Young Writers Society

Stella

"Come on, come on," Stella muttered, watching the green bar fill up on the Utopian screen. "Adelaide, I assume you are receiving all this?" she said into her communicator.

"Positive," Adelaide replied.

"It just needs to... hurry... up..." Stella said impatiently when there was a loud explosion. She swung around, expecting to see Griff smiling gleefully like he usually did after he had made something go boom. But instead, he was looking angry.

"Think we have company!" he roared, just as Utopian fire opened up.

Stella swore and duck behind the computer pillar she was working at, continuing to watch as the transfer kept going. Under no circumstances could she leave the chip in there. It was SPEW technology, and she'd be crucified if she left it for the Utopians to find and mimic. There were more explosions and shots outside the tech-tower. Stella assumed this was a sign that Griff was doing exactly what he did best.

Clearly not well enough. A trickle of Utopian soldiers were still coming through. Stella glanced at the monitor again- complete! She grabbed the chip and put it back into her sewing belt, then whirled to face the three Utopian soldiers facing her.

"Hands up!" one shouted, pointing his rather large laser at her.

Stella held one finger up and rummaged amongst the things on her belt to find a spool of thick red cotton and needle, already threaded. It was quite simple really. With the precision only a dressmaker possesses, she threw the needle into the sleeve of the rightmost soldier.

"What are you-" She tossed the spool in a perfect arc, and it rolled back to her. And once more- the soldiers too bemused to speak. Then they were all tied and tangled up. Stella took out her pearl-handed gun.

"Awfully sorry," she said, and shot them in the head. Checking she had left nothing but the bodies behind, she grabbed the needle, returned it to her belt, and ran outside.

Griff had back-up. Grant and him were standing back to back and shooting.

"You took your time!" Griff shouted. "All good?"

"Adelaide's got it all! I say we get out and blow the top off this place!" Stella shouted back over the noise of shots being fired. One of the Utopian soldiers screamed as a needle fitted through the gap in his visor.

"Sounds like my kind of plan! We need to find the others!"

Grant looked around at the swarm of black-clad Utopians, just like bees in a hive.

"This isn't going to be easy..."

Above the planet, the battle raged. Three escorts remained of the original ten. Aboard the Utopian Carrier Paradise, the last pig re-entered Snoink's TARDIS. It dematerialized, revealing a console that was previously behind it.

"Self Destruct Sequence will activate in thirty seconds," the computer read. The bulkheads to the bridge had been sealed and all efforts by the locked out crew to enter it had been unsuccessful. Until now. With a flash of light an energy blade sliced through the door, cutting a small hole. The woman who wielded the blade now entered the bridge. She had an intense beauty, it cut through men like the blade had cut through the blast doors.

"Self destruct sequence will activate in twenty seconds," the computer continued. The woman didn't pause, but went immediately to the console and opened up a panel as if she had opened it hundreds of times. She didn't seem bothered at all by the countdown, nor anything at all.

"Self destruct sequence will activate in ten... nine... eight... " The woman inserted a small drive into the consoles computer.

"Seven... six... five... Self Destruct Sequence deactivated." The woman had already moved on to another console. Her fingers flew across the console, and suddenly the shields were raised, navigation was restored, as was fire control and a host of other systems. A ship diagnostic popped up for a brief instant, which was all the time she needed to determine what needed to be done. She forwarded coordinates to the remaining three escorts and moved the ship into hyperspace. Two of the escorts jumped with it, the third was destroyed as it collided with a heavy round from the SPEW Gryphon's MAC gun.

On the bridge of the Paradise, the Utopian Admiral finally came to. His eyes fell on the woman.

"You..." the Admiral began.

"I have spent many nights with you Admiral, yet you still do not know my name? My name is Eve Haze, I am an agent with the secret police. And your negligence, Admiral, has destroyed the majority of a Utopian battle fleet. You failed and failure is treason," Eve said. She brought out a pistol.

"...Or, you heroically fought the enemy, but was killed. Your absence led to this disaster. The choice, Admiral, is yours," Eve said, handing him the pistol. It didn't take him very long to decide.

(I would appreciate it if you were not to kill Eve off pre-maturely.)

(OCC: Hey folks. Two things: one story related and one storybook related.

The first mission is more or less complete. The Utopian Firebase has been stormed, valuable intel is being uploaded, contact has been made with Arbian resistance, and various other objectives have been completed. Over the next two or three days, I'd like to wrap up the mission. Here's what's left:

Regroup
Rescue Arbian Prisoners
Disarm/destroy Missiles
Hold out until the extraction team arrives/End of mission.

