Happy Saturday, hopefully yours was better than mine. But my woes are of no concern to you. Please enjoy.
Tenten was up bright and early. She carefully extracted herself from the pile of bodies crammed in the relatively small bed in the Raptor. She noticed Gaara was awake, hand rubbing his slightly swollen middle. *Care to join me supervising the retrofitting?* She asked mentally.
*Very well, Tenten. I am curious to see how my people are following your masterful orders.*
It might have been Tenten's imagination, but Gaara already appeared taller than he had yesterday. His body was putting its high protein diet of Uzu sperm to good use. They both took the elevator down, reminding Tenten to have 'Team Elevator' go to work on the Raptor when they were done with the Invictus.
Tenten and Gaara took a walk around the Invictus. Tenten noted the ship looked almost naked without its Titanium armor plates. Diminutive forms of the Suna were faithfully pulling out and reinstalling old and new sensors beneath the plates. Tenten went to her floating bench and workstation, noting Zanthus waiting faithfully.
"Most curvaceous intelligent goddess, your formula worked. The first blocks of Invictium ore have arrived from our manufacturing plants."
"Neat! And did you get a wink of sleep? I don't need you collapsing on me," Tenten said as she lifted the lid off an ore crate to see a shimmery black metal inside. She looked at it with Material Sight and saw her theory had been right. The reflective nature of the Onyxium would reflect 35% of Laser fire, absorb 55% through its unique hexagonal energy matrix, and allow only 10% through to actually do damage. And successive shapings would increase the reflective factor by 5%.
"Suna can go three days without sleep by turning off inactive parts of our brains. I am healthy and able to continue today's work."
*He's telling the truth,* Gaara supplied.
Tenten nodded and then focused. "Well, someone has to replate the Invictus. Might as well be me!" She focused and used Telekinesis to lift and liquify the ore she'd lovingly named Invictium. Uzumakium didn't exactly roll off the tongue.
The black orb floated in the air. Tenten was about to shape it into a simple shape before aiming for at least hexa-shaped, when something odd happened. The Invictium began to turn white in ribbons and drips until the whole thing was white as fresh snow and shiny as a crystal snowflake.
"Well, that's unexpected," Tenten mused, shaping the ore into a cube and stepping forward to use Material Sight. "15% more reflective, huh. That means we only need to reach dodeca-shaped to be totally immune to Laser weaponry!"
*'Only', she says. I don't believe the whole of this engineering team acting in concert could dodeca-shape Etherium, let alone this new metal you've concocted,* Gaara said in disbelief.
*Luckily, we're Uzu. We're made of stronger stuff. But I'll still just go for hexa-shaped. That's 75% reflected and 25% absorbed.* Tenten rolled up her sleeves, tied her hair into buns, and went to work.
An hour later, her work was done and she was panting and covered in sweat. Gaara and Zanthus regarded her worriedly. But a pile of armor plates were stacked beside them, just waiting for the Suna engineers to fit them back onto the Invictus. That's how Naruto found them.
"Tenten, why didn't you use energy from us? The point of being Pack is to lean on and support each other!"
"I didn't… want to… wake you. Besides, I needed the exercise. I don't practice my psionics as much as the rest of you. Fu focuses on her shapeshifting and she still takes time to practice Psychic Speed and Psychic Lightning. I leveled up my Telekinesis a ton this morning," Tenten heaved.
Naruto sighed. "You did a good thing. And now you're sharing a load with Gaara. I want you healed back to top shape for the rest of the day's work." Naruto led them back to the Raptor, where Sasuke, Hinata, and Hana were hanging out. Naruto led his exhausted and nascent Thralls indoors and to the bedroom. Where he proceeded to feed them both a very sweet, delicious breakfast.
*Your seed is as sweet as your Thralls made it out to be,* Gaara said, sounding almost drunk. *And this Astral Bond makes the experience very rewarding. Such bonds are reserved for the best of friends and the strongest marriages among the Suna.*
*Happy to feed you, Gaara. But are you sure you've thought this through? Your transformation, by the end you'll be more Uzu than Suna. You okay with that?* Naruto asked worriedly.
