“Lieutenant Zeke, this way please.” Lampré didn’t walk, didn’t fly, but rather glided.“Master Ji will see you in his private chambers. He’s expecting you.”
Zeke drew a slow steady deep breath. Letting the air out at a slightly faster nervous cadence, he stepped into Ji’s private quarters. Immediately his mind felt like mush, time seemed warped, and his thoughts slowed. His eyes took in light in the dimly lit room, yet even light seemed to move at a different tempo. An unusual lightness lifted his body as if Ji’s room operated at a different gravity than the rest of the ship. Zeke felt like a Hynerian who had checked his wits at the cloak room. He had them but they weren’t here now.
“At ease Lieutenant.” Words registered. Ji had spoken. Body failed to respond. Then laughter. Ji could manifest as either body or spirit, and preferred his spirit form whenever possible. Invisible to the normal eye, Ji employed an ocular oscillator so that others could visually interact with him.
“Sorry Master Ji. I . . .” and then nothing. Zeke felt like his vocal cords were frozen. More laughter. Ji always seemed to know how to break the tension. “Everyone reacts the same the first time they use the ocular Zeke.”
“Our time is short and there is little to say,” laughed Ji. “No need to speak my son, I know your mind and I know your heart. If I didn’t have faith that both were exactly where they needed to be, you would not have been invited on this mission.”
“Javalina Destroyer’s will attack before we will arrive. The planet is lost but our objective is to save the Zaels we can and bring them back to Hyneria. For you, my friend, this mission has a different purpose. You will see things your eyes have never seen before. Your heart will feel vibrations and tremors of terror new and alien to anything you have felt before.”
“The days ahead Lieutenant determine where you go from here within the order. First contact has a way of blunting growth. The heart grows callused in some, and a callused heart becomes dull with anger and bitterness.”
“Watch your heart. Let it grow not in revenge, not in justification, but let it expand in compassion for our adversary. Hate begets hate. Watch your heart. Cultivate love and compassion. Only love is truth and only truth conquers. Zing Tao, Lieutenant. Prepare yourself. Much is expected. Much you will do. Dismissed.”
Commentary Part 1:
16 comments:
Thank you for giving us a window into the room with Ji and Zeke.
Let it grow not in revenge, not in justification, but let it expand in compassion for our adversary. Hate begets hate.
This lesson is what we all need to learn. Your storytelling in superb.
Thank you Terry. I've been stuck on this meeting for ages. First, no fractal. Then when I had the fractal I wanted, the story I had written didn't quite fit. That's what I get for putting the prose ahead of the image. Bad boy. :-D
wow, wow wow and did I say wow :0)
Cultivate love and compassion. Only love is truth and only truth conquers. Zing Tao, Lieutenant. Prepare yourself. Much is expected. Much you will do.
and wow!
absolutely amazing Trée, your talent knows no bounds my friend, you never fail to amaze.
What a great chapter! Thank you
Oh Trace, you are always so generous with your kind and loving words. They are the fireplace in the house of my heart--always bringing warmth and joy. Thank you my friend. I've just received my xmas gift. :-)
Trée, its wonderful!
Thank you Sunshine. Congrats on breaking the 50,000 point level on our fabulous international cancer fighting team. I'm very proud of the consistent quiet steady crunching you've done since you joined. I take my hat off to you and your computer dear. :-)
Thank you, kind sir :)
You are most welcome blogger girl who has stolen my blogging heart. I have three words for you. I think you already have them. No silly, not those.
These---> Zing Tao Baby!
This reminds me of something (no, its not aliens) but I'm not quite sure what it is - one end of a gun barrel perhaps that leads to another dimension? Either way its very noir-ish.
"Noirish"
Mmm, I'll have to reflect on that one. Merry Christmas to you Jack.
sneaking in commentary LOL I see how you are :0)
excellent job on the story, love the commentary, they are all 3 just great,
Thanks Trace. My goal is to eventually have commentary and reading for all the postings in this story. I wonder what an audio reading from start to finish would sound like? Mmm, . . .
Sneaky of you to find these files my dear. Have you been peeking when I wasn't looking? :-D
Have you been peeking when I wasn't looking?
why of course LOL
Fan*tastic reading!
I was hoping, I'd think of something smart to say, but I just plain love the commentary - I think, we all fell hard for those lines about the heart and truth, when we originally read it, more so after the commentary.
Image commentary showcases in best light your passion for fractals :-D I'm amazed once again by the amount of work you put into these, fun though it may be.
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