Iteration
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male › Naruto/Sasuke
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
119
Views:
2,755
Reviews:
1203
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male › Naruto/Sasuke
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
119
Views:
2,755
Reviews:
1203
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This story has some of Masashi Kishimoto's characters from Naruto in a universe of my own devising. I do not own Naruto. I do not make any money from these writings.
Raid
‘Iteration’ is part of the space saga that began with ‘In the cold of space you find the heat of suns’ and continues in ‘Tales in Tarrasade’. There is also a one-shot ‘Silver Leaf Tales: Tying the knot’.
Thanks to Small Fox for being my beta. For this story he has also been my muse, suggesting a number of the ideas that have evolved to create this arc.
Thank you to those readers who have written a review and particular thanks to liby318, angelj232000, Prism0467, SunaoTsuji, SidoneStarr, kanazerosukenaru, Midnight Essence, satterb, Dorkchic, blugirlami21, sadie237, Aflyingmonkey123, superflaj, TanuKyle, YamanashiOchinashiIminashi and cynaga who reviewed chapter 113.
It is wonderful to hear from readers. It is feedback from readers that keeps me writing this story.
Apologies if the characters have grown differently in their new environment.
This is posted in the Naruto/Sasuke section because it is part of a Naru/Sasu/Naru space saga. However, it does feature many other pairings (and a few threesomes). Apologies to those hoping for Sasuke/Naruto or Naruto/Sasuke action in every chapter.
Chapter one hundred and fourteen: Raid
Naruto’s hackles rose as soon as the white noise started. It was like on the planet, when the Akatsuki had been blocking radio signals. That had been the start of a nightmare that lasted half a standard.
Shi-chan had gone a funny colour and smelled wrong; he was thinking the same thing.
The intercom clicked. It was hard-wired, immune to radio interference.
“This is Choza. All radio communications are inoperable. I am getting the scopes out. The alert has jumped two levels but it is still amber. Maybe the freighter exploded.”
Naruto’s whiskers twitched. Why should a freighter exploding block all radio signals? He looked to Shi-chan, who was frowning. He rolled over to the intercom.
“Naruto here.” He took a deep breath; better to be safe than sorry. “All underage crew members are to be taken to the playroom immediately. I repeat, all underage crew members are to be taken to the playroom immediately. Ran-chan, Keitaro-chan and Misora-chan, please go to the playroom if you are not there already.”
“What about Nagato-chan?” En-san asked as soon as Naruto released the switch.
Naruto held up a hand, acknowledging the question. “Shi-chan, go to the control room,” he ordered. “See if you can work out what is happening.” He turned to In-san and En-can. “Go get Konan-san, Nagato-chan and Hana-san and escort them to the playroom.” He activated the intercom again. “Konan-san, Hana-san. Prepare to move to the playroom in the main household. In-san and En-san are on their way to fetch you.”
He rolled into the playroom just after Izumo had arrived with Ayame. Kiba was beside him immediately.
“Radio communications are out,” he explained.
Kiba looked at him. “Doesn’t feel right?” he queried.
Naruto nodded. He knew that would be enough for Kiba. “We play it safe,” he decided. “All the children stay in the old playroom because that can be properly secured and that’s where the pods are.”
“Not pod them?” Kiba queried.
Naruto considered. He imagined trying to evacuate twenty-two pods with only nine adults. “No, not yet.”
“Are you staying with them?” Kiba asked.
Someone had to stay with the children. One obvious choice was Shikamaru, because he was such a high-value target. Another was him, because his paralysis limited his usefulness. “Let’s get the children moved,” he decided. “Then we’ll see if there is any more information.”
Sasuke was watching Kisame dispatch yet another challenger when something caught his eye. The two flyers were circling downwards. He recognised the pattern; communication between them and their operators had been interrupted.
His gaze flicked between Shino, Konohamaru, Itachi and Inari. Shino was trying to regain control while Konohamaru was moving to intercept the flyers. Itachi was checking other channels. Inari had removed his earpiece.
Radio communications were down; they were out of contact with the household.
This ended now. They needed to be home.
“Sasuke-sama,” Neji warned.
“I know,” Sasuke replied. He signalled that they should form up. As soon as Kisame broke the neck of his current opponent, they began moving.
He needed to cross the line before the next challenger spoke up. Otherwise he would have to turn and acknowledge the challenge.
There was a movement in the crowd along with the same upsurge of murmuring that had preceded the other eight challenges. Sasuke did not stop moving but neither did he speed up; an Uchiha never ran.
Perhaps the challenger moved slower than he could and delayed speaking for longer than he should. Maybe watching his eight predecessors die had eroded his resolve. Whatever the reason, Sasuke crossed the line before the challenge was issued.
They headed for home; their pace set by what Iruka and Akemi could sustain. Sasuke checked for Sumaru. Whatever treatment for cramps Dan had given him seemed to be working; he was beside Gai, moving freely.
Sasuke rehearsed the route in his head; across Level 3 to the nearest spoke, inwards to the Hub and then up to Level 1.
Once they were moving Sasuke relaxed a little. Deidara was dead. He and Sumaru had survived Orochimaru’s trick with the repeated challenges; assuming it was Orochimaru.
He smiled to himself; trust Naruto to protect him even when he could not be there in person.
They were in the spoke heading for the Hub when the alarms began. Red lights started to flash and there were three blasts on the siren before the voice started.
“There has been a breach. This section will be sealed for the safety of the majority after thirty seconds. There has been a breach, this section will be sealed. Twenty-four, twenty-three, twenty-two...”
“Left!” Sasuke shouted and they sprinted for the exits to their left. He saw Asuma grab Akemi’s hand and Kakashi heft Iruka over his shoulder.
About him were Neji, Kisame, Itachi and Haku. In front he could see Hamaki, Terai and Fu. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that Kakashi, Iruka and Rin were behind him. Iruka was demanding to be put down.
He assumed that the other fourteen had taken the next exit. There was the ominous sound of emergency doors closing behind them. He hoped everyone had made it.
They were in Level 6. Sasuke had never been there before. The corridor was narrow. The few residents that had been visible when they entered had vanished.
It smelled odd; it reminded him of his school on Elleton after the floors had been mopped.
Perhaps whatever had caused the breach had also disrupted radio communications. Maybe it wasn’t connected to the repeated challenge.
“They are trying to keep us away from the household,” Kakashi stated.
His gut clenched.
“Probably not,” Neji argued, “but it would be wise to operate on that assumption.”
Sasuke pictured the layout of Level 6. If they continued along this corridor they would reach the next spoke.
The others were waiting for them. A swift headcount confirmed that everyone was present. They turned and continued towards the Hub.
The warning lights continued to flash. The spoke was almost deserted. Everyone had headed for their safe place.
They were almost there; in a few moments they would be climbing. Level 1, home, was only one ladder-length away.
Tatsuji, who was leading, was already slowing. One by one those in front of Sasuke came to a halt.
They were staring at the implacable face of an emergency door.
Sasuke made himself think. They had been able to enter this spoke, so...
“There must be a breach in the Hub,” Asuma said, putting Sasuke’s thoughts into words.
“To the Maple,” Sasuke declared; of the options available that seemed the best.
No one objected or put forward an alternative. They turned, accelerated up to speed and started jogging outward along the spoke.
Sasuke was considering sending a faster group ahead to prepare the ship when there were another three blasts of the siren and the recorded voice began.
“There has been a breach. This section will be sealed for the safety of the majority after thirty seconds. There has been a breach, this section will be sealed. Twenty-four, twenty-three, twenty-two...”
When Shikamaru arrived at the control room Choza was struggling. He was trying to use the scopes manually, interpret the data coming from the surface detectors and get past the automated response to speak to the station’s gunners via the hardwired communication system.
Shikamaru settled into the second seat.
“Concentrate on the scopes,” he instructed. “I can deal with the rest.” He then divided his attention; surface detectors, internal detectors, listening for a break in the automated response and interrogating the system for any information that might prove useful.
“Thanks, Shika-san,” Choza acknowledged. “It doesn’t look good out there. Do you want me to relay the output from the scopes to the screen?”
“Yes please Choza-san,” Shikamaru replied.
What Shikamaru saw made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It wasn’t the debris; that could have been produced by a freighter exploding nearby. It wasn’t the escape pods; you would expect those given that the crew had evacuated the ship before the explosion.
It was the patterns of movement; they were wrong.
Shikamaru made a decision. He made one last sweep of the incoming information, concentrated on the video from the scope and took down the dividing walls in his mind.
This time there was no maelstrom; no whiplash. Shikamaru did not waste time wondering why. He concentrated every iota of his attention on analysing the data.
Too many of the escape pods were heading in their direction. He found himself thinking of the simulation he had created to analyse the way Kabuto had boarded the Oak.
His finger stabbed the intercom button. “Shikamaru here. We are going to have multiple breaches, possibly as many as twenty, some or all with intruders. Household only. Top and bottom. Probably hybrids. Maybe minkies.” Another piece fell into place. “They want something so they have an escape route planned. Seventy-eight percent probability that it is through the station.”
He pulled his finger away and began typing data into the interface. Naruto would have to deal with the intruders. He had other things to do. Choza was staring at him.
“Scopes, Choza-san,” he reminded him. “We need to know where the attack pods are landing.”
“We need to be launching the Sakura,” Choza told him as he focused the scopes on the surface.
The new thought clicked into the pattern. Choza was partially right. They needed the Cherry and the Blossom, both of which were highly manoeuvrable and could be piloted by their gunners.
“Go,” Shikamaru ordered. “Launch the Cherry. It could make the difference. I think Orochimaru is after Naruto, the kits or more tissue samples.” Choza was up and gone. Shikamaru stabbed the intercom again. “Choza is on his way to the Cherry. Naruto, could you do the same with the Blossom? Likely antagonist Orochimaru. Likely targets are the playroom, the tissue bank and Na-chan.” More pieces came together in his mind; the second Ranmaru reprint had told the Akatsuki everything he could remember. “They know the layout. I repeat, they know the layout.”
Ran watched. He did not like being in the old playroom. It wasn’t a small room but there were too many people in it. Many of those people were anxious and some of them were scared. His eyes flicked between the exits.
Haru’s hand stole into his. Ran stopped himself pulling away. Haru was frightened.
“Please don’t run, Ran,” Haru whispered. “Stay with me. Please.”
Ran squeezed Haru’s hand and was rewarded by Haru’s fear fading.
The woman with the blue hair, Konan-san, was looking at him oddly. Ran thought that she might have known one of the other Ranmarus. So far Ran knew about two; the older one who had lived here, who had been Kono-san’s lover, and the one who Haru had met when he was kidnapped. Konan-san had been there when Haru was kidnapped, so she probably knew that one.
That was why Haru was so scared. He thought that they were here to take him away from his litter and his parents, like last time.
