Naruto: Infinity Divide

Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Trek

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I want to thank everyone for their input on last chapter. As many of you already surmised; T'Lyra is Hinata in spirit so having Hinata appear as her original self would be a bit redundant. We are also going to primarily make a dash for home. Given the nature of the story there will be plenty of hijinks on the way though. Like this chapter for instance….Here is chapter 53. Enjoy!

Port = Left

Starboard = Right

[ ] Signifies a foreign language

….

Last time:

….Shar caught the gist of the theory and stated, "So a super gravity field and a warp field reacted to each other and we ended up here." Hearing Alison hum in agreement he asked, "What about the time factor?"

Rafi spoke up this time. "Our manual calculations show we are within 100 years of when we started; give or take. Once we intercept a Stardate from somebody (presumably the Lyrans) we will be able to pinpoint an exact date."

"Do you have any theories about yourself, Shizuka and T'Lyra Doctor Fairbanks?" asked Samui.

Alison reached in her pocket and pulled out a pair of antique ivory dice. She rolled them on the table and said, "Snake eyes! Looks like divine intervention to me."

Everyone else face faulted….

….After Alison collected her dice; Naruto said authoritatively, "We have 429 people on this ship. Our Staff Officers are young and inexperienced by Starfleet standards and approximately one quarter of our crew are civilian contractors which have no military discipline at all. It is going to be very difficult to turn this group around from a disorganized mob into an efficient crew unit. I must ask all of you as well as myself to act with patience, responsibility and above all else maturity. We don't have anyone out here to fall back on and every decision counts. We are alone. That being said, I believe we are also capable of being the best. Please reflect upon this as you carry out your duties."

Then he asked; "….Are there any further questions or topics that need to be discussed?" Seeing the room was quiet; the blonde shinobi said; "Dismissed. We all have duties to attend to…."

….

Chapter 53

Stardate Unknown, NX-1602 U.S.S. Wolverine, Captain's Quarters

Personal Log of Captain Naruto M'Fau; Stardate yet to be determined. It is day twelve since we woke up in the Western Territories. We have repaired everything but the long range subspace communications and our warp units are completing their final checks before we reactivate them later today. We are in a most unusual supply situation. The U.S.S. Wolverine is currently 92% complete which is mainly cosmetic from an operational point of view. We have an estimated four years worth of spare parts because the ship was sent into combat from Starbase 6 before there was a chance to unload them for extended testing. We estimate that even completing the Wolverine should be no problem even out in dead space.…

On the contrary we only have ninety days worth of supplies for the crew such as water, foodstuffs and other necessities. The Wolverine was not loaded for any sort of long distance voyage when we were forced into combat in the Arcanum System on Stardate 2274.345. We hope to find a supply source to purchase what we need and soon. The longer we wait; the more likely it will be that our current situation could evolve into a crisis. Unfortunately; the only thing close to us at this point is a multi-light year across black void that I have ordered us to avoid for now. Some scientific curiosities are best left alone….

….

Naruto heard his communications monitor blare to life. It was M'rella. The amber eyed beauty smiled warmly on the screen and said, "Captain Naruto; there is something we've spotted of scientific interest that Chief Science Officer Fairbanks wants you to take a look at. It appears to be signs of a very advanced civilization."

The blonde hybrid nodded and said; "I'm on my way." After turning the monitor off; Naruto pivoted to look over at his bed where his lovely mate Shizuka was lounging half under the covers. They'd been making love all night and she had a sultry, lustful look in her light green eyes that was very enticing to her blonde mate. He asked, "Do you want to go to the bridge?"

She smiled sleepily and said, "I'd much rather you come back to bed with me. You work too much."

His eyes crackled with chakra in excitement and he replied, "You girls always make it so difficult to leave."

Shizuka rolled over on her flat stomach and gave her mate a wonderful view of her luscious breasts. "Come here lover." Purred the black haired beauty….

….Needless to say Naruto was late coming to the bridge….

….

Bridge

Naruto strode onto the bridge still feeling quite euphoric over his little tryst with Shizuka. Samui caught his eye from the navigation station and smiled at him knowingly. Her ice blue eyes seemed to be filled with humor. 'It seems that my three mates are starting to synchronize a little too much.' he thought to himself. 'I am very pleased that T'Lyra and Shizuka accepted Samui into the harem but with Siegfried being around I suppose it was inevitable….' He was pulled out of his thoughts by one of the other women on his mind; Doctor Alison Fairbanks….

