LtCmdr Blake, "Cognition."

[Deliera Jay]

((Blake's quarters))

Ukinix: I know what that’s like.  I broke my hip, a few ribs and parts of my leg falling out of a tree when I was 15.  I had 3 weeks of recovery and rehab.

Blake: I hope this isn't your attempt to get me to convince Rahman to make you Chief Engineer. ::with a sly grin:: It's nice having some company in my quarters, but this is... a surprise.

Ukinix: ::Raising palms in protest, smiling:: Commander, it’s just a social call.  And I wanted to talk about that data storage device I found -

He sat back in the chair.  

Ukinix: - well, it’s just an odd series of events. It’s like someone’s taking the piss.  ::placing elbow on table, and resting chin on fist::  How did – what’s the deal with holo-you?

The Brekkazoid rose an eyebrow.

Blake: What would you like to know?

Ukinix: Did you meet her?

((Flashback — 239308.26))

Blake: You made a holographic version of me.

Core: Not me. The Mercury. 

Blake: The *Mercury* made a holographic version of me? ::She directed her next question to the other Blake.:: *Why*?

Blake: Because I was good at my job.

Blake:::scoffing:: Doubtful.

Blake: Oh really? You know *better*? Is insulting me really the best way to handle this situation?

Blake: I think whatever the AI on the Mercury was thinking when it used a template of me to do its dirty work, it knew that I was unhinged enough to know exactly how to control me. You're a product of *manipulation* — it's unfortunate that your programming ensures you can’t see that.

The Rodulan, standing apart from the two of them and safe behind the console, knew exactly what the holograms parameters were, and what she was capable of. And just how much the manipulated could manipulate in turn.

Core: I'm sensing tension.  

((End flashback))

Blake: I did. 

Ukinix: ::Ironic chuckle:: She’d be an excellent Emergency Hyper Aggressive Hologram if a ship ever needed one.

The Brekkazoid cringed inwardly. 

Blake: Well... that was supposedly what I was like...

...before the whole amnesia thing. But she didn't add that, lest she confused the engineer anymore than he already was.

Blake: What'd you do with it?

Ukinix: ::shrugging:: I dunno, I put her program back in isolated data containment storage, separate from the ships systems.  I haven’t checked if she’s still there, but someone would have accessed her program at some point at least, for your new spine.

Blake: Teller and MacKenzie. ::she nodded.:: The plan was, I hope, to erase her from any databases.

Ukinix: Hmm.  But, why delete her?  It’s not her fault.  That’d be like deleting that EMH that came back on Voyager.

She laughed once.

Blake: What gave you that idea?

Wil scrunched up his nose a little as he nonchalantly shook his head. Evidently this was a good time for a subject change.

Ukinix: I watched the diagnostic logs closely for a few days afterwards.  I’ve set up alerts in case any stray AI activity pops up.  There’s nothing out of the ordinary.  If any systems had been compromised, we would have known by now.

Blake: It's not like anyone has a use for a holographic version of me.

Except for Kallo Ver, maybe. And Tai for entertainment's sakes — but though Tai liked to joke about it, she doubted he'd actually cross that line.

Ukinix: ::Looking at holophoto:: How’s Ayeden and Faith?

Blake: They're good. Faith is half-way to Betazed — Aagan Eislas informs me all is going well. So long as she's on Betazed, or another Federation world with a Twentieth House representative, she's free to be wherever pleases her most. Not that I see that really mattering, since she's a kid.

Ukinix: Response?

Blake: Ayeden is with his aunt. ::she paused.:: That's where I plan on keeping him.

Ukinix: Response?

She sighed, brushing a stray bit of hair behind her ear.

Blake: Bare with me while I try to explain this.

Ukinix: Response?

Blake: The hologram... it's not entirely fictitious. That attitude, that... I want to say spunk, but that's probably too kind... that was me. All of it. The Mercury based the hologram on my 2388 profiles; psychological, medical, transporter and personal logs, all of it. It compiled it all and mixed it into a hologram. 

