Grif looked at the screen in disbelief. They had jumped into an entire fleet. All the ships were showing damage. The Gryphon now claimed four kills.
"We're in the nebula. SPAM forces are pursuing. We got a good track on them."
"How good are their sensors?"
"Not that good, they mass produce their stuff and that causes quality problems."
"Let's use it to our advantage. Shelia, Tact, steer a course between our enemies, see if we can't get them to attack each other."
The Gryphon reversed course. As the SPAM ships passed, the Gryphon opened fire. The SPAM ships shot torpedoes in the same direction of the Gryphon but the torpedoes shot past, hitting the other ship. The destroyer exploded.
"SPAM forces just reported our destruction," Intel said smugly.
"Let's take advantage of it while we have it," Grif said.
"Grif, the Highwind is being attacked by two destroyers. Boarding ships are inbound."
"Let's rescue them. Get the Hornets on the boarding craft. Take out the destroyers."
The torpedoes shot out of the Gryphon, but the destroyers would never see them coming. Their sensors used radar and thermal vision, both of which were being affected by the nebula. The Gryphon's torpedoes on the other hand used gravitational sensors and were locked on the destroyers.
Even as the torpedoes raced towards the destroyers, the Hornets moved towards the Highwind. The battle was now a race against time to see who could reach the Highwind first.
"Hornets are engaging the boarding ships. Some of them have landed on the Highwind. The Hornets are moping them up now."
"Adam will have to fight them off," Grif said. There was nothing more he could do.
"Destroyers have been taken out," Intel said.
"Maybe Adam can take prisoners," Grif said.
"SPAM forces are regrouping. Scope is clear. The rest of our fleet jumped out."
"They'll be coming back. Launch repair drones, once we hear from Adam we'll send them to his ship, assuming the spammies don't take it out."
I agree, this is awsome! And about what you said about being careful what I wish for, I would definitely enjoy seeing myself as one of the main villains in this story. If not, maybe just a lackey.
Chicken <-- Egg <-- Rocket Powered Fist Take that, science!
“Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert.” Chimed the Computer, “Activating level 5 lockdown. Sealing bulkhead doors. Releasing all internal turret defense systems.”
“Damn,” said Adam, “Everyone, Get your weapons ready, we’ve got some work to do.” Nutty pulled a Spork from her belt, Matt pulled out two masterfully crafted spatulas, Bella pulled out her Diamond Sword, Alice gracefully readied her Claymore, Rick pulled out his one handed sword and Roya twirled her spiky bat. It looked like a bunch of misfits but Adam trusted each of them with his life.
The Elevators swished open and they filled them quickly. Down one level and into the crew quarters. The lights were out, replaced by dim flashing red ones. Huge metal doors sealed all the halls. Large numbers could be seen with each red glimmer that hit them.
“Target found, destroy the target.” A metallic voice grated the words out. It’s tall body was a mass of bio-metallic armour and wires. One green eye took them all in as it came forward.
“Alpha six, Execute,” said Adam. Nutty and Alice leapt into the air. A beam of light formed a saber from the end of Nutty’s spork. Her and Alice put all their might into the attack but the Spammian soldier blocked with his blade-arm.
“Four Spatula Technique!” cried Matt, four of his spatulas spun in a circle before him and launched a powerful beam of magical energies, the Soldier was sent flying into the bulkhead doors.
“Target…. target…” the green eye faded to black and the Spammian dematerialized.
“Computer, How many more intruders are onboard?” asked Adam.
“Current scans indicate 4 in the hanger bay and 2 in the science labs.”
“Alright, Matt and Bella with me to the hanger bay. Alice, Roya, Nutty and Rick go to the science labs and get rid of them.”
“Right,” they said in unison. Adam unlocked the Bulkhead doors and went to the emergency tube that went straight to the hanger. The pole squealed as three sets of hands slide down to the dark depths of the hanger.
