Chapter 36

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Wars.

Last time:

Domini wasn't sure what to think of her gramps doing a 180 about her long range force techniques but decided she was too tired to argue. "I'll try to contact her tomorrow. She said her abilities were very taxing on her and her 'chakra' which I think is her energy source."

"She didn't contact you through the force?" asked one of the other elders.

"No, not directly." answered Domini. "It's difficult to explain but most force users communicate in waves through the force. Her method was cutting through the force like a focused beam. I've never experienced anything like it." she explained yawning.

Her mother came over. "Come Domini, Let's get you fed and rested up. Maybe your new friend will contact you tomorrow."

Planet Nardil

The Misfire arrived late that night with its exhausted crew headed to the infirmary for a thorough decontamination. Naruto was scrubbed in places he didn't want to think about and his skin felt a bit raw afterwards. Given his healing factor he was okay within a couple of hours although he still smelled like chemicals. He awaited Hinata after dressing in the Shamshir family robes that were provided. He noted that as the Ninja clan leader he was granted a white sash as well. Hinata soon came out wearing matching robes to his with her skin being a dusty pink from the harsh scrubbing. "Naruto-kun, remind me to never visit Dxun again in this lifetime."

Naruto nodded and hugged Hinata's form to his, enjoying the closeness and asked, "How are your eyes feeling Hinata-chan? Are they any better?"

Hinata nodded. "They gave me some kolto eye drops which helped immensely. My eyes are still tired but after a couple of days they should be fine. I guess we should all report to the clan elders once we're all decontaminated. That's an experience I don't want to go through again."

"We are in complete agreement Lady Hinata." stated Lady Pallas as she led her husband Parthenos out. "I must thank you again for your rescue."

"We may be new but we will do our upmost to help." replied Hinata.

The others soon filed out of decontamination and the group of eight made their way to the council room to see Lady Damasca and the elders, all griping about the chemical smell the whole way.

Pamelor System

Skaros Shamshir was a patient man but 15 hours in orbit of Pamelor receiving repeated "Please stand by" messages was enough to set him on the warpath. Finally his legendary patience reached its limit. Turning to his helmsman he said. "Begin a landing pattern in 15 minutes and signal them we are using our authority as Lady Damasca's envoys for clearance." He turned to an officer and asked him to retrieve the resting Ino and Neji to the bridge. If this didn't get a reaction out of Aeolus nothing would.

An alert Neji and rather tired Ino were on the bridge just as the Ridgeback started its landing pattern. Three minutes later Aeolus Kirova signaled them saying it was 'urgent' that he talked to Master Skaros. The old Jedi waited an extra minute just to make Aeolus sweat a bit before he engaged the holographic display.

Aeolus appeared on the screen. He was young and rather attractive to Ino's eye with his dark hair and blue eyes but he also was sending off waves of fear. Doing his best to act authoritative, Aeolus gathered his courage and said. "Master Skaros, for you own safety I must demand that you do not land."

Skaros raised an eyebrow. "Demand?! Who do you think you are boy? You're in no position to demand anything! Under the authority of Lady Damasca, we are coming down to investigate your situation. We've been in orbit for 15 hours waiting for an explanation and have never received a reply. Who put you in charge anyway? Where is Elder Ramus Kirova? He is next in the chain of command. Explain yourself, now.

Aeolus looked ready to wet himself. "Forgive my choice of words Master Skaros but we believe the people that caused my beloved Aunt and Uncle to disappear are still loose. I have declared martial law here on Pamelor to keep them from escaping. I fear they might attack your ship if you were to land or even make an attempt on your life. Please understand!"

'So that's the spin he wants to use.' thought Skaros. "Alright, that I can accept but tell me where is Elder Ramus? In a crisis he should have taken authority."

"That is part of the crises Master Skaros!" Aeolus said desperately. "Elder Ramus has vanished and after questioning the other elders and their families ran. I believe they are responsible for the deaths of Lord Parthenos and Lady Pallas."

"What makes you so sure that your Aunt and Uncle are dead, Aeolus?" asked Skaros in a cold tone.

Aeolus seemed to tear up. "I'm afraid I felt it through the force, Master Skaros. It's as if my heart has been ripped out. They have been lost to me through the worst kind of treachery. I pray they are alive somehow and have sent everyone I could trust out to search their last known coordinates on their passage to Nardil. Could you possibly join the search? I'm sure with a command ship you could better coordinate their efforts than I can from here."

'Well, the guy gets high marks for his acting skills.' thought Ino. 'The hope in his voice came across as genuine even if it was just hope for us to leave.'

