Sorry this came a little late, some things came up and I missed the usual time. Enjoy!
Naruto sat up in the bed. "Okay, break's over. Everyone get dressed and head for the Bridge. We have a Kusa base to wipe off the map."
Everyone followed his order and soon they were arranged in their seats on the Bridge. Hinata took them out of the Suna system and plotted a course for Kappa Indarran. Between her warp tunneling and the new Tachyon Drive, they made it in 15 minutes.
The Invictus slipped out of hyperwarp effortlessly, the tachyon wave that had carried them forward dissipating in an instant, but leaving the ship briefly shrouded in a nimbus of slowly fading blue light.
"Tactical Map and System Map if you please, Hana," Naruto said, leaning forward eagerly.
He was seated in the Commander's Chair up on the podium that dominated the Bridge. From here he had an excellent view of everything and everyone that was up on the Command Deck, as well as being able to gain the full benefit of the holo images displayed before him.
The system map showed the Kappa-Indarran system, centred on its white class F star. There were three gas giant planets in this system and two asteroid belts, both of which had been strip mined by the Suna centuries ago. The Helium-3 rich gas giant they were interested in occupied the second orbital path around the star and was currently on the other side of the system map to them. Hinata had brought the Invictus out of hyperwarp on the outskirts of the system, and was following Hana's plan to ghost around the asteroid belts, until they got close enough to pick up the Drakkar base with passive scans.
"Are we still running at minimal power Tenten?" he asked the ravenette, who was watching the holographic maps intently.
"Yep, everything's fine," she replied after throwing a quick glance at the energy distribution hologram.
Letting out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding, Naruto turned towards Hinata, who was seated to his right on the command podium. "Take us in whenever you're ready."
The bluenette girl nodded eagerly and gently powered up the engines, but only enough to allow them to make steady progress, whilst keeping their energy profile nice and low. The Assault Cruiser stalked forward, heading determinedly towards the first swathe of asteroids that orbited the star on the sixth orbital path.
"Now, let's just hope they haven't left minefields in the asteroid fields or rigged them with proximity sensors," Hana said, grinning up at Naruto with her fingers crossed for luck.
"Wouldn't it have been a good idea to raise that before?" Fu asked her curiously, noting the worried expression that suddenly appeared on Naruto's face.
"Perhaps, but if I were a betting woman, I'd be willing to lay good money that the Kusa haven't done either," Hana said confidently.
*Why did you mention them then?* Gaara asked her, puzzled.
"It's what I'd do," the Lieutenant said with a shrug.
Fortunately, the first asteroid belt had neither, and Hinata was able to guide them through the sparsely populated asteroid belt with the bare minimum of retrothruster usage. She changed course towards the next asteroid belt that lay on the third orbital path, fired the main engines for a couple of seconds, and then powered them off completely. The energy profile of the Invictus dropped like a stone as the engines were effectively shut down, and they coasted in closer to the second asteroid field, silent and deadly like some vengeful apparition.
"Very nice..." Naruto whistled appreciatively as the momentum from the initial engine burn carried them in closer, the ship absolutely undetectable except by the most powerful of sensors.
"Better safe than sorry," Hinata said, smiling back at him.
She began to feather the retrothrusters as the slowly moving asteroids began to loom closer, not using them for more than a second at a time, in tightly controlled little bursts. The Invictus turned slowly and pointed directly into the heart of the asteroid belt, gradually losing speed as Hinata braked by using the front mounted thrusters. She had set the course perfectly, so they were able to slowly coast in on a straight line, eliminating the need to use side mounted thrusters for asteroid evasion purposes.
Abruptly, the Tactical Map began to light up as the passive sensors came in range to detect a number of vessels in orbit around the nearby gas giant. They stared at the Tactical Map with bated breath, hardly daring to move, as they waited to see what lurked in the Kappa Indarran system.
"Hey, you were right!" Fu congratulated Hana and Sasuke happily. "They're definitely using the Kappa Indarran system as a base!"
"Look! They've set up a helium refinery and some kind of temporary dry dock!" Tenten exclaimed, intrigued by the design of the structures.
