{"id":1910,"date":"2017-03-25T07:29:01","date_gmt":"2017-03-25T12:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1910"},"modified":"2017-03-29T07:25:54","modified_gmt":"2017-03-29T12:25:54","slug":"the-cimalian-princess-rebellion-part-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1910","title":{"rendered":"The Cimalian Princess: Rebellion – Part 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Part 11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jack watched from his seat as the president quickly walked in and sat down, looking at the assembled group.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, we don\u2019t have all day so let\u2019s get straight to the point,\u201d Able said to the group before looking at Jack. \u201cAdmiral White, what is the current situation of the Cimalian Empire?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack stood, cleared his throat, and proceeded to outline what the scout ships had reported along with what happened during the last contact and everything a brief overview of what happened with Meia.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re telling me that they cloned this Meia, yet you still trust her in such a position?\u201d Able asked, a question Jack was prepared for.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Jack replied. \u201cIf you read the reports the clones acted differently than the original.\u00a0 That and Doctor Leaver has discovered a slight trace of the cloning process within the clones blood and DNA, using that marker we can test Meia and prove she\u2019s not a clone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Able said leaning back into his chair. \u201cNow, what is the potential threat the Cimalian Empire possesses at the moment to the alliance?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have reason to believe the Cimalians have recently completed a new ship, this one right here,\u201d Jack said, as the image of the ship appeared on the screen. \u201cIntel is labeling the ship as a carrier due to the fact it has four hangars instead of two.\u00a0 There is also a rumor of a bomber to go with this ship, and it can carry more than a hundred fighters and bombers.\u00a0 It could prove a large threat to our fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the rest of their fleet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur best guess is their fleet and ours are, at the moment, roughly equal in size and strength at the moment,\u2019 Jack replied back to the question. \u201cWe are unaware of their industrial capabilities at this time, but its felt we should have an advantage there for now due to the fact they recently moved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing that we have such an advantage yet allowed ourselves to be so manipulated that wee can barely defend ourselves,\u201d Able stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat lies with those who were in power at the time, and those who were working with the Cimalian Empire,\u201d Jack answered. \u201cWe do have enough to defend the Alliance if they should try again, and the mistakes of the past are being rectified.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure about that?\u201d Able asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Jack stated. \u201cAll fleets are on alert for any Cimalian ships, and actively looking for any transmissions.\u00a0 We are receiving help from space stations around the Alliance who are reporting anything unusual.\u00a0 So far we\u2019ve received nothing out of the ordinary.\u00a0 We\u2019ve also begun upgrades to all ships in the fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery well, what are your recommendations regarding the Cimalian Empire?\u201d Able asked getting to the point of the meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts difficult to assess. If we go in and attack, we\u2019ll only cause more harm than good in the Cimalian Empire.\u00a0 However, waiting to attack will only delay them attacking us,\u201d Jack said knowing his statement was a contradicting one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what about this Meia girl, isn\u2019t she supposed to be the heir to the throne or something like that,\u201d another senator asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is, but putting her there would require an invasion and could undermine her ability to rule and lead to more bloodshed later on,\u201d Jack said, not willing to mention they currently had a plane underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suggest we come up with a plan and make that our top priority then,\u201d Able stated looking at his watch. \u201cI have a luncheon to attend, if you\u2019ll excuse me.\u00a0 We\u2019ll meet again later to discuss more details.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that will work,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, ladies and gentlemen, I shall see you tomorrow,\u201d Able said, standing and leaving the room as did many others until only Jack and Amy were left.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you\u2019re not going to tell him?\u201d Amy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if we can trust him yet,\u201d Jack honestly replied.<\/p>\n

Neither spoke as Jack stood and they walked out of the room. He wondered if the room had been bugged for conversations and hoped it was secure.\u00a0 For now he headed to the small base on Corestar and see how things were going.<\/p>\n

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

Meia made her way into the cafeteria feeling a bit better after taking another nap. Picking up a tray she selected some food which sounded good before sitting down a bit surprised when a few others joined her and she realized they were part of her squadron.<\/p>\n

\u201cMind if we join you ma\u2019am?\u201d one asked speaking up for the others.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, no, go ahead,\u201d Meia replied not wanting to be rude despite she felt a bit uncomfortable with people actually sitting down with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, are we really going to go through with this ranking stuff?\u201d one asked, showing a red patch o his arm. Meia gave it some thought before replying.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, in case we have any more prisoners. It will help later on,\u201d Meia replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you really as, well you know, a princess as they all say,\u201d the first one asked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am the only child of the eldest son of the ruling family,\u201d Meia replied, not saying she was the only child of her generation of her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cCool,\u201d another one said. \u201cA princess who can kick butt, and nail the pin on the wall while drunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure showed those pilots from one one six, and it felt good to finally get one over on them,\u201d the first pilot said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah Tim, especially considering we had fewer losses than they did during the last couple of battles,\u201d the second one said to the first guy.<\/p>\n

