Aaaaand here's the next update!
I don't own anything in this story save for one or two OCs.
Final Chance
Chapter 3
Time seems to freeze for a long moment. For the life of me I can't figure out how I managed to keep myself calm and stay at attention, but I manage. I steel myself. Whatever the frag happened in my past, I still had a job to do. I glance at each recruit in turn, trying real hard not to stare. The two recruits I didn't know regarded me with the normal calm and discipline I'd come to recognize in all guardsmen. Good; at least I wasn't dealing with wild rabble. From what I'd be able to guess, it almost looked…ah. I spot a tattoo on the man's right bicep. I barely recognize it at first but it was definitely there; the old symbol of Kumogakure. I start to have a sneaking suspicion and glance over the woman. Yep, sure as hell, there's a tattoo on her right arm as well. Emperor's tits, all these people are from Trydia! I force myself to look over the other two, in the typical fashion of an officer sizing up his men.
Gaara was looking at me in obvious (well, obvious for Gaara) surprise and a bit of delight. I wince. Itachi looks at me with open amusement, an almost 'well how 'bout that?' look.
"Lieutenant." Schauffer's voice snaps me back into awareness. Most of the Last Chancers are either looking at the recruits or at me. Zais and the other boys were shooting me a confused look. Well frag. My eyes meet the Colonel's and my blood freezes. That damned look he was giving me, almost a victorious sneer. He knows. He fragging knows. Damn that bastard, I don't know how he figured out my relations with them, but he definitely knows. I swallow and nod sharply.
"Yes sir." I say. Again I look to the new recruits. "Alright you fragging scum," I snarl, perhaps a little more than is necessary, "get on in here. Savin, Zais." I bark. The two sergeants step forward. "I want these four divvied up into your squads." I glance at Dann and he simply nods back, letting me take charge. The Colonel seems to think I have in under control and turns, leaving to go do whatever the frag he does. The provosts follow him out and the door closes with a loud hiss.
"So….which ones do I get?" Zais asks, glancing at the newbies. I hum thoughtfully, willfully ignoring the looks Itachi and Gaara are giving me.
"You can have the dark skinned one and the woman." I say. Zais nods.
"The woman has a name, you know." A feminine voice behind me snaps. I glance over my shoulder to see the kumo girl glaring at me with those disturbingly cat-like eyes.
"Watch your tone, corporal." Zais snarls. I frown leveling a heated glare at the woman. She glares right back at me. Oh, that won't do at all.
"It's Lieutenant to you." I growl. "I don't know how long you were rotting away on that fragging penal colony, but it must have screwed up whatever military principle you had. I WILL have discipline in my command. Is that clear?" She stiffens and looks about ready to talk right back. Behind her the other kumo guy tries to step forward but I stop him with a glare. "Is that clear, corporal?" I hadn't ever been trained to be a commissar, nor seen their tactics recently, but I swear at that moment I pulled off the effect damn near perfectly. I watch the fight drain from the corporal's face and she salutes.
'Yes sir."
"Good." I nod. "Now then. If you ALL will line up, I will find out your names and assign you your squads." Zais steps beside me, and Savin falls in line as well. Dann walks close by, flashing me a grin.
"Looks like we got a fighter there, Uzumaki." He says with a chuckle. I snort.
"Well let's hope so. That attitude might help her live longer." I regard the four soldiers lined up at attention before me. It was surreal, for a brief moment, to imagine these men and woman as they might have been. Years in the Guard had changed them, of that I was sure, and it was almost difficult to remember Itachi and Gaara as they had been. It almost made me wonder how much I had changed. "Right, let's hear your names then." I say.
"Sir, Corporal Yugito Nii." The woman, Yugito, says crisply. I nod.
"You will be in Sergeant Zais' squad, corporal."
"Sir."
"Right," I turn to the big, dark skinned man. "You."
"Sir, Kirabi Yotsuki.." I can almost swear I hear a small 'yo' whispered at the end. Odd…
"Right, you're also in Zais' squad." I order. He nods.
"Next, if you please-"
"You already know my name, Naruto." Itachi smirks. I blanch, half from anxiety, half from anger. I glare at the man. Strange, in another time and place, I had once feared for my life at the hands of this man. He had been the hunter, and I the prey in a twisted game of life and death. It was said that all men were equal in the eyes of the Emperor. Oh the irony.
"That's lieutenant, to you, Private Uchiha." I snarl. Might as well go ahead and say it. Not like it wouldn't come out eventually. Sure, the Last Chancers didn't talk much about their pasts, but with two others from mine, it would damn well come out eventually.
Zais, Dann and Savin shoot me surprised looks. I give them a stare and the back off. I'd get to telling them later. Maybe. "You and Private Sabaku are assigned to Savin's squad. Now all you, go get acquainted. Do whatever you need to settle in; pray, cry in the corner, I don't give a rat's ass." I spin around and march away, now thoroughly intent on finishing my lovely meal of pre-processed sludge. I can feel the eyes of the 'group'. Kinn-Drug, Brownie, Fenn. I ignore them and sit down, attacking my 'meal' with gusto.
