On the surface of Andoria, six figures emerged from nothing and took up a defensive stance. While Worf, Data, and Riker all made a traditional circle around Picard, the ninjas from Element took a more refined approach.
With Picard acting as the center, Naruto and Sakura made a two-man defensive perimeter. Naruto being the most combat oriented took up the head, positioning himself seemingly side by side with Picard on his right, but exactly one step ahead of him. Ensuring that Naruto was able to cover Picard's North through East section.
Sakura meanwhile was at Picard's left and exactly one step behind him. Her primary position as medic meant that if trouble arouse she was in the optimal position to provide immediate medical aid and was able to cover Picard's West to South section.
For a two-man squad assigned to body guarding, it was the most ideal set up possible.
They all looked around as they saw blue people with white hair and antennae running around and helping move injured people to medical centers or moving the deceased to a makeshift morgue after the initial bombing.
Sakura fought against her instincts to start running up to the nearest critical patient she could find and start healing. She was Picard's bodyguard first and foremost. Unless he ordered her to she would stay by his side in case of a follow up terrorist attack.
'Really wish I had Naruto's capacity for Shadow Clones though.'
Just then, an Andorian official approached the group. "I'm glad you could all make it." He said in a worried tone. "We drove away the terrorists for the moment, right now, we need help with the injured and the dead as well as search and rescue."
"I'm Captain Jean Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. We'll do whatever we can to help." Picard said.
"Permission to speak sir." Naruto spoke up.
"Granted."
"Sir, as your bodyguard, I recommend we escort you to the local government's command center where the local authorities can ensure your safety. There you will be able to coordinate with the local government on any aid they may need from Star fleet. This will allow Ensign Haruno and I the opportunity to assist in search and rescue."
"An excellent Idea. However, why don't you two use your shadow clones for now to escort me. You two are needed more here than with me. If you need to, I do still have that seal you made me." Picard suggested.
"Yes, sir." Naruto saluted as he and Sakura each created a single Shadow Clone to replace them from Picard's side. Not wasting anytime, the two Ensigns got to work in helping relief efforts.
Naruto created a dozen Shadow clones and sent them out to find people still trapped beneath the buildings and to assist in lifting the heavy debree that had fallen.
Sakura meanwhile had run to the nearest patient she could find and began stabilizing him. The on call emergency workers were confused at first, but when Sakura's first patient was healed enough to sleep without any medication the nurses and doctors decided to use her.
"Damn. I can't sense anything." Naruto said as he tried to find sources of life. He took out his tricorder and scanned the area and found one just below him.
"GOT ANOTHER ONE DOWN HERE!" He shouted to grab someone else's attention while he himself sent Shadow Clones deep into the structure to try and find pathways leading to the victim without the need to dig.
'Shit, life signs are fading on this one.'
"SAKURA! I NEED YOU OVER HERE, NOW!" Naruto called out.
"Shadow clone Jutsu!" Sakura called as she made another clone. "Go find Naruto! Sounds like he's got a serious one."
"Right!" The clone agreed before dashing off.
Naruto analyzed the memories from another self-dissipating clone. It had gone the deepest and was still several yards from the victim with no caves leading directly to him.
"Dammit, Sakura where are you?" Naruto muttered.
"Naruto!" The Sakura clone called out as she arrived. "The boss sent me. She's dealing with a critical case right now."
"You're a shadow clone? That's actually better. I need you to follow a pair of my clones down into the collapsed structure. There is a man trapped down there that none of my clones can get to, but some of your monster strength lifting one of the concrete platforms at just the right angle might make the opening we need." Naruto explained quickly, the clock was ticking.
"Got it, Naruto-kun. Oh, and-" the clone stopped to bonk him on the head. "Stop saying that!" She scolded.
"Ok, ok, sorry..." He said with his hands on his head in surrender. The Sakura clone smirked in approval and followed the nervous looking Naruto clones down into the crumbling structure below.
'I can never catch a break, can I?' Naruto thought to himself as he watched the three clones disappear into the ruins.
'Pregnancy hormones, Kit. She's just a little more on edge now than normal. Don't fret' Kurama assured.
'Right...'
Meanwhile in the ruins, the Sakura clone was being led by the two Naruto clones who had taken their brother's collective knowledge to find the most ideal location for the Sakura clone to use her monster strength.
"How deep are we going?" The Sakura clone asked the twin Naruto's.
"We're nearly there." One of the clones replied.
The lone female clone nodded. Going over in her head how much chakra she had to work with. The boss had given her enough to stabilize any severely injured patient, within reason. Subtract however much she would use in lifting some ten-ton slab and the patient would need to be in movable condition for her to be of any major use. Otherwise the boss would have to send down more clones or at worst case, come down herself. The Sakura clone hoped that it wouldn't come to the latter. The boss had a baby on the way and it was getting really cramped in here.
Just then, all of their tricorders started making a warning beep noise. "Shit! He's flat lining!" One of the Naruto clones exclaimed as they picked up the pace. They ran as fast as they could until they reached a slab blocking their way.
"Move!" The Sakura clone demanded. She quickly moved aside the slab, only to find more rubble in their way. "Fuck me sideways..."
"Gladly." One of the clones replied in a sultry voice. His twin slapped him upside the head just lightly enough not to dissipate him.
"Help her, you idiot!" The twin shouted as it ran up to the Sakura clone's side to help it remove the rubble.
The perverted clone soon joined them and in no time the rubble was cleared enough to create a man sized hole for them to crawl in.
"Age before beauty." The second Naruto clone said as it shimmied its way down the hole.
"Why me..." The Sakura clone grumbled.
Down in the hole it was so dark that the second Naruto clone was forced to make a Rasengan just so he could see worth a damn.
There, not 5 yards away was their victim, barely breathing and with his leg pinned underneath a massive slab of concrete.
"Sakura, get down here quick!" The clone called up.
She quickly made it down and surveyed the damage done to the man. After a quick assessment, she got into a cold sweat. "I don't think there is anything I can do here. He has a piece of rebar through his neck, massive internal bleeding, his left arm has been severed and his femoral arty is punctured."
The barely living Andorian stirred as he looked over to the people next to him. "J-just...kill me... I deserve...it..." The man wheezed out.
Both clones were surprised to find that the man was conscious.
"Just stay calm sir, my partner and I are going to get you out safely. I'm Doctor Sakura Haruno and this is Ensign Naruto Uzumaki of the Starfleet ship Enterprise." The Sakura clone stated.
"Y-you...don't understand... I'm... part of the group... that attacked..."
"Just save your strength. Anything you have to say can wait until we get you out of here." The Sakura clone stated firmly. She approached the wounded man and got to work assessing his vitals.
"Can you tell me your name, sir?"
"H-Ha'Tol... I didn't want to hurt anyone... I deserve to die..."
