Naruto: Infinity Divide

Songs of a Witch

Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Trek

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This chapter flowed pretty smoothly and I was able to get it out in a fairly short amount of time. It's mainly plot driven so not a lot of action. Enjoy!

Port = Left

Starboard = Right

[ ] Signifies a foreign language

~ ~ Signifies singing

Last time:

Planet Atra, Imperial Palace, Empress Rosoni's private chambers

In the bluish crystal room where Empress Rosoni always prayed to the Guardian; another was in her place. This was the Imperial Princess Amionn who was as of this day heir to the throne…though only she and the Guardian knew it. Like the Guardian was known only to the Royal Empress and a closely guarded secret; the line of ascension was a mystery to all but the Guardian and the heir. Many promising heirs to the throne had been passed over to crown Empress Rosoni several decades before and now Princess Amionn -the third daughter of Empress Rosoni's second daughter- was considered the heir as chosen by the Guardian. Most people knowledgeable in the Royal Line would never have guessed since Amionn was only 18 years of age…

Princess Amionn was beautiful and extremely intelligent. Her deep blue doe eyes, platinum hair and delicate elvish features hid a ruthless and cunning intellect. She was a supreme manipulator as well. Why had she been chosen as the next heir by the Guardian? …Because the Atraen people would need a ruthless and powerful leader to compete in a huge political entity such as the United Federation of Planets… Or so the Guardian thought.

"~I am greatly honored to have been chosen as the next Empress oh Guardian of our people.~" sang the radiant Princess jubilantly. "~With your guidance and wisdom I shall lead the Atraen people to a place of great prominence in the galaxy.~"

The Guardian nodded and said in an authoritative tone, "I am going to teach you things you must know Amionn. Things about Rzom; things about Atra…things not known by your predecessors. It is a necessity now that Atra is debuting on the galactic stage. Let me tell you about the Tkon Empire of the ancient past…"

…

Chapter 46

...

Stardate 2274.315, Planet Atra orbit, U.S.S. Gettysburg

"Ship's Log, Stardate 2274.315: Captain Asuma Sarutobi reporting. NCC-1728 U.S.S. Gettysburg has been in orbit of Planet Atra for 18 standard hours and many various government officials from Atra have contacted us to plan for the 'official' welcoming with the Atraen Empress Rosoni. Apparently, our arrival has caused something of a media circus for the Atraen public and many small media vessels have been doing flybys of the Gettysburg to get footage of this first contact event. There have been numerous news agencies that have contacted us for exclusive interviews, but we have had to politely decline per the wishes of the Atraen Imperial Crown. We have been monitoring the news broadcasts of the Atraen people and it seems that our popularity is quite high at this point. Much to our surprise there have been no dire broadcasts about an eminent alien invasion…"

"Admiral Muiruan came aboard earlier today to make arrangements for our meeting with the Empress. He stressed to me there are a number of protocols we must follow in the presence of her Majesty and therefore I'm choosing my team very carefully at the staff meeting. It promises to be anything but simple…"

…

Captain Sarutobi turned off the log recorder after his entry and looked out the window of his ready room at the blue-white world of Atra below. 'It seems there really is no direct connection between the U.S.S. Bach survivors and the Atraen government. That still begs the question; what happened on the Bach all those years ago?' His door chimed and Asuma said "Enter."

It was Lieutenant Nadeshiko. "The staff has been assembled for the meeting sir." said the Earth raised Vulcan with a touch of humor in her voice.

Asuma's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the time and realized he was late for his own meeting. "It's going to be a long day isn't it Shizuka?" asked the Captain.

She cocked her head to the side and replied, "After a foreign Admiral and his staff came aboard to tour the ship first thing in the morning? Of course, it is sir."

Sarutobi sweat dropped and said, "Your reassurance is heartwarming as always Lieutenant."

Shizuka smiled and said, "Maybe Naruto is rubbing off on me a bit."

The Captain just shook his head…

…

Staff Room

The staff of the Gettysburg was waiting attentively when Asuma entered the room. There had been a lot of small talk about who was going to be at the reception party and other than Captain Sarutobi no one knew although Ensign M'rella was pretty much a given considering her extreme popularity with the Atraens. (She looked like a literal goddess to them after all). Everyone stood at attention until Captain Sarutobi said, "At ease." and everyone sat down.