Perhaps they were.
He would stay with Haru. Haru was his friend. Haru needed him.
Naruto had been concentrating on getting the children settled calmly in the old playroom and the adults assembled in the adjacent room to discuss options.
Then the intercom clicked, Shikamaru began talking and everything moved into top gear.
Decisions had to be made quickly; Naruto did not hesitate.
“Kiba, you get Biwako, Konan and Hana. Keep the children safe and make sure Shikamaru-san is informed about what you decide to do. In-san, En-san, go to Shi-chan in the control room. Izumo, you and Kotetsu go and help Moegi secure the infirmary. Remember, once the playroom is sealed there is no way out but better do it too early than too late. Everyone outside the playroom will need to be suited. I am going to launch the Blossom.”
“Kotetsu is already collecting supplies. Send him to the infirmary. I’ll help you get launched,” Izumo insisted.
Naruto knew he hadn’t had time to think through all the implications of launching the Blossom while paralysed; there might be something he had missed. He nodded.
It was difficult to roll directly out of the door rather than saying goodbye to the children but he made himself do it. He accelerated, wishing that he was in his racing buggy. Izumo was keeping up easily, which meant they were far too slow.
“Will we need a hover platform for the stairs?” Izumo asked.
“No,” Naruto replied. “You could carry the buggy.”
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Naruto braked the buggy, relaxed the superpants, pulled his knees up to his chest using his arms, folded in his feet, re-tensioned the pants and launched himself towards the floor.
It was a move he had practiced again and again in the gym. He landed on his hands. His long arms meant that his butt was well clear of the floor.
Izumo grabbed the buggy and ran up the stairs. Naruto followed him, jumping from step to step on his hands.
The buggy was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. Naruto pulled himself into it, adjusted his legs and they were off again.
Throughout the journey, Naruto monitored the intercom traffic. Moegi acknowledged that the infirmary was a target. Biwako relayed Naruto’s decisions of who was doing what, adding some sensible comments about suits and weapons. Kotetsu confirmed that he was on his way to join Moegi. Choza was launching the Cherry, which meant that he and Izumo would need to be suited to get into the depressurised docking bay.
Shikamaru announced that he had sent a message to the station gunners that the escape pods weren’t what they seemed.
Naruto hoped they had received it and that they believed it. Otherwise they might react badly to him and Choza taking out the pods.
Naruto felt the first pod landing on the surface as they reached the docking bay. There was the dull thud of the landing, followed by a sustained high frequency quiver; they were cutting through the surface.
The automated alarms started. The red light flashed. The counter in the corner started to rise.
If they had not been linked to the crew in the killing square, if they had followed tradition and not used radios, this would have been their first warning.
Izumo yanked the inner door of the airlock open.
“Dump the buggy,” he suggested.
Naruto dropped onto his hands as before and sprang into the airlock. Izumo followed him, slammed the door shut, set the controls for a staged decompression and hit the start button.
A suit hit Naruto in the chest as he was arranging himself on the floor. He told himself that it would be easier than getting in and out of the superpants.
It was. They both sealed their suits before the indicator dropped anywhere near the danger zone. Izumo grinned and hit the override.
Running on his hands was difficult but Naruto could do it; he had practiced. Choza had left the path open and once reached the ladders in the Sakura he was fine.
He could hear Izumo behind him.
Getting into the Blossom and then into his chair was more of a challenge. He was grateful for Izumo’s help, not at all objecting to being bundled in and strapped into place. Izumo touched his helmet to Naruto’s.
“Good luck, Naruto-san. Give me twenty seconds to get clear.”
Naruto nodded and Izumo moved away. He did not count because he could feel Izumo closing the hatches; first the Blossom’s and then the Sakura’s.
He undid the clamps and fired the lateral rockets.
Naruto and Izumo had left for the docking bay and Inryoku and Enerugi for the control room. Kiba pulled himself together. Naruto had left him in charge.
“Biwako-san, you and Konan-san will be in the safe room with the children. The weapons locker in there is well stocked.”
Biwako nodded, stood up and went into the old playroom.
Kiba looked at Hana. She was looking back.
“The old playroom, where the children are, is a safe room,” he began. “Once we seal it, that is it, they will have to cut through a layer of high-grade carbon steel to get to them.”
“That is good,” Hana acknowledged. “Thank you for allowing Konan-san and Nagato-chan to be in there.” She studied him. “Orochimaru wants the little hybrids. He wants them bonded to him as Naruto-san is bonded to Sasuke-sama. He will stop at nothing to get them.”
Kiba shivered. Of course Orochimaru wanted the kits, he thought of them as his own. He recalled the way Orochimaru had examined each embryo, gloating over each tiny version of the Bara hybrid.
The ‘real’ Orochimaru must have the same memory, uploaded from the clone.
“They will probably have diamond cutters,” Hana suggested.
“And maybe cannon,” Kiba added. “They used cannon when they boarded the Oak.”
“It would be best if they never got close to the safe room,” Hana proposed.
“Yes, it would,” Kiba agreed. He went over to the intercom and pushed the button. “Kiba here. Hana-san and I will operate as your response team. You tell us where they are getting in and we will deal with them.”
There was a pause before Shikamaru answered. “Shikamaru here. Are you sure, Kiba-san?”
“Kiba here. Yes, we are sure. The best way to protect the children is for the intruders to never get close to the safe room.”
