{"id":211,"date":"2015-07-04T12:47:46","date_gmt":"2015-07-04T12:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=211"},"modified":"2015-07-05T12:31:55","modified_gmt":"2015-07-05T12:31:55","slug":"the-cimalian-princess-invasion-ch-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=211","title":{"rendered":"The Cimalian Princess: Invasion – Ch 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Chapter 10<\/span><\/p>\n

Randy walked out of the briefing room after talking too many of the new pilots. The squadrons seemed to be at full strength but many new pilots hadn\u2019t seen much in flight training. He hoped that John and the others would help train them more.
\n\u201cRandy, can I talk to you for a sec,\u201d John asked quietly so no else could hear them.
\n\u201cYeah,\u201d Randy replied. He didn\u2019t understand why John whispered the question. He figured he\u2019d find out real soon.
\n\u201cLook, I know it\u2019s none of my business but I have to ask for everyone here. Is there something else going on between you and her,\u201d John asked.\u201cGoing on, between Meia and me, I think you\u2019re seeing things John,\u201d Randy said. \u201cBesides I\u2019ve only talked with her for what, an hour at most.\u201d
\n\u201cAll right, just thought I\u2019d ask. When I approached you two in the med lab I thought, well, never mind, but she sure did give me a look,\u201d John said.
\n\u201cWell, let\u2019s try looking at things from her point of view. You come in, she doesn\u2019t know you, or our ways from what I\u2019ve been able to tell,\u201d Randy replied. \u201cHow do you feel?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019d use every advantage I could,\u201d John replied.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I stuck to telling her stories about my past, adventures of my youth,\u201d Randy said as they got on board the elevator.
\n\u201cYouth, your what, a whole year older than me old man,\u201d John said. \u201cWait, you didn\u2019t tell her about the horse, oh you did!\u201d
\n\u201cYou bet,\u201d Randy said smiling. \u201cIf it helps she at least laughed at it.\u201d
\n\u201cGreat, another one who knows the story,\u201d John said. \u201cI\u2019m surprised it isn\u2019t on the Galactic Web.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you know the how,\u201d Randy asked. He\u2019s seen something similar not long ago.
\n\u201cI keep looking,\u201d John replied.
\n\u201cJohn, I\u2019m going to have her meet my mother and father, a dinner planet side. I think it might help me gain her trust,\u201d Randy said.
\n\u201cIs that wise,\u201d John asked.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s a risk we should take. I\u2019m going to ask dad and see what he thinks, the doctor already said Meia could go. And I think my mother might be the best way to help gain Meia\u2019s trust,\u201d Randy replied.
\n\u201cBe careful then,\u2019 John said. \u201cWell, I should get some rest for now, perhaps a shower as well.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll let you know when we\u2019re ready to move out,\u201d Randy said. \u201cBefore you go, have you ever heard of an electrowhip?\u201d
\n\u201cElectrowhip, no, can\u2019t say I have,\u201d John replied. \u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cJust before I came down Meia asked me if I ever punished someone with it,\u201d Randy replied.
\n\u201cPunishment device, sounds strange,\u201d John said.
\n\u201cI know, but the doc didn\u2019t say she had any evidence of ever being whipped,\u201d Randy said. \u201cI\u2019ll have to see about gaining information about it.\u201d
\n\u201cGood luck,\u201d John said. They walked out of the elevator.
\n\u201cSee you a bit later then,\u201d Randy said. He headed towards the bridge to see what the latest intelligence from Vernada and Hesslius had come in yet. Then he\u2019d start making plans for the assault on Vernada after talking to his father.<\/p>\n

