Naruto: Infinity Divide

Built for Speed

lanket Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Trek

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Naruto's brainchild the U.S.S. Wolverine is going into action! The foreign language in this chapter is Welsh. Enjoy!

Port = Left

Starboard = Right

[ ] Signifies a foreign language

….

Last time:

Minutes later the Oberth docked with a dull 'clunk' to the Wolverine. Naruto and the Think Tank skeleton crew boarded the fast cruiser Wolverine in rapid succession, and they met the tall, wispy, sandy blonde-haired Commander Christianson who wore the red shirt of an engineer. She brushed her long hair back, saluted and said, "Welcome aboard Captain Naruto. I am honored to meet you. I am Lieutenant Commander Freyja Christianson, and I will be your executive officer. We have a full crew aboard, but they are construction specialists, science specialists and contractors. We also have a double contingent of Marines for Security purposes. There is no standard command crew to speak of which is where you come in."

Naruto motioned his people to head to their battle stations and he said to Christenson, "Take us to the bridge Commander. We have only seventeen minutes to clear the dock. You can tell me about our orders on the way."

Christianson smiled and said, "Follow me. I am very glad that YOU are taking command of the U.S.S. Wolverine in this situation sir." she said.

The Vulcan hybrid raised an eyebrow at the sandy blonde and asked, "Why is that, Commander?"

…As the bridge crew entered the turbolift to the bridge Christianson blushed prettily and said; "You are the only Command Officer in the entire fleet that truly knows what this amazing ship can do…"

…

Chapter 51

Stardate 2274.334, NX-1602 U.S.S. Wolverine, Bridge

The turbolift opened and Lieutenant Naruto M'Fau stepped out onto the bridge. The first thing he noticed was the ship wasn't complete per se. Everywhere there were signs that construction wasn't finished. Some of the bulkheads weren't painted. Some chairs didn't have armrests. Panels were open and circuitry was exposed. At the same time the Wolverine had the sleekest and most modern bridge he'd ever seen. Every square meter was used efficiently and the areas that work was finished on were polished to perfection. It felt like…home.

"Captain on the bridge!" announced Lieutenant Commander Christianson.

Everyone there haphazardly stumbled to their feet and saluted before Naruto caught up to reality and realized HE was the Captain of this vessel. "As you were." he said authoritatively. "All command personnel take your positions. We leave dock in fourteen minutes." Naruto sat down in the brand-new Command chair for the first time and remembered his first time sitting in the Captain's chair on the U.S.S. Enterprise when he was a boy. "Begin undocking procedures." commanded the Vulcan hybrid. "There is no time to waste."

Kloene stood at the engineering station. "Impulse engines are online."

"All decks report in green." said M'rella from the communications station.

"Thrusters at station keeping Lieutenant Rafi." ordered Naruto.

Rafi nodded and smiled. "Thrusters at station keeping Captain."

Lieutenant Shores reported, "All decks are secured Captain Naruto."

Lieutenant Kloene announced, "Warp engines are now coming online." Then he gasped. "The Bussard Collectors are lit up blue hot!"*①

Commander Freyja Christianson said, "At ease Lieutenant Kloene. That is normal for this vessel. It's perfectly safe."

The big Orion engineer nodded uneasily and started looking at the power readings of the new engines. He was a bit flabbergasted. 'I would normally associate this kind of power output with a dreadnought!'

Rafi saw all the power systems light up green and reported, "Helm systems are all online sir." Then the Trill flashed a grin at Samui and whispered, "I can't wait to see what this baby can do."

Samui smiled at her best friend's antics and said, "All navigation systems are online." 'These are much more advanced than I'm used to. It must be because of the higher speed capabilities of this ship.'

"Spacedock reports all tractor links and gravity pylons are cleared. We are free floating." announced M'rella. 'This ship is really something else.' The Caitian beauty glanced over at Naruto. 'So this is your brainchild you were working on at the Academy…You must be very proud Naruto…' She caught the blonde Captain's eye and smiled at him. He gave her one of his tiny smiles back. 'He's excited alright.' thought M'rella with a mental giggle.

Turning to face forward, Naruto said, "Thrusters ahead full Lieutenant Rafi."

