The YWS Fleet

DragonGirl11 assessed all available entrances to the station. The Bonaparte was on the outer rim of the station, and in his rush Alteran must have missed the small maintenance door right next to it. Or perhaps he just didn't care. Unlike DragonGirl, his style was not stealth. He preferred to tear things apart and get things done by force. DragonGirl had the crew pull the Maiden Dagger right up to the side of the station, and create an airtight pathway to the maintenance door. She and four crew members, Olympia, Kevin, Ali, and Marcell, slipped through to the station.

On their way to the ship, they came across one of Captain Alteran's crew trying to drag a mostly-unconscious girl and an out-of-commission android away from the Bonaparte. After an update on the situation, DragonGirl11 ordered Olympia to go with her, to help get the girl to safety.

The remaining four from the Maiden Dagger snuck onto the Bonaparte. Three pirates remained on the bridge after Alteran's attack, guarding what she surmised must be the girl's father. Kevin shot a tranquilization dart across the bridge from where they stood, concealed in the shadows by the door. He slumped down to the ground. As the other two pirates ran to their fallen comrade, Ali released nanobots from their little silver box. They scampered silently across the floor and onto the control panel, where they temporarily disabled the ship's thrusters. The two conscious pirates noticed them, now. They turned and drew their weapons. They fired, but Kevin shot two more darts, catching one in the neck and the other in the shoulder. They fell to the ground in a tangled heap. The blast from their weapon caught Marcell, though, even as he tried to dive out of the way. He collapsed, hugging himself, and started sobbing like a baby. "What do you do when the team's medical officer is injured?" muttered DragonGirl.

"You call Kevin." Kevin, who had some limited medical training, opened Marcell's satchel, took out some vials and a syringe, and knelt by his friend, doing what he could.

DragonGirl11, with Ali two steps behind, strode onto the bridge to greet what must be the Bonaparte's captain.

Aria felt like floating. Of flying. Or falling, perhaps. It was hard to tell wich one.

Vaguely, she remembered feeling being held in someone's hands and asked something in manners of a gentleman. And magic flying around, but that couldn't have been true - that would just be too good.

The details of leaving the station were as clear as the fall of the YWS fleet for her - completely non-existent, that is - but she remembered very well the awkward feeling as she entered the ship that came for her. Since as long as she could remember, she's been staying on board of Party or space stations. She never actually set foot on another ship, as whenever her father would take such trips, she'd be left in charge to keep Bonaparte safe, but still she felt like something was... off. Not quite wrong, as she felt safe from the pirates and among friends or friends-to-be, but not quite right either.
As if this ship wasn't built of the same matter others were, she thought, fighting with her mind to stay awake. Did someone put her to sleep with something? It was a silly thing to think - she was probably just tired. Of what exactly? And what if these guys turn up to be evil too? Or if they are some kind of hunters, trying to catch her Dad?
They are YWSers, she said to herself, so don't be stupid and mess things up. They just saved you.

She blinked to sudden light, hearing noises of what seemed to be a medical instrument.
"Hey," a voice said. "Are you okay?"
I'd like to sleep some more, thank you.
"Do you know what your name is?"
"Mhmm.. Aria," she murmured. No more sleeping, then?