The redheaded scientist flashed him an excited smile. "We've found something utterly fascinating Naruto! It looks like a very advanced civilization may be present though we can detect no life signs currently." She pointed towards the main viewscreen where a semi elliptical black void was. Alison was obviously very enthused. "As you know we spotted the black void nearby that is approximately fifteen light years across when we first arrived. We've avoided it for safety's sake and taken scans from range. Our sensors show it's not solid but it is opaque and emits heat and gravity in uneven patterns….We finally cleared the edge of it."

The screen rotated to port and showed a massive blue supergiant star blazing brightly on the screen. On the side of the star was a colossal beam of energy blue focused directly at the far side of the black void. The beam was nearly four light years long and a dozen solar radii*① across. Naruto's eyes widened and he asked, "What kind of energy is it? It looks like plasma but the star couldn't possibly sustain a plasma beam throwing off that much mass."

Maya Ayasugi said; "That's what we thought at first but it isn't plasma or even mass. It's simply photons and their associated heat."

Naruto looked at Alison who was practically giddy. She explained, "That entire blue supergiant is surrounded by millions of satellites that form a gravimetric field which acts as a gigantic lens to focus excess photon energy into a beam."

At the helm Rafi asked, "….But what's the point? Holding a magnifying glass up to sunlight allows you to focus light to burn paper but this thing is too big to even comprehend. Building that satellite array must have taken centuries!"

Face palming; Alison said, "Your lack of imagination astounds me Lieutenant Rafi. That black void could very well contain the largest solar powered receiving array in the galaxy!"

Rafi's eyes got huge. "You're saying that black void could be filled with pure daylight fifteen light years across!"

"Exactly!" said Alison excitedly. "Odds are that void is created by a similar gravity warping array of satellites that we cannot see because that blue sun isn't behind them to illuminate them. Whoever created these satellites must have truly been masters of both light and gravity technology. Imagine what they achieved in other fields! This could be fantastic! Think of what they could teach us!"

"Logically a gargantuan solar receiving array must exist within that void to power something." said Naruto. "The question is what."

Ayasugi replied, "The possibilities are endless Captain Naruto. Such energy could easily power a Dyson Sphere or something equally large. If it is filled with solar light as we surmise then it could be a biosphere that could feed trillions easily."

"It could also be a weapon." said Naruto darkly. "We have to be cautious. I doubt something that is hidden in a gigantic black void is entirely benevolent. Hopefully I'm being overly guarded but the possibilities are literally endless."

The redheaded scientist frowned. "It could also be a civilization that could provide us with much need supplies. I can't believe you'd pass up such a golden opportunity to learn."

The blonde Captain gave her a raised eyebrow. "I never said we wouldn't look into it Alison. I simply meant we would do it carefully."

Alison's face suddenly lit up with a million watt smile….

….

Engineering

Hours later; the U.S.S. Wolverine's engine deck was abuzz with activity as Chief Engineer Christianson conferred with Lieutenant Kloene about last minute details regarding the warp engine reactivation tests. Freyja said, "Everything is aligned to the micrometer and Captain Naruto's new and improved warp field computations are a head and shoulders above the original. The performance should be stupendous. What a brilliant engineer he is!"

'Somebody has some serious hero worship going on.' thought Kloene as he sweat dropped. 'I'm glad Naruto doesn't have a huge ego to inflate.' "Our Captain is quite a guy to be sure. I don't know how he comes up with all this stuff."

"But hot warp is simply -" started Freyja.

"He prefers the phrase Curved Transitional Warp Theorem Chief Engineer Christenson." interjected T'Lyra.

Freyja asked, "What's it like to be married to such a brilliant man T'Lyra?"

T'Lyra's brown eyes seemed to sparkle with mirth. "Naruto is a kind and good person. I think he will make a good Father in the future….provided he can keep himself out of trouble from thinking too much."

Commander Christianson looked a bit scandalized but Kloene just chuckled. "I think you are a good match for him T'Lyra. You keep him from getting his head completely lost in the clouds."

….

Bridge

"We are ready when you are Engineering." said Naruto. "The Wolverine has been at sublight too long. She needs to spread her wings."

