Spirit of the Fox
(Coveant Cruiser)
As the Covenant Cruiser hummed with movement. One could idly muse how beautiful it looked, oh but this Elite that commanded this ship took great pleasure in what he had accomplished not just a year ago, a sever threat to the Great Journey, many had died in the attack he had placed upon the world visted not just a year ago.
His name was Alei 'Nenillee, a minor family in the Covenant that had taken this great quest and done great deeds to please the Hierarchs, and even eliminated the people of a world that would have posed a great threat to the greatest of their warriors if the UNSC ever discovered them.
Now, he was going to eliminate one that was as strong as the Demon's that fought against his sisters and brothers. The Shadow Warrior, as he was spoken of in whispers among the Sanghelli.
"Report!" barked Alei, the Zealot class Elite "How long…" he growled out to the frightened Grunt "W-were just arriving Shipmaster!" he informed him, in a cowardly manner.
Alei nodded, his golden armor glinted as he flared his mandibles for a moment in thought, he heard the scanner beeping and the Grunt spoke up quickly so as not to scare his master "Shipmaster, ship detected, just left orbit!"
At this, Alei gave the version of a grin as he sat in the hover chair, it was time to eradicate those who went against the instruments of the gods.
(Spirit of Fire – Bridge)
Captain James Gregory Cutter frowned as he mentally check listed the status of the ship, while it was now in a functional manner, it was unable to deal with a threat such as this. The Archer missles were functional as well as the MAC cannon, but the current conditions of the ship would not last, not much of a chance against a Covenant Cruiser.
"Captain" piped up Serena "It is recommended we flee on our current course, as we do not have an ample defense or offense against the Covenant Ship"
Cutter scratched his chin to calm his nerves of steel and spoke "What is the status of the FTL drive?" he asked while she paused for a moment "At Sixty five percent, just forty five minutes minutes-"
"Forty five minutes minutes is too long" he muttered to himself as he turned his gaze to the bridge observation area, eyeing the Covenant Ship, almost as if it were on a pleasure cruise in destroying them in less than
"Charge up the MAC cannon, full charge. I want a retaliatory strike if possible" he got a nod from a crew member before looking to Serena "Status on the missile pods?" he asked at the AI whom paused for a moment "Ready and waiting your orders sir".
As the rest of the crew prepared, one waited calmly in deep thought. Naruto leaned near the wall and had a thoughtful look on his face "Cutter, this ship doesn't have shields like the Covenant's?" he asked, coming up to the holodeck.
"No, all attempts at reverse engineering their tech failed otherwise" he answered, looking at a time for when the Cruiser came in range.
Naruto frowned a bit at that before looking up "I have an idea, that is, if you're willing to listen" Cutter glanced at saw that same familiar determined look in his eye before his attention was on the younger blond.
(Fifteen Minutes Later)
"So let me get this straight, you'll be placing these "Seals" at specific points on the Spirit of Fire, and using the heat from the exhaust of the MAC cannon, you'll power a shield for the ship?" said a very skeptical Jerome and wondered if the blond was insane.
Naruto smiled innocently "Bluntly, yes" he responded with a shrug "And I'll explain everything in due time, while we don't have an enemy breathing down our necks". He got stared at for a few seconds before Jerome sighed aloud for the first time Naruto had heard.
Naruto slipped on his helmet and it made a hissing noise "Besides, give me some credit after what I've done in the past few hours" he pointed out while Jerome reluctently nodded as they were in the hanger, Jerome was going to pilot the Pelican while Naruto had sent a KAge Bunshin to make the transfer seals needed from the exhaust to the Youkai enhanced seals.
"Be warned gentlemen, we only have half an hour until they reach firing range, ifteen minutes for their fighters-"
"I get it, were low on time, just like when we picked up the FTL drive"
Naruto responded annoyingly making her smirk knowing she was right. As Red Team entered in case the Covenant arrived a bit early, Alice had with her a Gallien Nonlinear Rifle. Next, Douglas had a DMR just in case and they boarded with Jerome at the pilot seat and Naruto attached his sniper rifle to his back.
