{"id":182,"date":"2015-07-03T12:30:33","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T12:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=182"},"modified":"2015-07-03T12:33:20","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T12:33:20","slug":"the-cimalian-princess-invasion-ch-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=182","title":{"rendered":"The Cimalian Princess: Invasion – Ch 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cimalian Princess: Invasion<\/span><\/h2>\n

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

Chapter 2<\/p>\n

Meia climbed into her bed ready to rest. Her punishment for allowing the Alliance ship to escape had been more than she expected. Admiral Jezic had been furious that the ship had been allowed to escape. The ten lashes from the electro-whip didn\u2019t cause any physical damage to a person but pain was real. The electro-whip had been developed some one hundred and fifty years ago for punishments that didn\u2019t require a doctor to help heal. The person felt the pain yet could go back to work the next day.<\/p>\n

Meia reviewed the battle in her head to see what she could\u2019ve done differently. She incorrectly assumed the Alliance ship would fight, not run. Next time she\u2019s allow the ship to get closer than target the engines.<\/p>\n

Placing her head on the pillow she felt the small music box. Pulling the box out she opened the lid causing the music to begin playing once more. Looking inside the lid she looked at her mother\u2019s picture. Beside her mother stood a man, his arm around her shoulders. She never told her who the man was, but a younger Meia believed the man to be her father. His blue eyes held a gentleness and warmth that she wanted from a father.<\/p>\n

The song slowly lured her to sleep with her thoughts on her mother.<\/p>\n

\n

A small four-year old Meia ran into the kitchen where her mother stood. The smell of food cooking filled the small kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cMomma, momma,\u201d Meia said rounding the corner heading straight for her mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat little one,\u201d her mother said wiping her hands before bending down to Meia\u2019s level.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I open my gift yet,\u201d she asked. In her hands she held a neatly wrapped gift.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d her mother said putting a finger next to her cheek thinking about it. \u201cI suppose you\u2019ve been good all day, go on ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eager hands tore through the paper covering. A wooden surface with an intricately carved surface had been uncovered. A few tugs and the paper floated to the ground. The young girl held a small wooden music box.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo ahead and open it,\u201d her mother encouraged. Meia lifted the lid listening as the song started playing. A smile came to her lips as she listened to it. \u201cIt\u2019s an old song from before the \u2018dark\u2019 time,\u201d her mother explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cDark time,\u201d Meia asked. She hadn\u2019t heard that phrase before.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it. You\u2019ll understand when you\u2019re older,\u201d her mother said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re older you\u2019ll understand. Just be yourself, for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

She reached down enveloping Meia in a hug. She could smell her mother\u2019s perfume making her think of flowers after a rain. She felt loved and loved in the small cocoon she never wanted to leave.<\/p>\n

\n

Meia woke up. She didn\u2019t understand the dream. She hadn\u2019t dreamt of her mother in years. At least not since her academy days, which had been three years ago. Perhaps it had been the music box earlier. She thought about the last battle. The Alliance ship hadn\u2019t tried to shoot back or fight. That seemed to go against everything she\u2019d been taught by her instructors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d she said to the darkness.<\/p>\n

The darkness of the room provided nothing but shadows and silence to help her out. Klaxons wailed breaking the silence once more. Meia jumped out of bed to call the bride. She needed to know what the situation was.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeia, there\u2019s another Alliance ship inbound. Take the second squadron and destroy it,\u201d Admiral Jezic said. \u201cDo not fail me this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand admiral,\u201d Meia replied as the screen went blank. She quickly dressed and made her way to the hangar.<\/p>\n

\n

The Griffen approached the planet Corrius at maximum speed. Captain Val knew only that the Akagi had been attacked, not by whom. That task had been passed onto him in a ship designed for such a task. So far the scanners showed no movement from any ship near the planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunications, anything from Corrius,\u201d Val asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNegative captain,\u201d the reply came back.<\/p>\n

Val suddenly had a thought that this mission wasn\u2019t going to be easy. He also knew the only way to get accurate information would be to get as close as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want full power to the engines and shields the moment we drop out of hyperspace. Also communications, open a channel back to headquarters. Put as much power as possible, we\u2019re going in,\u201d Val said. He stood calm and collected on the bridge. The crew hesitated only a second before carrying out his orders.<\/p>\n

