Psych. I had one more chapter ready and primed by the 24-hour update mark. Hope it delights.
The Pack filed into the shower, Hinata and Naruto getting pride of place under the faucets given the Nuke guts in their hair and extremities.
"Tell me about nicer aliens than the Nuke," Tenten requested, her belly large with a load of Uzu spunk.
"The Iwa are the friendliest in the Galactic League, their current random attacks notwithstanding. Giants made of living stone with pussies and cocks that feel like silicone sex toys. I'd like to recruit one for variety's sake, though I'm not sure if my cum would make them shrink. They might blow the size conformity," Naruto mused.
"I met a Kumo exchange student in the Academy before the conflict started. She had such lovely red scales and seemed almost human once you got past the lisp. I wasn't bi yet but I always wondered what her tongue would feel like," Hana recollected.
"The Suna Collective are a friendly people. I only hope they're more expressive with Telepathy than they are through their mind translators. A female would be tight as fuck but a male would be laughably inadequate before getting the Gift. Any enhanced Suna would be assumed to be a hybrid by the unaware," Sasuke answered.
"I want to see the mysterious Oto naked. What are they hiding behind those suits of armor? Maybe it'll be Kakashi, Naruto's trading buddy. I hope he knows how to cook, Hana shared the memory of the food she sampled and it was divine." Hinata scrubbed extra hard under her nails.
"Not sure if a Mizu would consent to have relations with an Uzu, we look so Konoha. An Umi would be an interesting experience. Probably a lot of slimy tentacles, if you're into that," Naruto added.
Tenten chuckled. "Of course you had a sexual overview of each species. You Uzu are horny bastards."
"In about 90 minutes your ears will have changed and you'll be an Uzu too, Tenten. Want to look in the mirror now or wait for the full effect?" Hinata asked gently.
She reached up to feel her scar, and felt only smooth unblemished skin. "I don't need to see the ears. I want to look after we dry off."
"Oh, I can't wait to see your face!" Hana squealed.
"And afterwards, I'm welcoming you to the pack. Followed by Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"I'm in adrenaline withdrawal and don't feel like cheating with Psychic Healing. I'll fuck her after we take down the Stalingrad, if she'll have me."
Tenten chuckled. "You don't have Sasuke's smoldering good looks but you've grown on me, werewolf. I'll let you fuck me. But I expect to fuck you someday soon. Hinata told me how you're into femdom every now and again."
"Whatever you want, honey," Naruto grinned.
"Oh, we could spitroast him. Call it the Karron Skewer or something silly like that!" Hinata chuckled and washed the generic shampoo out of her waist-length tresses. Her hair quality came from her diet, not a product.
"I'll admit, I never deflowered a girl before. I'm not sure I'm ready for the responsibility."
"If it's any consolation to either of you, I dissolved her hymen. So no stinging tearing or blood to ruin that first thrust," Naruto illuminated.
Tenten visibly relaxed. "Oh, good. I was worried about that."
"Our Alpha, thinking ahead. You know, you could have probably made it to at least Rear Admiral if you'd stayed on," Hana gushed, wrapping him in a wet naked hug."
"In another life, I could have gone for Fleet Admiral. But luckily I did retire. And ten years later got a tip from Mad Iruka about Madame Trixie and some Tyrenium."
Tenten and Hinata both snorted. "Madame Trixie? Her girls are walking petri dishes. I hope your friend used a condom!" Tenten guffawed.
"This is the guy you willed the Fool's Gold to? You might be getting her back sooner than you think."
"Can't recall the last time I heard someone catching a venereal disease from just hand stuff. But I'll check up on him. Maybe rub his face in my harem of gorgeous women… And one handsome man. Almost got an extra of both today but we had to go chasing after Zabuza," Naruto sighed. "Ah, missed opportunity."
"The dynamics would have been interesting if they came aboard. They were already married. How would they drink from you, share each meal? But Richards was nice. I hope he and Nicole have cute babies one day,"
Naruto grinned paternally. "I think I'd put the Nursery on Deck 3, once we settle down and assuming we keep the Invictus."
Naruto was treated to three doe-eyed girls and a longing-eyed guy. "Pup fever, we already have it. Might not be long after we come to power and beat this potential rival Uzu that we become parents," Sasuke mused.
"Shame you two can't have biological children. That would be so hot," Hana moaned.
"Bad Hana. This isn't one of your mpreg doujinshi," Hinata scolded.
"People write comics about that sort of thing?" Tenten asked incredulously.
"It's a wildly popular niche audience. And hey, if we get a Medic, you and they could work on an artificial womb and make it a reality." Hana reasoned with Tenten.
"We'll have exponentially more children if we enable same-sex parents. Let's stick to good old-fashioned breeding for the first generation, why don't we?" Naruto mused.