*I am looking forward to my new height, musculature, and phallus. I welcome these changes.* Gaara grinned slightly, which for a Suna was like a beaming smile.
*In that case, what's your favorite color for when I give you hair?*
*Red, like the sands of my homeland.*
Tenten rubbed her distended middle. "I feel better already. I'm going back to work."
"The rest of us are packing a lunch and going to this spot I know. It's this waterfall that goes into a beautiful lake. Sure I can't tempt you?" Naruto needled.
"Water, swimming, yuck. You guys have fun. Juggling all these projects is like seventh heaven for me," Tenten assured.
Tenten walked out and everyone got strapped in to the Raptor. They ended up having a lovely time, enjoying the view and the clear water. They all ended up taking turns forming an Astral Bond with Fu, having sensed they'd reached the critical threshold to bond with her after she performed for them once again. It took three hours for everyone to bond to her, with the obvious exception of Gaara.
When they flew back, they all gaped. Instead of the usual gunmetal grey, the Invictus was a sparkly white that caught rainbows and glimmered like a Christmas ornament. Tenten was waiting proudly for them when they stepped out.
"It's all done but for the installation. They should be done by 0600 tomorrow. Who feels like dinner?"
They had free food that Gaara informed them came from the most popular carnivore restaurant on Suna, wildly popular with visiting aliens. Gaara himself had a dinner of semen on his knees. He looked like a blown up balloon with Naruto's load in his belly, but no one teased him. If anything, they were turned on seeing proof of Naruto's virility.
They all got a good night's sleep, Tenten forming the Bond with Fu and completing the Pack mind, the industrious Suna working tirelessly through the night, putting the finishing touches on the Invictus's makeover.
Tenten woke them all by jumping on the bed. "Wake up, wake up! You need to worship me for the genius I am after you see what I've done to the Invictus!"
*What you've done? I believe my people did most of the heavy lifting,* Gaara said, lifting a brow ridge.
"Point taken," Tenten said, losing some of her hubris. "But seriously, you're going to love it!"
Getting dressed, they flew the Raptor into the Docking Bay of the Invictus and touched down. Tenten led them all like she was a tour guide, leading them to the airlock.
"Improvement number one, defense against boarders," Tenten said, clicking a remote. In an instant, a wall came down in front of the airlock, a turreted Gatling Laser came down from the ceiling, and a bulkhead rose from the ground in front of the anti-grav tubes, cutting the hallway in half.
Naruto, an experienced Marine, clapped. "These are brilliant countermeasures, babe. If we'd had these, the Kusa and Nuke would have been toast before we got here."
"Thanks. Which leads us to improvement number two, anti-grav tubes. Now, instead of waiting for a lift, you just go up or down. You just need to step in and step out at the right level. It's not 'too' fast, so no missing levels with our reflexes." Tenten walked backwards into the blue-lighted tube beside a red-lighted one. She began to lift gently up into the guts of the Invictus.
They followed after her, coming out on Deck 2. She led them to the Commander's Quarters. There were three equipping frames in the corner. One was for Uzu Armor, looking intimidating even in sparkly white Invictium. One was for Beta Armor, which highlighted the cat-like leanness of the Beta build. And finally the Thrall Armor, looking sexy as it was protective for any female that wore it. A rack on the wall held Laser Railguns, four of them.
"The rest are split between the Engineering Bay and the Briefing Room. Invictium is a wonderful material. Nothing on Unobtanium, the Uzu superalloy, but it's a near perfect conductor of heat and tough as old boots. You can fire at full auto on Railgun Heavy and continuously on Laser Light without worrying about the heatsinks. I'll put the finishing touches on the Armors on the way to Hana's family. We should have these Kusa kicked in a day or two, right?"
*An enemy that has troubled us for weeks handled in 24 hours. Were you not Uzu, I would not believe it,* Gaara stated, rubbing his belly.
