These was posted on TW some time ago, back when YWS and TW were friendly. I think it is important that this be relocated to YWS, just in case. These are two stories: "SPEW Gryphon's first visit to TW" and "Adventures of the SPEW Gryphon (TW version) This is shortly before the Adventures of the SPEW Gryphon was begun. It has been renamed to the TW Debacle and is here for your viewing pleasure. Credit goes to Adam_Atlantian and myself.
The SPEW Gryphon moved through space, staying close to the convoy bound for the TW Colony. At half a kilometer long and 134 meters wide, the Gryphon was very large indeed. It had four Google search engines, but it only needed two to keep up with the slower craft. While the other ships in the convoy were full with colonists, the Gryphon was empty.
And that was the way Grif liked it. The amount of noise generated by colonists, as well as their constant complaints was something he didn't want to deal with. If one of the ships in the convoy ran into trouble, the Gryphon would come to their rescue, but short of that... Grif shook his head and looked back at the screens.
It wasn't necessary for Grif to watch the screens, but he liked to anyways. The Gryphon was heavily automated, to the point where it only needed Grif to direct it. This made him the only crew necessary to the operation of the ship, cutting the costs of operating the ship dramatically. This was a closely guarded secret for the Gryphon which the AI defended with enthusiasm, to the point where all of them had fairly sophisticated personalities. Grif wasn't sure how well it would stand under scrutiny, but for combat it was unrivaled. He wasn't in any doubt that they would be discovered eventually, they were just too good. Every day that secret was preserved was another day he could overcharge escort services.
One of the screens flashed red. A ship was approaching quickly. A flicker of light appeared and one of the many AI's aboard the Gryphon came up.
"Looks like a large ship- YWS Highwind," the AI said.
"Thanks Watcher, it should be okay."
"They're hailing us, putting it through on Comm."
"SPEW Gryphon, this is YWS Highwind. We just intercepted a bunch of pirates, there may be more coming to attack the convoy."
"And you're here to help. Okay. We'll alert the convoy. We'll drop to the back of the convoy, will you take point?"
"Roger that Gryphon."
"Watcher, alert the convoy, Tact, bring weapons and shields up, and coordinate weapon fire with the other ships. Engines, take us to the rear of the convoy.
"The convoy is notified. I'll let you know if we get any more inbounds," Watcher said.
"Everything is ready, standing by for orders," Tact reported.
"Contact! Designating four pirate vessels inbound. Two are in front near the Highwind, two are coming up on us, "Lucky Chance" and "Dicer" from behind. Highwind is launching fighters."
"Open fire Tact, aim for engines. Coordinate with maneuvering." Grif ordered. There was little more to do but watch.
The Gryphon turned, exposing the pirate ships to it's broadside. The Gryphon fired. Plasma shot out, with torpedoes close behind. The Lucky Chance managed to evade, but the Dicer was less lucky.
The Dicer fired laser bolts at the torpedoes, but only managed to destroy three before the Gryphon's plasma blasts collapsed the shields near the engines. The Gryphon fired it's beam lasers and concentrated on the Dicer's engines. The lasers converged on a single point of the Dicer's engines. Once they passed that point, the lasers diverged, causing large amounts of damage inside the ship. Then the torpedoes arrived. Piercing through the molten metal, they exploded deep inside the Dicer. The engines died, and the explosion sent the Dicer into a spin as atmosphere and debris filled the space around it. Without power, the Dicer would run out of air soon.
The Lucky Chance had escaped the destruction and now barreled down on the Gryphon. Laser bolts splashed against the shields as the Lucky Chance fired off it's own torpedoes and something else.
"Torpedoes and assault pods are inbound, the Lucky Chance is setting out for an escape vector," Tact reported.
"Focus on the torpedoes, how many people can fit in those pods?"
"Five to a pod and we have fifteen of them coming at us. We'll prepare for boarders. The Highwind is still busy with the other two pirates."
Grif watched as the number of torpedoes started dropping. Three impacted into the Gryphon, causing crater damage, but those sections were quickly sealed off. Several of the pods were destroyed by premature torpedo detonations.
Five pods made it to the hull.
"The Lucky Chance has jumped out," Watcher reported
"Any word on the boarding party?"
"They were decoys to distract us from the torpedoes. The Highwind managed to get both of the pirates in the forward," Tact said.
"Damage?"
"None, her fighters took out the torpedoes before they could do any damage. They also destroyed one of the pirates."
"We're being hailed by the Highwind."
"Patch them through."
"We're clear. We're going to go after the one that got away. Your gunnery officer is excellent, you should give her a raise."
"Thanks Highwind. Good hunting. We'll see the convoy through to TW. Gryphon out."
The Highwind jumped out, leaving the Gryphon and the Convoy.
"So, I get a raise?" Tact asked.
"How about a fighter squadron?"
"I like it. I've always wanted to go up against human fighters. When do we get it?"
"Send the specs to engineering and we'll start on them when we get back to YWS."
