Tribbles in a Pond (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 10 Jun 2014 @ 1:18pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & Nesh Saalm & Commander Norvi Stace

1,886 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Arboretum
Timeline: MD -09 - 1730 hrs

[ON]

Reaching into her snack bag and retrieving a small, orange baby carrot, Lirha popped it into her mouth and happily chewed on the crispy vegetable while keeping an eye on the bundle of tribbles which were freely roaming around in the nearby grass. It had been her and Siren's idea to get the small animals together for some social time, and instead of taking up valuable holodeck resources, they had decided Galileo's arboretum would provide an equally-aesthetic and relaxing environment for both owner and pet alike. Of course, Lirha and Siren weren't the only ones with creature companions on the starship, and the picnic invitation had gone out to both Nesh and Delainey as well.

Her heavy jacket top strewn about the grass as she knelt in the shrubbery border, partially concealed and camouflaged against the greenery by her block of teal about her back, Stace started as a gentle cooing sound could be heard behind her. She stopped, cocked her head to one side and then gently lifted herself up to look about. Amongst the green grass, the emerald skin of the commodore disappeared with just a flash of orange as the carrot raised to her mouth. "Commodore," Stace said softly, emerging from the small copse of bushes without wanting to startle her. "It's good to see you."

The first thing Lirha noticed following the sound of her name was the distinctive red hair and Trill markings of Norvi as she came out of the nearby foliage. A bit surprised by her presence but not at all bothered, Lirha smiled up at the chief science officer. "Hello, lieutenant. Likewise," she greeted in return, then reached up to push a rogue strand of dark hair back behind her ear. "I am having a picnic with some of the crew who should be here shortly...would you like to join us?" she offered with a tilt of her head. "If you are not busy, of course."

Stace smiled and then nodded to the commodore. "I suppose these soil samples can wait until later. I'd be delighted if it's not too much trouble." She brushed her clean hands on her trousers of her uniform and made her way over.

Siren moved over to them, smiling warmly as she clutched the bottle of chilled 'wine' she'd gone to fetch. Her long, red hair was loose and she wore casual black trousers with a black vest, the narrow straps showing that there were tattoos across her back and shoulders under the clothing. "Got it. Bring a tribble and a bottle, only fair," she chuckled as she knelt next to Lirha, smiling up to Stace. "They seem to like it here," she motioned to the group of quivering balls of fluff. "Can't blame them. It's nice. I don't come here often enough."

Lirha gave Siren a private smile and patted the soft grass next to her while her eyes ran up and down the intelligence officer's toned frame and exposed skin. "Yes, I just hope they do not nibble on the grass," she mused, then suddenly began to ponder the possibility. "Tribbles do not eat grass, do they?" her question was directed at Stace as much as Siren.

Stace's blank look betrayed her tribble trivia ignorance and she shrugged her shoulders rather quickly. "I'm... not actually sure what they eat," the Trill hesitated. "I've never owned one. Or come to study them. And neither had any of my children growing up."

"They eat pretty much all food stuff," Siren chuckled, shaking her head. "But according to the file the breeder gave me, grass is pretty much the only thing they can't eat. They can't digest it. We're safe," she winked, settling down.

Nesh had been looking forward to gathering everyone's tribbles together. Once she had gotten the message, she immediately responded, happy hearts tacked onto the end of her reply. It helped that the message was sent from Lirha, which hastened the young Orion's eager response.

Strolling into the Arboretum, Nesh beamed at the sight of her sister and Siren, neon blue tribble carrier in her arms. Inside the carrier, the pair of brightly-colored creatures roamed about, bustling with energy at the idea of being somewhere outside of the room.

"Hiya!" Nesh settled the carrier down next to the other tribbles, opening it up and letting the pair roam about. It was only then that she spotted the Trill as well. She could feel her cheeks flushing as she realized her near ignorance. "Hello ma'am!"

Lirha smiled at her little sister and glanced at her colorful pet carrier. Of course it couldn't have been a simple black or tan color, it had to be the brightest shade of fluorescent blue available for replication. "How was your shift?" she inquired, wondering if Nesh had done anything eventful earlier in the day while on duty.

"Just the usual." Which was Nesh speak for 'boring,' but telling her sister that, especially with the science chief around, would have left the most horrible impression. "I re-read materials about Lyshan III and the potential wildlife in the area. It might not explain any manifestations, but who knows what sort of thing the native fauna could do?" As she spoke, both of her extremely bright colored tribbles rolled out of their carrier, wiggling happily in the grasses.