The U.S.S Wolverine glided forward effortlessly, and Rafi was giddy with anticipation. "Helm response is excellent Captain."

Samui said, "ETA to spacedock doors is eight minutes at our current rate of travel. We'll have two minutes of leeway Captain Naruto."

The whisker-faced Vulcan was relieved. "Excellent Lieutenant Schrodinger."

M'rella interjected, "We have an incoming message from U.S.S. Enterprise Captain. It's Admiral Kirk."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and said, "On screen M'rella."

The main screen lit up and Admiral Kirk's face appeared on it with the bridge of the Enterprise behind him. "This is Admiral James T. Kirk on the U.S.S. Enterprise." he said.

Naruto gave a brief salute. "Acting Captain Naruto on U.S.S. Wolverine standing by for orders Admiral."

"Your rank is temporarily Full Captain Naruto." replied Kirk. "I want there to be no questions about the chain of command if another officer tries to take control from you. Understood?" Naruto was a bit stunned but nodded in agreement. "Something big has happened in the Arcanum System. We've lost all contact with the resort colony Arcanum VIII along with three Federation starships that were in orbit of it taking shore leave there. Two more ships from the 7th Fleet were sent to investigate the situation and they vanished as well. The rest of the 7th Fleet and our Home Fleet are mobilizing to go there to engage whatever is there. It will take the fleet twenty-one hours at best speed to arrive there and you can make it eight hours by our estimates. I want you to take the U.S.S. Wolverine to scout out the situation."

"Wouldn't it be more logical to have a Flag Officer to command the mission sir?" asked Naruto.

Kirk smiled. "No. You have the fastest ship in Starfleet Captain Naruto. You and your crew are also the only ones I trust to use it properly. I'm sending all the data we have, and I expect you to use your best judgment. Relay back anything you find. If necessary; withdraw. We don't need to lose more ships. Good luck and Godspeed Captain. Kirk out."

Naruto would have been sweating a river if he had sweat glands. As it was, he just looked a bit pale. He thought to himself, 'No pressure M'Fau. No pressure at all.' Noticing his crew was all staring at him dumbly, the blonde Vulcan ordered, "Eyes on your stations." Seeing everyone snap out of their stupor; he turned to Samui and said, "Lieutenant Schrodinger, start calculating the fastest course to the Arcanum System. We have a job to do…"

…The U.S.S. Wolverine cleared the Spacedock doors at Starbase 7 two minutes later and passed by several other Federation starships at station keeping getting ready to sortie. Samui reported, "Course to the Arcanum System laid in sir."

The Vulcan hybrid pondered and said, "The maximum designed cruising speed for this vessel is Warp 9.7." He turned to Freyja and asked, "Did the engine tests confirm this, Commander Christianson?"

Freyja replied, "We never calculated cruising speed sir. Starfleet was more interested in maximum speed. This ship hasn't completed its speed trials yet."

Captain Naruto wanted to face palm. "What was the maximum speed you attained Commander?"

"We reached warp 10.7 and were able to sustain it easily." reported Freyja. "It broke every speed record in Starfleet history. We haven't found the maximum speed yet."

"Lieutenant Rafi; ahead warp factor 10." said Naruto. "Execute!"

Rafi was grinning ear to ear when she said, "Ahead Warp factor 10 sir. Engaging…now!" 'Let's light it up!'

To the rest of the fleet, the U.S.S. Wolverine jumped to warp speed like a leaping panther. There was no lag and no shift from sublight. It was simply gone in a flash…

The collective thought of those in the home fleet watching was 'Damn…'

…

Naruto was carefully reviewing the U.S.S. Wolverine's performance records via the engineering logs that were aboard. He quickly observed that the new 'hot warp' engines exceeded the designed power specifications he was given when designing the ship. 'I'm glad I planned this ship to have plenty of room for growth in case more powerful warp units became available. It seems Rear Admiral Tolm authorized the use of the experimental FWH-1 engines straight off the drawing board. They have 50% larger warp intercoolers just to keep them from overheating. It's not the most elegant solution. Perhaps I can redesign that feature later.'

"I'm surprised we aren't feeling the effects of such high-speed travel Captain Naruto." said Lieutenant Shores. "When we got the U.S.S. Gettysburg even close to the speeds we're at you could really feel the strain."

The blonde Captain nodded and explained, "When I designed this ship it required much more powerful inertial dampeners than a standard cruiser. That's why you don't feel anything."

M'rella smiled and said, "I remember you designed so many things in the planning stages that you were concerned that it would be an entirely new class of vessel."

"It took twice the power of a standard heavy cruiser's dampener layout." said Freyja Christianson eagerly. "The Wolverine has the smoothest turns at high speeds of any ship in the fleet. Your foresight in this vessel's design has proven outstanding sir!"

The Caitian beauty mentally was chuckling. 'It seems that Commander Christianson has a bit of hero worship going on.'

Samui asked, "How does the Wolverine perform in rolls, turns and banks Commander Christianson?"

"We haven't done that much evasive maneuver testing Lieutenant Schrodinger." replied Freyja in an embarrassed tone. "Starfleet's major interest has been speed, acceleration and deceleration. In that respect the Wolverine set all new records on both the long and short ranged speed courses arranged by the Admiralty."

Rafi and Samui sweat dropped and the Trill asked, "We're going into possible combat with a ship that's never been tested for its combat parameters? What about weapons?"

"All the weapons were tested at the Jupiter firing range but never in ship-to-ship combat simulations." explained the Commander.

The bridge crew collectively cringed and Naruto said, "Lieutenant Rafi, Lieutenant Schrodinger; we need to see how maneuverable the fast cruiser design is." 'Especially with the more powerful engines.' "Rafi, Samui; consider the turn radius approximately the same as the U.S.S. Gettysburg. Aside of that… indulge yourselves over the next ten standard minutes."

Lieutenant Edgar Shores nearly fainted at the idea of letting the two wild eyed women at the helm and navigation cut completely loose. He was going to try to protest but was cut off by Naruto's very calm and emotionless Vulcan message on the public announcement system:

"This is Captain Naruto. All crew members prepare for high speed evasive and erratic maneuvering tests over the next ten standard minutes. End of message." said the blonde Vulcan. Naruto turned to Rafi who was grinning manically and said, "Execute."

The next ten minutes were a wild ride for anyone not familiar with Rafi's style of ship handling. True to Naruto's design specifications; the fast cruiser went through turns, barrel rolls, spins and rapid changes in both pitch and yaw beautifully and the crew wasn't affected as much as a normal ship's officers and enlisted personnel would be…

"…Ten minutes." announced Samui. The blonde bombshell turned and gave a minimal smile to her Trill friend at the helm and asked, "Feel better Rafi?"

Rafi smiled at her partner in crime and said almost orgasmically, "Oh yeah…The Wolverine handles like a dream!"

Naruto looked up from the data on the maneuvering and said, "I am glad you approve. It is good you got that out of your system Lieutenant Rafi." He looked at Samui and said, "Please correct our course to Arcanum Lieutenant Schrodinger."

"Corrected course to the Arcanum System laid in sir." responded the beautiful platinum blonde. She gave him a secret smile seeing the gleam of amusement in his azure eyes. 'You may hide it well Naruto but you were having a blast too.'

Naruto nodded and said, "Assume our corrected course to Arcanum Rafi. Ahead warp factor 10. Execute."

"Aye Captain." responded the Trill. "Ahead warp factor 10."

…

Stardate 2274.334, Border of the Arcanum System, NX-1602 U.S.S. Wolverine

"Ships Log: Stardate 2274.334; NX-1602 U.S.S. Wolverine. Captain Naruto M'Fau reporting. After a 7-hour, 14 minute voyage we have arrived at the outer border of the Arcanum System Oort Cloud and are at station keeping. Our long-range scans of the planet Arcanum VIII have positively identified all five of the Federation Starships which are 'missing.' We cannot detect any power readings from any of them as they orbit the planet. At this range it is impossible to tell if there are any life signs from the vessels or the planet. There are no power readings from Arcanum VIII either, so we know their power grid has been shut down or disrupted in some manner."

