The moments that got you

Amaroq wrote:I guess I'll further indulge roseandheather's Khumalo obsession with another little moment that involves him. This takes place after Mike has destroyed Byng's ship and she is discussing the ramifications of everything that has been happening in the Quadrant since Monica. Mike apologizes to Khumalo for underestimating him and believing that the only reason he got the command was because of his political and familial connections within the High Ridge Administration.

"I'm afraid my evaluation of why you were out here was pretty close to your own, Sir," she admitted. "That's what I want to apologize for, because even if the logic that got you out here in the first place was exactly what you've just described, I believe you've amply demonstrated that it was a damned good thing you were here."

She held his eyes, letting him see the sincerity in her own, and, after a moment, he nodded.

It was nice to see that not all of the appointments that High Ridge made were disastrous.

....*furiously wipes away tears* My darling, darling man. I just hurt for him so badly now in Shadow of Saganami - he was alone, isolated, thought incompetent by everyone around him (including himself!)... God, how lonely must he have felt??

But it all came right in the end, thank God.

I have a moment that actually involves a Mesan. In SFtS after the New Tuscan space station has been blown up our not-so-favorite Mesan agent Aldona Anisimovna is actually suffering a bit of an attack of conscience (sort of) and rides it out with a bit of Hammerwell...

It was odd, a corner of her mind reflected dreamily. Of all the composers in the entire galaxy, it was a Manticoran who was her favorite. A Sphinxian, in fact. She'd never really understood why Hammerwell's skeins of melody spoke to her so strongly, yet they did, and there were times she needed that. Needed to let herself simply float upon the music, to empty herself of thoughts, of schemes and plans.

Of guilt.

I thought it was ironic that she loved a Manticoran composer when she is playing her part in this grand strategy that is designed to take down and destroy the very nation that produced him.

I find chapter 13 in At All Costs really moving particularly the part when Honor thinks about what absolutely terrifies her.
"There remained one thing in the universe which could absolutely terrify her:her own heart.
She couldn't understand it.Physical danger, duty, moral responsibility....those she could face.Not without fear, but without the crippling sense that somehow her fear would betray her into failure.But not this.This was a different sort of minefield, one she had no confidence in ability to face. Yes she could taste and share the emotions of both Hamish and Emily, but simply knowing what they felt was no magic spell to suddenly make all right.
She knew Hamish Alexander loved her .She knew she loved Hamish Alexander.And she knew Hamish and Emily loved each other, and that all three of them were determined not to hurt the others."......
"yet deep inside her, somewhere all the healing had failed to reach, there was the fear. No longer the fear that they would not love her, but that they would not be allowed to. That the universe would punish them if they dared to, for all to many of those who had loved her had also died because of it"
I find this passage just so sad.

I particularly liked this scene from Echoes of Honor:

LaFollet broke into the line, clearing a path for Honor and McKeon. One or two people looked irritated at the intrusion . . . but only until they recognized who they were standing aside for. Then they were pushing back against their neighbors, opening the path still wider, and Honor felt a handful of hardier souls reaching out to pat her on the back or simply touch her—as if for luck—as she walked past them

Just the idea that the prisoners want to touch her like some sort of talisman before the battle...Always sends shivers down my spine.

Amaroq wrote:Another moment I just thought of is not a single moment per se but more a realization that can hit close to home. The point when you realize that all of the early treecats that bonded with humans were voluntarily giving up half their life just to be with them. I was re-reading What Price Dreams? and it really hits hard when you find out the 'cats live so much longer than humans (before prolong of course) and that entering into the adoption bond means sacrificing a huge part of their life on the part of the 'cats. And then you realize that they did it anyway knowing they would have to make that sacrifice...

Honor comments on it in Best Laid Plans and hopes that the 'cats find out about prolong and that they will be able to enjoy the full length of their lifespan with their adopted humans from now on (and with the increasing effectiveness of prolong it might even start going the other way).

Definitely the final scene in What Price, Dreams?
When Seeker of Dreams realizes what he will pay and that it will be worth it all.

"Captain Terekhov's intentionally arranged matters so that he becomes the obvious sacrificial lamb if one becomes necessary. I once knew another Navy captain who would've done precisely the same thing if she'd believed what he apparently does."

--Dame Estelle Matsuko, The Shadow of Saganami

There's just something unbearably sweet about the fact that Dame Estelle still remembers and obviously reveres Honor and what she did in Basilisk after all this time, even though it's been nearly twenty years since they'd last worked together.

roseandheather wrote:

"Captain Terekhov's intentionally arranged matters so that he becomes the obvious sacrificial lamb if one becomes necessary. I once knew another Navy captain who would've done precisely the same thing if she'd believed what he apparently does."

--Dame Estelle Matsuko, The Shadow of Saganami

There's just something unbearably sweet about the fact that Dame Estelle still remembers and obviously reveres Honor and what she did in Basilisk after all this time, even though it's been nearly twenty years since they'd last worked together.

Definitely a nice callback. I'm re-reading OBS right now and getting to see the start of Honor and Estelle's whole relationship again. Love it.

What Honor and Terekhov did really highlights one of the major differences between the RMN officer corps and their Solarian counterparts. No Solly officer would ever take the blame for something like that; they would be too busy figuring out how to make someone else look guilty instead. All of the blame-gaming we see with the Sollies in the recent books is just disgusting.

I have two moments that are very similar just with different players. The first was after HMS Fearless returned from Basilisk after thwarting the Havenite invasion attempt and the second was after HMS Hexapuma and HMS Warlock returned to Manticore after the Battle of Monica.

When the entire Manticoran Home Fleet flashed their impeller wedges in the salute to the fleet flagship and have arrayed themselves in formation around the aforementioned ships to escort them. And then they send the message, "Yours is the honor"...

I just love those moments when you get to see how the entire Navy as an institution honors and recognizes when one of their own has done something spectacular and meaningful.

Amaroq wrote:I have two moments that are very similar just with different players. The first was after HMS Fearless returned from Basilisk after thwarting the Havenite invasion attempt and the second was after HMS Hexapuma and HMS Warlock returned to Manticore after the Battle of Monica.

When the entire Manticoran Home Fleet flashed their impeller wedges in the salute to the fleet flagship and have arrayed themselves in formation around the aforementioned ships to escort them. And then they send the message, "Yours is the honor"...

I just love those moments when you get to see how the entire Navy as an institution honors and recognizes when one of their own has done something spectacular and meaningful.

Tears.

Tears all over my keyboard, I tell you.

The only thing that could possibly top those moments, in my opinion, would be a Havenite ship returning through the Junction, having given everything for the Grand Alliance, and having all of Grand Fleet salute her with "Yours is the honor." I think that would be the moment that cements this alliance for all time - and for those of us who kept the faith with Haven when everything seemed lost, I think it would mean that all the waiting, all the praying, all the hoping and all the believing has finally paid off in full.

roseandheather wrote:Tears.

Tears all over my keyboard, I tell you.

Here ya go, this should help dry it out