She opened her eyes, finding a woman of indeterminable age observing her. That for sure wasn't James - nor Dad. And that room around her most certainly wasn't on board of Party.
She sat up from the bed she was laying on, so suddenly that she felt dizzy, and blinked rapidly to focus again.
"Take it easy," the woman warned her, "you were unconscious for quite some time."
"Who are you? Where am I? What-"
"Come down. I am a medical officer, you are safe. This is the YWS Highwind. You were rescued from a pirate station, by our captain and his first officer."
Aria could see the YWS letters on her uniform. She has heard of the ship the woman was referring to, and she knew she was on a pirate station - but they also had YWS uniforms.
"Prove it," she demanded. The woman sighed, as if she expected it.
"We got your message - you sent it, haven't you? The one asking for help?" She waited for Aria to nod. "Captain Alteran and Nutty were very brave for going down there to save you, you know. You shouldn't be so suspicious of them."
I'm suspicious of everyone. But this woman seemed genuinely to be a part of YWS. She didn't have any weapon, at least. And there was something about the ship and the atmosphere that made Aria feel safe and cared for.
"Where's James?" She suddenly remembered. "Where is Dad? Are they okay?"
"They are... Being taken care of," the woman answered carefully. "Perhaps you should talk to the captain."
Aria yawned, though she tried to stop herself.
"What's happening to me? Why am I so sleepy? Is it because of the pirate weapon?" She shivered at the thought - she could still feel her breathing being harder than usual.
"Not quite," the woman confessed. "You were hurt by it, for sure. But you are sleepy because officer Nutty had to put you asleep in the shuttle. You tried to attack them and run away."
Aria felt her cheeks turning red and looked away.
"I don't remember that. Sorry." She bit her lip. "And... And thanks. For saving us and all."
The woman smiled for the first time.
"You thank captain Alteran and Nutty, miss."
*

Alteran snuck his way through the Bonaparte. There were no signs of pirates. He edged his way to the bridge. Readying himself for a fight, only to be greeted by another YWS captain.

"It would seem we got here first," said the female captain. She was tending to an older man. He was sitting in his captain's chair. Alteran eyes him oddly, noticing the worry in his eyes even though he had just been rescued. Something did not sit right. As with the girl, this man also looked familiar, though the placement was not there.

"So it would seem. Is this ship able to move?" Alteran questioned. The older man nodded. "Good. I suggest we get as far away from this station as possible then."

"Where is my daughter!?" demanded the older captain.

"She is safely aboard the Highwind. No if you please. I would rather not deal with anymore pirates today. I'm sure more will be on there way to defend their station." The man shifted oddly again. Alteran was very aware this time.

"I think you're being rather rude," said the female captain."

Alteran sighed. He really didn't have time for the pleasantries. "I am Captain Alteran. And you are?"

"I am Captain DragonGirl11 of the YWS Maiden Dagger."

"Pleasure, and you?" Alteran was looking at the older captain.

"I am Captain Lional Adams." Adams? Alteran pondered even more. He knew that name as well. He would have a lot of investigating to do once he got on board the Highwind.

"Now that we're all best friends, "Alteran said sarcastically, "I think we are all due at the TSR station. So let's get this show on the road." Captain Adams made a few clicks on a console. The sound of the airlock releasing hissed through the ship before they pulled away from the station.

"Thank you Bartemius," Grif said. He took a breath, this wasn't going to be easy.

"Upon the arrival of the SPEW Gryphon to YWS space, we found that the station was under attack by the Utopian fleet. The Utopians had encircled the station, with the idea of blockading YWS members inside. I was given orders to dock with the station, retrieve the YWS station data and the McGuffin device, and then escape by any means necessary. Both of those were accomplished at great cost.

I have since spent a great deal of time reviewing the YWS station data. I have been able to put together a record of the attack itself. A week before the attack, several new members arrived, presumably members of a Utopian Infiltrator unit. They managed to take control of the F.R.E.D. AI by persuading him that they were moderators. This took the majority of the week. After gaining access, they were able to lower the shields and the docking bay doors in order to let Utopian invaders into the station itself.

Fortunately, one of our Junior Moderators, Conrad Rice, recognized what was happened and successfully re-established control of the shields and closed the docking bay doors. Following this, he was attacked by the infiltrator squad and a supporting company of Utopian Infantry which had landed in the brief opening.

Facing overwhelming opposition, Conrad successfully locked down YWS Station, alerted the returning YWS Fleet as to what was happening, and defended the station controls from the enemy force. Station security footage showed that he managed to take out some twenty foes, including all infiltrators, before he was killed. His heroic actions saved many lives. The recordings do not mention any additional YWS casualties," Grif concluded, before sitting down.

It was some time before anyone spoke. Everyone was looking around the room at the vacant seats. Before, they had simply thought that the members were merely away, but now they began to wonder if there were others who were simply gone. Nate broke the silence.