That's the story part. Now the storybook part.

We're going to be testing out a little feature here. Normally, when you join a storybook, you're in it until the story ends (or more often, until everyone gets bored with it.) This can be a couple months, which seems unreasonable. So here is what we'll do. At the end of each mission, you can choose to participate in the next mission, or sit it out. Each mission is approximately two weeks each. I'm hoping this added flexibility will help when things get busy.

So, in your next post, could you let me know if you're available for the next mission, which will be in a mountainous region?)

(OOC: [Well, I guess I need character before going OOC, but whatevski!] I would like to participate in the next one, if it's no trouble!

Spoiler

Short Name: Jabber

Affiliation: YWS/SPEW

Occupation: Princess Moderator/SPEW Commando

Combat Specialty: fencing, some hand-to-hand combat, the clean kill

Weapons: a slender rapier with rose-designed hilt, small can of pepper spray

Equipment: a rose tiara (effective blinding weapon in the light); a fashionable, dark green combat suit made by her favorite dressmaker, Stella; a ribbon holding back a small tail of hair, a rose necklace

Skills: gardening (particularly roses, but any plants will do), formality and mannerisms, diplomacy

Background: Jabber has been a moderator of YWS for a few years, yet her reputation has earned her the title of "princess" from many people. She had been raised in the use of proper manners as well as respect, getting along with nearly anyone she meets -- well, at least her poker face sells pretty well. Her signature is the [pink] rose -- innocent on sight yet deadly when close -- and anything she owns will have that signature somewhere. She also delivers the feminine flair of the Moderators, knowing the squad -- as well as YWS -- would be quite boring and/or military without it.

Jabber is also a member of a secret society of YWS to protect the most powerful device YWS has to offer. She can be unpredictable with the McGuffin device in her hands.

)

(OOC: Griff, I'll post when I can, regardless of the mission. I might be a little busy soon, but when I'm on, just ask and I'll see what I can do. Also, if you didn't want me to post, just tell me.)

Scar:

The garage was surprisingly...empty. It was odd. I shot Skully a look. He nodded and crept forwards and down into the guard house. I followed at a slower pace, eyes roaming over the doors on either side of the corridor we had entered. We both halted as one door opened and as several Utopian soldiers filed out. Skully and I exchanged glances. This was the place.

I uncoiled my whip and drew my gun as the enemy spread themselves out in front of the double doors at the far end of the hall. One last guard left the room and paused in front of the group assembled. He turned to face us. He grinned. I counted them quickly. Seven, inclined the guy who appears to be their 'leader'.

"Hey Skully," I said, tilting my head at him. "Wanna show me what you do with that katana of yours?"

Skully grinned and rushed forwards as I gave him cover fire. Once he was in combat with a small knot of soldiers, I joined him. Within minutes, the soldiers were down and Skully and I were in the garage. A few dozen prisoners sat there,s tared it us. They appeared dazed.

"Griff," I said into my comm. "We found them." I didn't wait for an answer, I just freed them and got to regrouping.

Embarrassingly enough, I got lost.
"They're gonna say I got lost cause I was wasted- you'll see!" I roared furiously at the body.
"Well- I'm sure as hell drunk!" I answered to its silent- judgmental- silence "but that has nothing to do with my drink- it's cause you sons-of-bastards dogs build stuff like a freakin' accident!"- I stopped for a moment, considering something- "or was it grif? That **** can't spend two minutes without blowing something up, and he looks at me angrily when I drink, and he don't allow me to cook! I hate him!"- I stopped to look above, where he was undoubtedly hiding- laughing at me- like the rest of them- "Are you happy now?! Why the f*** do you keep f***ing with my life, you motherless pyromaniac son of a platypus?! Why?!"- I started sobbing loudly, wiping my nose on the Utopian sleeve.
"They... they told me to serve my country... help the troops... and I wanted to- so... So I came and... did what I knew- making delicious meals for my ship buddies... but they hate my food!... and they hate me!... Nobody loves SubjectBlue."
I wiped the tears off my face, looked around me, and discovered a hole in the wall- that's the right way!
I stumbled through the hole- dragging after me the body- When I suddenly reached the gathering point, no one was there- so I ducked behind a cover, and vomited a little.

Spoiler

I'm up for next mission

Grif

"Adelaide, I need to know when that second wave is coming in," Grif said.

"They're ten minutes out. Be advised that the Utopian fleet has disengaged us and jumped to hyperspace," Adelaide said.

"Regrouping and repairing?" Grif asked.

