I do not own Naruto or Warhammer 40K
AN. This is fic is set immediately after the events of the novel "Lord of the night." by Simon Spurrier. It is not necessary to have read it to understand this fic, but it is an amazing book and I highly recommend it. For those new to the Warhammer40k universe there will be a glossary at the end of each chapter when terms need to be explained. This will be a darker Naruto than in canon. If you have any questions leave them in your review or PM me.
oOo
Heir of the Talon-Master.
Chapter 5. Crusade.
oOo
Hissing steam vented from between massive metal hatches forged millennium ago as they slid upwards with only the slightest whisper of sound. Within the darkness vast shapes appeared. Power armored and massive their armored boots shook the deck. They stepped out into the dim illumination of the corridor their black armored forms blending into the shadows except for the bright splash of color that was the left shoulder of each.
On each mighty shoulder pad a different symbol was painted absorbing the little light present and throwing it back in a cascade of color and light. Here a snarling wolf's head howled over an ice blue field. On another a midnight black bird encasing a ruby teardrop rode astride a field of soft tan. A blue fist gleamed from two more while a crimson fist rode on armor the color of the morning sky. A black cross, an emerald scorpion, and a white raven shone from the others armor.
On their right shoulder however each bore the same symbol proudly. A grinning Skull astride a crossed I. It marked them as the elite warriors of the Imperium of Man. The Ordo Xeno's military arm. The Death-Watch. Alien hunters without peer. Space Marines drawn from every corner of the Imperium to recreate the perfection of the Emperor's past legions.
A slim female shape stood haloed in a small spot of light at the end of the hallway calmly watching their approach. She wore a dark skin tight body suit, it was open at the front exposing the skin of her neck and and chest all the way down to her waist and well past her navel. With honey gold skin and loose raven hair her she was beautiful by any scale or measure you cared to use. Her eyes flashed with intelligence and carefully controlled fear. An ornate bolt pistol and a whip rode in holsters slung low on her hips. A sparkling silver chain hung down between her breasts to just above her bellybutton, at its end the silver I of the inquisition hung marking her as a member of the Inquisition.
She finally spoke as the might of the Death-Watch closed in on her. "Brother Captain Proteus." Her voice trembled a bit but she clamped down on her nerves and forged onwards. "I am Inquisitor Kalypsia. Does the Death-Watch stand ready to serve the Ordo Xenos once more?"
Reaching up Proteus removed his helmet. "The Death-Watch stands ready." He intoned bringing his hands together to form the sign of the aquila.
"Excellent." Kalypsia allowed herself a small smile at how easily the Death-Watch had placed itself at her disposal. She had expected more of challenge from the mighty Adeptus Astartes. "Welcome aboard the Shadow-Slip. Go to your quarters we have a ways to travel." Turning on her heel she disappeared into the bowels of her starship.
oOo
One month. 4 weeks. 30 Days. A length of time no longer or shorter than any other you care to name. Time flows differently to all beings. To a boy in Konoha 30 days came and went in the blink of an eye, infinitely faster than the drab gray years of his past. A jaded space marine looked upon the world with eyes that had first seen light over ten thousand years ago. Time means little to him. Another Space Marine a captain chafed at the endless days spent in the warp between reality and madness. But duty cooled his ire and strengthened his resolve. Two women on opposite sides of the inquisition, both bright with ambition and power were content to wait. At least for the moment.
oOo
The sound of his hatch opening roused Proteus from half sleep. Straightening he rose to greet his guest. "Brother Drigo what brings you here."
Sergeant Drigo of the Crimson Fist's Space Marine Chapter brought his fist to his chest in a salute. "Brother Captain I seek an audience." Though a veteran warrior his face was unscarred save for the bright shapes of two silver service studs sunk into the skin above his left brow.
"Certainly Brother." Proteus gestured towards a stone bench sitting against one wall. The two space marines wore gray shapeless cloaks while on board the Shadow-Slip though their armor was close at hand. "What do you need?"
"There are questions brother." Drigo began. Immediately Proteus picked up on some of the unspoken implications of Drigo's statement. This was no single Marine requesting an audience, Drigo was representing the other marines aboard the ship by bringing this to his attention. "The Inquisitor has been unusually tight lipped regarding this venture, some of the other brothers grow impatient in their ignorance."