The only light in the hanger came from the green nebula just beyond the force fields. Four large soldiers paced the rows of fighters, which were dwarfed compared to the soldiers.
“Matt, Use the Five Spatula Technique. I’ll distract them giving you a clean shot. Bella, use your magic to try and disorient them. I know they’re magic resistant, but If we keep them distracted Matt can get them.” Bella nodded. They crept along the fighters to the nearest Spammian, its green eye scanning for life.
“Ice!” cried Bella. The Chilly magic burst from her sword incasing the Spammian. Adam leapt into the air at the next Spammian. It had seen them and was coming to attack. It blocked the first Pole sweep with its own blade-arm attack. The massive blade swung again. It was all Adam could do to block the attack.
Like a bolt of lightning, Adam was hit. A third and fourth Spammian had joined the fray. A pulse cannon had struck him. It was powerful, but the collision with the fighter seemed to have caused more damage.
“Five Spatula Technique!” With a whir five spatulas shot through the hanger slicing two of the four soldiers. They dematerialized into dust. Adam looked up at the towering Spammian. Bella and Matt were busy with their own.
“Golden Shell!” A force field enshrouded Adam just in time. The blade-arm broke into 3 large pieces before vanishing. “Channel!” Light burst through the pole and into the Beast. The sound of metal scraping metal echoed across the darkness. Reflecting off the metal walls before the Spammian vanished.
Matt and Bella rushed to Adam and helped him up. The lights flickered back on. “Reserve power functioning” chimed the computer.
“Finally, Are all the intruders gone?”
“Affirmative.”
Adam clicked his radio, “Roya, open a channel to the Gryphon and tell him we’re alive. See if he can help us.” He could hear the heavy breathing coming from the other end.
“Huh…ok…right…got …it.”
Adam sighed. Hopefully the rest of the fleet was okay.
"Maybe Senpai ate Yuka-tan's last bon-bon?" ----Stupei, Ace Defective
"SPEW Gryphon, this is the YWS Highwind." The person was unfamiliar.
"Report your status Highwind," Grif said.
"We've repelled the boarding parties and we've sustained heavy damage."
"Casualties?"
"We don't know, sir."
"I'll send over repair drones. Gryphon out."
An AI appeared that was unfamiliar.
"What was your name?"
"Omega."
"That's right, you're the last AI I want to see. What's the damage report?"
"We've lost one of our main thrusters and several auxillary thrusters. There are hull breaches on most of the levels. Our engines are still online and providing steady power. We lost three lasers in the fighting."
"Show me the damage." Omega disappeared and a video feed replaced her. It was from one of the repair drones. Large gashes covered the Gryphon where laser fire had crossed it. Large holes had been bored into the Gryphon.
"It is a large amount of damage, we'll need a shipyard to repair it all. I've instructed the drones to seal the leaks. The Highwind is another story altogether," Omega said, bringing up the ship on screen.
Grif grimaced. The Highwind had lost it's starboard engine, a massive hole had turned it into junk.
"Their jump drives are off-line and so is their engines. They are operating on back up power for now."
"Start repairing their damage, as fast as you can," Grif said.
Nutty waved her Spork over Adam. It glittered white sparkles of light as the wounds healed. “That should do it,” she said, moving on to the next crewmember. The Highwind shuddered again.
“Adam, you have to get to the bridge,” came Roya’s voice through the comm.
“Crap…what now.” Adam got to his feet and headed for the elevators. The ship shuddered again. The already dim lights flickered. The auxiliary power wouldn’t last much longer.
“Skell,” Adam said through the radio as he rode the Elevator, “What is the status on our repairs?”
“Well, We should have sub-light engines in a little under an hour with the Gryphon’s drones helping.”
“Alright, keep me posted.” The radio went silent. Adam walked onto the bridge. Only Matt and Roya were there. “It’s times like this I wish the ship could handle a bigger crew.” A red flash crossed the screen. “What’s happening?”