"Very likely, I'll see if I can get more information from Snoink," Adelaide said.

"Tell the second wave that we'll be destroying the Utopian base, and that we'll mark our extraction point with red smoke."

"Got it," Adelaide said.

"Grif, we've found the prisoners. About a dozen. Some are pretty beaten up," Scar said.

"Excellent. Find a place to hole up, we'll come to you. Vit, status report," Grif said.

"Planet killer missiles have been destroyed, as well as a squad of Utopian soldiers," Vit said.

"Well done. All units, make your way to Scar and Skull, designating it Nav Alpha," Grif said, marking their position. It now popped up on the HUD's of all members with them."

"Grif, what do you want me to do?" Shadow asked.

"I need you at Nav Alpha. Scar and Skully will need a ride back to their ships," Grif said.

"Roger."

"Grif, this is Jabber. I've got a Striker Assault Craft coming in. I Heard things were getting dicey."

"Roger that. We've got a dozen prisoners, some might need medical attention," Grif said.

"We'll be there in five minutes," Jabber said.

"All right, let's MOVE!" Grif said.

Stella

"Five minutes. Take your sweet time, princess," she muttered, looking at the prisoners. "Okay, we need a plan! Quick!"

"Shoot and blow everyone up and run to the missiles?" suggested Vit.

"Good idea!" Griff threw a grenade up at a Utopian gun turret, just for effect.

"Great," Stella said with a groan and wondered for the umpteenth time why she had chosen a career in combat.

The missiles were on the other side of a long, onyx black bridge, swarming with Utopians. Again. Where did they find all these soldiers? Griff pulled another grenade from his stash and shouted "Duck!" Stella and Vit obliged. The bridge erupted into orange flames and screams, Griff mysteriously on the other side.

Stella grabbed a needle and piece of extra-strong duty thread from her belt. "What are you doing?"

"We don't all have jetpowered shoes," she complained and threw the needle with a dressmaker's precision, making a zipline, and swung herself across to the other side.

The door required a code, and Griff pointed a gun at it, but Vit shook his head. "I've got the code," he said, checking the comm. screen on the sleeve of his suit. YWS needs suits like that, Stella thought. The door slid open again. Inside lay the Missiles of Doom, as Stella had taken to calling them.

"Now," Stella said. "How exactly do you destroy missiles that can destroy a planet without destroying the planet you're standing on?"

Vit shrugged and said hopefully, "Cut the red wire?"

I need someone to find me on their way as I'm(blue) way too hammered to do anything myself

OOC: I'm with Jabber! On about...everything. Question: Should we be introduced as new recruits or as rescued prisoners?

Spoiler

Short Name: Sandy
Affiliation: YWS

Occupation: Xenoarchaelogist

Combat Specialty: Identify weak spot and strike

Weapons: A black powder pistol that never needs reloading, a bullwhip, and an Indiana Jones hat (It looks so cool the enemy can't stop looking)

Equipment: A bag full of brushes, picks, a pencil, and notepads. Her clothes are whatever is handy, but she likes long-sleeved shirts and long pants and boots.

Skills: Can make sense of bizarre items, from awls to computers that fill up whole rooms, to the strange probe on the port side of the ship. Very good at finding the weak spot in enemy ships and technology. Though she prefers the awls. They can poke someone in the eye.

Background: Needless to say, Indiana Jones was her role-model growing up, but as everything around her was too familiar and tame by the time she hit her teens,she soon had a fascination with Daniel off Star Gate. She turned to SPEW for a taste of outer-space history. By studying the past, it has allowed her to have instinctive knowledge about the strategic weaknesses of present circumstances.

She loves goats and swans, but has taken up a recent fascination with the omnivorous, even-toed ungulates in the Suidae family known by the common name of "pigs".

OOC: I'm not sure how these next couple weeks will be with school starting, so I'll just say that I'm back in the SPEW Gryphon providing aerial support or whatever.

Skully

"Hey Skully, wanna show me what you do with that katana of yours?" Asked Scar tilting her head at me. My only reply was a grin and drawing my katana (In my right hand, no point playing with them at this point), jabbing a booster syringe into my arm and striding forcefully toward the group of Utopians. I heard Scar open up from behind to give me cover fire but i was in the zone. I didn't so much dodge out of the way of Utopian rounds so much as twitch, only moving as far as necessary to dodge the rounds. FInally i strode among them, breathing in the scent of this dance of death, revelling in the rythm of combat. A dodge here, a lunge their, each blow taking a deadly toll. Almost as quickly as it had begun, it was finished. For a moment i thought i almost saw a look of shock and respect on Scars face. I cleaned my katana on a dead Utopians uniform while Scar got through on the comms.
"Grif, we've found the prisoners. About a dozen. Some are pretty beaten up," Scar said. After a pause she spoke again. "Skully we've got to find somewhere to hole up. The others will regroup here."
"Ok," i looked around. "How about there? Should be safe, what with the now anti-utopian turrets, big metal walls and all."
"Alright come on. Shadow should be here soon to take us back to our ships."
And with that we sat down to wait.