"You speak mostly of brother Boris then?" Proteus hazarded a guess.
Drigo nodded.
"The sons of Russ have ever been quick to act. But remember we are the Emperor's hands, it is for us to do his works. Let the Inquisition keep its secrets. We shall face whatever foe is required with flame and bolter."
"Well said brother. Still it would do much for us to gain some more information, at the very least preparing for a mission would do much to settle Boris's choler."
"Agreed, I will speak with the inquisitor. Thank you brother." Standing both Marines exited Proteus's chambers and headed off in different directions. Striding through the depths of the Inquisition's ship Proteus passed rows of silent servitors chained to their posts.
He eventually arrived at the hatch to Kalypsia's private chambers. Two gold plated Combat servitors stood sentry outside. Thick bronze cables ran over and under their skin to clicking and whirring mechanical devices sunk deep into pallid gray skin. Gears ratcheted as ammo was fed along belts into the snub nosed bolters that had replaced their arms. Their heads were skinless grinning skulls bulging with lenses, spires and other arcane sensorium. Proteus skin prickled as the servitors ran scanners over his body.
Whirring the two servitors stepped back satisfied with their inspection and allowed the hatch door to iris open. Warm gold light spilled out of the open hatch along with soft music and a delicate aroma.
He found Kalypsia lounging on a richly upholstered couch in the center of her lavish quarters. She held a clear glass filled with a deep red liquid. She rotated the glass gently with one hand while she watched the space marine approach.
"Captain to what do I owe this interruption?" she spoke casually but with all the understated arrogance of veteran inquisitor. She took a sip of her drink pausing to savor the taste before turning her attention back to Proteus.
"Inquisitor I came to speak to you about our mission."
"Captain when you have need of information I will provide it to you. Until then prepare your men." With her free hand she picked up a data slate and began to read. It was a clear dismissal.
"Inquisitor I cannot prepare my men until we know more about our target. Are the interrogator and Night Lord on a planet? A ship? We need answers to these questions so we can prepare an insertion plan." Proteus voice rose fractionally near the end but he managed to retain his composure. Inquisitors as a whole were prone to being inscrutable and at times difficult to work with, but Kalypsia was difficult in different more subtle ways that he found disconcerting after being away so long from the Death-Watch.
Kalypsia stared into her glass for a long moment before placing it down with a sigh. Stretching with liquid grace she sat up a bit straighter. "Very well Captain. I suppose you are due a bit more information. As you know we currently have no idea where the desecrator of the fist of Athen's is. So we consulted the Emperor's Tarot. We got a rather interesting answer. The enemies strength will light the way." She waited for Proteus to take the bait and ask the implied question. When Proteus didn't she frowned. "It means captain that the enemy will lead us to our prey. The tarot also gave us a location. Here in the Ultima Segmentum. We will go this location and wait. We will be there shortly. In fact we should be there within hours at most. Sooner or later the way forwards will be made known to us."
"So we must truly be prepared to fight anywhere. Good." Proteus let a smile cross his face.
Kalypsia let her frown become more pronounced now. "I fail to see how that is good Captain." She let a faint trace of acid into her tone.
"We can set up several broad armament packages and tweak them as necessary. By your leave Inquisitor we must prepare." He strode from the chambers without another word his mind already preparing briefs and strike packages. Kalypsia watched him go through lidded eyes. A electromechanical cherub built from a child's skeleton floated down from the ceiling. "Inquisitor we will arrive at the target location in one hour." Her ships captain's voice crackled from the speaker built into the cherubs left eye.
"Inform Proteus. Activate cloak." She stirred her drink thoughtfully. "And now we wait."
oOo
"So how is Naruto doing?" Sarutobi asked while lighting his pipe. Genma glanced towards Koharu and Homaru before answering. The four were in the Hokage's office with the three elder ninja drinking tea. It had been a month since Naruto been taken in under the tutelage of Koharu and Homura and 3 weeks since Sarutobi had received anything resembling a real briefing on his status.
"Hes doing very well. Actually hes made an astonishing amount of progress. Its a bit hard to describe actually." Genma fiddled with the senbon in his mouth.