"Message from TW, they're deploying an escort force to take the convoy in. We're to escort until relieved," Watcher said.
"Good, we'll go back to the Dicer, grab some spare parts, loot, and we'll get to YWS just a little behind schedule. Let me know if anything changes," Grif said, leaving the cockpit.
****
Star date 0704.14: The SPEW Gryphon, along with a convoy of six transports slid into TW Space.
The forward thrusters on the Gryphon activated, slowing the ship down. Several fighters flew along side the Gryphon, a small picket force sent by the Mods of TW. In front of them was a graveyard. Black ships spun silently around, destroyed by a battle. The small battered hulls were light warships of which their were many. They were eclipsed by a very large battleship of a radical design. It was clearly responsible for the damage, and Grif wondered if the Gryphon would have been able to stop it.
"Intel, I want as much information on what happened here as possible, battle-holos, anything," Grif told the AI.
A small beep confirmed the order and Grif continued to survey the damage. Shelia, another AI, was handling the maneuvering, which was good because of all the wreckage. Some of the wreckage was being worked on by salvage crews. Bright light from the laser cutters was visible from several kilometers away.
The Gryphon passed over some wreckage and the TW space station came into view. Although it was smaller than the YWS space station, it was still several times larger than the Gryphon and also well defended. Watcher counted 24 warships of various sizes nearby, but Intel noted that many of them were badly damaged. Everything, from the ships to the space station had patches of metal, indicating where damage had been plugged.
"Gryphon, this is TW Control. You are cleared to dock in dock eleven."
"Thank you TW Control, Gryphon out," Grif said, releasing the Comm. Shelia had all ready received the coordinates and carefully maneuvered the Gryphon into position. The Gryphon was positioned height wise relative to the station. Grif left the cockpit and went to his quarters.
Grif's quarters were actually quite spacious. He opened a closet and got dressed for the reception he was about to receive. The first thing he took out was the MJOLNIR Battle Armor. He had seen it one day while playing Halo and had sent it to engineering. They came back with something that exceeded the specs of the video game armor.
After putting on the reflective helmet, information streamed into Grif's consciousness. The AI for the suit was named Iso. Through Iso, Grif could control the Gryphon remotely.
"Expecting problems?" Iso asked.
"Not really. We'll bring the PDA with us just in case," Grif said, grabbing the weapon and attaching it to his armor. Iso giggled and Grif looked into the mirror. His armor looked all right, but upon closer inspection he saw two things.
"F(x) and d(x). Very funny. Let's go," Grif said, heading for the airlock.
****
The YWS Highwind 2
“We will be Docking at TW Station in one half hour,” chimed the Cold AI of the Highwind. Adam never even fell asleep. He simply stared at the green symbols scrolling down his computer screen. What do they mean,He thought.
“Shall I alert the ship?” chimed the AI again.
“Yeah, Tell them to dress nicely. We need to make a good impression.” Adam started to pull on his armour. It was so light. It slid on like any piece of cloth but it could withstand even the most powerful blows. The boots clanked a bit as Adam made his way to the bridge.
From the main Viewer the Station was in view. The Gryphon was already docked. So many blackened ships, Just floating in space. It was eerie. Something was wrong.
“Computer, What happened here?”
“The Battle of TW took place approximately 50 years ago during the initial Spammian Empire’s invasion of the Galaxy. Their fleet was completely decimated except for a handful of ships. They managed to repel the Invasion force but now have almost no defense to a second wave.”
The elevator doors opened, Matt, Staring, and Bubbles entered. They had on their armour and it shined in the dim lights of the ship.
Staring took her position at the helm, “We’ve been granted Permission to dock at Docking Bay 13.”
“Good, Let us in nice and easy.” The Highwind connected gracefully. There was a slight hiss before the doors opened connecting the station to the ship. It was just Adam, Matt and Bubbles. Everyone else was to stay on the ship.
I’ve got a bad feeling, Adam thought. Since he was a psychic he tended to pay attention to his feelings.
“Welcome!” said a lovely young lady. She wore a long robe of sorts glittered with stars. “I am Imelda. I am one of the Commanders of this Station. Two more will be joining us in the Negotiations. Please follow me.”
Adam did so, his helmet hiding his face. His comrades had done the same. Their pictures weren’t in the Military database and in case things went bad, they didn’t want to be recognized. Leaning against a wall stood a shiny armoured man Adam recognized as Grif. No one else had that armour.
They walked into the central complex of the station. Everything seemed a bit rusty. There were black spots along the walls where the intense battle took place. Something didn’t make sense though.
“Here we are,” Imelda opened the door and let them in. A round table was before them. Two males were already sitting, both wearing the same robe as Imelda. They were completely straight faced. No sign of emotion at all. Adam could get no reading from them. He was blocked.
“I am Ducksworthy, I will be dealing with these negotiations. Imelda and Callamire will be sitting in to ensure this is done fairly. A hint of a sneer crossed the placid face.
“Very well,” replied Adam. They had to stop this from escalating any further… at all costs.
