matter was that although the Shinobi Union are technically aliens, they are human. So in effect, it is not violating the Cole Protocol at all. In addition he is bringing back allies to help in the war.
In agreement between the five kages, Cutter asked that they first send one ship with them back to Earth, so as to not incite panic to the defense forces. This way, the ship could act as an envoy from the Shinobi Union, to the UNSC, which in essence, the UEG. The ship in question was Captain Nara's ship, standing at 10 km in length, a Senbon-class Multi-Purpose Vessel fitted to be a deep exploration vessel.
Captain Nara's vessel in its basic form looked similar to Commander Naruto's ship, which was designed on one form style from which every SU ship was designed off of. The ship had the same shape, except it didn't have the slit horizontally in front. Instead, where the slit would be was strips of blue light, the tip tapering to a sharp point. Just behind the tip though was fins pointing away from the ship, both on top and bottom similar to a shark fin.. At the back though, it had something sort of like wings, except it was short and angled downwards with armor strips connecting it to the main body. The engines being the same along with no visible weapon ports.
Surprisingly, Commander Naruto decided to accompany them on the SVS Pearl, along with his personal bodyguards totaling to around a squad of 10. Along with the ship's complement of a full company of the Shinobi Union's version of Marines, the Shinobi, and two full companies of their version of the Army, the Ashigaru.
The Shinobi, although their version of Marines, were elite units, on par in training and experience of ODSTs with usage being standard infantry, special naval vessel complements, planetary garrisons, shock troops, and special forces. When asked of their capabilities by Cutter though, he was surprised (read: shocked senseless) that they were able to perform acts that were akin to magic: shooting fireballs from their mouths, lightning from their fingertips, creating a wall of earth from the ground. He then learned that every person in the Shinobi Union had a second set of system akin to blood vessels in the body that transported a type of energy called 'Chakra'. With the usage of this 'Chakra', those trained in its use were able to perform acts of 'Ninjutsu' and 'Genjutsu'. Along with these acts, they were able to use 'Chakra' to increase their body's performance, strengthening the muscles to lift large weights, move faster, see shaper, hear better, etc.
Along with this, was a science called 'Fuinjutsu', the Art of Seals. 'Fuinjutsu', he learned, were basically runes that was created through the use of 'Chakra' for any purpose the creator wanted. The range of uses was limited merely by the user's imagination. This was further shown when he opened a scroll, and after placing a hand on it, came a cloud of smoke that revealed a steaming hot bowl of ramen, complete in a red-rimmed bowl and chopsticks, which was said to come from a pocket of subspace.
The Ashigaru, were similar to the UNSC's Army. Although they weren't used only to garrison planets, which were levied from the particular planet's own population. Along with being a planet's main garrison forces, they were the default complement for any naval vessel and the main standing army of the Shinobi Union. The Ashigaru though, differing from the Shinobi, were not able to utilize 'Chakra', instead using purely physical weapons using ionized particles and hard light. Not to say that the Shinobi doesn't use them, they do, simply for the Ashigaru, it is their only weapon along with units similar to UNSC units, artillery, logistics, armoured, mechanized, etc.
After everything was set up, Naruto, in the SVS Pearl, and Cutter, in the UNSC Spirit of Fire, began preparations for jump to Slipspace to travel to Earth. Which after an hour was revealed that the journey itself would take at least six days to get there, even with the incredible Slipspace drives.
Eventually though, everything was ready or travel: supplies were stocked, ammunition stocked, weapons readied, data backed up, personnel well rested. They spooled up their drives and entered the black space that is the eleven dimensions that made up Slipspace.
24.7.2552 UNSC Calendar
Earth, Sol System, Inner Colonies
UNSC Spirit of Fire
The moment they left Slipspace, they expected to see the beautiful blue oceans of Earth, with hundred of ODPs orbiting it and the UNSC Home Fleet guarding the system. Instead, the alarms blared, Serina calling for battlestations, and the biggest Covenant fleet ever to be encountered besieging Earth, with the Earth itself on fire, most around major cities and space elevators. The space around Earth filled with the wreckage of destroyed ships and explosions. The UNSC Home Fleet was busy fighting off the Covenant fleet with everything they got, but it seems that there was a breach in the defenses.
Immediately as they arrived, they were hailed by the flagship of the UNSC Home Fleet, the picture of Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood appearing on the main holoscreen on the bridge of the Spirit of Fire, "Captain Cutter! I see you're alive and well. I'll skip the questions on what happened to you all these years, instead I'm going to ask you this: What the hell is that ship next to you doing in the Sol System?!"
"That ship belongs to the Shinobi Union, they are here as our new allies! But the most important thing is that they're human sir! I doubt you have time for me to explain everything to you, so I'll send you a data packet instead. Other than that, the Spirit of Fire got a major upgrade thanks to them and we're ready to help, sir!" Cutter replied, Serina having already sent the data packet before he even finished and Hood on the screen reading off a datapad. "I can get them to join this line if you want it sir?"
"Go ahead, I want to see them myself." Hood said, before a second face appeared next to him on the holoscreen.
"Hello there, I am Commander Uzumaki Naruto, one of the five leaders of the Shinobi Union. It is nice to meet you but I see that you have your hands full at the moment?" Naruto said already dressed in armor.
"Good to meet you Commander Uzumaki. It has been made apparent to me that you are our new allies. Can we count on you to help us?" Hood asked, his face absolutely serious.
"Yes of course. We didn't expect there to be a full out space battle here so we only brought one ship. At current, we have two companies of Ashigaru, our version of your Army, and one company of Shinobi, our version of your Marines. Just tell us where you need them and we'll send it. This ship will also fight alongside you against their fleet."
"Very well, I'll have my AI tell you where you're needed."
"Alright, I got it. I'll have my AI coordinate with your troops and mine to plug up breaches in whatever front you need help. I'll drop down in New Mombasa with my squad, who is the ranking officer on the ground I will need to link up with?"
"You're going down with them?"
"Yes, our people lead from the front in war."
"Very well, at the moment, New Mombasa is too hot for any troops to deploy, so you'll need to deploy your troops at the town of Voi. We have control of an old military base there under the command of Commander Keyes. She will brief you more once you're on the ground."
"Very well, I'll be joining the troops, Captain Nara," At which point another face appeared, "will from here on out will be in command of this ship. Goodluck Fleet Admiral." Then Naruto's face disappeared, leaving only Lord Hood and Captain Nara on the holoscreen.
"This is Captain Nara, my ship, the SVS Curiosity, and I are prepared to lend you our support, where do you need us?"
"Captain Nara, you have already received the information?"
"Yes, all information has been received, waiting on your order."
"How long will it take to drop off your troop complements?"
"Only a few minutes, our dropships are moving towards the planet already and and Commander Uzumaki is about to make landfall at Voi. As soon as our troops make landfall, we can use them as beacons for sending in supplies through our teleportation grid."
"I see. Where is Commander Uzumaki now?"
"In freefall."
"What?"
24.7.2552 UNSC Calendar
Earth, Sol System, Inner Colonies
Crow's Nest, Near Voi
"Ma'am! Message from Fleet Admiral Hood!"
"Give it here Corporal." Commander Keyes receiving a datapad from the soldier and looking through it before a smile bloomed on her face. Turning to communications, "Connect me to the bases PA system."
"Yes ma'am. And…. You're connected."
"Attention all troops, prepare for reinforcements to arrive at the front gate! The UNSC Spirit of Fire has just made it home and they brought friends! Troops from the Shinobi Union are going to make landfall at various fronts against the Covenant around the globe. We ourselves are receiving a squad of reinforcements for our push towards New Mombasa. The squad coming down is their commander, seems like they like to lead from the front. The Covenant is going to get a surprise today!"
24.7.2552 UNSC Calendar
Earth, Sol System, Inner Colonies
East-African Jungle, Near Voi
"Yeah, I see'em, but you won't believe how they're coming down. Yup, yeah. I have the Chief with me right now. Alright, I'll make contact. Johnson out." Johnson gave the radio back to the marine next to him, before taking his MA5C in his hands. "Let's move out boys and girls! Let's go meet our new friends!"
The small squad of about eight marines plus one Spartan quickly made their way to the impact site of where the Shinobi Union squad was to make their arrival. The small patch of ground was surprisingly clean, no crater, no smoke, and no squashed bodies. Just the group of eleven soldiers in dull silver armor standing in perfect parade files.
"Heh, not bad…" Johnson murmured, before calling out, "You the reinforcements?"
The one that stood in front of the other ten spoke up, "Yes, you must be Sergeant Major Avery Johnson. Me and my personal squad are here to provide support for your push towards Voi and ultimately New Mombasa." His head, all their heads were covered in a helmet that was also a dull silver, where a faceplate would be was a blue screen, not letting the marines and Spartan see their faces.
"Very well, mind telling me who I'm going to be working with?"
"I am Commander Uzumaki Naruto, one of the five leaders of the Shinobi Union," Then his helmet folded into his suit, showing his whiskered and blond hair framed face, "It is a pleasure to meet our human cousins."
Inside Chief's suit, Cortana was commenting, "Huh, if I had a physical body, I would be blushing right about now. He looks handsome as hell…" Which prompted Chief to slap his helmet.
"Well then Commander, pleasure to meet you, follow us back to Crow's Nest, Commander Keyes is waiting for you." Johnson said before turning around, his rifle in his hands.
As they were walking back to base, Naruto spoke up, "Sergeant, Covenant patrol up ahead, ten bodies. Would you like us to take them out?"
Shrugging, Johnson gave them the go ahead wanting to see how they stack up. He took his squad and Chief closer to watch. Crouching in the foliage, they couldn't see any of the Shinobi squad, even though the forest was full of greens and browns, no signs of any silver could be seen. Soon, the Covenant patrol came into view, two brutes followed by three jackals and five grunts.
