Hey everyone, I am back with another chapter :)
First to answer the review
bankai777 - No it won't , thanks for the review and hope you enjoy the chapter
So this originally was a really short chapter, I added a whole new scene to try and make it longer with Naruto and Kushina, I tried to extend some other scenes as well. anyway I hope you all enjoy it :)
Book 3 - Star Trek Predator: For Freedom - Chapter 2, mission prep and departure
The Freedom was still traveling at high warp , Jake was leading Naruto, Sasuke and Suzu on a Tour of the ship. They went from the bridge to the mess hall, to the sickbay to the holodecks, to the shuttle bay and finally Main engineering and other random places like the computer core and such. They ended the tour where it began, in front of their quarters
"This is a nice ship I'm happy to be serving on such a ship" Sasuke commented
"Yeah but I think I would of loved to be on the Enterprise, or even Voyager better" Naruto stated
"The Freedom is a state of the art battleship, many cadets would be proud to be serving on this ship" Jake added
"Don't take it the wrong way, I really am proud to be serving on the Freedom, its just I was hoping to server under Captain Picard or Captain Chakotay" Naruto quickly told him
"Well at least your with Sasuke, I am alone on the Century" Suzu said with a slightly sad tone
"Yeah, you are right, I am sorry Suzu" Naruto said feeling horrible
"So what are your postings?" Jake asked out of curiosity
"We are security officers, all Konoha officers got assigned security. Although I am hoping to join the bridge crew as a helmsmen" Naruto answered
"And I want to join the Hazard team" Sasuke added
"Well the current hazard team CO is very strict on who gets on the team, so I wish you luck with that. Well I'm going back on duty now, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask, that goes for you as well ensign Nohara" Jake told them
"You can call me Suzu, and thank you" She answered as Jake walked away
"You want to join us?" Sasuke asked Suzu as Naruto entered their quarters
"Sure" She answered with a smile as they both followed Naruto in "These are nice quarters" She commented as she sat down on the couch
"Well it's larger then the one on the Thunder anyway" he said as he allowed himself to fall into one of the bed "And the beds are comfortable too" He added "So what do you think happened to our first officer?" He asked as he sat up
"How should I know? My guess is he was captured by the enemy, or maybe he is just cut off and is in hiding, we wont know until we are actually there" Sasuke answered, he was thinking back to the last time they had an encounter with the new alien race and how he led Naruto into a trap "Maybe you should stay behind, Suzu and I can handle it" Sasuke suggested
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked a bit surprise
"The three of us going may raise suspicion, the two of us would be able to move faster" Sasuke said, knowing that it was just a lie, he just didn't want to lead Naruto into harm again
"What the hell man? First of all Konoha normally operates with three to four men teams, of which I use to be a team leader, your team leader to be more accurate!" Naruto said in protest "So tell me again why I should sit this one out?" He added
"You still can't beat me" Sasuke told him
"What the hell does that have to do with anything? Don't change the subject, I'm coming and that's final" Naruto stated with a bit of frustration
"Don't be an idiot, your best move is to stay here on the ship where its safe, me and Suzu can handle this"
Naruto slammed his fist against the table in anger "Where its safe? Do you have such a low opinion of my skills you don't believe I can do a simple recon and rescue mission? If we were back home I would still be leading teams into dangerous missions, hell I might even be ANBU by now going on the most dangerous missions of all! So you can get off of your high horse because like I said before, I am coming" He said as he walked out of the room in anger
Suzu was speechless as she didn't really know what to do or say "Are you alright?" She asked him
"Its not that I don't believe in him ...I don't believe in myself to keep him safe..." He admitted to her as he let out a sigh
She sat next to him and held his hand "It will be alright, this isn't like back then" She told him, remembering the time Sasuke led both Naruto and herself into the alien ship, and how badly it went. She knew that he was still blaming himself for that "Plus with this war going on, can you really say we are safer on the ship? At least if he comes with us we can both protect him" She said with a smile to comfort him
He held her hand back "Thanks Suzu" He said with a forced smile, although he knew she was right, deep down he was still worried
A few hours later Naruto returned, both Suzu and Sasuke had left. He walked over to the replicator "Hot Chocolate" He ordered, once it was done replicating he picked up the cup and took a sip and sat down at the desk. He was still frustrated by his conversation with Sasuke earlier but he had calmed down since then. He let out a sigh as he activated the computer on the desk "Computer, open a channel to Kushina Uzumaki from Konoha" he ordered it
After a few moments Kushina's face appeared on the screen "Naruto!" She said with a bright smile "You haven't called me in a while, I was getting worried" She told him
"Hey mom, I am really sorry, this war is making it hard for me to find time, however I am making the time right now since I am going to be going on a mission and I am not sure when I will be coming back" He explained
"Its alright sweetie, I understand" She told him "That uniform is different, did you finally graduate?" She asked
He smiled "Yeah, we all graduated a few days ago, both Sasuke and I have been assigned to the same ship" He explained
"You look so handsome, I wish I could have been there" She said with a bit of sadness
"I have a copy of the ceremony, I can send it over to you" He told her
"That would be great" She said in a happier tone "So tell me, what is this mission your going on?" She asked
"Me and Sasuke are tasked with finding a mission officer, I can't go into further details because its an intelligence mission and the enemy could be monitoring our communications" He explained
"I understand, I have full confidence that you will be successful" She told him
Naruto smiled, and then felt upset remembering his conversation with Sasuke "I wish everyone had that confidence in me" He told her
Kushina raised an eyebrow "What's wrong sweetie? Does your new commanding officer have doubts about your abilities?" She asked him
"Although my new captain does indeed have some doubts, that I can understand since to him I am just a cadet fresh out of the academy. No, Sasuke is the one who is doubting me" He explained
Her smiled soften a bit, Sasuke had told her about the mission where he led Naruto and Suzu into a bad situation, although he had left out the details of exactly what happened "I don't think he doubts your skills sweetie, I think he just wants to keep his little brother safe"
"Mom, we both know that I have gone on way more dangerous missions back home, I can take care of myself! I am a Jonin for crying out loud!"
"I know you are, but that doesn't stop the people who love you from worrying about you. Just give him some time"
Naruto let out a sigh "I hope your right"
Suddenly the ship dropped out of warp
"Ensigns Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Suzu Nohara report to deck one observation lounge" The captains voice ordered over the comm
"Got to go mom"
"Alright sweetie, be careful"
"I always am mom" He said with a smile
"Call me back soon, I love you"
"Love you too mom" He said as her face disappeared from the screen, he quickly finished off his Hot Chocolate and placed it in the recycler before heading out
Naruto walked into the lounge, Sasuke and Suzu were already there along with the captain
"Now that we are all here we may begin the mission briefing" Tucker stated as he got up to activate the wall panel
"Why did we stop in the middle of nowhere?" Suzu asked
"We are near the Cardassian border, we are conducting a routine scan of the area to mask our true intentions since it would obvious if a Federation ship just dropped you off" Tucker explained
"So how exactly do we get there then?" Naruto asked
"You will be using the newest shuttle prototype equipped with a cloaking device on loan from the Romulans" He answered
"Shuttle prototype?" Naruto asked intrigued
"That's right, and you have no idea how hard it was to get my hands on it"
"I guess Starfleet doesn't like to lend its prototypes" Sasuke said with a grin
"No...just Tom Paris" Tucker explained "He said, and I quote, if there is a single scratch on my baby there will be hell to pay"
"Wait, Tom Paris? Lieutenant Commander Tom Paris of Voyager?" Naruto asked
"Yes, this is his new design, the next generation in shuttles, the Alpha Flyer!" He stated as the image of the Alpha Flyer appeared on the panel "She incorporates all of the latest Federation and Borg Technology" He added
"Whoe, the Delta Flyer was already pretty awesome, I cant wait to see the Alpha flyer and how he was able to improve it" Naruto said
"So what are our orders?" Sasuke asked
"You will activate the cloaking device and launch the Flyer and set course for the Orb system's fourth planet, it is an M Class planet just inside Cardassian borders. Your mission is to infiltrate the community, you will both be working at the plants as coordinators for the Zaft company. This is where my first officer disappeared, the owner of the Company, Kira Yamato, is against this war and has been helping us secretly for the past few months" Tucker explained with the help of the panel
"But aren't they a Cardassian colony?" Suzu asked
"No, Orb has been invaded by the Cardassians, it was an independent world until not to long ago. It had its own ships, military and technology, they had no intentions of ever invading anyone else and didn't want to ally with anyone who would force them into wars. They just wanted to live in peace, until the Cardassians came along, it was a long and bloody battle but the Cardassians had numbers, eventually they were forced to surrender" Tucker explained
"I hate these Cardassians more and more!" Naruto stated
"So what does a coordinator do at these plants?" Suzu asked
"They work on creating Computer software and technology, its thanks to Zaft that they are able to stay on the cutting edge of technology without help from anyone else" Tucker answered
"I see, what will be expected of us to do?" Sasuke asked
"For Zaft ? nothing, Kira will be passing you off as workers but you will be under his care while there, you will be staying with a man named Athrun Zala, a close friend of Kira"
"Athrun and Kira, why do those names sound familiar?" Naruto wondered
"So our mission is to find out what we can about our first officer while posing as workers at this Zaft company working along side this Kira and Athrun?" Sasuke asked
"Yes and rescue the commander if you can, however if you cannot just report back, do not endanger your lives or his and the lives of the people at Zaft for nothing" Tucker explained
"Understood sir" Naruto answered
"Now follow me, its time we took a look at the Flyer" Tucker said as he lead them out from the room
They made their way to the shuttle bay, the floor started to open up slowly as shuttle was being slowly raised from under the ground
"The Alpha Flyer NX 75740 , Tom's new Toy, she is a beauty" Tucker said as they stood next to it
Naruto's grin grew as he fought the urge to just scream with joy "And I am going to be piloting it!" He stated as he touched the hull
"The cloak is to be left on at all times during this mission, turn it off only when you land" Tucker told them
"But won't they be able to see it?" Sasuke asked
"Kira has a facility ready for you when you arrive, it will also be shielded from scans so it will be safe there, here are the ZAFT Uniforms, you can put them on your way there" He said while handing them out "We had to replicate an extra one for ensign Nohara"
"Alright, anything else?" Sasuke asked
"No, Good luck"
"Thank you sir, alright guys lets go" Naruto said as they entered the flyer
Naruto looked like a kid in a candy store as he began to power on the flyer "All systems are looking good" He said as the consoles came to life
Sasuke was sitting in the co pilots chair and Suzu was at ops "activating the cloaking device" She told them, the flyer cloaked as the bay doors began to open
"Freedom, this is the Alpha Flyer, requesting permission to launch" Naruto stated
"You are clear to launch Flyer" A voice answered
Naruto worked the console as the Flyers engines came to life and left the shuttle bay "We have cleared the shuttle bay, bringing warp engines online" Suzu reported as the engines began emitting a blue glow
"Course and speed set" Naruto stated as he entered the commands, the Flyer entered warp
End chapter 2
Well that was chapter 2, I hope you all enjoyed it, as you can see, I have added another anime to the mix, Gundamn Seed, for those who haven't caught on yet :P every once in a while, I will be throwing in an other one of my favorite anime in the story
Anyway Review or don't, either way ...Input dumb remark here...(Sorry its like 5:30AM, to tired to think of something :P)