Hinata looked down over her lovers and saw that she had their undivided attention. They listened to her eagerly, intrigued to learn more about the beautiful bluenette girl they cared so much about.
"As you know, I grew up on Karron. It's a bleak inhospitable place, a massive asteroid that's been gradually hollowed out as the mines have dug deeper. Slums have built up in the old abandoned tunnels and there's thousands of people living there now."
Hana didn't know much about Hinata's history at all, so she lay there enraptured by the tale. Naruto nodded encouragingly for the beautiful bluenette to continue.
"My mother died shortly after childbirth." she began. "My father was a miner and died in a mining accident when I was six years old." she said, continuing with her tragic tale.
"He was a good man, but we lived on the breadline even when he was working. After he was gone, I had nothing and no-one to turn too, so I was put in an orphanage." she said, her exquisite mouth twisting with distaste.
"In a terrible, dangerous place like Karron, there's no end of orphans and the orphanage was cramped and overcrowded. I stuck it out there for a couple of years, but the vicious bullying made it as bad a place to be as the streets, so I left."
"I tried begging and scavenging for a while, just barely managing to get enough food to stay alive. By the time I hit eleven and had started to physically mature, I learned I had to watch out for other kinds of predators." she continued grimly.
"When times got really bad, I..." she paused, struggling to go on for a moment. Hana got up and knelt at Hinata's side, offering her a comforting arm around her shoulders. Naruto laid his hand reassuringly on her leg, his heavy grip feeling warm, reassuring and supportive.
Hinata continued haltingly, "...sometimes I did what I had to do to survive. Some men were nice, some weren't..." she shuddered involuntarily.
Hana and Naruto were shocked. They had no idea their warm and bubbly young companion had experienced such a horrific start in life. Naruto hadn't known his parents, but at least he had grandparents who had loved him dearly and had looked after him in his formative years. Hana's family were career military and she had had a strict but enjoyable upbringing, living with her loving parents and three older brothers.
"Anyway, I'm sure I would have ended up getting killed by some deranged miner, but that's when I met Sparks." For the first time in her tale, Hinata's lovely face brightened.
"I was 14 years old when I first met her. Sparks was the same age as me and we ran into each other scavenging in a junk pile. Sparks is extraordinarily gifted at fixing and working with machines and she was looking for parts. I offered to help, having no idea what I was looking for and we soon became great friends." Hinata smiled wistfully at the memories.
"Sparks was an orphan too, but her skills at fixing things made her useful to one of the gangs. She was kind of adopted by the Diablo's and she kept their gear in good shape in exchange for food. She used to share with me and in exchange I'd go collecting parts for her." she said fondly.
"I kept my head down and managed to survive, largely thanks to Sparks. I never had to... get extra money, ever again. Unfortunately one of the gangers took a shine to me... there was an incident and I had to escape. That's when I boarded your freighter Naruto and now here I am."
Naruto opened his arms for Hinata, wanting to hold her in his arms and reassure her that nothing bad was ever going to happen to her again. The beautiful bluenette smiled warmly at him, and moved in to cuddle up at his side, with Hana moving in to embrace her friend from behind. Hinata could feel the brunette shuddering as she tried to suppress her tears at hearing her lover's terrible tale. Hinata could sense overwhelming sadness tinged with heartfelt love and compassion coming from the young woman. The bluenette reached back to stroke the Latina's leg comfortingly.
"Thank you for telling me your story Hinata." Naruto said gently. "I'm sorry you had such an appalling start in life."
The lovely bluenette kissed him softly. "It wasn't your fault, you have nothing to apologise for. I appreciate your kind thoughts though." she said, smiling up at him lovingly.
"So what prompted you to tell us about it now?" He asked curiously.
"Well we're only a day from Karron now and I know we're going there mainly for more Tyrenium, but I wanted to ask you two if you would mind another passenger?" she asked tentatively.
"Another passenger, what do you mean?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Sparks." Hinata said succinctly. "I owe that girl my life and I think she'd make a great crewmember here. She's amazing with machines and I think she could be really useful."
"Besides... " she went on, her voice trembling with emotion. "I'd like to save her from Karron. She's too special to waste another day in that shithole."
Naruto looked over Hinata's shoulder and made eye contact with Hana, who nodded her agreement eagerly, a warm smile on her face.
"Who am I to argue with my XO?" Naruto smiled at Hinata playfully. "She is in charge of recruitment after all!"
Hinata laughed gaily, relief washing over her as her musical laughter filled the room.
"Thank you Naruto, it means a lot to me." she thanked him sincerely, her voice full of emotion.
"No problem." he smiled at her fondly. "Besides, look how well your last hire turned out!"
Hana grinned at them and they cuddled up together happily.
"Hey Hana." Hinata asked. "Do you think we should be worried?"
"Worried, why?" Hana asked, suddenly concerned.
"Well Naruto just agreed to expand our crew. Maybe us two aren't enough to satisfy him anymore?" the mischievous teen said playfully.
"Hey wait a minute!" Naruto cut in "I didn't mean it like that!"
Hana sat up and played along "Maybe we should show him we can still be his good girls and take care of him properly." she said to Hinata. "We're sorry you had to miss an emptying the other day." she frowned in apology to Naruto, gently stroking his quad.
The girls moved smoothly as one so that Hana was lying on her back with Hinata astride her, their lovely firm breasts pressed together. They closed their eyes and presented him with two soft pouting mouths shaped into ovals.
Naruto's denials died abruptly when he saw the gorgeous teenagers offering themselves up for him like that. His rapidly growing erection led the way as he shuffled over and sank into Hinata's welcoming mouth, bottoming out deep in her accommodating throat. He held her head dominantly as he began to stroke in and out, delighting at the soft wet touch of Hana's tongue as she licked each of his balls in turn.
"You are good girls." he said earnestly as he pulled back out of the young bluenette's mouth and then aimed lower and pushed forward into the exquisite tightness of Hana's proffered throat. He thrust his hips until her lovely lips encircled the base of his shaft, his balls hanging directly above her. Hinata kissed his stomach tenderly and then sat up to kiss him on the mouth as he fucked the pretty brunette's face.