Sarutobi arched an eyebrow at Genma's statement but refrained from interrupting.
After a moments indecision Genma plowed on. "He's explosive when he fight's. But its strange. Hes not out of control. He fight's like a berserker but not like one at the same time. It seems like hes just swinging at random but then you take a step back and you can kind of see a pattern. Its weird..." Genma trailed off scratching his face.
"Koharu Homura can you explain a little better?" Taking his pipe out of his mouth Sarutobi breathed out a cloud of smoke.
"Genma actually explained it as well as he can. Hes not a berserker but you can't see him fighting and think anything else. We've given him tests to see how well he can attack only one target and evade others and he performs them flawlessly. But it feels like hes always just a hearbeat away from loosing control of himself. But he never, does sorry its just strange." Homura held his hands out in apology.
"Do you think he's in danger of releasing the Kyubi?" Sarutobi asked a bit hesitantly. If Naruto could not a more permanent solution would have to be used.
"No no hes fine." Genma spoke quickly cutting off Homura and Koharu. "In fact it looks like hes even in less danger of that than before. I know what we said about his fighting style but hes also a lot more controlled and focused than he was before. He no longer acts like such a kid."
"That's hard to imagine." Sarutobi snorted as he tried to picture it.
"Genma overstates things." Koharu shook her head dismissively. "He hasn't changed overnight or anything. Its more like hes turned all his excess energy inwards. His drive for attention seems to have turned into a drive for excellence. He reads a lot more now and he reads fast. And he remembers what he reads thanks to Ibiki." Seeing Sarutobi's confused look she elaborated. "Ibiki spends all of his allotted training time with Naruto training his mind. Word games, puzzles, memory exercises, riddles that sort of thing."
"And how does Ibiki keep Naruto still during all this?" the Hokage asked sardonically blowing a smoke ring towards the ceiling.
"He doesn't." Genma laughed. "He makes Naruto do stretches and strengthening exercises while he quizzes him."
"That sounds about right." Sarutobi agreed. "He is still living in his old apartment right?"
"Yes."
"I thought we were going to move him out?"
Koharu fielded that one. "We were but he didn't want to move. So we just got him new furniture and had the landlord fix a few small problems. Naruto seems happy with the situation. Besides the governess we talked about?" Sarutobi nodded. "She lives in the same apartment building. Naruto's apparently fond of her. So perhaps it worked out for the best."
"Good good. What was her name again?"
"Mita Ashyn, and her assistant is Ayame the girl from the ramen stand."
"Even better. What about his skills. Is he leaning towards any kind of specialty?" Sarutobi asked the room at large.
"Oddly enough its actually the ninken who he works the best with."
"The ninken?"
"Yes. In fact Tsume said several of the unpaired ninken have requested to be paired up with Naruto. But he seems to be leaning towards Kenjutsu more than anything else. Hes a natural with a blade."
"Hmm. In that case draw funds and get Naruto properly equipped. Something's come up and I want him to participate."
"Oh." Koharu murmured intrigued. "What is it."
"An A rank mission to the land of waves." Sarutobi's face was grim and he pulled his hat a little lower on his head.
oOo
"Mita where's Sahaal?" Naruto asked as he finished eating his lunch. The clothes he wore now were remarkable when compared to his old clothes. Gone was the orange jumpsuit and goggles in its, place a pair of brown cloth pants and a gray brown shirt. A bandanna identical to countless others worn by farmers and tradesmen hid his bright blonde hair. In short Naruto could now wander almost anywhere in any village or town anywhere in the continent virtually unnoticed.
"Hes aboard the fist of Athens. There are certain resources not available to us with this planet's technological base. We need to find a way to remedy that. Sahaal may have found a way." Mita had exchanged her old clothes for new custom made clothes and was now wearing a blue and black kimono with gold embroidery and now looked more like a native. Taking a sip of tea she made calculations on the data slate sitting on the table.
"Oh. I thought there were fabricators on the fist of athens?" Naruto asked thoughtfully. "Can't we use those?"
