SIM:LtJG Sky Blake, "Missed"

((Promenade))

::It was this point in time where Sky felt more alone than ever. Marloy was gone, Cynthia and Lachlon were missing, and she doubted that Bailey and Casey were even up yet. She was sitting, people watching on the upper level of the Promenade, careful *not* to put her legs over the edge.::

Ozera: Sorry, miss, but I do believe you’re not meant to be sitting down there.

Blake: Take it up with Lieutenant Parker. ::She looked over her shoulder to find an old Academy acquaintance.:: Lix!? What are you *doing* here!? I thought you were on the Zmey!? ::She looked at his uniform. Last time she saw the Terran 26 year old with short and shaggy brown hair and sapphire blue eyes, he was wearing red. A Diplomat. Not any more, apparently.::

Ozera: Too many Borg. Diplomats did nothing but hide in that area of space. Joined the Marines, and then got pushed into Intelligence. I’m the Marine Intelligence officer, if you will. Depending on the situation, I could be one or both. But look at you! I thought you weren’t going to make it out of the Academy alive!?

::Sky laughed, and a hand flew up to her ranks pips. That half pip would be a reminder about how she lost something, yet gained something in return. A pretty unfair trade when you thought about it. Diego for a promotion. She sighed. She still had no contact from him. A small part of her wanted to go to Earth herself, but another part of her told her to stay put. If he wanted to talk, he would have done so already. In fact, she doubted that he didn’t want to talk; it was probably the fact that he didn’t have anything good to say.::

Blake: Yeah, who-who knew. I got thrust out straight as a senior officer. Got promoted a few days ago when the ship got decommissioned.

Ozera: I’m half-promoted. Lieutenant Junior Grade 1st Lieutenant Alixis Ozera. ::He laughed.:: Where were you placed?

::He had to ask, didn’t he? He had to ask the hardest question to answer.::

Blake: USS Challenger. NCC one two double eight six dash A.

::Sky had that memorized ever since she stepped aboard what she deemed the hell back then. Her and Captain Tel-ar and Parker and DeMarc had butted heads several times. deMarc lost his mind for it – literally – but it wasn’t by her hands. A presumed telepathic induce coma, the reports had said. Diego couldn’t do anything to fix it, and Sky doubted that the use of metaphasic particles wouldn’t be able to heal a coma. Lieutenant T’Pen would probably be pleased.

::Parker, just like most of the crew, had been transferred on the Ronin, and Sky was going to need every bit of help she could get from him. She wasn’t allowed to do the simplest of tasks anymore – like running, lifting of any sort unless it’s food or a glass or blankets, fighting, *driving* (Sky was pissed at that one) and heated arguments – and she was going to need some help getting people off her back, asking if she wanted help with anything. He of all people would understand that.

::Captain Tel-ar – or Commander (not that Sky was going to use it) – had been transferred to the Embassy on Duronis II. No other crew from the Challenger was going there, and Sky suspected that he wanted it to stay that way. She swore when he wasn’t around that she was going to do him a favour and punch or slap the new commanding officer when she could. She was not in a good mood when she was told a Bajoran was going to be there captain. The Security department would have a hard time keeping a sane hold of her when she got her hands around that Bajoran’s neck.

::And Diego. She missed him. He was only half the reason why she couldn’t sleep. After he departed for Earth, she wanted nothing more than to go after him. Unfortunately, her duty had stopped her – as usual – and she knew that he wouldn’t be pleased to see her using her recovery time chasing after him for a presumed lost cause. If only she had her telepathy that night.::

Ozera: Oh . . . the Challenger? That would have been fun. What’s your post now?

Blake: After being a Security officer on the Challenger, I am a Bridge posted Security officer on the USS Ronin.

Ozera: Ronin? That’s where I’m headed, too! Intelligence department want me there, but I’m useful for the Marines as well. But Bridge posted?

Blake: Unfortunately. Had a conflict saving an Ornaran Terran hybrids’ life involving a Bajoran with a dagger. It got my lower back, I got him, Casey ran, so on. I am officially only half an officer until I am completely healed.

Ozera: That’s got to suck.

Blake: It does.

Tallis: =/\= Tallis to the crew of the USS Ronin. You are now cleared to report aboard. On arrival, please check in with myself or the first officer. There will be a briefing in the observation lounge in one hour for the senior staff. I'll be looking forward to serving with all of you. Tallis out. =/\=

Blake: Well, that’s our cue.

Ozera: Do you . . . ::He dropped the question after remembering what Sky did to him in the Academy. At one stage back then, Sky and Alix had an Armory class together, and Sky couldn’t prep her phaser rifle. After he had offered to help, he had gotten a broken nose.:: Silly question.

Blake: Right now, I’m in need of that silly question. I’m not allowed to do anything but walk, so I’ll disarm my cat, and then you can help me with my stuff.

::Kitty used to be Marloy’s cat. "A good guard cat", he had called her. The eight month old kitten-adult literally sat at the door until Sky got home every night. She would latch onto an intruders leg and dig her claws in so badly that she drew blood.::

oO Parker would *love* her. Oo ::Sky thought sarcastically. It was true. If he ever *did* try to get into Sky's quarters at any point in time, he would get a nasty shock. Not that he would notice; the guy lived through phaser burns on his chest without even wincing for Noree’s sake. Sky was pretty sure that a cat with sharp claws wouldn’t hurt him too much, but it would definitely shock him.::

((Deck Four – USS Ronin))

::On the Challenger, Deck Four was cursed. Sky's quarters were literally flushed out the wall when the Others decided that they would be a good target for getting out. Sky was furious – out of all the Decks, they had to pick the Deck she lived on – and at the time, she wanted nothing more than Deck Two to be destroyed; that was where the Captain lived, and it was evacuated anyway.::

::Sky unlocked her quarters and walked in, Kitty latching onto her uniform jacket digging her claws in so deep that Sky could now feel the points on them. She was glad she wasn’t wearing casual clothes.::

::The quarters here were smaller – not that she cared too much.::

Ozera: Where do you want me to put these?