Ukinix: Response?

Blake: I don't see myself nor portray myself like that. Because that's no longer me — the hologram represents a different person. It's a hard concept to explain. When I lived on Ornara after my partner's death, my psychologist likened my "new" existence, without ties or recollections to my past, as a new start. Like a rebirth, if you will. Except, calling it a 'rebirth' sounds ridiculous — look at me, do I look like a six year old to you?

Ukinix: Response?

Blake: My life, my cognition, restarted fresh after great trauma. I woke up one morning to discover I had a Vulcan partner and two kids of my own. I didn't ask for them. But because Skyleena chose to have children back then, Blake by overall Federation standards has an obligation to them today.

She sighed as she took a cloth and wiped her hands of left over strawberry juices. Emerald eyes looked tired.

Blake: Y'know, when I came to Veritas, I learned quickly Starfleet officers have different social norms than the two major races in my home system. Parents choose to be parents on Brekka. My 'culture', my norm, exists around what Terrans consider an "every one for themselves" philosophy. That's what fueled Brekka's felicium trade for a very long time, that's why things on Brekka are based on a personal profit, be it material or emotional gain. If offspring don't factor into that, then why bother producing offspring? The Ornarans, the bulk of them at least, believe in the 'rebirth' concept. Their society allows you to shed the ties of your old life and start anew. That takes a lot of work. If you have biological children, then they are no longer yours. Responsibility of them falls to the next person, and you can choose to keep in contact with them, or move along without them. Life on Ornara isn’t defined by one lifetime. A person might have many.

Ukinix: Response?

Blake: My kids aren't mine. Biologically, they are. Psychologically, they aren't. There is a disconnect that I cannot repair. I have tried, repeatedly. It took me three years just to get back into a place where I could see them and acknowledge them as my own. I'd cut off my arms for them if I had to. Their wellbeing is my priority… and being with people who can provide an emotional recognition is more important than being with a biological parent. 

She briefly thought back on Ilakai. She hadn't seen the girl in person for almost four years. Ilakai had been bounced between guardians like a basketball across a court. Finally, after years of uncertainty, she had a permanent residence on Betazed with the Twentieth House.

And Ayeden... She loved that boy with all her heart, but she would never be in a place where she could put him first. Her own life was important — placing Ayeden above her demeaned her own existence in a way Terrans wouldn't quite understand. Meanwhile, Rivi was more than willing to give him the opportunity to live, and not simply exist aboard a starship with a parent too busy with her own situation to really be able to focus on him.

This was not a bad thing. This was a positive change. Ayeden, despite his young age, had been quite receptive to it. He clung to Rivi and her son Istrol in a way Blake recognised...

((Flashback -- 239602.12))

Blake: I just need to know if all these hoops . . . if it's worth continuing. It's been years. Part of me wonders why I don't just smuggle her off-world and be done with it.

Jhalib cracked a small smile, leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed. He looked down at his feet with that smile.

Ekal: The Eleventh House of Betazed.

Blake: Yeah. My so-called cousin I never knew about got in contact with me.

Ekal: Cousin Rivi, I imagine?

She blinked, a little shocked at the response. His eyes had returned to look at her.

Blake: You know her?

Ekal: Yes. But I knew her son significantly better than I did her. Istrol. He was a respected son of house, much to his grandmother's surprise, if I recall correctly. We got into a few binds during the war about resources - he was the best negotiator. There's a few more decades before he's old enough for that, though.

She sighed, the implication of Jhalib knowing Istrol "better than Rivi" suggested only one thing.

Blake: You grew up with him.

Jhalib pushed away from the pillar standing closer to her.

Ekal: My life is already marginally different from *your* Aydens' life. Everything I know is obsolete at this point - my information is way out of date. My past will not be his future.  

((End flashback))

How ironic. Ekal had been right... but also wrong.

Ukinix: Response?

Tbc . . . 

LtCmdr Sky Blake

Executive Officer

USS Veritas

C238803SB0