Skaros upped the ante. "Are you sure you don't want us to land and get Pamelor under proper control? A good leader knows when it's time to ask for help."

Aeolus went bug-eyed for a moment but seemed to regain control of himself. "No, no! I have matters in hand. I assure you I will find those responsible for our clan head's disappearance and bring them to justice. I swear this on the honored Kirova name!"

"I see." said Skaros in a contemplative tone, rubbing his chin. "You should have informed Nardil immediately of your situation so we could help in the search. Lady Damasca will not be pleased to hear of this. For your own sake I advise that you contact her posthaste and explain what is going on. I was sent here in case there was some kind of hostile takeover or even a coup, Aeolus. This concerns not only Pamelor and the Kirovas but the entire Shamshir clan."

At the words coup and hostile takeover Aeolus obviously had his heart jump into his throat. "I will contact Lady Damasca immediately to fix this terrible oversight on my part. Farewell Master Skaros. I promise you I'll have everything taken care of quickly."

Skaros nodded. "Very well; Ridgeback out." The image of Aeolus faded from the screen.

Skaros turned to the two ninjas. "Well, what do you two think?" he asked.

"He's desperate to buy time." said Neji in response. "He hoped that a fear of assassination would scare you off. When that failed he switched to getting your 'help' in the search for the missing clan heads to get you to leave. He also is positive that Lord and Lady Kirova are already dead. He has no doubt about that."

Ino nodded in agreement. "He's sent all those that could be an obstacle to his plans out to search for Lord and Lady Kirova. By the time the search is called off he will have consolidated his position. When you mentioned a coup his thoughts immediately went to the word Fireveil. He wants the Kirova elders dead and out of the picture at all costs but the bunker they are in is so well protected that he is scrambling for options. Your presence made it clear to him that Lady Damasca is going to get involved. When we return here he will be completely cornered if the elders are still alive."

Skaros agreed. "….and a cornered animal is the most dangerous." Skaros turned to his helmsman. "Get us out of here. Set a course for Nardil. Communications; patch me through to Lady Damasca and have a copy of the discussion between Aeolus and I ready to transmit."

Planet Nardil

Lady Damasca and the elder council listened to the report from Naruto and the others. Lord Ameer and the Landsdales were there as well. They were both shocked and impressed at what they heard. A page came in the room and whispered something to Damasca and she nodded. The Grandmaster said, "It seems the traitorous guard has awakened. How should we go about interrogating her? We need information quickly."

There were murmurs throughout the room. Naruto turned to Anko and asked, "What do you think, Anko? You're our T & I expert."

"T & I?" asked one of the elders.

Anko spoke. "T & I means Torture and Interrogation elder. It's one of my little….hobbies." she said with a smile. Several people blanched at her cavalier description of her job.

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" asked a fearful Lady Leona. The idea of physical torture abhorred her and she heard about what had happened to the three traitors from before.

"She'll break easy." said Anko. "We just make a big show of cuffing her and dragging her in here to be 'judged' by the council and she'll be terrified. When we bring her in and she sees Lord and Lady Kirova waiting to question her shell break down completely." Anko turned to the Kirova clan heads. "When she comes in you need to call her by her first name and act like concerned parents with her when you ask questions. If she starts to clam up I'll administer a little pain she'll spill her guts. We also need to act as if we know everything already and that we're just questioning her to confirm things. Her I.D. said her name is Doric Kirova."

The council looked uneasy but Lady Damasca said, "Do what must be done Miss Anko."

Anko bowed. "Certainly. Come on Sakura, it will add a little pressure if she sees the person that knocked her out for two days with one punch. We'll need some guards too with some manacles."

Damasca motioned four guards to go with Anko and Sakura. It was obvious to the clan head that Anko understood mental torture as well as physical torture. She didn't care for Anko's happy-go-lucky attitude about things but realized that Anko was the right person for the job.

The infirmary….

Doric Kirova awoke with the worst headache she thought possible. She vaguely remembered a woman with pink hair appearing in front of her. She saw a fist and then….nothing. She woke up restrained to a bed in a medical facility somewhere and was trying to figure out where she was. Doric could tell her body had been thoroughly cleaned with chemicals and her injuries treated with bandages. Still, she hadn't heard or seen anyone since she woke up in this place….

"Doric Kirova, are you awake?" said a voice she didn't recognize.

The traitorous guard croaked out a "Yes…." Her throat was parched and it was hard to talk.

The owner of the voice appeared from behind a curtain. It was the woman who had been dueling with that Fireveil! The woman said to her, "Did you have a nice rest? Sorry all your friends are dead. Lady Damasca has summoned you to stand before the council and be judged."