Mita smiled a bit at Naruto's question. A month ago she was a bit leery of inducting this boy into their plans but his bottomless thirst for knowledge and drive for achievement had let him absorb data like a sponge. That and some judicious memory enhancements had allowed her to simply place concepts and knowledge in to his mind whenever she needed to. He had easily grasped the concept of the universe and the galaxy spanning Imperium. And he showed a refreshing lack of curiosity regarding how and why things worked, which eased her burdens immensely. She had by necessity not said much about the four chaos gods preferring to let Sahaal tutor the boys in those matters.
"The fabricators on the Fist are only geared towards repairing armor and making ammunition. We need much more than that if we hope to carry this fight to the Imperium and defend this world."
"Oh." Picking up his dishes Naruto disappeared into the kitchen. Coming out he nodded to Mita and headed to his room his mind already refocusing on something else. Mita smiled again. Naruto had grown to resemble Sahaal in a number of ways. Notably his habit of finishing a conversation by the simple expedient of leaving. She put her slate down and picked up a scroll. Teuchi was due back in a few days. Over the last month she had used the fist of athens scanners to locate and identified every seam of metal and ore on this planet. Including precious metals like gold and silver. With some seed money she had gained by melting down the gold and jewel encrusted effigies aboard the ship she had managed to accrue a fairly sizable fortune.
She had put that money to use by using Teuchi as her agent to buy the land where all these materials was present but not yet harvested or mined. In time they would use these resources to build the infrastructure they needed. But for now it was simpler to buy the land and have the local's extract what they needed, when they needed. She would buy this world to her side if she had to. Perhaps that was the fastest way to gain dominance over it. The velvet glove or of the iron fist she was equally disposed towards both. Thus far their plans were going well.
oOo
Walking into his room Naruto stopped and took a moment to examine his room. Night after night of training with Sahaal had drilled into him the necessity to assess his situation every time he entered or left a room. That and countless exercises to focus his mind and enforce an iron code of discipline onto his mind were the least of the things he had gained under Sahaal's and Mita's tutelage.
Satisfied with his scan he finally entered his room. He crossed the room to get to his bookshelf and pulled down a slim volume. On the cover was a figure wreathed in black feathered wings. He read the title out loud "Razgriz". A prickle on his skin alerted that someone was drawing near. He turned and spotted Genma sitting on his window sill.
"Oi Naruto. Come on we're going shopping." he smiled at Naruto and held up a bunch of bank notes in one hand. On the other side of Naruto's door Mita listened intently with all her of senses. Concentrating her mind she sent a mental pulse out into the sky.
oOo
A few short minutes later the two were standing in front of one of the many weapon shops in Konoha's ninja district. Genma tapped Naruto on the shoulder and led him inside. "Start looking around Naruto I'm going to set you up a line of credit."
Naruto paused in his silent perusal to look at Genma his bright blue eyes inquisitive. "Credit. Why?"
"Hokage-Sama said to get you outfitted. Besides your going to start missions soon. And your a well you know..." Genma waved one hand rather vaguely. "The village is going to pay for your expenses as ninja because of that." He finished with a proud smile at his excellent explanation.
A grin spread across Naruto's face as he dashed off to explore the rest of the store. Whistling Genma walked up to the counter and the shopkeeper. "Hey." He greeted the man warmly.
"Hmm." the shopkeeper grunted back at him.
Strange. I do not know this man's name. I've been coming here for years. I should know that. Genma cleared his throat and started over. "That kid over there is Naruto. Hes going to be shopping here from now on. The council will be paying for his gear and equipment. Here's a deposit for his set of purchases."
The Shopkeeper grunted, took the money and wandered back into the back of the shop. That went well. Thought Genma as he watch the remarkably unmemorable man walk away.
oOo
Wandering into the back of the shop the shopkeeper opened the back door and let a brown haired young girl walk out of the shop. Ayame turned and thanked him. "Make sure he gets that gear. It was prepared for him specifically. Don't make me come back here." Her cultured and mature voice was a far cry from the cheerful persona that she showed at the ramen shop. She pressed a handful of bills into the mans hand and left.
