Posted by Lieutenant Achilleas Petrakos (Chief Science Officer) in Side-sim: Time well spent?

Posted by Captain Dira Myqian (Commanding Officer) in Side-sim: Time well spent?

(snip)

“Oh, I don’t know that invite is quite the right word. More like we would go off scampering through the woods near his place, where I lived about 75% of the time and we’d go back to my place because it was either closest or we just had a bit more freedom there. And my father loved having all the kids about and it was easier to put us to work creatively then fight the chaos we brought.” She shook her head. “It’s a huge part of why I think my parents decided to divorce. My mother is not the chaos inviting type of person, even if she loved observing it.”

Achilleas smiled at the thought of ‘controlled’ chaos but then felt saddened by Dira’s last revelation. He reached over and patted her knee in what he hoped was a consoling gesture. Had he known her better he would’ve pulled her into a warm hug. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Do you keep in touch of either of them?”

She smiled at him and shook her head. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, truly. My parents made a sensible choice and didn’t stay together for my sake and become miserable. They are good friends and have an excellent relationship. I lived with my father predominantly because my mother is a neuroscientist and her research and career took her off world quite a bit. It was just easier and more stable for me. And I’m very close with both of them though obviously my own career creates it’s own distance.”

Achilleas nodded in relief. “I honestly don’t know how I’d feel if my parents separated or divorced. I guess if I look at it objectively my family has always been a bit on the traditional side, so my parents taking that option would shock everyone and I’m pretty sure wouldn’t be as amicable of a separation.” He shrugged lightly. “I could be completely wrong though. Now that I’m out of the household they wouldn’t need to keep up a pretense and could just part.”

“See that’s the thing,” Dira said. “You can’t have pretence in a family like mine. My mother is an outright telepath, my father is an empath and touch telepath and they raised a child that develop full telepathic abilities with touch nuances.” She shrugged. “There’s no way to hide strife, and doing so would only cause more harm. Even though I wasn’t raised within a telepathic society, my parents treated our household as if we were. So there was always openness and honesty.”

“I’ve done a lot of outdoor activities, and I love being on the water, but I’ve never been sailing. Is it something you still do?”

Captain Myqian, CO

“Oh every chance I get. I’ve got a holoprogram set right on the coast of Greece in the Aegean Sea that has a smaller sailing boat that can be run by a single person but can carry up to six comfortable. My last time using it was actually take Solal fishing. I thought that it was a low effort, non-physical activity that he would not get tired doing and it’s peaceful.”

CSO Petrakos

“ I can see that,” Dira said. “If you enjoy the motion, just being on the water itself can be lovely. I will find ways to relax too but I often went into the outdoors for higher activity. Being a therapist could be quite stressful. It was important to have my own releases.”

Captain Myqian, CO

“Heh, well sailing a boat can be very physical. You’ve got to keep your balance as it crests waves and gets pitched about. There are motors to help trim the sails and move the boom but it’s best to know how to do it by hand. If you get caught out in a tropical storm, or heaven forbid a hurricane, reliance on technology can mean your death. Realistically you could get emergency transport but sometimes atmospheric ionization can disrupt transporter locks. Right after I turned 18 my parents deemed me ready for a solo sale out into the ocean. Weather forecasts were good and I prepared supplies for a seven day round trip out and back. I had a fishing rod too in case I wanted fresh food to go with the rest of supplies. Well four days into the trip I was on my way back when I got caught up in a tropical storm. The best thing to do in that situation with fast winds and high waves is to completely furl the sail so that the winds don’t jerk the boat around or the boom for that matter. I was working on getting the sail secured when the wind caught it and spun the boom around right into my arm. Which really hurt because it broke it and launched me into a railing.” Achilleas put on a mock grimace at the memory but laughed and took a drink of his wine.

CSO Petrakos

Ouch!”she said, her eyes widening. She could see the mechanics of the incident in her mind ad her medical training told her the rest of the story. “I was just making the comment about Solal having a peaceful outing, since I highly doubt you would have taken him out on rough waters. But what did you do on that trip? Did you get into further trouble or were you able to get to safety on your own?” she asked before sipping on her wine.

Captain Myqian, CO