Doric's eyes dilated. "L-lady Damasca?" she wheezed out.

"Yep." Anko motioned to Sakura. "Miss Sakura here is going to give you a drink so you can speak clearly." Doric's eyes moved to Sakura's pink hair and she shivered. Anko continued with, "If you cooperate Sakura won't have to punch you out again. Last time she hit you it knocked you unconscious for two days. We don't want that to happen again do we?"

Doric violently shook her head 'no' and Sakura unstrapped her and gave her a drink. Soon Doric had a hospital style robe on and had her hands shackled. Anko, Sakura and the four guards escorted her silently to the council chambers. Just before they were shown in Anko smiled and said, "Oh, yeah! Welcome to Steelhaven." as she pushed Doric into the center of the room.

Doric felt all the eyes upon her and shivered in the center of the darkened room under a spotlight. Her attention was drawn to Anko again as the kunoichi said, "Grandmaster Damasca Shamshir, I present prisoner Doric Kirova, a guard who turned traitor and was cooperating with a Fireveil in order to assassinate Lord Parthenos and Lady Pallas Kirova. She is fully coherent and ready for questioning."

The next three hours were the worst and most harrowing of Doric's young life. In the end she told them everything when confronted with the very much alive Lord and Lady Kirova just as Anko predicted. She begged them to tell her family she died loyally on Dxun rather than reveal that she was an oath-breaker and shame them. She then revealed the Fireveil that was with them was a higher-up named Winthrop Fireveil and he'd had arranged for about 50 of the separatists to get asylum on Pamelor in exchange for helping Aeolus gain control of the Kirovas. She unfortunately wasn't high enough in the ranks to have much inside information but any knowledge was a plus at this point. For the time being she was going to be locked up with her fate undecided along with the three others they'd caught in air traffic control.

After she was taken away the council received a transmission from Master Skaros revealing what he'd discovered and what his views were on Aeolus. They discussed things until early in the morning all agreeing that contacting the Fireveils diplomatically was the best plan. Lord Ameer took personal responsibility for this mission and agreed to contact them after some sleep to recharge his wits. It had been a long night for all involved….

Naruto and Hinata's quarter's….

"Gods, I thought that would never end Hinata-chan," yawned Naruto. "I want a bath to get rid of this chemical smell but I want to snuggle up and sleep even more."

Hinata for her part was barely staying awake. She yawned out "Bed Naruto-kun…." and dragged him into bed with her for the night.

Naruto found Hinata was already asleep on his chest before he got a chance to wish her good night. He kissed the crown of her head and soon joined her in the land of dreams….

….Only to be awakened by Sheena a short while later. Naruto created a shadow clone to get up with Sheena while he and Hinata slept. After kissing Sheena on the forehead and telling her they'd been without rest for so long that they had to sleep in Naruto dozed back off. Hinata slept through the whole thing like a rock. In the end, Sheena decided to call off her training for the day and snuggle with Mommy and Daddy for awhile. The shadow clone reluctantly agreed after making Sheena promise to let them sleep and then departed to tell her sensei that Sheena was taking the day off.

Hinata awoke that afternoon feeling lazy but well rested. She woke up and found Sheena had joined her and Naruto in bed and was fast asleep on the other half of Naruto's chest snoring cutely. Hinata smiled and kissed Sheena's forehead causing the little one to wake up. Sheena blinked and saw Hinata was awake and smiling at her. She squirmed over and gave Hinata a big hug waking up Naruto in the process by accidentally placing a knee in his gut. "Did you miss us Sheena-chan?" asked Hinata.

"I've been waiting and waiting for you to wake up Mommy!" the redhead gushed. "A lot happened while you were gone. Aunt Hanabi needs to talk to you about a 'family matter' today."

Naruto recovered his breath from his unpleasant wake up courtesy of Sheena. He asked, "Did you get in trouble Sheena-chan?"

Sheena shook her head. "No way! I promised to be a good girl and I was. But somebody else in the family was bad…." Sheena said with mischief in her eyes.

"Who was it Sheena-chan?" asked Hinata hoping Hanabi hadn't gone on a stealing spree. She really felt that punishing Hanabi once had made things absolutely clear.

"Aunt Hanabi and Uncle Kono made me promise to let them tell you." Sheena said in a sing-song way while smiling and giggling. "But it does have something to do with them having a new door."

"Ah!" exclaimed Naruto. "It's time to interrogate my daughter and see how she holds up to the ancient Fire Country tickle-torture technique! Hold her down while I count her ribs Hinata-chan!"

Sheena's shrieks of laughter were heard throughout the compound….