"As I'm sure you are all aware we have a party of four attending the reception on Planet Atra at 18:00 hours." said Asuma. "It must consist of two males and two females and we will be in full dress uniform. The evening will consist of a speech from the Empress to welcome us and then a short speech of friendship by yours truly. After that there will be a reception including a banquet. Everything is laid out very formally and on a strict timetable. I've basically been given a script on how to address her Royal Highness and the other dignitaries by Admiral Muiruan so no faux pas will take place. Everyone involved in this event will be drilled in proper behavior by Atraen tutors who are coming aboard at 11:00 hours."

"Are all Atraens this strict on time?" asked Doctor Shizune Kato. "Our passengers did not seem so concerned about timing at all when they were aboard the ship."

Asuma replied, "Strict timetables are only at official functions. Apparently, it has to do with the timing of the songs of the choir. At the reception afterwards we will be able to carouse a bit as we wish although I expect model behavior naturally."

Commander Sassaav asked, "So who are our lucky party attendees?" 'Please leave me out of it.' prayed the big Andorian.

Captain Sarutobi grinned as he saw Sassaav involuntarily cringe at the idea. "Were you volunteering Chief Engineer?" asked Asuma.

Sassaav answered, "No sir; my place is here on the Gettysburg."

"Ah, that's too bad Chief." said the Captain with a twinkle in his eye. "I've chosen Ensign M'rella to join me for this excursion because of her understanding of the nuances of the Atraen language and Security Chief Nadeshiko in case anyone needs to be protected. I've also decided that Lieutenant Naruto will be joining us in case any crewmembers of the U.S.S. Bach turn up." He turned to the blonde Vulcan and said, "I'm praying this will not be the case of course…"

"Of course, sir." replied Naruto.

…

…The Atraen etiquette instructors came aboard at 11:00 hours and were quite in awe of the Gettysburg. The blonde Vulcan was assigned a rather wispy female tutor named Ageen. She was a perfectionist but fortunately for both Naruto was an excellent student. He was soon learning about the proper titles to use with nobles and the Royal family, and the appropriate greetings others might use as well as the proper responses. Lastly, he was taught a traditional ballroom dance that was sure to be held at the reception…It wasn't too difficult to learn in his opinion because he and T'Lyra loved to dance together…

…On the other hand Asuma didn't know how to dance. He'd been blessed with two left feet and while his instructor was very pleased with everything else, she was appalled at the good Captain's dance moves. "~We only have a few more hours Captain!~" sang his tutor with a tone of fiery determination. "~I will teach you to dance properly or so help me I shall be brought to ruin!~"

Asuma was in hell. 'Addressing the Atraen public is going to be a breeze compared to this…' he thought miserably…

…M'rella was doing well. Actually, she could do no wrong as far as her love struck etiquette instructor was concerned. He felt he was in the presence of a goddess, and nothing could change that. '~Ah, My Lady M'rella; you are truly an incarnation of Tiogair herself. I am so blessed.~' he thought ecstatically. By some minor miracle he was able to teach her a few dances, but the poor man was stumbling over his own feet. M'rella was very kind to him but found the tutor's teaching methods to be quite amusing…

…On the other hand, Shizuka wanted to strangle her tutor. He was an uppity snob in her opinion. She could remember the titles okay, but ballroom dancing was decidedly not her thing. "~Your lack of refinement and grace while dancing is dismaying to say the least Lieutenant Nadeshiko. I hope you don't intend to put this on display in Her Majesty's presence.~"

Shizuka's lovely face was marred with an angry scowl. 'This jerk isn't going get off this ship alive!' she mentally growled to herself…

By 16:00 hours the four lucky contestants were considered as ready as possible by their instructors and went to get their dress uniforms on for the event…

…

Shuttle Bay, 17:00 Hours

Naruto came onto the shuttle bay deck escorting M'rella. He was in his dress uniform with his medals on display and his black cloak. The blonde looked quite dashing in M'rella's opinion. She was looking quite radiant herself in her Caitian kimono style dress uniform. They met up with Captain Sarutobi and Shizuka who also looked resplendent in their formal attire. The Earth raised Vulcan smiled at her mate and said, "Don't you look fancy tonight, Naruto."

"You look stellar yourself Shizuka." replied the blonde. She blushed prettily.

"I think we all look quite lovely." purred M'rella. "I hope this all goes smoothly."

