Sky Blake/Relationships
This page details Blake's relationships with others.
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Asssociates
Veritas
Wil Ukinix
Blake first encounters the Terran Betazoid hybrid Wil Ukinix in the Veritas' Main Engineering, following their encounter with Jhalib Ekal. Blake eases tensions between Wil and Ekal when they cannot agree on which system to prioritise when the Temporal Integrity Commission threatens to sabotage the ship. Despite his being a relatively unknown entity, Blake tells Wil she vouches for Ekal, but asks him to tell her if he has objections to the time traveller being aboard.
During her first meeting with Rivi Vataix, Blake becomes privy to Betazed Noble House gossip when the Vataixes compare her relation to Aagan Eislas with the potential scandal of being related to the Ninth House of Betazed—and learns the family "Ukinix" was once the leading noble family of the House. Hoping Wil might have some insight regarding Betazoid noble politics, she calls and unintentionally becomes the first person to inform him of his connection to Betazoid royalty. Wil reveals he knew nothing about the connection, and jokes about needing a weekly "Betazoid royalty support group" to which Blake replies "If you intend to bring the alcohol, go right ahead."
The two attend a royalty event at the Vataix estate while Blake is stationed away from Veritas. Wil informs her that the crew misses her, and that she'd missed an interesting few months on the ship.
When Blake returns to Veritas following the murder of Armin Illanos, she is called to the surface of Ketar V where Wil (along with Kelrod and Roshanara Rahman) has been arrested for an "incident" in a public place. She berates him for his attempt at resisting arrest by the CCMS, and that he was lucky Marshals didn't add to his racket—though Wil calls the charge absurd. When they are released and return to the ship, he apologises for his role in their arrest and thanks Blake for her role in retrieving them. Blake reminds him that should he end up in trouble again, she would be there to assist. She later becomes slightly agitated when Oshovir Ch'chileth refers to Wil as a "corrupt" officer.
Ukinix: I feel like I need a night out. (Snapping fingers) Oh, reminds me, I thought of a joke! From the other day, about us being in a turbolift? “Three Betazoids walk into a turbolift. You think one of them would have sensed it.”
Blake: You realise out of the three of us, I can't sense anything, right? Your joke falls flat on it's face.
Ukinix: (Smiling) Ah, no it doesn’t! “You think *one* of them would have sensed it.” Just one is all that’s required. It’s like that song, “One out of three ain’t bad.
Wil accidentally interupts a rather serious conversation between Blake and Rairen Caide, inviting her to breakfast. She introduces him to the Ranger, and defends the man's cold tone during their conversation. She admits feeling guilty about Lukaik's death in Marshal custody, though Wil reassures her they all joined Starfleet to make things better, and that they all learn from their mistakes. They joke that he would would be a witness in the unlikely event she was ever brought to trial over the incident.
When Veritas is pulled into "the Void", Blake encounters Wil in Sickbay following a ship-wide loss of power. Alongside Nic del Vedova, they evacuate the crew to Cargo Bay 2 of the ship. Just as he attempts to leave, Wil zones out—a consequence of a telepathic conversation with Raissa Moonsong. Concerned for his well-being, Blake and del Vedova attempt to a slightly prone Wil to a safer area, but he recovers quickly—though keen eyes may note Blake was hesitant to release her supportive hold of him.
Blake cares for Wil almost as if he were a younger brother (possibly influenced by their near-decade age difference). The two connect quickly over their odd relations to Betazoid noble houses. On duty, Blake finds Wil's chirpy (and occasionally clumsy) attitude on the job particularly refreshing, his positive demeanour leaving an ongoing impact on the all-work-no-play Brekkazoid. Because of this, Blake may quickly jump to his defence when she deems necessary. She often encourages Wil to "be careful", worrying that his merry work ethic may one day prove his downfall.
The two are contrasting representations of Betazoid hybrids: while Blake shies away from her heritage, Wil encourages her to have an open mind about it. His willingness to engage in telepathic conversation with other Betazoids leaves her slightly unsettled and concerned for his well-being.
