{"id":1153,"date":"2015-12-12T07:17:19","date_gmt":"2015-12-12T13:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1153"},"modified":"2015-12-14T07:30:58","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T13:30:58","slug":"the-cimalian-princess-clone-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1153","title":{"rendered":"The Cimalian Princess: Clone – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cimalian Princess: Clone<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Randy made his way into his office on the Akagi, quickly turning on his computer and linking up with the communications systems. Once the link was established he logged in and waited for the proper protocols to pass back and forth before his father\u2019s face appeared on the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad, what\u2019s going on?\u201d Randy asked. He had not received too much information In the restaurant and did not ask in case the information was sensitive. Now he looked for answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Endurance failed to report back in,\u201d Jack replied. \u201cIt was a scout ship looking for the Cimalian Empire.\u00a0 Its last position was here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Randy looked up the position on the map of what the Endurance\u2019s route was to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt missed its last reporting in, five hours ago,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

Randy understood what this meant. The ship could have had problems, or encountered an enemy fleet and been destroyed.\u00a0 He had a feeling he knew what the orders would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s our orders?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we can\u2019t spare many ships, the Eagle just finished trials,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI want you to head out to the Endurance\u2019s last position and check things out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Second fleet or just the Akagi?\u201d Randy asked, knowing they could not afford to send the entire Second Fleet on such a mission not knowing where the enemy was. With so many ships gone it would hinder the defense of the Alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I was thinking of a small task force centered around the Akagi, the Eagle and the destroyers Valiant and Sunray. The Eagle will need a new captain, as her temporary captain is headed back to the Warspite, her refit is over,\u201d Jack said to Randy.<\/p>\n

Randy gave it some thought before realizing he had a person who would fit nicely. \u201cNot a problem, and I\u2019ll let you know when we\u2019re ready to take off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood luck Randy,\u201d Jack said, signing off leaving him to ponder the situation.<\/p>\n

He knew that he might have to push Meia hard on this mission. It seemed odd to him but he had the feeling that the Alliance\u2019s very survival, perhaps mankind\u2019s survival in space depended on that young woman.\u00a0 He turned his attention back to his other problem and buzzed for Kim asking her to send Yvette to his office.\u00a0 He only had to wait a few minutes before she arrived at his door.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wanted to see me captain\u201d she said walking in. His mouth quirked as she continued to use his old rank, captain.\u00a0 The old crew continued to do that and motioned for her to have a seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he said, as she sat down. \u201cYou\u2019re probably aware that the Eagle has been recently commissioned, but it\u2019s in need of a captain.\u00a0 The temporary captain went back to the Warspite and the Eagle is to head out with us shortly.\u00a0 So, I\u2019d think you\u2019d be perfect for the position.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched as she stood up a bit straighter as she realized the promotion he was giving her. \u201cSir, me?\u00a0 Are you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need people with experience on this mission and I can\u2019t think of anyone else who\u2019d be more qualified,\u201d Randy said to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, I\u2019ll say yes,\u201d Yvette finally said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, pack up your belongings and head over, we\u2019ll be leaving within twenty-four hours,\u201d Randy stated, watching her eyes bulge out at the statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHQ lost contact with the Endurance, they\u2019re sending a task force to check out what happened,\u201d Randy told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be ready sir, as will the Eagle,\u201d Yvette replied.<\/p>\n

Randy watched her leave his office, hoping he made the right choice. He turned his attention to the upcoming mission.\u00a0 There was only one person he trusted about knowledge of the Cimalian Empire and that came from Meia.\u00a0 Sure they recovered prisoners after the battles but Randy was not sure he could trust their information yet.\u00a0 Meia had earned his trust more than once.<\/p>\n

He looked back at the starmap and where the endurance was thought to have gone. Did the ship run into problems, or was it attacked.\u00a0 Of course if it was attacked, had it been by the Cimalian Empire, or some other group?\u00a0 He had to take that into account as well.<\/p>\n

