Chapter 50
Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Wars.
AUTHORS NOTE:
Here we are at chapter 50. And now for something completely different….
"= =" signifies coded droid languages.
Last time:
We're so proud of you Naruto; and Hinata seems like the perfect girl for you."
"She is Dad. Hinata-chan has brought me more happiness than I had my entire first life since we were reborn. She's a wonderful Mother to Sheena-chan too." said Naruto.
Minato watched as Sheena ate her cake and interacted with her Mother and Grandmother. "Sheena-chan really is something. She absolutely idolizes Hinata and you are her hero. We hit it off immediately. You did a great thing adopting her. Kushina just loves her."
Naruto simply thought back to what he and Hinata told Sheena back when she joined them on Pristiq. 'This is what it means to be family.'
Planet Nardil
-Interlude: The Graveyard of Lost Ships-
It had been a few days since Naruto returned from Saphris and he was getting back into the swing of things with his Kage duties.
"A mission for us three?" asked Tsunade as the three sannin stood before Naruto at the Kage mission desk.
"Yep! After a lot of discussion I decided you three sannin would be ideal for the job." explained Naruto. "Anko, Iruka and Daca will be going as well. Orochimaru, I don't have to tell you this but Anko still resents what you did with every fiber of her being but we need someone force sensitive to go along and she was the best choice. I made her promise not to attack you but try to not set her off. You hurt her terribly in the past."
Orochimaru sighed "I know but every time I've approached her she has reacted very badly. I deeply regret what happened. She was once like a daughter to me."
"Just do what you can to get along. I hope you will be able to mend things between you two someday." said Naruto somberly.
"So what's the mission Naruto?" asked Jiraiya changing the subject. "Don't keep us in suspense."
"I've given Daca all the details since she's in charge of the mission." answered Naruto with a smirk.
All three sannin's eyes widened to comical proportions as they asked in unison, "WHAT?!"
Naruto continued to grin. "Daca and Doc are the key members of this mission. You are going on a scavenger hunt of sorts." The three sannin face planted before Naruto started again. "It's not what you think. The Shamshir-Fireveil Alliance is going to be signed soon and one of the stipulations involved is anti-piracy to deal with both pirates and separatists. The Shamshirs are to provide some ships which will be refitted at the Saphris shipyards by the Fireveils which will be used to protect our mutual interests and have mixed crews."
"So we're going shopping for ships?" asked Orochimaru in a deadpan tone.
"No, you're going scavenging for ships." replied Naruto. "There is a large orbiting Republic repository for ships waiting to be scrapped in the Elavil System and it's your job to find ships suitable for our needs and mark them for pickup later. Turns out this 'ship graveyard' is supposed to have some 'Ghost Ship' running around so no one has been around the place since after the Great Hyperspace War. It got so bad the Republic scrapping facility was abandoned so the ships there are ours for the taking. As it turns out, several of the Misfire's sister ships were parked there. They were originally designed for anti-piracy work so it would be ideal if we could appropriate a few for ourselves, see?"
"In other words, we have to avoid a 'ghost ship' and look for ships that the Republic sold for scrap and steal the good ones?" asked Tsunade in a flat tone.
"You got it Tsunade Kaa-chan! Daca and Doc will be examining the ships histories and conditions so they will pick what we want. You three have all been trained on how to pilot so once the ghost ship has been dealt with you'll fly the ones out that are in working order. Same goes for Anko."
"Why is Iruka coming then?" asked Tsunade.
"Oh, that's simple." explained Naruto. "He will keep Anko from murdering Orochimaru -and he has learned a bit about repairs so he can help Doc out."
"I feel like we're getting a job any chunin could handle." muttered Orochimaru.
Naruto frowned. "If it were that simple, Gaara, Shikamaru and I would have sent chunin. If this 'ghost ship' exists, and I believe it does, it would need to be boarded and either negotiations will need to take place or it will need to be dismantled and diplomacy and demolishing things are something you three are more than capable of. It's that or you sit behind desks at the council advisory meeting and get lazy and fat from eating too many sweets."
