BACKLOG - JL | Com Ivanova, Capt Neyes - "Memories of Fallen Snow"

Posted on Sat Mar 7th, 2015 @ 8:58pm by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Captain Landon Neyes

1,645 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: A Spot To Kill

She had scant minutes to herself as they set up orbit around Atlantis Prime. Down below the city of Gibraltar was demanding their unwilling Queen, their planet burning bright outside of most windows only served as a constant reminder. She had fought valiantly, begging for them to stop and come to their senses… Begging for them to send their Ambassador to the Vindicator instead of forcing her down to the surface to walk among them. Planets had quickly become Rochelle’s least favorite things, with Earth being the only exception to that new cardinal rule. New Haven, Notura… Rochelle hated them with a burned, admirable intensity.

Stepping into her quarters, the young Commodore undid the clasp of her collar and dropped her fingers to begin the process of shedding her tunic, demanding freedom from the uniform and the responsibilities if only long enough to soak the barest bits of stress away.

As the redhead peeled the uniform jacket from her shoulders and arms, shrugging off her command face and relaxing into the one place on the ship she called her own, a flicker of light came from the far table.

"Hey, you." An affectionate voice said from the source.

Rochelle startled, jumping instinctively away from the sudden intrusion into her silent sanctuary. It was dark, devoid of life other than Helsa… and even she had taken cover, peeking out from under the couch and snort-growling at the magic spewing from the Commodore’s end table. “L …Landon?” The woman asked, resting a hand on her chest as if to help slow her rapidly beating heart.

"Sorry. It's a hologram," the image of Landon chuckled, "I had it programmed to activate when you came back to your quarters. I also bribed your yeoman to bring something in. It was thoroughly vetted for explosives," it teased. The perfect recording of the former Captain extended a hand out to an ornate box, with gilded trim, and silver buckles. It was about five inches wide and rested next to a single red rose, with petals shifting to a burning orange on the outside.

Setting the shirked tunic down on the back of a chair, Rochelle crept towards the hologram, the box, and the rose. “I’m sure it was.” She joked back wryly, her lips pressed tightly together as she regarded the hologram. As always, he was beautiful and unattainable. no more tangible than any number of dreams she’d woken from with a curse as she touched the cold blankets beside her. The rose, however, was so very real. Its silken petals soothed her troubled fingers as she lifted it and gently brought it to her nose. Even in the dim light she could see the flower was the essence of fire, bold and proud, beautiful and elegant. Her eyes half-lidded as she savored its essence, letting the softness rest against the fullness of her lower lip, the closest she’d get to granting him a kiss.

The box was next, and it quickly caught the depths of her curiosity as she studied its detailed exterior, lifting it to rest in her palm. While small, it took up the majority of its new sitting place and the fingers of her free hand slowly worked at the latch, gingerly as if truly expecting it to go up in smoke. One could never be too careful, and Landon, she knew, was one of her greatest weaknesses. “I miss you…” She tried, waiting to see just how interactive the holopicture was as the clasp came open and she adjusted the box in her hand to be able to lift the lid "Landon..." Rochelle looked to the specter, her glacial blue eyes wide and filled with a mix of confusion, surprise, and rarely seen glee.

"I miss you too." The image replied. "Not to butter you up, but I had the privilege of convincing Chef to make you dinner. Chicken Parmesan with rosemary red potatoes and greens under a balsamic wine vinaigrette," he chirped proudly, raising his hand to his chest as if reciting some complex equation. Even the hologram couldn't mask his cheeky, boyish attitude. "Cecil should be along any minute with that, and with a bottle of something to help you relax. But for now... you should open the box. Because I know you're still just looking at it." He grinned.

Looking between the box and the pixelated version of Landon, Rochelle felt her head shake. She trusted this man implicitly, but knew all too well that he was ever filled with surprises and secrets. Even from afar he was able to wield his magic likely powers of sophisticated charm to get what it was he wanted. Needed. She couldn’t help but smirk at him and roll her eyes at the way he knew her entirely way too well. Sometimes, it seemed, better than she knew herself. “Fine.” She huffed good naturedly. Bath time had willingly yielded to her favorite dinner, wine, a box… and him. Drawing a breath, she returned her attention to the box she held in her fingers and carefully opened the lid, revealing its contents nestled carefully in black velvet within. The bluish light of the hologram caught the center stone of the ring sharply, setting it afire, twinkling in the half-lights like a captured star. “Oh my God…” She let slip, cradling the box and the ring and looking up at ‘Landon’.

"There are a lot of things I've always wanted to say to you, that I just don't have the words for. I feel like I've been around for a long time. With the places I've been, the things I remember, and the experiences of lifetimes worth of love and travel. You... Rochelle, you're as timeless as I feel. There is nothing I can remember loving more in my lifetimes as much as I love you. It's without explanation or reason, and it's profoundly troubling what you do to me. I also know there's nothing in the entire span of my octocentennial memory I've done which would justify ever deserving you.

"If you'll take me, I would love nothing more than to share our time together, in sickness and in health, for better or worse... because even at my worst, knowing you're there at my side makes this all worth it." His voice was soft and reverent, hanging on a thread of devoted love as his words lilted from one sentence to the next. Each second that passed brought more earnest, nervous words from Landon's recording.

Listening, watching him, she could see the fear and hope and earnest devotion pass across his handsome face. Rochelle couldn't miss it if she tried, especially not as she looked to his eyes, shining not unlike the stones set in the ornate ring he’d had brought to her. The smile she wore was one filled with pride and sadness, love and hope all at the same time. He, like her, had grown so profoundly in the last several months, learning that after nearly eight-hundred years he still had some essence of innocence left within him yet and not to fear it. Her head tilted softly, the box now held to her chest as she felt her heart hammering beneath her hands in a mixture of anticipation and excitement. Adrenaline burnt brilliantly within her veins. Everything about the woman yearned to set her reserved nature aside to spring into his arms, to hold him, kiss him, reclaim him as hers – but distance wouldn’t allow it, and that was a sobering realization. No matter how tangible the ring was, no matter how heartfelt the words… There was that chance that she’d never see him again in the flesh and to that extent she sniffed back the burning sensation of tears.

His tone switched to sincere and straightforward reassurance. "I'm coming back. I don't know why I left, but I know whatever it is... I'm finding my way back to you. When I do, if you'll spend your life with me, just wear this when we see each other again."


“I need you here,I need you with me… Damn it, Landon…” The little redhead whispered to the image of him, all at once realizing he'd recorded and prepared everything as a contingency plan some time between his return to her and the damnation of sending him away because of the Commission. It touched and wounded her all at the same time, knowing he loved her enough to want her for his own no matter how great the cost may be. Once again it was like he read her like a book or worked a crystal ball to see into the very core of her psyche, deep into the very fathoms and fiber of her being. Reaching for him, her fingers only sparkled along the lines of the hologram’s cheek and jaw, barely touching the specter of her beloved. “I’ll wear it when I see you next. I will.”

"I love you, Rochelle Ivanova, never forget it." Then the image flicked off with the trademark shuddering photons.

"I love you too..." She whispered to the darkness, the departing light of his image leaving her eyes and the sharp sparkle of the diamonds she held in her hands. The future was shaky, begging for a chance to stretch its legs, but too weak to stand... Yet. Yet was that operative word and yet was enough for her to bank on for hope. Landon would return to her, of that she was certain as she heard the chime to her door ring and a small smile bloomed across her face.

---

Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

&

Captain Landon Neyes
Hologram - apb Landon
USS Vindicator

 

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