His thoughts turned to how could an empire move an entire population at a whim. It would require a large number of ships, transports and organization.\u00a0 If Meia was right then people in the Empire would be highly organized and either through loyalty or fear organized.<\/p>\n

Their ships were also more advanced than the Alliance, at least from what they learned. The downside was personal freedoms was severely limited, which meant home life, technology was more advanced in the Alliance.<\/p>\n

He would be taking four ships into enemy territory and no idea what to expect. It almost sounded a bit suicidal to him, but he would do it.\u00a0 He only hoped the mission went smoothly.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Jezic waited patiently for permission to enter the throne room. He had the report of the destruction of the Alliance ship by the captain of the Granger.\u00a0 He felt confident based on the logs recovered from the Alliance ship that no one sent back a message.<\/p>\n

He held no illusions that the destruction of the ship would mean more would come. It was logical that a ships destroyed would prompt further investigating.<\/p>\n

Their fleet had taken some losses, including five of their precious battle-cruisers leaving them with nine to protect the homeworld. The losses had been higher than expected by any war games indicated.\u00a0 Of course they had not expected to have the problem of Meia, which still angered Jezic.<\/p>\n

The one bright spot was the fact new ship was approaching completion to compliment the battle-cruiser along with a new improved battle-cruiser which had been started.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnter!\u201d the voice said giving permission.<\/p>\n

The voice interrupted Jezic\u2019s thoughts but he quickly recovered. Straightening his uniform for the best presentation he entered the Emperor\u2019s throne room.\u00a0 The Emperor sat behind the large, deep red stained wood desk, behind him several large windows allowing sunlight to stream in.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral, I assume this is the report?\u201d Emperor Henry asked, looking at Jezic.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Jezic replied, handing the report over to the Emperor.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, yes, I see,\u201d Henry said scanning through the report rather quickly before returning his gaze back to Jezic and ran a hand through his hair before making any further comments. \u201cThis might be even better than I had hoped for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement caught Jezic off guard. He had not expected to hear that from the Emperor but it also meant the man had a plan.\u00a0 If he had a plan then they had a chance for not only survival but victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose you\u2019re wondering what is going on, and I\u2019ve lost my mind,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am curious about what is going on sir,\u201d Jezic said, ignoring the part of the emperor losing his mind. There was no way he would even consider saying such a thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver cautious with word Jezic,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, our position is still too weak after the failed invasion attempt,\u201d Jezic said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but there is more than one way to win a battle and a war,\u201d Henry said. \u201cWe have many other options than what we\u2019ve used so far.\u00a0 The failure of invasion was a calculated risk I felt could work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt almost did work my lord,\u201d Jezic said, recalling all too well what caused it to fail, Meia. Henry\u2019s niece and rightful Emperor of the Empire who had learned her past.\u00a0 Such information had been kept quiet from the rest of the population still.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you don\u2019t understand, but I need people to carry out my orders now more than ever,\u201d Henry said. \u201cThat means people like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course my lord,\u201d Jezic replied, glad the emperor thought so much of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, the Alliance will be sending some ships out to investigate the disappearance of their ship. I hope to learn more about that from my spies, but there is only one thing I need to know.\u00a0 That is if Meia is on board those ships or not, when that information come in I\u2019ll have more orders for you,\u201d Henry said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your will emperor,\u201d Jezic said. He bowed his head slightly and left the room heading back to the command center.\u00a0 He only cared about one thing when it came to Meia, revenge.\u00a0 Once she was out of the way, everything else would fall into place as it should.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