"Aye sir!" answered Chief Christianson.

Rafi grinned and said; "Helm is ready Captain! Just give me the word."

"Navigation is also standing by." added Samui with a smile….

….

Engineering

Various members of the Engineering staff were moving at a frantic pace making last minute checks as they got ready:

"….Warp core on standby; all plasma conduits are ready."

"….All matter/antimatter injection units functioning at 100%"

"….Warp core activating….All systems are stable."

"….Dilithium integrated at 100%!"

It was like music to the Chief Engineer's ears. "Freyja Christianson to bridge; all systems are green." she said eagerly. "We are ready to engage warp engines whenever you are ready."

"Bridge to Engineering." said Naruto. "Ahead warp factor one. Engage!"

"Engaging." replied Kloene.

To anyone outside in space; the U.S.S. Wolverine vanished in a rainbow of light….

Warp engine reactivation; success!

….

Bridge

For obvious reasons, the bridge crew (particularly Rafi) was elated to have warp power back. The whole crew was excited because it meant they were that much closer to getting home….It would be several hours before they finished putting the Wolverine through her paces….

….

Officer's Staff Room

Ensign Shar was giving his report on the communications array. "We've managed to fully repair our short range subspace communications transmitters and receivers by cobbling together the damaged parts of both the short and long range systems." explained the Andorian philosopher. "In short; we have communications across planetary systems and to and from the Wolverine to a planet's surface without a problem. It is much like a shuttlecraft's situation. We can easily transmit over several AU* but sending and receiving over interstellar distances would be impossible. We just don't have a system currently that can handle that kind of power."

M'rella clapped her hands together once and said, "That's wonderful news Shar. We've been relying on line of sight and light signals only up until this point."

"It will be a quantum leap from using the shuttlecraft to relay information." agreed Shizuka.

"Well done Shar." said Naruto. "Considering what you had to start with; your team has had superb results. Coupled with the fact our long range sensors and scanners are intact; we are not doing badly at all."

"Now all we need to do is find the means to buy or create our own long range set." said Alison happily. "Oh yeah; that and food…."

The whole conversation spiraled downward from there….

….

Bridge

The U.S.S. Wolverine was now travelling at sublight speed around the black void from about a light year out as they scanned the void with more scrutiny. They were headed towards the blue supergiant sun that apparently was powering the entire array. "We've confirmed more of the gravity satellites at the edge of the void that seem to be of similar design to those that are surrounding the star." reported Shar. "They are much easier to detect now that we know what to look for."

Doctor Fairbanks was looking through her scanner. "The grid pattern that the satellites are in have an individual tolerance of +/- two meters despite the fact they are each kilometers apart. They either are set to an exact, powerful central control array within the void or are each autonomously active with incredible precision." she marveled. "We've travelled across time and space to see this even it is by accident. Magnificent."

Naruto turned to his Caitian communications officer. "We should be in reach of our short range subspace transmitters by now. Begin transmitting universal greetings on standard hailing frequencies M'rella."

M'rella nodded in the affirmative and replied, "Aye, sir." After a moment she got a perplexed look on her face. "Odd. Both long and short range receivers are picking up no subspace radio transmissions but our own. There is no chatter, no background noise; nothing except what you would expect from ordinary empty space. For all intents and purposes; the void contains nothing at all."

"Are we being jammed by those satellites?" asked Shizuka.

"Negative." answered the Caitain beauty. "Jamming creates a noise in and of itself. There is no sign of absorption or reflection. Our transmissions seem to be sailing through the void unhindered."

Shar grumbled, "No doubt long range transmission power could tell us more."

M'rella smiled. "Perhaps Shar; but we wouldn't even have short range communications if it wasn't for you and your team."

"She is correct Shar." encouraged Naruto. "You did well."

Ayasugi suddenly exclaimed, "I've detected a vessel! It's travelling at sublight speed along the beam from the star! The ship is moving at a steady .75 light speed."

"What can you tell us Ensign Ayasugi?" asked Shizuka. "What type is it? Military, cargo….?"

"Put it on screen." ordered Naruto. A bright light filled the screen before Ayasugi filtered it so the ship stood out against the intense sunlight. "Magnify." said Naruto.