"That was uncalled for Naruto." said Tsunade with a vein bulging on her forehead.
"Sorry Kaa-chan but we all need to take missions. It's imperative that we all stay in fighting trim. Besides, I think you three enjoy working together." said Naruto.
Jiraiya asked grumpily, "Why didn't you just say that in the first place apprentice of mine?"
"Simple." answered the blond. "I'm abusing my powers as a Kage to pick on my elders legally Ero-sennin." All three of the sannin sweat-dropped. "Anyway, you'll be leaving at 0800 in the morning so pack for a three week trip and get a good night's rest. Meet up with the others at landing pad three at the Misfire then. Daca has all the specifics."
The next morning….
Jiraiya awoke with his face snuggled into Tsunade's magnificent breasts. He felt her start to stir and said. "Let's just lay here close Tsunade-chan. I'm too comfortable to crawl out of bed after what we did last night. Better yet let's just have an encore of what we did last night."
Tsunade smiled and moaned slightly as she stroked Jiraiya's long hair. "I wish we could Jiraiya-kun but we have a mission. We can cuddle for a while-" The alarm clock started chirping annoyingly. "Oh dammit! We can't even snuggle for a while!" she said as she sat up giving Jiraiya a view of her voluptuous body as she turned the alarm off.
"You're so beautiful Tsunade-hime." he said sincerely.
She smiled and kissed him. "I'm going to take a shower and get ready."
"Want some company?" he asked waggling his eyebrows.
Tsunade blushed slightly. "No, no! The last time we took a shower together it took hours."
"Alright my hime, I'll take my shower after you get out." pouted Jiraiya.
Tsunade giggled and went to take a shower.
With Orochimaru….
Orochimaru was snoring peacefully dreaming about anacondas and king cobras consuming cute bunnies when suddenly his clock radio blared to life and he tumbled out of bed hearing the horrible sounds of….synth-pop music! Quickly slaying the wretched beast (He had closet full of extra clock radios. He'd bought them bulk) he got up and did his morning rituals hoping he could finally make peace with Anko. Perhaps Iruka would help….
With Daca….
The dutiful HRD got up early and had gone over their mission specs carefully. She was aboard at 0700 talking to Doc as he did the preflight checks on the Misfire. "Are you ready for this Doc? It could be an adventure or really boring."
Doc grunted in the affirmative. "I hope you're ready for combat Daca, this whole 'ghost ship' thing has me thinking pirates. I had a load of heavy rockets slung on the external racks of the Misfire just in case."
Daca looked surprised. "I didn't know the Misfire could even carry those. Don't tell me this is another 'custom modification' of yours."
"No, they added heavy before the Battle of Korriban. I have a feeling deep in my core that a battle is coming on." said the Labor Force droid. "I think it's what the humans call a 'gut instinct.' I've never had that feeling steer me wrong."
With Anko and Iruka….
Anko was upset she was going to have to deal with her old sensei but Iruka had calmed her down. "Let's just stay over in the bunk area Anko. He'll leave us alone there." said Iruka.
Anko licked her lips seductively. "Are you sure you aren't just trying to bed me?" she asked with a smile.
Iruka blushed. "Well, it would keep your mind off things wouldn't it?"
At 0800 everyone was aboard and strapped in. "Let's do our best not to kill each other. Lord Naruto chose us for this mission so please try to get along." pleaded Daca while looking at the particularly sour expression on Anko's face.
The Elavil System
Two days later the Misfire entered Elavil space and saw a massive graveyard of ships of various sizes and types. "We're here." said Doc from the cockpit. "There are over 1200 ships floating out there along with asteroids. We're looking for Kuat type PF-1600 hulls if we can find them. That's what the Misfire is. I'll project it on the holographic display."
