Chapter 8: The Needs of the Many
"Ensign Haruno's personal log; Stardate 41971.9. It's been nearly a week since Naruto and I have arrived on the Enterprise and already we are the talk of the ship, or so says the gossip ring. I swear that Ro Laren has a bigger mouth than Ino. Naruto and I continue to grow closer; not only as a couple, but as each other's best friends. Captain Picard told me that we are enroute to the Promellion Star System, a system in which I would take great pleasure in learning a bit of its history. A history of a battle that happened over a thousand years ago. Supposedly this takes us pretty close to Element, but we were told that we're not going there, sadly. Would love to see the look on Sasuke's face when I tell him I'm dating Naruto."
"Picard to Ensign Haruno." Picard said over the comms.
"Go ahead."
"We have arrived at the battlefield and we have found something that I think you might want to see."
"On my way. Haruno out." Sakura said as she put down her log PAD. It was Naruto's time off so he was catching up on some sleep. But, Sakura decided to go into their now shared bedroom and tell him what's going on.
"Naruto?" Sakura said softly as she rubbed his bare back.
"Mmmmmhmmm, Sakura-chan..." He muttered in his sleep.
"Naruto... Come on, wake up." Sakura said as she shook him a little harder.
Stubborn even in his sleep, Naruto clutched his pillow tighter like it was his favor pink haired firecracker.
Sakura growled and finally got impatient.
"WAKE UP!" She shouted in his ear.
"BAH!" Naruto shouted, his limbs flailing about madly until he fell off their bed and into a pile on the floor.
Sakura tried to stifle her laughing fit. She didn't mean to wake him like that, but this was important.
"(snicker) Sorry to... wake you like that, Naruto." Sakura said, trying hard not to laugh.
"Ow, damn it Sakura, I was dreaming about ramen."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're always dreaming about ramen. And when you're not dreaming about ramen, its me." She pointed out.
"This time was different, I was dreaming about ramen AND you." He replied innocently.
"And you lived that dream on the holodeck. More than once I might add."
"It is a really good dream..." Naruto defended.
"Anyway, I woke you because Picard asked me to join him on the bridge at my leisure. I just wanted to tell you that I was headed up there and that I would be back later."
"Well heck, since I'm ALREADY UP, I'll join you." Naruto smiled his fake morning smile. "Just give me 10 minutes."
"I didn't mean to wake you like that. I know you're tired and need some sleep so you don't have to come up with me. It's your day off anyway."
"Nah, I'd rather hang out with the real Sakura than the dream Sakura." Naruto said as he stretched before standing up to get dressed.
"Alright. I'll meet you up there then. I'm late as it is."
"I thought he said you could leave at your leisure?"
"He did, but he said it's of historical importance. I think he found a relic among the war debris in the sys-" Sakura was cut off by the snoring of Naruto. The sound of her listing off historical artifacts bored him enough to return to his slumber as he laid half off the bed. Sakura just rolled her eyes and smiled. 'Nothing ever changes...' Sakura thought.
Sakura left their quarters and headed to the turbo lift. She was excited to learn more about the secrets of the universe and she was not about to pass up on this opportunity. The doors to the turbo lift opened up and she walked inside.
"Bridge." Sakura commanded as she doors closed
On the bridge, Picard and Riker stood in amazement at what they saw.
"A Promellian Battlecruiser..." Riker said in awe.
"It seems untouched by the passage of time... Perfectly preserved as the day the war ceased." Picard added.
"Sage of Six Paths..." Sakura said, she never seen anything so big. Not since the Battle of the Bijuu during the 4th Shinobi World War.
Picard turned around to see Sakura walking onto the bridge, in the same amount of awe as the bridge crew. A smile crept its way to Picard's face as Sakura looked upon the ancient ship.
"Remarkable, isn't it? For a thousand years this ship has been here." Picard said to Sakura.
Sakura slowly made her way down the ramp on the bridge to get a better look on the view screen. She marveled at it, eyeing it. Historical in ways she had only studied from materials Picard had her read.
"That ship is a thousand years old? Amazing..." Sakura said in amazement.
Picard still smiled. "I am planning on leading an away team over to the ship to explore it. You're more than welcome to join me."
"Sir, I don't think I need to remind you that-"
"Now now, Riker. I highly doubt anyone is alive over there. And if there is, well, Ensign Haruno is more than capable of protecting me." Picard said.
"Even so sir, I recommend you bring both Ensign Haruno and Ensign Uzumaki. For certainties sake, sir." Riker replied.
"There are no life signs aboard, sir." Worf stated
"I should hope not. After a thousand years I doubt anyone or anything would be alive on that ship." Picard stated.
"Save for dust bunnies." Sakura said, to which some of the bridge crew got a chuckle.
"Anyway, Number one. Sakura will be more than enough. Also, if I recall, I don't think he cares much for history, or the ghosts we may encounter. You have the bridge Riker. Data, Worf, Sakura, with me. Let's see the ghosts of this ships past." Picard said as said people made their way to the turbo lift.
Picard, Data, Worf and Sakura were walking down the long hallway of deck 4 to reach the transporter room. They were going to take in the sights of the ancient ship in hopes they will find something of value. They walked into the transporter room and took their positions on the transporter pad, then the doors suddenly slid open.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Naruto cried out. He stopped to gasp for breath. He had opted to try walking everywhere and had gotten lost trying to navigate this labyrinth of a ship.
"Naruto? I thought you went back to sleep." Sakura said in confusion.
"Yeah, sorry about that Sakura-chan, I over slept, but I'm here now." He perked up, puffing out his chest, ready for action.