They made one last check that Biwako-san and Konan-san had all they needed. They sealed the doors and set the safe room controls so that it would activate with the alarms.
Then they set about getting suited and armed.
They were discussing tactics when the alarms began. Kiba stopped. He heard the clamps spring open, releasing the huge, steel shutters. They slid almost soundlessly through walls, ceiling and floor before thudding into position.
“Done,” he announced.
“Done,” Hana acknowledged.
Moegi wished she could turn the flashing light off. The counter was useful, but being repeatedly bathed in red light was not. It made loading the darts difficult.
She was in her suit. The helmet was pushed back and the gloves hung from her wrists. She felt like a little kid on her home planet with her mittens attached to her winter coat.
Dangling gloves were even more of a liability than intermittent coloured light. She abandoned injecting the poison into the darts, found some suitable tape and attached them to her forearms.
She was just settling down to begin again when she heard someone approaching. Her hand went to her laser pistol but it was Kotetsu. He was pushing a hovercart filled with tools, supplies and an assortment of weaponry.
“Shall I start setting up our outer perimeter or is there anything else you need me to do?” he asked.
“Could you turn off the red light without affecting the counter?” she asked.
He selected a stick from the trolley, extended it, locked it in place and then used the end to smash the outer red filter and the small lamp beyond.
“Thank you, Kotetsu-san,” she acknowledged and went back to filling darts.
“You are welcome, Moegi-san. I’ll start by planting blast bombs between pairs of emergency doors on the approaches.”
It was a long time since Choza had been on a simulator, never mind piloting a real ship, and the crafts he had operated in the past were nowhere near as sophisticated as the Cherry.
He had to make it work; there was no one else.
Once he reached the Cherry, it was surprisingly easy. The chair adapted to his bulk. The system recognised him as a new user and began adapting.
The more he did, the more confident he became.
Soon his main worry was being out of contact. He wished his radio was working. There was no way to communicate with Shikamaru in the control room, or with the station gunners. All he could do was set his colours to Uchiha and hope.
No one had fired at him yet, which was a relief. Whether that would last when he started shooting was another matter. The station gunners might take him out for destroying ‘escape pods’; it depended if they had received and accepted Shikamaru’s message.
It did no good to dwell on such things. He started a sweep along the top surface of the household, blowing away one of the pods that was landing on the surface. The targeting system was amazing.
He kept at it; sweep after sweep, top and then bottom, one pod less every time. He knew there were too many of them but each one dealt with was one less.
The sooner Naruto got the Blossom launched the better.
Shikamaru’s fingers flew across the interface. The first pod that had landed had been blown away by Choza, leaving a half-cut hole. The emergency procedures had operated perfectly; the rooms close to the breach were now sealed.
Another nine had landed and started cutting. Choza had dealt with four of them but of the five that were left, two were almost through.
Once they were boarded they would begin losing control. He activated the intercom.
“This is Shikamaru. We are about to be boarded. I repeat, we are about to be boarded. Kiba-san, one is almost through in the guest apartments below the playroom. Moegi-san, another is directly above the infirmary.”
Moegi knew which direction they were coming from when the blast bomb was triggered. Kotetsu counted five seconds and then opened the door.
There were nine bodies. Moegi made sure they were dead by firing a dart into each. From such close quarters the darts ripped through the suits and injected the poison into the flesh beneath. Kotetsu set up another blast bomb.
Then they retreated back behind the door to wait for the next lot.
Kiba crouched on one side of the door, holding a blast shield up in front of him. Hana was on the other side, similarly protected. He had felt footsteps through the floor; more than four small ones, probably minkies, and at least two larger.
The cannon made small work of the door and the air rushed from the room. Shrapnel hit his shield. Kiba concentrated on staying still and quiet. That was the plan; still and quiet until the last possible moment.
The intruders rushed forward through the hole; seven minkies and two larger figures, intent on the next door.
Kiba sprang at them. He threw the shield to sweep minkies out of the way and grabbed one of the bigger ones with his left hand.
They had decided to deal with the bigger ones first.
A squeeze and a twist and the person he was holding broke. He gave it a shake. It was definitely broken. He dropped the body.
Hana had the other big one.
He went for the minkies. One of them was on the floor, under his shield. Two were staring at him. Of the other four, two were running and two looked like they were going to fight.
He threw the ones who had stood their ground into the wall and ran down the two that were running. He hit them together to stun them before breaking each of their necks.
Hana had killed the other three by the time he got back. She was checking that everyone who looked dead was dead.
Kiba went to the intercom and connected the output of his suit microphone before pressing the button.
“Kiba here. Where next, Shika-san?”
Shikamaru had generated a diagram of the surface to keep track of where the pods were landing. It was displayed on one of the screens. There had been twenty-eight so far. Choza had destroyed thirteen. So far, five had made it in.
Two had headed for the infirmary; Moegi and Kotetsu had made short work of the first group and were ready for the second.
The other three had headed for the playroom. Kiba and Hana had finished off the first and were ready to ambush the second. It looked like the third would reach the safe room but the carbon steel would hold them off long enough for Kiba and Hana to get there.
His heart sank. There were ten on the surface with at minimum of twelve coming towards them. Ten dropped to nine as Choza took another out but then rose to twelve.
“It is likely that five more will make it in,” In-san observed.
Shikamaru thought more, probably closer to ten. Their meagre defences would be worn thin and finally give. Kiba or Hana would be injured or killed. Moegi and Kotetsu would run out of blast bombs, or one of them would fail to trigger, or something else would go awry.