"Doesn't that feel better Naruto?" she asked him rhetorically, before giving him a heated kiss. Hinata enjoyed hearing his breathing get more uneven as he started losing control and she broke away from the kiss and looked him in the eyes.
"Now remember to share, we both want a nice breakfast." she said naughtily.
She lowered herself down again so her nipples were brushing Hana's and lovingly kissed his stomach, waiting patiently for his creamy load.
Naruto panted as he got more turned on. He had not one, but two lovely teenagers eager to service him and now Hinata wanted to add a third? That thought drove him over the edge and his balls tensed up, ready to deliver their hefty contents. He hunched forward as he came, holding on to Hinata's shoulders to keep his balance.
The lovely bluenette teen was looking down directly over Hana and she was fascinated to watch her olive toned neck throb in time with the jerking of Naruto's cock, as he pumped his load directly into the gorgeous Latina's empty stomach. Hinata could feel the brunette's toned abdomen start to rise underneath her own slim tummy, as spurt after heavy spurt rounded out the young girl's belly. She saw the bulge in Hana's neck begin to move back up and Hinata knew excitedly that it would be her turn soon.
She moved down so her mouth was practically on top of Hana's, so Naruto could switch girls without spilling a drop. His broad head was suddenly pushing at her lips and a blast of sweet tasting cum filled her mouth. She swallowed it down as his massive cock glided over her tongue and then began sliding effortlessly down her throat, his way lubricated by the slick layer of cum. Hinata made sure he was deep inside her with her lips wrapped around his root and she suckled at him, coaxing him to empty every last sperm out of his balls and into her belly. She made sure to swallow continuously so that her throat would massage his length and heighten his orgasm.
Naruto groaned as his taut balls finally stopped flexing, having released all their cum into the girls beneath him. He gently slid out of Hinata's mouth and flopped backwards onto the bed, making sure he was in the middle so each girl could lie on either side of him. Hinata moved to his right and Hana to his left as had become their custom and the girls snuggled up to him feeling warm and soft against his body. He noticed both girls were absent-mindedly stroking their gently rounded tummies, his enormous load big enough to comfortably fill both their stomachs.
Hinata noticed him watching her and she looked up at him, staring into his eyes. "Just let me know Naruto, whenever you're ready." she said invitingly.
"Whenever he's ready for what?" Hana asked curiously.
"Hinata..." Naruto said warningly, but of course the beautiful bluenette ignored him completely.
"I told Naruto that he can be a daddy whenever he wants." Hinata explained helpfully.
"Wow, you're pregnant?" Hana asked, her eyes widening.
"No, no, not yet." Hinata clarified. "When Naruto decides he's ready, he just has to let me know and he can impregnate me."
Hana's thighs began to rub together as she grew excited "That's actually really hot!" she exclaimed.
"Have you ever thought about having children?" Hinata asked innocently.
"Hinata..." Naruto said warningly. The mischievous bluenette just smiled up at him impishly.
Hana looked contemplative as she thought it over. "I hadn't planned to have children until I was a bit older, once I had built up a successful career. I thought I'd eventually become tactical officer on a big ship and really be able to do some good, before finding the right man and falling in love. Then when we were ready, I'd have children then."
"Sounds like a good plan." Naruto said encouragingly, seeing a chance to deflect where this was heading.
"Then again, I'm already on a huge ship doing good deeds and I've fallen in love with the perfect man!" Hana sighed happily. She looked up at him ardently "Naruto, let me know when you'd like me to have your baby and you can get me pregnant too!"
Naruto groaned helplessly. "I'm honoured Hana, truly, and I love you so much, but..."
Hinata cut in "We could be pregnant at the same time! Can you Imagine, we'd both have baby bumps and then be mummies together!" She grinned happily at the brunette.
Hana squealed excitedly, climbing lithely over Naruto to wrap Hinata in a loving hug.
Naruto thought to himself for a moment. "What's the matter with you? Just look at them for god's sake!" His heart skipped a beat when he sat up and looked at the gorgeous teens he loved so much.
"Ladies..." he said and both girls looked up at him expectantly.
"You are both stunningly beautiful girls and I love you more than anything in the galaxy. You are intelligent, kind and caring and would make perfect mothers for my children." Naruto said honestly.
Two sets of doe eyes looked up at him adoringly and they sighed happily together.
"I think we should wait a little while, as you're both only just 18. I promise you though, I want to start a family with both of you when the time is right." he said, stroking their rounded tummies gently.
Hana and Hinata moved swiftly to embrace him, their eyes filling with blissfully happy tears. They cuddled together feeling happier than any of them had thought possible before.
The rest of the day proved uneventful after all the startling revelations and declarations of love in the morning. The girls were good to their word and at lunchtime Hana knelt between Naruto's legs eagerly sucking his cock, impatient for him to fill her stomach again. In the evening it was Hinata's turn to be the vessel for his cum and she smiled at him contentedly after he gave her a huge load to keep her tummy warm that night.
They awoke the next day and dressed quickly before heading up to the bridge. The Invictus was about to arrive at Karron and they were all keen to see their destination after almost two weeks of travel. The cruiser left Hyper-warp and Hinata plotted a course that would dock them directly with the mining colony.
There were only three available docking bays available at Karron and the Invictus was too large to fit into two of them. They had to wait 20 painfully slow minutes until a huge heavy freighter pulled clear of the last bay and headed off into the blackness of space. Hinata skilfully docked the huge cruiser, guiding the ship carefully into the tight fit of the bored out tunnel that opened out into the docking bay. As the cruiser glided to a halt with the aid of retro thrusters, massive airlock doors creaked closed behind them and a force field sprung into place over the tunnel as an extra precaution against depressurisation.
"Ok then, let's get moving." Naruto said to Hinata.
They had decided earlier that Hana would stay back on the ship, to keep watch over their home. An assault cruiser was a whole lot more tempting that a small, worn old freighter like the Fool's Gold, so Naruto was far more wary of leaving it undefended. Hana was disappointed not to be able to come along too, but she understood his reasoning and didn't make a fuss. She kissed her lovers goodbye, with warnings to stay safe and be careful.
"So where to first?" Hinata asked Naruto, as they exited the airlock in the side of the Invictus.