The ship grew in size on the viewscreen until its form and structure were quite clear to the bridge crew. Shizuka looked puzzled at the torpedo shaped foreign vessel. "It looks like an old Terran submarine being pulled along by a giant….sail…?"

"That's exactly what it is." explained Alison. "That is a solar sail array. It's also called a photon sail.*③"

Naruto raised a perplexed eyebrow. "Well it's certainly not a military vessel at a glance. Judging by the bay doors running along its length it's a cargo type. Have you got anything Ayusugi?"

Maya scrutinized her visor and said, "With the sail included; the unidentified ship is about the same length as the Wolverine but without it the vessel is about the same size of one of our warp nacelles. It's only one twentieth our mass though."

"I guess that makes sense that it would be light weight if it's a sail powered ship." commented Shizuka. "I wonder what it's for?"

Ayusugi replied, "Looks like it's for satellite maintenance. A gravity satellite just rolled out of one of its bays."

M'rella spoke up. "There is no response to our hails. Even with that solar radiation on the far side they should be receiving us loud and clear."

Shizuka frowned. "Are there any signs of subspace transmissions from it M'rella?"

"Negative." answered the communications specialist. "That ship is quiet as a tomb."

"It's devoid of life as a tomb as well." added Ayusugi. "There don't seem to be provisions for any sort of crew quarters or life support. There is a receiver array on the small control tower on top. I can't see any sort of transmitter. The ship may not be able to respond to our hails assuming it is programmed for anything outside of satellite maintenance. I'd estimate it's entirely autonomous."

"Travelling to and from the blue supergiant at .75 light speed would take a decade per round trip." said Alison glumly. "….And doing nothing but satellite maintenance day in and day out would be a mind numbingly boring task. It would be little wonder if it was automated."

"Regardless it has an antenna." replied M'rella. "That means it's capable of receiving….which means there is a transmitter somewhere relatively nearby."

"I'm picking up more vessels along the length of the solar beam and the star." said Maya. "If you look for the heat reflectance off of the photon sails they are easy to spot."

Rafi commented, "There must be hundreds of them to maintain such a huge satellite network; maybe even more. That blue supergiant is 100 solar radii across and has the mass of 70 stars like Sol III.

"This array could be all automated and millennia old." said Samui. "I wonder if the civilization that created it still exists…."

"There you go being all gloom and doom Samui." said the Trill girl humorously.

M'rella winced and her amber eyes opened wide as she adjusted her earpiece down several notches. "I think I've answered our question. Turn the viewscreen 140 degrees to starboard towards the void and adjust the sensors to radar and radio waves."

Skirting the edge of the void was a ship that was 10 kilometers long with a photon sail that was easily 40 kilometers across. "Good lord; look at the size of that thing!" said Shizuka.

"The alien vessel is only 20 times our mass despite its huge size." said Ayasugi. "It's moving at .5 light speed."

Lights and flashes were all around the huge ship as it moved at a stately pace. "Are they in danger?" asked Shizuka.

Naruto scratched his chin and said, "I don't think so. Magnify Samui."

Seeing the enormous vessel close up Samui said, "It's a pyrotechnics show! Look at all the decorations on that thing. It looks more like a Roman Trireme than a starship."

The blonde captain sighed a tiny bit. "It appears that we are looking at a massive luxury liner or ceremonial vessel of some sort. Have they detected us M'rella?"

The Caitain shook her head. "No; or if they have there has been no reaction. We may well be out of their radar range judging by the signal strength. Likewise we have not hailed them on a frequency they are designed to receive. We're far enough away from them that they could be totally oblivious to our presence."

Samui said in a dry tone, "So we're looking at a civilization that has harnessed gravity and light to such a degree and yet has not harnessed faster than light drive or subspace radio?"

At the helm; Rafi's eyes were filled with mirth. "Maybe they just haven't thought of it yet…?"

….

Staff Meeting Room

"We are looking at a race that is staggeringly uneven in development." said Alison dourly. "Another possibility is multiple civilizations have existed within that void of vastly different technological levels. The massive luxury liner we're viewing is the equivalent of late 21st or early 22nd century Earth although they've obviously taken sublight propulsion in a different direction."

M'rella said, "On the positive side our universal translator has finished deciphering their language. That luxury liner is called the Behemoth and is on its maiden voyage. It's considered a technological wonder by the people. They call themselves The Children of Light and rarely venture out beyond the void. The Behemoth seems to be the largest ship ever constructed by their people or that's what the endless broadcast says."