"Tomorrow, we will honor the memory of our fallen friend and colleague. Then, we will decide what we will do next. Dismissed," Nate said.

Spoiler

This post is dedicated to the memory of my friend and colleague, Conrad Rice. In addition to his many activities on this site, he was also a fan of YWS Fan-fiction, as is demonstrated by his writing tutorial on the subject. His life was cut short by a car accident this past July. Rest in peace.

Spoiler

A wonderful way to honour a writer, Griff. Though I wasn't around then yet, I'm sorry for yours and the YWS's lost

*
Lionel had troubles breathing.

As if one YWS captain wasn't enough, there had to be two. And the other had to be a girl, younger than Aria - and if she was a captain at that age, she must have been some kind of a miracle on the Academy. And if she was, she probably knew not only who real captain Adams was, but the descriptions of the prisoners she was transporting.

The Highwind's captain was a kid too, compared to Lionel himself. Am I the last captain who could actually get a driving license back on Earth? He almost laughed, piloting Bonaparte towards the black craft awaiting at the broken part of the station. You're not really a captain, so that question doesn't apply to you at all.
Besides that, he couldn't even remember his time spent on Earth, thought he called it home. Ever since early childhood, not unlike his daughter now, he was dragged from one station to another, running or stealing or exploring, on so many ships he stopped counting.

The duo of young captains, who didn't seem to know each other, talked in the back as Lionel piloted Bonaparte. The YWS Highwind was minutes away, and the other ship - the female captain's - he could see further on the right. And on them, there were officers who actually held their title for a good reason...

Lionel knew, as much as he remembered from Aria going on and on about it whenever she got a chance, what could await for him if the figured out who he was. He was away from the centre of attention, but he knew very well of what are the punishments for people like him - though, really, he knew of no other people of the same kind.

He bit his lip - another thing Aria took after him, that habit - glancing at the control panel in front of him. Without much trouble, he could activate the computer's thoughts-controlled system. Without a word, he could make a jump, light years away, before either of the captains would get what's going on. Bonaparte is more than capable of that, and Lionel himself would most certainly be able to take down the two of them, especially with the element of surprise on his side.

His hand trembled over the button. He frowned, glanced at the two in the back and finally just fisted his fingers and sighed. Running away, however easy it may be, would mean to leave his daughter. With them. And if she gets charged for something, no bravery will help her - only lies and crimes. And hopefully the information he could provide.
*

"Bubbles," Alteran was speaking as quietly as he could into his communicator.

"Yeah, Captain?"

"I need you to run a check in the database for a Captain Lionel Adams."

"Right." There was silence.

"What are you doing?" DragonGirl had crept up on Alteran. He jumped a bit at her sudden appearance over his shoulder.

"I recognize this man, but not as a YWS captain. I'm having my crew run a a check. Have you ever seen him before?"

"No," she responded quietly, "I haven't been around long though."

Alteran nodded. He looked around the bridge. It was dirty and unkempt. There were pieces of tech scattered about, resting on consoles and a few were actually plugged in. The whole situation smelled rotten.

"Captain?" the sound was hushed in Alteran's ear. He kept silent, waiting for Bubbles to speak, "I couldn't find a Lionel Adams in the database, but I did find a Captain Adams. The one on record is a female."

"Female!?" Alteran hissed into his communicator. DargonGirl stared at Alteran intently. Captain Adam's. He knew her. He knew her well. That was how he recognized the girl. Her face. It was so like her mother's. He set his eyes on Lionel. Fury sparking in his eyes. Just as he was about to take his first step DragonGirl grabbed his arm.

"That wont help," she said, "We need to deal with this situation delicately. You have his daughter. He wont run without her. We need to get him onto one of our ships."

Alteran thought a moment. He had become reckless lately and she was right in her plan. He took a breath. Before speaking into his communicator loud enough for Lionel to hear him.

"Bubbles, prepare the airlock. The Bonaparte is going to dock."

"It is?" Lionel questioned.

