[OR] LtCmdr Sky Blake, "Yze."

[Deliera Jay]

((SS Yze))

oO Who names a ship "ship"? Oo

::"Yze", in Brekkian Seritonan, quite literally meant "ship". So when she'd boarded the vessel on it's way to the fifth colony, she was a bit skeptical of it's captain's competence.

::"It's time for you to take a leave of absence," her own captain had said. "Go home and see your family", she'd said. It'd taken a quiet argument with Zhou and co. literally pushing her aboard to get her on a transport to the Delos system.

::It would be a quick trip, much more so than she was used to. Two days, if that. And then she would be in Seritona.::

::Sky Blake had plans. Before being forced into heading to her home, she'd arranged travel back into the Shoals, the area she was most comfortable with. Now she was being confronted with seeing her young children once more.

::She threw a ball, catching it again when it bounced off the bulkhead of her guest quarters. Thinking about her own kids shouldn't bring dread, but the truth was she hardly remembered them. She did not remember carrying Faith to term, or the important parts of their relationship. And Ayeden . . .

::Thinking of Ayeden dragged memories of Sabor to the surface.::

::Her bondmate. His death had left a hole in her head, a space that constantly ached and mourned. Happy memories of him holding Ayeden, spending those short four months as a father. For a Vulcan, having felt it necessary to keep his emotions collected together in a neat little bundle and for expression only in his private times, he'd been the most emotional person she'd known during that period.

::And then the fatal mistake, having taken Sky to Meridarna following a seizure, itself a symptom of a much bigger problem.

::She'd lost Sabor because she'd trusted the safety of her own planet. She'd ignored the warning signs of an impending attack and hadn't gotten the hell out of there when she'd had the chance. When she woke up, he was gone - for months on end, she felt cold. Lifeless, even. After the procedure, she'd tried to step back into Skyleena Blake's life and carry on without him, but she just kept hitting brick walls. She couldn't do it. So she ran off in the middle of the night in such a childish act that she cringed every time she thought about it.::

oO Mother of the Year. Oo

::She'd spoken to her mother, of whom was currently looking after them - Faith and Ayeden. Lila would no longer act as their caretaker, a demand likely trying to prompt some sort of motherly responsibility from Sky that would drag her back home. It hadn't worked, but Sky hadn't wanted to push the issue, saying she'd find an alternative. She'd considered Hannibal Parker or Hannah Martinez - they were both listed as her childrens godparents - but she couldn't bring herself to ask them to look after her kids when she didn't remember much about them. Not to mention, how does one get away with dumping her own kids onto someone else with little reasoning?

::No decision she'd made was logical. But the truth of the matter was, she intended to relocate her children. As soon as she said her final goodbye to Sabor.::

((Bintac))

Caronx: Dishes are all washed up.

::Sky was rubbing her eyes as she walked out of the bedroom she'd set her kids down to sleep, a controlled yawn going with it. It'd been a long day - Faith had been nothing but excited, babbling on about mommy being home and encouraging Ayeden to do the same to little avail. It was draining, but relieving at the same time. Despite her obvious absence for two years, her daughter was as loving as she'd initially imagined her to be.

::Ayeden was every bit his father's son. That was what hurt the most - Sabor's eyes reflecting back to her own, slightly pointed ears signifying his Vulcan heritage. Ayeden had clung to her and refused to let go for hours as they traveled to the relative safety of Bintac, Ornara - where she knew security was high, where she knew they'd be safe from terrorizing maniacs that wanted "justice" for their Brekkian comrades affected by Ornara's uplift. It was a decision she should have made years ago.::

Blake: I can't thank you enough. For all of this.

::Veitan Caronx was her partner during her time in Bintac's LE, the woman having kept Sky on the track of sanity for many a year, long before the Veritas showed up to pull her back into the Starfleet fold. Fears that Sky was developing a borderline drinking problem had Caronx nipping it in the bud before the Brekkian Betazoid hybrid had even begun. "Here, learn koJuta instead - when you beat me you can drink". She'd known all along that Sky, whom was not aware that koJuta was a martial art, would not pin her to the floor. Ever.

::Many a bruise later and Sky was still trying to deny anything close to alcoholism as well as trying to kick Caronx to the ground just to prove her wrong. But now here Caronx was, setting Sky's family up with a small place in the ever-rainy Bintac.::

Caronx: It's nothing, Blake. But . . . let me know when you need a hand looking after those two. They seem like a handful.

Blake: Faith, yes. She will bounce up and down these walls if you let her. But Ayeden? ::She took a deeper breath.:: Ayeden is just like his father. Settled.

Caronx: You never wanted to talk about him before.

Blake: I still don't.

::The Ornaran raised her hands innocently.::

Caronx: I'm not asking you to.

::She picked up her bag off the bench, sliding it onto her shoulders.::

Caronx: I'm gonna head off. I'll talk to you in the morning, yeah?

Blake: Yeah.

::By the time Caronx had left, Sky found herself standing at the doorframe to the bedroom, watching over her children as if there were a threat headed her way.

::The problem Sky was facing now was simple: she didn't want her kids to be without either parents, but she didn't want to drag them through what she considered to be her hellhole of a life either.::

::A knock at the door pulled her back to reality.::

::Caronx hadn't left anything behind - not that Sky could see. Eyes flickering to the door, the Brekkazoid pulled a BLE stun baton into her hand, twirling it round as she stepped closer to the door. She didn't call out - she'd never hear the end of it if she woke Faith - but she wasn't taking chances either.::

::Ever so slowly, she inched open the door, peering past into the hall. The figure had almost turned their back to leave again.

::But the minute she recognized Syb, she'd dropped the baton. When she'd made it into his arms, she was a tearful, blubbering wreck.::


Tbc . . .

Sky Blake
On Leave