John Reed made his way onto the busy hangar. Shuttle were coming and going bringing up supplies from the surface of Pacifica and the nearby starbase.\u00a0 He spotted Yvette standing nearby holding a duffle bag and a box.\u00a0 Perplexed he made his way over wondering if somehow she was leaving.\u00a0 He was not aware of her time in the military being up.\u00a0 He noticed a new rank on her uniform as he approached.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s up captain?\u201d he asked. \u201cYou\u2019re not shipping out on us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well, kinda,\u201d Yvette replied. \u201cI\u2019ve been promoted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I was offered my own command, the Eagle,\u201d Yvette said. \u201cI have to get over to it quickly and set myself up as the captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, the Eagle, amazing,\u201d John said only slightly shocked at the fact she made her own command. \u201cGuess you\u2019ll miss the fun then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope, the Eagle is part of the task force, which is why I\u2019m hurrying over,\u201d Yvette replied back to him. John thought about that for a few seconds before replying.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t that a bit risky, sending a new ship into a situation like this?\u201d he said, wondering if they should use another ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the fleet is undergoing refits at the moment, or repairs from battle,\u201d Yvette said. They both knew the repair and refit faculties of the fleet had deteriorated over the years.\u00a0 It was taking time to bring the repair docks up to operational speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, the Akagi just finished, probably why it\u2019s going out on this mission,\u201d John said, thinking logically.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Akagi and her crew also has the most experienced crew when dealing with the Cimalians,\u201d Yvette said. \u201cAt least, that has something to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll miss seeing you on the bridge when I tease the captain,\u201d John said, referring to Randy. \u201cGood luck to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, though you know I could use a second in command,\u201d Yvette stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cNah, I\u2019m having too much fun working with the pilots, besides the forty I\u2019m in charge of is plenty for me,\u201d John said knowing he did not want such a position yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get bored\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know where to find you,\u201d John finished for her with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s my shuttle,\u201d she said, looking slightly nervous.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll do fine,\u201d John said to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHope so, after this is over we\u2019ll all have to go and have a beer planetside,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook forward to it,\u201d John replied, watching as she moved off towards the shuttle and her new command. He had the feeling command was not taking any chances on this mission after all.\u00a0 It was a sobering thought.\u00a0 If they failed the defenses of the Alliance would be considerably weakened.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey captain,\u201d he heard a voice say, and turned to see Victor walking towards him. Victor was Pam\u2019s twin brother and in the past couple of months he noticed a slight change in his attitude.\u00a0 John thought for sure he would try some sort of revenge against Meia, he had blamed her for Pam\u2019s death.\u00a0 Instead he had tried to learn everything he could about the Cimalian Empire.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictor, what\u2019s going on?\u201d John asked the shorter man. He had cut his hair again and wore the typical brown flight suit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hearing some rumors, is it true that we\u2019ve found the Cimalian homeworld?\u201d Victor asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know about that, but we\u2019re investigating the fact the Endurance was destroyed, it could be Cimalian activity,\u201d John said to him. Victor appeared thoughtful for several seconds before replying.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we finally get to bring the fight to them instead of waiting around, about time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know if its them or not, it could also be a trap. We\u2019ll have to wait and see, and be cautious as well,\u201d John said, though a part of him did not want to curb his enthusiasm for the mission too much.\u00a0 He only wanted to ground it in reality.\u00a0 They might get out there and find nothing at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m ready for anything,\u201d Victor said bouncing slightly on his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne step at a time,\u201d John reminded him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI better get ready,\u201d Victor said, shocking John a bit. What was there to get ready for?<\/p>\n

He watched Victor walk off before looking back to see a group of new crewmembers, including pilots making their way off a shuttle. He made his way over to introduce himself to them, as they probably would be under him.\u00a0 Headquarters wanted the fighter squadrons to be at full strength, and these pilots looked fresh out of training.\u00a0 He had some training to do himself.<\/p>\n

End part 2<\/p>\n

Continued in part 3<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cimalian Princess: Clone by AJ Marks Part 2 Randy made his way into his office on the Akagi, quickly turning on his computer and linking up with the communications systems. Once the link was established he logged in and waited for the proper protocols to pass back and forth before his father\u2019s face appeared […]
Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[3,25,28,27,5,12],"class_list":["post-1153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original","tag-aj-marks","tag-cimalian","tag-original","tag-princess","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1153"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1161,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1153\/revisions\/1161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}