"So the Behemoth is as much a technological advancement as a triumph of propaganda." said Samui in a dark tone.

"That's a rather cynical way of looking at things." said Doctor Wilson. "Most societies evolve through a materialistic phase as they advance. It sounds like they are very much caught up in a capitalist stage of development is all."

"Should we make contact with them?" asked Shizuka. "Surely they would have the supplies we need if they can afford to invest in such a massive ship."

Naruto looked at the holographic image of the Behemoth projected on the table in front of him and steepled his fingers. "We're going to observe them a little longer before we make such an overt move; perhaps a week. I believe a probe drone sent inside the void barrier to observe would give us a much better picture of who they are. I have a feeling much more is going on than we know. They are at a stage of development where First Contact from outsiders might be welcomed or terrify them into a xenophobic state. It is difficult to tell. There are also arguments regarding the Prime Directive.*④"

….

Alison Fairbanks' Quarters

Personal Log of Alison Fairbanks; Stardate unknown. It is day seventeen since our arrival in the Western Territories. Sadly, when Naruto is right; he's right. We've slowly skirted the outside of the Void and using a probe drone we were able to get a look at what is inside. Frankly, at first glance it is absolutely breathtaking. There are seven stars with six habitable planets orbiting them all packed inside a fifteen light year radius. Each star and planet are surrounded by massive lines of solar light energy like glowing; multicolored spokes on a bunch of bicycle wheels.

At the center of this vast photon array is a huge mirror constructed much like half of a sphere acting as a receiver for the blue supergiant stars' solar energy which distributes the power throughout the network. Every object big enough to be considered even a dwarf planet*⑤ is tied into this vast, intricate and beautiful web of light. It is not only a marvel of engineering; it is a work of art as far as I am concerned. However; we observed one small planet not connected to the network and it seems to have been excluded by design rather than by accident or system failure. We have conjectured that it is a sacred place or perhaps forbidden but the truth is we do not know.

Sadly, for all its beauty; the system is marred by war. The two outermost stars are in open rebellion against the Children of Light and call themselves the Children of Freedom. We have no idea when this war started, how long it's been going on or what it is even about but if it were not for our need of supplies we would avoid the system entirely as interfering in a war of others goes directly against the Prime Directive. Now we are trying to decide what to do….

….

Staff Meeting Room

The Staff was nursing a collective headache nicknamed the Void System as they waited for Naruto to arrive. Rafi said, "Well, the Wolverine is designed for commerce raiding. Should we try out some independent piracy on the locals?"

Maya face palmed. "I can't believe you just said that….Can you help Rafi Doctor Yamanaka?"

Ino giggled. "My specialty is treatment of the psyche. I believe our own Doctor Wilson is the neurosurgeon here. What do you think Shelly?"

Shelly Wilson propped her chin up in her hand and said, "I've never done exploratory surgery on a Trill before…."

Shizuka came roaring in and said; "We have an emergency! Everyone to the bridge; double-time!"

….

Bridge

Samui was in her place at navigation while Naruto was in his command chair. A solar sailing ship was on screen in the midst of a structural failure. There was no doubt it would break up completely in mere minutes. M'rella turned to the others as they rushed onto the bridge and said, "They are sending out an SOS to anyone who will listen. They claim to be refugees from the war. The Wolverine is going to render assistance."

Naruto was thinking, 'Now I know the way Captain Sarutobi felt when we intercepted the Imperial Princess in the Atra System.*⑥' "Everyone to your stations. By the time we get there the only way we'll be able to rescue anyone will be via transporter. That ship is too far gone to board or save. Kloene, Doctor Wilson; get to the transporter room and be ready to beam off anyone we can the second we get into transporter range. Ino, go with them to render any support you can. Mister Shores; have two security guards on station just in case."

After a round of affirmatives the crew rushed to carry out their orders….

….

….Minutes later; Shizuka watched on screen as the solar sailor broke in half and then shattered into metal splinters. "Damn." she whispered. "We were too late…."

The blonde Captain turned on his chair communicator and asked, "Transporter Room; did we get anyone out in time?"