"We tend to do the impossible on this crew," Hinata said, rubbing the Grey's smooth head.
Tenten lead them back to the anti-grav tubes and onto the Bridge.
"Hana, fire up the Tactical Map," Tenten encouraged.
Hana went to her Tactical Chair and flipped a switch. A hologram appeared, much bigger than she was used to. Her jaw dropped. "I'm getting pings from four systems away! Our sensor range has quadrupled at least!"
"314% to be precise. And wait till you try out the weapons! I upgraded the shit out of those. We're lucky the Suna gave us carte blanche because those new focusing crystals did not come cheap!" Tenten gushed.
"The terms of the alliance were we'd get everything they had to offer so long as we were their shield and sword. It's only fair they shell out for our upgrades," Sasuke reasoned.
Hinata took her XO Chair. "Let's think about how we're going to take out the Kusa. I was thinking we tell the High Council to restrict traffic around Kappa Indarran, to make them desperate. Then we send in a vessel to draw them out and BAM! We take them out."
"Sounds like a good idea. Let's call Rasa and tell him the plan. Gaara, you have his transmission code?" Naruto asked.
Gaara sat at the Comms console. *My first task as Comms Officer, calling my father. There's irony in there, somewhere.* Gaara turned on the console and then input the code to contact his father.
Senior Councillor Rasa appeared above them in hologram. "Ah, UzumakiNaruto. I trust you are satisfied with the upgrades to your vessel," he said in the whispery voice of his mind translator.
"My sincerest thanks and compliments to your hard-working engineers. Now, we're calling about our plan of attack against the Kusa." Naruto took a stern expression.
"Very well. But I've been asked by High Councillor Kankuro to beg that the one named Tenten stay to teach at our Engineering Seminary," Rasa said flatly.
"Sorry, Rasa, she stays with me. Now, we want you to restrict the traffic around Kappa Indarran so they'll get starved, then send in a vessel or two to draw them out," Naruto explained.
"We already have, since it was discovered by Sasuke and Hana that it was their base. And I am not comfortable with the idea of using my people as bait," Rasa said.
"Ok then. We're going to need you to send some patrol ships on a route we'll supply for you." Naruto said to Rasa, looking to Hana who nodded and began plotting a flightpath for the Suna vessels.
"We'll follow close by and then intercept as soon as the Kusa attack," Naruto said decisively.
We will do as you request UzumakiNaruto." The Suna Senior Councillor agreed after a moment's hesitation.
"Rasa, I've got an idea on how to keep your people out of any danger for the next ambush!" Tenten interjected eagerly. "Please tell High Councillor Kankuro to look out for the schematics I'll send him."
"I will inform him Tenten," Rasa said and then ended the call.
"Right, let's get moving!" Naruto said, eager to begin.
Hinata contacted the Suna shipyard and requested leave to exit the drydock. The robotic arms holding the Invictus securely in place rotated smoothly and the magnetic clamps released with a loud clang, freeing the Assault Cruiser.
The beautiful bluenette girl grinned and dipped the nose of the ship, the Invictus dropping smoothly out of the drydock as she powered up the engines. Hinata winked at Naruto mischievously and then boosted the power, causing the 500 meter long Assault Cruiser to surge forward, flagrantly violating port speed.
"The handling has improved!" Hinata observed as they dashed out of the canyon and up out of the atmosphere.
"Our Power Core is 17x more powerful than our old one. I had them fit a few extra retrothrusters to use up some of the spare juice," Tenten explained.
"The firing arcs are all but doubled!" Hana marveled.
"Power to spare plus Invictium barrels plus the best focusing crystals capable with standard elements equals improved range, from the Gatling Lasers to the Beams. And wait till you see the Mass Drivers. Had a time and a half replacing all of them in time," Tenten elaborated.
"When you've finished having fun, could you plot a course to the nearest uninhabited asteroid belt please?" Naruto asked the exuberant bluenette fondly.