“The Spammians have all left the Nebula and have started firing blindly into it. They’re trying to destroy us.” Roya said, fear swelled in her eyes.
“Damn. Is there any system to it?”
“Yeah, they seem to have girded out the nebula and are firing into each one. We don’t have much time. At their current rate they’ll hit us in ten minutes. The Gryphon in seven.”
“Radio Bella and Rick. Tell them to get four class nine warheads and go to the hanger bay. There are two Spammian boarding vessels near the doors. Load two warheads on each and send them to the next firing point.”
“Right.” Roya opened a radio channel to the crew and relayed the message.
“Matt, Send a secure transmission to the Gryphon and tell Griff the plan. And tell him to think of another one. Ours is only gonna buy us time. The Spammians will investigate after the explosions.”
“Got it,” Matt opened the channel and spoke. Adam typed in a few commands on his console before going back to the elevator. He hit the button with a C on it. The Core.
Skell was hard at work inside one of the panels. The sound of wires fusing together was loud, but not loud enough to mask Adam’s entry. The Core pulsed. It was, by no means, out of power. The swirling white vortex of power was hypnotic.
Adam started to run diagnostics on the ships power systems. He had to get some sort of energy to the shields. Even a little would help. The main cords were severed when the engine went. Luckily there were several other coils that led to the shield generator.
“Warning. Energy requirements exceed safe amount that can be transmitted through specified coils.”
“Geez…” Adam hit a few more buttons and allowed the safest amount he could to pass through the coils. “Happy,” he said to the computer. We’ll be lucky to have ten percent of our shields up. I hope Griff thinks of something. We’re sitting ducks.
"Maybe Senpai ate Yuka-tan's last bon-bon?" ----Stupei, Ace Defective
"Gryphon out," Grif said. "Well, what do you think?" The console flashed as Tact became visible.
"I'm not sure the ruse will work. We've all ready outsmarted them, so they may decide not to take any chances."
"Would we be able to move to an area that has all ready been bombarded?"
"That's risky. The radiation from the blast would be very intense, the hull might not be able to protect us."
"Unfortunately so. In any event, the Highwind isn't moving anywhere at the moment." Omega said, flickering on another console.
"What's their status?"
"The drones are on site and working as fast as they can. It will be an hour before the Highwind will have it's engines online."
"What about their jump drives?"
"They took a direct hit. They'll need to be replaced."
Grif weighed the options. Without the jump drives, the Highwind wouldn't be able to escape the Spammians. They would need a replacement, but the only way to do that would be to have the parts delivered. There was no time to get it delivered, much less to send for the parts.
"The bombardment is beginning, we have about five minutes to react."
Grif frowned. The option wasn't good, but there wasn't any other way was there?
"Signal the Highwind. Tell them to prepare to abandon the Highwind. We're going to pick them up and make a run for YWS."
"They aren't going to like it."
"I don't like it either, but unless something happens to the Spammian Fleet, we won't be able to do anything to prevent the destruction of the Highwind."
Two pods drifted off of the Highwind’s marred hull. Red flashes streaked through the nebula and struck them. A blinding flash followed as a powerful shockwave caused the Highwind and Gryphon to be pushed a few meters.
Adam checked the sensors. It was hard to see from the nebula’s distortion but it looked like two ships were coming in. Spammians no doubt, making sure they had been destroyed. The com flashed, Griff was sending a message:
You have to leave the Highwind. My repair drones wont be able to fix it fast enough. I still have sub-light engines. We can escape but you have to get you and your Crew over here fast.
It was hard to admit it. Griff was right. The Highwind was a sitting duck. He couldn’t ask his crew to die, he couldn’t let them stay and be blown away. With a heavy sigh, Adam activated the ship wide com system, “All hands, evacuate to the shuttle bay and…. prepare to abandon ship.”