Naruto then took out a hand held case from a seal on his left thigh, he zipped it open and showed more three dozen sniper bullets.
"These, are Mercury tipped, explosive rounds. These'll burn through the metal of a banshee quite nicely" Naruto answered the unasked question while Alice and Douglas nodded as he slipped in a round and placed the pack at his left thigh. But smiled to himself knowing he injected his own chakra into the bullets.
The Pelican took off as they first went to the front of th ship in less than sixty seconds "You better hope this works, Namikaze" Cutter spoke into the communication radio "Or else this is gonna be a short career for you".
"Hm, same for the fact of "Shortest flight with new FTL drive" shot back NAruto while he smiled a bit at the fact he could joke even in bad times.
Stopping just above the top of the ship's bridge The pave low opened and Naruto used chakra to stick to the metal material of the ship as he heard nothing but his breathing. Using his seals, he was able to keep an almost infinite amount of air filtering into his suit, it then took the air that was dirty and recycled it into new air, making it the perfect battle suit in space.
Naruto took out more than several pieces of paper with complex and intricate seal writing before setting it up in a pattern that was like a four point star that was set up on the far left side and another set that was on the right, they glowed a vivid red before powering down, in standby mode.
Naruto had over the years compiled his resources of Youkai as explosives or power sources, with a little overwriting on the seals and some altercation, he could get up a sufficiently powered shield. He smirked a little, the Covenant were practiccly considered Demons, so why not give a taste of their own medicine? Add a little insult to injury.
"Oi, Jerome" he spoke through the radio "How, much of a punch can MAC cannon make in a Coveannt Cruiser?" he asked at last while Jerome arched a brow under his helmet at the question through the radio "A lucky shot? One, two if you want me to be accurate. Why?" he asked last rather wary.
"Oh, no reason" he responded simply while shaking his head before returning to the Pelican. Jerome cocked a brow and decided that he shouldn't know the answer to the "Why".
(Ten Minutes Later)
After the seals were set up, and the transference seals as well, it was all set as the Covenant Cruiser was not just five minutes away, a wave of Banshee's came down unto the Spirit of Fire.
Red Team along with Naruto were atop the ship as they descended. Naruto fired once and with the bullet enhanced by chakra as well, it tore through the first Banshee like a piece of paper, and the one behind it.
"Gotta get one of those" mused Alice to herself as she fired up the Spartan Laser, making their way to the airlock, it closed behind them as the Pelican had dropped them off earlier.
"All personnel, this is Captain Cutter, Alpha level battle conditions, all troops stand by to repel boarders!"
His voice sounded out across the audio speakers as Cutter grimaced when the ship finally came into view, he waited for a moment and ordered "Fire the Missiles" he said calmly as the pods opened up and fired up.
"Launching, three, two, one-"
At the end of Serena's statement, over two hundred fifty missiles were fired at the Covenant Cruiser, to hopefully weaken it's ship's shields.
(Covenant Ship)
Alei looked on in a form of sadistic amusement as the human vessel while bigger, fired upon them. He enjoyed his prey greatly when they fussed against him. "Shipmaster, the enemy's attaclk approach".
"Let it come" he said simply as he fixed his gaze like a shark eyeing a seal in the ocean, his fingers intertwined as hie put his clasped hand in front of his face and elbows on the arm chairs "Let their hope go up, so we shall crush it to dust" he hissed out the last part as a glimmer of sadisticness came to his eye.
(Spirit of Fire)
Naruto looked at his watch as he had his helmet under his arm "Fourty five seconds until they return fire" he sighed aloud as the gaze of the Spartans was unflinching at the Covenant Cruiser.
"This better work, otherwise…" Cutter didn't need to say anything else since everyone caught understood the hanging statement.
As the missles impacted, it hit the shields not doing much damage, finally it returned fire with bolts of plasma fired at the starboard side of the Spirit of Fire.
"Brace for impact!" said aloud Cutter as he said the same thing into the ship's announcing system.
"Don't you need to sit?" asked a rather nervous Anders at Naruto, while she understood that he was taken off the planet for a reason but never knew why completely.
