{"id":250,"date":"2015-07-06T12:44:01","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T12:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=250"},"modified":"2015-07-06T12:45:59","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T12:45:59","slug":"the-cimalian-princess-invasion-ch-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=250","title":{"rendered":"The Cimalian Princess: Invasion – Ch 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Chapter 18<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral, incoming call from HQ, shall I put it though,\u201d Hans said his voice breaking Randy\u2019s musings.<\/p>\n

Randy sat up a bit in his office a second before replying. \u201cPut it though Hans,\u201d he said. A second later his father\u2019s face appeared on the screen. \u201cDad, what\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThings are looking up and down at the moment,\u201d Jack replied. \u201cThe up side is Amy Barnes, she\u2019s taken to this cause, and she\u2019s not letting it go now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s good news, perhaps the government finally will wake up to what\u2019s going on,\u201d Randy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll wait and see, but I\u2019m glad she\u2019s on our side,\u201d Jack said. \u201cShe\u2019s already pissed off one President, a senator, and several other senators, but has gained the support of several governors, including many close to where the action is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s the bad news,\u201d Randy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zeus, we haven\u2019t heard from them in a couple of hours, so I sent a patrol ship. The colony is gone,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGone, what do you mean gone,\u201d Randy replied. That news stunned him a bit. It had been where the First Fleet had gathered before heading to Corestar.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn orbital bombardment destroyed the mining colony, there were few survivors,\u201d Jack told his son. \u201cThat\u2019s not all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re getting a guest,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI was just informed that Senator Agnes wishes to conduct a personal inspection of your ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t I like that,\u201d Randy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t either, in fact it sounded real odd to me,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you still said yes,\u201d Randy said not having to ask. \u201cHe could be trying something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, I thought about that as well, but he is a senator. Perhaps this is the way to convince the government that what\u2019s going on is real,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

Randy thought about that for a second. True it might help their efforts in the long run, but the senator\u2019s attitude would be hard to put up with.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s already on the way,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

Randy\u2019s eyebrows rose to his hairline at that. \u201cI guess I don\u2019t have a choice then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, sorry Randy,\u201d Jack said. \u201cYou\u2019re next mission is delayed until after the visit. The last think I need is a dead senator on my hands, which reminds me, tell your crew not to kill him, we might need his help later on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell them, but no promises dad,\u201d Randy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust do your best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a feeling that this visit has disaster written all over it,\u201d Randy said leaning back in his chair. He looked up at the ceiling before finally looking back at the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it from that reaction you\u2019ll at least try not to,\u201d Jack asked. \u201cBy the way, your mother wants to know how that lovely young woman you brought to dinner is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean Meia, the one who saved out butts now twice,\u201d Randy said. He watched his dad shake his head yes. \u201cWell, she jumped into a fighter and launched it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait, your saying that she stole a fighter,\u201d Jack asked. Randy saw that now his father\u2019s eyebrows were raised.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, yeah! It seems that the higher the rank the more training you receive, both in combat and escape techniques. They are trained in Alliance ways as well,\u201d Randy said. He knew that his father wouldn\u2019t like that piece of news.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know our codes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but they know how to break them,\u201d Randy answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, but how did her taking a fighter translate to saving the fleet,\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe took out the missiles,\u201d Randy said. \u201cWithout that the Warspite wouldn\u2019t have survived, and we would have taken greater damage and loss of live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I can see by your face that there\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m making her a pilot,\u201d Randy said.<\/p>\n

He watched as his father remained quiet for several seconds before replying. \u201cIs this wise? A blue haired, former elite enemy pilot on our side?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, but I think the senator better not see her,\u201d Jack said to his son.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstood,\u201d Randy replied. They said good-bye as the communications ended. He stood up knowing that now all he had to do was tell the crew a visitor would be coming. He had a feeling that his crew would welcome Meia better than the senator.<\/p>\n

sssss<\/p>\n

A buzzing penetrated though the sleep fog that Meia happened to be in. Glancing around for a few seconds before realizing someone was at the door. Rubbing her eyes she yelled out that she\u2019d be there in a moment as the buzzing stopped. Getting up out of the bed she wondered who would be at her door. The only person she really knew was Randy. Opening the door she was slightly shocked to see John standing there.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, can I come in for a second,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, sure,\u201d Meia replied stepping aside to allow him into the room. \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, you know, I was in the neighborhood, wanted to be the welcome committee,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

Meia frowned a bit not sure about what John was talking about.<\/p>\n

\u201cBad joke,\u201d John said. \u201cWell, I am here for a reason and you can say no, but we\u2019re hoping you say yes. Randy and I were talking and we think we\u2019ve come up with a solution, maybe. I\u2019m offering you a position as a pilot in my squadron.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meia almost choked on her own tongue when she heard the question. \u201cAre you sure you\u2019ve thought this though. I\u2019m a trained Cimalian pilot, you\u2019re not afraid that I\u2019ll turn on you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some concern but you\u2019ve had more than one time to destroy us, or join the Cimalian way again. Don\u2019t forget you also stole a fighter, saved my butt and helped save the fleet so I think that goes a long way to earning trust,\u201d John said. \u201cSo what do you say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIts ironic, I trained for years to destroy the Alliance, what I considered the greatest evil in the universe, and now,\u201d Meia shook her head. \u201cIt really boggles the mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you still consider us evil?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019ve learned a lot in the past couple of days, my mind is still trying to understand it all,\u201d she replied. \u201cYou treated me with something I\u2019ve never had before, respect even after knowing who I was, what I was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, most of us grow up with the knowledge we\u2019re all the same,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost,\u201d Meia asked frowning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell you always get those bigots and such teaching hate,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m the leader, my orders go,\u201d John said smiling.<\/p>\n

