Hey everyone, I am back with the next chapter :)
Nothing much to say about this one so since no one has reviewed, on with the show :P
Book 4 - Star Trek: Predator - Sad Day for Konoha's - Chapter 2, Enter Section Thirty One
Neji had been transferred to the USS Titan and was now a Lieutenant as well as chief of Security and Tactical officer, the Titan was stationed at Deep Space Nine and was among the ships sent to rescue the Lexington
"Are you sure Lieutenant?" Captain William Riker asked
"Yes sir, it's the Lexington, or what's left of her" Gary who was manning the operations console answered
Neji was standing in the middle of the bridge looking at the screen, debris floating around "That cannot be" He said not wanting to believe his eyes
"I'm sorry Neji this must be hard for you" Troi who was the first officer
"It isn't true! She is still alive, I know she is, I can feel it!" He responded
"Neji, there are no life pods and I cannot sense anything out there" Troi added as she put her hand on his shoulder
"In her message to me she said they were being pulled into a ship, why would they just destroy them?" Neji stated
"Something must have happened, maybe they set the self destruct, its hard to say" Riker explained
"No, I cannot accept that explanation, the Federation must keep searching for them, they are part of Starfleet and we cant let them down" Neji stated, almost pleadingly
Riker looked at Troi as Neji walked off of the bridge
"Should we go after him?" Riker asked
"We should give him some space right now, he needs time to process this horrible news" Troi told him
Meanwhile Neji had made his way to his quarters "I must talk to Janeway, she will help me, I know she will" He told himself as he sat at his desk. He sent a transmission to Starfleet command and awaited a response
"Incoming Transmission" The computer informed him shortly after
"Patch it through" Neji ordered
Janeway's face appeared on the screen "Neji, I am so sorry to hear about the Lexington, I know Hinata was on that ship and that she meant a great deal to you
"Admiral, I know they are still alive, we have to keep searching!" Neji told her
"The debris from the Lexington shows us that they are gone, I truly believe that they must have put up a fight rather then let them take them peacefully" Janeway answered
"Admiral, I am telling you that Hinata is alive I know it, I can FEEL it, she isn't dead" Neji once again told her
"Neji I know this is hard for you, I recommend you have a talk with your councilor, she is the best in Starfleet and she can help you get through this tough time" Janeway told him
"I don't need a talk with commander Troi, look if you don't keep searching then I will" Neji simply told her
Janeway let out a sigh "Neji we are in the middle of a war, I cannot permit you to just wander around, you have to understand that our resources are stretch thin and all evidence point towards the Lexington being destroyed
"Then consider this to be my Resignation from Starfleet admiral" Neji said angrily
"Neji, think about this, do not throw away your entire carrier. You are just emotional right now" Janeway stated in an attempt to make him reconsider
"Damn right I am emotional, because no one else gives a damn! Titan out!" He said as he ripped off his comm badge and threw it onto his desk "If Starfleet won't help, then I will do it without them" He said as he slammed his fist on the desk
A few hours later some of Konoha's officers were in a conference with each other
"Everyone, thank you for taking the time from your duties" Neji stated from the Titan
"Neji, I think i speak for all of us when I say we would have come even if we were in the middle of a battle" Sakura stated from Voyager
"Yeah, and I don't think she's gone either! The Freedom is a few hours away from the area" Naruto stated from the Freedom
"I know she is still alive, I can feel it!" Neji told them
"I had a fight with my captain, it got dirty, I am going to resign from Starfleet as well. I am going to join you guys, my captain wouldn't even let me come see it for myself" Ino stated from the Legend
"No Ino, Neji already quit" Naruto told her
"But they wont allow me to leave to search for her!" Ino stated in protest
"Take a leave of absence Ino, trust me. I have friends that can help us" Naruto explained
"What kind of Friends?" Sakura asked
"I have already spoken to them, Neji once the Freedom arrives I want you to join us, and Ino we will pick you up as soon as you get your Leave cleared, don't worry it will be accepted" Naruto told her
Ino and Neji both nodded as they were curious
the screens went blank as the conference was over.