"Will do!" Hinata nodded and her hands darted over the console as the sector map around Suna sprang into life on the Bridge.
She found a swathe of asteroids in a nearby system that had already been fully mined. According to the System Map, all that was left of the exploited asteroid belt were floating hunks of worthless rock.
"Looks like we have a winner!" she grinned and laid in the course. "This can't be right," she muttered under her breath a moment later, as the course she had plotted was displayed on the map. "The Navigation computer is reporting that we'll get there in a fifth of the time it should normally take!" Hinata said with surprise. "Nothing's that fast!"
"Turns out the Suna based their Power Core and Tachyon Drive tech off Orchimaru's old ones. They have his old ship in a bunker on Suna. Anyway, they tried to reverse-engineer the tech, but they weren't me. Ours is the best possible version without using Uzu elements. We're the fastest thing in the Galactic League apart from this rival Uzu." Tenten was downright smug.
After only a few minutes, they had zoomed through several systems and arrived at the asteroid belt Hinata had chosen for their fire test. The bluenette girl brought the Invictus gliding into position, pointing towards a stupendously huge hunk of rock on the edge of the asteroid field, that could well be classified as a small moon.
"Powering up main batteries," Hana said, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.
She took a firm hold of the armrest controls and the holographic targeting array hovering in front of her, cast a soft blue glow over her beautiful features. The brunette flipped off the safety switch and pressed the red button on the top of her right controller. The armored panels covering the Mass Drivers slid to the side, revealing the barrels of the 200m long rail guns.
"Weapons armed Commander," Hana stated, falling back into familiar Konoha Federation protocol as she looked at the gigantic asteroid through the holographic targeting grid.
"Fire whenever you're ready honey," Naruto said with a grin, excited to see the new upgrades in action.
Holding her breath, Hana pulled the trigger and the Invictus trembled with the recoil, as the 200 meter long magnetic coils accelerated the shells to Tachyon induced hyperwarp velocity. The colossal asteroid shook violently with the impact, as four enormous craters were punched into its surface and the shells continued to bore in deeply, debris blasting out from the shattering strikes. A moment later, the small moon quaked as the four shells detonated deep within its surface. Four faint blue trail linked the Invictus to the enormous hunk of rock as it continued to shake with aftershocks.
"The rails are recharging so fast!" Hana exclaimed, watching the progress bar next to the Mass Drivers on her weapon loadout hologram for the Invictus.
"You should only have to wait 10 seconds before you can fire again, instead of 30," Tenten confirmed for her.
"They're powered up already!" Hana said in amazement.
"Let's teach this evil asteroid the error of its ways!" Naruto said in a stern voice. "Fire at will Lieutenant!" he barked in an imperious tone.
Hana laughed before pulling the trigger, sending another four shells blasting out at incredible speed. The asteroid shuddered with the next four impacts, beginning to break apart with the massive momentum of the strikes as they ploughed into its core. The shells detonated a second later and the titanic asteroid slowly split into three chunks, ripped apart by the devastation to its structure.
"One last volley on that smaller piece," Naruto requested, remembering their first fire test, and noting that the smallest chunk was about the same size.
Hana nodded obediently and as soon as the icon flashed, confirming that the magnetic rails had recharged, she pulled the trigger. The four shells blasted out, pounding into the asteroid section and sending it rocking backwards with the impact, its surface fracturing with rapidly expanding fissures. A moment later, the explosives in the shells detonated and the shockwaves blew the asteroid apart, sending thousands of rock fragments scattering through the belt.
"Triple the fire rate, massively increased penetration..." Hana said appreciatively, her eyes gleaming. "You did an outstanding job Tenten!"
The ravenette smiled at her friend, overjoyed at the results of the successful fire test. "Wait till you see the Lasers in action. Unfortunately, there's a trade-off for the guns. The increased fire rate means we'll run through our ammo three times as fast. I can make the shells smaller while keeping power, but I'll need raw elements to make the explosives."
*My people will happily provide you with raw materials if you prove victorious against the Kusa,* Gaara thought.