\n

Meia stepped off the shuttle following Randy onto a space port. There were not many people around as she followed. She wasn\u2019t sure where she was going. Part of her expected to be led to a prison, or perhaps a courtroom. The building around the space port seemed to flow into the natural beauty of the planet, something that she ground appealing.
\nShe noticed another older couple standing nearby. They seemed a bit familiar but looked closer. The man appeared to be almost six feet tall and considering his age in good health. His white hair on top appeared to be thinning and he wore a crisp white uniform of a high-ranking person. For a moment she thought Randy as transferring her to another place.
\nHowever the woman seemed different. Shorter than either Randy or the other man her face held a smile and a twinkle in her blue eyes. Her red hair now tinged with gray. She had on a simple pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. That seemed a bit odd to Meia who thought the weather too warm for such a shirt.
\n\u201cRandy, about time you take time out to visit your mother, and as an admiral now,\u201d the woman said.
\nMeia now understood the couple to be Randy\u2019s parents. She could see the similarities between them. The sheer enthusiasm that Randy\u2019s mother showed made her think again of her own mother, how she always had a smile or hug for her. She brushed off the memories turning back to the present once more.
\n\u201cAnd you must be Meia,\u201d the woman said. \u201cI\u2019m Mary this rascal\u2019s mother.\u201d Meia could see the twinkle in her eyes as she spoke about her son.
\n\u201cHello there,\u201d Meia replied stumbling for words to say. She hadn\u2019t been prepared for this. Randy\u2019s mother seemed to be one a person just automatically trusted by her own force of personality.
\n\u201cThis older rascal is Jack, my husband,\u201d Mary said introducing Randy\u2019s father. \u201cWell, we should get going after all dinner is waiting. Marcus will be pacing up and down the floor wondering where we are.\u201d
\nMeia smiled a bit at that. Meia wondered if this could be part of the interrogation process. She\u2019d have to be careful and watch what she said.
\nAs the group walked down the street Meia made out guards that were around. They were discreet but there. She also felt people\u2019s stare as they walked by. She noticed it had to be her hair no one else had blue hair around her. That also meant escaping would prove very difficult as she\u2019d stand out very easily.
\nShe noticed things missing that according to intelligence should have been there. Anti-Cimalian propaganda was missing from many areas that it normally should\u2019ve been. Large groups of military meeting area and armed guards patrolling the street were not there. Perhaps they had taken it down in an attempt to confuse her, or it never was there.
\nThey turned down a street walking towards a restaurant all the while Mary talked about this and that. Meia could tell most of the conversation at the moment seemed to be between Randy and his mother.
\n\u201cSo Meia, what types of foods do you like,\u201d Mary suddenly asked her.
\nMeia had no idea how to answer that. She didn\u2019t even know if the same food existed in the Alliance as the Cimalian Empire. Thankfully Randy came to her rescue.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s not that sure mom,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cYes, this is the first time I\u2019ve been to this planet,\u201d Meia said finally. She hoped that might satisfy Mary at least for a while.
\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s good to get out and experience new things. I\u2019ve grown up working in the restaurant business and I\u2019ll tell you the Usails Company knows how to cook food,\u201d May said. \u201cIn fact they know food as much as the males in my life know military tactics. Did you know that Randy just got a promotion to Rear-Admiral?\u201d
\n\u201cMom,\u201d Randy said. Meia heard the pride in Mary\u2019s voice. That made her wonder for a second if her own mother would be proud of her.
\nMeia also understood that an admiral had a high rank but a \u2018rear-admiral\u2019 she hadn\u2019t heard of before. The rank didn\u2019t exist in the Cimalian military. Many times your rank had it base in how well you performed and your class level. With pilots rank was shown in hair color, blue being the highest one could achieve. She hadn\u2019t seen any pilots or others with different color hair like on board the Kitakim. Mary recaptured her attention.
\n\u201cWhat, you\u2019re one of the youngest admirals ever and I get a chance to brag about you in front of pretty girl. This is something I\u2019m not going to miss,\u201d Mary said. Meia could hear the slight amusement in her voice.
\nShe heard a slight chuckle come from Randy\u2019s dad, not that loud but loud enough that Meia heard it. She almost stopped walking when Mary had mentioned her. That train of thought led her to another thought. Were prisoners given to top officials for slaves or perhaps worse, or even an arrange marriage. It seemed what she\u2019d learned about the Alliance was false or changed. Perhaps even Mary had been an enemy of the Alliance at one time. She looked over at the woman but didn\u2019t see anything that might indicate that. The woman seemed indeed in love with Jack.
\nThey walked into the restaurant which held another completely different experience for Meia. Inside she saw no different areas for different classes to sit as they were led to a table by a man in a red uniform. Another older man approached the group introducing himself as Mister Marcus Usails the Sixth. The first man reappeared with data pads and then told them he\u2019d be right back to take their orders.
\nShe glanced at the data pad as Marcus and Mary conversed a bit. She\u2019d seen such establishments on Cimalis but had never been in one. Only Alphas were allowed in such a fine restaurant. Put her in a fighter and she\u2019d be right at home but this made her feel slightly venerable.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a menu,\u201d Randy said in a low whisper to her. \u201cYou read thought and see what sounds good to you. When the waiter comes back you can tell him what you want. If you have a question you can ask. Usually the waiter takes your drink order first, then comes back with the drink and takes the rest of your order.\u201d
\n\u201cOh,\u201d Meia replied. She\u2019d have to figure out quickly something. Everything looked foreign to her though. Nothing seemed to be like she\u2019d been told. Now she looked though the menu hoping to find something that looked familiar.<\/p>\n

\n

Agnes glanced around the restaurant when several people walked in. He could tell they were military personal. What they were doing he wasn\u2019t sure just yet. Then he noticed Admiral White walk in. Beside him Agnes noticed John\u2019s wife but behind them is what he noticed the most. One male the other female, he ignored the male and concentrated on the female. He noticed the blue hair which made his own hair on the back of his neck stand up.
\n\u2018It can\u2019t be,\u2019 he thought to himself. As he continued to look a waiter came up.
\n\u201cWill there be anything else sir,\u201d the waiter asked.
\n\u201cNo, bring me the check,\u201d Agnes said. He turned his head away from the group. He didn\u2019t think anyone had seen him that would be a plus. He quickly paid the bill then left as discreetly as possible. He had a report to send.<\/p>\n