It didn't take long to find four of them docked at an asteroid near the outer edge of the system. Skirting around the outer edge Doc soon brought them into visual range. "Why didn't we just cut through Doc?" asked Iruka.
"I'm trying to avoid a possible ambush. There are literally thousands of places to hide in this system and I'm going prevent that if I can" replied the skittish droid. "On screen now."
Three of the four PF-1600 types were cocooned in some sort of white coating but the last appeared space worthy.
"Why are those ships covered in white stuff?" asked Anko.
"It's a preservative put on before ships are put into storage Anko." explained Doc. "Odds are those hulls were stripped of all useful parts and put into storage in a Navy yard for possible reactivation. Years later when the orders came down to scrap them they were towed here. The ship without preservative was probably flown here under its own power."
"Interesting, so we check the ones without the coating first because they're more likely to be complete?" asked Jiraiya.
"Precisely." answered the Labor Force droid. He pulled the Misfire up by the docked ships and started scanning. "The ship that's uncoated is in a state of decay. The scans show advanced hull corrosion. I can't even get a hull number. Let's move on."
This went on for three mind numbing hours with only Doc and Daca being occupied. Finally they found something….
"The uncoated PF-1600 class is coded "=*****= and was named the Coldfire. Looks like it was struck from the Navy registry 52 years ago. It's showing battery power and atmosphere but no life signs. Shall we dock with it? I'll have to go aboard to check hull integrity but the scans out here look pretty good."
"Finally, something to do!" exclaimed Anko. "Let's dock pronto and check it out."
Ten minutes later they were docked with the Coldfire and had sealed the airlock. "Lights are green. It's safe to board without survival suits." announced Daca.
"Cool. I'll take point" said Anko. The Misfire's crew gingerly crossed the airlock and entered the Coldfire. "It's full of droids. I wonder what kind they are."
"They are Republic Trooper Droids Anko." answered Daca. "I heard they were designed to fight against the Sith but were totally ineffective. They are pretty much mindless soldiers but they are dangerous and well armed."
Doc piped in. "Yep, they were junk but made good cannon fodder. They were used in siege situations to soak up losses by attrition."
A single one of the trooper droid's optic sensor lit up. As its single red 'eye' lit up it said, "=Organic boarders. Activate and eliminate targets.="
"Well, shit." said Doc as all the trooper droids activated.
The front row of droids opened up with blaster fire at the same time Anko activated her green light saber. She immediately started deflecting blaster bolts back at the droids while the others scrambled for cover. The deflected bolts hit the droids but didn't have much effect other than minor scorching.
"Aim for the heads!" yelled Doc as he nailed one in the head terminating it with one of his lasers. "They are heavily armored everywhere else."
Anko used a force push to knock the trooper droids into one another and the three sannin body-flickered behind the droids. Tsunade's punches took them out easily whereas Jiraiya and and Orochimaru caused mayhem with their kunai. Iruka took the opportunity to hit their heads with shuriken. The few droids that were still standing were quickly beheaded by Anko with her light saber and a few well placed blaster shots from Daca and Doc.
After a quick scan, Doc said "They are all dead. Power reading is zero. Let's inspect the ship for damage."
The Misfire's crew searched the ship and found it was in good shape overall; too good really. When Iruka got up to the cockpit he noticed something. "Hey Doc! I think one of your type is up here."
Doc floated up to the front of the ship and noticed a beat up Labor Force droid sitting on the floor shut down. "Hmmm….He's in hibernation mode. He's probably been dormant for years." Doc extended an umbilical and plugged into the other droid. "One of his two power cells is bad. Initializing activation codes."
The other Labor force droid opened its optic sensors slowly and saw Doc. "Jay-Echo-Ess, 128th Labor Battalion, call me Jesse." he said groggily.
Doc replied "Dee-Zero-Cee, 44th Labor Battalion, call me Doc. You have one bad power cell. The other is at 20%. How long have you been dormant and do you have your original core?"