"Is that what I think it is?" Hana asked Naruto, pensively. "It looks like they're accompanied by two more Cruisers as well!" she said in dismay.
"Yeah, that's a Kusa Battleship alright," Naruto growled as he stared at the huge vessel, confirming Hana's worst fears.
"That Battleship is huge!" Hinata said, casting him a worried glance. "It's got to be nearly fifteen hundred meters long!"
"Yeah, I know..." Naruto said remorsefully. "There's no way we can take that in a stand up fight."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that. Our Laser Cannons are good as turreted Beams and our Beams are good as a divine smite. We could take them," Tenten said aggressively.
"Tenten, are the sensors broken?" Fu asked suddenly.
The ravenette shot a worried look at her console and rapidly ran a diagnostic routine. "No, everything checks out fine. Why do you ask?" she asked with concern.
"Then, what is that odd glitching that was over there..." the Nymph said, pointing to an area of the Tactical Map behind the current location of the Kusa Battleship.
"What do you mea-" Tenten said, before cutting off abruptly. "What the fuck is that?" she swore looking at the Tactical Map in shock.
They all peered intently at the Tactical Map, trying to make out the flickering image. It was faint and only appeared for one second out of every ten, but now that Fu had spotted it with her sharp eyes and pointed it out, they were now very aware of the ghostly ship that appeared to be haunting the Kappa Indarran system. The ship was vast and jet black, only really noticeable against the darkness of space because of the absence of stars in that blackness, rather than being able to actually make out its profile. A deathly quiet descended on the bridge as they stared at it with wide eyes.
Naruto was having a heart attack, it felt like. "Fuckity fuck fuck FUCK! The Uzu is here!"
Gaara was trembling. *So that's what a real one looks like. The Legacy does not compare,* he whispered mentally.
"What are the odds he didn't notice us arriving?" Sasuke begged.
"Less than none. His sensors could have picked us up from Suna," Tenten said dejectedly.
Hinata gulped. "If he wanted us dead, he'd already have killed us. Should we try hailing him?"
Before anyone could react to that idea,
they watched transfixed as a spiralling circle of energy appeared in front of the massive ship, casting a ghastly pale shroud over the sinister black hull and briefly illuminating its sleek and angular lines. The light moved down the length of the ship, rotating slowly around the hull as it went, and appeared to be erasing the terrifying craft from existence. A few long seconds later, the pallid nimbus of light winked out, and then the otherworldly ship was gone.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. "I think the fisherman just let the minnow go," Hana breathed out.
"Agreed. At least we know the Wormhole Generator works," Naruto offered optimistically.
"Well, after that scare, that Kusa Battleship seems like nothing!" Tenten exclaimed.
Hana zoomed in the Tactical Map to show the Kusa Battleship and Cruisers in detail. The Battleship was absolutely enormous and at double the size of the Kusa Cruisers, it was triple the size of the Invictus. The front of the Battleship sported row after row of Beam Lasers and then on the flanks, the massive fifty meter long barrels of heavy bore cannons jutted out from the hull. Atop the spine of the ship was rack after rack of missile ports, that would be capable of launching an overwhelming barrage of high explosives.
One of the Cruisers looked to be the same size and configuration as the ones they had previously faced, but instead of the purple ship being covered in black armour plating, the way the last ones had been equipped, this vessel was encased in dark grey plates. The Cruiser in the drydock looked to be in the process of being upgraded to black armor, but only the front half seemed to have been upgraded so far.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he studied the ships currently stationary in orbit around the gas giant. "If they're using the drydock to replate their ships, maybe we can do something about your Onyxium shortage Tenten..." he said, grinning wickedly.
"Are you suggesting we steal from the Kusa? Naruto, I'm appalled!" Hinata said, her eyes gleaming as she held her hand over her open mouth as if shocked.
"Requisition," Sasuke defended.
"Oh wow! That's a great idea!" Hana said eagerly. "That Uzu ship had to have been here for a reason. Maybe they've just dropped off a new batch?"
"What do you think Fu? Would you be able to sneak us in there to pull off a heist?" Hinata asked the Nymph eagerly.