\n

John stood outside the restaurant with another guard. The Cimalian pilot seemed to be overloaded with everything. He\u2019d been watching the woman\u2019s face to gauge her reactions and ended up surprised. She hadn\u2019t reacted at all like he thought. It made him think that perhaps Randy had been right. Gaining the woman\u2019s trust might be the best way to gain information. If her reaction had been genuine then he wanted no part of Cimalian civilization.
\nMovement caught his attention as he spotted another figure leaving the restaurant. He wondered about the man leaving. He seemed to be looking back at Meia, not that it seemed unusual as not many people see a blue haired woman these days. It seemed to be the look the man kept giving Meia that made John suspicious.
\n\u201cWho\u2019s that,\u201d John asked the guard next him.
\n\u201cWho, oh, him, looks like Senator Agnes,\u201d the guard said.
\nJohn replied his thanks as he thought about what he\u2019d seen. He\u2019d keep his eyes and ear open about that.
\nHans glanced down at his equipment to make sure what he saw had been correct. A quick calculation confirmed what the computer told him. Everything had been working normally.
\n\u201cCaptain, we\u2019ve got a problem over here,\u201d he said gaining Kim\u2019s attention.
\n\u201cLet\u2019s hear it,\u201d Kim said walking over to where he sat.
\n\u201cThis just started,\u201d he said pointing out a strange communications from the planet\u2019s surface. \u201cI\u2019ve run several diagnostics already making sure nothing was wrong with the computer. The computer can\u2019t translate it or who sent it.\u201d
\n\u201cCould be a vid station sending out a new transmission to another planet. You know how they like to code those transmissions so no one can intercept it,\u201d Kim replied rationally.
\n\u201cI thought about that as well, but they usually have some sort of tag, this one doesn\u2019t,\u201d Hans replied.
\n\u201cSend a copy down to headquarters and see if they can figure it out then,\u201d Kim said.
\n\u201cUnderstood captain,\u201d Hans replied. He quickly carried out the order. He hoped they had better luck than he had.<\/p>\n

\n

Meia walked slowly along with Randy after the meal ended. His parents had said goodnight and now they made their way to the space port. The meal itself had been quite good to her surprise. Nothing like the bland meal usually served to the citizens of the Cimalian Empire. She\u2019d had something called Chicken Pasta on Randy\u2019s advice. The other surprise of the evening had been Randy\u2019s mother, Mary. The woman seemed to contradict everything Meia had heard about the Alliance.
\n\u201cDid you have a nice evening,\u201d Randy asked her.
\n\u201cIt was all right,\u201d Meia said not wanting to give any indication how much she\u2019d enjoyed it. In fact the last time she\u2019d enjoyed a meal so much had been when her mother had been alive. That brought up the conflict in her mind and heart, her mother had been killed by members of the Alliance. Yet there had been no mention of the Cimalian Empire, or anything else that could be associated with it.
\n\u201cDo you have a favorite restaurant where you come from,\u201d Randy asked.
\n\u201cEverything\u2019s separated by class,\u201d Meia replied. \u201cA restaurant like that would be for the higher classes only.\u201d
\n\u201cClasses, you\u2019ve got me on that one,\u201d Randy replied.
\nShe heard the confusion in his voice. It confirmed that the Alliance didn\u2019t have the class system she had grown up with. A person born into a class had no ability to change, unless though marriage. She wondered what it\u2019d be like growing up where a person had the chose to do just that.
\nInstead of answering the question she chose to remain quiet. It came as a shock when Randy held onto her hand. Her first instinct had been to jerk her hand away, yet a fear kept her from doing so. She spent the rest of the walk to the port thinking about that fear and what it might mean.
\nShe glanced up at the half-moon in the night sky. A bit bigger than what she\u2019d remembered on Cimalis but beautiful anyways. They walked onto the shuttle with Meia taking a seat. Part of her felt the loneliness when contact with Randy had been broken. Now as she sat across from him she thought about the future.
\n\u201cWhat will you do about me now,\u201d she finally asked.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Randy replied. \u201cI honestly don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nEnd Chapter 10
\nContinued in Chapter 11<\/a>
\nComment below or send to AJMarks01@aol.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cimalian Princess: Invasion by AJ Marks Chapter 10 Randy walked out of the briefing room after talking too many of the new pilots. The squadrons seemed to be at full strength but many new pilots hadn\u2019t seen much in flight training. He hoped that John and the others would help train them more. \u201cRandy, […]
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