"First generation? As in there will be multiple generations? The first could be having their own grandkids when we decide to have a second? Our family tree is going to be a bramble bush," Tenten moaned.
"It'll be worth it, everyone, so they say," Naruto said, turning off the water. "Now let's get dried off and witness Tenten realizing what a fox she is now!"
"Huzzah!" Hinata cheered, charging out the bathroom without even toweling off.
"Wait for me, airhead. That's kind of the point," Tenten called after her as Sasuke toweled her off for her. Tenten couldn't exactly reach her toes at the moment.
"I think she can just set herself on fire and dry off that way," Hana mused when she saw a flash of pinkish flames from the bedroom.
"What I could do with that teenage energy in my veins," Naruto mused as he tossed his towel in the hamper.
"You could conquer the Galactic League in a month. Though I'm curious, is your stamina a Naruto thing or a learned trait? Because you lasting two minutes like a typical teenager with the amount you cum would be hilarious." Sasuke grinned mischievously.
"Let's just say I ruined a lot of bath towels when I first hit puberty and leave it at that," Naruto said with a blush.
"Hush. Me time now. About to see a non-ugly version of my face," Tenten quieted.
They followed in procession from the bathroom to the closet, Hinata playfully covering Tenten's eyes before she reached the mirror. When Tenten gave a nod, Hinata let go.
Tenten looked in the mirror in shock. "Wow… I'm fucking beautiful!" Her face was now the face of a Holo-actress cast as queen of the elves. Her midnight-black hair feel in a straight curtain to her mid-back. Her tits were the full 32D Naruto enjoyed, and her ass could be used as a pillow. Her tanned skin was flawless and glassy smooth and hairless. She had the muscle of a cage fighter with the feminine softness of a model. In a word, she was an Uzu.
"Indeed you are. You always were if you ignored the burn, but that problem's gone now." Naruto wrapped his newest Thrall in a hug. "I made your outsides match your insides. And you should have psychic powers and the tech schematics now too. Just search your mind."
Tenten looked up into her head and concentrated. She blinked. "I think I'm in love. That ship is… there are no words. The Power Core, the Quantum Annihilator, the Shield Generator! Oh my tits, we have a Wormhole Generator!" Tenten turned in Naruto's grip and made out with him on the spot. "Gods bless whoever encoded these in your DNA for you to share with me! I have seen the face of heaven!"
"I thought this was our night," Sasuke said with a fake put-out expression.
Tenten leapt from Naruto's arms to Sasuke's. "It is hunk muffin. I was just showing the Alpha his due respect and thanks. Now take me to bed and make me a woman!"
Sasuke hitched her legs around his waist and carried her to the bed. Naruto and the girls arranged themselves around it, getting good seats for the upcoming show. Sasuke and Tenten stared into each other's eyes before initiating a long make-out session. When their mouths separated, Sasuke buried his head in her newfound bounteous boobs.
*Woo, Sasuke, eat them titties!* Naruto cheered.
*This will go so much easier if you don't keep a running commentary,* Sasuke projected, his mouth occupied with Tenten's nipple.
*Me and Hana will keep him distracted,* Hinata assured, before grabbing her Thrall by the hand and engaging in a display of Sapphic love that totally side-tracked the Alpha. Between watching a cherry picking and a stand-up scissoring, Naruto knew which he preferred.
Sasuke pulled back from his dive into Tenten's bosom to give her another kiss. Then, with deft musician's fingers, he inserted two digits into her leaking pussy. Tenten shuddered, clenching like a vice around the invaders. Sasuke hissed.
"Hot damn, Tenten, you'll squeeze my cock right off!"
"It can reattach with Psychic Healing. And I may have practiced kegels in anticipation of this," Tenten admitted, blushing up a storm, looking like an angel spread out on the bedspread.
Sasuke shuddered. "You sure you wouldn't rather be broken in by Naruto? He's sturdier than I am, can take all kinds of punishment down there."
"I wanted to lose my virginity to a guy who reminded me of a prince. That's you. Naruto is more the rugged knight. Not that I'm not interested in him too, but you're the one that I want first inside me."
Sasuke almost lost his composure at her heartfelt words. Unable to think of anything worthy to say to that, Sasuke lined his Beta cock up with her snatch and, looking into her eyes the whole time, slid in.
Naruto and the part-time lesbians paused in their own make-out to turn to the bed. They wanted to remember this moment, when one of their own was introduced to the world of sex that was their birthright.
Tenten moaned. "Oh gods, no wonder everyone's obsessed with fucking! You're so big and deep!"
"I'm not all the way in yet. This may feel a little weird," Sasuke warned. Then he pushed the final quarter of his cock past her cervical ring and into her hyperfertile womb.