"Oh, yes! Please let me try, Naruto!" Fu started bouncing up and down, barely able to contain her excitement.
"Are you sure you can get us in there undetected?" he asked, his voice turning serious.
"They'll have no idea we're there, I promise!" she grinned, her orange eyes sparkling in the light.
"Alright then, but we're still going to have to do something about the Battleship though," he said, studying the zoomed in view of the Kusa command ship, deep in thought. "If we're going in with the Raptor anyway, maybe we could do a spacewalk and plant explosives on critical places on the hull. You said you could create as much explosives as we need, right Tenten?"
"True, but that's going to take me quite some time to fabricate and we'd need to do a supply run to stock up on the various chemicals I'd need," she said doubtfully.
"It's not like you to be negative," Hinata said perceptively, narrowing her eyes. "What have you got in mind?"
"I might have a much quicker way of achieving the same results," the feisty ravenette replied, grinning malevolently. "We go in their and remove the power regulators for their Power Core. The instant they turn the ship on, they'll blow!"
Naruto was uneasy with that? "You sure? You haven't practiced in the Firing Range or Gym much. You sure you're up for going into combat?"
"I had to test fire all my old gear, I'm already a good shot. I'll be in Thrall Armor, I'll be a walking tank. And if all else fails, psychic powers can save the day. I'm ready," Tenten said resolutely.
Minutes later, they were standing at the back of the roomy cockpit of the Raptor gunship, as Fu skilfully brought them gliding in towards the Kusa shipyard, drifting along on minimal power. Hinata was sitting to the Nymph's side in the co-pilot's chair guiding her protégé on how best to approach, whilst minimising the chance of detection.
"It feels weird wearing body armor!" Tenten said excitedly, as she twisted and turned experimentally in the Thrall Armor suit, her helmet tucked under her arm.
"You're absolutely sure you have to come with us? You couldn't use Knowledge Transference to let one of us do it?" Naruto worried.
Tenten got a stern expression on her face. "I'm just as much a member of this Pack as Hinata or anyone. I'm as wolf as you are. Let me hunt with you."
Naruto conceded. *You two okay back there?* He asked the Pack mind.
*Gaara seems to be having an anxiety attack being near this many Kusa. Otherwise, we're fine being left behind,* Sasuke relayed calmly.
*The second you're off that Battleship, we run to act as bait. If it doesn't explode and take out the Cruisers, we'll see how dangerous the Invictus really is now,* Hana replied.
Naruto nodded and refocused on the Raptor.
"That's right, just bring us in nice and gently," Hinata said encouragingly. "Head towards those containers over there first."
Fu nodded and coaxed the Raptor around to slink ever closer to the small group of containers, situated near the Drydock framework that the Kusa had constructed. They passed around the rear of the partially refitted enemy Cruiser and it towered over them, blocking all light from the Kappa Indarran star. They waited pensively until their gunship left the shadow of the Kusa Cruiser and then continued onwards to their target. Fu brought them in very close to the containers, before halting their forward momentum with the judicious use of retro-thrusters.
"That was perfect!" Hinata said proudly. "I couldn't have done any better myself."
Fu beamed at the bluenette with delight and then turned to look at Naruto. "I kept my promise!" she said happily.
"You were amazing!" he agreed, stepping forward to lean over the back of her chair and give her an upside down kiss. The Nymph giggled cutely and kissed him back avidly.
"Come on," Hinata said with a laugh. "You can fuck her brains out later, but we better get on with this first!"
Naruto nodded and went down the elevator to the airlock. Rather than gear up for a spacewalk, he went for a Spirit-Walk. He floated through the airlock door out into space. Feeling like a ghost, Naruto went forward to check the containers. Using Psychic Translation on the Kusa glyphs, Naruto saw that they were all marked 'Steel'.
He returned to his body and thought *This one's a dud. Bring us to the next group.*
A few seconds later, the Raptor thrust forward and began to glide smoothly on to the next stack of containers. Naruto repeated the procedure and found they were steel containers too. With a mental order, the Raptor kept moving with barely a pause. The third time proved the charm. Naruto's Astral form saw the tune for 'Onyxium' on this stack of crates.