"Well, that was interesting." Kenn-Drug says, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "You looked kinda nervous there for a minute, Lieutenant."
"Shut it." I growl. I hear footsteps behind me and Dann sits down next to me. Zais and Savin are close behind. Frag. I can practically feel the questions radiating off of them. And then all four new recruits come and join us, plopping right down with their meals. Double frag.
"I never thought I would see you again, Naruto." Gaara still manages to, even after all these years, retain that soft spoken yet edgy tone of his. He gazes at me intently. I sigh and set down my bowl.
"Well, I never expected to run into anyone else from that damn planet either."
"Funny how things work out isn't it?" Itachi added. I nod sullenly. Somehow these two were intent on driving me into conversation. Well fine. Fragging fine. "Aside from Gaara here, you're the only other I've encountered from home."
"For the love of the Emperor, will one of you explain what the hell is going on?" Dann finally snaps, impatience getting the best of him. There are grunts of agreement from the other Last Chancers.
"I'd like to know that too." Yugito adds. "You know this ma-ah, the lieutenant?" She glances at me for a moment.
"He's Naruto Uzumaki, Yugito." Gaara says. She frowns in confusion.
"So? It sounds vaguely familiar, but what of it?"
"I'm from Trydia. Just like the four of you." I reply gruffly. The man Kirabi, who has said nothing up till now, nods as if that answer confirms something for him. Yugito looks surprised.
"Really? From Trydia IV?"
"Yeah that's right."
"Again, by the Emperor, what the hell is going on?" Dann all but yells, irritation plain on his face. Itachi sighs.
"Not much subtlety, this one."
"The hell did you say, pretty boy?" Dann snarls. You know, as much I hate to say it, I have to agree with Dann on that one. Despite having the same grim soldier look of a Guardsman, Itachi has somehow still retained that almost…well feminine look that he had the last time we met. Maybe it's the hair…
"Enough." Zais says with a sigh. He glances at me expectantly and I clear my throat.
"Right. Fine here it is. I was born on the planet Trydia IV-"
"I've never heard of it." Savin says. He at least has the decency to look sheepish when we all throw heated glares at him.
"I have." Zais says. "Apparently it only joined the Imperium like…almost ten years ago?"
"Something like that." Yugito nods.
"Frag." Savin whispers. "I didn't think there were any worlds that got missed in the Great Crusade." I nod.
"Apparently." I am fast losing interest in this conversation. Bringing up the past isn't necessarily one of my favorite pastimes and it could only get worse from here. Especially when-
"Trydia." Zais says, eyes narrowing. "Is supposed to be world full of psykers."
Well there ya' go.
All talk dies as the Last Chancers stare at the five of us. Or more specifically me. Yeah, so I had never mentioned I was a psyker. Oops. Dann looks at me with veiled suspicion, and the same for Savin; though the fragger needs to work on hiding his expressions better. Oddly enough, the 'group' seems to take it well. In fact, they almost look like they knew it. What the frag?
Zais, Emperor bless him, simply nods in my direction. "You never said anything about it." It isn't an accusation, simply a statement. I grunt in response.
"Didn't think I needed to. Or really wanted to. I haven't done anything psyk' related in years."
"But you have done….stuff?" Savin ventures. I sigh. Honsetly, was it the right decision to promote him. Though to be fair, his reaction was pretty normal for someone who just found out their CO was a warp-using witch. Actually he is taking rather well.
"We were all trained at some point in our lives." Yugito answers. "All children with talent were trained in shinobi arts from a young age."
"Shinobi?" Zais turns the word over in his mouth curiously.
"Ninja. Warrior or the shadows." Itachi explains. Again, confusion. He sighs, and then, for the next thirty fragging minutes, explains the basic workings of shinobi life and career and how basically all five of us are (or were) the equivalent of psykic Assassinorum agents. By the end even the 'group' looks amazed.
"That's…" Zais starts,
"Fragging bad ass!" Dann finished loudly, drawing a few curious looks from other Last Chancers. Well at least the suspicion and mistrust is gone….for now. Luckily, before any more questions can be asked, lunch ends and the provosts round us up and shut down the power for the 'night'.
Two hours later I'm leaning against one of the grimy metal walls of our ship/prison, staring at nothing. Around me, the annoying buzz of snoring soldiers does nothing to make me any sleepier. I suddenly feel a body sit down next to me. Even though I hadn't used shinobi talents since I joined the Guard, my sense of smell was still above standard. I recognize the scent immediately. "So I take it you never did start sleeping much, did you Gaara?" I ask quietly.
"It's more of a habit than anything else now." The other man whispers back. "Shukaku was taken a long time ago, yet for some reason sleep still eludes me."
"You should talk to a medicae about it." I grunt, not really sure why we're even having this talk. I'm not a complete asshole, but I REALLY didn't feel like having any more chat time with my past. "So," I add, fishing for something else to add. Don't want to come off like a complete prat. "What's with the tattoos? Never took you for the type." It is just bright enough to vaguely make out the Sunagakure symbol on the man's left bicep. I wonder briefly if Itachi has one, being a missing-nin and all. Probably not.