Tenten's eyes widened. "Okay, that's tingly. What was that?"
"Naruto's so big that to fit all the way inside he makes Thralls' cervixes open up for him. I'm just big enough to get past the gate. He goes all the way to the back wall of your womb," Sasuke explained, his shoulder-length mane of hair sticking with sweat to his face.
Tenten nodded. "Good to know. Now ride me, cowboy."
Sasuke chuckled at being called the ancient profession, but he was happy to oblige his new lover. He withdrew until only the head was inside her, before thrusting balls-deep into her uterus. He did it again and again until he was humping her at a speed and rhythm that would be considered impressive even by holo-porn standards. Naruto watched the live show while Hinata and Hana slobbered on his revitalized knob. The room was filled with the wet sounds of flesh slapping flesh. Finally, set off by Tenten's orgasm, Naruto released, which triggered Hinata, Hana, and Sasuke.
Sasuke rolled off Tenten, keeping an arm around her waist and pillowing his head on her right breast. She giggled as his hair tickled her, but held him close to her heart regardless. The other three members of the pack joined them, sliding into bed so Hinata and Hana spooned Sasuke and Naruto could spoon Tenten.
*So, how's it feel to not be a virgin anymore?* Naruto asked on their private mental channel.
*Like a junkie who just discovered a new fix, honestly,* Tenten replied sleepily.
*In about 12 hours, it's our turn.*
*Assuming we survive the Stalingrad,* Tenten pointed out.
*Victory is won before the battle starts. I have every confidence in the Pack to handle this Momochi Zabuza.* Naruto yawned. *It's been a long ass day. Let's catch some shut-eye,* he projected to everyone.
He got sleepy agreements and then they all drifted into the realm of Morpheus.
The Pack woke up bright and early, before 0900 and a couple hours before their planned interdiciton of the Stalingrad. The four lesser members of the Pack took turns blowing Naruto until Sasuke was the lucky one to get his filling release. The bluenette rubbed his belly.
"I love seeing new crew members become Uzu, but I'm glad as fuck I get to eat your loads again," Sasuke said contently.
"Lucky. I call next, I'm the top bitch. I can eat out the creampie he leaves in Tenten after we win." Hinata nodded at her own plan.
Tenten was feeling her new ears. "I'm a whole new woman. I need to get a new ID photo taken."
"Most of us do. So what's the game plan for the day?" Hana asked.
Naruto sat up, authority falling around him like a cloak. "Quick shower and breakfast. Then you and Sasuke go to the Bridge and calculate an attack plan. I also want you to work out the ideal site for an ambush from the pirates. Smart money is they know we're coming after them. I don't want us to get caught with our pants down if this Zabuza has a lick of sense. Tenten, go down to the Docking Bay and analyze the dropship and Neutron Rifles. You only have time for a preliminary analysis but it should give you an idea of Nuke tech for use in the future. Hinata and I will clean and then put on our armor before joining you two on the Bridge. Ready? Break!"
They all separated for their assigned tasks after a breakfast of omelettes. Naruto and Hinata fetched their armor from where they'd left it on the Bridge and took them back to the bathroom in their quarters. They carefully hosed the bulletproof fabrics of Nuke blood and guts, before drying them and donning them. Hana and Sasuke, each the equivalent of an entire K-Fed analysis unit, went to work calculating how to beat the Stalingrad and seven picket ships and the worst spot the Invictus could be attacked. Tenten hosed out the inside of the Nuke dropship, sluicing out the blood from the massacre of their attempted boarding. Tenten eyed the ship, the Nuke corpses, and the Neutron Rifles with Material Sight, essentially a psychic microscope that gave her heaps of knowledge on the make-up of the alien materials.
*Psychic powers are the shit. Thank you for those,* Tenten projected, her head inside a maintenance panel for the dropship.
*Happy to give them to you, Tenten. Just part of the compensation for letting me have my way with you whenever I fancy,* Naruto replied.
*Naruto?* Sasuke and Hana projected simultaneously.
*What is it, babes?*
*Remember how we were supposed to calculate the ideal ambush site? It's the Iota Carinae system,* Hana projected uneasily.
*So what's the problem?* Hinata asked, slapping a clip of caseless hollow point ammunition into her XR73 Rifle.
*We'll pass the Iota Carinae system in approximately sixty seconds,* Sasuke explained.
Naruto was on guard in an instant. *Shields up, weapons hot. I'd rather we seem like idiots than get stuck in a killbox. We'll be up there as soon as the elevator comes,*
*Yes, Commander!* The Pack projected.