"I'll be fine" he said casually in response just as the missles impacted it tore into the side and Naruto went wide eyed as he got damage report on the starboard side, one level decomporessed and another burned severely.
"Damn it!" cursed Cutter while Naruto checked his chakra reserves and flickered out of view with a Hirashin, much to the dismay of the Spartans.
(With Naruto)
Naruto appeared on top of the Spirit of Fire, he had his helmet on and dashed forward, forgetting his trench coat inside a room for him, he took off the sniper rifle on his back and fired at a Banshee that was behind him, swiftly reloading, he used chakra to run faster towards the back end of the ship. (Think Shield World Level: Halo Wars).
He reached the seals just as another plasma torpedo was fired, in the back ground, Long Swords were seen in dogfights against the Banshee's and Seraphs in a desperate attempt to hold off a single cruiser.
Naruto saw the mistake he had made and swiftly used his youkai to repair the line he missed and held his breath as the missle came ever closer and Impacted on the Spirit of Fire.
But then a red shimmer appeared over the Spirit of Fire, alleviating him of a long held breath as he decided to wait out the battle.
(Spirit of Fire – Bridge)
He expected death, yes, Captain Cutter did. He stared in shock and bewilderment that the sip survived the impact, even more so of the red shimmering shield.
The crew cheered a bit before refocusing "Sir! MAC cannon is charged to the fullest and awaiting your order!"
Cutter did an uncharacteristic smirk "Fire, Full Charge!" he ordered as the MAC cannon fired at the stunned Covenant ship and tore into and through it's midsection in less tha. That surprised Cutter as Naruto spoke over the radio "Hey sir, I made it just in time, eh?" he questioned in an amused tone that had a
Cutter slumped down in his chair to the relief and amusement of Anders as he spoke "Yes…yes you did…"
"I did the favor of adding a few tricks of my own to your MAC round. Looks like that was one hell of a success"
Anders ran a hand through her hair to calm her nerves, but smiled nonetheless that they had struck gold with this kid.
"Honestly…" Naruto spoke, observing the tearing up of the ship "It's a beautiful sight from up here" he remarked as the Long Swords took down what remained of the Seraphs and Banshees.
(Covenant Ship)
Alei watched with great satisfaction as the first round tore through the Spirit of Fire on it's starboard side. But was greatly shocked as some sort of shielding appeared on the human's vessels, he was used to human ships yes, along with the MAC cannon, he faced as well, the rounds on this one were terrifyingly faster and cut through his ship much easier compared to others that had fallen prey to his power.
"Shipmaster! The core is near to overloading, sublight engines are down as well as slip space drive!" informed his second in command, wearing a Major's armor that was suited for Spec Ops.
"Decompression has happened on several levels as well too, we must abandon ship!"
Alei rounded on his second in command as the computers and power generators sparked with electricity "And let the humans get away with this…humility! No, we will make them see the errors of their ways. Get what troops are alive to the boarding pods as well as the dropships, they took our ship. And we shall take theirs" his tone held passion and rage that he had failed the Covenant In defeating a single ship.
The Spec Op's sanghelii paused and nodded mutely, he dared not enrage his master beyond reasoning.
(Spirit of Fire)
The crew and soldiers cheered alike as they watched the destruction of the Coveanant Ship. Hand shakes and brotherly hugs abound, the enemy fighters were mopped up and taken down as well, a few casualties came with the decompression and burning of the first torpedo but the time for mourning would arrive later.
Douglas leaned on the wall outside the bridge halls with his arms crossed "Heh, he did it" he shook his head "Seems we night have a chance after all" he murmured lowly.
Jerome smiled though no one could see it, a small victory that meant a large one to the UNSC.
"I hate to break the celebration you guys…" started Naruto over the communication radio in the bridge "I'm spotting Covenant drop ships as well as boarding pods".
Cutter's eyes widened, survivors on a last desperate attempt to destroy or capture the Spirit of Fire "All hands repel boarders! Non essential personnel should make their way to safe areas guarded by Marines and ODST! This is an order from Captain Cutter!"
