Kyra didn’t walk as much as storm into John’s office. Before he could stand up, she had her hands on his desk, her face just two feet from his and her sapphire blue eyes focused like lasers on his. “Why did you jam the signal?”
John stood up and putting his hands on his desk leaned over to match Kyra. “Because I want you.” John paused.
“John, I’m not in the mood. Do you have any idea what contact with another Hynerian vessel could mean to us? Think about it. Now, I’m going to ask you one more time and I want you to think very carefully before you answer.”
“Take a seat.” Kyra didn’t budge. “Please.” Without taking her eyes off John, Kyra slowly eased back into the chair in front to John’s desk. “I’m sorry you misinterpreted my answer. I jammed the signal for two reasons. First and foremost, I want you to come back with me. What you did today in the bay, no Kulmyk can do. I want you to come back and I want you to teach, teach us. I knew if you had hint of the signal you would want to pursue it. It was a chance I was unwilling to take. That’s as honest as I can be.”
“Honesty notwithstanding, how could you make that choice? How could you decide what is best for us? How John? Tell me that.”
“I apologize for withholding information, but there is one more piece of the puzzle you don’t know. We have every belief this SOS call is old, which is to say, whoever was out there and in trouble has long since—“
“Don’t say it,” shot back Kyra. “You know, you knew, no matter the circumstance, we would pursue it, that we had to pursue it. That we will pursue it.”
“I did. And so I had a choice to make. Do I let you go, which I knew you would, on what would for all practical purposes be a wild goose chase that at best would end in tragedy or—“
“Or you would selfishly treat us like children, deciding what was best for us, or is that, what was best for you? Is that it?”
“Kyra.”
“Don’t Kyra me. Do you really think I have any desire to return with you? Well, do you?”
“I really didn’t want to have to do this but you’re forcing my hand. We have a copy of the transmission.”
“So do we.”
“We have a copy that is not jammed.” Kyra didn’t move nor did she respond. “Before you leave, before you make that decision, I want you to listen to it. If you still want to go, I won’t try and stop you.”
“I want to hear that transmission.”
“We can go right now if you like. But before we do, I want to say thanks for what you did today, in the bay. I’m not sure I would be standing here without you. What you did, and I don’t really know, but what I saw was something special. And, well, since my gut tells me you are going to leave regardless, I might as well give you this now.”
Kyra watched as John picked up a small box from his bookshelf. Opening the box her eyes widened, picking up a sparkle of gold in the warm light. “It’s beautiful. What is it?”
“The Order of Merit. I had hoped to present it to you in an official ceremony, perhaps—“
“Please don’t say dinner.”
“Okay, I won’t say dinner. Please, let me put it on you. If I’m never to see you again, I want my last image to be with our highest honor around your neck.” Kyra handed John the box and he took the Order, unfolded the band and placed it around Kyra’s neck. “You look magnificent.” Before Kyra could respond, John’s hands cupped her jaws and he kissed her. “You saved my life. I owe you much more than medal and cloth.”
Kyra stood, slightly stunned at the turn of events. “Hey, I don’t mean to rain on your parade," Kyra said softly, "but can we go listen to that transmission now?”
John smiled. “Absolutely.”
Categories: Story, John Discovery, Kyra
52 comments:
Brilliant! Just brilliant. There's not much else to say. I love your "order of merit" graphic. Pretty and functional :)
Thanks Jenni. As soon as I saw this image, I knew it would be hanging around Kyra's neck. Sometimes you just know. :-)
This fractal is fantastic, could I post it on my blog too?
Saffy, I would be flattered and honored if you did. :-)
That was a "yes" by the way. :-D
WOW WOW WOW on the frac! That is absolutely incredible.
I liked the bit of play at first, despite Kyra's bad mood. I also like the way he thanked her, it was completely "John."
*HUUGS* to you and Jack :-)
Thanks Karen. I've been a bit surprised at the reception this image has gotten. Just goes to show what I know. :-D
John is quite the charmer isn't he. :-)
Yes he is... just like someone else I know ;-)
Jade and gold together is magnificant and with the design drew me in.
An elegant broach.
:-)!