Closing the door again and locking it the shopkeeper bent and picked up the heavy sack that Ayame had delivered to the shop. Inside metal clinked against metal and rustled over cloth. Opening it he pulled out a skull patterned face mask. He let the strange textured material slide across his rough calloused hands. A standard shinobi breast plate and shoulder guards painted in mottled black and blue with specks of gold sprinkled over the surface followed it out of the bag. Still inside the bags more shapes were visible but he satisfied himself with a simple glance to familiarize himself with the items.
He waited until he heard the ding of the bell on his counter to ring.
When it did he gathered the bag and the other sections of armor and went back to the counter. He placed the mask and breast plate on the counter and began to ring up the boys purchases.
Naruto had picked out a fairly high quality set of ninja tools and was waiting as Genma and the shopkeeper finished with his purchases when the shopkeeper placed a facemask on the counter. A mask with a stylized skull on it so that when worn it turned your face from the eyes down into a grinning skull. He reached out and picked it up. "What's this?"
"Oh that." The shopkeeper turned and leveled his gaze onto Naruto. "That was a special order item for a customer. He ended up getting killed before he could use it but at least he paid for most of the cost upfront. Now I'm thinking about just selling to whoever wants it. You interested Kid? There's a full set of armor with it too."
"What was the name of the man?" Genma asked curiously as Naruto picked up the breast plate and ran his fingers over it.
"What was it again." The shopkeeper scratched his cheek as he thought. "oh yeah now I remember. Konrad Cruze." Genma didn't see Naruto's jerk at the name.
"I'll take it." Naruto blurted out startling Genma.
"Wait are you sure?" Genma asked in confusion. But Naruto was already taking different sections of armor from the shopkeeper and examining them with an almost awestruck expression. "Well damn." Hope the old man doesn't blame me for this.
oOo
"My Lord Hokage." Sarutobi's secretary opened the door to his office. The jounin are here. She opened the door further to let the ninja in. Tsume Inuzuka, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Anko Mitarashi and Aoba Yamashiro entered the Hokage's office.
"At ease all of you." Sarutobi lit his pipe as the ninja arranged themselves in his office. "A mission came in today from the Flame Daimyo." at this all the jounin began to murmur around themselves. "Quiet." Sarutobi spoke with all the authority of his office and the ninja settled down immediately. "As you all know Kakashi's recent mission ended well with the subsequent defeat and death of the missing nin Zabuza and his accomplice. They then went on to escort the bridge builder Tazuna home and guarded him while he finished the bridge. Then he brought his team home alive and unharmed. An excellent result overall."
The other ninja stood quietly not knowing where the conversation was going exactly.
"However as soon as the bridge was finished and Kakashi and his team had left, the shipping magnate Gato had Tazuna beat to death. He then proceeded to buy the land on both sides of the bridge. With his control over the land of waves complete he set about buying every scrap of land through a combination of extortion and outright murder. Normally a situation like this would be of little concern to us. However Gato has taken to calling himself Daimyo of the land of waves. Our lord the Fire Daimyo has taken insult at the temerity of this man. His command to us is a simple one. We are to conquer the land of wave in the name of the Fire Lord and bring Gato to him dead or alive. A regiment of the fire lords army is headed towards the land of waves it is up to us to prepare the way for them."
Tsume spoke up after looking around and getting the other jounin's confirmation. "So it is war Sarutobi-Sama.?"
"Yes. Tsume gather your clan. You will be at the forefront of this conflict. You and your ninken will be instrumental in digging out Gato and his thugs out of their holes."
"Yes Hokage-Sama." Tsume bowed acknowledging the order. "Hokage-Sama will Hiashi-sama be joining us on this venture?"
"No the Hyuga clan will be busy dismantling Gato's business's throughout the land of fire. Your clan will lead the way in this battle."
"We wont let you down." Tsume look was one of feral anticipation.
"Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai." Sarutobi continued his brief. "Gather your teams. You will be operating with Tsume's Ninken teams in order to find and destroy Gato's Manpower."
"Hai!" Four voices acknowledged the order.
"Aoba you will be in command, Anko will be your second." Noticing Tsume's angry snort Sarutobi arched an eyebrow. "Tsume managing the search will require your full attention." Tsume nodded her head in understanding. "You leave in 48 hours. Be here tomorrow at noon for a final brief. Does anybody have any immediate questions?" Everybody shook their heads or spoke a negative..
