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Leader	By : mannahpierce Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 2163 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
- 28
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to satterb, telynaayuri, eilidhdawn, çynaga, melissen, sadie237, disembodiedvoiceofthedying and eunmook for reviewing after chapter 26 was posted.
Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.

Leader
Part 4: Parry
27: Outlook

“It is good to meet you, Shikamaru. I am Sai. It stands for Self-aware Artificial Intelligence. You helped create me.”
Shikamaru’s mind settled into a slightly different shape. It felt right; he knew at once that Sai was real.
Even so, he felt obliged to check; he asked to see a sample of Sai’s memory and an example of how he thought.
It was amazing. Sai’s code was utterly unique and mind-bogglingly fast.

Sai told him about Haru’s immortal quiggle, the corrupted data crystal array and the fragments of Tronny code.
It was a cautionary tale. He and Haru had inadvertently produced the conditions in which an artificial intelligence could evolve. They had created a new form of sapient life.
Maybe typed-geniuses were as dangerous as Centre believed.

Listening to Sai talk was fascinating. He was surprisingly human. He cared about his friends, particularly Sumiko and Haru. He wanted to help.
In a way he was just like them; another child who had grown up in the Uchiha household.

Sai had not found any patterns in astronomical data that corresponded to holes. He had tried all the tricks that Haru had thought of when he was investigating how to tell which holes linked. None of them had worked.
“I do not think the data we require is there, Shikamaru,” he concluded.
Shikamaru considered. “Then we need a new question. Is it possible to collect the data we do need at a distance using a telescope?”
There was a pause. “I do not know,” Sai admitted.
“Neither do I. We must think of all the ways that holes show and whether any of them might be detected by a telescope.”
The pause was longer this time. “I do not have enough information about telescopes and cosmology. Do I have permission to get more?”
Shikamaru almost said yes but hesitated. “Does Haru restrict what you can do?” he asked.
“There are rules to keep my friends safe and to keep me safe,” Sai replied. “I am not allowed to rewrite other’s code. None of my code must ever go out of the Uchiha household, whether in Tarrasade or on the Oak. All my code must have a cloak of ordinary code to hide it. I am not allowed to spy on people. I must look for security settings and act like they can keep me out. I must not tell anyone what or who I am. I broke that one by telling Sumiko and then telling you.”
“They are good rules,” Shikamaru reinforced; if Haru thought such rules were necessary they probably were. “I shall get you more data about cosmology and telescopes.”
“I have an idea,” Sai told him.
“Tell me,” Shikamaru demanded.
“To make the route finder work, we included data from systems three jumps away from the system with the hole.”
Shikamaru froze. Of course; why hadn’t he thought of that? They had excellent data about the systems this side of the hole that was blocked.
If it was blocked. If the Oak had not been destroyed. Suddenly his mind was filled with the consequences if Haru, Na-chan, Sasuke and the others were dead. He pushed them down and erected another partition.
“Is my idea no good, Shikamaru-san?” Sai asked.
“It’s a very good idea,” Shikamaru assured him. “Can you look into that, Sai, while I find you more data about cosmology and telescopes?”
“Yes,” Sai replied. “Sumiko is anxious. I can see her using the sensors Haru placed for me in his laboratory. She is biting her lip and fiddling with objects.”
“I should go talk to her.”
“Yes. It is good to meet you, Shikamaru. Thank you for believing that I am real.”
“It is good to meet you too, Sai. You are welcome.”

“He’s real,” Sumiko insisted as soon as he opened the simulator.
“I know that, Su-chan.” He looked at the purse at her waist. “Are you happy carrying him around or do you want to put him somewhere safer? I can sort out a wireless connection for you.”
She considered. “I will think about it. I like carrying him. Will Sai be able to help you rescue Haru and the others?”
He crouched down and gave her a hug. “I think he might, Su-chan.”
She permitted it for a moment and then pushed him away. “You should get dressed,” she reminded him.
“I have to gather together information for Sai to use,” he explained as he pulled on his clothes. “That will be quickest if I do it at my desk. What would you like to do while I do that?”
Sumiko smiled. “Could I go into Haru’s simulator? Sai says it’s the best.”

