{"id":1896,"date":"2017-03-15T07:35:34","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T12:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1896"},"modified":"2017-03-18T07:43:57","modified_gmt":"2017-03-18T12:43:57","slug":"the-cimalian-princess-rebellion-part-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1896","title":{"rendered":"The Cimalian Princess: Rebellion – Part 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Part 8<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Meia walked into the rec room behind John and noticed a lot of pilots standing around, many looked like they were having fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, look who I got to come down off her throne and visit with us lower class citizens,\u201d John said motioning towards Meia.<\/p>\n

She gave John a glare which he ignored before he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to take a shot!\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Meia could even protest she felt herself shoved towards the bar area and a small glass was placed in her hand which was filled with a clear liquid which looked like water to her. Looking over at John she noticed everyone seemed to be telling her to drink it in one gulp.\u00a0 She had no idea what this stuff even was and they wanted her to drink it.<\/p>\n

Feeling the pressure Meia took a breath and quickly downed the drink and barely had time to register what it tasted like before feeling her throat burn unlike anything she ever experienced before. Her eyes watered and coughed trying to catch her breath which had been knocked ot of her.\u00a0 Blinking slightly she felt the rush sweep over her as she finally became aware of clapping and hollering from the rest of the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWasn\u2019t so bad, was it?\u201d John said smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat *cough* what was that?\u201d Meia asked hoarsely.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a little something to make you a bit more relaxed,\u201d John replied, taking a glass himself, drinking it in one gulp and slamming the glass down with a yell.<\/p>\n

A few more pilots yelled in support, or something else, Meia no longer felt sure. She watched as a game was played, who could drink it quicker.\u00a0 Two people lined up, drank the shot and slammed the glass down, whoever slammed their glass down firs was the winner.\u00a0 She realized she was faster than any of them as John took on another pilot, a burly, brown-haired man.\u00a0 They took the drink and slammed the glasses down with John barely beating him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDang it,\u201d the man said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI win again,\u201d John said with a grin. \u201cI said I could beat anyone from the two twelve and I\u2019m right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meia walked up to him forcing him to look down at her waiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI-I\u2019ll take you on,\u201d Meia said feeling quite confident in her abilities at the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d John replied, motioning for two more drinks.<\/p>\n

Meia took her glass, ready to go and preparing herself for the drink as another counted down.<\/p>\n

\u201cReady, go!\u201d<\/p>\n

Meia slammed the drink back and slammed the glass down beating John easily. This time though, she was prepared for the burning and watering eyes and surprised when it wasn\u2019t as bad this time.\u00a0 Cheers from around her as she realized the pilots of the two twelve were cheering her on.<\/p>\n

\u201cShee, ay told ya,\u201d Meia said to John, feeling herself wobble slightly before straightening herself out.<\/p>\n

A large hand on her shoulder almost toppled her, and she saw the man who John had barely beaten standing there with a smile directed at her. He said something to John which she didn\u2019t\u2019 catch and found herself pulled away towards the others in her squadron to celebrate.<\/p>\n

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

Randy made his way to Meia\u2019s quarters looking for her after stopping by her office and not finding her there. He figured she had probably headed back to her quarters for some rest.\u00a0 He wanted to inform her that they would reach their destination in another five hours.\u00a0 Reaching the corner he stopped hearing some loud sounds and what he thought was singing.\u00a0 Rounding the corner he noticed a couple of people staggering towards him.<\/p>\n

Raising an eyebrow as he recognized them both, one leaning more on the other but both were staggering. If he had not recognized what had probably happened he might feel a bit jealous about the situation as the two had yet to realize he was there.<\/p>\n

He finally decided to force the issue as nether appeared to realize the situation and cleared his throat, watching as they both jumped. They looked up at him and froze.<\/p>\n

\u201cU-Uh-oh,\u201d John said a bit loudly.<\/p>\n

Randy watched as Meia, who was hanging onto John, and wobbly tried to stand up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsh beat hims,\u201d she said proudly, pointing to John.<\/p>\n

Randy still had no idea what to say, especially considering his two squadron commander were drunk. John seemed a bit sheepish, but there was an unknown look in Meia\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 He realized they both needed to sober up considering what was coming up but John spoke up.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe sure did, beat me fair and square, yep,\u201d John replied, though didn\u2019t slur his words as Meia had. Randy still recognized the signs of his friend having a bit much.\u00a0 Meia looked as if she had too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cYa know, I ne-never told you thish, but I thinks you\u2019re cute,\u201d Meia said suddenly catching Randy off guard.<\/p>\n

Before he could process it she had stepped forward to kiss him. Normally Randy might have felt ecstatic if not for the fact Meia had passed out leaving him holding her up.\u00a0 He looked down at Meia then back at John waiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t what I expected,\u201d Randy said. \u201cHow much did she have?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much, one or three, or more, I don\u2019t remember,\u201d John replied. \u201cYou-you\u2019d have been proud.\u00a0 She bonded with her squadron.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an entire squadron drunk?\u201d Randy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, not exactly,\u201d John answered sounding guilty.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, because we have only five hours till we arrive at our destination and I need all of my pilots in top form,\u201d Randy said, watching as John looked a bit guilty. \u201cDo I want to know what happened?\u201d Randy asked making a decision and lifted Meia in his arms before turning and starting towards her quarters.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, no,\u201d John finally replied.<\/p>\n