"As do I." said Asuma. "Let's make sure we don't mess up and show the proper respect everybody."

"Aye sir." answered the others.

The Atraen transport shuttle arrived mere minutes later and the first thing Asuma noticed was it was some sort of yacht as opposed to the other shuttles they'd seen. "Looks like they are giving us the royal treatment." he quipped.

"It is much nicer than the military transports we rode on before." agreed M'rella.

Shizuka crossed fingers with Naruto and thought to him. 'I'm glad we're going together. This transport will probably be a bumpy ride through the atmosphere.'

Naruto gave a mental smile. 'I'm sure everything will be fine.' replied Naruto. 'The Atraens obviously want this to work as much as we do…and I am glad we are going together too…As is T'Lyra.'

…

Planet Atra, Imperial Capitol

The shuttle ride was uneventful, and the four Starfleet Officers were taken to the spaceport at the Imperial Capitol before being driven via hovercraft to the Royal Palace proper. The entrance to the palace was a massive gate that seemed to be designed to show the Royal family's power. "It's quite an imposing piece of architecture." said M'rella quietly. "Its sheer size gives one an impression of Imperial might."

Asuma nodded and said, "It reminds me of the Palace of Versailles in France on Planet Earth." He looked about as they walked through the gate and saw the sprawling gardens between them and the Palace proper. "The landscaping here is exquisite."

A guide came up and presented himself as Eamais. "~I'm sure the Royal Gardeners will be pleased to hear your praise of their work.~" he sang. Eamais was a tall and lanky Atraen with his long white hair pulled back in a braid. He looked at M'rella and his eyes got huge. The guide quickly covered his obvious shock and sang, "~Forgive me Lady M'rella but your countenance is so much like the Goddess Tiogair that I was struck speechless…~"

M'rella looked slightly amused and replied, "I was told I resemble your goddess, but I assure you I am just as mortal as you or anyone else Mister Eamais."

Eamais looked at one of the higher ranking guards who wore an ornate headdress and sang, "~I know it is not in the itinerary but might I show our guests the painting of Goddess Tiogair?~"

The guard looked at M'rella in awe and sang, "~I'm sure the Empress herself would grant such a detour. Let us escort our guests to the Room of the Gods…~"

…

Soon the Federation group was in a large display room with paintings and statues of the Atraen Pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. Shizuka noted most of the gods were anthropomorphic and had animal heads. They reminded her of the Egyptian family of gods from Earth. Cats seemed to be the most venerated animals and often accompanied the gods and goddesses in the paintings.

At the far end of the room was a three meter tall painting of the Goddess Tiogair in all her glory. The Goddess' sleek black fur and amber eyes gave the impression of a supreme huntress…and the image resembled M'rella to the point that even the young Caitian woman gasped in awe…The goddess even wore red like M'rella's uniform though obviously Tiogair's taste in clothing was quite a bit more risqué…

The guide Eamais sang, "~This is the image of the Patron Deity of the Royal Family; the Goddess of Love, Beauty and War…Goddess Tiogair. You likeness to her is absolutely uncanny Lady M'rella.~"

"~Indeed it is.~" sang a deep and melodious female voice. "~I am rather bedazzled.~" A stunning Atraen female entered the room wearing Royal Regalia and introduced herself. "~I am the Princess Amionn and I welcome you to Atra.~" she sang with a radiant smile. "~I came to give a short prayer, but I never imagined that our guests would be here; let alone that one of them could pass as Tiogair herself. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances.~"

The Federation group responded with a traditional Atraen bow and Captain Sarutobi said, "We are greatly honored to meet you, your highness."

Princess Amionn gave a melodious giggle that seemed to chime like bells and Asuma smiled at her. "~…And so well-mannered too.~" sang the Princess. "~Please forgive us for imposing our traditions upon you for this meeting. I hope we can all get to know one another more after this reception. I for one am truly fascinated with the stars and would love to hear about them from all of you.~"

The Captain chuckled. "Then I look forward to talking with you after the reception your highness."