Meia took a breath knowing that after this, she\u2019d never go back. The problem was did she even want to go back to the Cimalian way of life. No, she didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI accept then,\u201d Meia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d John said. \u201cWe have a briefing in thirty minutes. I\u2019d like for you to be there, the briefing room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be there,\u201d Meia answered. John nodded his head then left the room.<\/p>\n

Meia walked over to the sink looking at the mirror. She thought she looked horrible, her hair looked like it had been slept on, which it had. Deciding to shower before the meeting she walked into the bathroom to get ready. She only hoped that John told the truth in how the other pilots reacted to her.<\/p>\n

Randy walked into the briefing room looking around at who was already there. A few had come in already but he was early to the meeting. He wanted to speak with John before the meeting started.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey,\u201d he said to his friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cRandy, well good news,\u201d John said to him. \u201cShe agreed and will be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, anyone we should keep an eye on,\u201d Randy asked. He looked around at a few of the pilots who had walked in.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly one I can think of, Victor,\u201d John said. \u201cI had to break up a fight earlier between the two before Victor got hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Randy raised an eyebrow waiting for an explanation.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictor is Pam\u2019s brother,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlaming Meia for her death,\u201d Randy stated as John nodded his head. \u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMyself more than anyone else,\u201d John said. \u201cI was careless and it led to the death of a loved one,\u201d John replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve lost too many already my friend,\u201d Randy said. The explanation did explain a lot about his friend\u2019s attitude. He\u2019d been trying extra hard to be perfect. Perhaps having Meia would be good, if you tried for perfection you usually made a mistake.<\/p>\n

The door opened before Randy said anything else. Meia walked in quietly taking a place in the back of the room. Randy thought she appeared a bit out of place, but hoped she\u2019d fit in quickly. A few other new pilots had arrived barely giving Meia a glance. They noticed her hair but that was about it.<\/p>\n

He glanced over to see Victor standing there talking to a couple of others. Either they didn\u2019t see Meia come in or they didn\u2019t tell him. Randy wasn\u2019t sure which one it was yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right skipper, everyone\u2019s here,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

Randy quickly counted the pilots in the room, twenty. About two-thirds of the normal effective fighting force the Akagi usually carried. He knew that the other ships had about the same number of pilots making the effective force almost half what it should be.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone, let\u2019s begin,\u201d Randy said watching as they quickly found seats and turned their attention to him. \u201cAs you all know things are tense politically back home. The government seems insistent that the military is behind the invasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they should fight instead,\u201d one pilot said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that you mention that we are getting a guest,\u201d Randy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting replaced,\u201d another pilot asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not quite, we\u2019re having a senator join us for an \u2018inspection\u2019,\u201d Randy said. He used his hands to emphasize the \u2018inspection\u2019 part.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuess that means best behavior,\u201d John asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep,\u201d Randy said. \u201cAside from that there is one other piece of news. Many of you already know Meia, and it\u2019s been decided, and she accepted to add her to the fighter squadron 116. Now she earned my trust, I hope she\u2019s earned yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has mine,\u201d John quickly spoke up. Randy felt glad his friend spoke up. It might mean that others would accept her as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre either of you concerned she might stab us in the back,\u201d Victor said standing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you faced her in combat,\u201d John said suddenly getting right up to Victor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, no but Pam\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI made a mistake checking out what might be a hostile ship, not a fighter, that cost Pam her life. A mistake I won\u2019t make again,\u201d John said now nose to nose with Victor who seemed to shrink before John. \u201cI\u2019ve fought her, and she\u2019s saved my life. If she\u2019d wanted me dead, I would be so already.\u201d<\/p>\n

Randy looked around at the others knowing they\u2019d be confused at John\u2019s words. Before Randy could say anything John continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first battle, I engaged Meia in one on one combat, my fighter was damaged, but I never touched hers. In the last battle she saved my ass from two of their elite pilots then went on to destroy several enemy missiles targeted at the battle-cruisers. She\u2019s earned my trust,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s an enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this isn\u2019t a democracy,\u201d John replied. \u201cWE have made a decision, you will stand by or I\u2019ll kill you myself. Is that clear!\u201d<\/p>\n

A muffled \u2018yes sir\u2019 could be heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said is that clear!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, not boys and girls, we have a diplomat to prepare for. I want to show him what the squadrons of the Akagi can do, dismissed,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