*I'm in for the next mission*

OCC: I'll be writing the last post later today. If you want to blow any last thing up, now's your chance.

I'll be starting in the next Mission

Short Name: Adam
Affiliation: YWS/CCF
Occupation: Captain of the YWS Highwind
Combat Specialty: Melee Weapons
Weapons: Titanium Staff
Equipment: YWS Highwind, Wireless Tablet Computer
Skills: Hacking, Limited Telekinetic Abilities.
Background: A long serving YWS Captain, he and his crew took a major role in the war with the Spammians. Adam and the Highwind vanished into the deep reaches of the galaxy shortly after the war. The reasoning was hidden and known only to a few. Adam was called back to his home of Atlantis. The great council of Elders dismissed him from his home for meddling in the affairs of other species, striping him of much of his abilities. Upon his return to the YWS system he and his crew have been thrust into a new conflict. Despite Adam's recent unfortunate life events he and his crew are more than ready to get back to business.

Grif

The red wire was cut and nothing happened. The warhead was quickly secured. Grif grabbed the other YWSers and activated his rocket boots, bringing them back across the bridge where the prisoners were.

"Where's Grant?" Stella asked. Grif looked around, but Grant had disappeared. A quick check at his HUD showed that Grant was no longer there. Grif interpreted it to mean that Grant had been hit, but had been saved by the teleporter.

"He's back on the Gryphon. Where's Blue?" Grif asked. There was some vomiting and then Blue staggered from behind a wall. At first Grif thought that Blue had been wounded, but the HUD told him otherwise. Everyone else was present and accounted for. Without further ado, Grif tossed a smoke grenade, not a normal one, but one which gave off the SPEW emblem.

The Utopians regrouped, just in time for the Striker Assault Craft to arrive. Rockets, plasma, and tracer rounds made short work of the remaining Utopians. Then the Striker and Shadow's gunship landed. The group wasted no time, but got the prisoners onto the Striker and then loaded themselves. Five minutes later, everyone was airborne.

"Adelaide, everyone is loaded and heading out. You are clear to engage the fire base."

"One moment," Adelaide said. A blast of plasma descended from the sky, vaporizing the remnants of the fire base.

"Mission accomplished," Grif said. "We're heading back to the Gryphon."

"Negative. I've identified a target of significance in the Aural Mountain Range from the data you sent me. Drop pods and aerial insertion are out of the question."

"Tell me about the target."

"It's the city of Aural. The city is a major hub for gold miners. The Utopians have been busy sacking the city. Resistance forces have stalled there, because the Utopians have placed a mixed battalion of mechs and infantry in the city. The resistance doesn't have the firepower to take out the mechs."

"Sounds simple enough, why can't we do the aerial insertion?"

"They've got a force field around the city. Anything flying through that force field will get stung by an EMP shock. Besides, there is an airfield inside the force field, with unknown deployments of enemy gunships."

"So we destroy the force field, after sneaking past a battalion of bad guys and walking tanks. Anything else?"

"Because of the force field, we won't be able to send any of the equipment through the force field either. Your suit would get fried."

"So, I fight them naked?"

"Negative. Resistance forces have been running supplies in through some of the mine shafts that run under the city. There is a small town outside of Aural that has your resistance contact. I'll send more information as it becomes available."

"Roger that. The triple S won't like being grounded. Or undergrounded for that matter. How's the lady holding up?" Grif said.

"The Gryphon is fine. There were no serious hits and we're ready to fight now. The Utopian Carrier and her escorts managed to get away, but they sustained heavy damage."

"Dang. I thought that Snoink rewrote the self-destruct codes."

"She did. Something must have stopped it. Or someone."

"You think there might be an agent on the carrier?"

"Unknown. All I know is that they managed to get away from me," Adelaide said.

"Very well, we'll get them next time. Anything else?"

"Just one thing. SPEW has selected some new members. Including Stella."

"Stella?"

"You object?"

"Not at all. She's going to need a SPEW Commando suit, at least until she designs a better one."

"I'll send one down."