Roya looked over from her station. As hard as it was to say it was even harder to hear. She nodded before getting up and getting on the elevator. Adam followed without a word. The urge to speak was strong but the silence was a much more comforting friend.
The crew was filing into the escape shuttle. Not a large crew, but the best there ever was, “Come one Adam,” Alice said. It hit him. He couldn’t leave. He couldn’t abandon his ship. A slight grin spread on Adam’s face.
“Good bye, my friends.” With a click the door shut. Thrusters blew flame and power sending the small capsule into space. The Gryphon’s hanger bays opened accepting the Highwind’s crew.
Adam dashed back to the bridge. The Spammians would be on him in a matter of moments. “Computer, activate program Delta 12 and Fore 82.”
“Programs are classified and cannot be accessed,” replied the computer. Adam did a few fancy keystrokes on his master console. “Activating bypass programs. Omega particle Safety systems offline. All weapons are online. Probability of power overload at 98.9 percent and rising.”
The Spammian vessels were approaching. Their silhouettes could be seen in the distance. Adam prepared a volley of torpedoes. It would most likely cause an overload but it would allow the Gryphon the time needed to escape.
“Warning Enemy vessels approaching.”
“Computer, fi….” A beam of bluish white shot through the nebula; the first Spammian destroyer was sliced in half. The explosion rocked the Highwind. “What the hell was that!”
The decloaking form of the SPEW Shiva rode across the Highwind’s view screen. Blue flashes shot through the nebula at the Spammians. Their ship fell quickly to the advanced weaponry of the Shiva.
Adam laughed as he jumped up and down. The com flashed red again as Snoink’s voice rang through it, “I strongly suggest putting your Power constraints back on. We don’t have much time. A tug is on its way to pull you out of here.”
"Maybe Senpai ate Yuka-tan's last bon-bon?" ----Stupei, Ace Defective
The SPEW Gryphon docked in the SPEW shipyard. The ship was being serviced by high productivity droids, unlike the newbies that worked in the YWS yards. Grif wasn't happy that she had to be in the yards, but he was looking forward to the completion of the repairs.
They were taking the opportunity to replace some of the aging weaponry and shields. The blasts had destroyed the old Spelling Cow spell checkers. Now he would be getting Firefox spell checkers that would be more resilient. The old missile banks were being replaced with Hyper-kinetic red pen missile launchers. The lasers were being overhauled so that they would actually make noise in a vacuum. The best upgrade would be that the Gryphon would have a decent audio system that would play dramatic music throughout the battle. The list of changes went on and on and...
The buzzing noise on his side broke Grif's reflective monologue.
"Hello?"
"This is your refrigerator. Your milk is sour."
"Thanks," Grif said, ending the call. He left the shipyards to go to the nearest supermarket. There, he got some milk.
Adam paced around the YWS Beta Station. It was the closest place the Highwind could be repaired. Lucky for them the Spammians were beaten back, for now.
"I really wish the repairs would hurry up," Adam Muttered under his breath. The window showcased the repair bay, a battered and beaten Highwind sit inside. Sparks issuing every now and then from the repair droids.
"Take it easy, Adam," Alice said from her book. She, along with the rest of the crew, was enjoying the small break.
"I think I'm gonna go for a spin." Adam walked off to the station's hanger. He had his fighter moved before repairs started. The Ragnarok glistened in the artificial light.
"Clearance granted," chimed the computer before Adam took off from the hanger, avoiding the other docked ships as he went.
The space around the station was littered in remains of ships. The station was built in place of the last great Space battle between SPEW and the CCF. A sad day but one that led to a golden future.
Within minutes a red flashing light told Adam he had to return to the Station. A priority message was waiting for him.
"Maybe Senpai ate Yuka-tan's last bon-bon?" ----Stupei, Ace Defective
Oh wow. You two, this is awesome! I love all the action and conflict that you have in your posts and they fit together so well. You both have brilliant styles of writing and the humour is great. Keep up the good work!
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