That snapped others of their celebreation, with renewed vigor they manned their defenses with their lives and courage abound.
"Red Team, gear up and suit for battle, Naruto, how are thnings on your end?"
(With Naruto)
Naruto's finger presed to the side of his head "Well, let's say I have things in hand…." He trailed off as he was surrounded by Covenant Forces, Grunts, Elites and Hunters alike while some glared at the red eyed cybernetic ninja that killed off many of their kind in the last year.
"I'm busy, be back in a few minutes" he turned off the radio before Cutter had a chance to respond. He glanced at a few Elites that armed their Energy swords and Carbines along with Plasma Pistols.
Naruto cracked his neck and grinned under his helmet "So…who's first?" he asked slowly unsheathing his daito, he got out an M7 Submachine Gun and cocked it ready as the first elite charged at him.
(With Red Team)
The Hanger was the most troublesome as Alice mused to herself, firing her Sniper rifle once and killed a Hunter though a very narrow slit in it's front neck armor. A round ejected itself from the rifle as ODST and Marine alike gave out orders and did suppressing fire.
Paul flung two grenades in the direction of where a pair of Grunts were setting up a plasma turret "Damn it, someone toss me an MA37 Clip!"
A nameless Marine tossed two extra clips at Micheal Sanders as he caught them and reloading, firing down the sights as he took down the shields of one Elite and Paul killed it with a shot from his DMR.
"Not bad rook" he commented before firing several more times, killing Grunts hiding behind the wreckage of their drop ship they tried crashing into the hanger.
All across the ship, Covenant forces had a slightly difficult time dealing with the soldiers of earth that they considered weak and unimpressive as a race. Boy did they have their thoughts wrong as they fought with twice the vigor they had encountered during the Five-Year Harvest campaign.
Alei ran his Energy Blade through a marine that gasped in pain as it exited at the back, he grabbed the human by the head and scoffed in disgust as he threw the now dead marine aside like trash.
He rushed forward, unexpectedly zig zagged then jumped and smashed down a crate as he slashed down two Marines, Paul, the ODST had his DMR slashed at the half as he scurried back, reaching for his M6C pistol.
Alei grabbed a stubborn human that was named Micheal and he growled softly brining him to his face "My face will be the last thing you will ever-"
He felt a flash of heat and pain as two of his mandibles were shot off cleanly, and the surprised Micheal was dropped to the ground, swiftly getting up and grabbing his MA37, he fired off to the flank as some Covenant tried getting around them.
"Who dares…"
"Smooch smooch, kiss kiss asshole" came the mocking metallic tone of one Naruto as Alei eyed the red eyed warrior with anger as the sniper rifle smoked for a bit. He was about fifteen feet away but determined the rifle was fired from a longer range as he put it on his back.
"You! You are the demon that slay my brothers mercilessly!" he recognized from the reports earlier.
"So? I returned the favor when you slaughtered my world" shot back Naruto, slight anger in the metallic tone. He took off the helmet and tossed it aside "I figure I could at least let you die by my blade". He pointed his daito and Alei cocked his head "Impossible, my second in command would have slaughtered you, along with all the troops he brought!"
In response, Naruto took something from behind his back and dropped down a helmet as he kicked it to the Elite Ship Master's fleet. His eyes widened, it was that of his second in command.
"You will pay tenfold" he uttered in anger and rage as the two charged, ignoring the fighting ongoing between their forces. Clashing the daito and energy sword, the Ship Master was decently surprised as he drew back, slashing, it was suprising simple to block as well as fight against.
But there were two key differences between the two figthers. Naruto was much more calm and decisive, as a result with Kyuubi, he gained such maturity with that training. Alei however, let the praise of his peers go to his head and let his own arrogance build, never once taking in the fact that he was fallible, and completely ignored the fact the Spirit of Fire made itself a target in a clear area.
The two clashed with sparks coming off eachother's swords, intricate sword pattersn developed with complex manouvers between locks and slashes along with hand to hand mixed in, all in all, it looked like a dance of death.