\n

Meia sat in silence as her fighter floated in space waiting for the opponent to show up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are we sitting here,\u201d she heard the whine of another pilot. Switching her screen to the green-haired pilot who didn\u2019t surprise her. \u201cThe ship\u2019s out of hyperspace we should be attacking!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan it,\u201d she said to him. \u201cWe\u2019re sitting here because of the plan. We need them closer. Too far away and the ship will escape, understand?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut sitting here does nothing,\u201d Olin replied. Meia heard the impatience in his voice rolling her eyes for a second before replying.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen carefully, they don\u2019t know who we are, so they will close to get a full scan, then we attack. But do nothing until I say so otherwise face punishment for you squad if the enemy get away,\u201d Meia said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine, but if we fail, I want you executed,\u201d Olin said as the communicator cut off.<\/p>\n

Meia didn\u2019t bother replying. The enemy was all that mattered to her, gaining revenge.<\/p>\n

\u2018Just be yourself!\u2019<\/p>\n

The words seemed to be whispered to her from somewhere in her mind. Glancing around she didn\u2019t see anyone. The words reminded her of her mother and briefly wondered if someone was playing tricks on her. Snapping back to her senses the enemy ship had entered range.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll fighters, launch,\u201d Meia ordered. She felt her own fighter rotate. Hitting her thrusters the clamps released her fighter allowing her into space. Turing her fighter straight towards the enemy ship she assumed her squad formed up behind her.<\/p>\n

Her orders to attack the enemy engines first had been relayed quickly as she looked for any weakness form the enemy. Avoiding enemy fire she zeroed in on the engines. She hoped to avoid a repeat of last engagement. At least this time the enemy was firing back at her. A quick burst of fire from her fighter sent several bolts of lasers at the enemy. A soft glow indicated a hit on the engines. She had to look at her scanner to see that the engines had been damaged.<\/p>\n

Satisfied that the engine power had decreased enough she gave another order. \u201cTarget forward shields.\u201d Once the enemy shields were down the enemy would be venerable. Then the ship would be theirs.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cCaptain, engines are damaged. We won\u2019t be able to retreat with this damage,\u201d Val\u2019s second in command said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHades,\u201d Val said to himself. He should have taken more caution in his approach. Now it appeared his ship had suffered extreme damage. \u201cAnyone responding to our communications?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNegative, nothing-\u201d the officer paused listening to his headphone.<\/p>\n

Val rocked a bit as the Griffen received another hit. More damage reported on the forward shields as they were reduced fifty percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have slight communications with the Akagi captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Val turned to his screen noticing the slightly fuzzy image of Captain Randy White. Interference lines prevented anything clear on the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain White, Captain Abin of the Griffen,\u201d Val said hoping that his message would get though. \u201cWe are currently under attack by twenty to twenty-five fighters around the planet Corrius.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain, your signal is breaking up please enhance,\u201d Randy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t, trying to maintain our shields,\u201d Val replied rocking some more as another hit. The shields had failed. A nearby console stopped working and a support beam crashed onto the deck. He turned to a nearby officer. \u201cDo we have a clean scan of the enemy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the fighters and the larger ships captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSent it to the Akagi,\u201d Val said turning back to the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain Abin, please come in,\u201d Val heard Randy say.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sending you our scans, get it back to command,\u201d Val said.<\/p>\n

Val nodded to the officer who quickly worked to send the information even as systems around them failed. Val hoped the Griffen had enough time to carry out the task.<\/p>\n

\n

Meia glanced with satisfaction as the enemy ship began its death roll. The hull had been breached in several spots. Meia could see precious atmosphere leaking from the ship. Even fire from inside could be seen as an orange glow from inside the openings. The engine reactor finally went critical ripping the ship in two.<\/p>\n

Turning her fighter a small part of her didn\u2019t want to view the human carnage that had just taken place. Destroying the enemy had been one thing, watching as a person died in space was another.<\/p>\n

\u201cWoo-ha, what a rush,\u201d a voice said. Meia recognized the voice right away as Olin\u2019s. Shaking her head she concentrated on her landing. Things would be different tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\n