In part, one scene not only builds upon but also feeds off the ones that went before, in the sense that the characters are very familiar to us now, we even have their likeness to refer too, and as such scenes between characters are quite easy to imagine. What I mean is this: when reading the scene becomes so very vivid, in a scene such as this one I can almost audibly hear the dialogue, tone of voice even - I know, :-D. What I mean to say is, whatever whomever reading imagines, it need not tie in any way to what the writer envisioned, the point is, the story enfolds to that extent, to the extent where tone of voice, expressions, etc, flicker to life in a heartbeat. Through the written word as the case may be, guided, or when left to our own devices, imagined based on all that went before.
In short, wonderful, wonderful chapter.
I almost laughed outloud at the "want/mood" exchange, but I figured they wouldn't appreciate that. ;) Great touch.
High emotion, like the vial, would reinforce any other emotions that are there already, but this end scene seems easier somehow. Despite anger, despite all that transpired earlier and inspite of it coming, partly, from both a sense of gratitude (on one side) and the prospect of goodbye, they seem to me very focused on the right here and right now.
Or to jump to other words, they could have been a very good match in every which way, so it seems.
You managed, as if there weren't enough anticipation surrounding already :-), to make the questions regarding the signal even greater and more pressing, and all by adding just one extra question. Is it old (is it too late!)?
It makes me worry, worry that we will have a scene reminiscent of the Marauders, in the sense of sad to that extent.
Reading this comment through, it's a wreck, but I have to go, so I'll rewrite when I get back tonight, but I had to leave with something down.
Dream sweet, xo
The Order of Merit has crossed seas and can now be admired at SaffronSaris too.
Pretty things must be seen at more places :D
I love how John takes her anger and defuses it. I picture her walking in all up in arms about the jamming of the signal and within a few short moments he has her calmed down - well, enough to offer his explanations. I picture this scene on two different levels, the physical movement of the characters and the underlying emotion of them.
I think I've lived this scene, where you have one agenda on your mind when you approach someone, and before you know it they have you back on their side - telling you what they want you to hear.
BTW, you write very good from the female perspective (as a male writer)- does that make any sense? I mean, you write just how we would react if that had been us. Like you know too.
Wow - what a silly comment !!
:)
Meg
Thanks Chicky. :-)
Sunshine, I loved your comment. As Shawn Mullins sings, what a "Beautiful Wreck." And there is a tavern on the corner called the Milky Way and you look so beautiful there. :-)
You know, when I write these verbal exchanges I often feel like I move the characters at an unnatural pace, perhaps a little faster than would happen in "real life." Then again, perhaps it creates a greater sense of urgency, but to hear to say the things you do about the dialogue makes me smile. Thank you Sweetest.
I can't begin to tell you how much I love your explanations of what you see in these exchanges because you always see things I miss and that adds such a richness to my own experience of the story and the characters. Again, I thank you for that my darling ambulatory one.
Well, I had to go back and reread this chapter and added one tiny bit, which I hope doesn't spoil her response but I just had to add three words to capture the imagine in my mind of how she responded: Kyra stood, slightly stunned at the turn of events. “Hey, I don’t mean to rain on your parade," Kyra said softly, "but can we go listen to that transmission now?”
In this last exchange Kyra is visually moved and shaken, and as Blunty boy might say, lived a lifetime in that moment. The kiss diffused her anger, but his leather soft hands on her face, the sparkle in his eyes that gazed just a little too long, the pearly white smile of teeth just a little too straight, well, I don't want to say she melted in that moment, but her heart beat just a little faster.
Now, the interesting thing here is the emotion/need she feels to "have" John, to have a partner is only fueled by the idea of this transmission. She hasn't said it, but the idea that a mate, a partner, could be on that other vessel, no matter how preposterous the notion, well, it's an opportunity she simply must pursue. John's kiss only heightens her "need" to go. I hope that makes some sense--at least it did to me and the gang agrees. :-D
I haven't decided what happens with the transmission, what they find. I will tell you this much since I think it's obvious now. Rog and Yul are returning with John. Kyra and Von are pursuing the signal (the rest of the crew hasn't decided who they are going with yet), so we are going to see the first splitting of Bravo and the story will move in two directions and experiences will occur not shared by all.