"Ha'Tol, alright, very good. Can you tell me where you are? What city we are in?" The Sakura clone asked as she signaled to the Naruto clone to come closer, which he did.
"Dissipate to let your original know that I'll need more of you down here. Also tell my original that I'll need some sisters down here if we want to save this priority patient that could have vital intel." She whispered into Naruto's ear. The clone nodded and quickly undid the jutsu. The next thing the Sakura clone knew, the other Naruto one had jumped down into the hole and produced his own Rasengan to grant them light.
"We got your message. If I know the boss, he's sending word to your original as we speak." The clone assured.
The Sakura clone nodded as she finished sealing the man's severed arm. Ensuring that it was no longer a bleed factor.
"I'm in a pit of rubble... under the city of... Shandra."
"Very good, by any chance can you tell me the star date used by Starfleet?"
"N-not off... the top of ... my head..."
"It was worth a shot, for the most part I'm pretty sure your mind is all there, so that's good." The Sakura clone explained as she got to work returning all of the man's internal blood back where it was supposed to be.
"Naruto, can you create a tiny Rasenshuriken to cut the rebar in his neck? Just don't remove it. It's the only thing keeping him from bleeding out through his neck."
"Not without wasting chakra creating another Shadow Clone or going Kyuubi mode, which would drain my chakra even faster. I can however cut it with wind chakra."
The Sakura clone nodded. "Perfect, do it." She said as she began working on stabilizing the man's femoral artery.
The Naruto clone got right to work, gripping the rebar beneath the man's neck and imagining two opposing forces scraping together. Cuts began to slice through the metal.
"You two... have weird powers... Are you part of the Q Continuum?" Ha'Tol Asked.
"No idea what that is. We are a part of Star Fleet, that's all we are allowed to say." The Naruto clone answered while still attempting to cut through the rebar. Whatever this metal was made of was sturdy stuff.
"You'll... need to use your phaser for that... That is tritanium..."
"Damn, I think he's right. Stand back Sakura." The Naruto clone ordered as he whipped out his phaser and set it to kill.
"Wait! There is a cutting setting on that. If you set it to kill, the energy dispersion will kill him." Sakura stated.
The Naruto clone paused and then double checked his phaser to see that yes, there was a setting to cut.
"Whew, thanks Sakura-chan." The clone said sheepishly.
"What would you do without me." The Sakura clone winked.
"Accidentally kill the survivor we're trying to rescue." The clone deadpanned.
"Probably."
The two clones got back to work. Sakura halfway done with stabilizing the man's artery while Naruto had soon cut through the rebar like butter.
As soon as that was done, the two had to catch the poor man's head and gently place him on the cold hard ground.
"Why would you risk your lives to save a terrorist... I'm not worth saving..."
"On the contrary, since you're a terrorist, you have all kinds of Intel on who caused this attack and why. Therefore, saving you so you can be interrogated later is in our best interests." The Naruto clone explained as the Sakura clone continued her work on the man's artery.
"Heh heh... I should have known... Very well... So long as you get them... before more innocent lives are taken..."
"Don't worry, we will, starting with yours." The Sakura clone said simply, the man's artery almost 75% healed. 'Where the Hell are the others clones?' Clone Sakura thought.
"Hey Naruto, where is our back up?" The Sakura clone said aloud, her chakra was running low and probably wouldn't be enough to stabilize this guy on her own.
"No idea." He admitted. A minute passed before the Naruto clone started blinking as if instantly recalling something important.
"One of my brothers got dispersed. Seems that they found three kids trapped underneath some rubble a few blocks away from here. The boss went over there to supervise it personally and the original Sakura sent in three clones. We're on our own for now."
"Shit." The Sakura clone stated. She quickly stopped working.
"W-why'd you stop?" Ha'Tol asked nervously.
"Because I need to conserve my energy so that we can plan our next move." Clone Sakura stated. She and Clone Naruto sat closely together, illuminated by the light of his Rasengan. They both couldn't help but imagine that under different circumstances their originals might think this situation romantic.
"So what's our next move?" Clone Naruto spoke up.
Clone Sakura sighed. "He's not stabilized quite yet. I don't have nearly enough chakra to do so, but I've bought him some time. The only thing left keeping him trapped is his foot stuck underneath the slab. So I'm thinking if I amputate his foot. We could carry him-
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Amputation? No, absolutely not!" Ha'Tol exclaimed.
The two clones turned to look at their alleged terrorist/victim.
"I'm sorry, but it is our best chance of getting you back to the medical tent. If we don't act quickly you could die." The Sakura clone explained.
"Yeah, but not if you have to cut off my foot to do it. There has got to be another way." Ha'Tol asked desperately.
"Excuse me, but when did your opinion factor into it?" Clone Naruto asked sternly. "Last I checked, you claimed to be one of those responsible for this whole mess and was all guilty about it."
"Yeah, I was alright, I still am. But please, don't take my foot!" He begged.
"Oh my rabbit goddess, he can't be serious." Clone Naruto sighed.
Clone Sakura looked at the man, then back to his foot still trapped underneath the rubble and then back to him.
"Perhaps if I lifted the slab and you pulled him out..." She thought aloud.
The Naruto clone looked at his companion like she was one of those deformed clones.
"You can't be serious."
"I'm dead serious, Naruto." She stated firmly.
"Yes, please, let's try that." Ha'Tol said with a hint of desperate hope in his voice.
"Oh come on, you've already lost your arm." The Naruto clone pointed out. "What's losing a foot?"
"I DON'T CARE!" The man cried, the two clones began to see streaks of tears running down his cheeks underneath the pale blue glow of the Rasengan.
"I JUST DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY FOOT, SO PLEASE..." He begged. The man who wouldn't beg for his life, would shed so many pathetic tears to keep his broken foot.
Clone Sakura began rubbing the man's forehead in an attempt to calm him down. While she was doing this she turned to the Naruto clone.
"No matter who he is, he is still my patient. If he refuses treatment, then I have to respect that. I will respect that." Clone Sakura stated firmly.
The Naruto clone looked at her for a couple of seconds to see if he could sense any doubt behind her words. He knew he wouldn't.
"Alright then, what's the plan?"
"If we can't amputate, our only option is to try to free his foot the hard way." Clone Sakura then crouched down so that Ha'Tol could understand her perfectly.
"You have been down here a very long time, which means there is a very serious risk of crush syndrome." Sakura stated.
"W-what's that?" The man stuttered.
"Basically your foot has been cut off from the rest of your circulatory system and it's killing your muscles. Those dying muscles create poisons that will be released into your system if we free your foot. Those poisons could stop your heart." Clone Sakura explained.
"I know some techniques that could stop the poisons from spreading, but I'm the only one strong enough to lift the slab so that Naruto can pull you out and I can't do both..." Clone Sakura thought aloud.
"Wait Sakura, if it's super strength you need. I should be able to activate my Sage mode and take care of the heavy lifting." Clone Naruto stated.
Clone Sakura's eyes lit up when she realized that they were back on a planet with nature for him to draw energy from.
"That's perfect." She exclaimed. Clone Naruto smiled and immediately assumed his meditative stance.
While he was gathering energy, Clone Sakura returned her attention to Ha'Tol.
"I should warn you now. When we do this it's going to hurt. Like your foot falling asleep times a million. My jutsu will be focused on preventing the poisons from spreading, not on numbing your pain. Do you understand?"
Nervously, Ha'Tol nodded.
"We can't knock you out and we can't stop until we get you to the medical tent. The next hour is going to suck."
"Ok...I understand..." Ha'Tol whispered.
"I'm ready." Clone Naruto said, his pupils turned into that of a toad's.
Clone Sakura nodded as Clone Naruto positioned himself in front of the crack in the slab, ready to lift.
Sakura activated the necessary version of the mystic palm technique.
"Ready." She stated.
With a great heave, Clone Naruto utilized his Sage mode to lift the impossibly heavy slab with all his might. It was nothing like what the original had done when he lifted the giant stone toads on Mount Myoboku. This was an entire building bearing down upon him. The clone of Naruto however would not quit and slowly the slab began to release pressure off of Ha'Tol.
Sakura was knelt right besides Ha'Tol's legs. Her one hand held against his calf muscles to stop the spread of the poisons in his muscles and the other gripping his waist belt, trying to pull him free at the same time.
Slowly, ever so slowly...
"I-I think it's working!" Ha'Tol cheered.
Clone Naruto was about to agree, when he began to feel a slight tremor in the slab, then a series of memories came crashing in about his brothers being killed by an explosion and the ceiling began collapsing on top of them.
Back in the medical tent, Sakura and the rest of the medical team paused when they heard the far off explosion coming from where Naruto was.
Sakura was quickly flooded with a memory of one of her clones being crushed by debris while trying to save a trapped patient.
'Naruto, please be safe.' She thought.
Clone Naruto coughed violently, the dust was so thick it was suffocating him. It was a miracle that he wasn't dispersed when the structure shifted.
As he began to catch his breath he was able to piece together the new memories he had been given by his fallen brothers.
"Sakura-chan!" He shouted into the darkness, not knowing if the Sakura clone he was with was still around or not.
"I'm fine Naruto!" She shouted back, much to The Naruto clone's relief.
"What happened?" She asked as she held up her mystic palm to give off some glowing green light.
"It's bad, on the surface the terrorists came back. They staged an ambush against the aid workers. The boss and my brothers are engaging them, but they have us outflanked." Clone Naruto reported.
"Well this day just gets better and better..." Clone Sakura stated as she checked up on their patient.
The man groaned in agony. He was alive, but...
"His foot is still trapped." Clone Sakura reported.
"Well fuck me sideways..." Clone Naruto stated.
"Gladly." Clone Sakura smirked back. The male clone had to look up at his counterpart's sheer cheek.
"If you two are done flirting..." Ha'Tol said weakly.
The trio couldn't help but all laugh at their predicament. Until more rumbling could be heard and a trail of dust fell on each of their heads. Turning the mood back to serious.
"So what is our next move? Try again?" Clone Naruto suggested.
Clone Sakura tapped her thigh. She looked up and noticed that the ceiling had descended and now they could all barely sit up without hitting their heads.
"This has gotten out of hand. Naruto, head back to the medical tent on foot and bring back some of the boss's Shadow Clones. I'll stay here and monitor Ha'Tol's condition."
"No can do, Sakura-chan." The male clone stated.
She was about to ask what he meant by that when she looked back and saw that the hole that they had dug earlier had caved in.
"Great... now what?" The Sakura clone asked, her energy nearly spent.
The Naruto clone sat deep in thought for a moment.
"We could always disperse ourselves. That would let the originals know that he's here and to come save him."
"Excuse me, what do you mean by disperse yourselves? What are you two talking about?" Ha'Tol asked weakly, he finally noticed that something was off in the way the two of them spoke.
The clones stared at one another, unsure about what to say.
Clone Naruto finally found the words.
"The two of us... aren't actual Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. We are their clones."
"Clones? Like from a lab?" Ha'Tol asked, his voice growing weaker by the minute.
"No. Actually we are the products of our original's jutsu. I guess you could call it magic. Our originals are able to create as many of us Shadow Clones as they want. The catch is that if we sustain even minor damage, we disappear into a puff of smoke and all our memories get transferred back to our creators." Clone Naruto explained. It wasn't often that you got to give an in depth explanation about your existence.
"So when you were talking about your brothers and sisters..."
"Yes."
"So why don't you both just kill yourselves and go get me some more help?" Ha'Tol asked, his patience starting to wear thin.
"Because, the exit caved in and I'm not certain that our siblings will be able to find you again in time." Clone Sakura stated.
"And come to think of it. I'm not sure my original would prioritize saving you over all the other victims. Plus, he's still fighting your buddies on the surface." Clone Naruto chimed in.
"Which brings us back to you." The female clone stated.
"We tried it your way, but now we have to amputate."
Ha'Tol just stared at her, using every last shred of willpower to try and keep a stern face.
"N-no..." He stuttered.
"You don't have a choice this time." The Naruto clone said as he powered up his phaser, to which Clone Sakura looked at Clone Naruto in confusion.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Using the cut setting on this to take his foot off. I don't know much about medicine, but it should be a clean cut and it would cauterize the wound and keep him from bleeding out. It's going to hurt like hell, though."
"Wait a minute, Naruto." Sakura said. "Ha'Tol. Do you have family? A wife, children?"
"I did... But our leader killed them so that I would remain loyal..." Ha'Tol said in bitter sadness.
"That sucks, but what does that have to do with anything?" The Naruto clone asked impatiently.
"Relax." Sakura scolded. "I'm so sorry to hear that. But, wouldn't you want to help us take down the bastards that did this?"
"I do, alright."
"And its most likely that even if we don't cut your foot off here, it would be removed later. It's been under too much pressure for too long and its more than likely dead now."
"B-b-but what you're saying is that there still is a chance...?" He choked.
"Medically speaking, there isn't enough of a chance to save your foot without major complications in the long run."
Ha'Tol's lips quivered as she said that, his last scrap of hope to stand on and she had pulled it right out from under him.
"It's just a foot..." She stated.
"Naruto, hand me the phaser."
Naruto handed off the phaser to Sakura. "It's all set."
Clone Sakura took the phaser which had never felt so heavy before. She gave the top red button a push so that they could all hear the sound of the cutter buzz throughout their cramped little pit in the ground.
"Hold him down." She ordered.
Naruto nodded and held down the flailing man as he screamed in pain.
In seconds it was done. Sakura did a quick scan of the area to reassure that it had been cauterized. She then worked on numbing the pain a little bit.