"Conversely; our scans show no signs of physical damage to either the planet or any of the starships. I have also called upon the considerable psionic skills of our ship's counselor, Lieutenant Ino Yamanaka. Understandably, she cannot determine the status of the individual ships at this extreme range, but she senses the planet itself is full of life as well as a psychic entity she describes as incredibly powerful. We currently hypothesize that this entity may be the cause of the lack of power and communications…"

Captain Naruto turned off the log recorder and looked at his staff members that were assembled in the staff's briefing room. The entire bridge crew plus Doctor Shelly Wilson, Chief Engineer Kloene and Counselor Ino Yamanaka were all present as was Ensign Maya Ayasugi.

Maya explained; "Our information on Arcanum VIII is the planet was discovered 63 years ago by the Federation light cruiser NCC-934 U.S.S. Lithuania. It is a lush Class M world that is quite suitable for humanoid habitation. Both Caitians and humans from Earth set up settlements there and found that the native creatures on the planet have evolved to the level of marsupial mammals though no sentient life has evolved there. There has been a conscientious effort to protect the native flora and fauna there and over half of the planet is considered a dedicated wildlife preserve. There isn't an abundance of precious metals or other natural resources to export so the primary source of income on Arcanum VIII is the tourist industry. The government is based on that of planet Risa and has been successfully managing the world without any issues for 50 years now. Since then, Arcanum VIII has become a favorite resort world for Federation vessels."

Doctor Shelly Wilson looked up from the notes she was taking on her datapad and she asked, "Are there any signs of older civilizations having inhabited the Arcanum System in the past Maya?"

Ayasugi nodded her head. "It's interesting that you bring that up Doctor Wilson. Until 3 weeks ago there was no evidence that any sort of intelligent life ever existed on Arcanum VIII. That changed with the discovery of ruins that have been dated at approximately 20,000 years old, but they have not been extensively researched or positively identified yet."

Ensign Shar asked, "Are there any reports on these ruins we might be able to view?"

Maya's hands danced over the databoard and brought up an article from the Arcanum VIII's local geographic society. "This has a few pictures, but it is primarily a local interest article rather than a formal report."

Samui raised her eyebrows at the pictures. "It looks like a bigger and more elaborate Stonehenge to me."

"I was going to say the same thing." agreed Doctor Wilson.

Commander Christianson looked perplexed. "Could the entity that Counselor Yamanaka detected, and these ruins be connected?"

Naruto replied, "We need more data to answer that question, Commander. I think everyone here will agree that it is within the realm of possibility though." Naruto turned to the hologram in the middle of the table showing Arcanum VIII. "Ensign Shar; please explain our next move for those not involved in the planning stages."

Shar nodded and stood up. "Our sensors show the solar powered satellites in high orbit of Arcanum VIII are still active. They may be out of the range of whatever field is disrupting the power of the ships in orbit. We're going to close the range and launch a probe towards the planet to see where the edge of this power dampening field is. We will get no closer than 120,000 kilometers. That is twice the distance of the satellites which are orbiting at 60,000 kilometers. We also plan to tap into the communications and weather satellites memory banks to see what has been going on around the planet over the last few days since contact was lost with Arcanum. Are there any questions or suggestions…?"

Seeing there were no questions; Naruto adjourned the meeting and the U.S.S. Wolverine set course for the mysterious Arcanum VIII…

…

Stardate 2274.335, Starbase 7, NCC-1701 U.S.S. Enterprise, Admiral's Staff Room

Rear Admiral James T. Kirk was getting a tongue lashing via subspace from Admiral Leeta Phillips who was commanding the Home Fleet from her flagship NCC-2115 U.S.S. Dominion. After about a half hour of railing Kirk; she looked very deep in thought. "You know I don't have to reiterate this to you Jim but I didn't exactly approve of you sending those kids out in the hottest ship in the fleet. The Admiralty gave me an earful for risking the experimental U.S.S. Wolverine on such a dangerous mission…" She sighed. "I guess what's done is done. Both of us are going to get sacked if that fast cruiser gets wrecked or destroyed." Then her eyes narrowed. "That group of kids -The Think Tank- Are they as good as they say Jim?"

Admiral Kirk was sweating a bit but said, "They are even better. They have my full confidence."