"You don't have to go with us, you know. It is your day off." Picard said.
"Are you kidding? No way that I'm missing out on the first exploring mission of this trip. I bet there is buried treasure or impossibly long time survivors or monsters to fight." He listed off with childlike wonder.
Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "We're beaming over to a derelict 1000-year-old ship with no life signs aboard." Sakura stated. "The chances of any 'buried treasure' are slim."
"Ship is a treasure in of itself." Picard stated.
"Besides, it could be haunted..." Sakura teased, but made Naruto go blue in the face.
"W-well t-t-then, I s-should probably go with you guys. To protect you from the ghosts I mean." He gulped, trying to save face in front of the guys and his lady love.
"Alright then." Picard shrugged. Naruto then nervously walked onto the pad. "Energize." Picard ordered and all 5 of them beamed aboard the old ship.
On the Promellian warship, the 5 of them appeared in beams of light and materialized into solid forms. The ship was dark from being without power. Worf and Data lit up their flashlights and Sakura took out her tricorder to do scans. Picard walked around with a flashlight of his own and Naruto stood shaking in fear.
"Dust bunnies, are an understatement." Worf stated, noticing the inch-thick layer of dirt caking the entire bridge.
The bridge of the ship was in such disarray that it was hard to tell what console did what. The layout was disorganized and sloppy. Considering the age, it's not unheard of.
Remnants of the crew remained at their posts. Their decomposed and nearly fossilized corpses sat in their chairs where their consoles sat.
"They died at their posts. A truly dedicated crew." Picard stated in awe.
Sakura roamed around the bridge, examining all of the ancient technology the ship had, which was still more advanced than what the Leaf had to offer.
"It's amazing to see even a ship as old as this still more advanced than my home." Sakura said in disbelief.
"I believe you will find that a great many species in the Galaxy are that way." Data stated.
"Probably." Sakura replied.
Data walked over to a console and studied it.
"I will now attempt to restore power." Data stated as he fiddled with the console. The rest of the team began to spread out to explore other areas of the ship.
Sensing he was about to be left alone Naruto quickly ran up to Sakura and hid behind her. Clutching the back of her shirt with a vice like grip.
"Oh would you stop... The only life here is us four. Data doesn't count." Sakura scolded.
"That's what I'm scared about, Sakura-chan. Ghosts aren't alive." He reasoned.
Sakura wanted to argue, but couldn't. "That's true." Sakura agreed. She walked over to one of the consoles where one of the long since dead crewmates was still seated. Completely decomposed and nearly fossilized. It didn't make Naruto any more comfortable.
Sakura felt Naruto's grip tighten at the sight of one of the dead crew members. A wicked smirk came to her face. She took out her flashlight and whipped around to shine it up her face, scaring the complete shit out of Naruto.
"BAAAHHH!" Naruto screamed like a little girl.
Sakura laughed so hard that she was crying and was red in the face. Naruto's face was absolutely priceless.
"Ho... hoohahahahaaa! Oh you shoulda seen your face!" Sakura said in a fit of laughter.
"Yer mean, Sakura-chan." Naruto pouted.
"Oh suck it up. It was all in good fun." Sakura said with a wink. but when she turned around, two faces with lights shining upwards on them, one dark and feral, one light and elderly, looking right at her.
"Good fun, huh?" The dark colored one said. Now it was Sakura's turn to have the shit scared out of her, along with Naruto.
"IIEEEEEEE!" Sakura shrieked.
"BAAAAAHHH!" Naruto yelled as the two of them grabbed hold of each other for safety.
The lights on the ship turned on and the faces turned into Worf and Picard, who of which were having a good laugh.
"The Captain always makes the first scare." Picard teased.
"Captain Picard!" They both shouted like a couple of meddling kids.
Picard chuckled. "Oh come now. Did you honestly expect that I was just some stiff old man? I still have a funny bone that works just fine. Now, enough of this foolishness and let's explore."
Naruto grumbled something along the lines of being scared again when Sakura gave him a light push forward.
"Mr. Data. Have you found anything?" Picard asked.
"A great deal, sir. Sensor logs, crew logs, personal logs, and weapon schematics. You were right, Sir. This ship is a treasure." Data said.
"I doubt their weapons would be of any use to the Federation." Worf stated.
"Agreed, however I'm betting their sensor logs are more interesting." Picard stated. "Sakura, see if you can download their data into your tricorder. We can analyze them later."
"Yes sir." Sakura said. She stood over the science console and began downloading the data onto her tricorder.
Naruto was walking around the ship away from the bridge. It still creeped him out, but not nearly as bad now that the lights were on.
'Is there really a reason why you are on this bucket of bolts?' Kurama asked.
'To keep everyone entertained. Maybe blow some stuff up if needed.'
'And here I thought you were going to go all Ghost Buster on this place.'
'Why? You really think there are ghosts on this ship?' Naruto thought, his eyes darting all around to see if he could catch the ghost.
'I don't think, I know. You forget, I can sense the presence of spirits, and this ship is teaming with them. No need to worry though. They are merely observing.'
Naruto gulped. 'D-d-do t-t-they want t-t-to... y-ya know...'
'No. These spirits show no animosity towards you or Sakura, so just relax.'
'So they're not gonna steal my soul...thank god...' Naruto sighed in relief.
'No, they're not. Only the spirits of demons do that and there are none here.'
'Save for you.'
'I'm not a demon you jackass. Despite what most of our world thinks, I'm just the manifestation of chakra from the original 10 tails. You know that.'