Blake: Just dump 'em anywhere. I'll unpack later. Thanks for this.

Ozera: No problem. That's what Marines are for, right?

::That’s what *Counsellors* were for. She didn’t say it out loud. *Her* counsellor and doctor had been ordered to Earth with no look back. No help with recovery from Diego for Sky. Her thoughts flew back to the rank pips.::

Blake: I suppose so. Other than helping women with their bag, they’re meant to fight the Borg and the Vaadwuar, aren’t they?

Ozera: Just the Borg for me. The Zmey was definitely a war ship. The Ronin’s more spacious. ::He paused.:: I’ll let you get to your post. ::And than he walked out the door. At least Sky would see *him* again.::

::After a few moments silence, Sky remembered exactly what had happened last time she reported for a posting . . . ::

((Flashback))

::Sky walked around the ship, her eyes very carefully scanning every inch of the bulkheads. She could find nothing that would have made a threat.:: oO Too many things these days . . . Oo ::She was right. She had lost Renae to the Drake, and had stayed at the Academy longer than she should have. Too many things were occurring in the front of her mind, and it had been a wonder as to why she passed the final exam at all! She had almost gotten into a punch up with a Cadet named Thomas Patterson if a Bajoran had not intervened. Her commanding officer at the time, Fleet Captain Sidney Riley, hadn’t even said goodbye to the Cadet when she left for the USS Challenger.::

oO Was I really that BAD? Surely not. I passed everything Tactical and Security related, and I had out ran most of my classmates! Oo

::That had brought her to another problem, not relating to anything she just thought. deMarc was one of the cadets that had called her "Mister". And as far as she knew, she would most likely be reporting to him from now on.:: oO Why couldn’t they just called me "Miss" or "Blake" or even "Cadet"!? It would keep a lot of problems away. Oo

::Easily weaving through a crowd of people, Sky continued to think.:: oO This might put a roadblock in front of me. I HAVE to stop feeling offended to what people call me! For all I know, the captain would probably call me Mister like everyone else! What happens if I snap at them!? Oo

::She tapped a few keys to open her quarters. She threw her bag on her bed and walked straight for her commanding officer.:: oO deMarc. I hope this isn’t going to be TOO hard. Oo

::She left her quarters and stepped into the closest turbolift once again.:: Blake: Deck eight

::The turbolift hummed as it went forward, causing a slight headache for her. Sky ignored it, and waited for the turbolift to stop.::

::Stepping off the turbolift in a quick hurry, Sky walked into the Security Chief’s office. She stood in the stand she was taught.:: Blake: Ensign Skyleena oO Gosh I hate that name Oo Blake reporting for duty, Sir.

::Sky didn’t enjoy seeing deMarc as her superior officer. In training, she was HIS superior officer, and ended up snapping at him for calling her Mister.::

((End Flashback))

::Back then, deMarc had been the Chief of Security. Parker had taken over after the telepathy incident.::

::Speaking of Parker, she had to check in with him, and the first place she’d look was on the Bridge.::

((Bridge))

::Unfortunately, basically no one occupied the Bridge. She would be posted there until her back had completely healed. While stepping out one of the turbolifts, she caught a glimpse of Deven getting into the other. She had *just* missed him. With no Parker on the Bridge, she moved to report to the Captain . . . reluctantly. It might have been time to get that slap in for Captain Tel-ar. Silently, she moved around the Bridge, trying not to draw attention to herself.::

Blake: Commander Tallis. ::She crossed her arms.:: I hear *you’re* the one taking responsibility to half the Challenger’s crew.

Tallis: If that's your way of asking if I'm in command of the Ronin, Lieutenant, then yes, that would be correct.

::To be honest, she was expecting Captain Tel-ar to drop by and warn the new captain about her actions on the Challenger. It would have scored her another round of Jefferies Tubes climbing, but anything to get away from the Bajoran.::

Blake: Lieutenant Sky Blake. ::She dropped her attitude and sighed.:: I belonged to the Security department under Lieutenant Parker and probably again under Commander Parker.

Tallis: Good to meet you Lieutenant, and welcome aboard.

Blake: I’m sure you’ve been notified of my injury?

Tallis: Actually, the medical files were forwarded to Dr. T'Pen, and we haven't had a chance to talk business yet. Are you on restricted duty?

Blake: No running, no lifting of any sort unless the item is small, not fighting, must check in with Sick Bay every week to check on my spine and try not to get into any fights with any Bajorans with daggers ever again. ::That didn’t exclude slapping the new Captain, though.:: The novelty dagger that did this to me is currently in one of the Jefferies Tubes on the Challenger where it will never be found again.

::That was Casey’s doing. He decided it was best if she never saw it, and while no one was looking, he swiped it and hid it somewhere in the Challenger’s Jefferies Tubes. He wouldn’t give it back, and now it would be lost there forever. It was most likely that the next crew of the Challenger-A would find it hidden somewhere.::

Tallis: I'm glad to hear that. So how are you handling being on duty?

Blake: It’s a difficult time, and I don’t want to be babied because I can’t do simple things myself

Tallis: I can assure you, Lieutenant, that you'll be expected to perform your duties to the fullest extent of your capability, and that it will be your responsibility to let me know if you have any issues. Was there anything else?

Tbc . . .

• Lieutenant JG Skyleena Blake
• Security
• USS Ronin