Leeta smiled ever so slightly and said, "You'd better be right Rear Admiral Kirk –for both our sakes." Then she looked to the side at her data screen. "We've received regular Log reports from the U.S.S. Wolverine. They've established that Arcanum VIII is surrounded by a power dampening field that reaches out approximately 20,000 kilometers from the planet and that all the missing ships are there. The field is being emanated from a group of recently discovered ruins on the surface of Arcanum VIII. Now I want your input as a Fleet Commander. Do we really need the entire home fleet to face this threat? I've already dispatched Commodore Terumi in the U.S.S. Darwin to back up the Wolverine with her special sensors. Our current ETA for the Fleet to move out is still three hours off."

Kirk pondered for a moment and said. "A cruiser squadron conducting a recon in force would do just as well Admiral Phillips."

Leeta Phillips nodded. "I agree. I want you to take a three-cruiser squadron led by the Enterprise and leave within the hour. I'm assigning Captain Suvuk and the NCC-1707 U.S.S. Intrepid to you. As you know, the crew of the Intrepid is all Vulcan so take that into account before you do anything too rash. I'm also assigning Captain Theo Pratt and the new strike cruiser NX-1636 U.S.S. Prometheus*② as part of your squadron. It's brand new and I want to see how she performs in a heavy cruiser squadron."

Jim's eyebrows rose. "I thought the Prometheus was still having teething troubles that prevented her from participating in the fleet action."

Admiral Phillips said, "Captain Pratt assures me that the Prometheus is ready to go. I guess you'll find out. I'm going to transmit them their assignments and let you take it from there. Phillips out."

…

An hour later the Enterprise, Intrepid and Prometheus left Starbase 7 at flank speed. Ironically all three ship's Commanders knew of Naruto or the Think Tank. Rear Admiral Kirk was keeping an eye on them due to Section 31's involvement. Captain Pratt had been an instructor of the group at Starfleet Academy and considered the Think Tank a bunch of upstarts. Captain Suvuk had a much more positive outlook. She knew Naruto because she was an Alumnus at the Vulcan Science Academy and felt that he was opening doors for other Vulcans wishing to join Starfleet in the future much as Captain Spock had in the past.

…

Stardate 2274.335, High orbit of Arcanum VIII, NX-1602 U.S.S. Wolverine

Naruto was looking over the ship's sensor scans with Maya Ayasugi and Shar as they once again swept over the strange ruins on Arcanum VIII. The crew of the Wolverine had already determined the Federation starships in orbit were completely devoid of life forms and the communications and weather satellite systems they'd tapped into showed the ships were abandoned in an orderly manner and without any loss of life. At least from the total lack of distress calls it appeared that the crews of the unmanned vessels had gone down willingly to the planet's surface in the vicinity of the ruins…

Shar summed it up by asking, "There are over 1700 Federation Starfleet personnel down there. How are we going to get them back?"

"What makes ye think they want to come back?" asked a deep, sensual woman's voice from the front viewscreen. "They seem quite happy here to me."

Everyone quickly turned and saw a woman of ethereal beauty on the screen. She had ivory skin, long reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes. She also wore emerald green robes with golden trim. All in all, she had an otherworldly charm that seemed to go hand in hand with her Celtic(?) accent.

Ino gasped and whispered, "She's the one I sensed. She is the entity…!"

"Cyfarchion I chi! [Greetings to you!] Welcome sailors of the stars. I am Morgaine." said the beauteous woman. "I welcome ye to Annwn. I invite ye to come and rejoice with us. For here there are no grudges, no war and strife. The fields here have no need for the ploughs of farmers and all cultivation is lacking except what nature provides. The ground of its own accord produces grain. Grapes and apple trees grow in its woods from the close-clipped grass. The soil of Annwn produces everything and people have lived here hundreds of years or more. I only ask that ye obey the laws of the Nine Sisters of whom I am Queen."

Samui gasped. "Is this the same place known as Annwfn by the humans of Earth?"

Morgaine smiled and asked, "Do ye mean the Otherworld of the Celts child? It has been known by that name as well as Avalon to the humans of Earth. It is amazing that one among you young ones knows the stories of over a thousand of your years ago."

'To think studying Welsh mythology for fun at Cambridge would actually pay off.' thought the blonde bombshell.