Tenten hit her head pulling it out of the maintenance panel. For the first time, she used Psychic Speed to make it to the elevator, almost tripping at the rush of speed. She hit the button a dozen times before the doors opened. She rushed in and pounded the button for the Command Deck. There was only one stop on Deck 2, when Naruto and Hinata entered, looking intimidating as hell in their respective armors and bearing Rifles beyond anything she could have made on Karron. They had just reached the Bridge when a loud alarm went off.
"BWOOP! BWOOP! BWOOP!"
The Invictus shuddered violently as the enemy Interdictor forcibly pulled it out of hyperwarp. Naruto, Hinata, and Tenten clung drunkenly to each other while Hana and Sasuke clung to their consoles.
"Get the System Map up and head straight for cover! I don't care if we have to enter the star's coronasphere, just get us out of this trap!" Naruto commanded, stumbling over to his Command Chair.
Tenten obediently pulled up the System Map. The huge A-type star glowed white with heat and light. The lone planetary body was Iota Carinae Alpha, a frozen world with a large ring of broken chunks of ice larger than the Invictus. Of more concern, though, was the seven ships arranged around the Invictus and already opening fire.
"Hinata, full speed! Tenten, all power from weapons to engines and shields!" Naruto coordinated.
"Shields down to 62%!" Sasuke announced even as the Invictus lurched forward. "If they caught us by surprise we'd have been fucked," he announced grimly.
"Might still be. Hinata, evasive maneuvers, use Future Sight if you have to, we'll all fuel you energy," Naruto ordered.
Her eyes took on a golden cast as she looked up at the System Map and the pirate ships bearing down on them. The Pack felt a substantial drain on their collective resources, but it would be worth it if it kept them alive. They rocketed past the one Destroyer, leaving it facing the wrong way. The Frigates and Corvettes gave pursuit, while the Heavy Cruiser arranged itself to let loose its devastating broadside. Hinata made for the belt of ice chunks, her carefully erratic dodging allowing the picket ships to keep up but kept them from landing more than the odd random shot.
"Shields at 60% and rising," Tenten reported, Hinata's dodging allowing them a reprieve from Laser fire.
"Incoming broadside from the Stalingrad!" Hana said, her eyes tracking the System Map.
Hinata had dipped the Invictus and was yawing to the right to avoid fire from the pursuing Corvettes, which meant that the enormous shells from the Heavy Cannons sailed wide, eventually detonating harmlessly a few thousand metres away from their hull with colossal explosive force. Unfortunately the Beam Laser battery fire was much more accurate, with four of the six lasers scything across the shields over the rear of the dodging assault cruiser.
"Shields down to 28%!" Tenten shouted.
"Believe it or not, that was the best-case scenario," Hinata grunted, her eyes still locked on the Map. "Twenty seconds before we lose them in the ice field."
A relentless cascade of laser cannon fire sailed around the Invictus, as the pirates sprayed shots all over the place, giving up on trying to aim and just hoping a mass of firepower would let them hit by blind luck if not by skill. It worked to a degree, with the Invictus taking a few more hits, although the shields comfortably absorbed and dissipated the energy.
The tactical map zoomed in to show the looming formations of ice hanging motionless and trapped in orbit around the frozen planet. The Invictus dived into the ice belt, leaving a frosty trail behind them as their shields pushed aside the tiny ice crystals that shrouded the whole belt in a white mist.
Hinata pulled the ship around in a smooth arc and put a colossal hunk of crystallised water between them and the Heavy Cruiser. Now they were no longer in direct line of sight to the pirates, she was able to put more distance between them and their pursuers, making use of the superior top speed of the Invictus.
"What's the plan, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, his eyes glancing at the Tactical Map and the enemy fleet.
"Recover shields under cover, take out the Frigates and Corvettes that followed us, then go for the Destroyer and the Stalingrad. We can do this, everyone."
"Yes, sir," they chorused.
"Shields at 22%, that was close," Tenten revealed.
Behind them, the titanic lump of ice shuddered as it was hit by the Beam Lasers from the Stalingrad, melting huge gouges out of the sheer ice surface facing the Heavy Cruiser. The stubborn ice block stayed together though, refusing to yield to the energy weapons. That stubbornness was abruptly overwhelmed when the Stalingrad opened up with its eight Heavy Cannons. The shells punched their way into the icy asteroid and caused great fractured splits, until the shells detonated moments later and razor sharp ice fragments exploded in all directions, the huge object blasted into smithereens.
Fortunately for the crew of the Invictus, that was but one massive hunk of ice amongst thousands and Hinata simply followed the Ice belt around the planet, putting more distance and more Ice between them and the marauding pirates. They sailed past huge formations of ice that reflected the bright glare from the sun, spreading multi hued prisms of light in front of them.
"You know this would actually be quite beautiful if we weren't running for our lives," Hinata said wistfully, admiring the natural beauty of the galaxy.