"Good." Sarutobi continued. "One last thing Naruto will be accompanying you. Anko he will be reporting directly to you. This will be his first mission as the village's Jinchuriki. For those of you who are not aware he currently holds the rank of tokubetsu jonin because of his status as our jinchuriki."
Asuma was the first to recover. "So where does he fit in this missions chain of command." He asked in lieu of the more obvious questions that ran through the minds of the assembled ninja.
"He doesn't. His rank is a reflection of his status. He doesn't have the authority to give orders to anyone. However only you jounin have the authority to give him orders."
"I see. Thank you Sarutobi-Sama." Asuma bowed.
"Unless you have any pressing questions I will see you here for your final brief tomorrow." Sarutobi dismissed the ninja and leaned back in his chair his expression bleak.
oOo
Sahaal took a step back and examined his handiwork. The rough stone altar he had carved with his talons was crude but would serve his purpose. Moans colored the still morning air and the scent of blood was thick. A moments work with an incinerator had cleared a patch of forest large enough to suit his purposes. A rock dragged from the mountainside had served as the base for his crude altar. And a small loggers camp had provided the raw flesh the ritual would entail.
Sahaal drew his talons across the surface of the rock carving neat slices of stone from the altar. Warp take this madness But there is no other way. He choked down his anger and cleared his mind. He took one last look around.
In the blackened ground around the altar he had picked out an eight pointed star using bone and any material at hand. At each point of the star a naked prisoner was staked to the ground with long splinters of wood. Arrayed around the altar itself 4 more men were staked down. On the chest of each he had cut a strange rune. He had gotten the runes from Mita. Apparently each represented one of the four chaos gods.
He checked each prisoner one last time. Around the neck of each he twisted a length of det cord attached to a detonator. Leaving the circle of burned earth he dragged forward a 13th prisoner. The man was huge at least 6 feet tall and heavily built from a lifetime of cutting down trees. His eyes were wild with fear or madness. Yet for all his struggles and sheer size his thrashing was inconsequential against the armored mass of the Night Lord Space Marine. Even had he not been wearing his massive ornate armor he would have stood at least 2 feet taller and outweighed him easily.
He tossed the man onto the altar with a flick of his wrist. The claws on his left hand retracted into armored grooves with a silken rasp, he used that hand to restrain the man. Stabbing down with the claws on his other hands he sent his talons stabbing deep into the man slicing past bone and muscle into his heart puncturing it like a rotten fruit. At the same moment he pressed the detonator in his other hand. With a muffled bang the heads of the other prisoners were blasted off.
Blood splashed into the sky.
And hung there.
Sahaal jumped back. The ancient machine spirit of his armor hissed in distress as the air around the altar began to warp and quiver. The blood from all the prisoners flowed through the air towards the altar. Frost began to form on the exposed edges of Sahaal's power armor. The blood on his claws streamed into the air forming strange shapes that howled with tiny voices.
Disembodied laughter echoed through the air. A twisting blood fountain hung in the air above the altar forming shapes that hurt the eye and twisted the very fabric of reality.
"A fine sacrifice. Exquisite." As the blood twisted in the air, tendrils made of clotting blood creeped along the ground towards the silent space marine. However as they closed in on his form they abruptly dissipated. The blood spawned beast screeched in pain its voice a nail hammering into Sahaal's mind. "What is this?" The voice screamed in petulant rage.
"Quiet beast." Sahaal purred out in satisfaction. Atop his helmeted head a crown sat. Black with an oily sheen it was featureless save for two long horns that ended in jagged spikes that slid upward from above his ears. In the center of the crown just above his eyes a perfect ruby sat, its face unmarked by any facet or cut. It had the smooth organic look of something grown, and it shown with an inner light. The Corona Nox. Symbol of his captaincy and proof against the vile corruption of the warp. "You are summoned here by my will and by my will you remain whole."
The blood twisted into more mind tearing shapes, thorns and blades sprouting along its edges. "Speak your desire."
Sahaal's lips twisted into a savage smile inside his helm. "Bring my words to the dark mechanicum and guide them here."
The blood spirit twisted in mid air for a few seconds. "Speak your words."
"Mechanicum I hold a shard of an STC. Your loyalty for the Shard. Find me."