"Ok, he's free, now we just need to figure out how to get out of here."
"That I don't know. Not without crushing us."
"Is your combadge still working? Mine was busted in the cave in." Clone Sakura asked.
Naruto looked on his checked to see that his badges was still intact. "Should be." Naruto said as he took it off and handed it to Sakura.
Clone Sakura took the badge and held it up to her face.
"This is Ensign Clone Sakura Haruno of the USS Enterprise. Can anyone read me, over?"
"This is Data. Go ahead."
"Oh Data, thank God. Listen, I am trapped beneath some rubble with a Naruto clone and a priority level survivor. Who may have vital intel on the terrorists who orchestrated the attack."
"Understood. Transfer your coordinates to my tricorder. I will contact Lt. Worf and Captain Picard."
"Right...how do I do that?"
"Let me. Worf taught me how." Naruto said as he pressed several buttons on the small device.
"Coordinates received. Help will arrive soon. Data out."
"And now we wait." Clone Naruto stated.
"Perhaps you two can tell me a little about yourselves. The Andorians were one of the first species of the Galaxy to ally themselves with the Federation, but sadly, there are some who do not share their ideals." Ha'Tol said.
"Namely you, I'd imagine." The Naruto clone stated with disdain.
"No, you're wrong. I was forced into this. I was a simple trader and was taken hostage during a terrorist attack. At first, I refused to help them, but they said that if I wanted my family to live, I had to pledge my loyalties to them. They are part of the Maquis Alliance. Little did I know that my family had already been killed."
"And how did you find out that your family was killed?" Clone Naruto asked.
"... A distant relative I met one day... He told me my wife and 4 children were murdered a week later..." Ha'Tol sobbed.
Sakura fought the urge to cry with him, instead, she rubbed his remaining arm to comfort him.
Clone Naruto however, wasn't so convinced.
"So if you already knew they had killed your family, why did you go along with the attack today?"
"Because I've only been with them for a week and a half..."
"So you'll forgive me if your story doesn't sound fishy."
"I know you're skeptical, but that's all I can say for now."
"I don't think it is. If you truly are genuine, then tell us everything from the beginning. We've got plenty of time."
Ha'Tol sighed. "Very well... Well, in truth, I had been with them for years. It was true, I shared the same ideals they have about the Federation." Ha'Tol confessed. "But I joined them under the same circumstances. I was taken by the Maquis as a hostage and they threatened to take the lives of my immediate family unless I pledged my allegiance to them completely. It really didn't take much convincing after that point to do what they asked of me. But as the years went on, I grew to resent their ideals. Spreading fear among the Federation, killing innocence at any given moment, all over something completely stupid in hindsight."
"And it was only today of all days that you decided to defect?" Clone Naruto pressed.
"No. I had been planning to leave for some time. Today only solidified my resolve when they decided to use me as a suicide bomber."
At that, the Naruto clone backed waaay the hell up.
"You're not a ghost are you?" He asked heroically from behind Clone Sakura's body.
"Heh, no... But I wish I was. I refused to be their pawn, so I dropped the bombs and tried to run. I had no idea it was wired to remotely detonate."
"You left the bomb in the middle of the street?" Clone Sakura questioned, now she became the one suspicious.
"I panicked, okay? How would you have dealt with something like having a bomb planted on you?"
"Oh don't ask us that. Naruto here would probably run as far away from any other living being as possible, being all self-sacrificing and making me worry half to death." Clone Sakura stated.
Ha'Tol sighed. "What I'm telling you is the truth. I slid the bomb into the sewer after I had thought I deactivated it. When the others saw me do this, they detonated it remotely. I was caught in the blast when a nearby condemned building collapsed. I hate myself for everything that has happened. In reality, I'm just a big coward."
"Yes, you are a coward, but at least you tried to make right by it in the end." The Naruto clone stated.
The man looked up at the clone, surprised at being subtly praised. He dropped down his head and continued his story.
"I used to be a Starfleet engineer who worked at Utopia Planetia shipyards around Mars. I helped engineer the weapons systems on the Nebula and Galaxy class starships, which if my knowledge is correct, your Enterprise is of the Galaxy line. But I retired from that so I could live a simple life as a local goods trader. They took me for my knowledge of federation weaponry."
"And whose they?" Clone Sakura asked.
"The Maquis as I had explained earlier."
"Yes, what else can you tell us about them? Who are their leaders, what is their main base of operation, what their future plans are, anything?"
"You'd have to talk to your captain about that. I was the, low man on the totem pole, as you Earthlings call it. The only 'leader' I know of is the commander of this cell of the Maquis."
"Welp, so much for that." Clone Naruto said as he pulled out a kunai.
"W-what are you doing...?"
"Killing you and dissipating afterwards." Clone Naruto explained as he lunged for Ha'Tol's exposed neck.
"WOAH WOAH WOAH! Why?!"
"You're useless to us and it would be a waste to try and rescue you now. We got all the Intel were going to get out of you." Clone Naruto explained as his blade cut into Ha'Tol's skin.
"Naruto! Stop it!" Clone Sakura said.
'Trust me.' Clone Naruto signaled to Clone Sakura with their Leaf hand signs.
"Back off, Sakura!" Clone Naruto shouted before turn back at Ha'Tol with a crazed look in his eyes.
"Now tell us what you know!"
"I'm serious! I don't know anyone other than the commander of this cell! I swear!"
"DO YOU?!" Clone Naruto shouted, his eyes flashing blood red.
"YES I SWEAR!"
"Ok then." Naruto returned his kunai to his pouch and sat down.
"What the Hell are you?!"
"Your best friend if you're our ally, and your worst nightmare if you're our enemy." The Naruto clone stated. The Sakura clone rolled her eyes at the clique in his statement.
"Who is the commander of this cell?" Sakura asked sternly.
"The Prime Minister of this city." Ha'Tol said.
"... That's who Captain Picard went to go see..." Sakura gasped in horror.
"Shit, are you certain?" Clone Naruto grabbed Ha'Tol by his jacket and dragged him close.
"It's the truth, I swear!" The man begged.
"Shit, stay here with him. I'm going to disperse and warn the boss." As the Naruto clone made the tiger sign in order to release the jutsu, the Sakura clone slapped his hands away.
"No wait! If what he's saying is true, then we'll need proof for an accusation that big." Clone Sakura explained hastily.
"But every second we waste down here is a second Picard is alone with that terrorist leader!" The Naruto clone reminded his counterpart.
The two clones turned towards the man who was the center of all this. His breath was shallow and he was fading fast. They would need him alive if they were ever going to convince anyone of the truth.
"Our brother and sister are still with Picard, right?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, but I can't Thunder God him out of here. The shock of the travel could kill him in his condition." Clone Naruto replied.
"No, that's not what I mean. Our clones are with Picard and that means he will be safe for now."
"Oh yeah, that is something. But unless one of us dissipates, they won't know exactly what kind of danger Picard is in." Clone Naruto reminded her.
"I can't stay here alone with him. Not because he's a threat, but because this whole place could cave in."
"Damn." Naruto pulled out his combadge. "Ensign Clone Uzumaki to Data, where are you guys?"
"We are nearing the square where the bomb went off. What is the subjects condition?"
Clone Naruto looked at Sakura who could only shake her head.
"Not good, we need a rescue ASAP."
The clone then signaled to his counterpart with hand signs.
'Do we tell them to watch out for the President?'
'Over the radio? No, it could be overheard by the President and we can't risk tipping him off.' She signed back.
"What were you able to find out?"
"A great deal, but it's sensitive information." Naruto stated.
"Acknowledged. We are nearing your position now. Data out."
"ETA?" He asked hopefully.
"...at our current excavating rate, 37 minutes."
"He's not going to last that long!" Sakura called.
"Fuck! We need a plan!" Clone Naruto yelled in frustration. Frantically he started clawing at the pile of rubble where their exit used to be, only for the slabs to shift again and fall a few inches lower.
"Naruto, stop it!" The Sakura clone ranted. "The structure is weak as it is. If you go randomly digging into it, it'll just collapse on top of us."
"Then what do you suggest I do?"
"Nothing, we can't do anything as it is. We'd need some kind of support beams to hold up the ceiling if we would want to clear away the rubble." The female clone explained.
To emphasize her point, a lone pebble fell on the Naruto clone's head.
"THAT'S IT!" He shouted.
"What? Wait, you're not going to summon something, are you?"
"No, not exactly, I'm going to create several Shadow Clones to act as pillars. Giving you and whatshisface time to dig your way out."
"Ha'Tol..."
"No Naruto you can't! It's too risky!" Clone Sakura cried in a dramatic tone.
"Are you being serious right now, Sakura-chan?" The Naruto clone asked.
Clone Sakura snorted. "Nah, I'm just messing with you. We're clones, who cares of we die? It's a decent plan, let's do it."
"What are you people? You act like the warriors from Element. I met 40 years ago." Ha'Tol said.
The two Elementians paused to look at the Andronian.
"Well aren't you full of surprises?" The Naruto clone commented. He crossed his fingers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A single Naruto clone appeared and immediately positioned itself underneath the ceiling where the elder shadow clones began digging.
"To answer your question, we are from Element." The Sakura clone said.
Ha'Tol went wide eyed and then chuckled dryly. "Funny how life works... I helped a blonde woman from Element out of a tough situation and here you two are doing the same 40 years later."
'A blonde woman?' The Sakura one thought. She shook the thought aside, she needed to focus. Otherwise the entire building could cave in on them.
"I thought maybe you could be her children, considering you two have her amazing strength. But seeing you two interact with one another, that blew that theory out the window..." Ha'Tol said to himself as he reminisced memories of his past.
Meanwhile, the two clones continued to dig, their fingers turning raw from all the jagged rocks. If they weren't careful they would dissipate.
Finally, they managed to move enough rubble to open a cave leading back to the path they took.
"That should be enough." Clone Sakura said.
"Ha HA! Now here we go!" Clone Naruto shouted in glee. They were making progress and it felt so good.
Then a thought came to Ha'Tol. "Either of you have the time?" He asked.
"It's almost 1400 hours. why?" Sakura responded after looking at her tricorder. Then Ha'Tol went wide eyed.
"Oh no..."
"Oh God, what now?" Clone Naruto sighed.
"At 14:10, the Maquis are going to bomb the capital. They are rigging stolen photon torpedoes to detonate at that moment."
"And now you get to tell me why the both of us shouldn't leave you down here for lying!" Clone Naruto shouted.
"What did I lie about exactly?! I never said the attacks would stop and I had nothing to do with the one that is coming. That is information I overheard my higher ups say and was going to report it."
"You could have told us about it! You said you only knew about your own bombing, but now out of nowhere there is another attack scheduled for today that, whoops, you failed to mention!" Clone Sakura ranted, her patience now spent.
"After everything I've been through recently, even you have to understand that certain things get overlooked."
"If we weren't the originals I would teleport us out and leave you here!" Clone Naruto shouted.
"Forget it! It's not worth it!" Clone Sakura said as she snatched her teammate's combadge.
"Clone Ensign Haruno to Data! Come in!"
"Data here."
"The Marquis are going to bomb the capital with Photon torpedoes at 14:10! You need to abandon us and focus on evacuating the capital!"
"Are you certain of this?"
"We're clones! We have no value! And when we do die the originals will gain our memories so there is no loss!"
"Understood. Data out."
The Sakura clone took the combadge and threw it against the wall, the device exploded into a puff of smoke. She knew she had just sent away their only chance of rescue.
"Listen, for what it's worth, I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier... But I honestly didn't remember until now... I hope everyone gets out safe..."
"Well we can take solace in the fact that if anyone dies because of those bombs it will definitely be you." The Sakura clone harshly spat.
The Naruto clone sat nearby in a similar state.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but if I die due to anything you could have prevented, Starfleet will look at that as negligence. I wonder how well your court-martial will go... I was once a captain for the record." Ha'Tol spat back.
The Naruto clone then sat up and took his spot next to his clone brother.
"You...and Star Fleet...and their court martials, can go FUCK THEMSELVES!" He shouted as he stabbed his brother in the chest, dissipating him. The ceiling started to crumble but the remaining Naruto clone held it up.
"There, now all my brothers know about the President and everything else you told us." Naruto said in an exhausted sigh.
"Well, at least that's something." Sakura said.
"Yeah, so now that all the loose ends are tied up..." The Naruto clone made his famous hand sign again and three Naruto clones burst into existence.
"Are you going to kill me?... Humph... Do it then... I have nothing left to live for. I can die knowing that my family will be avenged and that no more innocent lives will be hurt or taken..."
"Oh don't flatter yourself. I'm not going to kill you; I'm going to save your sorry ass." The 1st Naruto clone spat as his brothers began digging with renewed fury.
"Who's flattering who? I want to die..."
"Well too fucking bad. You're going to live, asshole. Me and Sakura-chan here are going to personally drag your remaining broken limbs out of this hole and heal you up good. So you can limp proudly towards whatever court you have to face and be tried for terrorism. Then and only then will the two of us dissipate and share these memories with our originals."
"I think not... I have said all I wanted to say." Ha'Tol stated before pulling out a small hand phaser and aiming it to his head. "I was glad to meet another pair of Elementians. It's a shame we didn't get to know each other on better terms. Farewell, my friends." The man closed his eyes and before either of the clones could stop him he pulled the trigger…
And it didn't fire.
The two clones just sat there staring at the man with the broken phaser in his hand. Even the new Naruto clones had stopped digging to get a load of this suicidal idiot.
"Motherfucker did you just try to pussy out?" Clone Sakura stated, she cracked her knuckles that resonated throughout the tiny cavern.
"Heh... I know that look... You look just like the blonde woman, even the purple mark on your head is the same." He chuckled and coughed.
"Wait, what?" One of the Naruto clones asked.
"Don't try to change the subject!" Clone Sakura shouted as she grabbed the man by the collar and held him exactly three feet in the air, which was as high as the ceiling went at that point.
"You got wrapped up with terrorists, left a bomb in the middle of a city street meant to kill innocents, got your own pathetic-self trapped in your own bomb, and now you have hampered our every effort at saving your ass! You don't GET to kill yourself!"
"I'm sorry, but I must have missed something... Since when does a Human get to tell me what to do? If I choose to end my life, then I will..."
Clone Sakura dug her finger tips into the man's shoulders, sending him unimaginable pain signals careening through his body directly into his nervous system. The pain was white, hot, and blinding and no matter how hard the man tried he could not gather the oxygen necessary to even scream.
She spoke to him in a deadly serious voice, the kind she only used on those that threatened her loved ones. "We're not humans. We are collections of chakra given human form. And you WILL do as we say for as long as we need you. Understand?"
"...do what you will with me... I will cooperate no longer..."
'Ooooo... Shouldn't have said that...' One of the Naruto clones thought.
"Wanna bet?" Sakura whispered.
The Sakura clone then strong armed the man's hand up between both their faces.
"Let's make that your last suicide attempt, huh?" She said in a sickly sweet voice. One by one she placed her finger over each of Ha'Tol's individual digits and pushed them back until that snapped like twigs.
"GAAAAH! YOU FUCKING CUNT!"
"... What did you call her...?" One of the Naruto clones growled.
"Hey, that's for my boyfriend's personal use. Thank you very much." Clone Sakura said in a slightly bored tone. She had heard far more colorful insults during her time with ANBU.
"Ugh... (sigh). I'm sorry I said that..." Ha'Tol gasped.
"No you're not..." The clone said in monotone as she started to bend his palm backwards. "Not yet anyway..."
"Alright, alright... I get it..."
SNAP!
The Sakura clone pushed against the man's hand so hand his actual palm broke in half.
"AAAAAAHHHHH! GOD DAMMIT!"
"Whoops, sorry about that. I just wanted to make absolutely sure you couldn't grip anything with that hand. I could have just cut it off in one quick motion, but I know how you feel about amputation."
"You gotta be kidding me! It's going to take me YEARS to regenerate now!" The Andorian exclaimed.
"Oh so you can regenerate now? Well then maybe I should just amputate all your limbs after breaking them. It would definitely make you lighter." Clone Sakura mused.
"No! Please! No more... No more!"
"No more?" Clone Sakura asked in a childlike tone, as if she was unfamiliar with the concept of mercy.
"Please... N-no more..." The Andorian begged as tears ran down his face.
"Sakura-chan... Stop..." The Naruto clone said.
Clone Sakura looked back at the four Naruto clones that had all gathered around her. Each with a more worried expression on their face then the last.
"Ok, Naruto... I'll stop." Clone Sakura said, her voice weary from so much threatening.
"Ha'Tol... You must understand. We've been through a great deal to save your life and for you just to throw all of our hard work away by offing yourself rubs us the wrong way." Naruto said softly.
"I- I know... And I'm sorry... I just have nothing left in my life... My life is meaningless now..."
"No it's not... Tell you what. During your trial, I can make a movement to have to serve Starfleet to give them any and all information in bringing down this terrorist cell." Naruto said, to which Ha'Tol nodded.
"Naruto, why are you showing him sympathy? He's a murderer and a terrorist!" The Sakura clone spat.
" No... He's a victim of unfortunate circumstances. If someone was holding you and our child hostage and I had no powers, I would have done something similar..."
"No you wouldn't, the man I know would have found another way..." Sakura stated.
"I had no other way... It was either I serve them, or the lives of myself and my family would be forfeit... But, I was tricked... After a year of loyalty to them, they killed my family anyway..." Ha'Tol cried.
"What if there wasn't another way, Sakura-chan? What would you have done if you were in his shoes? No ninja training, no chakra, just a simple civilian without a care in the world with a loving family until it was suddenly being taken away from you."
She looked at him in desperate silent plea. "There must be another way." She wanted to say, but one look in Naruto's eyes and she knew the answer.
"I want you to drop this subject and heal his hand. Threatening him is one thing, but what you did was too far..." Clone Naruto said.
"If you were the original and he put you through this kind of danger, I would have done worse..." Clone Sakura said with disdain.
"As would I, but I still want you to heal him."
Clone Sakura looked at her counterpart dead in the eye and knew this was one argument she wasn't' going to win.
"Fine, just get back to digging. We need to save this guy before our chakra levels run dry. Otherwise this entire rescue mission was just pointless bickering." Clone Sakura sighed.
Clone Naruto nodded and resumed digging while Sakura tended to her patient once again.
For about 10 minutes nobody said anything. The Naruto clone's silently cleared away pile after pile of broken rock and metal rebar.
Meanwhile the Sakura clone had nearly finished healing Ha'Tol's hand. Using only the bare minimum of chakra necessary to set the bones back in their proper place so that they could heal on their own.
"So I get the distinct impression that you knew my master." Sakura spoke up after 15 minutes of complete silence.
"Depends on if your master is the blonde woman with the purple diamond on her forehead. I can't remember her name."
"And breasts the size of your head?" Sakura finished for him. She wasn't a prune; she knew her master's reputation very well.
Ha'Tol blushed a deeper shade of blue. "Um... They weren't that big when I met her. It was 40 years ago."
"Insanely bad luck when it comes to gambling?" Clone Sakura tried again, as if it weren't already obvious.
"That sounds familiar. Always lost to me playing Dabo."
"That's my master alright. Lady Tsunade is her name."
"That's it! Tsunade... I remember her well. She was also with this man with long white hair. Very perverted, red markings on his face... The hell was his name..."
"Jirayia." Clone Sakura answered as the Naruto clones were still busy digging.
"Ah, yes. He was a good friend of mine. I bet he's still peeping on the woman as we speak." Ha'Tol chuckled.
"He's dead. He died fighting an incredibly powerful enemy of the Leaf's." Clone Sakura explained simply. She was too tired for any long winded explanations.
"Oh... I'm so sorry to hear that..." Ha'Tol said sadly. "And Tsunade?"
"She's alive. She's now the 5th Hokage of my village and the Head Medic to boot."
"I see she's come a long way over the years since she and Jirayia served with me on the Enterprise C."
Clone Sakura looked at the man with a curious expression, maybe not as curious as that kind of revelation deserved though.
"That explains so much and yet so little." She mused.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. I mean, me and Naruto get compared to our masters so often you'd think we were their children. And now low and behold, it turns out we've now been assigned a similar mission as them. Don't tell me they were assigned as bodyguards to their ship's captain."
"No. They were actually part of an inter-social experiment to see how they would cope with more advanced technology and different situations. They adapted quite well."
Clone Sakura had a flash memory of her master drinking herself into a coma on a regular Tuesday and Master Jirayia being chased out of another bathhouse.
"Somehow I doubt that very much."
"What makes you say that?"
"Experience." She said simply as she finished healing his hand.
"There, how do you feel?"
"Better. But I will feel better when this cell gets taken down."
"Don't worry. If there's one thing you can count on in this universe. It's my boyfriend's promises." Clone Sakura smirked.
Ha'Tol smiled slightly. "That's good to hear." Ha'Tol then closed his eyes and had seemed to be resting. The majority of his pain dulled enough to not be noticeable.
Sakura patted the man on the hand.
"NARUTO, HOW'S THE TUNNEL COMING ALONG?!" Clone Sakura shouted down the tunnel, her voice echoing throughout.
"NEARLY THERE!" Clone Naruto shouted back.
The cave began to shake and Clone Sakura held her breathe. The Naruto clones all scrambled to get into position to intercept the ceiling.
The concrete slab overhead slipped towards Clone Sakura and Ha'Tol's head.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" The Shadow Clones yelled.
Clone Sakura stood up and with her remaining strength, caught the slab. "I GOT IT!"
The Naruto clones all breathed a sigh in relief. Their moment was short lived though.
"What the Hell are you boys standing around for? GRAB HIM!" The Sakura clone shouted through grit teeth.
One of the Naruto Clones dashed and grabbed Ha'Tol and moved him to safety. "Clear!"
Another clone made its way over to where the Sakura clone was and took up his position next to her to bear her weight.
"Go! GO!" He shouted. Clone Sakura nodded and scrambled for the newly created tunnel exit. The ceiling bucked under the weaker clone acting as a pillar, but gave Clone Sakura all the time she needed to escape into the next room. Where the three remaining Naruto clones were busy frantically digging through the next pile of rubble.
Above the trapped survivors, the ceiling wouldn't stop shaking, this was it.
"Sakura-chan, hold on to whatshisface and keep moving no matter what!" One of the clones ordered. "Let us deal with the digging."
"Don't have to tell me twice, Naruto!"
The Clone nodded and another charged up a Rasengan. He slammed it right into the wall of rubble and began drilling though it. The power of the spiral chakra sphere kicked up a hail wave of pebbles that shot off like bullets. One of them found their mark and killed one of the Naruto clones.
"Damnit, come on!" The clone hissed through gritted teeth. He powered through determined to be rid of this damn hole once and for all.
Finally, the clone broke through to the next room. His brother stood up to bare the weight of the ceiling as Clone Sakura threw Ha'Tol's arm over her shoulder to drag him into the next room.
"Where is our rescue party?!" One of the Naruto clones said.
"I wish I knew. I... kinda destroyed our remaining communicator..." Clone Sakura said sheepishly.
"You ordered them to abandon us and focus on evacuating the capital, remember?" Ha'Tol wheezed out.
"Oh... That's right. Sorry, with everything going on, I kinda forgot that." Clone Sakura said.
Inside the room, actually it couldn't even be called a room, the ceiling was no higher than 2 feet. The clones literally had to crawl along the floor just to make headway. Clone Sakura dragging Ha'Tol the entire way.
"I'd kill for an excavator right about now." Sakura commented.
"I'd kill for a three-foot-high ceiling." The remaining Naruto clone answered back.
"I'd kill to get the hell out of here." Ha'Tol said.
The trio chuckled as Naruto renewed digging and Sakura braced herself against the ceiling, her back to the floor and her arms stretched as far up as they could go. She could feel her strength fading fast though. She had minutes...
"Ugh... I'm not gonna last much longer, Naruto." Clone Sakura said.
"Just a bit longer Sakura-chan. We're so close I can..." Clone Naruto paused as if just recalled something terrible.
"Shit, my brother just got caved in. Hold on!" He charged up another Rasengan and got to work on the wall blocking their exit.
"H-hurry! I'm down to seconds now!"
The clone kept drilling and the noise became synonymous with the rumbling. Clone Sakura could feel the ceiling being lowered inch by inch.
The Naruto clone shook off the memories of his second brother being crushed by the rocks, he needed to focus.
Clone Naruto kept drilling and drilling, he could feel himself growing lighter, which was never a good thing for a Shadow Clone.
'Come on, just a few...inches...more...'
The wall gave out and crumbled away, creating a small hole for the clone to peak through. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, the Naruto clone saw natural light streaming down inside the next room.
"HURRY! I'm not going to..." Clone Sakura didn't bet to finish her sentence when she suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" The clone screamed as his longtime companion vanished into thin air. Without her there to support the ceiling, it shook more violently than ever.
"Um, Naruto?" Ha'Tol whimpered as the ceiling began to collapse on top of him.
Back in the medical tent, Sakura had to pause mid surgery due to an influx of sudden memories from a clone she had forgotten that she created.
"Doctor, what's wrong?" One of the nurses frantically asked.
Before Sakura could reply, a massive crash echoed across the city streets, indicating another cave in.
"Oh no..." Sakura said quietly.
Back underground, Ha'Tol was coughing violently. The dust that had kicked up had once again blanketed his lungs with inch thick soot. This was it, he would surely die down here. Hopefully from choking to death on dust before starving to death or even bleeding out.
"Are you ok, old man?" Came the blond haired clones voice.
'Well son of a bitch.' Ha'Tol thought with glee.
He rubbed the dust out of his eyes with his wrist to see not one, but three Naruto clones holding up the ceiling, with the hole leading to the outside still uncovered.
"You resourceful son of a bitch." Ha'Tol coughed out with a smirk.
"Praise me later. We can't hold this for very long so climb out of here." One of the clones said as he and his brothers struggled under the weight of the building.
"What do you want me to do?"
"CRAWL DAMMIT!" One of the impatient Naruto clones shouted.
"I'll try."
Ha'tol used his remaining arm and his legs to belly crawl towards the light. He wasn't moving very fast, but he was doing the best he could.
"Hurry..." Another clone begged.
"I'm... doing the best I can..."
The ceiling creaked and groaned eerily.
Hearing that, Ha'Tol used whatever strength he had to quickly scurry along the ground. "I'm almost there..."
The clones all took quick, shallow breaths. 'Just a few more seconds...' They all collectively thought.
Ha'Tol shimmied his way up to the hole and tried to push himself through, but there was a problem.
"It's too small!"
'Oh just fucking great!'
"Hit it or something!" One of the clones screamed desperately. They could not come so far to fail now.
Pathetically, Ha'Tol smashed his shoulder against the rocks in a vain attempt to knock them over. His bare fists were no match for the boulders of concrete though.
"It's no use..." He sobbed. "I'm not strong enough..."
The leading Naruto clone cursed. There was no way he could make another clone or spare another one from holding up the ceiling...
CRACK!
That's when he heard the sound of rock being torn apart. That unmistakable sound only the love of his life could make.
He looked up and saw the tiny hole to freedom being forced open wider by two black gloves. She ripped apart the chunks of rock like they were make of Styrofoam.
"Sakura-chan?" He asked like a prayer.
"Give me your hand!" Clone Sakura shouted as she made the whole bigger.
"Sakura-chan! Is Captain Picard safe?!" One of the clones shouted.
"Yes, He's fine! We located the explosives and disarmed them!"
"N-no one else died because of me?" Ha'Tol whimpered.
"No, now give me your hand!" The Sakura clone shouted.
Quickly, Ha'Tol reached out and gripped Clone Sakura's outstretched arm. She then pulled him out just as quickly with her monster strength.
Not a moment too soon, for as soon as Ha'Tol was pulled free, Naruto's clones gave out and the cavern collapsed. Ha'Tol was dragged by his arm out into the beautiful, blinding daylight and the gentle breeze of fresh air.
Clone Sakura wasted no time in scooping up Ha'Tol into a fireman's carry over her shoulders.
"Come on, we need to get you back to the medical tent. My boss is waiting to treat you." Clone Sakura stated simply as if nothing else mattered.
"(sniff) Thank you..." Ha'Tol broke down, happy that he made it out of his collapsing prison.
"You're welcome." The Sakura clone said in a caring and professional voice.
She leapt out of the collapsed structure and into the abandoned city streets. Walking ever so gently towards the medical tent to avoid jostling her patient more than she needed to.
"THANK YOU..." Ha'Tol sobbed. Again and again he thanked her and every time the Sakura clone simply stated, "You're welcome."
In no time they reached the medical tent. Clone Sakura walked in through the tent flaps and gently laid Ha'Tol down on an empty cot where the real Sakura was waiting.
"Thank you. You're dismissed." Sakura said with a nod and the clone disappeared. "I'm the real Sakura. I can treat your wounds better now, so just relax and I'll get you fixed up."
Sakura began using her mystic palm technique to cut the remain scraps of fabric that was once Ha'Tol's clothes.
"Based on my clone's memories your name is Ha'Tol. Can you tell me what's going on?"
"As far as what? I'm sorry... I'm still a little fuzzy..."
"Ha'Tol, sir? My name is Sakura and I'll be your doctor today. You're in a medical tent and I need you to tell me what's going on. Are you feeling ok?" She spoke as clearly as she could.
"I lost my arm and your clone cut off my foot with your boyfriend's clone's phaser... I'm feeling as good as I can I guess."
"Alright you can remember everything. That's good."
"Yea and I wish I couldn't..." He admitted.
"Well you don't need to worry about that now. I just need you to relax right now and I need you to breathe." She stated in a calming tone. Sakura pulled out a pulse oximeter.
"I'm gonna put this thingy on your finger. It's going to measure your blood oxygen level to make sure that you're breathing ok." She clamped it down on his index finger.
"... You're adapting better than your master. I'm impressed..."
"Thank you. She taught me how to adapt to new equipment and techniques. Plus Dr. Crusher is a great teacher." Sakura said as she continued wordlessly inspecting Ha'Tol for any serious cuts or bruises her clone may have had to overlook.
"I'm inclined to agree."
"Good. Now rest... You'll be helping us take down those bastards when you're healthy." Sakura soothed as Ha'Tol felt himself drift off to sleep.
Hours later, Sakura and Naruto found themselves back aboard the Enterprise on the command deck.
"Ensign Haruno. Ensign Uzumaki." Picard started as the two ensigns stood at attention.
"Sir!" They both answered.
"Yesterday, you two were put on leave of duty for insubordination. today, I lift that punishment. You two have shown the courage, dedication and compassion I have grown to expect out of those who serve me on this ship. You saved a man who has defected from the Maquis to give us much needed information. Thanks to your efforts for saving him, we were able to take the prime minister into custody and you have saved hundreds of lives."
Around them stood the leading officers of the entire Starship Enterprise. Including Dr. Crusher, Riker, Worf, LaForge, and Data. All of them were smiling with pride at the ship's newest recruits who had taken the entire vessel by storm.
"As such, though it may seem early to Starfleet command, for you outstanding performance and dedication to the ship and crew, as well as to a special little girl-" Picard stopped as he saw Sally in the back of the bridge smiling ear to ear. "-And for saving the many Andorians today, I hereby promote you two to Lieutenant Jr Grade, Effective immediately. With all of the rights and privileges with it."
The Tenchi duo looked at their commanding office in disbelief. Did they both hear that right?
To ensure their ears were correct, Picard handed them a black pip each to be put next to their current rank.
"Congratulations you two. You've earned this. As well as a permanent position as crew members of the USS Enterprise." Captain Picard stated with pride as he extended out his arm for them both to shake.
"P-permanent position...?" Sakura asked in shock
"Of course. You have earned it." Picard offered a rare smile.
"But I thought we were only brought on to serve 5 years?" Naruto asked, equally flabbergasted.
"That was the original term, yes. and You may leave after that time has passed. But, we would all love to see you two stay as long as you want. Starfleet has already approved it and so has your Lady Tsunade."
"W-wow...after only a month?" Naruto said. "I've never been accepted so quickly. It's a lot to think about."
"Take your time. But for now, please accept your ranks. There will be a uniform change as well. Your uniform is essentially the ones that Cadets and first year ensigns wear. Now, You'll have a uniform similar to ours. The replicator in your room will outfit you properly."
"We're honored!" Sakura spoke up for the both of them.
"As is normal. Later on, please join myself and the rest of the senior staff in the captain's mess for a formal dinner. I still owe you that steak, Naruto." Picard said with a smirk.
The blond Ensign-no, Lieutenant Jr chuckled to himself.
"That you do." He said nonchalantly.
Everyone on the bridge clapped and cheered for the two newly promoted ninja's as they both smiled with a slight blush on their faces.
Sally could be seen cheering for them from atop her father's shoulders.
Then, as an unexpected treat for everyone, Sakura and Naruto pulled into each other's embrace for a short and tender kiss, eliciting a cheer from Geordi, which made the two lovers laugh.
Hey everybody, samuraipanda85 here, did you enjoy that chapter? Well if you thought it ended on too much of a happy note then do we have a treat for you. On my page, in the story Naruto and Sakura at Ichiraku's, we have posted the alternative and darker ending to this chapter. Like we went in a completely different direction on that one. So if you want to see how south this mission could have gone, check it out. Then leave a review telling us which ending you liked better or why you thank God that we went with the ending that we did. I'm not saying that we'll retcon that darker ending into our canon if it gets more approval, but we always love to hear your thoughts. Enjoy.