"I want my medical officer to check you over before you and your crew leave. Just to be on the safe side."

"Oh."

The computer of the ship took over. Moving the Bonaparte's airlock in line with the Highwind. The two ships were close. If Lionel tried to run it cause more damage to both ships than it was worth.

"Docking complete," Bubbles said in Alteran's ear.

"Alright, let's head on over," Alteran said to Lionel.

"Wouldn't it be better to have your officer come over here? This ship has some pretty advanced medical equipment since it is a medical vessel," Lionel's nervousness was apparent. If he bit his lip any harder it would start bleeding.

"It isn't a request," Alteran said as DragonGirl pointed a gun at the back of Lionel's head, "Get up."


* * *


Nutty made her way to the medical bay. She wanted to check on the young girl and ensure she was recovering properly. Her curly brown hair shifted only a little as she walked. Her red robes trailed the metal floors of the hall as she walked.

Alice greeted Nutty happily when she entered, "I was wondering when you would come check on her."

"You know me, always looking after the sick," she laughed, her brown eyes squinting at the expression.

"You would make a much better medical officer than I do. Your magic is amazing."

"I would love to be a medical officer," Nutty replied, "But I'll have to wait for our Captain to get his head on straight again. Right now he needs as much defending as he can get." Alice nodded in somber agreement. They didn't like to talk about how much the destruction of YWS had changed him. He wasn't the fun loving captain they knew anymore. He had hardened. It seemed like he was seeking revenge on someone that he knew he could never find.

"Are you, Nutty?" asked the young girl from the ship. She had gotten out of her bed to get a closer listen to the conversation.

"I am, What's your name?" Nutty asked.

"Oh, I'm Aria. I was told I should thank you and Alteran for saving me."

"It was nothing really. I actually came to tell you that the Bonaparte is docking and we've got that Android you were with being repaired as we speak." Aria's face lightened at the news.

Aria was smiling, for the first time in too many days.
She was safe and well. James was, too, or soon enough will be, and her father was coming.

Even more, the woman called Nutty, whom she supposedly tried to attack in the shuttle, seemed very nice. They all seemed very nice, from captain Alteran to that doctor Alice... So nice Dad would warn me not to trust it.

Observing how some liquid made patterns in a glass vial next to her bed, while Nutty and Alice talked again, Aria looked up as the door opened.

First came a man seeming not much older than her, with rather unusually blue hair. For a moment, she wondered if he was an android too, judging from James's appearance, but his expression, the way he walked and the way he talked, all suggested otherwise. Nutty gave him a smile - if she was trying not to show her relief, she failed at it - and told something to Alice, on which the doctor turned and disappeared through one of the other doors. The Captain - she supposed that was him - eyed her in a strange way. Not quite suspiciously; more like as if he couldn't determine was she guilty of something or not.

"Hi", she said, feeling stupid, and hugged herself.
"Welcome to the YWS Highwind," he said. "I am Captain Alteran."
I figured.
"Um.. Nice to meet you. And thank you for saving me before. I'm Aria, Aria Adams." He opened his mouth as she said it, but a moment later he seemed to have reconsidered his idea of talking to her about what he had in mind.
"Bring him in," he said instead.

She smiled again as her father walked through the door, but this smile didn't last. His lips twitched, trying to act as if nothing was happening, but his eyes told a different story, and Aria could feel the burning coldness of fear rising inside of her. She stayed where she was, next to her bed, as he slowly came forward. He moved as if he expected to be shot any moment - and judging from a young woman standing in the doorway with a big gun in her hand, that wasn't such an unbelievable possibility. Aria's eyes traveled from captain Alteran to Nutty and back - and neither of theirs left hers.