“Here he comes,” En-san announced from where he and In-san had their eyes fixed to the scopes.
Shikamaru watched the diagram, expecting one of the small lights to vanish as Choza made his fifteenth run.
Five vanished; Shikamaru’s heart lifted.
Naruto and the Blossom had arrived.
Thanks to Small Fox for being my beta. For this story he has also been my muse, suggesting a number of the ideas that have evolved to create this arc.
Thank you to those readers who have written a review and particular thanks to liby318, angelj232000, Prism0467, SunaoTsuji, SidoneStarr, kanazerosukenaru, Midnight Essence, satterb, Dorkchic, blugirlami21, sadie237, Aflyingmonkey123, superflaj, TanuKyle, YamanashiOchinashiIminashi and cynaga who reviewed chapter 113.
It is wonderful to hear from readers. It is feedback from readers that keeps me writing this story.
Apologies if the characters have grown differently in their new environment.
This is posted in the Naruto/Sasuke section because it is part of a Naru/Sasu/Naru space saga. However, it does feature many other pairings (and a few threesomes). Apologies to those hoping for Sasuke/Naruto or Naruto/Sasuke action in every chapter.
Chapter one hundred and fourteen: Raid
Naruto’s hackles rose as soon as the white noise started. It was like on the planet, when the Akatsuki had been blocking radio signals. That had been the start of a nightmare that lasted half a standard.
Shi-chan had gone a funny colour and smelled wrong; he was thinking the same thing.
The intercom clicked. It was hard-wired, immune to radio interference.
“This is Choza. All radio communications are inoperable. I am getting the scopes out. The alert has jumped two levels but it is still amber. Maybe the freighter exploded.”
Naruto’s whiskers twitched. Why should a freighter exploding block all radio signals? He looked to Shi-chan, who was frowning. He rolled over to the intercom.
“Naruto here.” He took a deep breath; better to be safe than sorry. “All underage crew members are to be taken to the playroom immediately. I repeat, all underage crew members are to be taken to the playroom immediately. Ran-chan, Keitaro-chan and Misora-chan, please go to the playroom if you are not there already.”
“What about Nagato-chan?” En-san asked as soon as Naruto released the switch.
Naruto held up a hand, acknowledging the question. “Shi-chan, go to the control room,” he ordered. “See if you can work out what is happening.” He turned to In-san and En-can. “Go get Konan-san, Nagato-chan and Hana-san and escort them to the playroom.” He activated the intercom again. “Konan-san, Hana-san. Prepare to move to the playroom in the main household. In-san and En-san are on their way to fetch you.”
He rolled into the playroom just after Izumo had arrived with Ayame. Kiba was beside him immediately.
“Radio communications are out,” he explained.
Kiba looked at him. “Doesn’t feel right?” he queried.
Naruto nodded. He knew that would be enough for Kiba. “We play it safe,” he decided. “All the children stay in the old playroom because that can be properly secured and that’s where the pods are.”
“Not pod them?” Kiba queried.
Naruto considered. He imagined trying to evacuate twenty-two pods with only nine adults. “No, not yet.”
“Are you staying with them?” Kiba asked.
Someone had to stay with the children. One obvious choice was Shikamaru, because he was such a high-value target. Another was him, because his paralysis limited his usefulness. “Let’s get the children moved,” he decided. “Then we’ll see if there is any more information.”
Sasuke was watching Kisame dispatch yet another challenger when something caught his eye. The two flyers were circling downwards. He recognised the pattern; communication between them and their operators had been interrupted.
His gaze flicked between Shino, Konohamaru, Itachi and Inari. Shino was trying to regain control while Konohamaru was moving to intercept the flyers. Itachi was checking other channels. Inari had removed his earpiece.
Radio communications were down; they were out of contact with the household.
This ended now. They needed to be home.
“Sasuke-sama,” Neji warned.
“I know,” Sasuke replied. He signalled that they should form up. As soon as Kisame broke the neck of his current opponent, they began moving.
He needed to cross the line before the next challenger spoke up. Otherwise he would have to turn and acknowledge the challenge.
There was a movement in the crowd along with the same upsurge of murmuring that had preceded the other eight challenges. Sasuke did not stop moving but neither did he speed up; an Uchiha never ran.
Perhaps the challenger moved slower than he could and delayed speaking for longer than he should. Maybe watching his eight predecessors die had eroded his resolve. Whatever the reason, Sasuke crossed the line before the challenge was issued.
They headed for home; their pace set by what Iruka and Akemi could sustain. Sasuke checked for Sumaru. Whatever treatment for cramps Dan had given him seemed to be working; he was beside Gai, moving freely.
Sasuke rehearsed the route in his head; across Level 3 to the nearest spoke, inwards to the Hub and then up to Level 1.
Once they were moving Sasuke relaxed a little. Deidara was dead. He and Sumaru had survived Orochimaru’s trick with the repeated challenges; assuming it was Orochimaru.
He smiled to himself; trust Naruto to protect him even when he could not be there in person.
They were in the spoke heading for the Hub when the alarms began. Red lights started to flash and there were three blasts on the siren before the voice started.
“There has been a breach. This section will be sealed for the safety of the majority after thirty seconds. There has been a breach, this section will be sealed. Twenty-four, twenty-three, twenty-two...”
“Left!” Sasuke shouted and they sprinted for the exits to their left. He saw Asuma grab Akemi’s hand and Kakashi heft Iruka over his shoulder.