"The word is given." With a final wail the blood splashed down onto the altar. The horrible force that was animating the blood gone now.
"And now we wait." Sahaal whispered into the sky. Almost as an afterthought he dropped a melta bomb on the altar as he left.
oOo
"Inquisitor!" A sharp voice roused Kalypsia from her meditative trance. "A disturbance in the warp approaches." The voice came from her dedicated link to the bridge.
"Tell the Navigator to get to his post. Bring power to our engines, shunt all available power to stealth systems. This is what we've been waiting for." She shouted into the com as she slid out of her robes to change into something more appropriate. She pressed a button on her couch to activate another com. "Captain Proteus meet me on the bridge." Flipping the com off she slid into her bodysuit and grabbed her weapons.
By the time she reached the bridge she could hear Captain Proteus's voice raised and giving commands. She took a moment to slow down and entered the bridge with a calculated and confident stride.
"Captain." She addressed both her ship captain and captain Proteus. "Report please."
Proteus tossed his head towards the main viewscreen and stepped aside to allow Kalypsia a full and unobstructed view.
"Captain it appears that our guide is here." She took in the monstrosity that pulled itself through space on pestilent streamers of nuclear fire. It resembled a twisted and corrupted leviathan from some long forgotten sea. It was a twisted fusion of metal and biological components. It loomed as large as battleship and bristled with all sorts of exotic weaponry.
"Inquisitor what are your orders?" Her ship's captain asked deferentially.
"Follow it. And send a message to the nearest mechanicum base, request a reclamation fleet and titan support. Be quick about it." She turned to face Captain Proteus who's face had calmed once she stated her intention of bringing along more firepower. So simple. She thought. The phrase 'Be quick about it' was a simple code that meant disregard the last stated order. In this case that was contacting the mechanicum. I don't plan to share the glory of this mission with anyone. Not even you Captain Proteus.
oOo
The south gate of Konoha seethed with activity as the entirety of the Inuzaku clan and the ninja teams 7, 8, 10, and Team Guy mustered at the gate. Tsume snarled at her clan members while Kuromaru snapped at various ninken to get them in line.
The young genin gathered together to talk amongst themselves while they waited for the order to move out. Their jounin sensei chatted quietly while they waited for Aoba to arrive with their final orders.
In the shadows off to one side two figures sat quietly a woman and a man or perhaps a boy. Anko shook her hair out before tying it up again. She glanced down at the quiet figure that crouched down next to her.
Looking around Shikimaru yawned. Leaning back against a tree he yawned again. "Bet Naruto doesn't have to put up with this?" He said thinking out loud.
"The dead last?" Sasuke snorted as he stopped in the middle of his retelling of how he had killed Zabuza. True Kakashi had broken both of the mans arms and killed that strange girl but he had struck the final blow on that beach weeks ago. "Have you guys heard that nonsense that hes some kind of special ninja now. Ha!" He let out a sharp bark of laughter that got most of the genin laughing.
"Actually the correct term is jinchuriki." An amused voice called out from one side. The entire group turned to watch the approach of a strange figure.
He was wearing shinobi armor painted in black and blue with flecks of gold patterning the metal. He wore it over standard shinobi garb. A blue-black bandana covered his hair. Armored claw gloves painted in the same color scheme covered his hands and bladed boots protected his feet. But it was only until he pulled down the skull faced mask that he wore that they recognized him. Blue eyes like a stormy sea and whisker marks on his cheeks that were a raw angry red.
"Naruto." Several voices gasped out in surprise, anger and even joy.
Naruto let a grin cross his face exposing his fangs. Behind him the ninken began to howl their voices raised in joy and rage. "In your name Master." He whispered his face turned towards the road that led to the land of waves.
Towards battle.
Towards blood.
"We are coming for you."
oOo
AN: Thanks to my Beta's Whitedragon17 and Psudocode Samurai who as always provide me with unparalleled help and support. Both are amazing authors and I highly recommend All of their fics. And thanks to all my reviewers.
Also check Out 'PersonalFable' he's started a pretty amazing warhammer40k/Kim Possible crossover.
AAN: If you think I made a mistake or have a suggestion or an idea, Please PM me or leave it in a review.