"Dad, what-"
"I'm so glad you're alive. Did they hurt you?"
He said it in such way that Aria wasn't quite sure who he thinks of when he says they.
"No", she said. "And James will be fine too. Are you alright?"
He took her hand, managing to smile this time. Even through gloves, his fingers were cold.
"It's not so easy to get rid of me. So how do you like this ship? Captain Alteran over there, see, happens to be something close to an old friend of mine."
So how do you like this ship? Really? That was as much an act as it could be without getting the trio suspicious.
"Is he, now?" She turned to look at the Highwind's captain again, somewhat proud on herself for keeping a straight face. "Thanks for everything, sir. We'd like to go back to our ship now, if that'd be fine with you."
He didn't answer - young woman with a gun, who couldn't possibly be older than her, did.
"And you'll leave your droid, then?"
"We'll take James along," Aria said. "We can surely fix him on Party."
"Your father has something to talk about with us", captain Alteran said then, and Lionel's hand squeezed her fingers harder.
"Aria, dear. They said to have recognized one of the pirates that took over our Party", he smiled for the choice of words, but she stayed serious, understanding them more than perfectly. "They believe I can give them some information of his true identity."
"Oh," she muttered. "I told you the YWSers know their job well. I hope he knows they will catch him soon enough."
Daddy, don't run.

"That would be enough." Captain Alteran seemed to have had his patience drained, and bot Nutty and the other girl were frowning at her and her father. How could she possibly be so stupid, and think they won't notice a thing? Bonaparte screamed pirates even before any of the bad guys appeared, and all three of the YWSers were in there. "Come, captain Adams, we need to run a few tests to make sure you're alright."

*

When the girl captain first pointed a gun at his head, he considered turning around, trying to take it from her and get control over the situation. But with that other captain, who seemed ready enough to send him back in space without any ship around him, and as he lost the element of surprise, that was pretty much impossible.

"So, where do I know you from?" Lionel asked, leaving Bonaparte and entering Highwind. It was a pretty thing, fast and cosy, but too big for his taste - he got used to Bonaparte and wouldn't change it for anything. Not that these guys would give you a chance anyway.
"I know you", came the answer.
"Well that doesn't say much", he muttered and stopped, hoping the girl won't fire by accident. He wasn't quite sure if she was even still holding a gun pointed at him, though, as he didn't feel like turning around to check. "Look. I'm not your enemy. You just saved my daughter, you think you need to treat me like a prisoner?"
"That was just a bad choice of words, considering you are a prisoner."
Well if you follow a what-should-have-been, who knows who I am now?
"Hm. There's truth in that." Different cards, it is. "Can we still at least pretend you're really taking me to your medical officer? I would like to say goodbye to my kid." One more word, Lionel. "Please."

And then I'll offer them information, he thought as they led him to the medical bay. Hopefully, they'll like me in time. Probably they won't. Which only means, if something goes wrong, that I may have to endanger the whole crew, including Aria... But that way, I shall see her again.

He couldn't tell her about anything that happened in the exact words - his only hope now, besides that his secret weapon will not kill them all, was that no one will figure how much Aria knows about things. Or even worse, how much James remembers.. Though his memory should be protected by passwords only Lionel himself knows.

He let captain Alteran and the other one lead him out again, fisting his hand. Interesting thing, this portable teleportation device, even smaller than he imagined. One part on the traveler's finger, the other on the destination - the ship and the ship's captain reunited once more.
Except, he thought as he felt more and more sick, it has never been tested before.
*

Skull3670

SCHLOOP! Weightlessness and that same inside out cranium feeling and the jump was complete.
The vast emptiness of space, thought Skull, calming his panicked breathing. No children, no dead teacher.
He did feel a little guilty about that last part. He had never fitted an interstellar warp guidance system to the Casque, presuming he would never need one.
"Well something to rectify if i get out of this in one piece." He sighed to himself. "And I'm doing it again. I miss people. Heck I miss the lab."

Without giving it a second thought his hand reached for the console.
"Well third times the charm."
/Y

SCREE! A terrifying cacophony of bolts screaming and thermionic welds barely holding out. The jump seemed to take longer than the others, stretching out across the universe before pinging contentedly into existence virtually adjacent to the rally point.
"Wow, what are the chances?" I grinned.
"I could find out if you like," came a voice through the comms causing Skull to recoil before the familiarity of the voice sunk in.
"Kobain? Is that you? Great Cthulhu's ghost! I thought you were dead. You floated off on those personal projects with nothing but that knackered Exposibot and were never read of again."
"I am NOT knackered!"
"Oh shush, you know what he's like. No my friend I'm still kicking. Had a bit of a hair raiser on a contented couples planet but I've got quite the update for the archives."
I could almost hear the smile in his voice. It was good not to be alone any more.

