JP: Cmdr Blake & Capt Rahman: Dewdrops at dawn (Part 2)
Deliera Jay
((Saucer Hull, USS Veritas - Early Morning, Day of Departure from Kidman I))
Roshanara watched her XO’s eyes closely.
Rahman: Whether they’re fresh-faced ensigns straight from the Academy or veteran officers trying to move up to the ranks, I usually know or find out quickly what drives them to be here. I realize now after all this time with you by my side, I’ve never asked *you* why you’re in Starfleet.
She continued to observe Blake as the Brekkazoid considered the question.
It felt like one of those “It all started…” moments Blake couldn’t really answer. For all intents and purposes, Blake’s life truly began less than a decade ago. In a previous lifetime, Sky Blake had been part of Starfleet. Blake today didn’t know how, nor why she had joined.
((Flashback -- Ornara -- 239105))
Caronx: Are you alright, stranger?
The Brekkazoid’s chest was shuddering as her body shivered. She'd been here, standing at this curb, for over an hour now. She didn't not turn to look at the one approaching, but her eyes made the effort to at least try and see what they looked like.
The woman approaching was an Ornaran, in a uniform of some kind. Security, maybe. They had no weapon to speak of -- a far cry from the disastrous Brekkian security she’d lost herself to over the last three days. The officer continued to approach Sky carefully, non-threateningly, which she would have laughed at had she not been in a somewhat catatonic state.
Caronx: I'm Officer Caronx. Someone has told me that you may need assistance. Can I locate someone for you?
That was it. What composure she'd retained for the short journey here had been truly and utterly lost. Skyleena Blake fell to her knees, heaving sobs and blinded by her own tears. The Ornaran -- Officer Caronx -- had forgone slowly approaching her and threw her arms around Sky's shoulders as the blond Brekkian Betazoid simply cried into the street.
((End flashback))
Blake today knows she rejoined Starfleet based on a series of fortunate events. She’d abandoned life and responsibilities on Brekka to live anonymously on Ornara -- a result of a broken psyche and loss of a loved one. There, she met a local police officer that found her necessary assistance. Blake joined a police task force to combat felicium in the region. And then a ridiculous Starfleet officer found her, with the intention to bring her “back” to Starfleet.
Nevermind that Blake knew next to nothing about Starfleet, but Veritas needed assistance with the felicium problem in the area, and Blake, apparently being the only available Brekkian that had joined Starfleet, was their best bet. Carrero gave her a provisional rank of Lieutenant Commander (the rank she had originally held prior to retirement the first time). Things just… spiralled from there.
That was all well and good. The “how” was fairly self-explanatory, if a little convoluted, but it was there.
The “why” was a little harder to explain.
Blake: I could’ve left when we finished up with felicium.
Rahman: But you didn’t.
Blake: No. I didn’t. I was given a reason to get up in the morning -- it continues to give me a purpose. A book to follow.
Rahman: That’s a perfectly good reason.
One that Roshanara related to well. She’d struggled with her own sense of purpose for a bit while she had been on medical leave after her accident on the Tempest fourteen years ago. A Medusan researcher who’d chosen to go by the name Frankenstein helped get her back on track while she recovered on Medical Starbase 253.
Blake: Thing is, though… I don’t actually like being on starships.
Roshanara couldn’t help it. She let out a snort.
Rahman: So you’re a masochist then? ::She shrugged her shoulders.:: That would explain a lot.
The two shared a laugh. Blake shook her head a little.
Blake: It’s very claustrophobic. I get sick all the time because the temperature is too cold, which means I’m confined to my spaces for most of the time. And I just…
She glanced away for a moment.
Blake: When we were at the border, and we were going up against those Orion ships while trying to push that damn station back over while trying not to draw Tholian attention… At the end of the day, Veritas is a tin can in space. And I was in charge of it, and its two-hundred and twenty crew. And while I believe I did the best I could have done under the circumstances… it’s not a position I want to be in again.
Her captain took her own moment to consider everything she’d said.
Rahman: I think any starship commander who says they haven’t thought similar is either a liar or a fool.
Blake raised an eyebrow.
Rahman: You’re right. ::She tapped her knuckles against the hull plating underneath them, a satisfying metallic echo returning.:: You were in charge of this tin can, and it’s not a job for everyone. It’s a popular misconception, but not everyone in Starfleet wants to become a captain. *I* certainly didn’t join thinking that’s where I’d be now.
Blake: Your focus was engineering, right?
Rahman: ::nods:: It was -- and still is. No matter where I go, I’ll always still be an engineer at heart. Starfleet for me was a chance to work on the latest technological developments, a chance to contribute the next innovation to the galaxy.
From the quantum slipstream drive to the Warp XV engine, the little girl who’d dreamed of reaching the stars would have been amazed to see what her older self ultimately had managed to work on.
Rahman: But it’s different for everyone. Scientists, pilots, doctors, peace keepers… Starfleet is a large enough institution to give many reasons to get up in the morning. The thing is, Blake, you *earned* that third full pip. You might not ever have ambitions of having your own starship, but your leadership and sense of duty to a greater purpose besides yourself--whether it be the safety of your crew or the population of this region… those are an integral part of who you are now, the person you’ve become.
A small smile touched at the edge of Blake’s lips as she looked away once more. The sun had risen from behind the trees, bathing Kidman and Veritas in a warm light.
Blake: When my tour of duty is done, I’d like to return to the Rangers.
Roshanara looked back at her XO, seeing the woman’s slight grin and sensing from her a renewed sense of content.
Rahman: All right. I think that can be arranged.
The Kriosian stood up and looked down at Blake.
Rahman: But you’ve still got some work left to do here.
The XO looked up at her captain, eyes narrowing against the sunlight. She scoffed at herself, fully aware of the tumultuous months that were likely lying ahead.
She reached a hand outwards, Roshanara assisting her up from the hull.
Blake: On your order, Captain.
((Bridge, USS Veritas))
The two command officers walked out onto the bridge, a crewman calling out, “Captain on the bridge!”
Roshanara gave a glance around the room and nodded.
Rahman: I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine.
The captain then walked over to her command chair before looking over towards Blake, taking the XO station.
Rahman: Number One, I believe when I left you this spaceship, it was in space. Please put it back.
The Commander gaped for a moment, because nodding her head in an un-protested affirmation.
Blake: Blue alert. Helm, contact Engineering, prepare thrusters for planetary take-off.
As the bridge crew around her acknowledged the orders, Blake took her station behind the captain. Though unexpected of a vessel not entirely suited to landing, Veritas’ nacelles inched off the ground, gradually pulling away from the comfortable land of Kidman I and returning to the vast unpredictability of space.
---
And the Adventure Continues...
Commander Sky Blake
Executive Officer
USS Veritas
C238803SB0
&
Captain Roshanara Rahman
CO, USS Veritas
I238705TZ0