*There's too many to fit in the airlock. Bring the Raptor around so the Cargo Bay faces the containers.*
Fu faithfully obeyed his orders. Naruto and Hinata went into the Cargo Bay, sealing their armor when the Bay depressurized as the loading ramp descended. Grabbing a series of tethers from the wall, thirty to be precise, Naruto gave Hinata a mental kiss before jumping out the Raptor into space.
Guiding himself with mild uses of Telekinesis, Naruto reached the pile of Onyxium containers. Hooking the hooks of the tethers to helpful handles on the ore containers, Naruto gave Hinata the signal to reel them all in. Naruto rode shotgun on the crates until they were all piled in the Cargo Bay.
*This is enough to replate the Invictus twice over! We could plate a Battleship with this much and how much we already have. Score!* Tenten thought excitedly.
"Our 'requisitioning' trip is done. Now for the hard part,* Hinata thought. *Fu, dock us with the Battleship.*
*Yes, Hinata,* the Nymph replied, closing the loading ramp and then flying the Raptor stealthily to line up with one of the Battleship's airlocks.
They had transferred three rifles and plenty of ammo over to the dropship, and they securely fastened the loaded magazines to their utility harnesses before picking up the Laser Railguns. Naruto slapped in the magazine of sabots in front of the trigger guard, then picked up a clip of hollow point caseless and slotted it into place at the back of the weapon. The ammo counter on the side of the gun read 250/50, showing that he was ready to go. He brought the rifle up to his shoulder to look through the scope, before lowering it and turning to look at the girls. They were performing similar weapons checks and then they nodded at him, signifying they were ready to move out.
*You two should alternate, one of you Railgun and one of you Laser. Just in case they have better armor or shield generators in there,* Tenten advised.
John turned and looked at his Invictium sword, which was leaning forlornly against the wall. Given the Kusa's propensity for melee combat, he would have liked to have brought it with them, but hauling around the five foot long blade would be too encumbering. He sighed regretfully and then turned to leave the armory.
"Sorry Naruto, I forgot!" Tenten said, reaching out to put her hand on his chest to stop him from leaving. "I came up with a way you can carry the sword around with you!"
"Oh really?" he smiled. "I don't see a scabbard with you."
"It's the 28th century! I think we can come up with something a little more high-tech than that," she grinned at him impishly. "Now turn around so I can attach it for you."
Naruto did as she asked, facing away from the eager young woman. He felt her attaching something into place against the armor on his shoulder, followed by a rapid series of clicks, before she tapped him lightly on his arm.
"Ok you're good to go!" she said excitedly. "Go and pick up the sword and then bring it around to your back as though you were putting it into a scabbard."
He went over to the glistening white blade and picked it up in his right hand. Being careful not to hit the girls, the weapon racks or anything else in the armory for that matter, he brought the sword over his shoulder. He felt an odd tugging sensation on the grip when the hilt was parallel to his shoulder, as though the sword wanted to move out of his hand.
"Perfect!" Tenten exclaimed. "Now, just let go."
Following her instructions, Naruto released his grip on the weapon, wincing as he awaited the deafening crash of the sword clattering to the floor, but nothing happened. He turned his head to the right and saw the hilt and pommel sticking up over his right hand shoulder, floating there silently.
"Magnets, got to love them. I just attached an iron ring to the hilt and voila!" Tenten said proudly.
"Brilliant, babe," Naruto complimented, giving her a mental hug.
They walked back to the big room at the back of the gunship and gathered around the starboard airlock. Tenten pressed the button on the door, and then the three of them stepped into the airlock collar, before she closed the inner door behind them.
*Fu?* Naruto called over the Pack mind to the cockpit. "We're in position, have you docked us with the Battleship?"
*Yes, Naruto, the docking clamps are secured. You can board them whenever you're ready,* the Nymph said confidently.
*Great work, honey. Get clear and stay out of sight as soon as we're safely on board,* he ordered, pressing the button on the outer airlock door. As the collar was secured with an airtight seal, the sombre computer voice stayed silent this time and the airlock door spiralled open.
"That was anticlimactic," Hinata said wryly as they faced the sealed reinforced airlock door on the Kusa ship.