"If WE prove victorious. Which we will," Naruto said confidently.
The beautiful bluenette checked on the current status of the Grey ships and saw they were moving steadily into position, to follow the flight path she had set for them.
"They should be ready to start in a few minutes." Hinata confirmed for him.
"When do you think the Kusa will attack?" he asked Hana.
"Well their normal attack patterns have been disrupted, but I'd expect them to launch an attack as soon as they pick up the Suna patrol in their long range scans," she said, cautiously.
"I think they might have set up sensors farther out from their base though," she theorized. "They seem to be too well informed about sector traffic to just be relying on long range sensors on their ships."
"Based on what we estimate for their Tachyon Drive capabilities, I'd predict a strike on the patrol in roughly 20 minutes," Hana said, turning over the calculations in her mind.
"We better get into position then," Naruto said. "Hinata, can you trail the Suna patrol, so we can respond as quickly as possible without making it obvious we're tailing them."
"Yep, no problem," she said confidently, as she powered up the Tachyon Drive.
"Ok then, let's start repaying the Suna for these new toys," Naruto said with a grin.
The Invictus soared into hyperwarp again and raced through system after system as they caught up with the Suna patrol. Hinata swung the Assault Cruiser into a tailing position via a long arcing curve.
"Hail them please," Naruto ordered.
Gaara hit a button on the console and a few moments later the Suna patrol leader's face appeared on the viewscreen.
"We are following your patrol route as requested UzumakiNaruto," the Grey stated in an echoing murmur.
"Call for backup the moment you're attacked," Naruto said brusquely. "We'll be there within..." he glanced at Hinata
*15 seconds* her voice rang crystal clear in his head.
"...15 seconds, so just perform evasive maneuvers with full power to shields until we arrive," he ordered.
"We will do as you command UzumakiNaruto," the Grey leader whispered quietly and then ended the communication.
Tenten helpfully produced a countdown to Hana's predicted time. The Tactical Officer put her face in her hands but recovered from the embarrassment to re-ready herself. When the countdown hit zero, there was a pregnant pause. Then their sensors picked up a Kusa Cruiser appearing in the same system as the Suna patrol and interdicting them.
"Swoop in!" Naruto ordered.
"Swooping," Hinata chirped, altering their course to bring them into the system. Their speed had them there in ten seconds. They pulled into the system and their engines took over.
"Firing Beams!" Hana reported, lining up the firing arcs for the Lasers with the black, angular Kusa Cruiser while Sasuke was busy running an active scan.
Blue beams of light that almost seared their eyes on the hologram fired out. The shields on the Kusa ship were overwhelmed like they were just a Corvette's, the beams going through to pierce right through the Onyxium alloy the Kusa ship was cloaked in.
"Holy crap! I was conservative with my projections but this is something else!" Tenten exclaimed.
The ship turned with the use of many retrothrusters, firing a full barrage of 16 Beam Lasers at the Invictus. The Pack braced for impact only to blink as the purple spears of light dissipated harmlessly against their shields.
"I forgot to mention we upgraded the Shield Generator. We're at 80%... Make that 85%," Tenten reported as their shields regenerated at a previously unseen rate.
"Damn, we're invincible!" Fu cheered.
"Not quite, but we're certainly hardier than any ship outside the Mizu Enclave," Sasuke mused. He blinked as data from the active scan came back, faster than they'd ever come. "All their weapons are forward facing!"
"Good to know. Now where's their Power Core?" Hana asked.
Sasuke highlighted the location on the hologram, and Hana aimed unerringly with the Mass Drivers. "Firing Mass Drivers!" Hana announced before firing. The Kusa Cruiser trembled at the impact before going up in a runway fusion explosion.
They slumped in their chairs and breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"One down, two to go." Hinata said with satisfaction.
"Let's tell the Suna High Council the good news," Naruto said with a smile.
The beautiful bluenette sitting in the Executive Officer's Chair moved quickly to follow his orders and a few moments later Senior Councillor Rasa answered the secure channel communication.
"It is good to see you UzumakiNaruto" Rasa began. "Our patrol ships reported that you had engaged the Kusa. My thanks for preventing the deaths of my people. I can only assume you were victorious?" he asked, sounding hopeful even with his unemotional whispering computer voice relaying the message.
"Target destroyed," Naruto said with a big grin on his face.
"Excellent work UzumakiNaruto," Rasa said softly, sounding positively delighted.
"We have begun work on following the plans that Tenten provided," the robed Grey continued. "High Councillor Kankuro reports that they will be finished with the construction in 4 hours."
"Great news!" Tenten cut in. "Tell him to launch it immediately!" she said cryptically.
"I will do so Tenten," the Senior Councillor replied in his disconcerting whisper.
"Ok we'll report back after the next Kusa ship is destroyed," Naruto said confidently.
"We shall await your call eagerly," Rasa said before ending the transmission.
"Let's go back to orbit Suna while we wait," Naruto ordered.
Hinata faithfully guided them to the Nav Beacon and then, in a ridiculously short time using their new Tachyon Drive, were back in the Suna system, the yellow light of their star bathing the Invictus in a golden glow.
"So, what should we do for the next four hours?" Sasuke asked.
"I say we need a lengthy 'debriefing'," Fu purred.
Naruto grinned and formed a sexy plan. "Everyone in the shower. Then I want you to prep yourselves and form a line on the bed. I'll work my way through each of you before feeding Gaara lunch!"
Gaara blinked. *Such stamina puts our best pornographic actors to shame!* He exclaimed.
"That's why he's the Alpha," Hinata said huskily. "Everyone, to Deck 2!" She ordered.
The girls entered the shower first, managing to get undressed at record speed. They welcomed Naruto, Sasuke, and an overawed Gaara as he moved to join them, making space for them in between them all. Naruto closed his eyes as the water cascaded down over his body, washing away the tension of the battle, as ten hands stroked and caressed his body lovingly. Soft delicate hands ran over the muscles in his arms and chest, while one of the girls encircled his length in a firm grasp and began to stroke him firmly.
He opened his eyes again, seeing the girls and Sasuke watching him with passion building in their eyes.
"I think I'm clean now." he smiled at them affectionately, looking down to see Fu's dark green hand wrapped around his cock.
"How about we clean up Hinata next?" he suggested.
The girls agreed enthusiastically and the beautiful bluenette girl stood in the middle with a smile on her face. Soon everyone's hands were running over her wonderful tanned skinned, gliding over her firm breasts and pert bottom. One of the girls even went so far as to slowly slide a finger inside her tight little ass and stroke her gently, as Naruto stared into her eyes and rubbed her clit with his strong hands.
Each of them took a turn being the center of attention, gasping and moaning while the others teased and caressed them tenderly. Soon all four of the girls and two guys were panting with arousal and staring at Naruto with a burning need. Before he got ravished there in the shower, he suggested they move the party to the bedroom and the girls and guys exited the cubicle one by one, each leaving in a unique way. Hana glanced at him over her shoulder with smoky lustful eyes, Tenten winked at him suggestively, Sasuke affected a woman's swaying prowl, Hinata blew him a kiss and in Fu's case she just wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her cool skin up against his body and then kissed him passionately. Gaara just walked awkwardly away. The other five eventually dragged her out and she grinned at him happily as she left.
Naruto soaked under the water a little while longer, before turning off the shower and then moving into the bathroom where he dried himself unhurriedly.
*We're ready when you are,* Hinata's voice popped into his mind, her tone equal parts mischievous and seductive.
He walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom and stopped for a moment to appreciate the spectacular sight in front of him. All four girls and Sasuke were naked and kneeling on the edge of the bed, looking at him over their shoulders and watching for his reaction. They were lined up in the chronological order that they had joined him, with the three athletic teenagers, mature gentleman, and then Fu to their right. Gaara sat on a chair with a good view.
