Sky Blake/"Now."

((Brekka))

Gender: Female Race: Part Brekkian, part Betazoid Affiliation: Colonial Coalition Marshals Service Eleventh House of Betazed Starfleet (formerly) USS Veritas Starfleet Rangers USS Venture (briefly) USS Syracuse (briefly) Bintac Law Enforcement (formerly) Rank: Commander (retired) Occupation: Vice Chief Marshal Status: Active (2399) Born: 236306.13 (37 years old) Mother: Lylita Vataix Father: Rex Blake Marital status: Committed Spouse: Rairen Caide Children: Faith Blake Ayeden Blake Other relatives: Syb (brother-in-law) Veusa (sister-in-law) Kyri Taival (cousin) 11th House relatives Naminae Vataix (aunt) Rivi Vataix (cousin) Istrol Vataix (nephew) Sorvo Vataix (uncle) Main Page Dot-point overview Medical Record Professional History Logs Relationships

OOC note: This started as a small flashback sequence for an early draft of The redirect. The irony (for me) is that while this is a necessary sim to explain at least some of Blake's retcons and the events surrounding "the incident", it had absolutely no place in the final version of The redirect and was removed entirely. I instead decided to take the tiny flashback I wrote and expand it into a whole sim.

This is canon for Blake's past.

Blake: I don't know what it is.

::Skyleena stared at bottom of the door, where her foot was resting on the divide of the living room and the outside. She'd muttered her words, not intending for anyone to hear them. Sky couldn't bring herself to walk out the door. Just thinking about it made her feel ill, for reasons she didn't truly understand.

::But in the back of her head, the part that was supposedly unresponsive, was a warm and comforting feeling. It wasn't tugging her back, wasn't asking her to return - it was just there. Almost like a handrail for her to lean on if she wanted it, a device of support that wasn't discriminating.::

Sabor: When will I see you again?

::Sky looked back over her shoulder, pushing the short blonde hair of which had been stimulated to grown just below her chin behind her ear as she stared at the Vulcan standing on the other side of the room. He looked . . . remorseful, his hands clasped behind his back. Sabor had just finished putting the two children to bed - as he had for the last two days, perhaps longer depending on how long she was unconscious for. He'd never complained once, never asked anything of her. This wasn't fair to him.::

Blake: This isn't my life.

Sabor: No. ::He agreed.::

::That he wasn't putting up much of a fight only made her heart ache more in ways she hadn't considered. He mattered to her, and she to him.::

Blake: You're not going to force me to stay?

Sabor: What purpose would that serve?

::She was shocked by the words. What *purpose*? She was supposedly mother to two children currently tucked asleep in their beds. She was supposedly this man's bondmate - this man being her husband by Brekkian law (he'd shown her the documentation). The newborn boy was half his, half hers. And he was asking what purpose forcing her to stay would serve?::

::This was the man that loved her?::

Blake: I thought you'd have something to say.

Sabor: That would be manipulative. ::He took a seat at the counter-top separating the kitchen and the living area, giving a heavy breath.:: This is your decision. Your life has changed in ways I can barely begin to understand. If you wish to leave, it would be unfair and unwise to stop you.

::She frowned, stepping away from the door with surprisingly casual steps, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. The nauseous feeling faded away.::

Blake: We're supposed to be married. Bonded. I guess I thought you'd still consider us partners.

Sabor: Partnership is built on trust. I can only ask you to trust me based on my actions for the last two days.

::She was quick to note that he was very, very careful not to say anything about their relationship before the incident, avoiding comparisions between Skyleena Blake then, and Skyleena Blake now. It was a smart language he'd begun using just yesterday, but even though he had a foreign look of "calm and collected" that she'd never seen on Brekka before, there were cracks in his facade. His eyes didn't have any light to them, the liquid brown colour that made them so distinctive to her now dark and sullen. While she was trying to work her way through this new life, he was holding together the shattered pieces of his.

::This wasn't even his home planet, for Noree's sake.::

::She moved away from the outside door entirely, slowly approaching the bench.::

Blake: Did you sleep last night?

Sabor: No.

Blake: Do you . . . drink valeii?

::The man slightly raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair as he watched her pass him.::

Sabor: On occasion.

Blake: If I make a brew?

::His gaze felt heavy on her. When she looked up to meet his eyes, she saw a small spark within them. She hadn't told him if she was staying, and he hadn't asked. But a feeling of trust returned between them. He'd proven to her ever since she woke up that he wouldn't ever push her for anything.::

Sabor: Yours is the only I've tasted.

::She nodded again.::

Blake: I'm not comfortable. ::She admitted.:: You know . . . so much about me. And I feel like I know nothing about *you*. Or us.

Sabor: Where would you like me to start?

::There was a moment where she refrained from answering, keeping herself busy by opening doors to the kitchen cupboards, looking for the necessary utensils to get their first brew of valeii started. When she started adding mixing bowls and condensed milk cans to the increasing pile, Sabor merely rose an eyebrow.::

Blake: How we met.

((Stardate 238902.12 - Strategic Ops, Security Office - USS Mercury))

Now.

::He pressed the door chime to the security office.::

Blake: Unless you have Brekkian chocolate, I don’t want to know you! ::She called.::

::There was but a single moment where Sabor frowned a little, before ultimately deciding to brave whom he'd heard to be an . . . eccentric Chief of Security.::

Sabor: Unless you require me to ask the Captain to change course to the Delos system, I do believe that any *real* substance such as Brekkian chocolate is not onboard.

((End flashback))

::Sky bit her lip, setting a kettle to boil.::

Blake: Okay, that does kind of sound like me.

Sabor: From that point forward, we worked closely together aboard the Mercury. You asked I be added to your staff again when you were transferred to the Embassy of Duronis II.