"Well I guess this is where I bust our way in," Naruto said eagerly, getting ready to batter the door.
"Easy there Hercules," Tenten chuckled. " I might be able to help with this one," she said, as she stepped up to the panel by the side of the airlock door and attached a hand held device. After rapidly entering a series of commands on the unfolding keyboard, the heavy bulkhead door split down the middle and then slowly eased apart, accompanied by the hiss of hydraulics. It signified that it had opened fully with a deep metallic clunk.
"Very impressive!" Naruto commended her. "How are you able to hack your way into their systems?"
"I tripped the hydraulics, and the door opened automatically," Tenten said triumphantly, as they stepped through the now yawning portal and into the airlock. She disconnected the device, and then fitted it to the other side of the door.
Before she sealed the door, Naruto placed his hand on the DNA reader on the Raptor. The green light scanned across his gauntleted hand and then after a quiet beep, the airlock door spiralled shut. A few moments later the Kusa airlock door hissed and groaned as it clanged closed.
*Ok stay safe, we're clear,* Naruto said to Fu.
*Just give me a call when you want a lift home!* Fu replied happily.
They watched through the small porthole in the airlock door as the gunship detached from the battleship and then disappeared silently from view. Turning towards the inner airlock door, they saw that this one was operated by a button and Tenten stepped forward to push it. The inner door clanked open noisily and they winced at the din as the small airlock filled with the grating sound.
They could see no sign of angry crew, or even alarms being raised and as they relaxed a little they realised why. The Kusa ship seemed to be alive with sound, heavy clanks and shrieks of metal echoing down the corridor and greeting them raucously where they stood in the hallway.
"For once I'm glad someone did a crap job on maintenance!" Tenten laughed with relief.
"Ok, which way to the Power Core?" Naruto asked quietly.
"If their Battleship follows the same design doctrine as their Cruisers, the Power Core will be centrally located in the aft of the ship," Tenten said after a moment's pause for thought. "If I had active scan results I could tell you for sure, but that's my best guess."
"Sounds sensible. Let's move out," he said decisively, taking the lead and walking down the corridor ahead of him with his weapon at the ready.
Tenten and Hinata followed behind, easily keeping pace as they headed deeper into the ship. The Drakkar vessel was dimly lit, with half the lights blown completely and every third or fourth light flickering intermittently, casting creepy shadows. Panels were pulled off the walls here and there, with the occasional cable snaking down from the ceiling. Tenten shook her head in disapproval as she looked over the exceptionally shoddy state of disrepair the ship was in.
The first cross section they arrived at, Naruto immediately moved to check the right corridor, while Hinata moved fluidly to the left; both poking their heads out to check at the same time. Seeing no signs of life, they headed further inwards and soon approached another cross junction.
Ahead of them Tenten could see that the corridor opened out into a larger room after another twenty meters, bulky four armed Kusa lurching about in the distance. While she was waiting pensively, unsure what to do, Hinata moved left and Naruto simultaneously checked to the right. Abruptly Naruto raised his railgun and fired, the quiet "Prrrkow!" of the three round burst sounding worryingly loud to the tense redhead. Hinata seemed to react instantly, pivoting on the spot and firing a second later, high velocity laser bolts blasting out to seek their targets. The two of them fired repeatedly down the corridor to the right, targeting some unseen foe.
Tenten watched the Kusa up ahead in the room in front of them, her weapon raised in case any of them turned and tried to raise the alarm. Her nerve wracking vigil ended as soon as it had began, when Hinata tapped her lightly on the arm and whispered. "Follow me, we need to cover the corridor."
Nodding, Tenten followed after her fully armored friend and stepped around to the right and out of potential line of sight to the room ahead of them. She looked wide eyed at the still twitching corpses of the three Kusa that had been walking down this corridor only a few meters away from the junction. With the element of surprise, Naruto and Hinata had been able to hose them down with railgun and laser rounds before they could hope to react. Huge holes had been shot through the purple armored aliens, dark blue blood and gore decorating the wall opposite.