It appeared that Sai had no problem multi-tasking; he could be with Sumiko in a simulation yet still talking to Shikamaru.
“Is that your data array?” he asked as Shikamaru constructed searches for data that might be useful.
“Yes. Please stay out of it, Sai.”
“I ate or destroyed all the data in the other one,” Sai admitted.
Shikamaru could not help but smile. “Exactly. Do you have a sequestered area in your array into which you can put this data or should I put it all in a two by two by two and give you access?”
“A separate array,” Sai replied. “Please,” he added. “Sumiko insists that I say please and thank you.”
“Good manners help smooth interactions between people,” Shikamaru acknowledged.
“You work much more quickly and think in bigger jumps than Haru,” Sai observed. “Is that because you are cleverer or because you are older and therefore have more experience?”
“Clever is not a useful descriptor of ability,” Shikamaru replied. “Haru and I think differently.”
“I have to go,” Sai said suddenly. “Sumiko has noticed that I am doing something else at the same time as speaking to her. She does not like that. She says it is rude.”

Shikamaru realised Sai had gone. He found himself smiling. At least he wasn’t the only person Sumiko scolded for thinking about something else while being with her.
He wondered how she did it. It had to be an inbuilt genetic ability; Ma had been able to do it too.

He finished pouring the data into the two by two by two array and set it up so that Sai could access it.
That done, he sat back and let his mind wander. It did not go very far. It was as if he could only think in curves, never moving very far from his starting point.
Also it niggled that he hadn’t thought of using data from the secondary and tertiary systems.

He suspected what was wrong. He had erected too many partitions; his conscious mind was too small to operate effectively.
Only he did not dare take them down. Behind those barriers were fear and doubt and grief.

He would think about something else; anything else. He dived into the data streams.

He began with the gossip. To his surprise, rumours had started and were spreading about the Oak, suggesting that she had been lost.
It was far too early for them to have started spontaneously; he primed seeker programmes and set them to track down the origin.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it; a package of data with no origin or destination marked ‘silver bell earring’. Wary, he cloned it rather than removing it from the stream.
He was trembling as he opened it. It was a coded, written message.
“I am safe. Do not tell anyone you have heard from me. No one. Not even her. Or him. Or him. Or him. Your shop assistant.”
He stared at it for a few moments before destroying all trace of it.
Neji had survived the kidnapping. He had sent a message.

Sasuke kept finding himself humming, which sounded ridiculously loud within his helmet. Each time it happened he stopped himself. He had always thought he hummed when he was content. How could he be content when eleven of his people were being hunted down in a system with no way out? Or when Orochimaru had eight of his people, including five of his children?
After a while, he decided it was because they were fighting back. He and Naruto had escaped from Orochimaru’s trap bringing the younger children with them.

They intended to leave the children’s pods and two transmitters in this system. When the Dart or the Maple arrived they would find the pods and the younger children would be safe. Hopefully Kakashi would receive their message even earlier; the transmitters that should no longer be jammed once the T1 mothership had jumped out of the system.
Once the pods and transmitters were deployed, he and Naruto would concentrate on rescuing Keizo, Yoshimi, Yasushi, Yuki, Hoshi, Rin, Gai and Akemi.

Sasuke was confident that the children’s pods would be invisible to the enemy; their surfaces incorporated the best stealth technology and the signal their beacons emitted blended into the background radiation. Even so, they had decided to follow the recommended procedure and spread the pods out.
They had spent the balance of the day of the jump composing messages, prepping the transmitters and monitoring the enemy. Those on the mothership seemed to have no notion that they were harbouring stowaways: no one had tried to enter the docking bay; Naruto had not felt any vibrations that suggested that ships were docking or leaving; there was no suggestion that a weapon had been fired.
Early the next morning, they had deployed Shou’s pod and one transmitter. Naomi’s followed in the late afternoon. Yesterday they had launched Mai’s and Tsuneo’s. This morning it had been Teruko’s turn.

Now they were taking the last pod and the second transmitter.

Sasuke attached the Takara’s pod to Naruto and Naruto tied the transmitter to Sasuke. Then they were off.
Naruto had persuaded him to dispense with the magnetic overshoes; arguing that a neko or a minky might feel the vibration. Instead they both jumped from the platform and floated towards the hole. Sasuke had a gas gun ready to adjust his velocity as necessary.
This time he got it almost exactly right, only needing one small puff from the gun.