'Yeah, but save for you and all the tailed beasts, there are no other beings to be classified as demons. At least not on our world.' Naruto pointed out.
'Perhaps...'
Naruto continued to walk down the hall until he came to the Armory. The door didn't automatically open, so he pried it open with his bare hands and he looked upon what was in there.
"Oh my god..." Naruto gasped. He tapped his combadge. "Uzumaki to Picard."
"Go ahead."
"You might want to come down to the armory. There are survivors down here." Naruto said in shock.
"What?" Picard said in his own sense of shock.
"I count at least 80 people down here." Naruto stated.
"That is impossible. Our sensors could not pick up any life signs." Worf stated.
"Then there is either something wrong with our sensors, or the walls of this section are made of something in which the sensors couldn't penetrate. Either way, this is a rescue mission now." Naruto said seriously.
"I'm on my way, Naruto." Sakura said, knowing her cue as the only medic on the team.
As he waited, Naruto concentrated a handful of Kurama's chakra into the palm of his hand, creating a bright golden flame to act as his light source. It was a trick Naruto had used when his squad had discovered a cave filled with child prisoners of war. The chakra had a warm, calming effect on those Naruto didn't mean any harm. It would be a good way to approach the survivors.
"W-who are you?" One of the Promellians asked.
"I'm Ensign Naruto Uzumaki of the Federation Starship Enterprise." Naruto introduced. He looked upon the room of people there and a great number of then were either under dressed or not dressed at all. The room was completely unhygienic as the alien filth was spread around and some of them were even sick.
"You are an Elementian, aren't you?" An elderly Promellian asked.
"I am." Naruto responded, not knowing where the elder alien was going with this.
"I am the direct descendant of the original captain of this ship. According to his logs, we, as a race, have made frequent visits to your world. for what reason, I am not sure." The elder stated.
"Well it hardly matters now. What does matter is getting you guys off this ship and getting you to safety." Naruto said, thinking these guys had no doubt gone crazy after spending so long trapped on this ship.
"We are descendants of the crew and this has been our home for the last several generations. We have tried to free it from its prison of the acetone field, but to no avail. Are you really able to get us away from this place?"
"Acetone field?" Naruto asked, before he could question further though, Sakura came rushing in the room.
"I'm here!" She said as she observed her patients.
"Oh my god..." Sakura breathed out.
"Sakura, do what you can, but I need to borrow the elder dude and talk to Picard." Naruto ordered. Sakura didn't question it when Naruto got authoritative.
The blond stepped forward to hold out his hand to help the elder stand.
"Many thanks young man." The man grunted as he stood up.
"Don't mention it." Naruto said offhandedly as he led the elder to Picard who had just made it to the door leading into the room.
Picard stared at the alien man in shock. Naruto was 100% correct.
"Extraordinary..." Picard said. "I'm captain Jean Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise."
"Xatura. Elder of the Promellian people aboard this ancient ship." The elder introduced himself.
"It's amazing that even after all this time, the Promellian race still exists." Picard said in amazement.
"No kidding, I'm more surprised that they claim to have lived on this ship for a thousand years." Naruto commented. He was only beginning to accept the crazy advanced technology that Star Fleet possessed, but a community of intelligent beings surviving on a ship drifting throughout space for generations? That was impossible, a thousand years is the kind of thing legends and myths are based around. Not that Naruto, the reincarnation of the son of the demigod who saved the world and taught humans ninjutsu, had anything to say against myths.
"No. our race as a life expectancy of 200 years." Xatura stated.
"Still, that's amazing. You guys spent 5 generations on this ship and you never figured out how to escape?"
"Escape? Escape what, Ensign?" Picard asked.
"It would be better if the Elder told you, I haven't gotten a clue what what is he is talking about." Naruto replied, giving the floor to the Elder.
"This ship has been trapped in an acetone field for the last 1000 years. The propulsion systems could never be turned back on due to this. For generations, we kept the ship on minimal power just to sustain life support and to send out a distress call." Xatura explained.
"An acetone field?"
"Correct."
Picard sighed. "I wish we knew that beforehand..."
"Why? What's an acetone field?" Naruto asked, completely lost with all this space techno babble.
"An acetone field is a field of radioactive particles that drain any and all power from a ship that is unfortunate enough to enter it. Taking power away from the propulsion systems and any source of energy a ship may have and increases radiation levels to lethal levels." Picard explained.
"Luckily, our ship has solar plating and a battery that is located in the armory. Even with the old replicators we were able to survive..." Xatura said.
"So what does that mean for us?" Naruto asked, still lost.
"Unless we can shut down or destroy the acetone assimilators, we will succumb to the same fate as the Promellians." Picard said grimly.
"What?! We can't stay here for a thousand years! We can't even stay for 200!" Naruto exclaimed.
'Maybe you can't, but I can.' Kurama gloated.
"Calm down, ensign. We'll find a way to get out of here." Picard stated.
'Not helping- WAIT!' Naruto thought.
"Sir, I could destroy them." The whiskered blond volunteered.
"How?" Picard and Xatura asked.
"I've got more than just Shadow Clones in my arsenal, Captain. Just point me in the right direction of whatever those things are and I'll slice them in half." Naruto boosted.
"How? They are in and among the asteroids." Xatura stated.
"Well don't I just step outside and go looking for them? We've got a sensor thingy to find them, right?"
"The acetone field blocks sensor readings, making pinpointing their location near impossible." Data stated.
"So then I make a thousand clones and send them out looking for them."
"Naruto, this is a very reckless scheme you've hatched. I think the prudent course for now is to return to the Enterprise and gather our bearings before we make rash actions." Picard said sternly.