Blake: Duronis II?

Sabor: A planet located in the Luxis system. It's 60 lightyears away - on the other side of what you consider Romulan space.

Blake: In the Typhon Expanse.

::The Vulcan seemed a bit shock at her general knowledge, but shook it off quickly.::

Sabor: Yes.

Blake: And that's when our relationship started?

Sabor: At that particular point in time, we'd never agreed we were *in* a relationship.

Blake: Any particular reason?

Sabor: None that I recall.

::The kettle clicked. She continued to speak during her ministrations.::

Blake: Did we ever . . . I don't know, *talk* about it?

Sabor: That would take another transfer. This time to the USS Avandar.

((Stardate 238910.31 - Blake's quarters - USS Avandar))

::He stirred, tightening his arms around the warm body next to him. He'd had vivid dreams, that weren't his own, unsettling and overall unwelcome.

::But Sky, on the other hand . . .

::Out of character, he pressed his lips to her neck, moving slightly to accommodate her turning over.::

Blake: Good morning.

::He gave her a groggy answer.::

Sabor: How long have you been awake?

Blake:::She sighed.:: About an hour.

::The back of her finger ran down Faith's cheek, who was actually wide awake and in her cot connected to the bed.::

Blake: I got up to feed Faith, and she didn’t go back to sleep, so . . .

Sabor:::muttering:: You should have woken me.

Blake: Yeah, and you wouldn’t have gotten the extra hour you needed.

Sabor: And you did?

::The Vulcan was referring to the nightmare of last night. That Faith was quiet and in surprisingly high spirits for an infant that spent most of her night torturing her mother was a quiet blessing. Sky had told him repeatedly that he didn't need to remain with her - he had quarters he could go back to. He declined.

::Seeing the nonsensical child currently babbling at a triangle block now had made it worth it.::

Sabor: I am taking the day.

Blake: And what happens if someone gets upset about that?

Sabor: Let them be. I have more pressing matters to attend to.

::Sky turned her full attention back to him.::

Blake: You mean go public?

Sabor: If that is what you believe I meant, then yes.

Blake: Sabor, we don’t know what would happen if we *do*. For all I know, you could be transferred to a different post because I abuse my power as Chief of Security by having you here.

Sabor: Alright . . . what was the reason for yours requesting me here professionally?

::This was met with a scrunch of her eyebrows.::

Blake: Exceptional officer, potential weapons officer and security advisor to the department, goes above and beyond his ability to maintain weaponry.

Sabor: And is this not true?

Blake: It’s true. Although, I should have put down “maintains Chief of Security” as well . . .

::He rolled his eyes as she giggled.::

Sabor: Somehow I doubt that Starfleet will believe you brought me here *purely* because of our relationship.

((End flashback))

Blake: How long did it take before our relationship became sexual?

Sabor: Several months, almost a year. Timing was problematic around Faith.

::She nodded, handing him a mug, and then dumping numerous biscuits into a food processor to be crushed.::

Blake: And Ayden's conception?

::The Vulcan sighed, taking a sip of his valeii - which . . . was not as good as he remembered it being.::

Sabor: That is more difficult for me to explain.

Blake: You realize that neither of us know the other half of Faith's biology, right? She could be half Trill for all we know.

::Faith wasn't half Trill.::

Sabor: It's not his biology that's difficult. It's . . . how it happened.

::Sky, ever so subtle, blinked, turning off the food processor and emptying the biscuits into a mixing bowl whilst staring at him, deadpan. After a few moments, she pursed her lips together.::

Blake: Do we need to talk about how-

Sabor: There is a period of a Vulcan's life once every seven years called the pon farr. Ayden's conception occurred during mine.

::This subject in particular seemed significantly harder for Sabor to talk about, despite all his confidence in every other subject.::

Blake: I've never heard of pon farr.

Sabor: I understand you wish to know as much as possible, but the pon farr . . . was hard to explain to you the *first* time. Could we perhaps table this subject?

Blake: Sure. ::She nodded.:: So . . . our marriage? You said that that happened here?

Sabor: A month ago as of tomorrow.

::She took a large mouthful of valeii upon hearing that, pouring a can of condensed milk into the bowl with crushed biscuits.::

Blake: And Ayden was born shortly after.

Sabor: Yes.

::Sky took another large mouthful of valeii, emptying her mug.::

Blake: So where are my rings?

Sabor: I'm sorry?

Blake: My rings. ::She held up her right hand, bare of any Brekkian wedding bands.:: By all rights, I'm supposed to have three.

::Sabor's right hand *did* bear three rings, and with a moments consideration, he carefully pulled a chain tucked under the collar of his shirt from around his neck, holding them in her hand to see. On it were the three missing rings.::

::The primary, a copper band with emerald stones carefully placed for practical use around her thumb, was familiar in a way that scared her. The others less so - the engagement felt stock-standard, something she found herself appreciative of, stainless steel but with emerald-coloured etchings, and the joining band was just plain gold (the standard of all Seritonian marriages).

::She glanced back to Sabor. He'd kept these on him, either in mourning, or with the hope that she'd reclaim them.::

::She couldn't do that today.::

Blake: Keep them safe for now.

::The Vulcan gave a soft nod. They continued the conversations for the rest of the night, getting her up to speed on all sorts of matters - not restricted to their relationship.

::For now, she'd stay.::

Trivia

• Blake suggesting that Faith could be half Trill is a nod to her relationship with Deven Zell - whom did not father Faith.
• The flashback scenes are legitimate Blake sims from 2012 of which have been re-written to be in Sabor's perspective.
• That Blake knows what the Typhon Expanse even is in this sim indicates that she retained at least parts of her Starfleet education. However, she fails to recognize that she recalled this information.