I better jump into the shower before I'm late to the first meeting. Looking forward to seeing what more you have to say on this one. :-)
Saffy, on my way to see. :-)
Meg, I have to laugh because it has occurred to me many times in the writing of this story that most of what we see and know happens with female characters and I ask myself, do I really have any frailing idea how a woman would respond or act to a certain set of circumstances. So to see you comment as you did pleases me to no end. (for the record, Kyra and Yul and the others are not actually women, as in human, they're Hynerian and, in that regard, I can have them react any way I like. :-D)
Now, what that means for me, well, let me just say it's a good thing I'm very secure in my, uhm, particular orientation--LMAO.
Got to run. I'll get to the rest of your comments as time allows later. Hugs and kisses. :-)
Hey sweet stuff, hope you are having a happy Monday. :-)
I've made a pact, no sleep tonight until I get caught up about blogland and caught up on comments here and below! My hope is that if I do that, I can spend the day tomorrow concentrating on other things besides John, Kyra and Calfuray. :-)
Glad to see you're having a little down time to write and comment.
By the way, I love the pic. The color is phenomenal and the movement is great! Behave!!!
I went over what I am about to touch upon once before and it was one of the comments that showed the divide that exists between what is in your mind regarding the characters and how they think and what I begin imagining for myself beyond what we are told (directly or indirectly). What I am refering to is John versus Kieran from Kyra's point of view and I just find that whole aspect of it fascinating. What you say here, you see, about her reactions to John heigtening her need to go, ties into what I was trying to say back in the day. John came very quick after Kieran, in fact to some extent Kieran is still around, but even if he were completely gone, it seems to me for her to be this wide awake sexually, emotionally, would be quite difficult to get her head around. Then again, this is Kyra, and Kyra's a smart lass. :-) In other words, she would be able to look beyond, past any thoughts that would begin to question how real her feelings for Kieran are/were and straight to the truth of the matter, which is something living versus something no longer there. How natural it all is, in other words, that she, alive, would and could develop feelings for someone else living and breathing and there, viral and alive. What makes it even more interesting is the fact that Kieran died before there was ever anything between them, not even a kiss as she has shared with John twice now, and in this manner too, it must dampen, though this is not the right word, what was between the two of them (K&K). Time, also, or rather timing, which takes me back to the fractal where two fish like creatures were swimming in opposite directions. What one could perhaps put in terms of would be plains, the spiritual and the physical.
In some ways, it's a fortunate thing that it was John, someone who could never be hers that brought to the surface again the need/want to be with someone, propelling her forward in two bouts rather than just the one, which would have been harder to deal with, I would think. And I don't mean at all that anyone, least of Kyra, was ever of the belief that without Kieran she would be alone, just that within the frame of time, not much passed from one episode to the next.
But even then, the situation as it is with there just being the eight of them, perhaps, as we know from Em, it all seems much simpler, more direct, less questions.
Hope you can follow some of that. :-)
I like the change you made, though I must tell you, heated as she was when she entered the room, shell-shock was precisely the reaction that I, for one, had already imagined for her. Bemusement, also. Like I said earlier, I can just see it, and it makes me smile.
What do I know, but in my humble opinion, you have the tempo just right. Exchanges are quick, as is the dialogue here, and any other written words outside of it are almost like time-outs, which means they are allowed to be lengthy (or short as the case may be) without it affecting the pace of the spoken word. You do dialogue exceptionally well. I can only imagine that this must be one of the most difficult parts to make believable, to make real, but there is never any doubt, any moment during where the thought enters that this could not be spoken, that is does not seem genuine or as it should be. I.e. no question that it is not 'real', so from my persepctive you have absolutely no cause to worry about that, the whole reading outloud system obviously works a treat.