"Very well, you're the Captain." Naruto said, slightly defeated. He headed back inside to see if Sakura needed help with anything.
"Who is that young man?" Xatura asked the captain.
"Probably the most unpredictable member of Starfleet since James T Kirk." Picard said with a grin.
"Captain's log, supplemental. The away team to the Promellian battle cruiser not only provided with very interesting data in regards to the battle that happened here 1000 years ago, but by the help of Ensign's Haruno and Uzumaki, we found a rather large group of living Promellian's to which we thought to be extinct. They have spent the latter part of yesterday and a good portion of the day today acclimating to newer technology and getting a proper meal. Naruto is itching to get us out of this aceton field, but I'm just not certain enough to let him go out in open space to act on a harebrained plan that may not even work." Picard said.
In the ships conference room, Data, Worf, Geordi, Troi, Crusher and Riker sat at a table with Picard.
"So how can we get out of this acetone field?" Riker asked.
"According to Xatura, we can't unless we drastically alter the warp core. I don't know about you all, but we're fresh out of mobile star bases." Picard joked dryly.
"It would also take a week at least to modify the core enough to make it out of here." Geordi added.
"And with minimal power just to survive, it would take longer." Worf stated.
"Could we use the deflector dish in anyway?" Riker asked.
"I do not believe there is anything we can emit from the deflector dish to dissipate the acetone field." Data countered.
"Then there is only one option; destroy the acetone assimilators." Picard declared.
"We could use photon torpedoes, but according to our sensors, there are more acetone assimilators than the amount of torpedoes we have." Worf stated.
"Phasers would just be absorbed into the assimilators and produce greater amounts of radiation."Geordi said.
"We would just be adding fuel to the fire..." Riker stated grimly.
"What is Naruto's plan?" Crusher asked.
"He said he would be able to destroy them by going out into space. I have no doubt that he could, but I have a great amount of concern for his success." Picard explained.
"That is extremely reckless." Riker stated seriously.
"But it's the only option we have." Picard shot back with a sigh. "Either that, or we get comfortable with this ship for a long time to come."
The senior officers remained silent and nodded in agreement. Picard then tapped his combadge.
"Picard to Ensign Uzumaki."
"Ensign Uzumaki, go ahead."
"I want you to meet me at the starboard airlock. We're going with your plan to free the ship." Picard stated seriously.
On the other side of the comms, Naruto couldn't help but smirk. "Roger that. I'll meet you there."
"Very good, Picard out." With that said, everyone got up from the table. "Data, modify a tricorder with the approximate locations of every assimilator so Naruto at least has a map."
"Understood sir." Data stated.
Sometime later, Picard and Data arrived at the starboard docking port where both Naruto and Sakura were waiting.
"Naruto. This tricorder will be your guide to the assimilators. Try not to get too close to them. the closer you are, the higher the radiation is." Picard explained as he handed Naruto the device.
"Understood, I just need to be within a few hundred yards of them anyway." Naruto said as he took the device and clipped it to his belt.
"You will need an air suit, Naruto." Picard deadpanned.
"A what now?" Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion.
"You need an environment suit. You can't survive in the vacuum of space and need air to breath. Don't you know that?" Picard stated incredulously. Seriously, how dumb was he?
"There's no air in space?" Naruto asked dumbfounded.
"Wait, seriously?" Sakura also asked. This was news to her as much as it was to him.
"Seriously. Space is a vacuum and has no atmosphere. As soon as you step out that airlock, you will die from explosive decompression." Data added.
"Oh wait, no trees, so no oxygen. Dooy." Sakura smacked her own forehead.
"Exactly." Picard stated as he held a hand over his face to block out the ignorance.
"Sakura-chan, how could you not know something that I don't? I thought you were the smart one." Naruto smiled, a little pleased that he wasn't the only clueless one for once.
"Damn it Naruto, I am a doctor, not a scientist." She berated him.
"As a medical officer, you also play the role of a science officer. There is a lot you have to learn." Picard stated dryly.
"Oops..." Sakura shied away, embarrassed.
"You two have only been here a week so I'm not surprised by this. Just study more." Picard stated.
"Yes, sir." Naruto and Sakura responded.
"So where is this air suit then?" Naruto said, wanting to get started as soon as possible.
"In the closet behind you." Picard pointed to a door that was beside Naruto.
He opened the door and pulled out a skintight suit with a glass visor helmet.
"The suit has magnetic boots should you land on a metallic surface." Data informed.
"How exactly do you plan on destroying the assimilators?" Picard asked.
"I'll use my most powerful attack. The Rasenshuriken." Naruto said as he slipped on his spacesuit.
"So does this thing constantly recycle his air, or does Naruto have a time limit before he has to return to the ship?" Sakura asked in the place of Naruto.
"The suit as a large re-breather built into it that recycles the air he uses." Data informed. "However, the suit does have a limit on how long the power will last."
"How long?" She insisted.
"Long enough that you don't have to worry. The power cell lasts up to 18 hours." Picard stated.
"No need to worry then, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he finished putting on his helmet.
"The suit can also withstand up to 3000 RADs. Any more than that and you will die from radiation exposure." Data informed.
"Instantly?" Naruto questioned.
"1000 RADs is lethal." Picard stated, which made Sakura go blue in the face.
"So stay away from 1001 RADs, got it." Naruto said through his visor, when his heads up display hummed to life.
"And these assimilators put out how much?" Sakura asked.
"At close proximity at their current energy levels, 4,800 RADs." Data replied.
"I'll be quick then." Naruto said as he walked towards the airlock.