Noting a handy room 15 meters away, Naruto used Psychic Strength and Telekinesis to haul the three corpses into it while Tenten and Hinata covered him. Closing the door behind him, he swung the lock closed before breaking the handle off, effectively locking the room from any snooping Kusa.
He then beckoned them to follow him, and they headed further down the corridor, away from the scene of the ambush. The corridor took a few random twists and turns, as they followed it towards the rear of the ship, before it eventually opened out in a stairwell, but instead of stairs, there were a few sets of ramps heading up and down.
"We better not hang around here," Naruto said quietly. "Which way do you think Tenten?"
Remembering that they had docked around the middle of the ship and halfway up the hull, Tenten stopped for a moment to get her bearings. "We probably want to head down a couple of levels, then head in towards the central spine of the ship," she said cautiously.
"Sounds good. Let's go," Naruto said, and moved confidently over to the nearest slope leading down.
"Movement above us!" Hinata whispered in warning.
"Move!" he said brusquely, and then darted ahead down the slope at Psychic Speed.
Hinata and Tenten followed his lead and sprinted after him as he raced down the ramp, turning a corner, and then following another ramp downwards. Instead of heading down any further, Naruto moved quickly across the open area by the many ramp entrances and checked the corridor that would take them into the central part of the ship. Hinata and Tenten darted over to join him, relieved to be moving out of the open and feeling a little less exposed.
They moved cautiously forward now, passing a few sealed doors and leaving them undisturbed as they moved ever deeper into the Battleship. Finally, they reached a sturdy blast door that was currently wide open, giving them a clear view into the big central chamber ahead.
"This is it!" Tenten whispered excitedly, peering around the corner. "I can see the power converter and the plasma conduits. We should definitely find the Power Core located in there."
There were numerous gantries leading upwards from the floor they were currently standing in, but they noticed many bulky figures wandering around on the upper levels.
"What's the plan again?" Naruto asked hushedly.
"You two sweep the place while I disable their power regulators. When I'm done, just turning the engines on will turn this place into a giant bomb. Then we make it for the Raptor and return to the Invictus and reveal ourselves!" Tenten spelled out.
Hinata nodded. She shot a challenging smirk at Naruto, felt more than seen. "Bet I can kill more Kusa than you."
Naruto checked the ammo counter on his Railgun (241/41), and grinned. "You're on." And with that, both took off at Psychic Speed.
Tenten shook her head before pulling out a multi-tool and opening a nearby panel. By the time she was halfway done, blue Kusa blood was dripping from the gantries. She finished her work on this batch of regulators and, realizing she'd be here for hours if she continued at this pace, entered Psychic Speed herself.
They all finished at roughly the same time, every Kusa engineer and crewman killed by either magnetically accelerated bullets or irradiated light. Tenten turned from the last set of regulators to see Naruto and Hinata standing behind her, covered in splatters of blue blood.
"So who won?" Tenten asked playfully.
"It was a tie," Hinata pouted.
"We can have a Railgun vs. Laser face-off another time. What matters is we didn't raise the alarm. Now let's get the hell out of here," Naruto ordered.
They contacted Fu and retraced their steps to the same airlock they'd entered from. The Pack members funneled into the Raptor and minutes later were safely back on the Invictus. Tenten hosed Naruto and Hinata down to clean their armor, the seals on the plates keeping them perfectly dry. They went up the anti-grav tube to the Bridge, stopping in the Briefing Room to unequip the armor, before taking their seats.
"So it was a success?" Sasuke asked.
"Time to find out. Hinata," Naruto ordered, "shake our ass in their face!"
Nodding at her Commander's command, Hinata powered up to full systems. She then swung the Invictus in a wide arc in front of the docked Battleship, indeed shaking the rear of the Invictus in the Kusa's direction.
"Now get clear of the blast radius!" Tenten cried out, knowing just how big the coming boom was.
Hinata raced away as the Tactical Map began to show the Battleship powering up. It's energy reading soon went from mild to off the charts, and with a white flash that blinded those watching the hologram, the entire drydock went up in a massive explosion on the scale of a miniature supernova.
"Whoo! Falling on their own sword! Sure hope that never happens to us," Hana said.