"We all have them." Gaara says. "The Trydian Guardsmen started to get them, as a show of pride for our old homes. We can always spot someone from home this way."
"Sounds like a load of bull to me." I say, closing my eyes. "I don't want that sort of attachment to Konoha. Hell, I joined the Guard to get away from my old home." It feels weird, just saying the name 'Konoha'.
"You know…you've changed, Uzumaki." Well so much for that. I nod, though I doubt Gaara can see it.
"We all have. War does that to ya." There was a brief pause.
"Was that change for the better I wonder?" Gaara murmured.
"Of course!" I raise my voice a bit. "Trydia has finally found the Emperor's light! We were lost before we joined the Imperium." Another pause, but longer this time.
"You truly believe that, don't you?" Gaara asked quietly. I frown.
"Of course. Don't you?"
"Uzumaki, let's just say I was put in prison for being…less than devout." He says carefully. My eyes snap open. Is he fragging serious? How can anyone not see the divinity of the Emperor?
"You're a fragging heretic?" A all but spit the question. Gaara seems to consider it for a moment.
"No. Not a heretic. I simply doubt the full ways of the Ecclesiarchy and Imperial doctrine. Call me stuck in the past, if you wish."
I open my mouth to launch into a tirade, but think better of it. Instead I sigh. "Do you know why the others are here?" I ask eventually. Gaara hums thoughtfully.
"Itachi mentioned that he refused to obey an order from his Commisar and then killed the man when things got out of hand." Yeah…I could see that happening.
"The other two?"
"No clue. I met them in prison. They're both from Kumogakure. Naruto….they're both jinchurriki." He whispers the last part. My breath catches in my throat. What?
"Why? Why would they, hell why would any of us still be alive? We're daemonhosts for frags sake. Uniquely tame daemonhosts, but still" I ask. Gaara shrugs helplessly. "I mean it's almost like…" I trail off as something snaps into place.
"It is currently a contested system. The Inquisistion withholds most information about it due to the frequent Chaos conflicts in the system."
"Has your wound troubled you?"
"That is why you are here, Uzumaki. Because you have the determination to earn favor back with the Emperor. I need you here Uzumaki, because of your powers. Because we will be facing things that can turn a man's mind asunder."
I had thought that he simply wanted me here to fight as extra protection against Chaos, but if he was recruiting more jinchurriki… Oh Emperor. What were we going up against?
Gaara and I don't speak again, instead deciding that sleep was needed. Though I get little sleep that night.
The next week is a blur of activity as I get the troops ready for deployment. Drills, combat training, more drills. I chat with Gaara a few times, but otherwise avoid he and the other Trydians. Thank the Emperor that Itachi decides not to be chatty. He just likes to stare at me with that damned annoying amused expression. Lousy fragger.
The entire time, I start taking note of details; finding out why certain Last Chancers are here. I knew why Zais was here, as well as being an ex-kasrkin. Dann, as it turns out, was responsible for leading his unite into a cult and exterminating the lot of them. Unfortunately he did so without orders and landed himself here.
Savin killed his entire squad, who apparently had been planning heresy together. The Commisarot payed no attention to his pleas and sent him here. Similar stories were found throughout the Last Chancers. And they all had one thing in common; facing heretics or some form of Chaos. Chauffer was, apparently, building an army of Chaos-resistant troops. Emperor, just what was the Colonel planning?
The Besdin System had seven planets all total. Three of these planets had been out of contact with any Imperial forces for years, completely consumed in Chaos. The fourth planet, Jascirr, had been the site of constant war for almost two decades. It was on the planet nearest Jascirr, the planet Pyreor, that we make our landfall.
From what the Colonel says, the Navy commanders have reason to believe that the Ruinous Powers have decided to try and take Pyreor, and cut off Jascirr completely. No attempts had been made thus far, but The Imperial forces stationed on the planet were gathering their forces.
Pyreor, in my opinion, was nothing special. I can think of maybe another hundred planets that look like it. It was a a planet of rural farmlands, dotted by hives. We land in the sprawling city of…well actually I'm not too sure it has a name. it's just called Firm-3, one of the leading industrial cities on the planet.
I march down the ramp of our landing shuttle, barking orders to the Last Chancers to form up. Other Guard shuttles are landing around us, depositing normal Guard units. I see Colonel Chauffer further on, talking to a man. They both turn and stride towards us. I bark a quick order and the Last Chancers snap to attention.
The man with the Colonel looks young, maybe a few years older than me. He has black hair, pulled back into a tight ponytail, and an overall lithe appearance that makes me certain that he isn't a soldier. The long leather coat he wears is blowing about in the wind, but I catch a small item strapped onto his chest. The Inquisitorial Rosette.
Oh Frag.
"Lieutenant Uzumaki. Lieutenant Dann, this is Inquisitor Jaeger, of the Ordo Hereticus." The man appraises us, eyes lingering on me for a moment.
"They look ready for a fight. Excellent." The Inquisitor says. "Welcome to Pyreor."