"Naruto, wait a minute..." Sakura said.
Naruto stopped with his hand on the door handle. "Yeah Sakura?"
Sakura walked over to Naruto and had him turn around. She lifted his helmet off his head for a brief moment.
"This is for good luck." Sakura said as she locked her lips with Naruto's.
Naruto smiled as he returned the kiss with gusto, slipping a little tongue in before Sakura pulled back and placed his helmet back on his head.
"Later, lover boy." She smirked as she secured the helmet locks around his neck.
Naruto smirked, she was such a vixen.
"Alright, I'm ready to go. Data, let's do this!" Naruto cheered.
Data nodded as he stood by the airlock controls.
"Closing inner airlock." Data stated as the inner doors closed. "Depressurizing chamber." Data listed off as the air quickly left the airlock. Once done, Data opened the outer doors of the air lock into that of open space.
Suddenly a wave of cold swept through the airlock. It was chilly, the coldest Naruto had ever felt until the spacesuit readjusted itself to the new climate. It seemed to take away all the gravity as well. Once Naruto stepped to the edge of the airlock he felt weightless, like he was completely submerged in water and free falling in the air at the same time. He looked out into the inky blackness of space, and for the first time in a very long time, Naruto felt truly, completely, alone.
'I'm still here in case you forgot.'
Well, almost alone.
Naruto jumped from the airlock and made his way to the nearest asteroid. He floated along like he was flying. It was a truly amazing experience. he landed on the metallic asteroid and looked back. He was finally able to grasp the size of the Enterprise.
"Holy shit!" Naruto exclaimed. It was staggering. Naruto had fought toe to toe against Tailed Beasts the size of mountains, so he knew big and the Enterprise was flipping big.
'Damn! We were inside THAT?!' Kurama said in shock as he looked upon the ship in question through Naruto's eyes.
The massive ship had to be over 600 meters long and almost 200 meters tall. It was truly a colossus if Naruto had ever seen one.
'And I thought your furry butt was big!' Naruto thought.
Then Naruto laid his eyes on the Promellian ship and compared both ships size wise. The Promellion ship was far bigger.
"Sage of Six Paths!" 'Damn that's big!'
"Is something wrong, Naruto?" Picard asked over the suit's comms.
"What? Oh no, nothing's wrong. Just taking in the view. Is Sakura-chan there?"
"I'm right here, Naruto." Sakura said.
"You wouldn't believe how big the ship is. And that alien ship we found, it's gotta be twice as big as the Enterprise!"
"Truth be told, Naruto, the Enterprise isn't the biggest ship in the fleet. That spot is reserved for the USS Yamato." Picard stated.
"Well they're all just stupidly huge!" Naruto said in awe.
"Wait, did you say Yamato?" Sakura asked in confusion, to which Naruto caught onto.
"Yes... does that name ring a bell?" Picard asked.
"He was the name of one our comrades, back in the Leaf. Good guy, creepy stare." Naruto explained.
"Ah... I see. Yamato was actually the name of an early 20th century sea faring battleship. Coincidentally, the USS Yamato is also a battleship built during when we were at war with the Klingons. It serves as a museum now. Too old and too far out of date to be of much use now." Picard explained.
"That's some coincidence." Sakura said.
"It is currently at the federation ship museum in orbit of Telmar 4." Data informed.
"Starbase 29 is near there. Perhaps when we're done here, we can head that way. Our schedule is pretty free for the moment." Picard announced.
'I think we're getting off track here.' Inner commented.
'I agree.' Sakura said back. "Um, shouldn't we focus on why Naruto is in space?" Sakura reminded.
"Too right. My apologies." Picard said.
"Yeah, what exactly am I looking for again? Like what does an acetone even look like?" Naruto said through the comms.
"The tricorder you have should pinpoint you to the location of the nearest acetone assimilator." Data said.
Naruto nodded and pulled out his Tricorder. The nearest assimilator was almost on top of him as it pointed him in that direction. Using Chakra enhanced eyes, he spotted a floating device of some kind that seemed to be about the size of a large boulder.
"Found one." Naruto stated.
"Good. Now, use that Rasen-whatever you called it. I'm anxious to see if this works." Picard ordered.
"Do you have surveillance cameras or something? Cause you are in for a show." Naruto stated as he positioned himself on top of an asteroid.
On the bridge, Picard had ordered to show the visuals from Naruto's helmet camera to broadcast his attempted to free the Enterprise.
"We're watching you on the bridge, Naruto." Picard stated.
"Alright!" Naruto made his cross sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto looked to his right where an exact duplicate of himself was standing there like he had been there the entire time. Naruto then held out his hand as the clone held out both its palms towards the real Naruto's open hand.
At first nothing seemed to happen, but as the crew of the Enterprise continued to watch they noticed something beginning to swirl in the palm of the Ensign's hand. What seemed like light particles began to appear out of nowhere and swirled around in his palm.
Then they sped up, swirling faster and faster until they formed a perfect sphere made of light.
'His Rasengan.' Sakura thought.
Naruto didn't stop there, the perfect sphere began to ripple along its edges, like it was growing a ring of shark teeth. Dr. Crusher couldn't help but equate it to the formation of a planet or a molecule.
Then in one final push, the sphere exploded outward, the jagged ring now transformed into four pronged throwing star the diameter of Naruto's height.
"What in blazes is that?!" Picard exclaimed in shock as he stood up from his chair.
"That..." Sakura started proudly. "Is the Rasenshuriken. Naruto's ultimate attack."
Picard looked in awe as the 4 blades of the Rasenshuriken began to spin at an incredible speed.
