Luis Esqueda
| USS Darwin-A | ||||||||
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| Luis Esqueda | ||||||||
| Position | Engineer | |||||||
| Rank | Ensign | |||||||
| Species | Human/Betazoid | |||||||
| Gender | Male | |||||||
| DOB | 236905.03 | |||||||
| Age | 32 | |||||||
| Birthplace | Arizona, Earth | |||||||
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Luis Esqueda is currently serving as an Engineer aboard the USS Darwin-A.
Appearance
- Height: 6' (1.83m)
- Weight: 180 lbs.
- Hair: Brown
- Eyes: Brown
- Build: Average
Background
Born on Earth, in the state of Arizona, Luis had a fairly happy childhood. His mother was a Betazoid woman named Niveda who died when Luis was still quite young. He doesn't really remember much about her except that she had dark hair and smelled good. His father Carlos raised him in a loving environment, but never talked much about his mother except to tell Luis that they'd been madly in love. Growing up, Luis knew that he was half Betazoid, but he only had a vague idea of what that meant. His father eventually remarried a wonderful Human woman named Anna, and it was her that encouraged Luis to try to find out a bit more about his heritage. By the time he was in his teens, he began to be able to get a sense of the emotions of people around him, and was glad that his step-mother had encouraged him to research his heritage so he knew more or less what was going on.
There were no Betazoids in his small town growing up, but Anna encouraged him to find a counselor who had experience with meditation and mental shielding in order to help him control his developing ability. Eventually, Luis found an older Vulcan gentleman who gave him a few rudimentary lessons in shielding and meditation - or as Luis privately called it "how to ignore people and not go crazy."
He eventually grew used to feeling (and mostly ignoring) what became sort of a background noise of emotion from those around him, and never really sought to develop his Betazoid side beyond that. As far as he's concerned, he feels more Human than Betazoid. Of course, he's never really encountered a situation that has tested his control over his empathy.
He became an avid fan of Engineering in his teens, around the time his empathy started developing. He found a bit of solace in working with machines and figuring out how to build things, and often created little electronic toys for his little brother and sister, much to their delight.
Luis joined Starfleet to explore the universe, and discover his own independence. Previous to entering training, he'd never left the Earth's western hemisphere. And though he's never admitted it to anyone, especially his father, he'd love the opportunity to visit Betazed one day and see the place his mother was born.
At the academy, Luis majored in Engineering with a focus in Programming and a minor in Helm/Navigation. For him, Engineering was the obvious choice, given how much he enjoys working with computer systems and machines. His choice of minor was inspired by his father, who was a local transport pilot before he retired. Some of Luis' fondest childhood memories are of time in the cockpit with his dad.
Personality
Luis is easy going and loves to joke around, but he does take his job seriously when the situation requires. Unlike most typical Betazoids who value honesty and openness and can be disconcerted by people they can't sense, Luis actually prefers to work with and around people he can't read because it's easier for him. One of the reasons he was drawn to engineering is that mechanical things don't have emotions to distract him from whatever he's trying to do.
He's very close to his parents and siblings, having grown up in a tight-knit Hispanic family. He often feels the not-necessarily-conflicting desires to make his family proud, and to be his own man. He figured joining Starfleet was one way to accomplish both of those things.
Telepathy & Empathy
While technically an E4/T2, Luis has never experienced telepathy because it would require another Betazoid, and while he knew a couple at the academy, he was never close to any of them and as far as he knows, they never knew he was part Betazoid anyway.
As far as his empathy, he picks up a vague sense of a person's emotional state if he's nearby. He'd have to concentrate to get more than that, and he's never really tried. He is not strong enough to exert his influence over others and affect their emotional state.
He does his best to ignore the background noise of his Betazoid empathy, and if given the choice, he'd simply avoid places where people are feeling enough strong emotion to overwhelm him. He has yet to experience being completely overwhelmed by other people's emotions, but given that he only has very basic knowledge of shielding, he would not be strong enough to withstand a large-scale assault on his emotions, intentional or otherwise.
Relationships
Family:
- Parents: Carlos Esqueda (Human) and Niveda Albrun (Betazoid) (Stepmother: Anna Fraser)
- Siblings: Ricky Esqueda (age 10), Luz Esqueda (age 8), both are half-siblings
Service History
| Service History | ||||
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| Insignia | Rank | Dates | Posting | Assignment |
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Cadet First Class | 239308.15 | Graduated Starfleet Academy | Engineer |
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Ensign | 239308.17 | USS Darwin | Engineer |
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