"You each get one minute. I promise to work down the line at least twice," Naruto said seductively.
They all grinned and arched their backs, presenting their juicy rumps for his perusal.
Naruto proved true to his word, his Alpha Uzu cock plundering one tight hole after another. Hinata welcomed him with the ease of long practice. Sasuke proved that men could practice kegels to. Hana purposefully tilted her pelvis so he'd get her ass instead of her pussy. Tenten rode out his assault with all the grit of a former ganger. Fu took him with all the talent of her race, having centuries of experience pleasuring Orochimaru and other Konoha to work with. Naruto wound up sending each one to orgasm at least once during his round robin. He ended by stroking his length to keep warmed up before feeding his length down Gaara's throat.
Naruto and the Pack enjoyed a long cuddle. Naruto glanced at the ship's chronometer on the wall. They still had a couple of hours to wait until the Greys launched whatever it was Tenten had them constructing, and his mind began to shift to tactical planning for the upcoming confrontation with the Kusa. The girls and guys sensed his shift in focus and they sat around him on the bed, waiting to follow his lead.
"So what's the plan then?" Hinata asked him curiously.
"First, I need to know what Tenten's got the Suna working on at the moment" he stated.
"They're going to automate a Freighter and modify it to tow a string of decoys," The raveonette explained. "I've given the Suna instructions on how to hack the transponders so that it'll look like a nice fat convoy of Freighters and civilian transports."
"I thought hacking transponders like that was highly illegal?" Hana asked with a raised eyebrow.
"For civilians it is," Naruto replied. "But we've been given the go ahead by the Suna High Council to react to an emergency situation. For all intents and purposes, we're above the law."
"Well you've got no objection from me," Hana said, then grinned evilly. "The Kusa won't be able to pass up a juicy target like that! Especially after the Suna starved them of targets over the last couple of days."
"So we lure them in with another tempting target," Naruto stated with a nod. "It's a good plan. Hana, can you look at the system charts and find me a selection of good ambush sites?"
"Yes, Sir," The Lieutenant purred with just the hint of a seductive tone, before standing up to go.
"I'll go with her! Cats love to set traps!" Fu said, briefly transforming into her original body before shimmering back. The two nude girls walked off for the Bridge, waving goodbye with their asses.
Naruto shook himself out of his daze to regard his other crewmates. "Now, Tenten, how much Onyxium do we have? Am I going to have to mine some more, because I'd rather not open a portal to the Astral Plane with that Entity after me."
Gaara startled. *You drew the attention of an Astral Entity? Which one?*
*The one that 'sponsors' the Uzu. Tried to mold me into a heartless conqueror, but I spat in its face. The reaction was… telling,* Naruto projected to his newest Thrall.
"To answer your question, we have just enough to replate a quarter of the Invictus. When we raid the Kusa base, we should look for any Onyxium this rival Uzu gave them for outfitting their ships. Of course, the easy answer is to just reshape the Invictium until it's all but invincible. Just needs another six shapings to become immune to Lasers and thirteen times as strong as Titanium!" Tenten revealed.
"Speaking of Invictium, I've been thinking of getting a melee weapon. It's not always smart to get close enough to snap a neck, even at Psychic Speed. Maybe a club, or a sword," Naruto mused.
"A sword! Definitely! Then you can be the barbarian king with a harem of bitches at your beck and call!" Hinata said excitedly.
"I took kendo classes as a kid. I could give you the Knowledge Transference if you go that route. I warn you that I sucked at it," Sasuke said, cuddling Gaara like a teddy bear. The Grey didn't seem to mind.
"That would be great! I'll go shape the sword myself," Naruto said before kissing Sasuke. The bluenette took the opportunity to transfer his mediocre swordsmanship skills. Naruto got up, put on underwear, and grabbed the Holo-reader for research while making for the Cargo Bay where Tenten had stored the spare Invictium.
"This I have to see," Tenten said, following after Naruto. "If I can hexa-shape, then he can probably deca-shape!"