"A move he developed with the help of his shadow clones that would have taken any other ninja decades to perfect. He took the bases of chakra form, his Rasengan, and chakra nature, in his case his wind chakra. To create a jutsu unlike anything else. A blade that can cut anything at a microscopic level." Sakura listed off, it wasn't too often that she got to brag to others about her teammate's accomplishments. Everyone back on Element already knew his name.
"Extraordinary..." Picard breathed out.
"Can you do that, too?" Riker asked
"Not the Rasenshuriken as my element is water. However," Sakura held out her palm and single handedly created the blue, spiraling sphere known as the Rasengan. "I can create a base Rasengan. Naruto taught it to me a few years ago. It's come in handy in a pinch." Sakura smiled as she let the ball of Chakra spin in her hand for a moment before letting it die down.
"I could technically make my own variant of the Rasenshuriken with my water chakra, but I would need to create a shadow clone to do it, and Naruto is the only one I know with enough chakra to utilize shadow clones like that."
'Unless you use your seal.' Inner stated.
'Even then, it's not my style. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask Naruto to teach me some time.' Sakura thought.
'That'a girl! Show our man how dedicated we are!' Inner proudly stated.
"Rasenshuriken!" They hear Naruto shout as he threw his attack as hard as he could.
The Rasenshuriken careened towards the acetone emitter at incredible speeds before slicing through it like butter.
The two halves of the assimilator separated and exploded. Naruto's plan was working and well.
On the bridge, everyone cheered at Naruto's success.
"Hey Picard, how many acetone thingies are there?" Naruto asked over all the cheering.
'Check the device in your hand, idiot.' Kurama stated.
Naruto did just that and it read...
"19 more to go. Simple enough." Naruto stated.
'Might need your chakra for this one though, Mr. Fluffles.'
'I swear I'm going to hurt you...'
'Love you too.'
Naruto checked his scanner to locate the next nearest drone. Approximately 1000 meters to his right.
Rather than leap from asteroid to asteroid though, Naruto thought he would get creative with the zero gravity. He created another clone and had him twirl Naruto around like an oversized sling shot. He built up a decent speed and flung Naruto towards his intended target.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEEEE!" Naruto cheered into his comms.
Sakura snickered as she shook her head. "I'm dating an overgrown child."
'At least he still has his overgrown dick.' Inner commented.
'Mmmm... Yes, he does. If we get out of this, I'm raping him tonight.'
'Woah, phrasing!'
'I'm serious. He's not going to bed nothing without drilling me first.' Sakura thought back sternly.
'Well fine. Ultimate libido meets unlimited stamina. It's a match made in heaven.' Inner Sakura admitted.
'Damn fucking straight it is. Also, his libido is almost as strong as mine. Makes it even better.' Sakura added.
'See, this is exactly why I was screaming in your ear for months after the 4th War that you were making a terrible mistake. Do you see what happens when you listen to me?' Inner smirked.
'Yes, yes... Duly noted.' Sakura replied.
"Rasenshuriken!" They heard again over the comms. This time, Naruto's attack sliced through 3 assimilators at once.
"Captain. Acetone levels are falling rapidly and our energy drain is slowing." Worf stated.
"Good. As soon as he has destroyed all of the assimilators, we can get underway." Picard said.
One by one, Naruto destroyed each of the assimilators until only 3 remained. The Enterprise crew felt like they were on the home stretch. While on route to the 17th assimilator, Naruto radioed to the bridge.
"Hey Picard, something feels off."
"Such as?" Picard asked.
"It feels like my suit is getting colder. Is the climate control malfunctioning or something?"
Worf scanned Naruto's suit, but shook his head.
"Negative. The controls are functioning properly." Worf stated.
"We'll do a full suit scan just to be sure, stand by." Picard ordered.
Naruto shrugged it off and prepared himself to take out pod number 17.
The crew on the bridge watched through the helmet camera as Naruto charged up another Rasenshuriken, when Sakura noticed something in particular.
Naruto threw his ultimate attack at the assimilator, destroying it like all the rest. As his arm lingered out in front of him, Sakura saw what looked like a shredded piece of fabric floating through space. At first she thought it was some debris from all the pods Naruto had destroyed, but it looked more familiar. Like the fabric on Naruto's spacesuit.
"Naruto, look at your arm!" Sakura shouted into the comms.
Confused, Naruto obliged Sakura and held up his right arm in front of his face so that the bridge crew could get a good look at it too. Everyone froze when he twisted his hand around to face his palm. The glove looked like it had been high-fiving a blender.
"NARUTO YOU IDIOT!"
"Naruto, you need to return to the ship immediately." Picard ordered.
"No, I'm two pods away from finishing the mission." Naruto insisted.
"That is an order, Ensign! Return to the ship immediately."
Begrudgingly, Naruto conceded. "Yes, sir."
"Captain." Data interrupted. "Based on the wear of his suit and his approximate distance from the nearest Enterprise airlock. He cannot return to safety before his suit completely tears."
"What are you saying? Are you saying he's gonna die out there?!" Sakura exclaimed.
"It is very likely." Data replied.
"What about the transporter?" Riker asked.
"Too much radiation to use." Geordi stated.
"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Sakura shouted as she put her chakra enhanced foot through the floor. "I WILL NOT SIT IDLY BY WHILE MY BOYFRIEND SUFFOCATES TO DEATH!"
Everyone on the bridge looked at Sakura with sympathetic looks, save for Data who was incapable of emotions.