About him were Neji, Kisame, Itachi and Haku. In front he could see Hamaki, Terai and Fu. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that Kakashi, Iruka and Rin were behind him. Iruka was demanding to be put down.
He assumed that the other fourteen had taken the next exit. There was the ominous sound of emergency doors closing behind them. He hoped everyone had made it.
They were in Level 6. Sasuke had never been there before. The corridor was narrow. The few residents that had been visible when they entered had vanished.
It smelled odd; it reminded him of his school on Elleton after the floors had been mopped.
Perhaps whatever had caused the breach had also disrupted radio communications. Maybe it wasn’t connected to the repeated challenge.
“They are trying to keep us away from the household,” Kakashi stated.
His gut clenched.
“Probably not,” Neji argued, “but it would be wise to operate on that assumption.”
Sasuke pictured the layout of Level 6. If they continued along this corridor they would reach the next spoke.
The others were waiting for them. A swift headcount confirmed that everyone was present. They turned and continued towards the Hub.
The warning lights continued to flash. The spoke was almost deserted. Everyone had headed for their safe place.
They were almost there; in a few moments they would be climbing. Level 1, home, was only one ladder-length away.
Tatsuji, who was leading, was already slowing. One by one those in front of Sasuke came to a halt.
They were staring at the implacable face of an emergency door.
Sasuke made himself think. They had been able to enter this spoke, so...
“There must be a breach in the Hub,” Asuma said, putting Sasuke’s thoughts into words.
“To the Maple,” Sasuke declared; of the options available that seemed the best.
No one objected or put forward an alternative. They turned, accelerated up to speed and started jogging outward along the spoke.
Sasuke was considering sending a faster group ahead to prepare the ship when there were another three blasts of the siren and the recorded voice began.
“There has been a breach. This section will be sealed for the safety of the majority after thirty seconds. There has been a breach, this section will be sealed. Twenty-four, twenty-three, twenty-two...”
When Shikamaru arrived at the control room Choza was struggling. He was trying to use the scopes manually, interpret the data coming from the surface detectors and get past the automated response to speak to the station’s gunners via the hardwired communication system.
Shikamaru settled into the second seat.
“Concentrate on the scopes,” he instructed. “I can deal with the rest.” He then divided his attention; surface detectors, internal detectors, listening for a break in the automated response and interrogating the system for any information that might prove useful.
“Thanks, Shika-san,” Choza acknowledged. “It doesn’t look good out there. Do you want me to relay the output from the scopes to the screen?”
“Yes please Choza-san,” Shikamaru replied.
What Shikamaru saw made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It wasn’t the debris; that could have been produced by a freighter exploding nearby. It wasn’t the escape pods; you would expect those given that the crew had evacuated the ship before the explosion.
It was the patterns of movement; they were wrong.
Shikamaru made a decision. He made one last sweep of the incoming information, concentrated on the video from the scope and took down the dividing walls in his mind.
This time there was no maelstrom; no whiplash. Shikamaru did not waste time wondering why. He concentrated every iota of his attention on analysing the data.
Too many of the escape pods were heading in their direction. He found himself thinking of the simulation he had created to analyse the way Kabuto had boarded the Oak.
His finger stabbed the intercom button. “Shikamaru here. We are going to have multiple breaches, possibly as many as twenty, some or all with intruders. Household only. Top and bottom. Probably hybrids. Maybe minkies.” Another piece fell into place. “They want something so they have an escape route planned. Seventy-eight percent probability that it is through the station.”
He pulled his finger away and began typing data into the interface. Naruto would have to deal with the intruders. He had other things to do. Choza was staring at him.
“Scopes, Choza-san,” he reminded him. “We need to know where the attack pods are landing.”
“We need to be launching the Sakura,” Choza told him as he focused the scopes on the surface.
The new thought clicked into the pattern. Choza was partially right. They needed the Cherry and the Blossom, both of which were highly manoeuvrable and could be piloted by their gunners.
“Go,” Shikamaru ordered. “Launch the Cherry. It could make the difference. I think Orochimaru is after Naruto, the kits or more tissue samples.” Choza was up and gone. Shikamaru stabbed the intercom again. “Choza is on his way to the Cherry. Naruto, could you do the same with the Blossom? Likely antagonist Orochimaru. Likely targets are the playroom, the tissue bank and Na-chan.” More pieces came together in his mind; the second Ranmaru reprint had told the Akatsuki everything he could remember. “They know the layout. I repeat, they know the layout.”
Ran watched. He did not like being in the old playroom. It wasn’t a small room but there were too many people in it. Many of those people were anxious and some of them were scared. His eyes flicked between the exits.
Haru’s hand stole into his. Ran stopped himself pulling away. Haru was frightened.
“Please don’t run, Ran,” Haru whispered. “Stay with me. Please.”
Ran squeezed Haru’s hand and was rewarded by Haru’s fear fading.
The woman with the blue hair, Konan-san, was looking at him oddly. Ran thought that she might have known one of the other Ranmarus. So far Ran knew about two; the older one who had lived here, who had been Kono-san’s lover, and the one who Haru had met when he was kidnapped. Konan-san had been there when Haru was kidnapped, so she probably knew that one.
That was why Haru was so scared. He thought that they were here to take him away from his litter and his parents, like last time.
Perhaps they were.
He would stay with Haru. Haru was his friend. Haru needed him.
Naruto had been concentrating on getting the children settled calmly in the old playroom and the adults assembled in the adjacent room to discuss options.