The pilots filed out but Randy kept an eye as a few glanced back at Meia. The only really hostile look was from Victor. He made a point to make sure to inform John about that. For now though he had to figure out how to handle the Senator.<\/p>\n

sssss<\/p>\n

Jezic glanced down at the orders that just came in from High Command. They had given him the instructions on when to attack. The order had been real specific and strange to him considering they had ordered him there as soon as possible. He wondered if this had anything to do with the fact that Meia was still alive. Whatever was in her file seemed to make high command nervous? Even Admiral Ordex had been nervous about the fact she survived.<\/p>\n

Remembering that he had her file he quickly opened it hoping that the answers would be in the file. He knew that she had been an epsilon class citizen and naturally assumed that her father had been as well. Children carried their father\u2019s class so if your father was an Alpha any of his children would be an alpha regardless of the mother\u2019s class, except for an Alpha Supreme. Anyone who had a parent as an Alpha Supreme would be an Alpha Supreme.<\/p>\n

He scanned down the file noting the normal notations, and promotions that he already knew about. Her mother had died, but there was more information this time. He noted his name this time, something he already had known. However it was Meia\u2019s father that caught his attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t be,\u201d he said. The door opened startling him. Olin walked into his office. \u201cDon\u2019t you ever knock?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did sir, but you seemed preoccupied,\u201d Olin stated. \u201cAnd you wanted this file right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did but you stay out there until I say otherwise,\u201d Jezic said, anger tinting his words. Olin seemed to shrink from the force of the words. \u201cCome back in a couple of minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your will admiral,\u201d Olin said. Jezic watched as the pilot walked out of the office.<\/p>\n

He returned his attention back to the screen in front of him. The information had to be wrong, it just had to. There could be no way that Meia had an Alpha Supreme as a father. His mind seemed to try and grapple with the implementations that this had. Even while he thought about that his rational mind realized that it explained why High Command had been so interested in the young woman for so long. If word of this got out it might cause a disruption in the public considering that Meia actually was the true Empress of the Empire, not Henry.<\/p>\n

The only good news he could think of was the fact she had no way to find out her heritage. She had no memory of her father and very few knew who she really was.<\/p>\n

Sssss<\/p>\n

Randy stood on the hangar deck of the Akagi waiting as the shuttle carrying the senator powered down. He still felt some uneasiness concerning the \u2018inspection\u2019 considering that Senator Agnes didn\u2019t like the military at all. The door opened allowing the senator to walk out.<\/p>\n

Randy might have felt a bit better if the senator had done the inspection of the Hood back at Pacifica, or the Lexington which now stood on patrol at Corestar. But the fact the senator had chosen the Akagi didn\u2019t add up very well. He had the officers all on alert if something happened.<\/p>\n

The senator walked out as Randy noted the man seemed to wear a permanent frown on his face. Randy briefly wondered if the man could even smile at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenator, welcome aboard the flagship Akagi,\u201d Randy said, as he walked up to the admiral.<\/p>\n

\u201cBah,\u201d Agnes replied. Randy put his hand down knowing that the senator wouldn\u2019t shake his hand. It didn\u2019t surprise Randy at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis way and we can begin the tour,\u201d Randy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaste of money if you ask me,\u201d Agnes said waving his hand towards the fighters in the hangar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen who\u2019d defend the Alliance against the Cimalian invasion,\u201d Randy said. He happened to glace at the senator as he asked the question. The brief shocked look seemed to catch Randy by surprise. Just as quickly the look disappeared with the normal scowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone knows that this invasion is just the military in an attempt to keep the military around when its purpose has come and gone. This is a time of peace and diplomacy,\u201d Agnes said. \u201cPeople talk when they have a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you think this invasion is a hoax, a conspiracy,\u201d Randy said as they approached the elevator.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it\u2019s so clear and childish that to believe otherwise is, is,\u201d the senator trailed off for a second thinking as they waited for the elevator. \u201cAll I can think of is idiotic, but even that\u2019s too weak of a word. I find this too convenient that when we\u2019re about to begin to seriously disband the military some \u2018unknown enemy\u2019 suddenly appeared attacking our colonies. Then when that didn\u2019t work your intelligence officers dredge up this story about the \u2018Cimalians\u2019. The more elaborate the lie the harder it is to keep up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lie, and what if it\u2019s not a lie,\u201d Randy asked as the elevator moved towards the bridge level.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly warmongering fools believe that,\u201d Agnes replied in disgust. \u201cLet\u2019s get this over with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Randy inwardly groaned at the senator\u2019s attitude. He had the feeling this would be a long tour. He just hoped nothing else happened.<\/p>\n

End chapter 18<\/p>\n

Continued in chapter 19<\/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 18 \u201cAdmiral, incoming call from HQ, shall I put it though,\u201d Hans said his voice breaking Randy\u2019s musings. Randy sat up a bit in his office a second before replying. \u201cPut it though Hans,\u201d he said. A second later his father\u2019s face appeared on the screen. \u201cDad, […]
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":[3,25,26,28,27,5,12],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original","tag-aj-marks","tag-cimalian","tag-invasion","tag-original","tag-princess","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250","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=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}