They had landed in a huge rough hewn docking bay, designed to load the hulking freighters that came to take away the thousands of tons of valuable ore that were mined from the asteroid. Loading equipment and Storage crates lined the darkened edges of the bay and loomed in the shadows, making the loading dock seem sinister and foreboding.
"I thought we could go and meet your friend." he suggested. "We've waited two weeks for the Tyrenium, a few more hours won't hurt."
The beautiful young bluenette nodded eagerly and led him out of the docking bay through a towering set of doors and into the dusty and grimy spaceport that guarded the way into Karron. The couple were dressed in street clothes, as wearing combat armour and carrying assault rifles would have attracted too much unwanted attention. Going completely unarmed would have been foolish though, so they each carried a heavy pistol on their hips.
They crossed through the initial huge open cave areas, which housed the docking area and the mercantile district. There were no aliens to be seen here, the crowds bartering noisily around the bustling market consisted entirely of pale skinned humans, or "worms" as they were known to the less than polite visitor. Naruto wove through the throng of people, following behind his beautiful companion as she skilfully navigated the crowds. She led him away from the central hub of the colony and soon the tunnels got smaller and more claustrophobic, as they wound their way deeper into the bowels of the asteroid.
Naruto would have been completely lost without his infallible teenage guide, who seemed to know these tunnels like the back of her hand. His mind flitted back to her tragic tale of her life on Karron and his heart felt heavy at the thought of his wonderful girl having to go through so much at such an early age. They eventually reached Diablo territory, which he could tell by the red jacketed, pasty white gangers slouching insolently at every intersection.
"Aren't you worried someone might recognise you?" He whispered to Hinata.
She turned slightly to face him, a gleaming white smile on her tanned face, her sapphire hair tumbling past her shoulders and down her back. She was a picture of vibrant health and beauty.
"Ok silly question." he said, grinning wryly.
Hinata finally led him up to a closed steel door, flanked by two heavily scarred men in gang jackets.
"Hey chief, what do you want eh?" One of the ghostly pale gang members asked Naruto, watching him warily.
Before he could speak, Hinata cut in "We're here to buy some custom gear from Sparks, we don't want any trouble."
She handed the man a credit stick for one hundred credits "For your assistance..." she said, smiling disarmingly.
Powerless to resist such a beautiful woman bearing gifts, the ganger let them through with a casual wave of his hand. His dour faced companion punched a button on a wall mounted panel and the locks on the reinforced door clanked open and swung open for them with an ominous creak.
Naruto followed along behind the bluenette, the darkly lit tunnels reverberating with wolf whistles as she strolled elegantly past gangers. The flirtatious comments and whistling grew quiet in her wake as the gangers spotted Naruto and eyed him suspiciously. They eventually reached a workshop cut into a side tunnel, the bright light from a welding torch casting dancing shadows through the entrance and on to the wall of the tunnel opposite.
"Hey Sparks! You got a moment?" Hinata called out in a friendly, familiar manner to a small, wiry figure bent over a workbench.
The welding torch cut out a moment later and the figure stood upright, lifting the heavy welding mask from her face as she half turned towards them. Naruto could see a pasty white face looking hopefully in their direction for a moment, before the hopes were dashed and replaced by a dark scowl.
"Custom gear's over there Blueberry." she said dismissively as she waved a finger over at weapon racks on the wall before turning back to continue with her welding.
Naruto followed the direction of the girl's pointing finger to see a surprisingly clean and well cared for set of weapon racks, filled with elaborate custom pistols and sub machine guns. The weapons gleamed in the dull light of the workshop, looking sleek and deadly. He walked over to look at them more closely and saw that the sinister looking black and chrome weapons were actually the work of a highly skilled gunsmith. He picked up a heavy bore pistol and was impressed by its excellent craftsmanship as he turned it carefully in his hand. Even the scope was surprising, with its powerful zoom and infrared capabilities, far beyond anything he expected to see in a colony like this. He carefully replaced it on the weapon rack, feeling a newfound respect for its creator and turned to focus on the reunion in the workshop.
Hinata moved closer to the tetchy figure and tried again "Don't you recognise me Sparks?" she asked tentatively.
The wiry girl seemed to tense with irritation before turning off the oxy-acetylene torch and pulling off her cumbersome welding mask and turning right around to look at them squarely. Now Naruto could see her clearly, he noticed a livid looking red scar all over the left side of her face and running down her neck. The girl could have once been considered pretty, if not for the disfiguring burn that looked to be many years old. The girl was ghostly white like all the locals at Karron and the small figure had a shock of short, spiky black hair.
"Oh yeah, I remember you from our old modelling days!" Sparks scoffed sarcastically. "Now why are you bothering me?!" she blurted out, annoyed at the interruption to her work.
"It's me..." The stunningly beautiful bluenette continued "Hinata..."
Sparks snorted with laughter "Haha! Good one, who put you up to it? Fat Tony? Choppy Bob?" she grinned good naturedly.
"It's not a joke, it's really me." the bluenette said calmly.
Sparks rolled her eyes and laughed derisively.
"Four years ago we got caught in a street-fight and one of the Fletcher brothers stuck me with a knife, right here." Hinata said pointing to just above her right hip.
Sparks' laughter died as she looked at Hinata a bit more closely for a moment. She then shook her head and grinned "Nice try Blueberry, but plenty of people were there at that fight."
"Yes, but it was only us there when you helped stitch me up and you told me that holding on to your lucky penny would make it hurt less." Hinata said, her melodic voice catching.
"How in the hell did you know that?" Sparks blurted out, before throwing the welding gear aside and striding right up to Hinata.
Now that she was this close, the ghostly pale teenager did a double take as she stared at the beautiful bluenette's lovely face. She recognised the piercing lavender eyes, her mouth, her ears; she could see parts of her old friend's face, but this stunningly attractive woman was over 6 inches taller than her friend, just to start with!
"What are you?" Sparks said, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Some kind of a robot?" she poked Hinata's arm. "What did you do to my friend?" she said growing angry.
"It's me Sparks!" Hinata said, growing exasperated. "We met four years ago. I used to gopher for you in exchange for food. I used to sleep over there." she said, pointing to a tucked away corner of the workshop. "I left here 6 weeks ago, because Georgio tried to rape me and I stuck him with a knife!"