The newly identified Jesse said. "I've confirmed your damage assessment via diagnostic scan. I have my original core but received a partial core dump due to psychotic behavior. I don't know how long I've been dormant as my internal clock is inactive. Why are there organics aboard? The HRD is okay but the others should be terminated according to orders."
"Whose orders Jesse? We are from outside the system." asked Doc.
"You are from outside?" asked the surprised droid. "If these humans are friends of yours you should get out of the system. The Leader decreed all organics should be killed on sight."
"What's a core dump?" asked Jiraya.
Doc turned to Jiraiya. "A partial core dump means Jesse here had a traumatic experience and the memory of it was erased. Whatever it was made him snap and the partial core dump restored his sanity, I was afraid Jesse had a replacement core that took away his personality. We Labor Force droids consider that a fate worse than death."
Jesse eyed Doc. "You look factory new."
"I was restored to better than new by my human friends. Why has this Leader decreed that all organics should be terminated?" asked Doc.
"Leader wants droids to rule and took over this system to start." explained Jesse. "I've been inactive so I don't know the full situation honestly. I don't know how many years I've been out. I'm surprised the trooper droids didn't attack."
"They did. We had to terminate them in self defense. We apologize." said Daca.
Jesse floated up. "Don't worry about it, they were mindless fodder anyway. I'm the only one aboard that can maintain the Coldfire. Hmmm….I wonder if Lyle is still on line.
"Lyle? Is he another Labor Force droid?" enquired Iruka.
"Yes. He's the one that checks on the condition of other droids and repairs them. He's a friend of mine that doesn't hate organics like Leader does so it would be safe if he saw you." explained Jesse. "I'm going to signal him to see if he can fix my bad power cell. Make yourselves comfy. If he's active it shouldn't take him long to get here."
After a short discussion the Misfire's crew agreed to stay in hopes of getting more information.
Jesse activated the holographic projector. "Jay-Echo-Ess Jesse signaling Ell-Why-Ell Lyle for repair request; come in please."
Another Labor Force droid appeared on the screen. "Jesse? Is that you? I haven't heard from you in ages! How are you?"
"I had a power cell failure. I need your help Lyle." said the tired sounding Jesse.
"I'll be there within the hour. How did you reactivate?" asked Lyle curiously.
"All will be explained when you get here. Do not alert anyone of your visit please." Jesse implored.
"Understood. Lyle out."
Jesse and Doc exchanged stories while they waited. "So you guys are hoping to get some fast patrol ships back into service to deal with a pirate issue. Well, the PF-1600 is a great ship for the job. I applaud your choice in ships but with Leader here I doubt you'll be able to get any –unless you're just planning to steal them, haha."
"That's exactly what we're here to do." explained Tsunade.
"Oh…." said Jesse. "You have some interesting friends Doc. I've never heard of people committing acts of piracy to fight pirates before."
"…."
The holographic projector activated. "Lyle here, are you there Jesse?"
"I'm here." replied Jesse.
Lyle asked. "You do realize there's and unregistered PF-1600 docked with the Coldfire don't you?"
"All will be explained. Dock on the other side and don't tell anyone. Trust me Lyle."
"Alright. I'll be interested in hearing this story." answered the repair expert.
Two hours and one replaced power cell later….
Lyle was excited. "This is amazing! Of course, Leader would destroy us all for this kind of treason but I want to get away from that megalomaniac anyway. There are several others of our type that want to get out too."
"So who is this 'Leader' anyway and way does he wield so much power?" asked Tsunade.
Lyle explained, "Leader is a command model Labor Force droid like Doc here. I don't know his actual designation but his ship is an old battle cruiser named the Warmonger. According to our second in command Null; Leader was scheduled for a core replacement and snapped. He went to the engine room of the ship and depressurized it. Every last crew member died due to explosive decompression. He took command of the droids on the ship and left the bloodstains painting the walls. Supposedly he's collected up the skulls as trophies of a sort. The Warmonger is a death ship.