Hinata and Sasuke traded glances. "Seems we're on lunch detail," Hinata said.
"Thankfully, we're much better trained than last time. Feel like trying a curry? Or tacos? I feel like spice today," Sasuke said.
"Let's go with tacos. We haven't used any of the tortillas from when we first stocked the Invictus last month," Hinata argued.
*I shall watch, even if I cannot partake in this meal,* Gaara projected. Everyone had left their mental shields with a Gaara-shaped hole so he could talk to them without knocking.
"Yet. Wait till Naruto give you teeth and you'll be eating meat with the rest of us," Sasuke said, putting on a pair of shorts.
Naruto and Tenten went down to the Cargo Bay. Naruto settled on a sword design he'd gotten from the cover of a popular holo-novel series. He'd used Telekinesis to lift a small chunk out of an Invictium ore container. He'd watched it turn white and then set about shaping it into statues of his favorite people. Grandma, Grandpa, Hinata, Sasuke, Hana, Tenten, Fu, Gaara, and he threw in Sakura. Finally, straining his mental muscles, he shaped the Invictium a tenth time. The bar of Invictium flattened, extending out to form a long sharp blade that was nearly five foot in length. The crossguard elongated, with the quillons turning back towards the point of the sword and shaping into dagger-like claws that flanked the base of the blade. The blade pirouetted slowly in the air before silently coming to rest on the ground.
"I knew you could do it!" Tenten cheered. "And that's one formidable weapon. 90% reflective and 11x stronger than Titanium. You could cut through steel like plastic, and that's without Psychic Strength! I'll work on a magnetic scabbard to attach it to your armor."
They took his new sword up the loading ramp to Tenten's Engineering Bay. Then they went up the anti-grav tube to the Bridge. Naruto stepped out on to the Command Deck first and saw Hana sitting in the Tactical station, with Fu hovering nearby. They were gazing up at the System Map and looking at a string of stars a fair way out from the Kappa Indarran system. The local system was highlighted in an adjacent hologram and he saw that the Invictus was currently orbiting Suna.
"Hey you two," Naruto called to them. "Have you had any luck with finding us any ambush sites?"
"Hana has found three places we could attack from," Fu said eagerly. "We're just discussing which one would be the most effective."
"Sounds like we're in luck then," he said, approaching them and leaning against the Tactical station as they examined the sector map. "What have you got for us Hana?"
"Well the first option is a wide, tightly packed asteroid belt," the brunette explained, shifting the holographic focus to the system map with a swipe of her hand. "It's been fully strip mined, so there's lots of hollowed out asteroids and abandoned mining equipment that will hopefully help mask our approach."
"That could definitely work," Naruto said. "What's the second option?"
"There's a planetary nebulae over there," Hana replied, pointing at a dark red star on the stellar map. "Which is actually a dying red dwarf star. It's throwing out lots of radiation and magnetic fields, so we could definitely launch an ambush undetected, but if the shields get knocked out we could be in trouble."
"I think we'll have enough to worry about with the Kusa, without having to avoid environmental hazards too," Naruto said cautiously. "What's our third option?"
"There's another ice planet in this system over here," Hana said, moving the sector map to focus on the system she had in mind. "It's surrounded by dense rings of ice fields. Our shields will take some damage flying through that, but energy weapons will be a lot less effective due to the refraction effect of the ice particles that fill the area."
"That could be good too," Naruto agreed. "We can rely on our Mass Drivers to inflict damage, while they're restricted purely to their beam weapons."
"Yes, that's what I was thinking," the brunette said, nodding soberly.
"Have you got any particular preference at the moment?" Naruto asked, fascinated to find out what the cunning Lieutenant might have in mind.
"I'm leaning towards the first option, the abandoned asteroid field in the Gomeisa system," Hana said thoughtfully. "I've checked and it's completely deserted, so we wouldn't have to worry about civilian casualties either."
"That's good, not having to worry about civvies. Let's go for Gomeisa," Naruto decided. "Let's hail the High Council and tell them the news…"
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