"I promised him a long time ago that I would keep his heart beating until mine stopped..." Sakura sobbed. "There has got to be SOMETHING you idiots can do-
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto shouted through his comms. On the bridge, Sakura went dead silent. You could hear a pin drop.
"There is nothing else for it then..." Naruto spoke. He created a shadow clone to throw him towards the next pod. Taking him even farther away from the Enterprise.
"N-Naruto! What are you doing?!" Sakura exclaimed.
"I'm completing the mission. I've still got more than enough chakra to destroy the last two assimilators." He explained as he dodged the odd asteroid.
"But you'll die, you idiot!"
"I'll die anyway. At least this way I can free the Enterprise and the Prothean people." Naruto replied.
"NO! DON'T DIE! PLEASE!" Sakura pleaded.
"Sakura-chan... I'm really sorry..." Naruto whispered. He tightened his fist. He needed to steady his heart for this one. Like a true shinobi.
"Comms off." Naruto said, killing his communication with the bridge.
'Summon me, Kit. I can send you back to the ship once we're finished here.'
'If I summon you out here you'll suffocate and freeze to death before you could even throw me. And I won't sacrifice you to save myself.'
'Wrong, Kit. I'm immortal, remember?'
'That's bullshit and you know it. Just sit tight, we're not dead yet.'
Naruto landed on an asteroid the size of a house that was a decent distance from the next assimilator.
"This should be good" Wasting no time, Naruto created another clone to create the Rasenshuriken.
Naruto winced as a shot of pain traveled up his arm. His arm was so cold it felt like it was being pricked with a hot metal rod. He shook off the pain and aimed and fired, the jutsu arched toward the target, but missed.
"Damn it! Again!" He ordered. His Shadow Clone held his palms to create another Rasenshuriken.
Back on the bridge, Picard was furious. "Open those comms back up!" He barked.
"We can't sir, Ensign Uzumaki is refusing to answer our hails."
'Naruto...' Sakura thought sadly. All she could do was watch as the love of her life was moments away from dying and there was little she could do. Except...
'If he is gonna die, we still have a bit of his seed from this morning trapped in your jutsu. A good portion of it is still alive.' Inner said.
'What the fuck?! Why would you think of or even consider that now?!'
'I'm saying that we can carry on his legacy through his child. The way things are looking... we're about to lose our sunshine...' Inner stated sadly.
Sakura felt like there was a dark black hole in the center of her chest sucking her inside into her heart. It couldn't be true. Naruto always came back from these impossibly dangerous missions. No one else beat the odds like he did. He just couldn't...
"WARNING. ENVIRONMENT SUIT 14 LOSING POWER. AUTO SHUTDOWN WILL BEGIN IN TWO MINUTES." The computer informed.
"What about teleporting him here?" Picard said, a little desperation in his voice.
"Transporters still cannot operate due to the radiation in space." Geordi stated.
"Can we move the ship closer to him?" Dr. Crusher suggested.
"Engines are still offline until the assimilators are destroyed." Data stated.
"The 19th assimilator has been destroyed!" One crew member manning a computer shouted. "Only one left!"
The entire crew was on the edge of their seats. Only one minute and thirty seconds remained until Naruto's spacesuit failed.
Seconds passed like minutes, everyone was growing more desperate by the moment.
"Come on, Uzumaki..." Worf whispered.
"60 SECONDS UNTIL ENVIRONMENT SUIT AUTO SHUTDOWN." The computer informed.
'It's now or never.' Inner pressed.
Sakura was slowly moving her hand to her lower abdomen. She still wasn't sure about whether or not she wanted to do this. But if Naruto was going to die, to which any doubts were being cast aside, she needed to keep her sunshine alive somehow and this maybe the only way to do it. As her hand was close to coming in contact with her abdomen, there was another explosion.
"The final assimilator has been destroyed. Energy levels are returning to full power." Worf stated.
"Hail Naruto again!" Picard barked.
Data pressed the controls on his panel to open up a communication channel with Naruto.
"Enterprise to Ensign Uzumaki, do you copy?" Picard barked.
"..."
"Ensign Uzumaki, are you reading us?"
"..."
"Naruto! Are you there?!" Picard exclaimed in desperation.
"...Ensign Uzumaki here, the final assimilator has been destroyed. You're free now." Naruto reported, his voice heavy and sad.
"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Hey Sakura-chan... You're safe now. I destroyed all the assimilators." Naruto said weakly.
"Naruto... I love you..." Sakura sobbed. "Please don't go..."
"Sakura-chan... I love you too, I always have..." Naruto winced as the icy cold void of space crept up his right arm, his fingers had long since gone numb.
"Don't cry Sakura-chan, you're safe...so I'm happy... I hate to hear you crying..." Naruto smiled to himself.
"I'm losing my sunshine. How can I not cry...?" Sakura cried out.
"You'll find another...how could any guy not fall for your cute smile...or your charming forehead... hissss..." The cold creeped up to his neck.
"I don't want another... I want you... Only you... I told you that..." Sakura sobbed.
"Don't... don't let me hold you back Sakura. You're gonna do great things...and make some lucky bastard really happy... I just know it."
"Naruto..." She begged.
"Good bye, Sakura-chan..." Naruto whispered before turning off his comms one final time.
"NO! NARUTOOOO!" Sakura cried as she fell to her knees.
And now Naruto was alone. Alone out in the vast emptiness of space. The infinite universe would serve as his grave. Kurama was keeping quiet, what else was there to say?
Naruto looked around and could see forever in every direction. Countless stars with endless possibilities surrounding them. And entire cosmos he would never get to see but would become a part of for all eternity.
Naruto closed his eyes and waited to fall asleep for the last time.