Randy looked at the scanner as the bridge crew of the Akagi waited to hear what had happened. The screen Randy had been watching suddenly went blank.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain, come in, Griffen, come in over,\u201d he said hoping to regain communications with the vessel. He glanced over at Hans hoping the officer could work some magic. He gave a small shake no.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain,\u201d Kim\u2019s voice said shaking Randy out of the fog he\u2019d been in.<\/p>\n

\u201cHans, did we get the scanner logs from the Griffen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFinished downloading a second ago captain. Bringing it up now,\u201d Hans said finishing typing the commands.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransfer it to my screen,\u201d Randy ordered feeling Kim walk up next to him.<\/p>\n

Looking at the screen he noticed the same ships that had attacked the Akagi several hours ago. The Griffen had a much better scan of the ships. Now he had the type of shields and some weapons from the enemy ships. The shields were stronger, looked to be class VII compared with the Wolf fighter\u2019s class V. The fighters also had two hard lasers.<\/p>\n

When he finished looking it over he felt a bit disturbed by what he\u2019d seen. The enemy ships were more advanced than anything the Alliance had. Years of no funding for research and development had stagnated the military.<\/p>\n

\u201cSet course for Pacifica,\u201d Randy ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Vernada,\u201d Kim asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll head back when the excitement is over,\u201d Randy said. \u201cRight now I think we need to report this in personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Akagi turned towards Pacifica as its hyperspace engines powered up. Seconds later the engines roared to life sending the massive battle-cruiser towards Pacifica.<\/p>\n

\n

Meia walking onto the bridge of the Kitakim. She felt small compared to the others on the bridge. Many of the officers were male, and many were around six feet tall, a good ten inches taller than she was. She noticed the admiral standing over at another station, his six-six stature towering over the others. She walked over knowing that he wanted her report.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how long,\u201d she heard him say. He appeared to be in a conversation with someone else so she waited off to the side.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout a week at most admiral,\u201d the voice replied. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to flush out the remaining resistance pockets now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, the Fourth CF will be here to replace us in a couple of days. Prepare your transfer papers then report back,\u201d Jezic said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your will admiral,\u201d the voice said.<\/p>\n

Meia watched as Jeciz turned off the communicator then looked towards her. \u201cAh, Meia, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re here,\u201d he said to her. \u201cI\u2019ve notified high command of your success. They\u2019re relieved things went so well. Our next phase is to start the moment the Fourth CF arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your will admiral,\u201d Meia said automatically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that the next battle won\u2019t be easy. You are to make sure fighter loses remain low,\u201d Jezic said. \u201cI don\u2019t have to remind you of failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo admiral,\u201d Meia replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, now return to work. I have much to do still,\u201d Jezic said. She watched as he turned his back effectively dismissing her.<\/p>\n

She walked off the bridge not looking back at him. Everything the Cimalian Empire had done had been for this time, the time of \u2018liberation\u2019. She remembered when she first heard those words.<\/p>\n

\n

Meia stood in front of a couple of men. One seemed to be really tall at least to a five-year old. Both had blonde hair. She could remember the eyes of the men. Both had brown eyes but aside from that something familiar to her. She had been sure she\u2019d seen them before. She couldn\u2019t be sure, but she couldn\u2019t remember much except her mother before she\u2019d been taken.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some bad news Meia,\u201d one of the men said. \u201cThe Alliance terrorists have made another attack on our people. Your mother was killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meia\u2019s world imploded in on her with the words.<\/p>\n

\u201cDead,\u201d Meia said. She understood the words but her brain refused to understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we weren\u2019t able to stop them in time,\u201d the man said. \u201cBut I have a feeling that the time of \u2018liberation\u2019 is at hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLib-a-ation,\u201d Meia repeated trying to say the word.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, where we free the people of the Alliance from the evil that controls them,\u201d the shorter man said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be strong for your mother. You want to be strong for her don\u2019t you, you want her to be proud,\u201d the shorter man said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Meia replied with some determination.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, learn your lessons and she will be proud,\u201d the taller man said. \u201cNow be a good girl and go back to your bed and sleep. Tomorrow is an important day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meia turned and walked out. The next day she learned that the leaders of the evil Alliance had forced those loyal to the Cimalian way onto ships sent into the universe. She watched the movie as she learned how the survivors fought for survival and endured despite what the Alliance had done.<\/p>\n