Zhou Tai-Sheng
Zhou Tai-Sheng approaches Blake in an Ornaran bar in 2392 to recruit her as the Veritas strategic operations officer, having put pieces of conflicting reports and compiling everything surrounding Blake's status at the time together to find her in Bintac. Her academy record, final medical reports, and the occasional mention in another officer's log, coupled with her time spent on Ornara previously, were the slithers that made up her file. Unfamiliar with Ornara, Blake 'rescues' him from potentially poor choices of cuisine, and instead brings him back to her small apartment to discuss her duties aboard the Veritas where they remain for the night. When Brekka refuses Veritas entry into the Delos system to pick them up, they are forced to find other means of returning to the Starfleet vessel. She ultimately joins the crew on a provisional basis, much to the concern of a few members of the ship's senior staff. Her first few days aboard Veritas included a handful of challenges adjusting to Starfleet life and protocol of which Zhou had to help her adjust to. The chain of command, general orders, use of certain equipment and transport systems, reading and understanding Starfleet charts, and learning how to use consoles—even though she exhibits a basic understanding of this already through muscle memory and small amounts of recall, Zhou ran her through it, anyway.
Frustrated with their new contact Reuima Casko after she dupes the crew on an operation, Blake contacts the Meridian marshal through subspace and angrily confronts her about her bad information, much to Zhou's amusement.
In late 2392, Blake's sonic shower is victim to a power surge caused by raiders the Veritas had tractored. Because of a lack of resources available to replicate new parts, Blake instead made use of Zhou's shower until the Veritas docked with another vessel willing to trade for parts they needed.
It’s mentioned Zhou encouraged Blake to take a position aboard the USS Syracuse to assist with the Orion Syndicate investigations, claiming that "it'll be fun!" and "it's just the Menthar Corridor". He rejoins her when Veritas has shore leave outside of the Shoals for the first time in months and buys her a drink on Astrofori One to celebrate her one-year anniversary since re-joining Starfleet. Among other topics (such as Blake having a holographic persona), Zhou suggests that they remain for the Khitomer Centennial and assist with the USS Venture. Blake acts as the old vessel's XO during this period.
Facing the Doomsday Machine, Blake expresses to Zhou her concern about being trapped in the 2200s and having to avoid impacting the timeline. He encourages her to keep focus on the task at hand. In the mission's aftermath, Zhou sends Blake home to the Delos system on a few months leave to spend time with her children.
When she returns to Cakapunnual, she's asked by Brandon Cormac to head to the main colony on Shadow's Edge on orders from Rosa Carrero. Blake protests, claiming Zhou should inform Carrero that Blake wasn't a marine. Cormac's response indicates that the bridge crew are at least partially aware of Blake and Zhou's ongoing casual relationship, with Carrero supposedly labeling Zhou as Blake's "boy-toy".
Blake acts as the Veritas XO when Carrero passes, and attempts to calm Zhou when he becomes infuriated by Starfleet's new transfer orders for the Veritas. En route to Star Station Esperance, they discuss the ship's priorities, and prepare Carrero's funeral service. Blake stands by as Zhou is transferred from the Veritas to Esperance.
The recruitment of Evan Delano becomes a hot topic between the two, with Blake expressing to Mei'konda her frustration with Federation Security hiding an agent within the Reya-Laialara and not informing Carrero or Zhou of his presence in the area. Zhou attempts to question her about Delano when he learns the man joined the Veritas crew, but Blake vouches for the half-Vulcan, and questions the motives behind Zhou's casual interrogation.
In 2394, Zhou accompanies Blake's son, Ayden Blake, to the Veritas and remains aboard during the the Astraeus incident. With the USS Astraeus towed back to Star Station Esperance, Blake and Zhou arrest Victor Yeager, the vessel's commanding officer.
Tasnim Shandres delivers Blake a message sent by Zhou, where he offers her the XO's position aboard the USS Montreal—and she immediately accepts. They reunite in late 2395 when Montreal meets with the Veritas at Havley's Hope, though Zhou was injured when his newly assigned vessel was attacked by Tholians. Though she expresses frustration that Zhou chose not to remain aboard the Bridge of the Montreal, she is genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of her friend. However, her concern is overshadowed by further frustration when Zhou asks her to bring Roshanara Rahman and Evan Delano to Sickbay, confirming Zhou is no longer in command of the vessel—and thus her transfer to serve him is void. Later, when he arrives in a hover chair to assist her with anti-sabotage efforts, she merely questions whether he is meant to be out of Sickbay, though drops the matter entirely and relying on his expertise of the Veritas.
Blake's relationship with Zhou borders on "friendship" and "casual sex". The two work well professionally, but off duty, they are near inseparable—sometimes to a point of fault on Blake's part. Blake is attached to Zhou and the sense of safety he provides and finds it difficult to operate without him on Veritas. Though he is flippant by nature, Blake considers Zhou to be a voice of reason, as he has stepped in occasionally to talk some sense into an inexperienced Blake when Veritas faces complex scenarios during their early days. They swap roles in this aspect in the aftermath of Carrero's passing, and have since shed the "mentor/mentee" relationship, standing on equal ground on most matters following Zhou's reassignment to Star Station Esperance.
