Young Writers Society

Griffinkeeper woke up from a deep slumber aboard the SPEW Gryphon. It was the best way to deal with long journeys through space. He got up and rubbed his eyes.

"Adelaide, status report," Grif said groggily. Adelaide, the shipboard AI, appeared.

"We've just entered the Juralia system, no threats, all systems green."

"Juralia? We were heading to Yuranio when I went to sleep!" Grif said, heading for the shower.

"We got new orders. We're moving to pick up a team of Knights," Adelaide replied.

"Explain," Grif said. He stripped and started showering as Adelaide continued.

"About an hour ago we got an emergency beacon from the Draconia system. One of our literary agents went there to collect some literary works for our library, but government forces broke up the meeting. The status of our agent is unknown, but they may be injured or imprisoned."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Draconia is a highly secure system. Their system of government is a highly disciplined authoritarian regime. Creative writing there is a capital offense; the only writing that they have is serious writing, such as history and technical manuals. Past attempts seem to indicate that the entire idea of YWS is hateful to the government; their military has orders to shoot us on sight and they've made attempts on a number of occasions."

"That rules out negotiations. What was the agent's mission?"

"Our agent was there to secure copies of the Draconian author, known as 'Tickles.' Apparently he is a masterful writer and because of the Draconian attitude, his works are both rare and profitable. Upon securing the copies, he would be smuggled off planet by the smugglers ship. Shortly after the meeting began, the smuggler's ship was attacked and crash landed, apparently intact."

"And our mission?"

"Our mission is to pick up the Knights of the Green Room team and proceed to the Draconia system. Once there, we go into stealth mode and serve as a forward operations base for the Knights. The Knights will then deploy to the planet and locate our agent."

"How are they going to get down to the planet?"

"The Knights in Juralia were experimenting with some custom mech suits, they should be capable of space and ground combat."

"I remember hearing something about them. Something about an experimental group of reviewers. Reminded me of SPEW."

"They're not SPEW, but they have the same spirit and goals," Adelaide reported. Grif turned off the water and took a moment to enjoy the steam.

"How soon do we get to meet them?"

"When we arrived in system, they were waiting. They should be aboard in ten minutes."

"Good. I should be dressed in time to meet them." Grif said.