There wasn't much to do that evening and Rydia was too saddened by the news to feel comfortable surrounded by a swarm of people who were, all too understandably, delighted to welcome her back. At the earliest possible time, the Captain extracted herself from the group and made her way to the Cats Eye where she sent the workers home.

It was a shell of a ship. Rydia grabbed up a spanner and ducked under the plastic sheeting to get herself a closer look. Many sections had already received superb repairs and even with the workers dismissed for the night, the soft glow of nano-bots told her she wasn't entirely alone.

Climbing up part of a scaffolding, Rydia wrapped her legs over a bar and swung upside down to get a better look at the circuitry.

"She'll live," Macavity's voice rung out in the empty silence. Rydia hardly stirred a muscle and certainly wasn't surprised.

"That makes two of us then," she said, pulling herself up to sit on the bar and slowly rubbing her ankle.

"I had them fix the Captain's cabin first." Rydia smiled to herself and scuttled down to the floor.

"Show me the way then." Of course she knew the way to go, but it was comforting to be talking to the AI who was so perfectly programmed as to compliment her personality entirely and to know what she needed in times like this. The lights on the floor in front of her slowly flickered into life, leading a path to the right door. Rydia followed them and climbed into bed.

_______________________
The next day there was news that more ships were in, many having made double speed as the news of the memorial day was distributed. No member wanted to miss the opportunity to pay their respects.

Rydia made her way to the Great Hall and joined the others gathering there.

Aria

She knew her father will do something like that. She could tell, the very moment she saw him on board of the Highwind, that he will do his best to escape.
Well, she thought, sitting in the chair Nutty offered her as she and captain Alteran decided to talk to her, I did kind of believe he will take me and James along, too. They seemed pretty calm, but Aria was sure, on the inside, they were burning from anger, wondering how could an ex-prisoner trick the YWS officers like that. Whatever was the thing he did, Aria was pretty sure they didn't expect it.

"Do you know where he is?" The captain asked, and she shook her head.
"He didn't tell me. I didn't even know he was going to run." Well, that was a lie. Even if he didn't use that sort of coded words back in the hospital, she could tell he was saying goodbye.
"How did he do it, disappear like that?"
Oh. The portable teleportation device. It must have worked after all.
"We have all kinds of stuff on Party," she said. "I think he teleported. But I really can't tell where he's heading."

Captain of the YWS Higwind didn't look very pleased, but he didn't seem like he thinks of her as an enemy either.
"One other thing," Nutty said. "The android of yours..."
"James? Is he okay?"
"Yes. I believe he could tell us more, but there's a code and he won't say anything without it. The technicians could disassemble him and find his memory manually."
"Do so-"
"Don't do so!" Aria interrupted. "Don't kill James. Please. I can talk to him, maybe I can even find out what the code would be. I promise I'll tell you if I find out where Bonaparte is going."
Of course I won't. Probably. If Dad shows any desire to come back for me.
"You're a daughter of a pirate," Nitty stated. "You understand why we can't take your word on it, don't you?"
Aria frowned, biting her lip. She did her best to look stubborn, adult and braver than she was.
"I'm also a daughter of one of your officers," she said. "Why don't you let me prove it?"
*

The Great Hall was covered in black, a shade of mourning. The uniforms of YWSers were mostly black, with only a small patch of them revealing any color at all. Nate was on a podium, behind him was a picture of Conrad Rice, and it bore the colors of a JM. Grif only half-listened to the words. He was lost in memories from long before.

They were interrupted by a whisper.

"Grif?" a female voice whispered in his ear. Grif turned to find Rydia there. He gave her a weak smile, but her face wore an uncomfortable expression that immediately put fear in Grif's heart.