Soon enough Hanabi and Konohamaru showed up at the door hearing all the noise. They agreed Naruto and Hinata must be home if Sheena was laughing that much. They heard Hinata's voice. "Come on Sheena-chan! I'll hold Daddy down while you tickle him into submission. We'll teach him to gang up on us with shadow clones!" Sheena's squeal of agreement was soon drowned out by Naruto begging for mercy.

"Surrender Daddy!" laughed out Sheena.

"Never, never! I'll never surrender!" Naruto said carrying on.

Hanabi opened the door and found the three dog-piled on the floor playing in their night clothes. They all looked up at her smiling face like deer caught in the headlights as she said, "Welcome back nee-chan and nii-san." as she took a picture with her camera. "Ah, sweet memories. This will make great blackmail material later."

There was a moment of silence as Hanabi smirked smugly to herself. Suddenly the family of three yelled in unison, "Get her!" It was twenty minutes later that Hanabi and Konohamaru completely surrendered to the vicious tickle assault that had pulled them into the floor with the Uzumakis.

Hinata stood up holding the camera and said "Victory! Never try to out fox a family of foxes Hanabi-chan."

The ruffled Hanabi was gathering her breath and noticed that a shadow clone of Naruto was standing over by the closed door with the silencing seals activated. 'No wonder no one rescued us from that tickle attack. Naruto made sure no one could hear us! Crafty bastard.'

She looked over at the equally disheveled Konohamaru. "Nii-san always was the true master prankster." he said smiling at her.

Deciding she knew when she was defeated, Hanabi mentioned there were some family issues they needed to discuss. She also begged Hinata to give her camera back but the elder sister revealed she was holding it for ransom.

Soon the five of them were sitting up in the floor (they were already there anyway) talking about Hiashi's unexpected return. Sheena's description of what she and Kō witnessed had Naruto in stitches until he found out Hiashi had literally tried to castrate Konohamaru with a juken attack. Then he was pissed. "Let me squash your old man, Hinata-chan! I'll make him wish he'd never been reborn."

Hinata shook her head. "I'll deal with him Naruto-kun. Using your byakugan to spy on others in such situations was forbidden in the Hyūga household and what Hiashi did was even worse. As the Hyūga clan head I'll have to think of how to discipline him appropriately. We need to clean up and have lunch. Afterwards we will summon Kō for his testimony. I will decide what to do with Hiashi after that."

Konohamaru noticed Hinata was referring to Hiashi by his name rather than "father" and wondered what the future held. 'Maybe I should have let Hanabi-chan cut his head off like she wanted. It might have been more merciful in the end.' He saw mischief glowing in Sheena's eyes and the mean smile on Hanabi's face. Naruto looked deadly serious but Hinata looked downright scary. Hinata created a shadow clone that henged into her younger self. "Find Kō and tell him he is to report to his clan head at three o'clock. Tell him to come alone and tardiness will not be tolerated." Her clone nodded and body flickered away.

Two hours later the group of five was cleaned, washed and well fed, waiting on Kō's arrival. They decided to wear their newly acquired Shamshir clan robes which the ninjas were adopting as formal wear. Naturally, Naruto and Hinata's were adorned with the white sash that signified them as clan heads.

Hyūga Kō showed up punctually at three. When he saw the shadow clone of a young Hinata show up out of the blue he was stunned; but when she told him to report alone to his clan head and completely ignored Hiashi's presence he knew it was about to hit the fan. He knocked timidly and heard Hinata's commanding voice say, "Enter." He swallowed and came in.

Kō saw Hinata sitting at the table with the family all around her in formal garb. She had a look of pure steel in her lavender eyes and they made him shiver. "You're right on time as expected, Kō. Excellent. Lady Hanabi has informed me that you were witness to a serious breach of conduct and unwarranted assault on a clan member carried out by Hyūga Hiashi. Please describe your point of view."

Hinata listened as Kō described what he himself had seen and how he immediately looked away. He explained everything that happened going from the infirmary, the incident and the subsequent return to the infirmary. He tried to plead Lord Hiashi's case but was quickly reprimanded that Hiashi must answer for his own misconduct and Hiashi would not be referred to as 'Lord' in Hinata's presence. Under Hinata's harsh glare he confessed that Hiashi still believed she was weak and not fit to lead the clan because she was too soft. Kō reiterated that he had informed Hiashi this was not the case and that Hinata was more than capable. He was greatly relieved when Lady Sheena confirmed his statements. Hinata thanked Kō for his time and dismissed him. He practically fled when he was given permission to leave.