Amionn's mind was elsewhere while she engaged the Federation party in conversation. '~First off, we have Captain Sarutobi. He seems handsome despite those rounded ears…He's purely ornamental for my purposes though unless he has political influence which I doubt…Then there is the Shinobi heir to Rzom. The Guardian spoke of his combat skills though he was introduced as a scientist. He is a mysterious one. I made eyes at him, and most men melt into goo when I do that. (Giggle) He will be a bit of a challenge. I'll have to loosen him up a bit…I have a use for him.~"

Then the Princess looked at Shizuka and M'rella. "~The Security Chief is statuesque woman and obviously very strong, but I have no need of another female guard…On the other hand, Lady M'rella's shocking resemblance to Tiogair could be of great use to me. Using her influence as a figurehead it would be simple to manipulate the public through religion. Faith is just a tool to control the masses anyway. My family has been using it for centuries to stay in control…"

After a brief but lively conversation, Princess Amionn bid the Federation group farewell and that she would see them at the reception…

…

Garden Square

The rest of the tour with Eamais was a bit rushed because of the conversation with Princess Amionn but the four Federation officers were treated to several cultural artifacts in the Palace before they were formally introduced to the Empress herself and guided to the Garden Square where Empress Rosoni and Captain Sarutobi would give their speeches to the Atraen public…

Naruto stood stoically to the side as the crowds listened to the Empress Rosoni speak of the future of the people of Atra. 'I know all of this is necessary, but I still find such political drudgery distasteful. Shizuka is bored and wishes something would happen. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. M'rella seems distressed at all the attention focused on her. I don't blame her. This is a bit too much…'

The black furred Caitian beauty was pristine with a confident smile on the outside but inside her gut reaction was to hide behind Naruto so the cameras would stop pointing at her. 'Hmmm…' she mentally purred. 'The pressure here is enormous. I thought I would be able to lose myself a bit in all of the wonderful music but when the Empress speaks she has a choir backing her up and it almost seems…hypnotic?' M'rella's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and she delicately crossed fingers with Naruto the way she knew T'Lyra and Shizuka did when they spoke telepathically. She saw a slight bit of shock in the blonde's body language and asked mentally, 'Can you hear me Naruto?'

The blonde Vulcan's mental voice was muffled at first but he said, '…I can just barely hear your thoughts M'rella. Is something wrong? It's not like you to initiate such intimate contact. Are you alright?'

M'rella felt care and warmth through her contact with Naruto that she rarely heard in his physical voice. It made her feel happy and soothed her frayed nerves. She thought clearly to Naruto, 'I'm hearing something hypnotic or subliminal in the Empress' speech with her choir involved. It's a low frequency buzzing. I know that my hearing is more acute than a human's but I'm not sure about an Atraen's hearing range. I worry for Captain Sarutobi.'

Naruto reached out with his thoughts to Shizuka and got her attention mentally. She had become fairly adept at sharing thoughts at close range. Her green eyes became alert, and she immediately started scanning for danger. 'What is it Naruto? Did you spot something?' asked the Earth raised Vulcan beauty.

The blonde mentally calmed his mate and said, 'M'rella believes she may have heard something. The Empress's voice combined with her choir may have some sort of hypnotic effect. She is concerned for Captain Sarutobi. After focusing on the lower frequencies I hear a buzzing from the bass singer's voice as well. It may not even be aimed at us but…'

Shizuka looked out of her peripheral vision at the singer with the deepest voice. He was singing perfectly in time with the others but reading his lips she saw he was vocalizing something completely different. Focusing on his voice even closer Shizuka heard a faint buzzing that she knew a human couldn't hear. The Security Chief mentally said to her blonde mate, 'Stop him from singing Naruto. That's an order from your superior officer. Use a jutsu or something.'

Naruto said mentally to Shizuka, 'Understood.' His blue eyes remained calm but inside he was thinking. 'ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! What am I going to do at this close of range?!' The blonde Vulcan quickly went through a number of jutsus that would stop the Atraen bass singer's concentration to break. After several seconds of calculations Naruto came up with the only thing he could think of; a prank. Mentally coughing; he quickly cast the genjutsu Hell viewing technique but added a twist to tap into the man's desires to make it Heaven viewing technique.

The bass singer's blue eyes widened as women all around him started throwing their clothes off to the beat as they sang. (Apparently he frequented strip clubs). He was in a voyeur's heaven with his mouth wide open and stars in his eyes. Naruto lit the match but it was the bass singer that provided all the pornographic fuel for the fire one could imagine. Transfixed in his zombie like state, the bass singer went silent as the entire world around him became beautiful…

The only person aware of what the frozen bass singer was seeing was Naruto who wanted to face plant at the man's hedonistic tendencies. Fortunately for the blonde, years of psionic training allowed him to keep a straight face and tune the man's self-gratifying thoughts out.