It was good to hear Nesh actually taking the initiative to learn about planets and ecosystems, because Lirha would have never believed the young Orion would slowly be turning into an academic if she wasn't seeing it with her own eyes right in front of her. Smiling gently at Nesh, Lirha gave her an inquisitive look of approval. "Not quite native," she corrected, "I suspect much of that fauna is now the result of the terraforming process?"

Tucking her legs in to a cross-legged position, Nesh nodded adamantly. "Sort of like how certain species just sort of appear if certain things happen, like an earthworm in fertile soil. There aren't many species, but there's enough to get a good head-start on potential leads maybe? Maybe I can correlate the data I've found with similar mines, see if there's some common ground."

Correlate? What? Lirha was a bit taken aback by Nesh's expanded vocabulary. "That is a big word, Nesh," she teased. "Has the lieutenant been giving you vocabulary lessons as well?" Her little sister was beginning to sound just like a scientist, and Lirha glanced at Stace wondering if this was her doing.

Nesh's cheeks puffed out as she frowned at her sister. She could learn bigger words too. It just happened to be that 'correlate' was a word that was commonly used in the Science Department. Even Lirha knew that. Even after all these years, her sister's teasing still got the best of her.

The doors to the Arboretum opened and Delainey came in toting a large cage holding her two as yet unnamed Tribbles. Since they had been intended to be someone's groceries, they weren't as colorful as those intended to be pets. One was solid brown and the other was white with brown spots. She wore a simple blue cotton dress and sandals. "Hello. Sorry I'm late. We've been working overtime to help people work through old wounds in light of our mission. Thanks so much for the invite."

"Hello, lieutenant," Lirha greeted with a small wave of her green hand. "Please join us. We figured a late afternoon picnic and some drinks might be fun while the tribbles get some fresh air," she explained.

Delainey nodded with a smile. "Fresh air is good for their owners too." She gently set down the cage and opened the door to let the tribbles wander out as they felt comfortable.

"I'll get pouring," Siren smiled innocently, sitting up to start pouring the 'wine' out. "So how has everyone been? Now that the slave drivers have got us back to work," she cast a teasing glance across to Lirha as 'they' could very well be interpreted to mean Lirha.

Stace smiled at the jest herself and widened her eyes at the group. She eagerly awaited the taste of the 'wine'. "It's always fun to get to work," she mused, looking over at the tribbles. "But then again it's always fun to break away from it when you can."

"Yes, very much so," Lirha agreed wholeheartedly. "Strangely I have found my work load to have decreased since Captain Holliday took over command," she admitted with a light shrug. "Perhaps it is simply a slow season of affairs for our task group, but I, personally, am enjoying the extra free time. Although...I do fear my new yeoman might be getting bored without much work to keep him occupied," she mused.

"I could keep him occupied instead?" Siren said innocently before laughing gently with a wink as she stretched her legs out in front of her and leant back on her elbows.

"No...I think your talents are required elsewhere," Lirha answered with a tiny, private smile directed at her. She proceeded to take one of the glasses Siren had poured and drank a generous amount in a couple gulps before she paused as the strange flavor registered on her palate. "What exactly is this?" she asked. It didn't taste like any traditional wine she was used to.

'Ew, gross.' Nesh held back the face she would have normally made at the hints. As happy as they were, she totally didn't need to know anything about what they were doing. She was happy to be blissfully unaware of the whole ordeal.

"It's some kind of Trill drink/wine thing....beyond that, I have no clue," Siren admitted with a soft laugh, shaking her head. "I just picked it up on my travels." Like so much of the things she got. Random stuff from random places.

Delainey cast a sidelong glance at the exchange between Siren and Lirha. *Good for them,* she thought. If someone as busy as Lirha could put aside work and expectations surrounding a woman of her rank, then maybe there was hope for all of them.

Carlisle reached for a glass and then began to laugh. Turning to the group, she explained, "I just realized this glass of wine is a perfect representation of a very familiar personal internal struggle. I know I need time to relax and unwind, and I'm certainly not planning to get drunk, but I can't help but think about being in top shape if I'm needed later. I know I'm not the only one here who has to be available around the clock, I guess I'm just not as good at finding the right work/life balance."

"Oh don't worry, Delainey, if you get hammered I promise I will stumble you towards your office so you can work," Siren smiled to her, arching an eyebrow with playfulness.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

PO2 Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Blake]

Freshman Cadet Nesh Saalm
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Kita]

Lieutenant Delainey Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D.
Counselor/Medical Officer
USSGalileo

Lieutenant Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer
USSGalileo

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