Hinata explained to Sheena that she would need to know how to handle these situations in the future and this was part of her and Naruto's formality training. She went on to say that sometimes you have to be a bit harsh even on those you really care for (like Kō) in order to get the best results for all concerned. Sheena asked some questions and Hinata patiently answered them noticing her little daughter was a much better student than her husband at these sorts of things. She smiled gently at Naruto knowing he was really trying though. She thought the confused looks on his face were cute. Hinata was truly proud of her little family.

Naruto was informed that the Shamshir council would be gathering again that evening after dinner and decided to go visit Gaara in the mission hall. He was happily surprised to find out Kiba and his family were with them again and arranged to meet them in the dining hall for dinner. He was sure Hinata would be overjoyed to see her old teammate. Gaara told him of the other goings on and Naruto explained the nightmarish adventure that took place on Dxun. Gaara was of the opinion they should assassinate Aeolus and take things from there but was receptive to the idea of waiting in order to see how the diplomatic relations with the Fireveils panned out. It just needed to be done quickly….

The dining hall….

Hinata was excitedly waiting for the Inuzukas to arrive. She explained to Sheena that Kiba had always supported her like a big brother would and that he and his family were dear friends. More than once she had been comforted by Hana or Tsume when things were too stressful with Hiashi and Kurenai-sensei wasn't around to help. She also explained the Inuzukas pack-like family structure and not to be surprised if Sheena found herself being referred to as a "pup." Sheena found this a bit odd but nonetheless was looking forward to meeting Hinata's old teammate and friends.

The Inuzukas showed up being loud and boisterous as usual. They were looking forward to seeing Hinata. They soon saw Naruto's red sage coat as he happily waved them over. Hinata stood up to join Naruto in greeting them. Kiba quickly shook hands with Naruto and hugged Hinata twirling her around once. Tsume and Hana made it over by then (Kiba virtually ran) and exchanged hugs with Hinata as well.

"Look at you Hinata-chan!" spoke Tsume. "You've grown into a beautiful woman. You managed to snag your man at last, huh? Good job, pup!"

Hinata blushed and giggled a bit. "I'm so glad to see you all! I understand you arrived while we were gone. Please join us and we can visit over dinner."

Kiba nudged Naruto. "So you finally saw the light, eh? Hinata's always been the one for you."

Naruto blushed a little and nodded. "Yeah, Hinata-chan and I are very, very happy together. I can't believe how blind I was all those years."

Tsume saw Sheena looking around excitedly. Sheena locked eyes with Tsume and smiled shyly at her. "Well, well. Whose pup is this Hinata-chan? She smells just like you and Naruto here."

Hinata pulled Sheena into her lap. "Everybody, this is our daughter Sheena-chan. Sheena-chan, this is Hana, Kiba-kun and Lady Tsume of the Inuzuka clan. They are our dear friends and I want you to be friends with them too."

Sheena soon found out the Inuzukas were a very wild and unruly bunch. She heard tales of Naruto and Kiba graduating with the lowest scores and getting into trouble playing pranks on Iruka-sensei. She could tell through the force that these people were genuine friends and how happy Hinata was to see them. Sheena was about to ask about their missions together when Hiashi made an appearance….

"I would have words with my eldest daughter." Hiashi said in a commanding tone.

Hinata's killing intent spiked bringing the entire dining hall to silence. "Hyūga Hiashi, your disgraceful behavior already has you in dire straits with me. Do not pretend to address me as an equal or better." She stood up and turned her full byakugan glare upon him causing Hiashi to take a step back. "I am enjoying dinner with my dear friends. Your presence is not wanted or needed here. Be gone from my sight. I will settle things with you later once I decided how to deal with your gross misconduct."

Several people moved back fearing a fight would break out and many of the Ninja Clan stood at ready to deal with Hiashi if he tried anything. The hairs on the back of Hiashi's neck were standing up. His weak failure of a daughter was overwhelming him with sheer killing intent! Kō said she had grown strong but he never imagined this. He was at a loss as to what to do. He at least expected her to show deference to him as her father but it seemed she was out for his blood! He heard a roaring and saw her twin lion fists materialize before she commanded him, "Be. Gone. Now."

Kō and Tokuma rushed up and pulled Hiashi away before he got himself slaughtered. Hiashi was too dumbfounded to think and stared at Hinata's glaring visage as he was pulled from the room. After Hiashi was pulled from sight Hinata dispelled her jutsu and reeled in her killing intent causing the pressure in the room to return to normal. Naruto told everyone to calm down and continue with their meals.

Hinata sat back down at the table with the slack-jawed Inuzukas. Pushing a stray lock of her indigo hair out of her face she said with a slightly cross look on her face, "Well, that was unpleasant."

Sheena asked, "Are you okay Mommy?"

Hinata nodded and said, "Mommy's fine, I just he no desire to deal with that man right now. I'll punish him later for his indiscretions."

Tsume was the first to regain her composure and said, "You've grown so strong Hinata. Your Mother and Kurenai would be very proud of you. I know I am."

Kiba was less articulate. "Damn! I thought you were going to tear him apart Hinata! Remind me to never make you angry." he said with a shiver.

Hinata smiled shyly, "Don't worry Kiba-kun. You'd have to do a lot before I would be that irritated with you. Sorry about the scene." she said feeling suddenly self conscious.

"It was that or I would have stepped in Hinata-chan." said Naruto pulling her into a one armed hug. "They'd be scraping him out between the cracks in the floor with putty knives if that had happened. No one talks down to my hime."

"He'll be dealt with in due time." said Hinata. "For now I just want to enjoy dinner with my friends."

A little while later Lady Damasca strolled up and said, "That was quite a little display you put on Lady Hinata, is everything all right?"

Hinata nodded and said, "I apologize for the disruption Lady Damasca. He has cause great strife within the clan since his return and I am trying to decide on an appropriate way to deal with him."

Damasca smiled and said, "Well, do get it taken care of; I can tell it weighs greatly on your mind. I take it you knew him from your previous life?"

Hinata's eyes locked with Lady Damasca's. "He was my father." she said in a cold tone.

"….Oh, dear. Well, I hope things work out." said a slightly shocked Damasca. She assumed the man was Hinata's sworn enemy….

That evening Naruto and Hinata headed out to the council meeting to hear what the next topic was. They each made a shadow clone to watch over Sheena and prayed this meeting wasn't another all-nighter. Entering the council chambers they went over to the clan head area to see what the news there was. Lord Ameer was the last to arrive but seemed to have a fire in his eyes. His fellow clan heads hadn't ever seen him this energized before. They hoped it was a positive sign. Lady Damsca came in to preside over the meeting and said, "Master Skaros won't be here until morning so his votes will be considered in abstention. Is everyone else present and accounted for?" Receiving an affirmative response she began the meeting.

"Lady Damasca, have we found out anything from our Fireveil prisoner? It could help us a great deal if we knew more." said one of the elders.

"We have," said Damasca. "As it turns out Miss Anko is quite talented at getting the information we need. Winthrop Fireveil also has a healthy dose of fear of her because she's responsible for stabbing him multiple times and setting him afire."

Lady Leona winced and most of the rest of the council murmured quietly among themselves. Leona discussed her feelings about torture with Sakura but the pink haired medic informed her that the Ninja Clan would do whatever was necessary to get the job done. Sakura also explained that part of a ninjas training was to resist torture techniques of the worst kind so Anko was actually holding back! Putting these thoughts aside Leona focused on the meeting.

"….So what news do you have for us Lord Ameer? You seem quite excited if I say so myself." questioned Lady Damasca.

Ameer stood up. "I am excited Lady Damasca. I have successfully contacted the Fireveil clan on Saphris via the old codes we have long kept on hand. I am going to meet there chief diplomat face to face at The Rock and we will discuss things in person there. The elders made an appreciative sound but the much younger clan heads all looked confused.

Finally Lord Arislan broke the silence. "Forgive me Lord Ameer but what is this place you call 'The Rock?' My guess is it is of importance from the reactions of our elders."

"To meet at The Rock is very symbolic." stated Lady Damasca. "It is where our ancestor Shambhala Shamshir ended our ongoing conflict with the Fireveils through the treaty that still holds to this day. To meet there is for both clans to agree that it is of grave importance to both sides. How did you manage this Ameer? It's been over a thousand years since that historic place was disturbed and only then it was to avert a war starting again."

"I informed them a group of Fireveils were on one of our colonies and I felt we should discuss this before it escalated. Within hours we exchanged codes to meet there at The Rock. While I want to settle things with the Fireveils I am very excited to see this historic site. I trust that the coordinates will be made available to me Lady Damasca?"

"Of course Ameer. As the Grandmaster I alone have access to the hidden place." she assured him.

So who will be accompanying you Lord Ameer?" asked Naruto.

"I will go alone. Only the Grandmasters or their chief diplomats are allowed to set foot in that place. I will need to borrow a single seat fighter and prepare to leave by tomorrow night." said Ameer with purpose in his voice.

Damasca announced, "While Lord Ameer is in negotiations we will continue to monitor Aeolus to make sure he doesn't achieve his aims. We want to keep him off balance. Hopefully we won't have to make an armed invasion on Pamelor to stop him but we are going to mobilize our forces in case we do. As Master Skaros is our most experienced in these situations he will be in charge of the planning should it come to that. As he won't arrive until tomorrow this meeting is adjourned. Lord Ameer, join me and we will get the coordinates for The Rock."

The next day at the training grounds….

Terumi Mei and Iruka were instructing the three children and the water walking exercise. Anko was also there just to spend time with Iruka and was helping out since she could handle a light saber as well as teach her ninja skills. Mei signaled for the children to stop and come to the shore. "What is it Mei-sensei?" asked Nagi.

"We have a visitor Nagi-chan." said Mei. "Why don't you come out in the open? I know you're there." she called out.

Hiashi emerged from the forest. "I was just observing my granddaughter's training." he said sounding concerned.

Mei cocked an eyebrow. "That's Hiashi Jiji." said Sheena. "He's in a bit of trouble with Mommy right now." she said innocently.

"Hmmm." mused Mei. "I thought it was more like Lady Hinata was going to kill him at dinner yesterday. Are you sure it's okay for him to be watching you Sheena-chan? I was under the impression that she wouldn't want him near you. What do you think Hiashi-san?"

Hiashi tried to answer but was cut off by Sheena. "Hiashi Jiji got in big trouble with Mommy and Aunt Hanabi. Mommy is trying to decide an appropriate punishment for him."

Anko smirked at Hiashi's forlorn and embarrassed look. 'Amazing how the tables have turned. Kurenai once told me how bad he treated Hinata. Even Kurenai said he was an asshole and she rarely talked that way about anybody.' "So what did your Jiji do exactly?" Anko asked, fishing for details.

Sheena turned to Anko and said, "Well on the first day he arrived he-"

Hiashi body flicked over to Sheena covering her mouth. "It is a private clan matter that shouldn't be discussed." About that time an abandoned bird's nest fell on his head covering him with twigs, dried gaucho and god only knows what else. Jerking his head back in surprise he lost his footing and fell straight back onto his ass covering his clothes in mud and leaves. Anko noticed Sheena was subtly using the force to 'help' Hiashi along in his trajectory and had to stifle a chuckle. No one else seemed to catch it and thought it was an accident.

"Gee, Jiji! What bad luck you have!" said the 'innocent' and 'surprised' Sheena. "What do you think the odds are of that happening?" she asked the others with mischief in her eyes.

Hiashi had no idea where the nest even fell from and silently cursed his bad luck. "Maybe it's karma." said Mei.

The flustered Hyūga patriarch did the best thing to preserve his dignity and disappeared in a body flicker. When Mei said "He's gone." the dam burst and everyone exploded into laughter at the comedy act they'd just witnessed.

Anko patted Sheena on the shoulder and asked "What are the odds of such terrible luck?" with a wink.

Sheena knew Anko wasn't going to rat her out and said, "It seems they are getting better all the time."

Meanwhile Hiashi appeared at Kō's and Tokuma's quarters (they were roommates. Hiashi had been bunking there until he got his own room). Entering, he informed Kō he was going to shower and walked in without bothering to ask. Tokuma's girly scream at his former Lord walking in on him naked in the shower could be heard all over the compound….

Not far away, Uzumaki Naruto once again felt pride in his daughter welling to the surface….

Chronos Belt, Velus System

Three days later Ameer Isis was cruising through the Chronos Asteroid Belt in the same system as the Planet Velusia. All the asteroids looked the same to him but soon he reached the coordinates of his destination, The Rock. He found The Rock was a large crescent shaped asteroid with no apparent landing place on it. He hovered stationary above the asteroid and waited for his counterpart to arrive. Both ships had to send their parts of a landing code and a landing point was supposed to reveal itself to them.

As he sat in anticipation he thought back to Lady Damasca's words to him. 'I see life in your eyes that I haven't seen since before you married that awful woman. I think that this could be a turning point for our clan and for you Ameer. It's time for you to stop dwelling in the past and looking ahead to the future whatever it may be. Reach out and seize it!' Ameer had been stunned at her impassioned speech. Damasca was not one to give these kinds of pep-talks. She must have foreseen something big….

Another small ship appeared on his scanner that was carefully maneuvering through the asteroids and head straight towards him. He sent a coded signal to the single seat ship and received the correct codes in response. Ten minutes later a sleek black fighter was hovering near his blue one. After exchanging three more sets of verification codes they simultaneously transmitted the final code on the prescribed frequency. On the surface of the rock two sets of lights came on, each leading to a circular landing pad. Beyond the two landing pads a hatch rose up that they would have to simultaneously enter codes into to gain access to the bunker their ancestors forged a peace in millennia ago.

Ameer set his fighter down smoothly and checked his space suit before climbing out of the cockpit. He moved slowly due to the low gravity and saw his counterpart doing the same. A few minutes later they both bowed to each other at the door to show respect. He noticed his counterpart was only armed with a light saber and was about a head shorter than him. They each reached for the panels on either side of the door and entered their codes….and nothing happened. He felt shocked and was gaping like a fish. He felt confusion and anger radiating off his opposite but the person regained their composure. He heard the very modulated voice of the Fireveil talk to him. "What the hell do we do now?!" asked the person. "I come all the way here to see one of the greatest places in our collective history and the damn thing won't open!"

With his own heavily coded voice Ameer replied. "We must have miss-keyed it. Let's try again."

After the third try they both were glaring impotently at the unmovable door. "Alright, let try entering the codes on each other's sides and see if that works." Ameer said. Receiving a nod in return they quickly swapped places and entered the codes. That failed too.

The Fireveil said, "Look, aside of cutting the door open we're at a dead end. Do you think this is some kind of test our ancestors left for us?"

Ameer said, "Perhaps we should show each other our codes and see if they link together somehow. I'm not going to leave this rock empty handed."

They wrote down the alpha codes in order and realized when you put the codes together it spelled 'Let strife end here.' "Yes!" said the Fireveil. "Let's both enter the complete code."

They did and the door finally opened up much to their relief. "I guess it was at test of trust." said Ameer. "I'm Ameer Isis Shamshir by the way." He said holding out his hand to shake.

"I'm Celia Fireveil." The now revealed woman said returning his handshake. "Let's go in and explore this place. I hope the life support works okay or it's going to be a very uncomfortable meeting."

Ameer nodded emphatically, "If it comes to that we'll head to Velusia and talk there."

"I totally agree." was her response as they entered the passage down.

Planet Nardil

In the Council chambers yet another discussion was taking place. Master Skaros had the floor. "While I applaud Lord Ameer's efforts it's simply going to take too long to coordinate with the Fireveils! We must strike while the iron is hot and Aeolus is unprepared for an invasion."

"Do we even have enough ships to mount an invasion?" questioned one of the other elders. "We only have so much military power we can afford to lose. I thought that was why we were involving the Fireveils to begin with."

"Perhaps we should use a pre-existing fleet." said Hinata.

"What do you mean Lady Hinata?" asked Alyssa.

Hinata explained. "Virtually every ship from Pamelor is out searching for the Whitewind with the Ridgeback playing the role of command ship. They are all people that Aeolus wants out of the way but needs later after the dust has settled. Presumably they would be loyal to Lord and Lady Kirova if they were to be found alive. If we loaded all our troops aboard those ships because the search is 'called off' by Master Skaros then all of those ships could land our people without Aeolus even realizing an invasion is on. I would also venture a guess that Pamelor's defenses probably have some kind of shut-down code that Lord and Lady Kirova possess in case of emergencies. While casualties are inevitable the actual landing could be completely bloodless.

Master Skaros looked intrigued. He turned to the Kirovas. "Do you have override codes Parthenos? I know your elder brother did."

"Actually I do." said Parthenos. "Why didn't I think of that? Once we are landed it would be child's play to deactivate the defenses and jack in to the communications system. I could do a public announcement to get all of the civilians clear so we could root out Aeolus and his forces. The Ridgeback could coordinate everything from orbit. That's quite brilliant Lady Hinata!"

Naruto smiled and gently squeezed Hinata's hand. She looked at his approving look a moment and smiled shyly. "We ninjas are trained from birth to 'think outside the box.' That and Naruto-kun has rubbed off on me a bit." she replied.

"It's quite cunning; I like it." said Master Skaros as he turned to Lady Damasca. "As our chief military advisor I move that we implement Lady Hinata's plan and do it as soon as possible."

"How long do you estimate it would take to organize? I know our troops are mobilized but sneaking them onto the ships from Pamelor could be difficult." asked the Grandmaster.

"Give me one week." replied Skaros. "I'll have everyone ready. If we end up ahead of schedule so much the better. Lord Parthenos and Lady Pallas will be our key to coordinating this so I'll need their assistance in planning. I would also like the Ninja Branch and Outside Branch to sit in as infiltration and military are their respective specialties."

The invasion was on….

POSTSCRIPT:

And done. Next chapter we will see if Master Skaros and the Shamshirs can outwit Aeolus and his forces. How will this affect relations with the Fireveils? What's going to happen with Hiashi? Will he actually survive more "bonding" with his granddaughter or will he give up the ghost before Hinata has a chance to dole out his punishment? Blue out. 5/3/14