Lieutenant Nadeshiko noted that the buzzing was gone, and that the bass singer was staring blankly into space totally mesmerized. Her sharp green eyes looked around quickly and the only person outside of the choir that seemed to take note was Empress Rosoni herself. The Empress' reaction was so subtle that Shizuka was the only one to pick up on it. No one else seemed to react. The Security Chief thought, 'Good job Naruto.'

…

In the section where the Royal House was seated Princess Amionn heard it though. '~What happened to the hidden voice of her speech choir? Very few in the Royal House even know of the technique outside the Empress and a few heirs which are trained to be immune from it. How unusual.~'

Alas, the hidden voice was currently in la la land…

...

A short time later Captain Sarutobi's speech of friendship and peaceful coexistence went off without a hitch. The tongue clicking applause of the Atraen public was loud and strong. Asuma smiled and thanked everybody before letting out a silent sigh of relief. His three officers all complimented him on his presentation before the group was led to the reception area which was a massive ballroom within the Royal Palace proper.

…

Planet Atra orbit, U.S.S. Gettysburg

Commander Mabui Kumo relaxed a bit in the Captain's chair as the broadcast of both the Empress Rosoni and Captain Sarutobi's speeches was on the main screen. 'I never realized our Captain was such a good orator. His delivery was flawless.'

At the sciences station, Lyakat commented, "The Captain's speech was superb but the Empress's voice was amazing." The Saurian scientist was obviously impressed.

Rafi nodded. "I almost felt compelled to listen."

"Compelled is a good word." agreed Samui with a slight frown. The blonde bombshell added, "I'd be curious to hear that speech again sometime. She didn't really say a lot content wise, but it was extremely moving. Strange."

Mabui grinned slightly. "You sound suspicious Lieutenant Schrodinger."

Samui's ice blue eyes narrowed a tiny bit. "I trust my instincts, Commander."

"Are you sure you aren't imagining it Samui?" asked Rafi curiously.

That was when they received a transmission from their Security Chief. "Lieutenant Nadeshiko is hailing us Commander Kumo." said Shar who was manning the communications station. "She's on a secure frequency."

"Put her through Shar." replied Mabui with concern in her voice. Seeing the hailing frequency was open, the mocha skinned woman said, "Commander Kumo here; go ahead Shizuka."

"We're at the reception." radioed the beautiful Earth raised Vulcan. "I need you to analyze the Empress's speech. Ensign M'rella picked up some low frequency sound waves when the Empress was singing. She believes it was subliminal in nature. I don't know if anything dangerous was involved but we can't be too careful."

Mabui looked a bit surprised and glanced over at Samui. The platinum blond augment woman looked concerned. "We'll get right on that Chief Nadeshiko. When we get results, we'll contact you. Are the other members of the party aware?"

Shizuka sounded frustrated. "Everyone but the Captain knows. He's quite busy conversing with the nobility and it would look bad to interrupt."

"Understood Lieutenant." said the First Officer. "Keep an eye on the Captain while we figure this little mystery out. Gettysburg out."

"Nadeshiko out." replied the Security Chief.

…

Planet Atra, Royal Palace, Ballroom

While Shizuka was contacting the ship, Captain Sarutobi was having a wonderful time with the beauteous Princess Amionn. M'rella watched as the love struck Asuma was swept off his feet. She frowned ever so slightly. 'It's none of my business who our Captain is involved with but…'

"~Lady M'rella! It's so good to see you again. You look wonderful.~" sang Captain Shanis. She was wearing a ballroom gown and looked rather regal.

M'rella smiled brightly. "Captain Shanis, it is good to see you as well. You look quite lovely yourself."

Shanis followed M'rella's line of sight and saw Asuma and Amionn smiling and laughing together. She sighed slightly and sang under her breath. "~Looks like the Princess has picked her target for tonight. I can't compete with her.~"

The Caitian beauty knew that Shanis was attracted to Asuma and quietly asked, "Is the Captain is some sort of danger?"