"When all is said and done, I'll take you all on a tour of the wonders of the galaxy. For now, let's focus on the job at hand. Tenten, how are we on shields?"
"We're at 47%," she replied.
"Have the picket forces gone back to the Stalingrad?"
"No, they're still in pursuit," Hana reported.
"That's right, split your forces, you dumb bastards," Sasuke growled. "When shields reach 90%, we should strike."
Hinata kept the ship on an even keel, but reduced their speed slightly so they wouldn't get too far ahead of the pursuing pirate ships. By the time the shields had regenerated, they were around on the other side of the planet from the initial ambush site.
"88... 89... 90% Naruto!" Tenten called out as their shields grew stronger in power.
Hinata didn't need to be told what to do, as she pulled up the nose on the Invictus, executing an Immelmann turn and putting them on a direct course towards the pursuing Corvettes and Frigate.
"20 seconds until we're in range." she called out.
Tenten powered up the weapons, diverting away power from the engines, but kept the shields regenerating.
Hana narrowed her eyes as she sighted the vicious pirates and gently depressed the trigger, firing the Assault Cruiser's Beam Lasers. The six bright shafts of energy scorched the tiny ice crystals in their path before searing into the Frigate. The pirate ship's shields were no match for the mighty power of the Beam Lasers and winked out an instant, allowing the beams to blast right through the ship, leaving it a hollowed out ruined shell.
The Invictus trembled a second later as the rail guns fired, the hyperwarp shells slamming into two of the Corvettes. Normally ineffective against shielded targets, the shells still had sufficient momentum to send the tiny Corvettes spiralling out of control, each one colliding with massive chunks of Ice that were drifting nearby. The shells detonated seconds later and the explosions ripped apart the badly damaged ships. Finally closing to laser cannon range, the two remaining Corvettes fired back with turreted lasers as they turned to try and escape from the vengeful wrath of the Invictus. Hinata dodged their poorly aimed shots with deceptive ease and then Hana eviscerated both small ships with broadsides from their own batteries of laser cannons.
"Shields up to 100% Naruto," Tenten said informatively.
"Now it's your turn," Naruto said, staring at the representation of the Heavy Cruiser as it circled the planet, staying well clear of the Ice belt.
"Ok full power to engines, we want to close as fast as we can to execute Hinata's plan," Sasuke suggested.
"We'll take out the destroyer as soon as it's in range and then it's just us and that Cruiser," Naruto continued.
Nodding their understanding, the girls followed their commands eagerly. Hinata swung the ship about, putting them on a direct intercept course with the Heavy Cruiser. Hana pressed some buttons on her tactical console and weapon fire arcs and ranges for the Stalingrad appeared, overlaid on the bulky command ship.
"They'll fire as soon as we get in range" the astute brunette told Hinata. "I'd get ready with evasive manoeuvres the second we hit their maximum field of fire."
The bluenette nodded her head, appreciative of Hana's tactical knowledge.
"I'm diverting all power to engines at the moment, but I'll bring the weapons back online just before we close on the Destroyer," Tenten warned the Inuzuka.
All prepared, they watched the Tactical Map as the Invictus closed inexorably on their target. The Stalingrad was cruising along at a right angle to them, keeping them directly facing the full might of its broadsides. The accompanying Destroyer pivoted and began to move forward to engage.
As predicted, the Stalingrad opened up with everything it had the second the Invictus closed within beam and heavy cannon range. Forewarned, Hinata executed a sharp dive with perfect split second timing and the assault cruiser ducked below the blistering hail of energy beams and heavy shells. Explosions ripped through space behind them, but the shells had overshot and caused no damage. Tenten powered up the weapons, just as Hinata brought up the front of the Invictus to face the incoming Destroyer.
The Destroyer fired their own two beam lasers, both of them striking the Invictus as it flew directly at them, causing the shields to glow brightly as the arcing lances of laser energy slashed across the front of the charging assault cruiser. Hana fired back and the Destroyer's shields flickered out, overwhelmed by the mighty power of the beam lasers, as five of the six beams carved glowing furrows into the thick armour on the blocky front of the ship. The beams had done their job however, knocking out the shields and leaving the target vulnerable to the Mass Drivers. The four enormous magnetic rails launched their shells at incredible velocity and all four struck the front of the pirate vessel at the same time. The tremendous impact knocked the ship upwards as though reeling from an uppercut and when the shells detonated a second later, the explosions vapourized the front of the doomed ship.
The massed ranks of laser cannon turrets on the Stalingrad opened up as the Invictus closed with them relentlessly, lighting up the Tactical Map as they sent a curtain of red laser bolts in the Assault Cruiser's direction. Hinata rolled the Invictus and yawed to port, heading towards the rear of the enemy cruiser and causing roughly half of the incoming fire to sail wide. Hana returned fire with the twelve laser cannons on their starboard side, all shots causing rippling energy cascades as they struck the side of the slowly moving Heavy Cruiser.