The ghostly pale teenager stood there opened mouthed at Hinata's outburst. "It really is you..." she whispered in a stunned voice, her eyes wide. "But you're tall and so beautiful now! What happened? Was it some kind of luxury bodysculpt job or something?" She asked, while walking around Hinata, her face showing her shock as she studied the bluenette's incredible body.
"My body changed, but it's still me." Hinata said, smiling warmly.
"You don't even sound the same any more!" Sparks blurted out. "Your voice used to be more scratchy. Now you sound like... liquid honey." the confused girl said, struggling to find an appropriate description.
Hinata's musical laughter filled the workshop.
"See! That's what I mean! No-one should sound that happy, it makes me want to smile just hearing your laugh!" Sparks said, desperately trying to reconcile the new Hinata with the old.
"I know it's a lot to take in Sparks." Hinata said. "I stowed away on that freighter, like you suggested I should and it turned out it was owned by this guy." the lovely bluenette girl said, smiling towards Naruto.
"Naruto, this is Sparks." she said. "Sparks this is Naruto."
"Nice to meet you." Naruto said, offering his hand. Sparks shook it warily.
"So then my body went through some changes and I've been on a load of adventures. We decided to come back here to Karron and I wanted to come and see you and get you to come with us and leave this place!" Hinata said in an excited rush.
"Leave?" Sparks said, sitting down on a nearby stool in a daze.
The spiky haired ravenette sat quietly for a moment, thinking things through. "If what you're saying is true, then I'd love to come with you, but the Diablo's aren't going to just let me walk, they make too much money from my custom work." she said cautiously.
"Just say you're going scavenging and then meet up with us on the ship. By the time they realise you're not coming back, we'll be out of here!" Hinata said enthusiastically.
"But what about all my gear?" Sparks said. "I can't just leave all that behind, it's taken me years to collect all these tools and equipment."
"Don't worry about that, I'll replace anything you leave behind." Naruto interjected.
"Gee thanks, Daddy Warbucks!" Sparks said sarcastically. "Do you have any idea how much it would cost to replace all this stuff?" she said, waving her arms around encompassing the workshop.
Naruto shrugged nonchalantly "Hinata wants you to join us, so the cost isn't a problem."
"Come see the ship." Hinata urged, "You'll see we're genuine once you're on board." she said encouragingly.
"Ok I'll come see, for old time's sake." Sparks said, not daring to build up her hopes.
"Thanks Sparks!" Hinata grinned happily and wrapped the smaller girl in a tight hug.
They broke apart and Hinata saw Sparks eyeing her chest suspiciously. "Go ahead," she invited warmly "they're real." she grinned.
Sparks reached out tentatively and gently cupped Hinata's big firm breasts in her small pale hands. "Wow, they're amazing!" she gasped in awe.
"I know, right?" Hinata beamed happily at her friend. "Don't worry, I'll explain everything properly back at the ship." she told her old friend reassuringly.
Naruto and Hinata exited the workshop, leaving a very confused and bewildered girl behind them. They left the Diablo's base without any trouble and wound their way back through the claustrophobic tunnels to return to Karron's central caves.
"Do you want to go to the mine now?" Hinata asked Naruto inquisitively.
"No, I don't think so, not yet. Let's go back to the ship and gear up. If there's any chance of getting into a gunfight with a street gang, I want you in body armour." he replied, his voice tinged with worry.
Hinata smiled at him and nodded, touched by his overprotective nature. Naruto contacted Hana using the communicator built into his watch and let her know they were headed back. She met them at the airlock and beamed happily at them as they came back onboard.
"It's just a fleeting visit honey, we wanted to get our combat gear. We might have trouble with a street gang on the horizon." Naruto explained. Hana nodded her understanding and came up with them to their quarters to help them get suited up in their body armour.
Naruto picked up his deadly looking assault rifle and loaded the bullpup magazine with a satisfying click. He followed his normal weapons check and held the high tech weapon to his shoulder to look through the integrated scope and made sure everything was fully operational. He turned to look at Hinata and was surprised to see her holding his backup rifle, the sister to his one. She slapped in a magazine and performed an identical check with the scope. Hinata saw him watching her and she winked at him impishly.
They said farewell to Hana a second time and asked her to watch out for their recently invited guest. They left the docking bay again, receiving startled looks from passersby as they strode through the spaceport terminal at a determined pace. They hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take them to the Mortimer Mine.
The journey to the mine seemed to flash by, and in no time Naruto and Hinata were in Seb Mortimer's office. The mine owner seemed delighted to see Naruto again and clasped his hand in a warm handshake. Hinata watched the interaction half-heartedly. Being back on Karron had been tough going for the young woman, everywhere she looked seemed to be dredging up bad memories from her past.
"Hey Seb, it's great to see you again. How's the mine been running?" Naruto asked the mine owner politely.
"Great thanks Naruto, it's really good to see you again too." Seb replied cheerily.
*You fucker, you have the balls to come back here after ripping me off?!* someone snarled furiously.
The incandescent rage of the second speaker had Hinata whirling around, her eyes darting about trying to find who had just spoken.
"Are you ok there Hinata?" Naruto asked, wondering what his young lover was doing.
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me." She replied distractedly.
"Sorry Seb, I'm being rude. This is Hinata, my Executive Officer." Naruto introduced them courteously.
"Nice to meet you miss." Seb replied with a smile on his face.
*So you spent my money on whores, and flaunt this slut in front of my face?!* the enraged voice barked.
Hinata looked around bug eyed. Where was this other person? Why was no-one else reacting to the crazy stuff he was saying?!
"Err, nice to meet you." She stammered.
Naruto wondered what had gotten into Hinata, he had never seen her behave like this before.
"I was wondering if you had mined any more Tyrenium?" He asked Seb politely. "I was looking to purchase some more if you have any for sale?" He enquired, laying the foundations for another trade.
"Well we tapped out that vein in the end, but I've got nearly 20 tons stored that I'm looking to sell." Seb explained.
*Come round for a second bite? You little fuck, payback's going to be a bitch.* the savage voice ranted.
"Oh that's good to hear!" Naruto grinned happily. "I'd be interested in buying all of it. Same price per ton as last time?" he asked hopefully.