Reaching her quarters he walked in and placed Meia on the bed before looking back over at John.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, she bonded with her squadron, eh?\u201d Randy said, unsure if he was posing a question or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep,\u201d John replied, grinning this time. \u201cAll it took was one shot, well actually it was her second one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like she can\u2019t handle her liquor, or hasn\u2019t drunk before,\u201d Randy said wondering if the Cimalian Empire even had alcohol. Looking down at Meia\u2019s face he noticed an innocence about her which wasn\u2019t there normally and he found attractive.\u00a0 \u201cThough, I think you\u2019ll both be feeling it in the morning.\u00a0 Better leave her the hangover remedy for when she wakes up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAye-aye skip,\u201d John said, giving a mock salute and left before Randy could say anything else.<\/p>\n

Looking back at Meia he brushed a strand of hair off her face, seeing her smile at the touch. His thoughts drifted to the kiss and what it might mean.\u00a0 Sure they had shared a few kisses, but this one had been different, it had a bit more passion making him wonder if it was Meia or the alcohol.\u00a0 He silently hoped Meia felt a bit more for him and the alcohol had removed some of her inhibition she normally had.<\/p>\n

Tucking her in he made his way out of her quarters, closing the door and then had a decision to make. Turning he headed to see how many of the pilots had been participating in the drinking game.\u00a0 Years ago he\u2019d have joined in, or even started one.\u00a0 Now, as the commander he had to show more sense and hoped John had as well.<\/p>\n

Stopping outside the door he listened as the pilots spoke loudly, but were trying to be quiet. \u2018Great,\u2019 he thought to himself imagining a room full of drunk pilots as the conversation reached him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur leader just drank yours under the table,\u201d one pilot said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but ours could still hit the target,\u201d another replied back.<\/p>\n

Randy frowned for a second before realizing what they had been doing, and he\u2019d probably need to call repair for some damage to the walls in the pilot\u2019s club room. He stepped forward seeing most of the pilots were actually standing, two were passed out and most appeared in good shape as the conversation stopped at the sight of him walking in.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir!\u201d one pilot said, recovering the quickest and offering a salute. Randy felt impressed the man had that much ability to still salute.<\/p>\n

Making his way over to the bar he tapped the surface indicating he wanted a drink. A nervous pilot hesitantly poured the short and handed it to him.\u00a0 Randy looked around seeing that everyone was looking at him before he quickly swallowed the drink slamming the glass son the counter feeling the familiar burn.\u00a0 He also realized it was very good.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen up, you have five hours to sober up before we arrive at our destination, let\u2019s make sure we can do our duties,\u201d Randy said making his way towards the door. \u201cAnd whoever bought the liquor, report to my office in six hours.\u00a0 I want to know where you got it, its very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

He managed to walk out hiding the grin on his face knowing they would be ready. He knew, and had been in such a situation as well.\u00a0 If civilians knew how often he and John, and the rest of his squad had ever shown up to a drill drunk they would be surprised.\u00a0 It still amazed him he never got written up.<\/p>\n

He ran into Kim in the corridor who appeared headed into the pilot\u2019s room.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral, what are you doing here?\u201d she stammered. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to concern yourself with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRelax captain, I understand what\u2019s going on, and I was close by,\u201d Randy said not mentioning what else happened, nor did he really approve but understood it.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither way, it appears I have a room full of drunk pilots who need to be on duty in a couple of hours,\u201d Kim said shouldering responsibility for the actions of the pilots.<\/p>\n

She started to say more when a couple of pilots stumbled out of the room stopping at the sight of the admiral and captain.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet to your quarters, that\u2019s an order,\u201d Randy said, watching as they didn\u2019t hesitate and left.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what happened?\u201d Kim asked as they moved on to the elevators.<\/p>\n

Randy informed her about John and Meia and what he heard from the pilots and he was down there.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you had to have a drink as well, great,\u201d Kim moaned. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t just say something, no you had to have a drink.\u00a0 Must be a macho pilot thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Randy smirked at Kim\u2019s little outburst as it meant she wasn\u2019t\u2019 as mad as she seemed to be at his overstepping his authority on her ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext time, just tell me, okay,\u201d she said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, didn\u2019t mean for it to happen, just happened,\u201d Randy said to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully something good came out of it and not just a bunch of drunk pilots,\u2019 Kim replied looking at the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it did,\u201d Randy said thinking about it. \u201cThe pilots have finally accepted her, not as a pilot, her skills and attitude did that,\u201d he said seeing Kim\u2019s confused face.\u00a0 \u201cHer actions tonight solidified her role as squadron leader.\u00a0 I only hope the rest of the mission goes as smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we need more liquor,\u201d Kim joked.<\/p>\n

Randy laughed as he started heading to the elevator. \u201cI wish, don\u2019t forget to get some rest as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m off in thirty minutes,\u201d Kim replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, I\u2019ll see you on the bridge in about five hours then,\u201d Randy said, heading to the elevator and for his quarters. He also would get some rest knowing everything which could be done had been done.\u00a0 He would see what new obstacles awaited him when they exited the jump.<\/p>\n

End part 8<\/p>\n

Continued in part 9<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cimalian Princess: Rebellion by AJ Marks Part 8 Meia walked into the rec room behind John and noticed a lot of pilots standing around, many looked like they were having fun. \u201cHey, look who I got to come down off her throne and visit with us lower class citizens,\u201d John said motioning towards Meia. […]
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-1896","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":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1896"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1903,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896\/revisions\/1903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}