"Shields at 72%," Tenten called out, the beams from the destroyer and the hits from the laser cannons taking their toll.
Naruto nodded his understanding and watched as the duel unfolded.
Hinata brought the Invictus around in a sharp turn, putting them directly behind the Heavy Cruiser, just as the cooling icon disappeared from the beam weapons on the weapon loadout display. Hana pulled the trigger and the beams cleaved into the shields, which flickered desperately as they tried to withstand the concentrated energy. The front mounted laser cannon turrets took over the work from the starboard facing ones and fired relentless fusillades of laser bolts into the back of the Stalingrad.
The Stalingrad pilot tried desperately to shift their stubborn pursuer, but they had neither the skill nor the manoeuvrability to shake them. The Stalingrad heavy cruiser returned fire, but now the Invictus was directly behind them and no longer in the broadside arcs of the beam lasers or heavy cannons, leaving only laser cannons able to attack. Still, the Stalingrad massed considerable banks of laser cannons in their rear arc and with not much room to dodge, a lot struck home.
"Shields at 46%!" Tenten replied, "They won't stay up much longer against that much firepower."
Hinata dipped the nose of the Invictus so that the entire top deck could open up on the rear of the bigger ship. 16 Laser Cannons spat a steady stream of laser bolts into the back of the Heavy Cruiser, causing the enemy shields to ripple with the repeated impacts. The Stalingrad opened up again and this time it was the front of the Invictus that was peppered with dozens of laser cannon blasts.
"Down to 15%!" Tenten cried out in alarm.
"We'll make it," Sasuke assured her.
Hana kept her crosshairs squarely over the Heavy Cruiser as her relentless barrage of laser cannon blasts kept up the pressure on the Stalingrad's shields.
"Nearly there..." she said softly, watching the tactical summary of the Stalingrad out of the corner of her eye and the predicted shield strength displayed next to the heavy cruiser.
Finally it was time.
"Pull up Hinata!" Hana demanded and her friend brought the nose of the Invictus up to face the rear of the Stalingrad, just as the cooling icon disappeared from the Beam Lasers on her weapon loadout hologram.
Hana narrowed her eyes in concentration and targeted an upraised tower on the back of the Heavy Cruiser. She pulled the trigger and six beams of coruscating energy lanced out from her ship and punched into the enemy shields, finally overloading them at long last. The beams from the Invictus seared onwards and slashed through the tower with a 6 clawed swipe, shearing the entire structure off the back of the Heavy Cruiser.
"Oh yeah..." Hana said, grinning with satisfaction.
The enemies rear facing laser cannon turrets powered down, the enemy fire control tower eviscerated by the brunette's precision shooting. The Stalingrad was now helpless and completely at their mercy.
"Incoming hail, Naruto," Sasuke announced.
"This ought to be good." Naruto hit the button to open the comm channel. A surprisingly tall man with tan skin, black hair, and sharpened teeth wearing a tricorn hat appeared above them.
"Momochi Zabuza, Pirate Lord at your service," he said in a scratchy voice, giving a flourishing bow reeking with insolence. "You seem to have me at somewhat of a disadvantage. May I request a parley?"
"Normally, I'd go for that sort of thing. Then I found out you sold at least 400 slaves to the Nuke. So now, I'm going to core your ship and leave you to burn," Naruto snarled.
"At least tell me the name of my would-be executioner, good sir," Zabuza asked, looking entirely too calm.
"Commander Uzumaki Naruto, and my crew is here to end you!"
"Be that as it may, you might want to hear what I have to say before you blow off anymore bits of my fine ship," Zabuza said, his shark's teeth bared in a smile.
"Well, spit it out, slaver," Naruto said while thinking *If I don't like his answer, blow his engines,* at Hana.
"The thing is, I didn't sell all my captives to the Nuke. I kept some as an insurance policy for just such a situation as this." Zabuza hit a button and a supposedly live feed of the Stalingrad's brig appeared. Dejected souls sat behind the force-fields in their cells, guarded over by two pirates with rifles.
"You, sir, are going to Hell. And I'm going to send you there," Naruto said, face as impassive as a statue. Mentally, he ordered *Hana, don't fire. Tenten, hack his systems and immobilize him. I want his ship slaved by the time Hinata and I get there in the dropship.*
*Yes, Alpha,* both agreed.
"I'll save you a spot by the fire, hypocrite," Zabuza said with a nasty smile. The comm channel cut off. The Stalingrad began to rush forward, away from the Invictus, only for the engines to suddenly die.