Answering quietly, the Atraen Captain sang, "~The Princess is known to have an appetite for men. I think the rest is self-evident.~"

"Ah, I see." purred M'rella. 'So, the Captain is just acting on his own hormones…'

…

In the meantime, Naruto was dealing with an Atraen noble who was very curious about his whisker marks. The man and his wife were both absolutely fascinated. "~Are those tribal tattoos?~" asked the man in a melodious singing voice.

The blonde Vulcan raised his eyebrow in his usual way and explained, "No sir, they are birthmarks."

"~Ah, how interesting!~" sang the noble's wife.

They all heard a quiet but musical bit of laughter coming from a radiant Atraen female in a Royal dress. The couple bowed to her, and Naruto quickly followed suit. He said, "I bid you greetings your Royal Highness."

The couple looked a bit startled and they sang in unison, "~We bid you greetings Princess Ameann.~" Then they quickly excused themselves much to Naruto's puzzlement.

The Princess smiled and sang to the whiskered blonde, "~Welcome to Atra, I am Princess Ameann. I believe you've met my fraternal twin Amionn. She mentioned you are a scientist so I thought I would come and talk to you. I am a scholar myself.~"

Naruto bowed once more and said, "I am Lieutenant Naruto M'Fau of Vulcan."

"~Would you like to dance?~" sang the Princess. "~I seem to have found myself without a partner.~"

…

Planet Atra orbit, NCC-1728 U.S.S. Gettysburg

Lieutenant Commander Lyakat and the science staff were carefully examining Empress Rosoni's speech. The Saurian scientist discovered that there were four distinct 'songs' being sung. The Empress speech and her choir's backing speech were obvious. The choir sang the same thing as the Empress but covered a larger pitch range which allowed them to be more emotive. "This isn't that different from traditional music with backup singers." thought Lyakat aloud. "But the bass singer…." He turned to Wanda Hardy. "Lieutenant; what have you come up with?"

Wanda looked at the bass singer's separate speech and said, "It's a subliminal message at a very low frequency that that reinforces that the Empress should be venerated and obeyed as the Atraen Empire's leader. In and of itself it seems to be relatively harmless, but it would make any speech she gave enthralling to the audience."

"Did it seem to be targeted at any group in particular?" asked Lyakat curiously.

Hardy shook her head. "It didn't seem to be aimed at anyone per se. It was just a general message. It wouldn't surprise me if every speech she gave was accompanied by such a message."

The Saurian frowned. "Still, it's below the conscious hearing range of most humanoids so it could be very influential." He turned to Shar who was analyzing things from the communication station. "What about the fourth speech we picked up Ensign?"

"That was the Empress herself." said Shar in a baffled tone. "Rosoni is capable of using her voice in a manner that she can actually sub-vocalize a low frequency message on her own. Her second message seemed to be aimed at particular members of the audience, but nothing was directed at our party. "

Lyakat looked surprised. "You are saying she can literally sing two different things at once? They must have some specialized vocal cords for such a feat. I'll have to contact Sick Bay. I suppose that if a race communicates through singing that it would stand to reason that they've evolved their organs to aid in communication. I'll see what Doctor Kato has to say."

…

Sick Bay

It wasn't long before Doctor Shizune Kato was discussing the sub-vocalization with Lieutenant Commander Lyakat over the intercom as she looked over one of the many medical scans they took of Atraen neck and throat areas. She said, "Some Atraens actually have a full second set of vocal cords. I assumed it was a recessive trait given how small the percentage was that had them. The staff hypothesized that the second set would harmonize with the first so it would enable an individual to alter the pitch of their voice for a more distinct or precise sound…We also theorized this was to increase the range of the Atraen voice."

Commander Lyakat said over the intercom, "Would this account for a second voice though?"

The Chief Medical Officer took a sip of her coffee. "…Being able to sing two different messages at once would take an extraordinary amount of training and talent. Suffice it to say Empress Rosoni is extremely skilled to be able to perform such a feat. Of course, given the affluence of the Royal Family I suppose cost would be no issue to obtain such training…"

"Then it's not outside the realm of possibility." said the Saurian.

Doctor Kato said, "We'll need to study it, but nothing is impossible Commander Lyakat."

…

Planet Atra, Royal Palace, Ballroom

Naruto was dancing with Princess Ameann much to her enjoyment. "~I'm rather happily surprised Naruto.~" sang the silver haired Princess. "~You are quite a talented dancer!~" She smiled as he twirled her. "~Tell me about what a Federation scientist does. What do you specialize in?~"

The whiskered blonde answered, "My specialties are varied but they include genetics and astrophysics. I'm currently working towards a Doctorial degree in archeology as well."

Ameann's blue eyes seemed to light up and she sang, "~I find archeology utterly captivating. I bet you'd love the Dead City at Atra's South Pole! I'm sure your ship picked up energy readings there.~"

Naruto nodded. "Our sensors detected an energy shield there that our scans could not discern the exact nature of."

She nodded eagerly. "~Below that energy field is a large necropolis in the ice we once called Rzom but it's known as the Dead City now. It was once thought to be the place all good souls went when they died. We now believe it belonged to a civilization that predates the Atraen people.~"

"Fascinating." said Naruto. "How was it discovered?"

"~An expedition to the South Pole was sent out by my ancestors at the beginning of the dynasty.~" sang Ameann. "~That was about 500 years ago. The Prince in charge of the expedition was a Grandfather of mine. He discovered a hidden entrance to the city that no one has been able to find since then because it long since froze over. He and his crew had all kinds of fantastic tales that were in his journal but most of them are considered tall stories now.~"

The blonde asked, "Did he bring back any proof of his journey?"

"~He did…thousands of precious artifacts which are still being studied to this day.~" she sang. "~There is even a suit of armor!~"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "If there was sufficient proof then why was the journal brought into question?"

She smiled. "~Well…the crew also claimed to have found many fantastic creatures and even a tribe of barbarian people living down there that had red hair and guarded the ruins.~"

"Is red hair so unusual?" asked Naruto.

Princess Ameann answered, "~Red hair is virtually unheard of among Atraens today. It was so recessive that it left the gene pool many hundreds of years ago. We know it existed of course, but it is mainly on mythological figures."

"This Dead City would certainly be worthy of study." said the blonde Vulcan.

"~I would love to see it for myself!~" sang the Princess excitedly.

…

In the meantime, Lieutenant Nadeshiko was receiving the update from the Gettysburg regarding the Empress' speech. "So, there was no danger to our people after all. Good. I'll keep an eye on the others. Nadeshiko out." 'I wonder what jutsu Naruto zapped that bass singer with…I feel kind of bad about it now. Oh well, on can never be too careful…'

Shizuka looked over and saw Naruto dancing with Princess Ameann who seemed to be having a wonderful time. The blonde Vulcan looked like he was stoic as usual. The Security Chief smiled as she thought; 'Only my mate could look so disinterested while dancing with such a stunning alien princess. Knowing him he's gathering information as usual…'

…

Empress Rosoni looked at the reception from the balcony she was being served on. '~I am pleased.~' she thought. '~It's apparent that our Federation guests are having a wonderful time. Granddaughter Amionn seems to have Captain Sarutobi wrapped around her little finger. I'm surprised to see granddaughter Ameann so lively though. Usually she's shy around strangers…And he's the heir to Rzom no less. I have to wonder what power he holds…~'

The aging Monarch was curious about the Guardian's views on the United Federation of Planets and the crew of the U.S.S. Gettysburg. Obviously, these were military officers that were well versed in diplomacy, but they weren't professional diplomats or politicians -Those would come later. '~It seems that the people of the Federation people aren't that different from us despite their races. I have to wonder what the future holds.~' For the time being Empress Rosoni was satisfied that things were going smoothly…

…

Princess Amionn's private chambers

It had been several hours since the reception and Captain Asuma Sarutobi was fast asleep in the arms of Princess Amionn. She was awake with a smile of satisfaction on her face. '`~My hidden voice worked beautifully. It was a simple matter to charm Asuma into my bed. He's quite a good lover. Nice and strong with lots of stamina. I wonder what the heir of Rzom will be like…~'

The Atraen Princess lay there wondering how Naruto would fit into her plans…

…

POSTSCRIPT:

Originally I intended to delve into the mysteries of what happened to the U.S.S. Bach this chapter but the reception took up so much space that I didn't have the room. I also considered making a short lemon at the end of the chapter but decided against it because it wouldn't really add much to plot development. Some clues about Rzom-thul have emerged. It seems Naruto has stumbled on a possible ally concerning a South Pole expedition and there are Tkon artifacts to examine. See you next time. Blue out. 10/1/23