"Sounds like you have a deal mister!" Seb grinned back.
*Yeah, and I'm gonna take your ship and your whore too...* The voice growled dangerously.
"Let me go tell the foreman to get the Tyrenium ready for transport. You own that big fancy cruiser down at the dock right?" Seb asked pleasantly.
Naruto confirmed that he owned the Invictus, as Seb beamed a big smile and stood up to leave the office.
*My own warship... I'm going to fucking end you, then I think I'll make myself Lord of Karron...* the voice gloated.
Hinata watched Seb leave, her eyes wide with panic.
She grabbed Naruto's arms with both hands, surprising him with the strength of her grip. "He's going to betray you!" She gasped.
Naruto stared at Hinata, mouth agape. "What's gotten into you?" he asked.
"He's pissed about the last deal, he thinks you ripped him off! He's going to kill you and take me and the ship!" She pleaded for him to understand the danger they were in.
"Why would you think that?!" Naruto gasped, shocked at this sudden outburst.
He watched Hinata's eyes dart from side to side as though she was rapidly turning things over in her head. She suddenly locked eyes with him, having come to her decision.
"I can read minds. I heard his thoughts." She blurted out.
"You can what?!..." Naruto stammered, stunned.
"It's only been you up until now..." Hinata tried to explain.
"You've been reading my mind?" Naruto said astonished, as he tried to desperately wrap his head around this latest revelation.
Hinata broke eye contact with him and lowered her gaze, looking guilty. "I'm sorry, I should have said earlier..."
Their conversation came to an abrupt end as they heard Seb's heavy boots outside the office door.
"Hey, welcome back." Naruto said to Seb, managing to hide his earlier shock. "Everything good to go?"
"Sure Naruto, let me just sort out the paperwork." The faux- friendly mine owner replied as he sat behind his desk and began to prepare the auth device, which would transfer ownership of the Tyrenium to Naruto.
Naruto threw a glance Hinata's way. *Are you reading my mind now?* he asked experimentally, narrowing his eyes.
Hinata met his gaze and gave a slight nod of her head, looking a bit contrite.
*Well I'll be damned.* Naruto thought, his eyes widening in wonder.
Unfortunately further experimentation was cut short, as Seb held the prepped Auth device at the ready. Naruto handed him the logging manifest for the Invictus and Seb plugged in the device and pressed a couple of buttons authorising the transaction.
"There we go." he said, smiling. He seemed to take in their ceramic plated body armour for the first time "You two in some kind of trouble?"
"Oh just a bit of gang trouble." Naruto replied "better safe than sorry." he smiled amiably.
Seb nodded agreeably. *I'll give you trouble alright you fucker. I'm going to make you sorry you were born!* Seb thought to himself smugly.
"Ok we're all set. You two head back to the ship with the cargo and I'll come and meet you there with some extra boys to help speed up the loading." The mine owner said in a helpful manner.
*Just wait until you load the ship, then it's time to pay the piper.* Seb thought to himself, crowing over his impending victory. *This idiot won't even see it coming!*
Naruto and Hinata stood and shook Seb's hand, before leaving his office to meet with the truck driver who would be taking them back to the Loading dock. The whole experience was becoming increasingly surreal for Hinata, especially when she had to smile and shake hands with Seb who was planning to kill Naruto and do horrible things to her.
They climbed up into the cab of the massive truck and Naruto greeted the pale skinned driver with a friendly nod. He moved to sit in the middle with Hinata by the door. The engine rumbled loudly and the cab begin to vibrate as the chunky six wheeled vehicle began to move, leading the other 3 trucks in the convoy to the space port.
*So what's he going to do? Do you know his plan?* Naruto thought at Hinata and then waited expectedly for her voice to appear in his head.
When nothing happened, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. The beautiful bluenette frowned at him cutely and then nodded her head.
*Oh right, you can read my mind but I can't hear your thoughts?* Naruto reasoned, figuring out the silence.
Another little nod from Hinata, the truck driver not taking his eyes off the road, oblivious to the silent conversation happening only inches away from him.
*Ok then, yes or no answer questions only.* he mused.
Hinata nodded slightly, amazed at how well Naruto was adapting to this situation and using it to their tactical advantage.
*Are they going to attack us on the way back?* he thought. A little head shake from Hinata.
*Are they going to attack us back at the Invictus?* he wondered. A little nod from the teenager.
*Immediately?* Naruto asked. Hinata shook her head slightly.
*Ah, so probably after we finish loading. He's hoping to ambush us when we think the cargo is safe and our guard is down and he's bringing along his "extra boys" to help him carry out the plan?* Naruto mused to himself.
Hinata nodded her head animatedly before coughing to cover it up. She was very impressed, Naruto managed to put together the whole plan based only on a couple of yes or no answers. The girl desperately wished this mind reading ability worked both ways. She had loads of questions she wanted to ask him, but she had to stay mute, it was so frustrating!
*If he's waiting till we're back at the ship, he's probably after the Invictus too?* Naruto's question was met by another tiny nod from the apprehensive young woman at his side.
Naruto's mind started racing as he began to formulate a plan *Ok when we get there, you excuse yourself and go and warn Hana, she'll know what she has to do. I'll distract Seb if needs be* he glanced at Hinata to make sure she had heard his orders. She nodded firmly, a steely determination in her eyes.
*Good girl. Don't worry, we'll be fine.* he thought to her reassuringly, reaching out to take her hand in his and squeezing it gently.
The rest of the journey felt tortuous as they wove their way past dirty dilapidated slums and crawled along through dark, roughly cut tunnels. Naruto was worrying about keeping the girls safe and Hinata was worrying that he would forget to take care of himself.
All too soon the truck convoy arrived at the spaceport and Naruto spoke briefly to the deck officer and port guards who waved them through. The chunky trucks rolled into the docking bay and then parked against the left hand wall under the overhanging cargo loading equipment. Naruto and Hinata stepped out of the cab, just as Seb rolled up, riding in the first of two sturdy looking hover trucks. Hinata spotted tarpaulins covering some strange lumpy shapes at the top of the hover trucks and wondered what they could be. Over a dozen stern looking men climbed out of the vehicles, but didn't seem to be making any effort to help the miners with the unloading and just loitered around.