Meia now had a name to go with one of the pilots, Time, but still had yet to know their name or even really recognize any of them. The only one she really knew was Gail, the only other woman in the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny idea when we\u2019ll be seeing combat again, or even if we will see any more combat?\u201d Tim asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it all depends on the recon mission,\u201d Meia replied. \u201cI doubt if we\u2019ve seen the last battle though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHear that rookie, you haven\u2019t missed it yet,\u2019 Tim said giving the smaller guy among them a slap on the shoulder. Tim and the other guy laughed while the rookie appeared scared and excited at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid everyone get their citizen class?\u201d Meia asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Tim relied. \u201cGail and I are the only Alphas, mike here is a Beta and Val is a Delta.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember, if we have guests on board Deltas and Alphas don\u2019t mix with each other outside of work,\u201d Meia said to them already knowing it would be hard to enforce such a rule. But she now knew the names of the other two, the rookie was Val.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t believe you live under such a strict system,\u201d she heard Gail\u2019s voice say and looked over to see her sitting down as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s how I grew up. When you know no other way it feels natural,\u201d Meia replied back to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe classic case of not knowing any better,\u201d Val said. \u201cThe same is true in reverse, we can\u2019t imagine a system which is so strict and they can\u2019t imagine a system that\u2019s so free.\u00a0 We do have some structure, but there are no rules of interaction, just fuzzy lines which we adhere to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meia had to agree about that, the lines were fuzzy and were at times difficult to master. A rich person could associate with a poor person without ridicule from their peers.\u00a0 It was a system she actually seemed to adapt to quickly but it appeared other struggled with it.\u00a0 Looking at the patches on the uniforms she noticed that like Tim, Mike was a red, Val was brown and Gail wore yellow, or blonde as the hair color would be.\u00a0 It was actually based upon their abilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaw that Colonel Reed is a blue, knew he was good but haven\u2019t seen him in a fight,\u201d Tim said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou knew him?\u201d Meia asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the same flight school, upon graduation I was transferred to the Hood and he came here. I transferred here when the Hood suffered damage at Pacifica,\u201d Tim replied back to her.\u00a0 \u201cIs it true that the old battle-cruiser is on this mission?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it was the ship we were waiting on before leaving,\u201d Meia said not saying anything about that battle. At the time she had been on the other side, fighting for the Empire, still confused and drugged.\u00a0 She had destroyed a couple of Alliance fighters and it was entirely possible she had killed some of their friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou all right?\u201d Tim asked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust thinking,\u201d Meia replied giving herself a mental shake but not saying anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have any family back home?\u201d Gail asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn uncle I\u2019d rather forget, aside from that no. My dad died shortly after I was born and my mom died when I was young and she didn\u2019t have any family,\u201d Meia said recalling that her parents were killed.\u00a0 She thought about her mother\u2019s parents, she never knew them either.\u00a0 Had her uncle killed them as well?<\/p>\n

Looking down she realized her food no longer seemed appetizing to her and silently excused herself from the group. She walked out with no destination in mind, only thinking that her uncle probably killed everyone which was in her family.<\/p>\n

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

Randy heard the knock on his door, looking up wondering who it might be as he wasn\u2019t expecting anyone. He allowed whoever it was slightly surprised to see a young pilot enter the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral,\u201d the man said. \u201cLieutenant Timothy Dresier sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt ease lieutenant,\u201d Randy said leaning back into his seat. \u201cNow, what\u2019s so important that you came to see me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s um, its Lieutenant Colonel Meia sir, we were talking in the cafeteria and she suddenly stopped and left. She didn\u2019t appear to be herself,\u201d Timothy answered.<\/p>\n

Randy nodded knowing that Meia could have sudden mood swings. Of course some of those were because of the clones which had come on board before he focused on the situation at hand.\u00a0 \u201cDid she say anything to you?\u201d he asked knowing it could point to what was bothering her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we were all just talking when Gail asked her about her family. I mean we all know her uncle is alive being the Emperor, but anyone else.\u00a0 She mentioned her mother and father had been killed before going quiet and then just left,\u201d Timothy stated back to him.<\/p>\n

Randy closed his eyes giving it some thought. Meia never had a family as far as he knew.\u00a0 Her uncle had killed them all, from her mom and dad to her dad\u2019s parents, all to reach the throne and rule the empire.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know where she went?\u201d Randy asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir,\u201d timothy replied. \u201cWe do know that you and Meia are, well, friends, and I, well, we thought she might need a friend sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you lieutenant,\u201d Randy said watching as the man gave a salute and walked out. He pondered his words knowing Meia could want her privacy, but at the same time her squadron mates were concerned for her.<\/p>\n

A part of him wanted to jump up from his desk and race off to find her. Glancing at the pile of paperwork in front of him he looked it over knowing it had to be done and Meia might want time to think.\u00a0 She knew where he was, if he went racing all over the ship he might miss her coming to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh hades,\u201d he finally said a few seconds later after reading the same sentence over twice and still not understanding it.<\/p>\n

Locking the computer he headed out of his office pausing before heading towards the hangar.<\/p>\n

End part 11<\/p>\n

Continued in part 12<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cimalian Princess: Rebellion by AJ Marks Part 11 Jack watched from his seat as the president quickly walked in and sat down, looking at the assembled group. \u201cAll right, we don\u2019t have all day so let\u2019s get straight to the point,\u201d Able said to the group before looking at Jack. \u201cAdmiral White, what is […]
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-1910","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\/1910","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=1910"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1919,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910\/revisions\/1919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}