Because of Blake's easy-going nature regarding flirtation and comfort in her own skin, no topic (or action) appears off limits between them. They often tease each other over various things, sometimes to the point of immaturity. Their relationship is also incredibly physical, the two comfortable with casual and intimate contact—though this sometimes extends to scrapes and bruises. It's this part of her relationship that occasionally her serious physical injury, as continued use of her electrical capabilities began to burn her arms from the inside (though it's unclear if she ever made him aware of this).
Despite her attachment to Zhou, the two aren’t interested in a committed relationship with each other. Blake prefers her friendship with Zhou over pursuing anything romantic with him.
Cormac & Elis
Brandon Cormac and Elis Nacubaq were the special operations and chief tactical officers aboard the Veritas in 2393, both of whom Blake still shares contact with.
“Twenty one years in this gig,” Cormac huffed, breaking out of his stillness and rubbing at his forehead. “As soon as I get back to Esperance, I'm calling this Starfleet thing quits. Marshals, Starfleet, Federation verses Colonial Coalition nonsense . . . I'm might hitch a ride Risa and live there.”
“Cormac . . .”
“I'm being serious, Blake.” He said. “I can't help but wonder what the hell I'm doing with my life. We put up with crap like this from left, right and centre and get nothing back to show for it. Carrero dies and we're strewn in eight different directions, separated and blamed with barely any time to tell our families we're being reassigned. Then here, being attacked by pirates, spending over a week waiting for a rescue that never comes because neither side can decide whether its their problem.” He shook his head. “I'm forty years old. I want to settle down, Stratop, start a family. I could have died on that station.”
“But you didn't,” She pointed out.
When Sky joins the Veritas in 2392, Brandon Cormac expresses his immense frustration at her lack of training and liability to the crew to Zhou Tai-Sheng in Blake's company. She explains to him that, as a Brekkian citizen, she understands how the Brekkian drug trade works and can provide valuable assistance. Much to his Bajoran friend Elis Nacubaq's distaste, he continues to place pressure onto Blake, convinced that she fails to feel anger or remorse in the face of her fellow Brekkians crimes, how no one onboard seems to know anything about her background, not shows any kind of empathy - though she disputes this, stating to him that if she ever became emotional over such trivial things, it would be detrimental to her capability as the ship's strategic ops officer.
They grow into a friendship quickly after resolving their dispute, and Cormac takes to filling in the gaps of her understanding of Starfleet operations inside and outside the Shoals. She finds out about Cormac's relationship with Elis when she accidentally walks into Cormac's office during a heated moment between the two officers - unfazed, however, she simply hands Cormac the PADD she'd needed to deliver to him and walks out of the office. Five months later, however, the two men break off their relationship, but remain close friends.
Cormac (and by extension, Elis) learns of Blake's casual relationship with their XO through Carrero whilst Blake is operating in Cakapunnual, told to tell her to "stop hiding behind [your] boy toy" if Blake refers back for Zhou's involvement.
When Elis and Cormac are transferred away, Blake beings to grow uncomfortable with her sudden lack of "safety net".
Elis contacts Blake as she returns to the Shoals (following a trip to Duronis II), panicked that Cormac had failed to send a coms check on schedule, and asks Blake to check on Outpost 3. She arrives to an utterly destroyed outpost, left barely space-worthy following an attack by Klingons. Cormac, alive after ten days and severely injured, is the sole-survivor aboard the outpost. Cormac decides to quit Starfleet as she takes him back to Shadow's Edge, and becomes a Colonial Coalition Marshals Service marshal. Though they'd been separated for almost two years, he tells Blake he intends to ask Elis to take him back.
Unable to follow two marshals outside of Shadow's Edge space, Blake chooses to take a night off to spend in a bar in Cakapunnual. Cormac seeks her out when she becomes unreachable to the Shadow's Edge Starfleet intelligence officer to deliver more information about the marshals, and suggests she return to the Veritas. She hesitates, stating that the ship no longer feels like home without them, to which Cormac simply responds that if she doesn't like the transfers, she should quit now. Blake refuses and returns to the Veritas the following week. However, she leaves her personal small craft for Cormac's use.
Romantic
Sabor
Though deceased, Sabor still affects Blake's personality and psyche, as Blake once held access to his experience as a Starfleet armory officer - potentially why she was able to return to active Starfleet duty so easily. She can recall perfectly "rants" about potential weapons and uses, and such things influence her choices of defense when operating in the Shoals. However, there are some things Blake believes Sabor wouldn't consider despite his capabilities as an armory officer, such as Crewman Rotha's use of a phaser to create a forcefield.
