“Trev, I know you’re in there. Open up,” demanded Mairi, her patience with his aloofness exhausted. To date he had offered no apology, pretending to be the victim, which in her eyes, was getting old, frailing old. She balled her fist and raised her arm for another assault of tender flesh on cold metal, then thought the better and returned to her quarters.“John,” asked Rog, pointing to the obvious red stars floating on the bridge, “what the frail are those things?”
“Tracking hounds,” responded John, not taking his eyes off the hologram. “They respond to a signal like hunting dogs to scent.”
“Okay,” said Rog, drawing out the word.
“They’re tracking us,” shot back John, slightly irritated.
“I thought you said.”
“I did.”
“So?”
“So, we’ve been compromised.”
“Impossible.”
John took a breath and mentally reminded himself that this was not his ship and he was not in command. “Perhaps.”
Mairi retired to her study and retrieved the orange slate. Working the code from memory she turned one dial, than another and another. The slate glowed and although she knew it wasn’t true, seemed to feel warmer in her manicured hands. The light reflected off her cheeks, which turned upward with the sound of his melodious voice. “Evening my dear. Have you spoken to Kyra?”
As quickly as her smile rose, it fell into a frown. “No. Haven’t had the chance.”
“We don’t have much time. The device was not meant to trans-signal great distances and I fear soon we will be out of communication.”
John’s eyes widened. “You see that?” he asked Kyra, ignoring Rog.
“They’re getting brighter. I sense that is not good.”
“No, I mean yes. What I mean is, they are picking up our signal again.” John quickly tapped several keys on the control panel. A screen of multi-hued light arose and with the flick of his eyes, page after page of luminescent data flipped before his darting eyes. Rog blinked at the blur of, what appeared to him, nonsensical chicken scratch. “There. There it is.”
“What?” asked Kyra.
“Our leak. It is coming from the the fourth quad, section two. Who’s quarters is that?”
Mairi sighed. “I don’t know how I can convince her?”
“Use the girl,” the voice replied.
“She will think it's a trap, or that I’ve lost my mind.”
“I’m sensing something is wrong.”
“No, no. I’ll do it. Just give me a little more time.”
The slate suddenly hummed down and the glow receded. Mairi worked the dials again. Nothing. “Damn it,” she cursed.
“Damn what?” asked Kyra. “Care to tell me what you’re doing?”
6 comments:
Ooooh. :-D
I imagine to be at the receiving end of that very simple question would be quite disconcerting to say the least. I almost saw her jump, the look across her face. On the presumption of course that it was Mairi she was speaking to, one never can tell in this story of surprises, but whomever it was surely would react the same way, knowing they were doing something wrong or not.
Whatever she is up to, surely she did not intend for to put the ship and crew in the way of danger. Have been a little anxious about her associations and that is despite what was done to help Yul, just hope she knows what she is doing, and that she is right in what she has come to trust.
Interesting that she gets frustrated with Trev too, firstly because she felt guilt, responsibility to a certain extent, saw the state he was in, and still she becomes annoyed with him. Namely this is what will spur her on when she tries to talk to him next, this will I think be what might break through some barriers.
The fractal is absolutely wonderful, one of those that requires no imagination (meant in the best possible way) for it is exactly what it is.
Interaction between Rog and John always has an element of excitement somehow, so when there is a situation that is tense or fraught anyway, their almost calm manner works better than if they were visibly, audibly fully charged-up so to speak.
Fabulous work as always!
Mairi's intentions were good. We'll see in a chapter soon; yet, like the decision Rog and John made, what is good on one side can be bad on the other. The greyness of life, of compromise, of making your choices and then living with them.
And, the information Mairi is going to give them as to who and what is going to put the ship/crew in a quandary in so much that some will see things one way and others in a very different light. Stay tuned. :-D
As always, your kind words warm my heart. I wouldn't still be blogging without you my dear Sweetest One. :-)
Hi!
Wow! ancient puzzles?
(*_*)
Uma
Thanks for answering my question about the story earlier.
Somehow I find ancient mythology intriguing.The commentary here is eye opening:)
Uma, sometimes writing the commentary in response to engaged comments is more fun than writing the chapter. The comments make the story a living story and give both writer and reader a unique format of interaction that books can't offer. As always, so nice to have you stopping by. Peace. :-)
Oh my! How deliciously intriguing! I hope it isn't annoying to have one person commenting so far behind in the storyline than everyone else but I will catch up, that is for sure. :-)
O, quite the contrary. You're giving me a chance to reread chapters I've forgotten I even wrote. I am honored and flattered and thrilled with the effort you are making. I would hug you to pieces if I could. Lead the way, I'm right by your side. :-)
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