Kloene's voice came through tiredly and he answered; "We detected twenty six life forms. We latched onto three and Doctor Wilson is taking them to sickbay. The fourth died….fortunately….transporter signal disruption…."

The Vulcan hybrid allowed himself a small sigh. "You did your best Kloene. The Wolverine was just too late to save them all. Is Ino there with you?"

"….Aye, sir." answered the big Orion.

"Take as much time as you need Kloene." said Naruto. "Bridge out." 'Kloene blames himself for that death. I will have to assure him that it is not his fault.'

….

Sickbay

Sometime later; Doctor Shelly Wilson and Doctor Gregory Hammond were very busy with their three new 'guests.' All three were asleep and recovering from oxygen deprivation due to the atmosphere of their ship leaking out as it broke up. Naruto was there talking to Doctor Hammond once the three patients were stabilized.

Greg held up a small computer neurochip and said, "We removed this from the remains of the fourth passenger's head during the autopsy. We don't know what the function of it is but it was attached to the brain stem in such a way that the most basic animal functions of the brain could be stimulated, controlled or repressed. The other three have these chips as well. All of our initial evidence indicates that these three beings were genetically engineered and had these chips installed while they were still in the fetal stage. The deceased female and living male seem to be created to one template and the other two living females to another. They have differences that make no sense from a reproductive point of view particularly though."

Naruto noticed the hot pink hair on one female, light blue on the male and dark blue colored hair on the other female. They all had long ears that stood straight up and almost resembled horns. The blonde hybrid asked; "They appear fairly close to the human norm. What has been modified?"

"Aside of these brain chips there are no other artificial implants." explained Shelly. "The two females are basically standard humanoid life forms with genetic modifications such as hollow bones which are stronger and lighter like a bird's. They also actually have less bone mass in general and have hyper mobile joints for flexibility. In short they are lighter and more flexible than any humanoids than I've ever seen. They would make fantastic acrobats."

"And the male?" asked Naruto.

Shelly frowned. "We are puzzling that out. He and the deceased specimen's bones are sectioned and jointed in such a way that they could literally expand and contract. The bones were grown that way but what function they serve eludes us currently."

The Vulcan hybrid drummed his fingers. "How strong are they? The modifications you describe would indicate to me that these three were created for combat purposes. Increased sturdiness, flexibility and agility would all be advantages for a warrior or scout."

"Our tests should their muscles and physical strength is about normal for an average human that is physically fit but their reflexes are extremely fast." said Greg. "Given how lightweight they are it would lend credence to your combat theory though…."

The Captain frowned a tiny bit. "I'm having Security Chief Shores keep them under guard. I know you two don't like it but these three could be a threat." The two Medical Officers nodded and Naruto added. "Let me know what you find out about that neurochip and whether or not they could be safely removed from the others….as for the bones….hopefully he will be willing to explain it to us when he wakes up."

….

Sickbay

It was in the early morning hours when the Orion nurse Leatta saw the male patient's vitals rise as he became conscious. His light blue eyes blinked open and he saw the exotic green skinned; black haired beauty before and smiled. Leatta smiled back. "Well hello there handsome. You were lucky." she said. "How are you feeling?"

He blushed slightly at her flirtatious manner and said; "I'm okay but….I'm very HUNGRY! FEED ME NOW NOW NOW NOW!"

Faster than Leatta could react his handsome face contorted into something horrific and grotesque. His bones expanded and rose to the surface like armor and his teeth extended like a sharks. Leatta's dancer's reflexes saved her life as she recoiled in horror at the writhing mass of bone and muscle bulging and he lunged at her explosively. By this time his feet and hands had extended into claws and he bit through a metal table that Leatta had been standing in front of before she once again leapt out of the way. One of the security guards shot the creature in the back with a phaser to save Leatta but it only stunned the monster.

The berserker turned on the security guard and let out a guttural roar of "MEAT!" before it lunged at the man and violently consumed and dismembered him. The sight of the inhuman beast feasting as it chewed through flesh and bone and effortlessly crushing the bones to splinters between its elongated teeth was too much for Leatta and she threw up. The noise of her retching drew the berserker's attention but Doctor Wilson intervened with a phaser set on kill and send the creature running away and screaming in pain as a piece of its right shoulder bone was burned off. The other security guard was batted aside effortlessly as the berserker ripped apart the door to sick bay and ran howling down the hall.