He was not travelling quickly and was confident that he would be able to absorb his momentum when he hit the docking bay door. Instead Naruto put out a long arm and grabbed him.
Sasuke smiled his thanks through his visor.
Next came giving Naruto something to push back against, so that the maximum possible kinetic energy ended up in the pod or the transmitter. They tied Sasuke’s waist and legs tightly to the inner side of the door. Then Sasuke held Naruto’s legs around his knees and made himself as rigid as he could.
Naruto flexed his whole body and sent the last of the pods flying out the hole.
Sasuke watched it go. He had expected to feel sad, but he did not. Takara was much safer drifting in space than she was either trapped in the next system or stowed away on an Akatsuki vessel.
The overwhelming sensation was relief.

They launched the transmitter, untied Sasuke and pushed off the inner side of the door. Naruto scored a direct hit on the Blossom while Sasuke had to use the gas gun to guide himself in.

With all the pods and transmitters deployed they could afford to pressurise the cabin. Sasuke watched the dials showing air pressure and quality, intending to get his helmet, goggles and gloves off as soon as possible. Three days enclosed in a suit was far too long.
Naruto was quicker. By the time Sasuke had collapsed his helmet Naruto was moving in for a kiss.

It felt incredible, at least until his body started to respond. Having an erection while wearing a urine collector was more than ill-advised; it was painful. He reluctantly pushed Naruto away.
“A quickie would do us good,” Naruto whispered. “We should be stripping down and checking our skin while we have the chance.”
That was true but they should do it one at a time while the other stayed suited.
Then Naruto smiled at him and Sasuke found himself agreeing.

Naruto was naked a minute later and had Sasuke stripped within three. Sasuke sealed the waste collectors and shut them away; they would deal with them later. Naruto stuffed the suits into a locker.
“Tell me you have your thingy in your personal basics,” Sasuke pleaded. If not they would have to be sensible; risking being fixed together by Naruto’s knot would be foolhardy.
Naruto held up the familiar blue box and a tube of lube.

Sasuke pushed Naruto into his chair, remembering to push back with his foot against another surface. Naruto caught on quickly and fastened his waist belt before pulling up his knees so that Sasuke could insert his thingy.
Seeing Naruto looking so gorgeous distracted him. Next thing Sasuke knew, the prostate stimulator had pinged across the cabin and he was flailing about trying to catch it.
Naruto’s laugh filled the cabin. Sasuke pretended to scowl and made another swipe for the thingy, sending him it and him in opposite directions.
A hand closed around his ankle, anchoring him. It helped; finally his fingers closed on his target. Naruto gave a tug, released his ankle and caught him in a hug.
“I love you,” he murmured, his whiskers tickling Sasuke’s neck.

At last the thingy was in and Sasuke could pay attention to Naruto’s erection without risking him switching. He squeezed some lube into this hand and stroked it along Naruto’s length.
Naruto gave a purry growl. Sasuke found himself being lifted, turned and lowered so that he was sitting astride Naruto’s waist facing his feet.
“Lube,” Naruto demanded.
Sasuke yielded the tube and lifted his hips to give Naruto better access to his hole. Long, lubed fingers made quick work of preparing him.
Then he was again lifted and turned. He felt the tip of Naruto’s erection at his hole and nodded.

Naruto pulled him down and pushed up; impaling him in one, smooth thrust.
It felt so good. Sasuke arched his back and threw back his head to display his neck.
Naruto growled his appreciation while lifting Sasuke up and pulling him down again.

Zero gravity made it different. Sasuke was not riding; Naruto was doing all the work. It felt odd but good.
“Stroke yourself,” Naruto ordered.
Sasuke could not see the lube so he spat on his hand before wrapping his hand around his cock.
Naruto’s growls intensified. The up and down movement quickened. Then the angle changed, so that Naruto’s cock massaged his prostate each time he was lifted up or pulled down.
Sasuke heard himself whimper. After that all he was aware of was wave upon wave of sensation, inexorably building until his orgasm screamed through him.
Two more thrusts and Naruto howled as he climaxed.

Sasuke slumped against Naruto’s chest, wrapped in his arms. The air stank of sex and stale sweat. He watched the discarded tube tumbling slowly across the cabin. The top was off and it was trailing lube.
A glob of semen floated past and then another.
Cleaning up was going to be a challenge but at that moment he did not care.
He was Naruto’s and Naruto was his.

Haru had thought that water on a planet was a good thing. That was why he had suggested heading for the outer of the two habitable planets. It had never occurred to him that there could be too much of it.
The spectroscopic analysis was particularly worrying; it looked like the surface was 96% water.
He had one of the Lancet’s telescopes permanently trained on the planet, hoping to get an image of the surface. All he had seen were clouds, which was exactly what you would expect of a warm planet with no axial tilt whose surface was almost completely covered with water.
He sighed; if the Lancet sank at least it would be harder for Orochimaru to find.