'It won't be all bad...' He thought. 'I'll get to see Pervy Sage again... and the Old Man Hokage... and I'll be with my Mom... and Dad...'
Naruto's eyes shot wide open, he could not believe he was this fucking stupid.
Meanwhile on the bridge, Sakura released her contraceptive jutsu and the remaining swimmers from Naruto were free.
'You made the right choice...' Inner stated sadly.
Dr. Crusher was busy comforting Sakura on the bridge as best she could. The girl had broken down right in the middle of the bridge. Riker had thrown something against the wall. Worf could not stop gripping the sides of his console.
Picard hid his face from his crew. A moment of silence for a brave man.
Just then the comms crackled to life and Naruto could be heard again.
"Uh...Sakura-chan?"
Sakura's head shot up, eyes wide. She heard a voice that left her in disbelief. It couldn't be...
"Please don't be mad... But I just remembered something. Something important."
"Naruto...?" Sakura said in a shaky voice.
"Cause I swear to God I only just remembered this..." Sakura looked up at the screen and watched as Naruto flashed through a familiar set of hand signs.
"The Flying Thunder God technique? YOU JUST REMEMBERED THAT?!" Sakura exclaimed. Her sadness replaced with fury.
"I just know we'll be laughing about this one day. Hell, maybe we can skip right ahead to laughing about it now?" He hopefully suggested.
"I'M NOT IN A LAUGHING MOOD, IDIOT!" Sakura seethed.
Naruto finished his hand signs and soon his view was changed from open space to the view of main engineering.
"Sensors show that Naruto is now in main engineering." Data stated.
"Data, you have the bridge. Doctor, Sakura, Geordi, Worf, Riker, Troi with me." Picard ordered.
Everyone that Picard selected entered the turbo lift.
"Main engineering." Picard stated. The doors closed and the turbo lift moved to engineering.
"Someone is going to have to keep me from killing him." Sakura hissed as she cracked her knuckles.
"Why is that?" Worf asked.
"That idiot thinks that he can worry me to death like that and get away with it? To make me so desperate that I do…that…" Sakura said. The lift doors opened to engineering where they could all see a certain blond man in a skintight spacesuit laying on the ground and clutching his right arm.
"HOOOOOO-DAMN! THIS STINGS!" Naruto shouted as the warm air hit his frost bitten skin.
As he said that, everyone pilled out of the turbo lift and made their way further inside engineering. There, on the floor, was Naruto with a completely frostbitten arm. Sakura dove right for him and pounded his head.
"DO THAT AGAIN AND I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!"
"OOOWW! ALRIGHT! I'm sorry..." Naruto replied.
Sakura slammed her lips into Naruto's as she cried, happy that she had her ray of sunshine back.
Naruto wrapped his arms around his cherry blossom. His right arm stung like few things he had ever felt, but who cared about that? He could hold his Sakura-chan again, feel her bony curves and taste her scent with every breath he took. She felt so warm. It was so cold out there in space, Naruto had never felt so alone, he felt so scared. But feeling her lips on his, her skin touching his; it was damp, it was warm, it was electric. He felt alive again, he felt safe, he was okay...
"You have some explaining to do, mister." Riker spoke up. He didn't want to ruin this moment, but action had to be taken.
Naruto looked up from over Sakura's shoulder. Every instinct he had wanted him to ignore Riker and stay like this with Sakura. But he figured he did owe the crew an explanation.
"Let them both be for now, Riker." Picard said, which stunned both ensigns. "This was a trying ordeal for everyone here, sure. But not nearly as trying as it was for them. Give them a day's rest for now and then we'll discuss the matter of disciplinary actions."
"Disciplinary actions?" Naruto questioned as Sakura also pulled away from him slightly when she heard this.
"You disobeyed a direct order to return to the ship, Mr. Uzumaki and Sakura put a hole in the floor of my bridge." Picard stated sternly.
"Wait, now hold on. Yes, I did disobey orders, but you can't seriously blame Sakura-chan for being emotionally distraught." Naruto defended.
"And I expect every one of my crew to keep a lid on their emotions while on duty! Being emotionally compromised while on the bridge of my ship is something I do not tolerate!" Picard sternly said with a raised voice.
Naruto opened his mouth to rebuttal but no words came out.
Picard took a deep breath and sighed. "However, in regards to the circumstances that took place, you acted within the best interest of the ship, her crew, and your love. You risked your life to save over a thousand lives. If ambassador Spock were here, he would quote that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. In this case, you acted purely on logic to save the ship. That reason alone is why you will remain on the ship, Sakura as well. However, should you disobey my orders again, circumstances be damned, you both will be sent on a one-way trip back to Element. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal." Sakura replied as Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
"There still will be disciplinary actions, but as I said, I'll hold off on that for now. Naruto, you will go to sickbay and have that arm looked at. Sakura, you will accompany him. Afterwards, you two should return to your quarters as I'm sure there are somethings you two need to discuss." Picard said.
"Right, thank you." Naruto said.
"Wait a minute. What things?" Naruto asked as he turned to Sakura. He saw the look of defeat and shame on her face. He was starting to get worried now.
"I... did something out of fear and desperation of losing you..." Sakura said hesitantly.
"What is it? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, growing nervous.
"I'll tell you later..." Sakura said quietly. "When we're alone..."
Naruto nodded. Hoping against hope that Sakura didn't promise anyone something crazy. Like offer to have sex with some guy if he got the teleporter working and saved Naruto's life.
Nevertheless, he let it slide for now. The two helped each other to their feet and followed Dr. Crusher to the nearest sickbay.