Naruto jabbed forward sharply, he dodged a backhand from Alei and rolled forward, slashing at his tendons, it cut a bit as he jerked back and Naruto took out a kunai from a seal on his palm, flicking it, it pierced the hand of his enemy, surprising Alei with his speed and with a charge of chakra he smashed his fist with a dashing run, it shatterd his left ribs and sent him flying to a ruined Warthog's hood, it smashed in as he went limp in his arm.
Naruto scowled at the fact this was the one who had destroyed his world. He glanced around, noting how the returning fire of the Covenant was dying down, slowly the stragglers were killed off. He sighed aloud as Red Team came forward, making sure that the area was safe, Douglas left the hanger moments ago to secure other areas of the ship as Alice monitored from the rafters above.
"You alright?" asked Jerome while Naruto nodded calmly "I'll need a moment with the Zealot over there" he jabbed a thumb to the unconscious elite who was embedded into the Warthog.
Jerome cocked a brow but nodded slowly as Naruto went over, sheathing his daito. The blond took out a scroll as he bent down and got to a knee, he mentally reviewed a certain jutsu before he felt pain.
He saw an Energy pierce his chest , and through his spine he felt himself lifted off the ground "Foolish human, did you truly think I'd let my guard down?" he asked with an equiviliant of a sneer as he pinned Naruto to a Pelican, Jerome's eyes widened upon seeing the so called invincible shinobi go down.
Alei quickly got to his feet and flipped the crushed warthog onto a squad of Marines, two dodged but two more were crushed with another wounded badly.
He ran towards the exit, knowing the other Spartans were busy in other areas, he could also damage the vital sections of this crude ship to tell tales of his heroic downfall.
"HEY ASSHOLE!"
His head whipped around in shock, as did heads of the Marines and ODST alike as Naruto tore out the Energy Sword, the wound healed as the suit quickly modled what was lost, he stomped once and caught a M319 Indiviudal Grenade Launcher.
"Catch" he said somply before firing the grenade launcher, it went flying at the Shipmaster's chest, too shocked to react as he was hit with an explosion that tore into his skin and caused third degree burns, he was knocked with the force so much, he went flying out of the hanger and dented the hall that lead into the hanger in the first place.
Naruto felt the Grenade Launcher hiss of smoke before dropping it with a loud clang as he picked up his daito, Jerome wanting to kill that Elite himself, stared at Naruto in be wonderment, shock and surprise all in one. "I'll be at the bridge if you need me" he stated simply before walking towards Jerome and handed him a scroll, he began to leave as if nothing happened, he ignored the medics that wanted to inspect him for damage.
The Marines and ODST gave wide berth for Naruto, some were too shocked to say anything, some gave congratulations, thanks, even a slap to the shoulder. But some were quiet at what they had seen.
Jerome eyed the scroll quietly before sighing to himself.
(Spirit of Fire – Bridge)
Cutter sighed as he got the last of the patrols that mopped up the Covenant Forces, he shook his head, it was going to be a field day for ONI when they read the report on what happened at Harvest, Arcadia and the shield world. But most of all, it was mainly on Naruto that they survived, knowing that these "Seals" would be made by him, mass production was a likely thing.
He was cut from his musings when Red Team entered the bridge "Status?" he asked at Jerome who reported "Sir, enemy in the Hanger in neutralized" he informed while Cutter nodded his understanding and sat down in his chair.
"There's more" he stated as though it were a fact.
Jerome nodded.
"Naruto sir" he said seriously while Cutter groaned inwardly, he was right, today was not his day. It seemed his upcoming recruit had more than meets the eye.
Authors Note
Hey everyone, hope you liked this new chapter. While Naruto does have enough technical knowledge to upgrade ships, he needs the right tools, so he compensated by using his sealing abilities. He will upgrade later when ONI helps him in that department.
Also, Red Team along with Cutter learn a few undisclosed facts about a major ally in the upcoming war.
I do hope you all like what happened for the battle and described the emotions that unfolded for the crew of the Spirit of Fire.
Tell me what you think in your reviews, but I will rewrite if this is unsatisfactory. Some may have noticed how quiet Naruto became after killing the Zealot commander, I will explain that next chapter as well.