Naruto stepped forward and said, "I am Captain Naruto M'Fau; Commander of the U.S.S. Wolverine. We are here to retrieve the Starfleet personnel that are in your care. Is there any way we could speak to them? The power dampening field around the planet keeps us from getting any closer."

Morgaine pondered a moment and said, "It is the nature of The Gate to project a protective field around Annwn while it is open. I believe Captain Natalya Orlov of your ship the Hood would be the one you should talk to as she and her group came here first and opened it. I will summon her and will contact you soon. Hwyl fawr am y tro. [Goodbye for now.]"

….

The screen returned to the panoramic view of the blue and white world of Arcanum VIII and Rafi turned to Lieutenant Schrodinger. She asked, "What's the story here Samui?"

The platinum blonde explained, "In old Earth Welsh mythology there were references to a goddess or enchantress named Morgen that ruled over Annwfn. It was mainly oral traditions so the stories changed over the centuries." Samui sat down at her station and brought up some historical documents on screen. "Here we go; this is from the poem Preiddeu Annwfn…."

"…In Preiddeu Annwfn, the nine pagan priestesses of the otherworldly island of Annwfn (Annwn, the Welsh version of the Celtic Otherworld) guard a magic cauldron and their magic abilities seem to include fire-breathing. A raid by Arthur and his war band either steals or destroys the cauldron, but what happens to the maidens of Annwfn is not mentioned. The motif of nine supernatural women appears also in some other tales of the Celtic Otherworld, possibly derived from sisterhoods of priestesses of the old Celtic Religion…"

Lieiutenant Schrodinger scanned over a few more entries and said, "Another reference in Pa Gur yv y Porthaur …"

"…The nine witches of Ystawingun are mentioned in a single line of the 10th century poem Pa Gur yv y Porthaur, where the feat of slaying them in this highland is listed among the greatest achievements of Cai (Sir Kay in later Arthurian tradition). Ystawingun is unidentified but might be associated with Stanton Moor and its stone circle known as 'Nine Ladies.' According to some sources, the women whose killing Cai is credited with in Pa Gur yv y Porthaur are in fact the same as the pagan priestesses from Preiddeu Annwfn…."

"Here's a last entry from a later date from Vita Merlini…." added Samui.

"….Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century Vita Merlini introduces the magical island of Avalon, the paradise 'Isle of Apples', as ruled by the nine entirely benevolent enchantress-sisters, known as great healers and capable of shape-shifting and other magic: Morgen, Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, Thiten and Thiton. The sisters receive the dying Arthur from Taliesin, delivered to them in the hope they can revive him. Their beautiful, wise, and powerful queen, Morgen, would later evolve into Morgan le Fay, Arthur's own sister in later Arthurian tradition, who herself takes the dying Arthur to Avalon. The other eight sisters appear only in this text and never return in any known works by other medieval authors…"

…

Commander Freyja Christianson looked surprised. "So, this Queen Morgaine may be the person that inspired Morgan le Fay of the old Arthurian legends?"

"Either that or she is portraying herself as the old Celtic Myths say." said Maya Ayasugi. "If she actually is from the legends, it would indicate that she's existed for well over 1,000 years."

Rafi's head was spinning at the pronunciation alone. "Samui, I think you had too much time on your hands in college…."

"Whoever or whatever she is; I sensed no malice from her." said Ino. "That doesn't make her any less dangerous though…"

Naruto was impressed with his platinum blonde mate's knowledge and was about to compliment her when the proximity alert suddenly went off. Another ship had entered the Arcanum System…

…

A massive, ancient looking vessel with an X shaped hull*③ came cruising into the Arcanum system at warp factor 4. It was a dark steel color and had many off colored plates littering its structure which gave the impression that it had been repaired and resurfaced countless times. Shar looked up from the scanner and said, "The incoming vessel is 900 meters wide and 880 meters in height. It's closer to the size of a base than a starship."

"Condition yellow." said Naruto. "Plot a course to intercept the incoming vessel Samui. Rafi; ahead warp factor 3. Execute!" The U.S.S. Wolverine met the unidentified ship halfway into the system and both vessels slowed to a halt. "All stop." commanded the Vulcan hybrid. He turned to the communications station and said, "Ensign M'rella, open hailing frequencies."

The beautiful Caitian replied, "Hailing frequencies are open sir."