"We'll go and open the cargo bay for you, you guys can start unloading the trucks." Naruto suggested to the mine owner, who nodded curtly in response.
Naruto and Hinata walked over to the ship, the hairs on the back of Naruto's neck standing up as though he could feel eyes watching his every move. They approached the airlock of the Invictus and he pressed his palm against the DNA reader. The airlock spiralled open invitingly and they stepped through the oval portal.
*Ok time to move!* Naruto ordered Hinata, as the airlock started to spiral close behind them. He went through the side door to enter the Cargo bay and the worried teen darted over to the elevator and hit the call button, tapping her foot impatiently until it arrived. She took the elevator up to the bridge, hoping to find Hana there and was relieved when she found the lovely brunette sitting at her tactical station.
"We're in trouble!" Hinata shouted from across the bridge, as she dashed over to speak to her friend.
Hana's eyes widened as Hinata quickly briefed her on the current situation.
"Ok I know what to do." the brunette said reassuringly, activating controls on the tactical station.
Hinata felt confidence and determination from the tiny emotive presence that had reappeared in her mind. Feeling reassured, she spun on her feet and sprinted back to the elevator, determined to help protect Naruto now she had carried out his orders.
Meanwhile Naruto had opened up the cargo bay doors in the hull of the Invictus and was waiting patiently, as the miners ferried the Tyrenium into the cargo bay using Anti-grav loading sleds. He pretended to be intent on the loading operation, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Seb's mercenaries fanning out to take cover. They furtively unshouldered rifles or unholstered pistols whilst ducking behind the storage crates that were scattered around the loading dock.
Finally the last of the Tyrenium was brought into the cargo bay and Naruto turned to face Seb and his men. All pretences were thrown aside as he saw over a dozen gun barrels aimed in his direction, Seb standing at the back with a heavy pistol in his hand.
"It's over Naruto!" He called out. "Hands in the air and walk out of the ship" he said, his voice sounding smug.
Naruto raised his hands above his head and tried to look surprised and defeated as he walked forward slowly.
"You shouldn't have ripped me off you little shit." Seb gloated. "Yeah, I eventually got word of how much Tyrenium is selling for... fifty times how much you paid me for it!" he said, his voice quivering with rage.
"I got over one hundred times the buying price actually." he said helpfully to Seb, causing the man to growl furiously through clenched teeth.
Just at that moment, several things happened at once.
Firstly, the tarpaulins on the backs of the hover trucks were thrown aside, revealing Heavy machine guns on pintle mounts that were both trained on Naruto by grinning mercenaries.
At the same time, the door to the elevator in the Invictus swished opened quietly and Hinata darted down the corridor to stand on the other side of the sealed airlock, her assault rifle held ready.
Unnoticed by all, armoured panels on the hull of the Invictus began to peel aside and an ominous low pitched whirr began to echo around the cargo bay.
Finally, a ghostly white girl with spiky black hair came sprinting into the Cargo bay, her face showing some relief when she saw Naruto. "The Diablo's are after me!" Sparks cried out in alarm, before suddenly realising the tense situation she had burst into and screeched to a halt.
Seb lunged to the side grabbing Sparks in a tight grip while she stood in shock and he placed the blunt nose of his heavy pistol at her temple. "Give it up Naruto, or this bitch gets it!" he yelled.
Moments later, over a dozen red jacketed gang members came bursting in through the entryway into the hangar. They drew their weapons and pointed them at Naruto and the Mercenaries. "Let her go!" a bulky ganger with a mohawk shouted. "She's Diablo property!"
The mercenaries on the hover trucks spun the heavy machine guns around quickly to point them at the new threat and the tension in the room ratcheted up several notches.
Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a booming female voice being transmitted throughout the Cargo bay. "All gang members and mercenaries will leave this Docking bay immediately." The voice said implacably "Refusal will be met with deadly force. You have ten seconds to comply".
Dozens of sets of eyes looked up at the towering hull of the Invictus, suddenly painfully aware of the four turreted Gatling lasers that had spun up and were now pointed in their direction.
"Ten." Hana said, beginning the countdown.
"I'm not kidding Naruto, I'll splatter her brains all over the floor!" Seb shouted, waving his heavy pistol in the air for emphasis, before placing it back against the small girl's head.
"Nine." The Latina continued undaunted.
"Let her go, She's coming with us!" The gang leader shouted, as his men trained their weapons at the mercenaries.
"Eight." Hana intoned.
Naruto tensed the muscles in his legs, getting ready to spring into action.
"Seven." The young woman's voice continued.
Hinata touched the panel activating the airlock and then hugged the wall closely, staying out of sight. The door spiralled open silently, unnoticed in the tense Mexican standoff.
"Six." Hana's voice echoed around the docking bay.
"Shut that bitch up, Naruto!" Seb bellowed, furious that his carefully laid plans had unravelled so quickly.
"Five." came the booming reply.
"You better do as she says." Naruto called out "She isn't bluffing!"
"Four." Hana said relentlessly.
The mercenaries and gangers were looking increasingly worried. Staring down a two meter long gun barrel will do that to a man.
"Three." The Latina said in a flat emotionless voice.
"Let her go man, she's my property!" The gang leader shouted, the nervous tremor to his voice betraying his fear.
"Two." Hana's countdown continued unabated.
"Last chance Naruto, surrender now!" Seb yelled angrily.
Hinata suddenly appeared around the edge of the airlock, her assault rifle at her shoulder.
"One!" The bluenette teen sang out, her melodic voice piercing the scene playing out in the room. Her rifle chattered and Seb screamed as his wrist exploded, his severed hand still clutching his pistol as it sailed through the air.
Naruto burst into action, charging directly towards the crippled mine owner who was screaming in pain and holding the bloodied stump of his wrist with his other hand. Sparks had been thrown to the ground and was cowering in fear as the mercenaries with rifles and pistols opened up on Naruto. They weren't expecting him to sprint right past them though, so a fusillade of small arms fire sailed around him harmlessly as he ran flat out towards the mine owner, moving too fast for the surprised mercs to react in time. Naruto barrelled into the critically injured man, shoulder charging him with a ceramic plated pad that sent Seb sprawling and leaving Naruto to bounce off and drop to a crouch next to the frightened ravenette.