Then the intercom clicked, Shikamaru began talking and everything moved into top gear.
Decisions had to be made quickly; Naruto did not hesitate.
“Kiba, you get Biwako, Konan and Hana. Keep the children safe and make sure Shikamaru-san is informed about what you decide to do. In-san, En-san, go to Shi-chan in the control room. Izumo, you and Kotetsu go and help Moegi secure the infirmary. Remember, once the playroom is sealed there is no way out but better do it too early than too late. Everyone outside the playroom will need to be suited. I am going to launch the Blossom.”
“Kotetsu is already collecting supplies. Send him to the infirmary. I’ll help you get launched,” Izumo insisted.
Naruto knew he hadn’t had time to think through all the implications of launching the Blossom while paralysed; there might be something he had missed. He nodded.
It was difficult to roll directly out of the door rather than saying goodbye to the children but he made himself do it. He accelerated, wishing that he was in his racing buggy. Izumo was keeping up easily, which meant they were far too slow.
“Will we need a hover platform for the stairs?” Izumo asked.
“No,” Naruto replied. “You could carry the buggy.”
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Naruto braked the buggy, relaxed the superpants, pulled his knees up to his chest using his arms, folded in his feet, re-tensioned the pants and launched himself towards the floor.
It was a move he had practiced again and again in the gym. He landed on his hands. His long arms meant that his butt was well clear of the floor.
Izumo grabbed the buggy and ran up the stairs. Naruto followed him, jumping from step to step on his hands.
The buggy was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. Naruto pulled himself into it, adjusted his legs and they were off again.
Throughout the journey, Naruto monitored the intercom traffic. Moegi acknowledged that the infirmary was a target. Biwako relayed Naruto’s decisions of who was doing what, adding some sensible comments about suits and weapons. Kotetsu confirmed that he was on his way to join Moegi. Choza was launching the Cherry, which meant that he and Izumo would need to be suited to get into the depressurised docking bay.
Shikamaru announced that he had sent a message to the station gunners that the escape pods weren’t what they seemed.
Naruto hoped they had received it and that they believed it. Otherwise they might react badly to him and Choza taking out the pods.
Naruto felt the first pod landing on the surface as they reached the docking bay. There was the dull thud of the landing, followed by a sustained high frequency quiver; they were cutting through the surface.
The automated alarms started. The red light flashed. The counter in the corner started to rise.
If they had not been linked to the crew in the killing square, if they had followed tradition and not used radios, this would have been their first warning.
Izumo yanked the inner door of the airlock open.
“Dump the buggy,” he suggested.
Naruto dropped onto his hands as before and sprang into the airlock. Izumo followed him, slammed the door shut, set the controls for a staged decompression and hit the start button.
A suit hit Naruto in the chest as he was arranging himself on the floor. He told himself that it would be easier than getting in and out of the superpants.
It was. They both sealed their suits before the indicator dropped anywhere near the danger zone. Izumo grinned and hit the override.
Running on his hands was difficult but Naruto could do it; he had practiced. Choza had left the path open and once reached the ladders in the Sakura he was fine.
He could hear Izumo behind him.
Getting into the Blossom and then into his chair was more of a challenge. He was grateful for Izumo’s help, not at all objecting to being bundled in and strapped into place. Izumo touched his helmet to Naruto’s.
“Good luck, Naruto-san. Give me twenty seconds to get clear.”
Naruto nodded and Izumo moved away. He did not count because he could feel Izumo closing the hatches; first the Blossom’s and then the Sakura’s.
He undid the clamps and fired the lateral rockets.
Naruto and Izumo had left for the docking bay and Inryoku and Enerugi for the control room. Kiba pulled himself together. Naruto had left him in charge.
“Biwako-san, you and Konan-san will be in the safe room with the children. The weapons locker in there is well stocked.”
Biwako nodded, stood up and went into the old playroom.
Kiba looked at Hana. She was looking back.
“The old playroom, where the children are, is a safe room,” he began. “Once we seal it, that is it, they will have to cut through a layer of high-grade carbon steel to get to them.”
“That is good,” Hana acknowledged. “Thank you for allowing Konan-san and Nagato-chan to be in there.” She studied him. “Orochimaru wants the little hybrids. He wants them bonded to him as Naruto-san is bonded to Sasuke-sama. He will stop at nothing to get them.”
Kiba shivered. Of course Orochimaru wanted the kits, he thought of them as his own. He recalled the way Orochimaru had examined each embryo, gloating over each tiny version of the Bara hybrid.
The ‘real’ Orochimaru must have the same memory, uploaded from the clone.
“They will probably have diamond cutters,” Hana suggested.
“And maybe cannon,” Kiba added. “They used cannon when they boarded the Oak.”
“It would be best if they never got close to the safe room,” Hana proposed.
“Yes, it would,” Kiba agreed. He went over to the intercom and pushed the button. “Kiba here. Hana-san and I will operate as your response team. You tell us where they are getting in and we will deal with them.”
There was a pause before Shikamaru answered. “Shikamaru here. Are you sure, Kiba-san?”
“Kiba here. Yes, we are sure. The best way to protect the children is for the intruders to never get close to the safe room.”
They made one last check that Biwako-san and Konan-san had all they needed. They sealed the doors and set the safe room controls so that it would activate with the alarms.
Then they set about getting suited and armed.
They were discussing tactics when the alarms began. Kiba stopped. He heard the clamps spring open, releasing the huge, steel shutters. They slid almost soundlessly through walls, ceiling and floor before thudding into position.