"Cut off their engines," Tenten reported, her fingers flying over her console. "Now I'm sabotaging their escape pods. After that, I'll slave their turrets, cut some of them down. There's also a self-destruct sequence that seems hardwired to an external switch. If I were Momochi, I'd make it a dead man's switch linked to my heartbeat. So try not to kill him, you two."
"Can't make any promises, but I'll try to save it for after we rescue the hostages." Naruto grabbed his XR73 Rifle with Telekinesis. "Honey, you're with me. Sasuke, keep an eye out for reinforcements. Hana, your job is done up here. Go ready Deck 4 for our new guests. We'll be back soon."
"Yes, Commander," they all verbally affirmed.
Naruto and Hinata made it down to the Nuke dropship, appreciating the lack of odor from Tenten sluicing it out. Hinata glided like a swan out the atmospheric force field of the Docking Bay, into the vastness of space.
"If I'd known we'd be doing this much combat this soon, I would have had my own shopping spree on Gravitus. Now for the question: would it be faster and/or cheaper to have Tenten adapt existing armor and weapons or make Uzu grade ones from scratch?"
"Option A. And you can always do it while I'm taking Sasuke and the girls clothes shopping." Hinata gave him a grin. "If it makes you feel better, I've done more combat in the last month than in the last 18 years combined!"
Naruto burst out laughing. "Thanks, baby, that really did help."
Hinata brought the Nuke dropship around to the hangar bay positioned in the underbelly of the Heavy Cruiser. She flew directly underneath the pirate vessel and then used manoeuvring thrusters to lift their ugly looking dropship up into the open mouth of the Stalingrad's hangar bay.
The dimly lit hangar bay looked to be deserted, so she brought their dropship forward and landed it on one of the empty pads. The two of them readied their rifles and then disembarked, sealing the door to the dropship behind them and covering the various doors into the hangar in case of surprise attacks.
*Where too?* Hinata said.
Naruto pressed a button on the computer built into the vambrace of his armour and a holographic map of the interior of the Heavy Cruiser sprung into existence.
"The brig is here," Naruto said, pointing to a location a few decks up from where they stood in the hangar.
"The Captain's quarters are here," Naruto said grimly, pointing to a spot near the top decks of the Stalingrad.
"Ok prisoners first, then we pay a visit to the Captain?" Hinata said enthusiastically.
"That's the plan," Naruto said and led her out of the hangar.
They moved along a corridor to an elevator currently coming down to their level. Naruto hit the call button and readied his XR73 Rifle. Hinata mimicked his actions. The elevator opened to reveal three scruffy pirates. They regarded the two of them with open-mouthed surprise.
"Going down?" Naruto quipped, before opening fire alongside his Matriarch. The pirates' blood formed puddles on the elevator floor. He and Hinata got in and hit the button for Deck 4. At Deck 5, the doors opened to reveal two pirates in a hurry to evacuate.
"Sorry, it's full," Hinata said sweetly before headshoting the both of them, at normal speed at that.
"I think I've been a bad influence on you," Naruto mused as they went up another Deck.
"If you're wrong, I don't want to be right," Hinata said honestly.
The walked out into Deck 4 only to hear the unmistakable sound of a Gatling Laser. They walked forward to an intersection and checked around the corner. Two pirates at a checkpoint were cooling in death, holes like Swiss cheese burned through them. The ceiling-mounted Gatling Laser gave a cheeky wave at them.
*Thanks, honey,* Naruto projected at Tenten.
*Momochi had a killbot in his room. He's busy packing away his nest egg, but he'll go for the remote if you confront him. He'll get a nasty surprise, then.* Naruto could practically see her evil grin. *By the way, I think he has a hostage in his room. There's no camera but he keeps randomly yelling at someone.*
*Roger.* Naruto refocused on entering the brig. He and Hinata gunned down the guard before he could blink. The prisoners stood up, peering from within their cells. Naruto pressed the button to free them, shutting down the force fields.
"I'm Commander Uzumaki Naruto. We're here to rescue you. Follow me, and those of you that can shoot grab guns from the dead."
There was a brief cheer from the prisoners before they followed suit. Hinata brought up the rear, and kept guard while Naruto led the first group down to the Docking Bay. When the prisoners were all packed in the Nuke dropship, Naruto and Hinata returned to the elevator and made for Deck 2.
Light spilled from the room at the end of the corridor, which the embossed nameplate at the side identified as the Captain's Quarters.
Naruto and Hinata walked cautiously forward, eyes focused on the movement coming from the room ahead and listening to the sound of boxes being moved about. They raised their assault rifles, ready to react in an instant, as the sound of someone's voice drifted down the hall to meet them.
"Commander Bloody Uzumaki..." the figure in the room ranted.
"Curse him all the way to Hades!" the angry man exclaimed.