Within seconds of them coming into view, the patrol suddenly froze. Then Naruto himself came out, although his helmet was up, he could be identified since he was tagged. He stepped into the patrol's midst holding what looked like to be a katana, before he swiftly cut off each and every one of their heads, the bodies all falling like cut puppets. As quickly as he appeared, he then melted back into the surrounding forest, the dull silver disappearing into the greens and browns.
Johnson's squad then moved up before Naruto's squad came out of the forest in front of them. "That was an interesting way of taking them out. Why did they suddenly freeze up like that?"
"Ah, that is what we call a 'Genjutsu'. It tricks the victim, or victim's' senses to see, hear, feel, what we want them to. But in reality, their bodies freeze allowing them to be vulnerable to any and all attacks." Naruto explained.
"Okay then, let's keep going."
24.7.2552 UNSC Calendar
Earth, Sol System, Inner Colonies
Crow's Nest, Near Voi
Soon, the UNSC and SU squad arrived at the base. The guards at the front gates quickly opening up the door and allowing them inside. Quickly, Johnson, Chief, and the SU squad was ushered to the command center, the Spartan and the SU squad receiving stares along the way.
As they arrived at the command center, they found Commander Keyes standing in front of a large screen that showed the progress of the battle. Hearing the steps behind her she turned around and finally saw what the SU troops looked like, the suits a gleaming silver with glowing, colorful lines between armor plates, the blue faceplate, it certainly looked advanced.
"Ah, Johnson, Chief. Finally, you must be the Shinobi Union squad. Which one of you is the commanding officer?" Keyes asked, eyeing them closely.
Naruto stepped up, his armor having red lights, signifying his rank, his helmet folding into the rest of his armor, "That would be me, Commander Uzumaki at your service, behind me is my personal squad. Pleasure to be working with you Commander Keyes."
"And to you as well. I understand you are landing troops all over the globe?"
"Yes, they're being sent to locations where fighting is the heaviest or where UNSC lines are breaking. We only have at current three full companies at our disposal currently, although we are calling for reinforcements which would take around six days to get here. An entire battlegroup is being sent, my battlegroup of eight ships each longer than a Covenant Supercarrier. I believe that it would be enough?"
Each soldier in the room stopped what they were doing the moment they heard those words. The news that reinforcements of such caliber were coming to help lifted the morale of everyone there immensely. Maybe it won't be that long until the war is over!
Coming out of her shock, Keyes grinned, "Your battlegroup is coming huh? Why aren't you on it then?"
Naruto cheekily smiled, "Ah well, you know… Had to be diplomats and all that and one of the Shinobi Union's leaders had to come here to reach out for an alliance."
"You're one of the Shinobi Union's leaders? Like how the president is for the UEG?"
"Basically. There is five of us that leads the SU. It's not a democracy like yours is, but it has been very peaceful for a long time. Other than pirates and stuff like that…"
"If that's the case, why are you down here fighting? Shouldn't you be back on your ship and be safe?"
Naruto chuckled, "For you guys, leaders sit behind a desk while you fight. Not us. One of the requirements to be one of the five kages, the five leaders of the Shinobi Union is that you have to be a warrior, one of the best to be exact and to fight in front of everyone else in times of war. We lead by example. We are all willing to die if it means we can save our people. Each one of the kages are hardened warriors, we've been through war, we've seen friends and family die in battle, we are no strangers to death."
That news made her smile. Here was a leader of an entire race who left home and safety to fight in some god-forsaken jungle against genocidal aliens for people that barely knew.
Just maybe, the battle for earth won't be that bad.
Codex Entry
Ships
Senbon-class Multi-Purpose Vessel
The Senbon-class Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) is a void ship that was created by Fujiwara Heavy Industries. The vessel was designed to be flexible in its roles. It is able to take on a large multitude of roles, ranging from transport vessels to being a frigate in a fleet.
Through the simple process of changing several core systems, the ship can be changed from role to role quickly and cheaply. The only thing after is procuring the necessary equipment for its role, such as being an exploration vessel, it would require very efficient engines and very good sensors when going into unknown space.
Many civilian captains has taken to using the vessel for its reliability and flexibility. Although because of its traits that many pirates has also taken to it for their work. At current, the ship is one of the main workhorses of the Shinobi Union's Navy. Being that it is cheap to make, and flexible and at the same time powerful, it is one of their more iconic warships only second to the Fortress-class vessels that all Kages command.
Would you like to know more?
Yes No
And that is a wrap! Yes, I have introduced Codex entries to this series! Simply because doing so I can go further in depth about many things, such as the Senbon-class vessels. This way I can use more space when I write instead of using it to explain lots of things, or simply to extend the story. I mean, what good story has little to no lore?
Other than that, this chapter was rather difficult to write. Even now, after finishing it, it sorta feels off. I'll just leave it up to you guys to decide whether this chapter is good or not.
Other than that, school is about to start again, so expect updates to come slower and more sporadic. I also might have another new story in the works… Yes I know! You want me to concentrate on my current stories, but it'll be worth it! Trust me!