“Done,” he announced.
“Done,” Hana acknowledged.
Moegi wished she could turn the flashing light off. The counter was useful, but being repeatedly bathed in red light was not. It made loading the darts difficult.
She was in her suit. The helmet was pushed back and the gloves hung from her wrists. She felt like a little kid on her home planet with her mittens attached to her winter coat.
Dangling gloves were even more of a liability than intermittent coloured light. She abandoned injecting the poison into the darts, found some suitable tape and attached them to her forearms.
She was just settling down to begin again when she heard someone approaching. Her hand went to her laser pistol but it was Kotetsu. He was pushing a hovercart filled with tools, supplies and an assortment of weaponry.
“Shall I start setting up our outer perimeter or is there anything else you need me to do?” he asked.
“Could you turn off the red light without affecting the counter?” she asked.
He selected a stick from the trolley, extended it, locked it in place and then used the end to smash the outer red filter and the small lamp beyond.
“Thank you, Kotetsu-san,” she acknowledged and went back to filling darts.
“You are welcome, Moegi-san. I’ll start by planting blast bombs between pairs of emergency doors on the approaches.”
It was a long time since Choza had been on a simulator, never mind piloting a real ship, and the crafts he had operated in the past were nowhere near as sophisticated as the Cherry.
He had to make it work; there was no one else.
Once he reached the Cherry, it was surprisingly easy. The chair adapted to his bulk. The system recognised him as a new user and began adapting.
The more he did, the more confident he became.
Soon his main worry was being out of contact. He wished his radio was working. There was no way to communicate with Shikamaru in the control room, or with the station gunners. All he could do was set his colours to Uchiha and hope.
No one had fired at him yet, which was a relief. Whether that would last when he started shooting was another matter. The station gunners might take him out for destroying ‘escape pods’; it depended if they had received and accepted Shikamaru’s message.
It did no good to dwell on such things. He started a sweep along the top surface of the household, blowing away one of the pods that was landing on the surface. The targeting system was amazing.
He kept at it; sweep after sweep, top and then bottom, one pod less every time. He knew there were too many of them but each one dealt with was one less.
The sooner Naruto got the Blossom launched the better.
Shikamaru’s fingers flew across the interface. The first pod that had landed had been blown away by Choza, leaving a half-cut hole. The emergency procedures had operated perfectly; the rooms close to the breach were now sealed.
Another nine had landed and started cutting. Choza had dealt with four of them but of the five that were left, two were almost through.
Once they were boarded they would begin losing control. He activated the intercom.
“This is Shikamaru. We are about to be boarded. I repeat, we are about to be boarded. Kiba-san, one is almost through in the guest apartments below the playroom. Moegi-san, another is directly above the infirmary.”
Moegi knew which direction they were coming from when the blast bomb was triggered. Kotetsu counted five seconds and then opened the door.
There were nine bodies. Moegi made sure they were dead by firing a dart into each. From such close quarters the darts ripped through the suits and injected the poison into the flesh beneath. Kotetsu set up another blast bomb.
Then they retreated back behind the door to wait for the next lot.
Kiba crouched on one side of the door, holding a blast shield up in front of him. Hana was on the other side, similarly protected. He had felt footsteps through the floor; more than four small ones, probably minkies, and at least two larger.
The cannon made small work of the door and the air rushed from the room. Shrapnel hit his shield. Kiba concentrated on staying still and quiet. That was the plan; still and quiet until the last possible moment.
The intruders rushed forward through the hole; seven minkies and two larger figures, intent on the next door.
Kiba sprang at them. He threw the shield to sweep minkies out of the way and grabbed one of the bigger ones with his left hand.
They had decided to deal with the bigger ones first.
A squeeze and a twist and the person he was holding broke. He gave it a shake. It was definitely broken. He dropped the body.
Hana had the other big one.
He went for the minkies. One of them was on the floor, under his shield. Two were staring at him. Of the other four, two were running and two looked like they were going to fight.
He threw the ones who had stood their ground into the wall and ran down the two that were running. He hit them together to stun them before breaking each of their necks.
Hana had killed the other three by the time he got back. She was checking that everyone who looked dead was dead.
Kiba went to the intercom and connected the output of his suit microphone before pressing the button.
“Kiba here. Where next, Shika-san?”
Shikamaru had generated a diagram of the surface to keep track of where the pods were landing. It was displayed on one of the screens. There had been twenty-eight so far. Choza had destroyed thirteen. So far, five had made it in.
Two had headed for the infirmary; Moegi and Kotetsu had made short work of the first group and were ready for the second.
The other three had headed for the playroom. Kiba and Hana had finished off the first and were ready to ambush the second. It looked like the third would reach the safe room but the carbon steel would hold them off long enough for Kiba and Hana to get there.
His heart sank. There were ten on the surface with at minimum of twelve coming towards them. Ten dropped to nine as Choza took another out but then rose to twelve.
“It is likely that five more will make it in,” In-san observed.
Shikamaru thought more, probably closer to ten. Their meagre defences would be worn thin and finally give. Kiba or Hana would be injured or killed. Moegi and Kotetsu would run out of blast bombs, or one of them would fail to trigger, or something else would go awry.
“Here he comes,” En-san announced from where he and In-san had their eyes fixed to the scopes.
Shikamaru watched the diagram, expecting one of the small lights to vanish as Choza made his fifteenth run.
Five vanished; Shikamaru’s heart lifted.
Naruto and the Blossom had arrived.