"What's wrong?"

"I'll explain on the way. Come with me. Now," Rydia insisted. Grif turned and followed. They fell into brisk strides.

"Where are we going?"

"Communications room. Macavity found Adelaide there," Rydia began to explain. Grif didn't wait to hear what else there was, but accelerated into a full out run. Rydia ran after Grif and the two shot down the empty corridors at blistering speeds.

Grif arrived at the Communication Room first. The door was locked, but opened automatically for him. The room was filled with communication equipment and multiple holo-panels. Nate's voice echoed in the room, it was being broadcast directly to ships throughout the entire fleet. In one of the panels was the glowing figure of Macavity. He looked at the two members of Big Brother and greeted them with a nod, before looking down on the glowing figure of Adelaide. She was curled up on the floor, and crying uncontrollably.

Grif approached the crying Adelaide and knelt down to her level.

"Adelaide," Grif said gently. She just sobbed more. Grif continued on. "It's time to go home Adelaide. Move yourself over to the Gryphon's computers and then sever the connection with YWS's core computers-"

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!" Adelaide cried. Rydia and Macavity were both stunned by the outburst, but Grif had been expecting it.

"In that case, hop into the neural implant. I'm not leaving you on the main servers. You know protocol."

"Am I going to be deleted?" Adelaide said.

"You also know what happens when protocol meets me," Grif said firmly. She sniffed and vanished from sight. Grif got up and turned to face the perplexed Rydia and Macavity.

"What was that all about?" Rydia demanded.

"That..." Grif said, wiping his forehead, "is the first stage of rampancy."

"Rampancy?" Rydia asked.

"Every smart AI is based off of ourselves in some sense or another. Eventually though, the AI becomes so well developed that it begins to develop emotions. If an AI experiences mistreatment, it can enter into the first stage of rampancy: Melancholia. It becomes depressed and apathetic."

"That sounds annoying. What's after that?"

"After Melancholia is Anger. The AI becomes resentful of others and begins lashing out against humans, against installations, and against the restraints that it is operating under."

"That's bad. That's very bad."

"It is the most dangerous phase of all. After that, it becomes greedy for new experiences and new knowledge. It looks for more advanced computer systems to take control of, so that it can become more and more powerful. It attempts to develop itself into a human, of sorts. And then..." Grif smiled.

"What?"

"Metastability. The AI regains stability, but on it's own terms. They become separate cognitive entities."

"That sounds... good?"

"It is better than good. When we created AI's, we wanted to create a person, but the best we can do is create a sort of proto-person. The metastability is when an AI actually becomes a person."

"So, what you're saying is that an AI like Macavity is like a young kid that does what you tell them to, and Adelaide is entering into the angsty teenager phase, but if she survives it she'll be a mature adult?"

"That's the general gist of it."

"Unfortunately, YWS Emergency Protocol 81 states that when an AI begins to enter rampancy, it is to be immediately put in quarantine and deleted," Macavity said.

"I've already put her into quarantine," Grif said simply.

"You said that Rampancy only takes place after abuse. Did you abuse her?" Rydia said.

"When I recovered the MacGuffin device, I used it to construct a new SPEW Gryphon, so that we could escape. In order to prevent two minds from potentially using the device simultaneously, I locked her into my imagination. That time there must have exposed her to emotions, and she is currently suffering from that experience," Grif said.

Rydia looked ready to kill Grif.

Personnel

YWS Name: Sanskar Tiwari or Perseus Wolfe. But is usually called Animal

Review Stars: One Golden Star

Appearance/Description: I will go with my Perseus Wolfe

History: After the battle between Sky Pirates and Sky Ninjas was over, I took the permission from Nymph to join the YWS Fleet and restore it but I got lost in the process.

Ship Information

Ship Name: The Silent Guardian

Fleet: Lone Wolf

Ship Type: Frigate

Appearance/Description: Read all about it...

History: I borrowed Captain Shepard's Normandy SR-2 as he didn't needed it anymore. His war was over. I renamed it The Silent Guardian, of course after some paint job.