Taking a deep breath, the whiskered blonde said, "This is Captain Naruto M'fau of the United Federation Starship U.S.S. Wolverine. Identify yourself."

A static filled audio only transmission replied in a deep, gravelly voice, "We are Cai. We have come to bombard the eighth planet of this system back into the stone age. Resist our will at your peril Wolverine. The Nine Sisters have emerged, and we will destroy them once and for all this time."

Naruto replied calmly, "The planet you intend to bombard is a member world of the United Federation of Planets and is inhabited by over 50,000 innocent people. We cannot allow you to take the lives of our citizens. Surely there is a peaceful way to negotiate a resolution between the Nine you seek and the Cai. We will act as mediators if you wish."

The Cai said angrily, "There will be NO negotiations Wolverine. We have been hunting the Nine and their kind for thousands of years. This time the Cai will destroy them once and for all. Move aside or be the first to perish."

"Judging by the power readings, they are arming weapons!" warned Shar. Then the Andorian looked back at the sciences console and said, "Power is converging at each of the four wing's tips Captain!"

"Red Alert!" announced Naruto. "Everyone to your battle stations. This is not a drill. Helm; 80 degrees to starboard at maximum warp."

The U.S.S. Wolverine shot off in a rainbow-like flash and as the four yellow beams fired from the Cai vessel and narrowly missed the Federation starship. Naruto ordered, "Electronic countermeasures to maximum! Hard to port! Bring us around aft of them Rafi. Samui, at 20,000 kilometers fire our port phasers. Execute!"

As the gargantuan ship ponderously turned to port the speedy Wolverine got behind it and fired her phasers. The five blue lances of energy hit the Cai vessel dead center but the massive ship shrugged off the damage as if it was nothing. The Cai starship responded with a single yellow beam on its tail end that completely missed the Federation fast cruiser. The Wolverine thundered past the Juggernaut and the dark steel vessel once again missed narrowly with her four beams. In return the Federation starship pummeled the Cai battleship to no avail.

"Give me an analysis on the Cai weapons systems Ayasugi." ordered Naruto. "Shar, see if you can locate any weak points in the armor on that ship."

The two ships were locked in a battle of cat and mouse for nearly ten minutes before the Wolverine was grazed by one of the megaweapons from the Cai ship. The fast cruiser was put into a flat spin as her port aft shield was heavily damaged. "Shield number 5 is down 88% Captain Naruto." reported Lieutenant Shores. "No internal damage."

Rafi brought the Wolverine back under control and asked, "Your orders Captain Naruto?"

Keep our starboard shields towards the Cai vessel Rafi; do not drop our speed below warp five at any point."

The Trill woman raised an eyebrow at the odd order and said, "Understood sir."

Naruto looked at his tactical readout and said, "Kloene, focus on repairing that shield."

Lieutenant Kloene nodded and replied, "Aye sir."

Ensign Ayasugi interjected, "I've completed my analysis of their weapons systems Captain Naruto."

The Vulcan hybrid replied, "Proceed with your report Ensign Ayasugi."

Maya nodded. "The weapons are warp targeted particle beam cannons of incredible size. They take three times as long as our phasers to cycle and cannot be aimed at rapid moving targets. I theorize that their firing is based on probabilities of where we will be rather than where we currently are. I also suspect that you already figured that out sir."

The whiskered blonde stated, "I had suspicions but could not prove it. What is the maximum speed you estimate their weapons fire would be accurate at Maya?"

"In all probability it is warp factor four or slower." replied Ayasugi. "The Cai ship's firing resolution seems to be optimized for that speed. That may be because that is their own maximum speed."

Commander Christianson said, "It sounds like the Cai ship isn't suited for ship-to-ship combat at all."

"It was probably designed with planetary or base assaults in mind." said Samui. "With a squadron of smaller vessels to escort it there would be no need for it to be faster than warp factor four. For all that matter it may have been constructed to fight vessels similar to itself."

"That makes sense." agreed Freyja.

The four particle beams from the Cai vessel and fired missed the speeding U.S.S. Wolverine by a wide margin. That was when Shar announced, "Finally, a weak point in that blasted armor!"

Commander Christianson went over to the sciences station and asked, "What did you find Ensign Shar?"

Shar pointed to the screen and said, "The particle beam cannon emitters themselves are a weak point. 30 seconds before they fire; the armor around them folds back for cooling purposes. A well-placed photon torpedo could easily punch through one of those emitters. We might not be able to destroy the Cai ship, but we could disarm it."

Freyja turned to Naruto and asked, "What do you think sir?"

Naruto replied, "It is worth trying." He rotated to face the Security Station. "Mister Shores, start overloading both photon torpedoes. We will fire at short range so there will be some feedback damage to us. We'll need to reinforce our number 1 shield."

Shores grinned and said, "Aye, Captain Naruto."

"Ayasugi, time the cycles of their particle beam cannons." commanded Naruto. "We have a thirty second window and we don't want to waste it…"

…

Stardate 2274.332, Edge of the Arcanum System, NCC-1802 U.S.S. Darwin

The crew of the U.S.S. Darwin entered the system and immediately spotted the Cai starship with their special sensors.

"I don't know what the hell it is!" said Thomas Abraham at the helm. "That ship is colossal!"

Commodore Mei Terumi asked, "More importantly, is there any sign of the U.S.S. Wolverine?"

Chief Science Officer Jamie Beam looked up from her special sensor station and said, "I've found the Wolverine! She's in combat with that giant battleship!"

Mei's green eyes widened. "They are fighting that thing?! On screen, magnify!"

The crew of the U.S.S. Darwin watched slack-jawed in silence as the U.S.S. Wolverine side-slipped around four massive particle beams that missed barely them. Then the fast cruiser dived like a bird of prey at the Cai Juggernaut and fired two fully overloaded photon torpedoes into the gargantuan ship's port upper particle beam cannon before shooting away at incredible speed in a rainbow-like flash. The Cai ship started to fire again only to have her port upper wing start crackling with jets of plasma energy coming out everywhere. The arcing energy started at the tip of the wing and quickly travelled down it towards the central hull. The feedback energy was too much for the massive vessel's structure to handle and the entire wing buckled causing it to explode with the brightness of a supernova…

…When the glare finally died down the remnants of the Cai starship's port side were floating about like a massive asteroid field of metal fragments. The starboard side was a pockmarked piece of wreckage that somehow seemed to have survived with minimal power.

Above the wreckage; the bridge crew of the Darwin saw the U.S.S Wolverine come out of warp and heard Naruto's voice transmit over subspace, "This is the U.S.S. Wolverine to Cai vessel; you are defeated. You are hereby ordered to stand down and surrender. There is no point in continuing this battle. We will assist any survivors."

A wheezing, gravelly voice replied, "The Cai can never surrender. It is against our code of honor… We knew this day would come… After twenty centuries the Cai have been eclipsed as the apex predators of the stars and for that we salute you Wolverine… Good hunting as you ride the wind…"

The massive vessel lit up like a jewel as its reactors imploded. Then it collapsed in upon itself in silence and vanished as if it had never been there…

The Cai were no more…

…

POSTSCRIPT:

*①: Bussard Collectors: The Bussard Collector (or Bussard Scoop, or Ramscoop) is a device normally attached to the front of a warp nacelle. It is on all Federation Starships and normally collects hydrogen and deuterium to replenish fuel. The vast majority of these glow red/red-orange.

*②: Prometheus Class Strike Cruiser: This is another alternate cruiser design to the standard Constitution Class heavy cruiser. It is more of a competitor to the Kearsarge Class light cruiser than any other type as it is designed with mass production in mind. Google: Strike Cruiser Prometheus to see what this ship looks like.

*③: I modeled this ship's appearance on the Star Wars StarViper-class attack platform. I know it's the wrong franchise but it's a cool, menacing looking ship. Of course, this vessel is a hundred times bigger. Google: StarViper-class attack platform to see this ship's appearance.

Well, it seems that Commodore Terumi arrived with the U.S.S. Darwin just in time to see the end of the fight. This chapter is a bit of a departure from the norm for me. In Star Trek, they often mixed it up with old Earth mythological beings or gods and I wanted to try writing something in that train of thought. (Like the TOS Episode Who Mourns for Adonis? that featured the Greek God Apollo). See you next time. Blue out. 10/3/23