"That's the Kusa taken care of," Naruto said, pleased. His expression turned somber. "But who knows how many pawns that Uzu has?"
"We'll worry about him some other time. For now let's give the good news to the Suna High Council," Hinata soothed.
*My father will be most pleased. He may well honor the crew with a monument,* Gaara projected.
"Immortalized as a statue… not bad for a nobody orphan from Karron," Tenten mused.
Gaara opened a comm channel to Senior Councillor Rasa. The short Grey appeared on screen, his chain of office glinting in the light.
"Greetings, UzumakiNaruto. Have you any news of the Kusa?" He asked, his mechanical voice somehow sounding eager.
Naruto grinned victoriously. "Wiped out to a man. The Suna Collective is now free of Kusa."
The Senior Councillor heaved out a breath. "I thank the gods that you arrived with your hand held out in friendship, UzumakiNaruto. Rest assured, the Suna Collective will never forget your valor and sacrifice."
"Pleased to help. Now, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Naruto said leadingly.
"We have no secrets from you, UzumakiNaruto. Ask any favor and it shall be granted."
"First off, can we use the drydock again for our Raptor gunship? Tenten has a few upgrades she wants to make but she had to focus on the Invictus," Naruto requested.
"I shall inform Councillor Kankuro to have the crews ready immediately. Simply dock at the same drydock you used before," Rasa said placidly.
"Secondly, and this is the big one, I want to see everything you have about the Uzu. All the artifacts, including the Legacy."
Rasa hesitated. "Why would you want to see the Legacy?"
"Well, if we're going to repair it to its former glory, Tenten will have to take a look at it," Naruto said humorously.
Rasa gaped and blinked. "You… you intend to take Orchimaru's ship as your own?"
"Actually, I intend to have Tenten design a better version and have it built with resources we get from the Suna Collective. The Legacy can be the Suna's secret weapon." Naruto grinned at Rasa's shocked expression. "It's been yours for ten thousand years, I'm not going to steal it."
"... We shall arrange a tour of the Uzu facility for tomorrow morning," Rasa stated. Then he blinked and bowed his head. "My son is in good hands," he said simply. Then the call ended.
"You want me to UPGRADE the Uzu vessel? Want me to discover anti-matter energy or xaser weaponry while I'm at it?" Tenten asked incredulously.
"If anyone can do it, it's you babe. These schematics have been dormant for thousands of years. It's time someone shook them up," Naruto said fervently.
"You can do it, Tenten!" Cheered Fu, with feedback given by the rest of the crew.
Tenten nodded, bolstered by their confidence. "I'll work on it over the next couple weeks. I'll feed the schematics and the instructions for making the Uzu elements to the Suna. We can contact Rasa even when we're in Konoha space, right?"
*Our communication satellites operate on compatible frequencies. If that fails, I can use the sub-plane created by the Suna military to communicate,* Gaara explained.
Hana rose a brow. "Wow, your own sub-plane. That's good as having Astral Bonds like we do. How did you make it?"
*It took four billion Suna operating in unison, with marginal assistance from Orochimaru himself. It has allowed for instantaneous communication among the Suna allowed to access it for millennia,* Gaara said with pride for his kind's accomplishment.
"We're back at Suna," Hinata announced, having been flying the Invictus the whole time.
"Good. Get us to the drydock, then Tenten can go down to give them the instructions for the Raptor. The rest of you, join me in the Lounge for dinner. I feel like ribs tonight, a proper barbeque. And afterwards we're having drunk sex in the shower!"
Tenten went down to meet with Engineer Zanthus and relayed her bevy of orders regarding the Raptor. Then she went up to Deck 2 to enjoy a vodka spritzer or two while Naruto used Psychic Fire to cheat and smoke the meat quickly before baking the racks of ribs he'd dry-rubed and lathered in homemade sauce. They one and all enjoyed the food with the exception of Gaara, who proved to have a surprisingly large taste for beer. Then they retreated to the Commander's Quarters where they had their nightly orgy, Naruto saving his load for Gaara. They all used Psychic Healing to avoid hangovers, Hinata helpfully doing it for Gaara, and collapsed into bed to sleep off a long-ass day.
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