I am back and here is Chapter 8. Please check out the poll on my profile. Thanks!

On Slave 1, sitting by himself in a small hanger, Gaara was wearing an unaccustomed smile. It was not a large smile, but a smile nevertheless. It was due to his new-found joy at finally belonging to a group who did not care about his "inner" demon. He felt truly free for the first time in his life. Shaking his head in wonder, Gaara put aside his thoughts, and returned his attention to the new armor in his grasp. He carefully turned it over in his hands, thoughtfully deciding how he would customize it. He started by painting it a dark brown, the color of dried blood. As a secondary color, he used a golden sand stain to highlight it. Reviewing his choices critically, he decided that he liked what he had done.

Looking over at his gourd, he noticed how out-of-place the simple organic container was in these surroundings. He really needed a new container for his sand. Standing up, he stretched the kinks out, then walked out into the dimly light corridor in search of Fett. Stopping abruptly as he remembered that he should not leave his armor unattended, he quickly returned to the hanger to collect his armor (and gourd). Once he secured them, he would go find Fett to ask about a suitable container.

Nearby, in storage room, Temari and Kankuro had already finished customizing their armor. Temari's armor was somehow painted nearly the same as Jango's armor was (something that would give Fett quite a start when he saw it as she had obviously never seen Jango). She was checking out the weapons crates to find one she liked, while smiling like a maniac and looking like a kid in a candy store. Her brother Kankuto's armor was jet black with silver trim. He had a peaceful smile on his face while he looked at droid parts. When he had found out about droids he had literally jumped up into the air in joy. After examining all the droids he could, he was now building a droid of his own that could also be used as a puppet. Currently he was surrouned by some nasty looking parts while the droid took shape in his hands.

In a different part of the ship, Kisame was checking out his sword. He was glad that it could easily be turned into a viro-blade as he didn't think he could bear to part with it- no matter the advantages. He was wearing his new armor and hadn't taken it off since he had customized it. The armor was a dark sea blue with white patches on the arms and legs and a white shark silhouette across his chest. He too was happy with this new group. It was a lot better then his old organization and probably more sane well! Well, he stopped his thought, all except for that Gaara kid. Frowning slightly as he picked out a secondary weapon (a blaster cannon capable of shooting though a ship's hull- as such it was unloaded), he wondering what Gaara's story was. Then, shrugging as he dismissed the thought, he returned his attention to the weapon in his hand. It was fairly large, but could still be strapped to his leg. Deciding he liked it, he printed a shark's jaw on the barrel and decided that it was an imposing sight. Grinning again, he thought to himself "What fun I'm going to have!"

Meanwhile, on his own ship, Naruto was the only person on the ship in a bad mood. He was not having a good day, mainly because Jiraiya had discovered holograms and was currently using them to make holographic versions of his books, while hatching plans to sell them to the galaxy at large. He gave a big sigh and looked at Jiraiya, bent over the holographic array. Jiraiya's armor was plain silver- no other color relieving it. In Naruto's opinion, it was boring at best. He glanced down at his own orange armor and wished again he could get Jiraiya to pay a LITTLE more attention to his armor. The other's armor was not nearly as bland. He was curntly going to Nar Shardar the first stop on there juruory he know that they would need some ground rules, he decided. They all had agreed to receive the armor and each had utilized a different style, much to Naruto's pleasure. Looking once more at Jiraiya, Naruto stifled another sigh.

Hanging out in his room, Kalashi was trying on his new armor. His combat vest had been discarded onto his bed. Grinning, he admired his armor. It was golden with a silver trim. "It was really beautiful." he thought. He was also wearing his mask, along with a headband over his eye [like in the show]. He had really taken to the new weapons he now had access to. He especially liked the sniper rifle. He had mentally combined the rifle with a stealth field generator and had determined that it would be a deadly combination. Taking one last look at his beautiful armor, he pulled out his book and started to read, thinking "I'm going to love Jiraiya's new 3D books!"

Lee was in a small storage space with some practice dummys hung around the bare metal walls. He was diligently working on the new combat skills he had learned. Lee was wearing his traditional green outfit, but with the Mandalorian chest and leg armor attached to it. The shin guard was orange, while the rest of his armor was an irridescent green. He also wore bracers that could stop light saber attacks. He thought how youthful Naruto was for giving him such awesome armor. He was sure Gai-sensei would approve of his new look. He still insisted that he only use Taijutsu for combat, but liked the idea of piloting.

Over by the main computer board, Shino was looking at data on the various new insects. He knew that the first stop was probably going to be a city, so he was not have time to find a lot of different insects. He consoled himself by looking at his new armor. It was gray with white stripes all around it. Unlike the other's armor, it was a loose fit so he could still send out his insects. Sighing in disappointment over the postponement of his bug-hunting days, he shook his head, then went back to looking at the screen showing the new bugs he hoped to find.

Hinata was reviewing her weapon choices. In keeping with her personal philosophy, they were all non-lethal. She looked at the armor she had been given. Although she had been instructed to customize it to suit her, she still had no idea of what she was going to do to it. She let out a small sigh as her mind drifted to Naruto- something it did often. He was really nice, she decided. She liked him- plain and simple. He had been helping her to try to get over her shyness, but so far was failing. He didn't seem to realize that just being around him tied her tongue into knots. Firmly pushing her thoughts in another direction, she started mentally going over the medial equipment she had discovered on-board. She was fascinated by it's capabilities and determined to quickly learn how to use it.

Well, that was Chapter 8. It was really kind a set up for Chapter 9. I needed to get everyone in their new look and position. As always, please review. Also, give me some idea on what Hinata's armor should look like. Also, please go to my profile and vote. So long folks!