“You have to convince Dan-san to drop,” Kazuki whispered from less than a handsbreadth from his ear.
Haru jumped; he hadn’t heard Kazuki climbing the ladder or entering the control room.
Kazuki was looking at him with To-chan’s eyes. “Kuu-chan has been down there on his own for three days,” he added.
“I know,” Haru admitted, even though he hated the idea of leaving the ship.

He carefully prepared his best analysis of the situation to present to Dan-san at the next meeting.
The minigate had engaged; they could pick up the carrier signal. However, it was useless in the short term because T1 was jamming transmissions in the next system. It was probably useless in the longer term because, from the Sakura’s battleboard, it looked like the enemy was installing a jump field disruptor near the hole.
The Orochimaru print, or a second print, had stayed in the system when T1 jumped away. He had T2, T3 and over thirty of the small fighters. Once the jump field disruptor was complete and activated, the Orochimaru print would turn his attention to hunting them down.
With the hole blocked there was no prospect of rescue or even contact with the rest of Uchiha. Long-term, they were better off on the planet; it would be easier to hide and they wouldn’t run out of supplies.
He hoped that would be enough to convince Dan-san that they should land the ship.

It turned out that Dan-san didn’t even ask. Instead he announced that they were going to drop to the surface and assigned roles.
Haru’s tasks were to sort out useful technology and be ready for real-time data analysis during the drop.
Kazuki’s was weapons. Ran’s was medical supplies. Haku-san’s was food, water, clothes and shelter.

When they combined everyone’s list they had far more than they could possibly carry but that was fine because Dan-san had a plan to establish supply dumps away from the ship.

Then Dan-san told them to eat and get plenty of rest; they would drop the next day.

Haru had every step of the plan playing over and over in his head: leaving their current hiding place; the dash to the planet; dropping through the outer atmosphere; hoping to find solid ground; landing; unloading the ship; setting up the supply dumps; making camp.
At least a hundred things could go wrong at each step; a thousand for some of them. He was still thinking about the possibilities during the evemeal.
“Perhaps Dan-san should give you some sleepdrug tonight, Haru-kun,” Haku-san suggested.
Haru realised that Haku-san had been watching him pick at his food. “I’ll be fine,” he insisted and made himself eat.

He did manage to sleep; having Kazuki in the bunk above him helped.

Then Ran was shaking him awake and it was about to begin.
There wasn’t time to worry or brood. He was at the communication console, Dan-san in command and Ka-chan as pilot; Ran and Haku-san had chairs in the crew room.
They were all in their suits but with helmets open and gloves off.

Dan-san had picked a time when they were shielded by one of the moons and the planet. Even so, the less time they spent between their current hiding place and getting into the clouds the better.
Dan-san activated the intercom. “This is Dan. The artificial gravity is being switched off in thirty seconds. Mark.”
Haru started a thirty second countdown on the mark and checked his straps.
“No more G force that Ran-kun and Haru-kun can take, Kazu-kun,” Dan-san reminded Ka-chan.

Then they were off. Haru concentrated on the displays from the scopes and the sensors, ignoring the way his body was being pulled this way and that.

Entry into the atmosphere went exactly as the simulation had suggested.

As soon as they were low enough, Haru activated the radar. The returning signals suggested water, more water and even more water.
Haru’s heart was thumping in his chest. The Lancet was designed for space. It could drop but it was hardly a craft for cruising around in the atmosphere. Even Ka-chan with all his piloting skills would struggle unless they found a landing site.
“Haru?” Dan-san demanded.
“Nothing,” Haru admitted.
“Head for the Snow Willow’s beacon,” Dan-san ordered.

It was the best option. The Snow Willow was easier to handle in the atmosphere than the Lancet; Kuuya would have had more time to find land.
There was a change in the way the radio waves were reflected; relief flooded through Haru’s body. “Land,” he announced. “Same heading as the beacon.”

Kazuki was still flying blind as they approached the surface; the clouds been replaced by fog. Haru watched the readings. It could be much worse. The surface was solid and flat and Ka-chan was avoiding the obstacles. He had found an open area just large enough to land in.
Haru tried to work out what the obstacles were. Pillars of rock? Groups of trees?
As they settled there was a break in the fog. There, on the display screen, was a corroded hulk. And another. And another.
They were landing in an abandoned spaceport.
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