Posted by Commander Luka (Executive Officer) in Holosuite Two- A Dinner

Posted by Fleet Captain Ghubari Koraia (Captain) in Holosuite Two- A Dinner

(snip)

Ghubari nodded in understanding as she went about rinsing some rice that needed to cook. “To be honest, I never really saw myself getting married. I came close to it once, but I’m not it would have actually happened, even if circumstances hadn’t changed things entirely.”

“Do you think you’ll return home for at some point? There are lots of people who still have Starfleet careers and have a family. It just sometimes takes some creative planning, if that’s what you want.”

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO

“No,” Luka answered almost immediately, with no hesitation. “It has been experimented on, and it is psychologically impossible for a Laleri within a committed relationship to spend time off planet without a lot of emotional problems ensuing. It’s a complicated set of reasons to explain, but the short of it is that Galdori people have a mild telepathic field which allows us to communicate emotions of love and caring without physically showing them. For individuals who leave Galdor to join Starfleet, we must contend with losing that field of emotions we would otherwise be surrounded by.”

Ghubari paused after setting the lid on the pot of water that was heating up and gazed at Luka, picking up the forthrightness of the revelation but also the background emotions that came with it.

She paused for a few moments to take a sip of wine. “For those within a relationship, there is a psychic bond created between them which amplifies this signal. Extended periods of absense from one another causes symptoms similar to depression, and causes general unhealth for both individuals unless they sever their psychic link, which is essentially the same as divorce in my culture.”

Luka hoped she had explained it in a way the captain would understand.

Luka, XO

Resting her hand on the counter, Ghubari’s thumb curled tightly around the underneath and she inhaled slowly, allowing it to fill her lungs before nodded. “I get it,” she said softly. “I share a telepathic bond with Konral, but it’s not not detrimental to be apart. I won’t like it, and it would be hard, but it wouldn’t be life threatening.” She exhaled forcibly. “But I recently have bene separated from my… companion, Nico, not unlike Mukin for you. “He’s a treecat and they are sentient and telepathic creatures. They communicate in images and we shared a physical bond. It’s very common for those of his species to bond with Humanoids, and he bonded with me after his previous companion, a crew member of the previous Athena, died under my command on the mission that ended up destroying the ship. Under normal circumstances, Nico’s departure would have had profound physiological and psychological effects on both of us, but for complicated reasons, that has been lessened and I’m not at… risk,” she said quietly, though her expression indicated that it was still difficult for her. “So, while I am not going through what you would go through, I do understand why it isn’t an option for you.”

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO