So uhh...please don't be mad. There was a myriad of reasons keeping us from posting. Mostly improving our writing style and personal life crises. One massive silver lining from one sad event in my wifes life is that her father left her a large sum for an estate. I won't disclose how much, but enough to where I will have a lot more free time. So chapters can start coming out at a reasonable pace once again. Anyway, if you've stayed with us this long, then thank you very much for being exemplary with your patience.
Author's Note from Panda: I'm as surprised as you are that we managed to publish again. Hope everyone is safe and healthy.
"Shall I respond, sir?" Worf asked Picard.
"Absolutely not." Picard said firmly. "Ensign Ro, what is our best possible speed?"
"All we have is impulse sir. Warp engines are still offline." Ro spoke.
"Then get us out of here, best possible speed." Picard ordered.
"Heading sir?"
"Anywhere but here."
"Aye, sir. Setting course for the Badlands sector." Ro stated.
"Badlands?" Sakura asked.
"Yes. In our time, the Badlands is home to the Maquis. But in this time, the Maquis doesn't exist yet, it's still unexplored space. It would make the perfect hideout for now." Picard explained.
"So, we aren't going to talk with the 1st Hokage or the famous Captain Kirk?" Naruto asked.
"No, we are not." Picard said firmly.
"Well, better tell them that, because they are following us." Naruto stated.
The main screen changed to the ship's stern camera with the Enterprise-A gaining speed on them.
Picard scowled at what he saw. "Bridge to engineering, we need warp, now."
"We're doing the best we can Captain." Geordi spoke. "My teams just got down here after having to clean a pile of lake weeds from our crash landing."
"How long before you can get the warp core online?"
"At this rate, days. The bottom of the core is sitting in a pond. I can even see fish swimming around down there."
Picard sighed heavily. "Do what you can, Mr. LaForge. Picard out." He said before sliding back into his chair. "We're really in it now, Number One..."
"Maybe Naruto can give us that super powered boost like he did before." Riker suggested.
"Maybe, but I don't know if the impulse engines could handle a massive boost like that again." Naruto cautioned.
"Isn't there a protocol for any Starfleet ships stuck in the past?" Sakura asked. "Could we just explain to the Enterprise-A that we are from the future and they will leave us alone?"
"On the contrary, we have a protocol for this. Avoid making contact with anyone." Picard stated. "Remember I told you about the temporal Prime Directive? It didn't apply back in that universe. But it does here."
"So, what are we supposed to do if we are spotted and chased?"
"We do what we're presently doing. Running." Picard stated.
"Captain, the Enterprise A has raised their shields and are continuing to hail. They are now demanding we stop and prepare to be boarded." Worf informed.
"Bring the aft phasers online. Fire a warning shot across their bow. Get them to back off." Picard ordered.
"Ah crap." Naruto realized. "Captain, if we get boarded by Hashirama, the First Hokage, I won't be able to beat him."
That made everyone within earshot pause and look at Naruto.
"You not beat someone?" Riker asked. "You? You can turn into an 800-foot-tall fox demon and blow holes in star ships."
"And Hashirama is at least 3 times stronger than I am." Naruto stated.
"I wouldn't say three times." Sakura said. "But yes, against Lord Hashirama and Lady Mito, we would have a very tough fight."
"But you would win, right?" Riker asked.
Sakura shook her head. "Even with my strength, I can't hope to match the man who invented the technique. Same with my seal on my forehead."
"And Lady Mito was the first Jinchuriki to Kurama. She could seal him away as soon as I start to use his chakra." Naruto added.
"Then avoiding the Enterprise A is now paramount." Picard stated. "Mr Worf, fire that warning shot."
Outside, the limping Enterprise E managed to fire one of it's aft phaser arrays, the beam barely grazing the shields of the Enterprise A. On the bridge of the old Constitution class, Kirk and his bridge crew were not so lightly jostled by the phaser emitted by the badly damaged Sovereign class.
"Damage report." Captain Kirk ordered.
"Our shields are down to 45%, Captain." Spock said. "However, what I find concerning is that ships phaser beam did not make direct contact and yet, weakened our shields greatly."
Kirk stroked his chin. "Even as badly damaged as they are, their weapons are far more powerful. Back us off and return to our previous course. I'll send a message to Starfleet regarding this."
"Captain...I seem to be seeing some markings on the other ship. They look like a registry number." Uhura spoke.
"Can you confirm, Spock?" Kirk asked.
"Affirmative. NCC-1701...fascinating..." Spock murmured.
"Out with it, Spock." Kirk urged.
"Captain, the registry number is NCC-1701-E... USS Enterprise."
All around the bridge, everyone stopped what they were doing and were now looking at the screen, seeing the future Enterprise.
"Spock...put it on screen." Kirk said slowly before turning to the screen.
Spock magnified the image of the port nacelle and enhanced it, showing the registry number and designation on full display for the bridge crew.
A man gasped. "Are they from the future?" He asked, excitedly.
"Given the facts we have, advanced design, more powerful weapons, that would be a logical assumption." Spock said.
"Oh man. We need to meet with them." He said with sparkles in his eyes.
"That would not be wise, Mr. Senju." Spock warned.
"Oh come on. One of them could be from Element. I could hear how the village is doing." Hashirama said like a child explaining why ice cream was an acceptable substitute for dinner.
"Well, there's an easy way to determine that." Kirk said. "What life signs do you have, Spock?"
"Sensors show mostly humans, however I am detecting a number of other species. Vulcan, Romulan, Bolian, Tellarite, Andorian, I am even detecting two Klingon life signs. One coming from their bridge."
"Klingons? Aboard a Federation ship?" Kirk asked in astonishment. "That's damn peculiar..."
"I am also detecting three Elementian life signs." Spock added.
"Three?" Hashirama asked. "Did the agreement get amended? Only two should be on the ship."
"One is an infant." Spock corrected.
"Children on a Starfleet warship?" A redheaded woman gasped. "That's...just unconscionable..."
"Things must have changed in the future."
"I am conducting full interior scans of the ship. Further life signs show there are dozens of children aboard. Scans also show...Captain, I think Commander Scott should see this."
"What've you got, Spock?" Kirk asked as he joined his first officer's side.
"Their warp core, although offline, is a configuration I have never seen before. It's power output is nearly double what ours can do. In fact, I have little doubt that this ship is capable of the theoretical warp 10."
"Warp 10? But I thought that was proven to be impossible." Kirk inquired.
"Theoretically, yes as you would occupy all points of space at once. However, it is possible that Starfleet managed to find a way around that issue. However, I am picking up unusual readings coming from their forward torpedo bay."
"What do you make of it?"
"It has a similar signature to that of a quantum singu-" Spock paused when the monitor on his terminal zoomed in and located the source of the energy. "Captain...the source of that energy is coming from their forward torpedoes."
"Explain."
"Their forward torpedoes have a high level of Quantum energy. Far beyond the power of our type 4 photons."
"A new type of weapon?" Kirk asked.
"It would be a safe assumption. Their aft torpedos have a similar signature to ours, but their energy output is almost double that of a type 4. I have also discovered the various lines on the ship are some type of phaser array and I count 16 semi-omnidirectional arrays. I'm afraid their weapons are far more advanced than any of our ships can handle."
"Perhaps that is why they are running away." Mito mused.
Kirk turned to Mito. "What do you mean?"
"Their technology is clearly far more advanced than our own and they seem to be from the future. It's very possible that they know us from their past and are trying to avoid contaminating the timeline."
"Ah. I see your point." Kirk said.
"Then perhaps it's best we not pursue them." Spock stated.
"Get as much data from those scans as you can, Mr Spock. I wanna know about this ships descendant." Kirk ordered.
"Aye, Captain." Spock said as Hashirama squinted at the ship on screen.
"They have the Nine Tailed Fox on board." Hashirama said.
Mito froze in place. "They couldn't...could they?"
Hashirama frowned. "They must have another Jinchuriki aboard."
"Whether they do or not, we have a much more pressing matter to attend to." Kirk said.
"Indeed." Spock spoke. "I have taken a sample of their tachyons and will analyize them. We can attend to our business and then if this Enterprise-E is not as it appears, we can locate it and intercept."
"Good, at least now we can track them. I will forward your findings to Starfleet Command and see what they think of this. Helm, resume previous course and speed."
"Aye, sir." The helm responded.
As the Enterprise A turned away, Picard breathed a sigh of relief seeing his ships ancestor turn the other way. "Right then...Ensign, maintain course to the Badlands sector. Best possible speed. In the meantime," Picard said before standing up. "I'm gonna go see if I can give Geordi a hand in engineering."
"Aye, Captain." Riker said.
"You have the bridge." Picard said as he headed for the elevator.
A week had past. Picard's offer to help out in Engineering proved to be insufficient. By noon the next day, the entire crew had been volunteered to assist the engineers while the Enterprise continued to chug along to the Badlands. Naruto and Sakura were made assistants to one Ensign Lance.
"Shit." Naruto cursed before a loud bang came from the ducts inside the walls.
"You okay?" Sakura called out, standing by the open vent next to Lance who had the schematics up on his PADD.
"Yeah, I dropped the damn magnetic wrench again. Hold on." Naruto cursed.
"Did you try the hyperspanner?" Sakura asked.
"No, why?"
"Because I can't find it."
"I've got it." Ensign Lance said.
"Can you toss it up here?" Sakura called down.
Lance tossed it upwards, allowing Sakura to catch it.
"Thanks." Sakura said before getting to work on a plasma conduit.
"For someone who doesn't know much about engineering, you're quite the mechanic." Naruto pointed out.
"Well...the last couple weeks, if I'm not in sickbay or getting my 4 hours of sleep, I'm helping to fix the ship. So yeah...these last couple of weeks have left me quite well rounded."
"Fair enough..." Naruto shrugged as Lance gave Naruto the magnetic wrench back. "Have...you given any thought to taking the Command test?"
Sakura paused for a moment. "And become a Commander?"
"Well, yeah. I signed up."
"Naruto, that's more your thing. I'm fine where I'm at." Sakura said simply.
"Dr Crusher is a Commander, just an fyi."
"Your point? I don't wanna become part of the chain of command."
"Heh...hate to break it to you, but you already are."
"No, I'm not."
"Lieutenant?" Lance spoke up.
"What is it?" Sakura asked.
"Speaking frankly, Ma'am. You are. All the Ensigns and lower deck grunts see it that way. You two are in the inner circle on the bridge."
Sakura raised an eyebrow at this. "I don't recall seeing you the last time we docked. Just who are you, Ensign?"
"I've been with the Enterprise since you two joined." Lance said. "I'm just normally crawling around in the guts of the ship. Not exactly butting elbows with the bridge crew."
"Didn't the sailors have a name for those back home, Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"Did they?" Naruto asked.
"I think...you spent more time with them than I did."
"Uhhh...ah! Yeah, they called them cabin boys."
"Wow. Thanks for that." Lance said. "And here I was starting to like you two."
"Oh, sorry. We didn't mean anything by it." Naruto said sincerely. "We were just trying to understand your position a bit better."
"I'm messing with you. You two are fine. A lot less arrogant than some other Lieutenants I have worked with."
"That's because most lieutenants are wet behind the ears." Sakura stated like it was obvious.
"Yeah, they don't have the seasoning we had to go through. Cadets start as young as 15 I hear. But we Ninja? We started when we were 5." Naruto added.
"No shit? There are rumors that you guys were child soldiers but they say a lot of crazy things about the upper deck people."
"More than likely, most everything you've heard about us is true." Naruto said.
"Really? So, is it true that you glow gold like a Rekellian Silk Worm?"
"I don't know what that is, but yes I glow golden in my Golden Sage mode." Naruto said.
"...Golden...what? Can you show me?"
"No!" Sakura said quickly.
"Oh. Later on then. What about copies? Can't you make a thousand copies of yourself?"
"A lot more when I'm at full power, but yes." Naruto said.
"And you can use your hands as surgical equipment?" Lance asked Sakura.
"When the need calls for it, yes."
"You can both walk on water and walls?"
"Easy stuff." Naruto shrugged.
"You are trained black ops mercenaries?"
"That's one way of putting it, yes." Sakura said.
"Do you both know how to kill a man with just your thumb?"
"I have never tried." Naruto admitted. "But Sakura might know how."
"Of course, I don't." Sakura scoffed. "A thumb is completely ineffective for killing. Only a sadist trying to show off would use only their thumb."
"Instead, you cave their skulls in with your monster strength." Naruto added.
"Don't call it monster strength." Sakura frowned.
Naruto flinched. "Sorry..."
"But...you're right. I can cave someone's skull in if I wanted to."
Lance gulped. "I'll uh...be sure to remember that...oh, and what planet are you from?"
"Element. You probably never heard of it. Our planet doesn't have warp yet." Sakura shrugged before closing up the panel she was working on.
"Wait, what? But the Prime Directive clearly states that the Federation cannot have contact with non-warp civilizations!" Lance exclaimed.
"It's a rather long story that just makes things more complicated. Let's just say that Starfleet is only known to about 4 people. We serve as bodyguards to the Captain after his incident with the Borg. We are to serve him for 5 years and if we wish to stay, then we can do so." Sakura explained.
"Plus, Starfleet is making Sakura-chan and I filthy rich." Naruto smirked.
"Rich? Starfleet hasn't used money for centuries." Lance laughed at the absurd notion.
"Gold-pressed Latium. A total of 50 bars each between us. The gold value alone is worth billions on our planet."
"Billions, eh? Well, that will do it." Lance chuckled. "Still kind of pointless what with replicators and all that."
"Sure, sure." Naruto said. "Still, when we get home and we buy that mansion to raise up Chiyo in. And the huge bedroom to make all of her brothers and sisters in. It'll be worth it."
"So, you two are leaving after your 5 years are up?"
"For a decade or two at least. We may come back when the kids are all grown up and out of the house." Naruto informed.
"Yeah, but...what if they want to join Starfleet?" Sakura interjected.
"Then they can join Starfleet." Naruto said.
"How would they know?" Lance asked.
"Because...I kinda made an ancestral connection between Earth humans and Element humans...kinda making the Prime Directive null and void on our planet." Sakura admitted.
"Oh." Lance said. "Well growing up on their home planet is usually good for a recruit."
"Kinda what I thought." Naruto nodded. "When our daughter turns 5, we hope to be back home and enroll her into the academy. Once she's promoted to Genin, I want to see her get to at least Chunin before she applies to Starfleet Academy."
"Chunin?" Lance asked.
"The ranks of ninja on our home world." Sakura said. "An Academy student becomes a Genin who later is promoted to Chunin who is later promoted to Jounin. The names translate to Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master. Naruto and I are both Jounin ninjas."
"Jounin lead 4-man squads of ninja. Either newly graduated Genin and train them up to be Chunin or squads of Chunin and Jounin and go on tougher missions." Naruto added.
"Because we also served as ANBU Captains, we are used to the extreme missions." Sakura added.
"What are ANBU? Isn't that what you call those Ensigns you trained?"
"Yes, actually. ANBU Black Ops. We do the dirty work everyone else is afraid to do." Naruto confirmed.
"Or we spend days standing outside the Hokage's Office in the rain." Sakura added.
"We do a lot of that too, yes." Naruto said.
"Or secretly attending dinner parties to make sure no one assassinated Lady Tsunade."
"This Tsunade, is she like your leader or something?" Lance asked.
"Yes. Her position is Hokage, our villages leader. Funny thing is, she was also a Starfleet officer."
"No way, seriously?"
"Yup. You can find her in the Starfleet database. Commander Tsunade Senju, USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-C." Sakura informed.
"Wait, your leader served on the Enterprise C?"
"Our first Hokage served on the Enterprise A... who we recently had to avoid."
"C'mon, the Enterprise A was decommissioned over a century ago. We couldn't have-"
"We've been sent into the past." Naruto said. "According to the Captain, we arrived before the signing of the Khitomer Accords."
"Are you kidding me? I thought we went through the portal?"
"We did, but it didn't bring us back to our time. We're back in our universe, just in a different time."
"So I busted my ass clearing out a swamp in the basement for nothing?"
"Oh no, we need that to happen. With the swamp cleared up, we can make more effective repairs and hopefully get back to our time."
"How? Is there a plan?" Lance asked.
"I don't know just yet. Our main focus is repairing the ship...and hoping Starfleet from a century ago doesn't come looking for us." Naruto said as Sakura got to work on another panel.
"Shit...Naruto, this plasma relay is fused. We're gonna need to run a bypass." Sakura informed.
"Oh lovely...you know how much I love those..." Naruto groaned before climbing up to help Sakura. "Wish we could talk more, but we gotta make these repairs. The sooner the ship is fixed, the sooner we can go home."
"Then step aside. You two suck at bypasses." Lance said.
"Huh?" Naruto asked before Lance started climbing his way past Naruto and right to Sakura's side.
"Eh...it doesn't look that bad. Still, can't risk it blowing out. Hand me the hyperspanner."
Sakura nodded and handed Lance the requested tool.
"You know, your powers seem to have a positive effect on the ship. Why not use your powers to take the ship into warp?" Lance asked.
"Because last time, I tapped into the impulse engines. I don't know what would happen if I did that again." Naruto said.
"Are you kidding? The impulse engines took to your powers like a Targ to a Ro'Keg blood pie. You basically acted like a turbo charger for our impulse engines and didn't hurt a thing."
"Well, Geordi didn't mention it."
"Commander LaForge has a lot on his plate right now, as I'm sure you could imagine."
"We know." Sakura said.
"Anyway, if you needed to do that again, you should be fine. But I would extend your powers through the impulse cooling system. Because those engines got pretty warm last time."
"You'll have to show it to me. I don't know it's there unless I see it."
"Sure. Just get to work on those dampeners. I'll finish the bypass."
Naruto nodded before he and Sakura got to work.
Days later, inside the main engine room, all of the senior staff, plus Lance were gathered around the warp core per Geordi's request. Today they were going to reactivate the warp core.
"I pray everyone's efforts were not wasted, Geordi." Picard spoke. "We've been picking up a lot of chatter over the Starfleet channels. It sounds like they're hunting us."
"I'm certain we have it fixed now." Geordi said before going through the activation sequence. "Alright...moment of truth." He said before entering the final algorithm.
At first, nothing happened. The warp core was silent. Then, with a sudden low hum, the warp core began glowing back to life and power started coming back all over the ship.
"Warpfield is nominal...intermix ratio within tolerance...repairs to the port pylon are holding nicely. Power output at 85%. Not great, but better than nothing." Geordi spoke.
"What can you give us, Geordi?" Picard asked.
"9.2 at most. There's still some things that need to be addressed." Geordi informed.
"The fact that you can give us that much is more than enough." Picard said before tapping his combadge. "Picard to bridge. Helm, we have warp. Continue on our present heading, warp 6."
"Captain, sensors have picked up a Federation ship on an intercept course. They are within 1000km."
"Damn...maintain course and speed. I'm on my way. Picard out." Picard said before looking to his senior staff. "Naruto, get us back to the bridge. On the double."
"On it. Everyone join hands." Naruto said.
Everyone did as instructed and with a few handsigns, everyone was now on the bridge, much to the surprise of the temp bridge staff.
"Everyone to your stations. Analyze the ship incoming." Picard ordered before sitting in his chair.
Once Naruto and Worf got to their tactical consoles, Worf got to work analyzing the ship.
"Constellation class. Registry number...NCC-2893. USS Stargazer." Worf informed.
Picard slowly rose back out of his chair. "It... can't be..."
Naruto, sensing his Captain's sudden shock, decided to speak up. "Something wrong, sir?"
"On the contrary...I seem to be seeing a ghost of my past..." Picard spoke calmly as he looked at the ship on the view screen.
"What?" Naruto asked.
"The Stargazer was my first command, of course that happens much later from now. Seeing the Stargazer like she just flew out of space dock for the first time like this...breathtaking..."
"You mean, that was your first ship?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, Naruto...this was my first ship." Picard nodded.
"Captain, your first ship is locking weapons." Worf spoke.
"Understood Mr. Worf." Picard sighed. "Are they hailing?"
"Negative. They are still closing. They are nearly in weapons range."
"Their range is that small?" Naruto asked.
"The Constellation class ships were meant as deep space science and repair vessels. They also doubled as torpedo cruisers. However, they never had a long range. Meanwhile they've been in our weapons range this whole time." Picard said before turning back and returning to his chair. "Helm, warp 6. Engage."
Almost immediately, the Enterprise shot into warp quite easily, quickly gaining distance.
"Excellent work everyone. With the warp core back online, we can safely secure ourselves in the Badlands and make further repairs. However, we can take our time with the rest now." Picard said, giving everyone a sense of ease. "However, the longer we're in this timeline, the more we risk contaminating it."
"How are we getting back home?" Sakura asked.
"We're going to take a page out of Kirk's book. We will initiate a high warp slingshot around a star, sending us back to our timeline. However, in order to do that, we need to finish repairs. We need to patch up those hull breaches as best as we can and get the shields back online."
"And what is the catch?" Naruto asked.
"We will also need the long-range sensors back online. Our calculations for this time warp have to be precise. One miscalculation and we could end up 400 years into the future, or 600,000 years into the past."
"So have the math guys double check their numbers?" Naruto asked dryly.
"There's more to it than that, Naruto. But I really don't have time to sit here and explain it to you. For now, focus on-"
"Captain, the Stargazer is pursuing and is closing in fast." Worf informed.
"What's their velocity?" Picard asked.
"Warp 7.8."
"The Stargazer could only reach warp 8 during this time...increase speed to warp 9. Drop to 8.5 once we're out of their sensor range."
"Aye sir." Ro said before increasing speed.
"We are gaining distance. Their warp engines are at their limit." Worf informed.
Picard smirked at his small victory. "Proceed to the Badlands sector. Once those long-range sensors are back online, I want continuous scans for Cardassian ships. The last thing we need is to have them in conflict with Starfleet in this time."
After traveling at high warp for several days, the Enterprise had arrived at the Badlands nebula, where Picard ordered for the ship to proceed inside the nebula. Once inside, Naruto had spotted a hollow asteroid where the ship was now hiding deep inside. Now their odds of being detected were nearly zero. Now they had time to repair and sort out their situation in order to make a better plan.
In the conference room, all of the senior staff have gathered around to discuss their current situation.
"Now that the warp core is back online and functioning well, we can move onto more key systems." Geordi spoke.
"What's left to be done?" Picard asked.
"Long range and internal sensors are still down. A number of phaser arrays are also damaged and will not function. But that should be saved for drydock. We don't have the materials needed to take on hull damage."
"Aside from the sensors, is there anything that would prevent us from making the time warp?" Picard asked.
"Other than the stress on the port pylon, I don't really see anything else."
"Would Starfleet of this timeline have what we need to repair the pylon?" Troi asked.
"I'm not going to risk that, Deana. What happened back on that alternate Element was one thing. What happens here, now, will affect our present." Picard said firmly.
"Assuming this even is part of our timeline anymore." Sakura mused.
Picard raised an eyebrow at Sakura. "Care to explain what you mean?"
"Well, we've already confirmed that multiverse theory is actually fact. Meaning that us just being here, we have inadvertently caused this timeline to screw off into an alternate tangent. Meaning that this is no longer our timeline anymore."
"An interesting theory...do you have a way to prove it?" Picard asked.
"Not at present, aside from our trip to Element."
Picard sighed. "Bring me something concrete when you can. If there's a way to solve this without running and hiding then I'm open to it."
"Aye, sir."
Sometime later, in the Uzumaki quarters, Sakura was racking her brain trying to figure out how to prove her theory. No matter what she looked up or tried to analyze, she was no quicker to finding the hard evidence she needs.
Naruto meanwhile was kneeling over Chiyo as she lay on her blanket. He shook her rattle and watched their daughter follow the noise little toy all around.
Naruto gasped. "Where's the rattle? Is it here?" He asked, jerking the rattle up above Chiyo's head. "Or here?" He moved it to the right.
"Ahaha." Chiyo giggled, keeping her eyes on the rattle at all times. Her little hands reaching up to grab it.
"Uuugh..." Sakura groaned in frustration.
"Everything alright, babe?" Naruto asked.
"Obviously not." Sakura snapped without thinking.
Naruto flinched and Chiyo's smile vanished.
Sakura's face fell into a look of horror when she realized what she had done. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, Sakura-chan."
"No, look at Chiyo..." Sakura said, looking at her daughter's face.
"Oh, she's a tough girl." Naruto said, turning to her and cooing in her face. "You know Mommy didn't mean it, did you? Yes, you do." He smiled, nuzzling his nose to her cheek, making Chiyo laugh.
Sakura let out a deep sigh and smiled. "She has your forgiveness..."
"It will serve me well when I screw up with her." Naruto said, shaking the rattle to resume their play.
"You won't screw up. You're too stubborn to fail."
"Oh please. I'll probably be overprotective and get on her nerves when she is older or something."
"Well, yeah...but that's your job."
"And you will be there to placate her."
"Or end up being just as overprotective as you. Especially after the incident with the Romulans."
"Then we will get on her nerves together." Naruto said, leaning down to kiss Chiyo on the cheek.
"And any future child." Sakura smiled. "And no, we're not naming our son Boruto."
"Who said anything about naming him Boruto?"
"No one, but I figured it needed to be said."
"Come on, dear. Boruto wasn't a bad kid, just...well, I don't want to say neglected, but it kinda fits. Still can't believe my counterpart allowed that to happen...hopefully now, they're set straight."
Sakura chuckled. "How is it that you manage to convince everyone to see things the way you do? Even your own self from another dimension. I have never been able to figure that out."
"I don't get it either. I guess I just know how to empathize with people."
"Can you quit being humble for a minute?" Sakura huffed.
"Okay fine. It's because I am amazing and the son of the 4th Hokage and Red Hot Habanero." Naruto bragged.
Sakura laughed. "Alright, baka. I have to get back to work. Or else Captain Picard may have me scrubbing chronitons out of the deflector dish for a month." She said sarcastically before freezing in place. "Wait...THAT'S IT! Chronitons!"
"What now?" Naruto asked, picking Chiyo up into an embrace.
"If I can get a sample of the Chroniton particles in space and compare them to the ones aboard the ship, I can accurately determine if we truly are back in our timeline, or a variation of it."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"Okay, Chroniton particles have a unique quantum signature unique to certain timelines. My theory is to analyze our chronitons versus the ones in space. If the ones in space differ from our own, then this isn't our timeline."
"Okay, so...how do you plan to get them aboard?"
"I don't have to." Sakura smirked. "Computer, use the ships external sensors. Scan for any Chroniton particles in space around us."
"UNABLE TO COMPLY. SHIP SENSORS ARE OFFLINE."
"Damn...forgot..." Sakura sighed in defeat. "Back to square one...without the sensors, I won't be able to prove my theory."
"Maybe ask Geordi?" Naruto shrugged.
Sakura nodded and tapped her combadge. "Sakura to Commander LaForge."
"LaForge here. What's up? You don't usually call me."
"Yeah, I know. I was just wondering about the sensors and when they would be back online."
"Ahh...the short-range sensors should be on soon, but the long-range sensors are going to need more time. Any reason why you wanted to know?"
"Well, I think I found a way to prove my theory about us being in an alternate reality by comparing the chronitons in space versus the ones in our ship. But without the sensors, I can't scan them."
Geordi chuckled. "Sakura, did you think to scan for chronitons inside the ship? With the hull breaches we have, I am willing to bet some of this times chronitons seeped in. Run an internal scan of the ship for all chronitons and compare them that way."
"Geordi, you're a genius! Come by after your shift and we'll cook you dinner." Sakura beamed.
"You're too kind." Geordi said before ending the transmission.
"Since when do we cook?" Naruto said.
"Amanda has been showing me when you're on duty." Sakura smiled.
"You cook, you raise Chiyo, you're a doctor, a warrior, and you figured out what dimension we are in with all those fancy science terms. Is there anything you can't do?"
"Several actually."
"Now who is being modest?"
"I'm serious. I can name a couple right now."
"And I'll just say those flaws are all endearing."
"Are they?" Sakura asked, looking at him with misty eyes. "I can't bear the thought of living without you...or Chiyo. I...I can't imagine a reason to live without either of you in my life..."
"I can't either." Naruto smiled. "You two make it all worth it."
Sakura smiled before leaning against him. "Heh...if someone told my Genin self that this would be my life, I doubt I would believe it."
"Mine would probably accept marrying you easier than living on a space ship stuck in the past."
"Well, yeah. Because you had a thing for me since we first met. But I was a dumb kid with a stupid crush that amounted to disappointment in the end." Sakura said before sighing. "I wonder...knowing what we know now about us...I wonder if we would have had a family sooner before this happened?"
"Well, for one. Our child would have been conceived on our terms. Instead of...uh...how it actually happened."
"Yeah. No need to bring up that can of worms." Sakura said.
"Well, hey...at least you didn't have to tell granny that I died."
"Oh yeah, that would have went over, REALLY well." Sakura said sarcastically.
"Frozen out in space. How would that have been explained to all our friends?" Naruto mused.
"Oh, I would have recovered your body, brought you back to life, and killed you with a kunai. Have everyone think you died to a ninja."
"Wait. Don't we ANBU burn our dead. You could just make up a story."
"No." Sakura shook her head. "Killing you would be more therapeutic at the time."
"I love how quickly we went from gushing lovely dovey talk to you talking about killing me." Naruto laughed.
"Yes. We have a very healthy relationship." Sakura said, kissing Naruto's cheek. "Promise you will kill me if I die?"
"Now what kind of husband would I be if I refused?"
"We won't go there." Sakura smiled.
Hours later, Sakura was down in the science lab running comparative scans on the Chronitons. It was an arduous task and painstaking. Just the waiting part was driving her nuts. That was until someone entered the lab. Sakura looked over her shoulder to see Data.
"Data?" Sakura asked.
"Greetings, Sakura." Data responded. "Can I help you with something?"
"I've got it pretty much under control."
"Ah. I ask because, this is my lab."
"Oh it is? Oh I'm sorry..." Sakura apologized quickly.
"It is okay. Next time, I wish to be notified beforehand." Data said.
"Yes of course."
"May I inquire about what it is you are doing?" Data asked.
"I'm working on comparing the chronitons that were on the ship with the ones that seeped in through the hull breaches. If my theory is correct, we can be less cautious." Sakura mused before the computer chirped.
"SCANS COMPLETE."
"Computer, display results on the monitor." Sakura ordered. The screen shifted to a comparison graph of the Chronitons detected. There were three sets. One more than she was expecting. "Computer, highlight the chronitons that were already on the ship starting a month back."
The computer then highlighted the bottom graph. "Computer, identify the other two Chronitons."
The computer highlighted the first one. "THESE CHRONITONS WERE DETECTED AFTER THE ENTERPRISE CRASH LANDED."
'Of course! I forgot about that. Chroniton particles would have seeped in from that.' Sakura thought.
The computer then highlighted the center graph. "THESE CHRONITONS WERE DETECTED UPON EXITING A WORMHOLE LESS THAN A WEEK AGO."
Sakura compared the current Chronitons with the ones from her universe. they were similar, but there were many variances. "Hot damn! I was right!" She cheered before tapping her combadge. "Sakura to bridge. Captain, I have the proof you need. My suspicions were right on the money."
"Excellent work, Sakura. Send me your data and I will look it over immediately."
Sakura then typed in a few commands, forwarding the data to Picard's ready room terminal. "I've sent it to your ready room sir."
"Good. I'll be in touch shortly. Picard out."
Sakura let out a huge sigh of relief. After spending the better part of a day, she finally proved her theory. "Finally...no more beating around the bush. We can proceed on our way without worry of contaminating the timeline."
"Hmm..." Data muttered. "Computer. Display evolution of the Chronitons before our arrival."
The pattern changed and was now completely different from the others, further confirming Sakura's theory.
"Remarkable discovery." Data commented.
"I had a strong feeling this wasn't our timeline. Now I have the proof. But now this raises another question." Sakura mused. "If we're still in an alternate time flow, how do we return to ours?"
"Our initial plan to warp around a star no longer applies to our present scenario." Data mused. "However, I have a theory working. I will contact you in a couple of hours."
Sakura nodded, taking that as a sign to take her leave. They had a lead and Data had a theory working. Hopefully this would be the ticket home.
"Please remain. I require your assistance for this." Data requested.
"I thought you said you'd contact me?"
"Indeed I did. However, I did make a miscalculation. Your research of these Chronitons are needed for this."
"Oh...well, in that case, I'm glad to help." Sakura smiled before giving Data a hand.
After a few hours worth of work, Sakura and Data called a meeting in the observation lounge. Picard and much of the bridge crew, were rather impressed by their research. But the explanation of their idea to get home was even more intriguing.
"An artificially generated wormhole?" Picard asked, clearly very intrigued.
"Yes." Sakura nodded, bringing up images of plans for this maneuver. "If we realign the deflector dish to emit a concentrated chroniton beam, using our timelines chronitons as the end point of reference. Much like how the Borg use transwarp conduits, we would essentially make our own trans dimensional conduit back home."
"Can it be done Mr. LaForge?" Picard asked.
"It'll take some time to go over everything to make the appropriate adjustments, but it should be doable." Geordi said.
Picard nodded. "Very well. Coordinate your efforts with Sakura and Data and get it done." Picard ordered before dismissing the meeting.
As everyone left, Naruto couldn't help but happily praise Sakura for her discovery.
'She's a genius.' He thought.
'She is. I thought that's why you married her.'
'I mean who could come up with time travel?'
'Anyone with half a brain and basic understanding of quantum mechanics?'
'So, basically anyone in space really.'
'More or less.'
'Well I am still impressed by her. Sue me.'
"Hey honey." Sakura smiled.
"Hey Babe." Naruto smiled back.
"How come you're just standing there?"
"Just chatting with Kurama about how cool you are."
Sakura snickered. "Really? Why are you doing that?"
"Because you are. How is it going getting us home?"
"Basically what we'll end up doing is creating an artificial wormhole, using our chronitons as a means of pinpointing the end location."
"Uhhh..." Naruto muttered, not understanding what she meant.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "We're going to make another wormhole like what brought us here to go home."
"Why not the wormhole we got here through?"
"Because that one is already closed for one, and two that wormhole nearly ripped us apart. Twice."
"Yeah, but third time's the charm, right?" Naruto joked.
"Maybe another time. I would rather we get home before Geordi has to build us a new ship."
"You mean he hasn't by now?" Naruto joked.
"Yeah, really." Sakura chuckled. "I gotta get back to work. Hopefully in a few hours, we'll be back home in our timeline."
"Right. Yeah, I gotta keep an eye out for not just Starfleet ships, but Cardassian as well."
"Well then get to it. If I recall correctly, Starfleets battleships and dreadnoughts of this time period are still fully active."
"Oh damn, you're right..." Naruto mused. "Our weapons are more than a match for them, but we're basically a glass cannon right now."
Sakura nodded. "Severe hull damage, weak shields, we'd get a few good hits in and then we're done."
"Get to work on that wormhole and fast. They're hunting us and I don't wanna be on the business end of an assault phaser cannon."
Sakura nodded before the two of them took off to their respective duty stations. Naruto on the bridge, Sakura heading for deflector controls.
Over the span of 4 hours and doing well to stay hidden within the nebula, preparations had been completed. And just in time. Because as the wormhole team, which consisted of Sakura, Data and Geordi, came onto the bridge, Naruto's tactical console began going nuts with warnings and alerts.
"What in the...oooh shit, captain! There is a Federation fleet entering the nebula!" Naruto reported hastily.
"Number of ships?" Riker asked.
"40 and counting." Naruto reported. "10 Okinawa's, 10, Miranda's, 10 Oberth's, 5 Excelsior, 4 Ulysses and...the Yamato..." Naruto gulped at the end. The one ship he didn't want to see.
An unrelated image of a man's terrifying face flashed in Naruto's mind.
"On screen." Picard ordered, the view screen changing to see a number of ships entering the area. But the one ahead of them all was the might Yamato class Battleship that absolutely dwarfed the other ships there.
"That...is a problem." Picard mused. "Suggestions? We are in no shape to fight a fleet that size."
"Fly out, fire every torpedo we have at them, flee the nebula and activate the wormhole." Sakura suggested.
"Our forward launcher is capable of providing a rapid-fire spread in just a few seconds." Worf was in support of Sakura's suggestion.
"Not to mention our computer can target multiple ships. Our phasers can lock onto them far faster than theirs can." Riker added.
"Yes, but our shields and structural integrity field cannot handle a hit from those assault phasers." Sakura spoke.
"We're far more maneuverable than that old cumbersome battleship." Riker reminded.
"We'll just have to tank what hits we get." Naruto shrugged.
"We can take some hits, but eventually, the battleship will wear down our shields. At that point we would be extremely vulnerable." Worf warned.
"My point is we are not getting out unscathed." Naruto said.
Picard stroked his chin, contemplating their options. The options were few in this case. He straightened up in his chair. "Are we ready to deploy the wormhole now if we need to?"
"Yes sir. We're all green here." Geordi confirmed.
Picard nodded and hit the shipwide comsystem. "All hands-Battle stations."
Outside of the asteroid they were hiding in, the Federation fleet was heading directly towards it. Apparently with the warp core not operating at full efficiency, they unintentionally left behind a traceable warp signature. But before any of the ships could reach the asteroid, the Enterprise slowly started flying out, now looking better for wear.
"Mr. Worf...Mr. Uzumaki...fire everything." Picard ordered calmly.
"Aye sir!" Naruto and Worf said. They tapped their consoles and opened the selection of torpedoes and phasers. They targeted every ship in range and let loose.
On the outside, a massive barrage of phaser beams erupted from the Enterprise, followed by a rapid-fire launch of quantum torpedoes followed by a steady spread of photon torpedoes from it's dorsal and ventral launchers. To the 23rd century Starfleet ships, this future Enterprise looked like a super powered weapons platform as ship after ship took heavy damage.
All supporting ships were either disabled or adrift. However, there was one ship that remained standing with minimal damage done.
"Damn..." Naruto cursed, looking upon the battleship. "Just how tough are these things?!"
"Very tough, Lt." Picard said. "They were designed for fleet breaking combat, Starbase and planetary assault. In fact, this class of ship utilizes shields rater for a Starbase of this time period."
"The bigger they are, Captain." Naruto said with determination before keying up a few commands into his console, then placing a golden hand on the tactical console, making it glow the same gold.
On the outside, the beam emitters for the dorsal array lit up in their typical firing fashion, before the energy pulses traveled back up the array, making the whole strip glow a bright orange.
"Suck on this." Naruto said before the whole emitter fired a heavily condensed, wide beam of particle energy, which struck the battleships shields. First the shields held up, but the beam pushed the ship back like a firm shove before the shields failed. The beam made contact with the hull briefly, cutting two of the four nacelles off.
"Status of the battleship." Picard ordered.
"Severe hull damage. Thrusters are offline, however their impulse engines are still active. Shields are down. Weapons are still active." Worf reported.
"Send a message to the captain of that ship. Let them know that if we are followed, more than just damage will befall their ship." Picard ordered before Worf started typing. "Helm, get us out of the nebula. Sakura, get ready for that wormhole."
"Aye, Captain." Sakura said as she typed commands into her console.
The Enterprise began moving towards the outer edge of the nebula, but the view screen was fixed on the 23rd century Starfleet ships. None of them pursued.
"Looks like they understood the message loud and clear." Riker smirked.
"Good." Picard nodded before they exited the nebula. "You're on Sakura."
"Aye sir." Sakura nodded before entering the final algorithm.
The deflector dish began to glow brightly before firing a bright white/blue beam forward into space before stopping. The beam kept feeding energy until a wormhole appeared that look much more hospitable compared to the last one.
"If we're doing this, let's go." Sakura said. "The entrance is stable but only for a couple of minutes."
"How's the corridor?" Picard asked.
"Smoother than glass compared to the last one."
"Helm, you heard the lady. Full impulse." Picard ordered.
The Enterprise moved forward and into the wormhole, the entrance closing after the entered.
The crew were lightly jostled around. There was turbulence but it was manageable in comparison and this time the ship wasn't coming apart at the seams.
"Wormhole exit in 1 minute." Sakura informed. "All systems in the green."
"You're an absolute genius, Sakura-chan." Naruto praised.
"Too right." Picard agreed. "I think a round of Romulan ale is in order."
"Let us congratulate her after we make it out safely." Riker suggested.
"Yeah since the last time we had that, it turned into-OOOW!" Naruto cried when Sakura's tricorder hit him in the head.
"Zip it Baka!" Sakura scolded.
"Please, can we have some professional-" Picard ordered before a long bang rocked the Enterprise. Everyone on the bridge went silent. The entire ship and all its crew seemed to hold its breath. All that could be heard were the sounds of the vessel's beeping. On screen they saw the stars of the universe, appearing still before them.
"Sakura..." Picard spoke. "Are we back in our correct time?"
"Standby..." Sakura said in equal awe as she tapped her console and double checked the diagnostic sensors. Picard sat forward in his chair. Riker held onto his beard. Worf gripped his console. Naruto held his hands together in prayer.
The computer displayed the results to Sakura. Who read them carefully. "Sensors are picking up the same chronitons we locked onto throughout this sector..." She fell back in her chair. "We're home."
The bridge exploded in cheers. The trained pride of Starfleet leapt to their feet to hug and clasp one another on the back. Sakura looked up to catch Naruto swooping down to kiss her, which she enthusiastically returned.
"Well done Sakura." Picard praised happily. "I think a special poker night is in order."
"It would be, if the poker room wasn't covered in lake-weeds." Riker informed.
Naruto pulled back from Sakura with an audible pop so that she could respond.
"We could use our room." Naruto offered.
"I think we should find a port and give our engineers a vacation." Sakura suggested, keeping a hand on Naruto's uniform so he couldn't go anywhere.
"I've already set course for the nearest Starbase Captain." Ro reported.
"Which would be?" Picard asked.
"Deep Space 9."
"Ahh, a trip to Quark's bar it is." Picard nodded. "Engage at warp 6."
"Aye, sir." Ro said.
"I almost forgot." Picard said to himself before opening a com to the entire ship. "Attention all crew. We have returned to our regular timeline. I repeat, we have returned home."
Throughout the ship, many cheers erupted, especially within the lower decks. And of course, a rather smug looking Ensign who was raking in latinum hand-over-fist from winning the betting pool.
No one on the bridge couldn't see, and all the footage would be deleted later, but down in Engineering, Geordi was doing the worm surrounded by his cheering underlings.
On the outside, the Enterprise shifted it's direction before jumping to warp. After the ordeal they had, rest and relaxation on board Deep Space 9 is what awaited them now.
Author's Note from Panda: I swear we had to rewrite this chapter 3 or 4 times before we could come up with a conclusion to end this time travel subplot. And that kids is why you don't end your chapter on a cliffhanger when you haven't written the chapter that comes afterwards. Otherwise, you might end up stuck in the past and struggle to make a satisfying conclusion just to get back to the loosely connected storylines you have enjoyed for over twenty chapters. Me and Cmartin love you all. Especially those that leave us reviews of decent lengths.