"Can this one assist?" A high pitched voice asked curiously.
"Shut the fuck up!" The man snarled in irritation.
Naruto and Hinata finally got close enough to see a familiar figure frantically stacking crates together. He walked over to the left side of the room and bent over to pick up another crate.
*I am so tempted to put a bullet in his back, but I don't want a race to the dropship and hoping we make it out of range of the blast.* So saying, Naruto sent a wave of Psychic Sleep at Momochi Zabuza. He fell over from picking up his crate, causing a multitude of uncut jewels of startling size to spill over the floor.
*Now we know how the Nuke were paying him. They have no need for shiny rocks,* Hinata mused. *Now, was it me or was there a second voice?*
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Naruto called out, heading towards the bedroom. He had a sick suspicion he was about to run into Zabuza's 'bedwarmer'.
He blinked when he saw the figure laying on the bed. It had the face of either a pretty girl or a very pretty boy, with disproportionate eyes like an anime character. It had floor-length black hair that gleamed in the LED lights, and its torso was consumed by J-cup breasts. It's skin was snow-white. All in all, it looked like some odd blowup doll come to life.
"What are you, an android?" Naruto wondered aloud.
The creature blinked at him. "You defeated this one's last master. Are you this one's new master?"
"Um, Hinata? Come in here please," Naruto called.
Hinata walked in and blinked. "Holy shit!"
"This one needs a master!" The woman said in obvious distress.
"Up to you, babe. Okay with a surprise Thrall?" Naruto asked.
Hinata gave the creature a once over, including the pain and worry in its eyes. "I think she needs you more than we need her. But no harm in another pair of hands. I'm okay with it."
"You're in charge of recruitment. Okay, I'm your new master," Naruto stated.
The creature clapped her hands. Naruto suddenly felt the oddest sensation. It was as if a mental presence wrapped around his mind shield and took a cast of his being. There was a green shimmering from the creature and suddenly there was a naked Hinata on the bed.
Naruto's jaw dropped in awe and recognition. "She's a Nymph!"
"Like the elemental spirits that tempted the gods?" Hinata asked, confused and impressed by the display of shapeshifting. "You wouldn't happen to have any twin fantasies, do you?"
"We can address that later. For now, we need to haul ass back to the Invictus." Naruto turned to the Nymph. "What's your name?"
"This one was called 'bitch' or 'slut' by her last master," Hinata's doppelganger said with a smile.
"Well, take your natural form and we'll decide from that," Naruto commanded, feeling uneasy having effectively the perfectly obedient slave.
The girl shimmered again and was revealed to still have a Thrall's body. Only instead of tan skin, it was a jade green with viridian streaks that resembled tiger stripes. Her turquoise hair fell to her belly button, and her orange eyes were alight with joy.
Naruto raised a brow. "This is your NATURAL form?"
"It has been centuries since this one assumed her natural form. She has forgotten it. This is the form that feels most natural besides master's ideal form," she explained with a smile.
Naruto looked her over, trying not to be turned on by her glorious nudity. "I think I'll name you… Fu. It means happiness, and you seem quite joyful and young at heart."
The newly-christened Fu jumped and clapped. "Fu is very happy to have a new name. Will master claim Fu now?" She asked with a lusty expression.
"Nothing would please me more but the rest of your Pack is waiting for me back on my ship. Plus we have to get your old master and his prisoners to safety. I'll claim you tonight," Naruto promised when he saw her start to tear up.
"Okay, master!" Fu said brightly, her emotions turning on a ryo.
"You can call me Naruto, or Alpha if you prefer. Just don't call me master except in private," Naruto ordered.
"Yes, Alpha!"
Hinata shook her head, an involuntary grin on her face. *Oh, she's going to be a LOT of fun, I can tell. Now haul Momochi over your shoulder and let's get the hell out of here,* she thought.
Naruto complied, lifting the prostrate pirate with one hand and putting him in a fireman's carry. Fu seemed to shudder at his display of strength. They took the elevator down to the Docking Bay, where they heard gunshots. A handful of pirates was trying to break into the dropship, the freed prisoners returning fire with their stolen weapons. Hinata mowed the pirates down from behind and led the party onto the dropship. The 15 prisoners were taken aback by the nude form of Fu and all but hissed at the unconscious form of Zabuza.
"Rest assured, people, he will face Konoha Federation justice. Now, let's get the fuck off this terrible ship!" Naruto called from the co-pilot's chair, Fu sitting distractingly in his lap.
There was a ragged cheer as Hinata lifted up the dropship and flew down and out of the Stalingrad, never to return.
And that's Fu joined the crew. For those who are interested, the next Thrall will be male and Suna, but I won't hint who it is. He's a couple chapters away, anyway, so let's focus on Fu for now, shall we?