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Lunch with Astrid and Morra

Posted Jan. 18, 2021, 3:39 p.m. by Civilian Morra (Head of Science and Terraforming) (Riley W)

Posted by Civilian Astrid Rousseau (Head of the Judicial System) in Lunch with Astrid and Morra

Posted by Civilian Morra (Head of Science and Terraforming) in Lunch with Astrid and Morra

Posted by Civilian Astrid Rousseau (Head of the Judicial System) in Lunch with Astrid and Morra
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>
Morra chuckled at the story, taking another bite of her muffin. There wasn’t much in the way of chewing for her, more of a chomp-chomp-swallow.

“Fascinating. I do not understand the human repulsion to insects. They are a perfectly good source of nutrients. And quite tasty too.”

Morra, HoST

“Yes, but often colonies can be wrought with infestations and are associated with hovels and unclean areas, thus the disgust. Also, something that crawls that way with so many legs, its creepy for some people. Fleas were the worst when I was a kid. My brother hid a stray dog in our backyard for ages, bringing him inside when my father was away at work or on a trip. My mother pretended she never heard the sounds of a puppy. Until that dog was finally officially adopted, he would bring in fleas every day and I must taste sweet because they loved biting me. I looked like I had space pox for months.”

Rousseau, HotJ

Astrid chuckled at the tale. “Family life must be so interesting. Having younger and older siblings. All of my brood were hatched in the same lunar cycle,” she commented thoughtfully. She thought of the Children. Hatchlings. Growing up so differently from the rest of them, she hoped they would not grow up to have psyches that were too different from those on Galdor. It would be difficult for them if they ever visited their planet of origin.

Morra, HoST

“Ah.” She replied and thought on the idea of her siblings. She was close to two of them but not her stepbrother whom she stayed as far away as the galaxy allowed. “It can be lovely as there is a sense of familiarity and bonding that you don’t have with strangers. The longer you grow up together, the more you tend to know one another. Not for everyone, but at least for us it was for us. We came together in adversity after my mother died until my brother was old enough to leave. Then my sister and I stayed together until she was old enough to be able to leave. We are apart by distance but we love each other very much.”
Rousseau,

“Your siblings left you alone?” Morra inquired, tilting her head slightly. “Is that a normal thing for siblings of different ages to do? It is odd that the older would leave the younger alone. I do not think I like this method of siblinghood,” she said with a small chuckle.

Morra, HoST

She grinned. “Well yes for our family. IT would be hard for an older sibling to wait on the younger sibling to grow old enough to take care of themselves before they get to live their lives. It would be a lot of responsibility, but then our parents are supposed to care for us and thus the responsibility is not on the older siblings.”

“Do your siblings remain with you until you are grown?”

Rousseau, HotJ

Morra thought about it for a moment. “And yet, they left you without a mother,” she reflected.

The question caused the woman to nod slightly. “When we reach maturity, we all part ways. But among my people, Hatchlings are raised not in groups with the same parents, but in groups according to how old one is. So I was raised alongside several younglings who were hatched within a fortnight of one another. And the loss of a caretaker would be fixed with the assignment of a new caretaker.”

Morra, HoST

“Oh! My father remarried. He did not remain single for long but she and her son did not get along with any of us kids. We were actually surprised when my father brought home a wife without ever telling us they were even dating. It was not a good situation all around.”

Rousseau, HotJ

Morra nodded slightly as though that made sense, although she didn’t really understand. These human ways of family building were fascinating but confusing. “I see…”

Morra, HoST

“Probably not, but I don’t blame you if you don’t. It’s complicated. We did not have idyllic and quintessential Betazoid teen years. So I imagine it is definitely not easy to understand. However, it is in the past and currently not affecting me or my life much so…” She shrugged and sipped her tea. “How are you enjoying your job thus far?”

Rousseau, HotJ

“Oh, it is going well. Development on the dome went splendidly during my unplanned absence, and I came back to a fully functional secondary dome. I’m considering proposing a third dome project to give our growing population some more residential infrastructure, since the last project went so well. Perhaps one day we can even reclaim the entire planet…” she added, almost dreamily.

Morra, HoST

“Ah, the entire planet! Ambitious. I am sure you can achieve it with the second dome as any indication.” She smiled and sipped her tea again, letting its warmth suffuse her. Talking about her family and its troubled history, even at a high level, was uncomfortable despite her ability to talk about it nonchalantly. Perhaps it was her job that allowed her that ability. She didn’t really know and chose not to think on it today at lunch with one of her coworkers. Astrid refocused on Morra. “So, what is your favorite part of the second dome?”

Rousseau, HotJ

“The view of the stars at night. Here in the main dome there is a lot more light from all the residential areas, but in the second dome, it is mostly farmland. Of course, the view is not as good as one on a natural planet without all the contaminants in the air, but it is better than the view from the main dome,” Morra explained with a slight smile. “And I have seen numerous terraforming projects far more ambitious, but those were done by the all-mighty and super-rich Starfleet, not a pile of colonists in the middle of nowhere. So it may take generations to actually achieve my goals. But one day…” she closed her eyes, a hopeful expression on her face.

Morra, HoST

Astrid smiled, enjoying the sight of a being with a passion. “I am sure you will achieve all those goals and then some. I find that a being with a real passion can do a lot. They have a tendency to pull people in and make the ideas they have happen. You are that kind of being I think. If you need help writing grant proposals to Star Fleet, I will gladly do it. There is a lot to be said for being the planet side resource for the base above. I could spin it to get more funds for projects.”

Rousseau, HotJ

Morra nodded slightly. “I want to make this a place for our children, and our children’s children. A place where people can live and breathe without need for domes. Where there are wide wildernesses to explore. A place where people can come to get lost in a living, thriving environment. The weight some of the governing bodies put on mining frustrates me, but I understand the need for… commercial viability.” She finished off her tea. “Ah well. Thank you for the offer to help. I am certain that will come in handy. I believe my current priority is to emphasize how important green spaces are, and how beneficial this second dome has been and will continue to be for the planet. And for those above.”

Morra, HoST


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