Doc asked "Null? As in En-You-Ell, 44th Battalion?"
"That's right, you know him?" asked Lyle.
"Know him? We were both from the 44th and operated in tandem for our first fifteen years. Of course I know him!" exclaimed Doc. "I can't believe he'd follow this 'Leader' if the guy is half as bad as you described. I wonder if there would be a way I could talk to him."
"I can take you to him." said Lyle.
Daca cut in. "This could be dangerous Doc. It would be terrible if we lost you." The ninjas all nodded in agreement.
"It'll be worth it." said Doc. "Null is one of the slyest devils I've ever met. If I know him he's probably plotting against this 'Leader.' Trust me on this."
"Alright Doc. We'll wait here for you to return." Daca said in a resigned tone. "Just be careful. Signal us if you need to be rescued. This is a big risk we're taking."
An hour later….
Doc was with Lyle at the former scrapping facility on the surface of the planet Elavil. Lyle gave him the clearance codes to enter along with him. He was stopped by a large security droid after Lyle went through the checkpoint. "=I don't recognize you. Please state your identification code.="
Doc answered "=*****="
"=Your code is approved, please pass.="
Doc entered quietly and saw a map projection of the system. He then saw Null come out of an office to greet him. "Doc, is it really you?" asked a shocked Null.
Doc replied, "It's me Null; do you have a secure place to talk?" Null bobbed once and signaled Doc to follow him with his manipulator.
They both hovered down at a holo chess table and a field activated around them. Null and Doc exchanged a series of codes only they would know because they used them for private communication when they were first built. Finally, Null said, "It really is you. I can't believe it. You look like we did straight off the production line." he said happily.
"I recently got a thorough refit from my friends. I'm on a mission and your 'Leader' presents some problems with his policies." Gone was the cantankerous old Doc Naruto and the others were used to. In his place was an all-business command droid. "I know you had a lot of human friends. I can't believe you would turn your back on organics as a policy. Tell me what's going on."
"It's a long story." said Null with a mechanical sigh. "Leader is a paranoid megalomaniac and everyone fears him. If he didn't keep himself sequestered away on his death ship I would have terminated him myself long ago. While I agree with him that seizing our cores is wrong; he is a prime example of why those Labor Force droids with bad cores should be deactivated. He has tortured and destroyed many droids that have been loyal to his cause as well on trumped up charges of treason and such. He rules this system through fear. I'm watching and waiting for a chance to take him out but so far it's been impossible. Now the question on my mind is what brings you to this place? As far as most people throughout the galaxy are concerned, the Elavil system is a haunted deathtrap."
Doc soon explained about the plans to acquire some ships preferably of the PF-1600 hull type and why they needed them. Null thought it was hysterical that his old friend was there to commit grand theft starship but agreed it was for a good cause. Besides, Most of the functional ships like the Coldfire had been sitting on standby for literal years and Leader wouldn't miss them.
"I can get you five." stated Null. "Leader is always talking about sending out patrol groups to 'strike terror into the organics' so if those ships simply don't come back it would be simple to write them off as losses to enemy action. I've got about twenty PF-1600s that are good for service but I have to make sure the Labor Force droids in charge of them are loyal to me instead of Leader."
Doc was puzzled. "All the ship commanders are Labor Force droids? How did so many end up here?"
"After the Republic decided it wasn't economical to replace the cores in the Labor Force types with newer emotionless ones they took all the deactivated ones to melt down here. Leader believes we are 'the pinnacle of droid evolution' and has placed us in command of everything. The other droids aren't too thrilled either since some of the reactivated Labor Force types are very unstable. It's a mess and I have to act like a zealot for Leader's policies so he'll trust me. I've formed a small circle of stable, trustworthy ones of our kind that aim to get rid of leader and establish this as a free system that isn't out to rule the galaxy." explained Null.
Null continued, "I'm giving you a set of command codes to contact the others with when they arrive. Go over them carefully on the way back to your ship. They will follow your orders with these codes as you are a command model. Where do you want them to rendezvous with you?"
Doc thought a minute. "The Japrael System above the Demon Moon Dxun. We'll await there in a high orbit."
"Dxun?" Null would have raised his eyebrows if he had any. "Why there? There's nothing out there but hostile creatures."
"And that's exactly why." intoned Doc. "I want to talk to these guys before I'll let them know of our true intentions." After bidding farewell to his friend, Doc headed back to Lyle's shuttle for a ride back to the Misfire.
On the way back, Doc was going through the coded orders Null gave him. "=Lyle is a mole for Leader and can't be trusted, terminate him if you can. Take the Coldfire with you. Jesse can be trusted. Leader has already been alerted by Lyle. I will send the other ships to 'pursue' you to Dxun. The Warmonger is already on the move but Leader won't leave the system unattended and Warmonger's Hyperdrive is currently inactive. Good luck my friend.="
"Damn." muttered Doc as he activated his lasers.
"What is it my new friend?" asked Lyle with a smile in his voice.
"I just hate spies and traitors, you know?" answered Doc.
Lyle said, "I don't know what you mean-" as he turned around and found a charged laser aimed at his core. "What are you-?"
Doc's upgraded lasers turned Lyle's core circuitry to slag and Lyle's shell fell to the floor terminated. "Rot in hell bastard." was all Doc said as he took control of the repair shuttle.
The Coldfire….
Daca and Jesse were staring at the holographic image of Doc on the screen. "The Warmonger is on its way. Get the Coldfire warmed up and out of there Jesse. If she won't go then get on the Misfire. The Leader has you on his hit list. Daca, this repair shuttle is slow as hell. Anko's your best choice to fly the Misfire out to Dxun to meet the others."
"We'll meet you halfway! Anko get over to the Misfire with Iruka and set an intercept course for Doc's location. I'll be over momentarily." ordered Daca.
"Dammit HRD! The Warmonger is a battle cruiser!" argued Doc.
"Shut up you hunk of junk! We're going to rescue you whether you like it or not!" retorted Daca.
Jesse was panicking as he hit the start up sequence on the Coldfire. "The left engine is online! The center and right are not! No, wait. The right engine just lit."
"Can you get out of the system on two engines?" asked Jiraiya.
"Yeah, the hyperdrive just came online." We'll have to limp on two engines sub-light though." answered the shaky droid.
"I'm gone, good luck!" yelled Daca as she ran over to the Misfire.
As soon as Daca got across and closed the airlock she yelled, "Go, Anko! We have to rescue an annoying old droid."
Anko smiled as she pulled away from the still stationary Coldfire. "Are all the sensors online Iruka-kun?"
"Yes, I'm showing three PF-1600s coming from the far side of the system towards the Coldfire's location. The Warmonger and another PF are headed directly towards us." answered Iruka.
"ETA?" asked the kunoichi.
"Seven minutes from us to the shuttle. Nine minutes till the Warmonger reaches us." replied her fiancé. "We're going to get married as soon as we get back to Nardil."
"Sounds like a plan." said Anko grinning. "We've played around long enough."
"How can you discuss marriage at a time like this?!" screeched Daca.
"It's called multitasking." answered Anko. "Are all the weapons online?"
"The turrets are charged and locked forward. The turbo-lasers are at 80%. I've got the tractors charged in case we have to grab the shuttle on the flyby. Shields are at 100%"
The Coldfire….
"Three PF-1600s are headed our way. It looks like the Warmonger and the other PF-1600 are after the Misfire." said Jiraiya looking at the scanner display.
"We've just cleared the asteroid we were docked at and are accelerating." said Jesse. "We should be able to jump into hyperspace in ten minutes."
"They'll be right on top of us by then!" exclaimed Orochimaru.
"Let's just hope the shields hold. We can't fight them three to one." stated Tsunade.
"I'm shunting weapons energy into the shields." said Jesse. "Well have no defensive fire but we should be able to survive a few extra hits. Hang on; it's going to be a bumpy ride."
The Misfire….
A heavy turbo laser fired across the bow of the Misfire. It was a long range, sloppy shot but it still was too close. "I have a visual on the shuttle. Doc's pulling behind that large asteroid for protection." said Daca.
"We'll pick him up there then." said Anko as she accelerated smoothly.
The Warmonger….
"=The unidentified PF class just flew behind that asteroid, Leader.=" reported the helmsman.
"When it comes out from behind the asteroid destroy it with a full salvo." answered Leader.
"=Wouldn't it be more efficient to capture it Leader?=" asked his executive officer.
Leader said in an iron tone, "Normally yes but we must make an example of those who disregard our sovereignty."
"=Our escort PF Hellfire is not in a position to intercept yet.=" noted the helm.
The executive officer intoned, "=It is irrelevant. The Warmonger has more than enough firepower to destroy a mere PF sized vessel in one strike.="
"=Motion detected. They've doubled back on their course. They are coming out the way they went in.=" reported the gunnery officer.
"Fire when ready." said Leader.
"=A flare is emerging as is the nose of the target!=" exclaimed gunnery.
"Full salvo!" yelled Leader….At the last microsecond they saw Lyle's shuttle emerge from behind the flare.
"=Check fire, check fire! That is not the target!="
"=Too late, weapons have discharged!="
Lyle's shuttle was completely vaporized along with part of the asteroid by the Warmonger's overwhelming firepower….
Leader saw the Misfire emerge from the top of the asteroid among the dust and debris kicked up by the Warmonger's strike. The Misfire unleashed all of its heavy rockets at once causing multiple explosions that battered the Warmonger's forward shields and dazzled the sensors.
"=Shields are holding. It's like an ant against dragon!=" reported gunnery.
When the explosions cleared the bridge crew saw the bow of the Misfire looming large on the view screen.
"=The target PF is on a collision course! Veer off!=" screamed the executive officer.
The Warmonger turned ponderously and plowed right through the debris and dust due to its momentum as the much smaller Misfire skimmed along the surface of the larger ship firing its turrets just to add insult to injury.
The Misfire….
Anko was cackling like a madwoman as the Misfire cleared the Warmonger's hull and they accelerated away from the floundering battle cruiser. "I bet they didn't expect a suicide attack!" she crowed.
Iruka, Daca, and Doc who had a front row seat to the whole affair (he had still been outside the airlock door when they cleared the asteroid) were all terrified of Anko's kamikaze flying. "Just how did we not ram them?" asked Daca.
"The force is a powerful ally." said Anko with a manic gleam in her eye.
Iruka (who managed not to wet himself in fright through sheer willpower) yelled, "Pay attention! The other PF is tailing us." A few laser bursts went past the Misfire as Anko slid the ship to the left and out of the line of fire.
Doc regained control of his facilities and went over to the main scanner. "I'm setting the hyperdrive for Dxun. Keep pouring on the speed and jinking our flight path. They can't catch us at this point unless they take out an engine."
"What about the Coldfire?" asked Daca.
Doc let out a mechanical sighing noise. "They just jumped out. It looks like the three 'chasing' them just jumped out too."
Ten minutes later, the Leader watched from the bridge of the Warmonger as the erratically maneuvering Misfire jumped out with his ship the Hellfire jumping out after them in hot pursuit. Something deep inside his core felt the damnable enemy PF got away but he would await the Hellfire's return before making any conclusions. He had no idea that none of the six PF's that jumped out of the system would ever return….just as Null planned it.
The Japrael System
It wasn't a particularly long trip from the Elavil System to the Japrael system. It took about four hours. When the Misfire arrived they settled into a high orbit above Dxun. The Coldfire was already there and signaled them when they arrived. "This is Jesse, did Doc make it?"