“We are here to discuss the charges against one Incandescence. He is charged with very serious crimes to which the punishment is death.”
“And exactly what are these charges you speak of?”
“Well, We see here he has provided unhelpful critique like knowledge, several cases of cruelty have been brought against him as well.”
“And this constitutes death to you?”
“Indeed.”
“Well what would it take to prevent that from happening?” Adam crossed his arms. This was getting annoying. He couldn’t get a direct sense from this Ducksworthy but there was definitely something biased about his case.
“Well as he is an “Immigrant” to our system we are willing to place him in your custody under a few conditions. 1.) He never see this star system again, 2.) He be punished to the highest extent of your laws, and 3.) He must care for a Llama for the rest of his life. If it dies, he dies.”
“And if we refuse to any of these conditions?”
“Look behind you,” Adam twisted his head long enough to see a group of guards towing Incandescence away. He was yelling at them to the tops of his lungs.
“Trash, Do not pass go! Fill out the forms you morons! Read something once in a while you dolts!” His voice echoed down the hall.
Adam slammed his fist on the table, “We haven’t even agreed to anything yet.”
“Oh but you see, this is TW, not YWS. We have our rules and there are no exceptions. Punishment is simple. Disagree and die.” Emotion flooded his face. Insane laughter escaped his mouth. The other two simple sat their and looked at Adam, Matt, and Bubbles.
“Dammit!” Adam hustled from the room. The yells were getting closer. They had to save Brad.
“What’s going on!” yelled Grif from a side corridor. He had come to investigate what was happening.
“They’re going to Execute Incan!” It was a mad rush. Grif vanished after Adam told him. If Inca dies then the YWS will declare war on TW. Why are they doing this! They cant even defend themselves!
A crowd had formed, they were too late. The airlock was shut tight.
“Out an Airlock! You can’t do any better I guess!” screamed Incan from the Airlock. It hissed, The air was escaping.
“NO!” cried Adam
The air hissed out of the airlock and Incan was sent flying out into space.
On the Gryphon, Grif stood at the airlock. He had only just made it on board when the Gryphon had disengaged from TW.
"I got a visual on Incan. I'm going for it," Grif said, taking a giant leap.
The Gryphon was only 100 meters from the airlock and the room for error was very little. As Incan came closer, Iso deployed an air mask. Incan's eyes were wide, but his training took over. He snatched the mask and put it over his face.
"Tact, activate the tractor beam, minimum setting."
"Grif, we have two patrol ships coming down on us."
"Prepare to jump," Grif said. Incan and Grif were now hurling towards the Gryphon attracted by the tractor beam. They flew into the airlock, which promptly sealed itself once they were through.
"Shelia, get us clear and jump." Grif turned to Incan. "Are you all right?"
"I'll live. Thanks for the rescue," Incan said.
"Just don't go back."
The Gryphon jumped, leaving the two patrol craft far behind.
*****
"This is an Outrage!" cried Ducksworthy, "Your Government will hear about this!"
"Shove off!" yelled Matt, "You're lucky Incan is alive. You've already been War ravaged once. I'm sure the second time wont leave many survivors." A red glint hit Matt's eye. He shook it off. It seemed to bother him.
"You and your ship will not be leaving!"
"Yes, we are," said Adam in cold placidity, "Try and stop us and this station wont last another hour." He marched down the Hall with Bubbles and Matt behind him.
They kept a fast pace as guards appeared around every corner. The ship was still docked. They got on and Adam disconnected the airlock manually.
"Staring," Adam said into the comm., "Get us out of this system."
"Roger." The Highwind slipped from its dock into the debris field. "We're detecting a number of patrol ships hiding in the debris. Should we expect a fight?"
"Hopefully not. We've avoided one war today let's try and avoid another." He made his way to the bridge. A short lift ride allowed Adam to see from the main viewer.
"We're clear of the debris."
"Activate Forum Jump, Get us out of this System." The Highwind shot across the TW system to its outer reaches. Just past the 12th planet. "Start scanning fro the Gryphon. We have to find Griff."
******
Free of the convoy, the Gryphon's four Google Search engines pulsed at full throttle.
"We're clear of TW space. No sign of pursuit, but we should continue on to YWS at full speed," Shelia said.
"We're receiving a PM. Putting it through."
Grif-
1. Report current status of Incan.
2. Rendezvous with YWS Highwind at attached coordinates.
3. Proceed to YWS at maximum speed.
Hostilities between TW and YWS may be imminent. Take all measures consistent with the safety of your command.
-Nate.
"I've got the coordinates," Shelia said.
"Get us there," Grif said, typing out a reply.
Admiral-
Incan is safe. He was roughed up by the mob and thrown out of an airlock, but will make a full recovery. Orders received and understood. Expect us within twenty four hours.
-Grif.
Grif sent it just as the Gryphon jumped. The Highwind was waiting for them at the other end.
"Gryphon, this Highwind. We've been ordered to escort you to YWS."
"Roger that Highwind."
The two ships jumped out towards YWS.
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