Blake doesn't discuss Sabor often with others, though inadvertently refers to him often - with no knowledge of him, however, these references go unnoticed by her fellow crew.
Pre-2391
Blake supposedly met Sabor following his transfer to the USS Mercury in 2389, where he was assigned to her as the ship's armory officer. He makes such an impression through his dedication to his job that Blake asks for his transfer to the Embassy of Duronis II, and again when she is moved to the USS Avandar. Here, they begin a romantic relationship.
Sabor undergoes pon farr aboard the Avandar, resulting in the conception of their son - as he is a half-Vulcan child, Blake's pregnancy underwent complications.
The two become engaged in late 2390 - this, as well as the increasingly dangerous lifestyle of her job aboard the USS Vigilant, is what presumably causes Sky's decision to leave Starfleet. Sabor takes a leave of absence, and they leave Zakdorn to return to Sky's home in the Delos system, officially marrying.
After Ayden is born, Sky's mentality and physical condition worsens considerably, unable to differentiate dream from reality. Unable to leave Brekka with a newborn, Blake decides to seek treatment on her homeworld. Blake undergoes surgery to "kill" her telepathic lobe, and remains in a coma for a week - during this time, Sabor reads about Frilativ Brekkian culture, and names their son "Ayden" (meaning strength during times of hardship).
Four months
Blake awakens from surgery totally unaware of the last ten years, and with no other option, decides to accompany Sabor and their two children home - if only to stay for a few days to get back on her feet. Shocked and uncomfortable with how much Sabor knows about her, she almost leaves just two days into her stay, but is convinced to stay on the promise that they will both be more open and communication their concerns with each other. Sabor recounts how they met aboard the USS Mercury and the important steps of their relationship leading up to Ayden's birth and their wedding.
Their relationship reaffirms quickly over the next month, and the two grow close enough that Blake allows Sabor's casual use of their bond telepathically, and both are once again comfortable to embrace. At some point, he also teaches her meditation and accompanying breathing exercises.
She admits to him that, though she is 'feeling better', she is still confused, feeling that she must relearn everything about herself not just historically and mentally, but physically as well - and that this was a strange sensation - to which he replies that he cannot claim to understand that feeling, but that he could try. Blake continues to ask Sabor questions about him and his culture, attempting to piece together as much information about her previous life as possible - but she also asks about tougher subjects, such as his understanding of logic. When he chooses to conclude the conversation, unable to answer one of her questions, Blake jokes that she feels "suppressed" - to which he replies that, if he were ever to "suppress" her, she'd know.
Having so far refused Sabor's attempts to leave her home on Brekka, Blake suffers a seizure that forces the two to return to a medical facility in Lornae. Blake is cleared to leave after a night under medical observation, but the two get caught in the cross-fire of Brekkian military forces firing on an extremist group attempting to destroy an Ornaran embassy. Sabor, attempting to assist civilians to safety, is fatally wounded by military personnel. To the discomfort for all who ask, Blake can remember in vivid detail exactly how it felt as he passed away.
Legacy
In late 2393, told to finally take her first leave of absence from her service in Starfleet, Blake returns to the Delos system to relocate her children and Sabor's ashes.
When arresting Commander Victor Yeager (commanding officer of the USS Astraeus, Blake compares the final actions of Sabor to the non-action of Yeager. It is Sabor's maturity that allows her to conclude her encounter with Yeager calmly. Somewhat similarly, when faced with the visually threatening aliens discovered underground on Havley's Hope, Blake exhibits a non-hostile attitude before and after encountering them, despite the unease of her fellow crewmates. She even goes so far as to be curious about the four-eyed aliens eye care when underground.
Blake has a brief conversation with a young man on a turbolift in mid-2395, notable in how the strangers eyes are remarkably similar to Sabor's.
Stranded on a small moon called Limbo for 101 days, Blake is bitten by a snake whilst out scouting. Affected by venom and with no means of communication with the crew, she starts hallucinating, seeing and talking to Sabor. She admits to him that she is still affected by his choice that led to his death - to save others from danger, which cost him his own life. Alone and with no crew nearby to simple stumble upon her should she fall unconscious, "Sabor" suggests using her stun weapon with her flashlight, which will hopefully make enough noise or cause a fire to attract attention. Though she initially rebuts this suggestion, she realizes she has very few other useful ideas. With his encouragement, she successfully sets a fire, though passes out before anyone locates her.