The low pitched whir of the Gatling lasers was drowned out as Hana opened up with the Invictus. Rapid Staccato blasts of laser fire arced outwards, illuminating the dimly lit room with strobing flashes. The hover trucks were hit by dozens of high energy pulses, the vehicles exploding as the multi barrelled Gatling lasers chewed threw them in seconds and tore them to pieces.
The Gangers could only stare in horror as the last two Gatling lasers turned in their direction and sprayed the wide doorway with a long continuous burst of laser fire. Most of the Diablo's managed to throw themselves to the ground or leap behind storage crates, but two gang members weren't so lucky. One was hit by several laser bolts, each hit searing holes straight through his body and leaving his torso looking like a smouldering Swiss cheese as he toppled over. The other was hit in the shoulder, the laser bolt penetrating clean through and melting the entire shoulder joint. The man's arm fell to the floor, the charred stump glowing with the heat of the impact and he collapsed to his knees in shock, his mouth agape in horror.
"Get behind those crates!" Naruto ordered curtly to Sparks, pointing to some sturdy storage containers stacked against the side of the room. The terrified teenager looked up at him wide eyed, before she managed to shake off her fear and started crawling in the direction Naruto had pointed. Naruto attempted to shield the girl, using his armoured body to cover her as she scampered away. Round after round went sailing over his head, but a few hit his arms and back, ricocheting off the tough ceramic plates. He winced as he felt the impacts, one round slammed into his right thigh between ceramic plates and caused him to flinch in pain.
Hinata's eyes narrowed with anger as she sighted in on the mercenaries shooting at her lover and friend. Her assault rifle chattered in multiple bursts as she took steps to eliminate that danger. The first burst hit a merc who was crouched behind a crate firing his pistol wildly. The three hollow point rounds hit him squarely in the head and his skull exploded as the caseless ammo blasted out the other side.
The second burst hit a merc standing in the open, who had stepped out of cover to try and shoot around his colleagues, his line of sight to Naruto blocked after his reckless charge. These rounds punched into the merc's torso from the side, eviscerating him as the bullets tore through his body and leaving him writhing on the floor in agony.
Her final shot hit a merc in the leg as he tried in vain to conceal himself behind a crate. Two of the bullets hit him in the calf and the last blew out his knee, showering the crate in gore. The man slumped to the ground screaming in pain as he clutched his ruined leg.
The Diablo's cowered behind crates as the cargo bay turned into some kind of horrific hellscape. Bright flashes of laser fire kept them pinned down and illuminated the corpses of their brothers who had been cooked by laser fire, wispy smoke rising from their charred bodies. It was a powerful reminder of what would happen to them if they broke cover, so they wisely ducked down as low as possible.
Sparks finally managed to crawl behind the sturdy storage containers stacked against the rough wall of the docking bay. The containers were pock marked with impacts from the dozens of rounds fired in their direction, but Naruto was glad to see the containers were robust enough to stop the rounds from penetrating. He followed the young woman behind the crates, glad to be out of the line of fire for a moment.
"Are you ok?" He asked the scared girl as she huddled up against the crate, trying to make herself as small as possible.
"Yeah, I didn't get hit." Sparks replied, much to Naruto's relief.
The gunfire from the mercs had gone quiet for a moment, when they weren't able to shoot at him any longer. After a brief pause, he heard numerous small arms firing again, but this time the rounds weren't headed in his direction. He held his assault rifle at the ready and carefully leaned out behind the crate, to see what the remaining mercenaries were shooting at. He saw they were firing towards his ship's airlock and he heard the distinctive chatter of one of his assault rifles firing back defiantly. Naruto saw the muzzle flash at the airlock door and that sudden flare of light revealed a mane of indigo hair.
"Goddamnit!" he swore. *Get down Hinata!* he shouted in his mind, praying his fearless companion was listening to his thoughts like before. He was greatly relieved when she immediately disappeared from view. He had the mercs in a good crossfire from his current position and he was able to drop two more with carefully aimed bursts, before the rest of the mercenary team reacted and ducked down low behind cover.
Unfortunately for both the mercenaries and the Diablo's, the storage crates proved scant protection against the ship mounted Gatling lasers. These weapons were designed to take out lightly armoured fighters, so a few inches of Reinforced plastic might be able to stop a hollow point round, but it was powerless to protect against penetration by the searing laser bolts.
Hana began to walk laser fire along the defensive positions held by the two hostile groups. Glowing holes were punched through the reinforced plastic of the storage crates before the laser bolts connected with soft flesh, screams of pain announcing every successful strike. Pitiful cries of surrender began to drift up around the loading bay and Naruto contacted Hana using his watch communicator and asked her to cease fire.
"Ok it's over, get out of here!" Naruto shouted loudly to the terrified attackers, their morale truly broken.
The seven remaining Diablo's stopped to pick up their fallen brothers and dragged them from the Loading bay. The mohawked leader was one of the survivors and he turned to face Naruto before he left.
"This ain't over chief, the Diablo's have got long memories!" he snarled. When two of the Gatling lasers began to spin up and track him, his bravado disappeared and he fled the docking bay.
Naruto saw the three surviving mercs crawl out of cover and limp away, leaving their fallen behind. Naruto took a quick glance at the abandoned corpses, but he couldn't see Seb anywhere. He noticed a bloody trail leading out of the docking bay from where he had sent the mine owner sprawling and figured he must have crawled away during the heat of combat.
"Are you ok to walk?" he asked Sparks.
The teen nodded tentatively and Naruto offered her a strong hand to help her stand up. Adrenalin was fast wearing off and the young woman stood on wobbly legs, reluctant to let go of Naruto's supportive arm. He helped her to walk towards the airlock on the Invictus.
Hinata came dashing out to their side, her face concerned. "Are you both ok? Did either of you get hit?" she asked, worried.
"I'm going to get a nasty couple of bruises, but other than that, all good!" Naruto replied reassuringly.
The gorgeous bluenette moved to hug them both, but Naruto held her off for a moment.