\n

A bump brought her out of her musings. She glanced up noticing Olin standing in front of her. His blue eyes boring into her with a hatred that almost made her step back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were lucky, but I know that luck runs out. As it is I shouldn\u2019t have to take orders from an epsilon class citizen\u201d Olin said. \u201cImagine the insult of a Beta taking orders from an Epsilon, disgraceful. \u201cBut when your luck runs out, then I\u2019ll be the one in charge and things will be run the way they should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I guess it will be lucky you,\u201d Meia said. She watched as Olin snarled a bit at her perceived insult to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suggest you watch your back little girl,\u201d Olin said. \u201cI won\u2019t always be there to watch yours, and I am the best there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meia merely raised an eyebrow at him. She knew that her actions were egging him on. Watching she moved quickly as he went to shove her. His hand passed though thin air that she had occupied only a few seconds ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had one shower today, didn\u2019t want another one,\u201d she said. She moved out of his way heading towards her fighter. She waved at one of the mechanics who smiled at her then continued on her way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t over,\u201d she heard him say.<\/p>\n

\n

Olin shook with rage clinching his fist so hard he could feel his fingernails biting into his flesh. The retreating form of Meia and her humiliation of him only fueled his knowledge that she didn\u2019t deserve to be an elite. Her, an epsilon above a Beta class citizen. It seemed outrageous to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019re you looking at,\u201d he snarled at the nearby maintenance man.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing, nothing at all,\u201d the man replied grabbing a tool then turning back to the nearby fighter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right. I\u2019d better not hear about this again,\u201d Olin threatened. His thoughts turned back to Meia as he headed away from the bridge. He had the skills, he had the elite status, it should be he that was the fighter leader on board the Kitakim. He knew as long as that epsilon, he couldn\u2019t bring himself to say her name, remained elite the liberation was doomed to failure.<\/p>\n

\n

Jack sighed upon seeing the monitor in front of him. The Akagi had just arrived without permission. The more pressing concern, however, were the three men standing nearby. Senator Agnes, a Constrict from Corestar, Barnes, a Radical from Kassan, and his friend Greg were there from the government. He wondered how a bad situation could get any worse, especially if what Greg had told him was the truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral, what should I tell Captain White,\u201d Chad asked the admiral.<\/p>\n

Jack took a breath before replying to collect his thoughts. The government always threw his ability to think rationally askew. \u201cTell him I\u2019ll talk to him when I finish a previous meeting,\u201d he told Chad.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Chad replied with a salute he walked away towards the landing pad for military shuttles.<\/p>\n

Jack watched Chad walk off then turned his attention towards the three senators. All three were wearing similar outfits, suits, ties, dark pants, and the typical power apparel that hadn\u2019t changed in centuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenators,\u201d he said approaching the men.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral, it\u2019s about time,\u201d Senator Agnes said sneering a bit. Agnes seemed to look down on Jack. It seemed hard to do seeing how the senator only stood about one inch taller than Jack\u2019s six feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral White, glad you could spare some time for us,\u201d Senator Charlie Barnes said. His tone seemed to be a bit friendlier but Jack noticed a hint of reservation in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I get anyone some coffee, it\u2019s from Earth,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that pile of rocks still hasn\u2019t recovered from the wars,\u201d Agnes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll take some Jack, thanks,\u201d Greg said.<\/p>\n

Jack noticed Greg and Barnes both looking at Agnes with some disappointment in their eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenator,\u201d Jack asked Barnes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, things always seem better over a cup of coffee,\u201d Barnes replied.<\/p>\n

Then this way gentlemen,\u201d Jack said. He led the group out of the main room towards the kitchen. He heard the low rumble of a shuttle\u2019s engines as it passed over the building. Randy would be landing soon.<\/p>\n

End Chapter 2<\/p>\n

Continued in Chapter 3<\/a><\/p>\n

Comment below or send to AJMarks01@aol.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cimalian Princess: Invasion by AJ Marks Chapter 2 Meia climbed into her bed ready to rest. Her punishment for allowing the Alliance ship to escape had been more than she expected. Admiral Jezic had been furious that the ship had been allowed to escape. The ten lashes from the electro-whip didn\u2019t cause any physical […]
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