I have more to say on John and leaving, but I'll leave that for after, so as not to get lost in my own comment, :-D, and move onto the part about splitting up the crew. A thought in itself. And not something we would have expected to happen, yet in a strange kind of way, it makes perfect sense, in as much as it ties into the whole tree analogy that I have touched upon more times that I care to be reminded of. Splitting the crew would be one more way in which this story would grow. There's a sadness to the prospect, wondering how it will happen, how these hynerians who have said goodbye to so many they have held dear, will be able to say goodbye to some of the few that they were left with, and whom they have been living with, their world, for the past year. But, and thank goodness for that, you have provided us with a light at the end, for, and I realize this may not be true for all the characters, we know already there will be a reunion at some point. At some point in the future, at least Rog and Kyra, who would have gone in seperate directions, will once again be in the same room, both alive and well. Furthermore, and this is a big thing in my mind, what they would get to do is compare stories - the not knowing what happened to the others, even if we knew both stories, the fact that they would not know, such things I'd rather not cope with the knowledge of.
Okay, enough babbling. At least for now. :-)
xo
ROFL - that looks just like a Lisa comment! :-D
pretty pic Tre!
Keshi.
naw, its not long enough!!
(hee hee!)
wait, i'd best clarify that...
i meant Autumn's comment...
wasnt long enough...!
This is a very VERY pretty fractal.
Thanks Deb. :-)
Hey Lisa. So good to see you and I agree. Never long enough. Autumn's comment that is. What were you thinking? :-D
Thanks Keshi. :-)
Sunshine, it might take me a couple days to digest that comment. Lisa would be proud. :-D
Ms Mario, thanks for your kind words. As for the behave bit, believe me when I say I'm just too tired to do otherwise. :-D
So now I have length somewhat down, all I need to do is make them fascinating and fun. :-D
Hey Tree - just checking in and seeing whats up???
Autumn - your ALWAYS fun and fascinating !!!!
Meg
Happy Tuesday, Poppet. :-)
Meg :-D
PS Wait til you see my shopping list. ;-D
Hey Y, busy as can be in the second week of a two week meeting in California. So good to see you stopping by and saying hello. I've missed having you around too. Life is good for me. I have no complaints. Thanks so much for asking. :-)
Happy Wednesday Sweetest. :-D
Hey Meg. Hope you're keeping warm in your part of the world. Gotten a little chilly here in Cali of late but the ocean is still as gorgeous and peaceful as ever. Thanks for checking in. I appreciate, more than you know, seeing a kind face checking in on me. Thanks. :-)
Lisa, I hope to see you around more than once every six months or so. I've missed your humor and presence.
Actually its....whats the word.....frailing cold here !!!
We are talking single digits which is just about inhumane. Tis the season for excess.....
an extra comforter on the bed
an extra log on the fire
an extra glass of wine
an extra hour in bed
:) What can I say - its just too damn cold to want to get up and get going.
Enjoy your ocean view.
OH - I wanted to tell ya, I heard on ESPN or someplace that next year there was going to be an NFL game in LONDON, teams to be announced - if its the Pack and the Titans we are so going and taking dear sweet Autumn to her first NFL game - K??? Sounds like a blast doesn't it??? So, strike it rich quick :)
t/c
just wondering what it would be ...if one is a Hynerian?!!
oh well...
(*_*)
Hey Tree, hope your return trip was uneventful and you found yourself back in the comfy confines of your home. I'm sure all your loved ones were ready to great you with arms wide open as it has been as long on them as it was for you.
Anyway, looking forward to things getting back to normal around here next week.
Take care and hope you have a pleasant and restful weekend as I am sure you will need it.
Hugs,
Meg
dang mispelled words and all...
sorry - its been a long week and I am just about ready to bust outta here and find myself the BIGGEST, SALTIEST FROZEN MARGARITTA I can :)
t/c
Meg, how I wish it were true. I don't get home till tomorrow night around midnight. I'm still in meetings till noon tomorrow.
Have a great weekend.
Sweet dreams when you get that far, x
Dear Sweetest, thanks for being such a great friend. Enjoy your time off and I'll see you in a couple days. Hugs and kisses. :-)
Safe and pleasant journey, poppet, take good care of you, x
Sweetest, I'm home. Did you miss me? :-D
Always. :-)
Welcome home, x
Good to be home. In another hour or two so will my luggage. :-D
Wishing you nothing but joy and love and peace my dearest sweetest friend. I am blessed to count you in my life.
I'll never match your eloquence, so
Ditto!
:-D
That's for darn sure.
Love and hugs, x
Uma, so would I. :-)
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