….

"RED ALERT! SECURITY TO SICKBAY! SECURITY TO SICKBAY! WE HAVE A BERSERKER LOOSE! One man dead and two down!" yelled Shelly Wilson over the overhead comm.

….

The berserker flew down various passageways aboard the Wolverine roaring in pain and within minutes was boxed in by the well organized Marine Units organized by Lieutenant Edgar Shores. Edgar had already given the orders to shoot to kill. The thing had killed one of their own and would not make it out alive….

….

Bridge

Shizuka was at the Security Station as Edgar was already involved personally. "We've narrowed the creature's escape path to F Deck! It's pinned between sectors three and four. Lock the thing down and assume boarding party protocols!"

Naruto was in his command chair listening. He wanted to race down to F Deck and assist his men but his First Officer had already assured him that his place was on the bridge….That's when he realized….T'Lyra was on F Deck!

….

T'Lyra Tolaris was standing about ten meters away from the malformed killing machine that had killed and eaten one of her crewmates. The thing was injured badly from Shelly's phaser shot and it was staring hungrily at T'Lyra's head because it wanted to eat her brain to suck up the endorphins to kill the pain in its shoulder. The young Vulcan woman was in a Ponn-ifla stance to ward off a physical attack but she didn't have a chance of winning realistically. The creature's bones were a mass of spikes and blades that looked razor sharp.

Thinking calmly of different scenarios T'Lyra felt the adrenaline rushing as the more primitive part of her brain pumped masses of adrenaline into her body for fight or flight. Locking her brown eyes with the strangely innocent looking blue eyes of the monster; T'Lyra heard the Marines racing up to pincer the creature but it would be too late for her….Apparently sensing the same thing; the beast lunged as it called out for food. Ten meters were crossed in the blink of an eye as the berserker leapt at T'lyra at speeds too fast to follow.

Edgar and the Marines saw the beast's gaping maw opening to consume T'Lyra's head before they could react. Lieutenant Shores watched in slow motion as he saw they were too late. Then T'Lyra's eyes ignited like stars at the speed of thought and the berserker's head and upper body exploded backwards in a shower of gore. T'Lyra whispered, "Sipor taught me some cruel lessons but I learned them well…."

The young Vulcan woman slid down to her knees in exhaustion and before she knew it; T'Lyra was waking up in sickbay with a headache with Naruto beside her bed. His fingers were interlaced with hers affectionately as he watched over her. His eyes were closed and he said mentally; 'You did well my love. You slew the dragon before anyone else could be hurt. I am so very proud of you my Wildflower Princess….On another note I am so sorry you had to go through that. I love you T'Lyra.'

'And I love you Naruto.' she mentally replied. 'I am worn out.'

The blonde mentally nodded. 'Then sleep well my love. I will be here when you awake….'

….

POSTCRIPT:

*①: Solar radii: 695,700 Kilometers

*②: AU: 1 AU (Astronomical Unit) is the distance from the Earth to the Sun which is 150 million Kilometers

*③: Solar Sail: Solar sails (also called light sails or photon sails) are a method of spacecraft propulsion using radiation pressure exerted by sunlight on large mirrors. Based on the physics, a number of spaceflight missions to test solar propulsion and navigation have been proposed since the 1980s.

*④: Prime Directive Arguments: This race is in a 'gray zone' as far as the Prime Directive is concerned. In theory the Prime Directive applies until a race has achieved light speed travel but in this case their technology exceeds the Federation's is some areas; thus creating a conunundrum.

*⑤: Dwarf Planet: A dwarf planet is a planetary-mass object that does not dominate its region of space and is not a satellite. Pluto is a classic example.

*⑥: See chapter 43 regarding the incident with the Imperial Princess.

This chapter started out with some planned world building. The original idea was to have a First Contact scenario and get some supplies and maybe learn some new technology. As I was writing the whole scenario turned dark though. Before I knew it I had a thing straight out of Aliens going trying to slaughter everyone. I briefly considered killing Leatta but I really didn't want to. As a result it was some poor, nameless, red shirted bastard that died just like in the real show. Anyway, next chapter we'll see what the other things the 'guests' have in store for the crew of the Wolverine or whether the crew chucks them out of the nearest airlock for safety's sake. See you next time. Blue out. 7/14/20