"Let's get inside the ship first, I'm still feeling a bit exposed here." He said, glancing over his shoulder at the writhing figures still lying in the slaughterhouse that the docking bay had become. Hinata helped Sparks through the airlock on her shaky legs, while Naruto entered the Cargo bay and pressed the controls that would re-seal the outer hull of the Invictus. He walked briskly over to meet up with the girls in the corridor and they took the elevator up to the bridge.
The door swished open quietly and they walked out onto the bridge. Hinata watched her friend with amusement as Sparks stood open mouthed with awe at the technical wonder that was the command deck of the Invictus. The multi levelled bridge was illuminated with the light blue glow of the holographical tactical images projected into the centre of the room.
Hana stood up from her tactical station when she heard them arrive and came over to meet them. "I'm so glad you're all ok!" she said, relief showing clearly on her face when she saw that they weren't injured.
"It's our very own deus ex machina!" exclaimed Naruto upon seeing Hana and he moved forward to sweep her up in a warm hug. "That was awesome honey, you were amazing!" he said proudly.
The gorgeous Latina beamed up at him, glowing with his praise.
"Thanks for the rescue you guys." Sparks said in a small voice, clearly intimidated by the massive ship and yet another ravishingly beautiful woman.
"Oh sorry, I'm being rude." Naruto apologised to the girls. "Hana, this is Hinata's old friend Sparks. Sparks, this is Hana, we're lucky to have her as the Tactical Officer on the Invictus".
"And she's quite lovely too!" Hinata said warmly, moving in to wrap Hana in a hug. "You did a great job today Hana. Thank you for saving these two!" she grinned happily.
"You're all welcome!" the gorgeous brunette smiled at them, her deep brown eyes warm and friendly.
"Why don't we go to the debriefing room and we can have a chat." Naruto suggested to the young women gathered around him.
The three teenagers followed after him as he led them to the as yet unused door, on the other side of the bridge. The door led into a sizeable room, with a long meeting table dominating the space, surrounded by plush, comfortable looking chairs. A long window ran the length of the room, which would no doubt provide spectacular views, but unfortunately all they could see at the moment was the rough hewn rock of the Docking bay wall. Naruto gestured for the girls to sit and once they had moved to take their seats, he sat in the luxurious leather chair at the head of the table.
"Hinata, why don't you explain to Sparks what you had in mind for her onboard the Invictus?" Naruto prompted gently.
The beautiful bluenette nodded happily and gleefully launched into a long and detailed explanation of her plans for her spiky haired young friend, shocking the pale teen to the core.
"Now wait a minute, let me just get this straight..." Sparks said. "You want me to join the crew as Chief Engineer and sail around the galaxy in this monster of a ship. I get an almost unlimited budget to maintain the Invictus and I can work on whatever side-projects I like. I get to hang out with my BFF and I'm going to end up looking like these two goddesses." she said waving her hand towards Hinata and Hana.
"And all you want in exchange, is for me to dyke out with Beautiful and Gorgeous here from time to time and have Mr Handsome blow me up like a balloon whenever he wants?" the ravenette asked.
Hana and Hinata nodded serenely, lovely warm smiles on their perfect faces.
"That's about the size of it I guess." Naruto said hesitantly, a bit startled by her blunt delivery.
"Well show me where to sign up!" Sparks grinned excitedly.
Naruto chuckled loudly. "Welcome to the team." he said, smiling at Sparks warmly.
Hinata stood and wrapped her old friend in a big hug "I'm so happy you're coming with us!" she said, overjoyed.
Hana gave the little ravenette a hug too "I'm looking forward to getting to know you." she said smiling, her voice friendly and welcoming.
"Well I don't know about you girls, but I think I've had quite enough of Karron." Naruto said soberly. The young women nodded, agreeing with him wholeheartedly.
"Hinata, please take us out of here and plot a course to Olympus Shipyard." he requested as the group left the briefing room and stepped back on to the bridge.
"I better speak to the Star port authorities and explain the carnage in the Loading bay." he said, grimacing. "I'll be in my ready room. Let me know when we're under way."
Naruto strode away, disappearing into his office.
"Wow he's a real take-charge kind of a guy isn't he?" Sparks commented to Hana, turning to look at the Latina.
"Uh-huh." the gorgeous brunette nodded dreamily, as she watched Naruto disappear into the side room with adoring eyes.
Sparks left Hana to her tactical station and the ravenette turned to look at Hinata, who had darted up to the Executive Officer's chair. Sparks followed her old friend up onto the command podium and watched in amazement as the enthusiastic bluenette rapidly plotted a course back to the centre of Terran Federation power. The girl's hands flickered over the controls and holographic system charts sprung into being, the glowing blue line of her projected flight path linking system to system.
"How do you know how to do all that?" Sparks boggled in amazement.
Hinata shrugged self-deprecatingly. "I had some spare time and Naruto needed a navigator." she said, smiling happily as she added the finishing touches to their route back to the core worlds. She raised a delicate finger to her full lips, gesturing for her friend to hold the questions for a moment.
"Karron starport this is the cruiser Invictus." She stated, her voice calm and confident. "Requesting clearance to leave Docking Bay three."
"Clearance granted Invictus." The communications officer at the starport replied.
Warning lights began to flash in the loading area and a hexagonal pattered force field sprung into being, sealing off the cruiser from the rest of the Docking bay. Shortly afterwards, the force field sealing the outer bay doors winked out of existence and the massive airlock squealed in protest as the doors opened, depressurising the tunnel out into the vacuum of space.
Sparks watched astounded as Hinata eased the sleek cruiser out of the crudely bored out tunnel and then clear of the asteroid. The beautiful bluenette rotated the ship smoothly and then powered up the enormous engines, causing the Invictus to surge forward on its way towards the Nav beacon.
"Say goodbye to Karron, Sparks." Hinata said to her old friend in a quiet voice. "I promise you, the rest of the galaxy has so much more to offer."
The ravenette nodded mutely as Hinata activated the FTL drive and their ship leapt into Hyper-warp and away from Karron. Sparks watched the asteroid in the system map and saw Karron grow tiny before disappearing behind them as the Invictus raced away. She was finally leaving the colony where she had spent her entire life.
"To the future." Sparks thought to herself, feeling a bit scared, but daring to hope for the first time.