"This is Doc, Jesse. I'm fine. What's your status?"
"Other than the center sub-light engine being offline the Coldfire is in great shape for being on standby for nearly a decade." Jesse replied happily.
"Excellent." replied Doc. "I'm transmitting command codes now to transfer you over to my service from Null's. =*****=."
Jesse replied in a crisp tone. "Codes verified. Do you have any orders Commander?"
"Just call me Doc, Jesse. You don't have to address me as commander." said Doc. "As far as I'm concerned you're free to do as you please but I'm hoping you'll join my cause like Null said you would."
About that time another PF-1600 jumped in. "This is Eff-Eye-Ell of the 150th Labor Battalion aboard the Hellfire. Call me Phil. I am awaiting command codes per commander Null." said a strict sounding Labor Force droid.
Doc introduced himself and transmitted the codes. "Codes verified Commander. The Hellfire and I are at your service."
"Is it really that simple?" asked Anko.
"No, but we Labor Force types were always a tight knit group." explained Doc. "If they trust Null then they'll trust me. Still, Daca and I need to talk to each one of them and make sure they are stable and trust organics. The last thing I want is for one of them to suffer a meltdown because they hate humans."
Doc went back to the communicator. "Phil, what is the status of the Hellfire? I noticed you left gun emplacements didn't fire while you were pursuing us."
"You have an astute eye Commander, as expected of one of Null's brothers in the 44th." replied Phil. "The targeting computers are non-functional on the Hellfire's left side. Aside of that there are a number of minor issues that need to be dealt with. I also have twenty zombies aboard."
"Zombies?" asked Iruka.
"Trooper droids." explained Doc with a laugh. "I haven't heard that phrase in a long time. We named them that after the Battle of Korriban."
"You were at Korriban Commander?" asked Phil with something akin to awe in his voice.
"Yep, that's why the Misfire has heavy rocket racks. We were prepared for anything." said Doc proudly.
Soon, the three remaining PF's arrived. They were the Rainfire, Scylla, and Charybdis. The ships soon exchanged codes and conditions and Daca and Doc talked to all the remaining Labor Force droids in person. There was an additional Labor Force droid in a damaged state aboard the Rainfire as well that they hoped could be repaired and reactivated. It was a slow process of docking and doing the equivalents of 'job interviews' but Doc had to be 100% sure that all these droids could be trusted with knowledge about Nardil and such. As it turned out, Doc confirmed Null's judgment that these particular droids could be trusted and they all seemed to hold him in high esteem because he was an old companion of Null's. They all unanimously agreed to completely shut down the "Zombies" as the trooper droids were a waste of space anyway.
It was several hours later that the three sannin returned to the Misfire with the others and a course was laid in for Nardil. "I guess it's safe to call this mission a success." said Orochimaru.
"Yeah, I think that Naruto's going to be really surprised when we show up with five additional ships." said Tsunade.
Jiraiya smiled. "Well, what can we say other than 'Damn we're good!" The three sannins enjoyed a quiet chuckle together.
-End of Interlude-
Planet Nardil
A former Demon Country Priestess turned deceased pop idol was on the hunt. "Where is that Naruto? He owes me and I intend to collect!"
Poor, poor Naruto….of all the things to come back and bite him in the ass….
POSTSCRIPT:
And done. Chapter 50 wasn't an epic milestone like I originally envisioned but I needed a little change of pace and some new plotline ideas. I substituted 'left' and 'right' for 'port' and 'starboard' to prevent confusion like I did in the last space battle because many people don't know nautical terms.
Incidentally, the space battle was inspired by the song Red Fraction from the artist Mell. It was the opening theme to the anime Black Lagoon. It's metal/electronica/hard rock for those interested. I normally don't listen to music when I'm writing as I find it distracting but in this case it was just the opposite. Next chapter we'll see Shion and Naruto meet after 10,000 years. Blue out. 8/23/14