A few hours later Naruto was in Kira's office
"Are you sure Naruto?" Kira asked him
"Kira Its the only way to find the truth, Starfleet won't help" Naruto answered
"But section thirty one is still a branch of Starfleet" Kira reminded him
"But it does its own investigations doesn't it? It has more freedom and autonomy then any other department does it not?" Naruto asked
"Well yes of course" Kira answered
"Then that is all I need to know" Naruto quickly told him
"Alright then, I spoke with my old commanding officer in Section thirty one, you, Suzu and Sasuke have been commissioned and are now part of section thirty one, you are now officially a secret intelligence officer" Kira told him
"Great! I have some preparation to do then" Naruto stated as he began to walk away
"Hold on, I will be coming with you guys, I have taken some leave" Kira told him
"Kira, the Freedom needs is first officer, I am already taking its Chief tactical and Chief of Operations, not to mention me as the Hazard team leader" Naruto tried to protest
"Don't worry about the Freedom, I am more worried about getting you guys back here safe" Kira answered him
"You know, the captain isn't going to like this" Naruto told him
"Yeah I know, but deep down he will understand" Kira said with a warm smile
Naruto returned the smile "Thanks Kira" He said as both of them walked out of Kira's office
A few hours later Naruto, Suzu and Sasuke walked onto the bridge in their new black intelligence uniforms
Tucker let out a sigh as he saw them make their way down the bridge with Naruto in the lead "So are you guys are sure you want to do this?" He asked, knowing full well the answer
"Yeah, its something we feel we must do, if anything it might help us find closure. We just have to be absolutely sure before we give hope" Naruto answered
Suddenly Kira walked onto the bridge, and to Tucker's and Athrun's surprise, he also wearing his black shirt uniform "Kira?" Athrun simply said in shock
"Commander, what is the meaning of this!" Tucker asked
"Captain, I am taking a leave from Starfleet and I have been temporarily reinstated into Section thirty one sir" Kira answered
"In my ready room, now commander!" Tucker ordered as Kira nodded and followed him into his ready
Tucker threw his hands in the air "Alright Kira, what the hell are you doing?" he said as stared at his first officer
"Captain, they need my help sir. I cannot just let them go alone" Kira answered
"Kira, You know as well as I do that the Lexington is gone, they are just having a hard time accepting it" Tucker told him
"And sir that might be true, or maybe there is something else going on. Starfleet wont do anything because its to busy fighting this war, there isn't even an investigation of the possibility, this is where section thirty one comes in" Kira explained
"Alright then I will get right to the point. The last time I allowed my first officer go on an Intel mission he never came back!" Tucker finally told him
Kira smiled "So that's what's going on, you are afraid that the same fate will happen to me" Kira said
"In a very short period of time you have become a fine addition to the crew. The crew trusts you and quite frankly, there are very few people I trust, you have become one of them" Tucker told him
"Captain, don't worry I am not going to allow myself to get killed so easily, plus if what everyone thinks is right then we won't find anything and we will be back before you know it. I am also going to make sure that these kids get back home safely sir" Kira explained
Tucker let out another sigh but he finally shook Kira's hand "You bring them and yourself back home alive, you hear me commander? I do not want to have to train a new first officer!"
"Yeah, I will sir" He said with a smile. As he was about to leave he suddenly stopped "Oh yeah i almost forgot, by order of section thirty one and with authorization from Starfleet command, we are taking the Alpha Flyer" He added
"What? But we just got it! I mean we had the one from Tom but we had to give it back, and we just got our own!" Tucker stated in protest
"Sorry sir its the best shuttle for our needs" Kira explained
Alright , if it will help you complete this mission safely then take it, but you better not put a single scratch on her!" Tucker told him
"Will do captain" Kira answered as he walked out of the ready room
Athrun was waiting for him just outside "Kira..." He started to say
"What is it?" Kira asked
"Do you want me to come? I am sure that I could convince section thirty one to re-instate me as well" Athrun told him
"No Athrun, not this time. We cannot leave the Freedom without its senior staff. four of us are already leaving, don't worry we will be back soon, keep the ship safe for us" Kira told him
"Aye, you just make sure you come back" Athrun answered as both friends shook hands and Kira joined Sasuke Suzu and Naruto who were waiting for him near the turbolift
"Neji is waiting for us in the flyer and Ino's ship just dropped out of warp, she should join us shortly" Sasuke stated as they entered the turbolift and made their way to the shuttle bay
Neji was prepping the flyer for departure, he was dressed in his normal clothes "Hey Neji" Naruto greeted him as he took a seat up front
"Hey guys, I cant thank you enough for helping me like this" Neji answered as the rest of them took up stations
"Hinata is a fellow Konoha, we will do everything in our power to bring her back" Suzu said with a smile
"That is just how we do things" Sasuke added
"Oh Neji, this is commander Kira Yamato, he is the first officer of the Freedom, and its thanks to him that we were able to get into section thirty one and barrow the flyer" Naruto added
"It is nice to meet you, trust me, if she is out there we will find her, but you must also be prepared for the possibility that she is gone" Kira explained
"I know, I just have to be sure. I would not be able to live with myself if I just let this go without at least investigating" Neji answered
Ino walked in, she had a backpack on along with her and she was also in her normal clothes "Hey guys" She said greeting her friends
"Ino!" Naruto said with a bright smile "Its been a while"
"Thanks for joining us Ino, I know this cost you a lot" Neji told her
"Hey so got demoted, If we find Hinata it will be worth it" Ino answered back
"Wait, you got demoted?" Naruto said surprised
"Yeah, my captain said I needed to grow up and accept her lost, so I kind of gave him a piece of my mind" Ino explained
"Ouch, that sucks" Suzu said feeling sorry for her friend
"Well then, are we ready to go?" Kira asked the team
"Yeah, let's do this" Naruto answered as he began the start check list for the flyer
Tucker's voice filled the intercom "The fleet has left the area, we are going to be heading towards Starbase four three two. We are going to be there for quite some time as we have been made a part of Orb's defense fleet for now, since they lost some ships in their last defense"
"Understood sir, we are ready for Launch" Kira informed him
"Good luck, and if your friend is alive, bring her back" Tucker told them
Naruto began to work his console as the warp core came online
"This is flyer requesting permission to Launch" Suzu requested
"Permission granted" Tucker answered
"Firing thrusters" Naruto stated as the flyer began to fly out of the shuttle bay
"We are clearing the shuttle bay doors" Sasuke reported as the flyer flew out from the Freedom
"Firing impulse engines" Naruto stated as the flyer began to pick up speed
"Alright Freedom, we are clear, see you soon" Kira said
"Understood, Freedom out" Tucker answered as the Freedom warped away
The flyer began the task of finding their friend
End chapter 2
And that is that. What will happen next? Tune in next time :P