All that blooms

Posted on 25 Nov 2014 @ 3:54pm by Lieutenant Prudence Devin Ph.D. & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Petty Officer 1st Class Pieter Van Zyl Ph.D.

2,748 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 4, Botany Lab, then Deck 7, Arboretum
Timeline: MD09 - 1100hrs

ON:

Prudence smiled gently as she walked down the corridor of the USS Galileo, taking it all in. She was off duty now, so rather than a uniform she wore a black skirt with a blouse and heels. Besides, walking around as if she was a civilian showed a different side of a ship. People reacted differently to a civilian than a Starfleet officer and Prudence wished to enjoy her anonymity as long as she could. She turned the corner and glanced around. She had looked over the ship's specs to be sure where everything was. The Botany Lab was no different and she was pleased she had found her way there.

As she approached the Botany lab, a voice suddenly called to her. A short blonde had stuck his head out of what looked like a museum, across from the Botany lab.

"I wouldn't go in there if I was you," Oren said, a warning but sympathetic tone to his high voice.

"I just saw one of the cadets come out crying."

Prudence stopped and looked at Oren, smiling gently to him. "Thank you for the...head's up. But I am not a cadet," she said and chuckled, moving to the lab. She entered and looked around, taking a deeper breath. "Pieter?"

As his wrist buzzed with the doctor's arrival, Pieter immediately turned around to greet her. Giving her a small smile, he just lifted a hand up in silent greeting. Much like Prudence, he'd opted to not wear his uniform and instead wore a black V-neck shirt and a pair of black denim trousers, the dark colours accenting his natural pallor.

"I needed to check the temperature of the incubator for the Microbiologist, since she's busy with some personal thing," he explained. "Dropped in here just to see if everything is in order."

She smiled to him, nodding gently at the words. She liked coming around this side of things...as a counsellor, she never really got to go to other departments. Unless someone was threatening with suicide or murder. "Thank you for making time to see me," she said, with warmth. "How are you?"

Pieter nodded, then shrugged. "Fine," he just signed, not going into any detail. "You?" He didn't comment on his agreeing to see her because, what would be the point? He was proud of what had been done with the Arboretum so far and she was new. The fact that she was pleasant was an added bonus.

"All good, thank you," she said, moving closer as she looked around. "This is quite remarkable." And it was. It was a balance between sterile and warming...as if life couldn't quite grow without a hint of homeliness. It wasn't in objects as much as the care that had been taken with arranging things.

"Thank you," Pieter said, not quite sure what else to say as she took in the lab. He stepped aside to let her see all four corner and went over to where some plants were laid out, more for decoration than actual research. "Where did you serve before you were transferred here?" he asked, taking a small wipe to run over the leaves, cleaning them.

"USS Montgomery," she said as she moved to the plants, studying them closely, with warmth as she breathed in the scent...recognising the plant as not poisonous. "And before then there was the Titan."

Pieter nodded. "I served only on the Belgrade as Botanist," he explained, his lips quirking slightly as the scent of the leaves was released as he cleaned them with the alcohol solution. "Before that I was in Engineering."

"A man of many talents," she said as she turned her face to watch him, smiling warmly. "I came to Starfleet rather late. So only two ships..." she pulled back from the flowers, with some regret at stepping back from them. "Always tried to have flowers in my office, or plants. The only thing that has survived it all was a spider plant until it was...destroyed."

"Sounds like a story behind that," Pieter said, intrigued. "Are you ready to head to the Arboretum?" He pressed the panel to open the door, letting her walk through first when she wanted.

She nodded, smiling gently as she walked out. She waited on him though, so she could walk beside him. "The plant survived tantrums, tears, a lot of turbulence, one case of alien flu...and got destroyed in the end when my office was occupied by mercenaries. They boarded the ship and took over that deck, so...well. A lot of things got destroyed that day."

Pieter frowned. It hadn't been the answer he was expecting. A cat eating it, that was as far as his imagination went. He wasn't sure how to respond to such a tale without falling short of whatever emotional mark he was supposed to hit.

"I'm glad you're not dead, then," he said, then immediately regretted it because, who said that? He looked quite shocked with himself and blushed immediately.

"Me too," Prudence said and touched his arm, to make him look at her before she smiled. "If only because it would really annoy me to lose both the spider plant and my life in the same afternoon."

Pieter nodded as they walked towards the exit of the labs. "I sympathise. Spider plants are very difficult to come by," he told with a slight smirk that he hoped conveyed the fact that he was joking. As they walked, he noticed Idris standinff to corner of the labs, but chose to ignore him and the strangely bewildered look on his face.

She laughed warmly at that, nodding as she watched him. "I had a funeral for the spider plant. It involved a bottle of wine and poetry. I did consider dedicating some Byron to it, but settled for good old Yeats," she winked, looking ahead with a small smile. "And that's a true story. I think I just needed an excuse to sit on a floor in front of a smashed potted plant, drinking wine and reading poetry.2

"I think everyone needs an excuse for that once in a while. And, truthfully, Byron, alone in your quarters with wine - that sounds like it could get depressing very quickly," Pieter admitted with a smile. He'd never drunk alcohol himself because of his condition, but he could see how an event like the one Prudence described could make one yearn for some chemically induced relaxation.

They walked slowly through the ship and down several decks via turbolift before they finally reached the Arboretum. Although Ellsworth's little pet project was slow going, Pieter was still impressed with the progress since, at first glace, the Arboretum looked quite done.

She smiled warmly as she looked around the moment they entered, with clear awe. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but this was...rather remarkable. It almost felt like it wasn't in space. "This is so beautiful..." she said, laughing with it. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes as she just...smelled the air, enjoyed the knowledge of what was around her. And if it hadn't been for Pieter she wouldn't have thought of coming here.

Pieter's smile grew slightly, happy that she found it so captivating. In fact, most people either took it for granted or tried to look at it from a perspective that even he believed to be too sciemtific. Although he'd deny it if confronted, sometimes plants were just pretty, without needing to be useful.

"It's still not finished," he pointed out. He wasn't bothered by that anymore, though. Hudson was doing his best, even though Pieter wouldn't tell him that outside of an official report. "But it will be by the time we leave the station." At least it will if I have anything to do with it.

She turned to look at him, smiling warmly at the words. "If I can help...I would love to. I am not...a scientist. But I can pack compost and plant. And it would be nice to have a project to do that was more hands on....if it is okay?"

Pieter thought about it for a moment before nodding. " I think that would be alright. I must warn you, I have a reputation of being a total slave-driver."

Prudence arched an eyebrow, nodding. "Well, I'm English. We do nothing if not work hard," she said before chuckling. "I never mind putting my back into things."

"I had an attitude like that. Now I need to get a message every month because my lower back kills me," Pieter said. He knew it was his own fault, he always had to handle everything or do everything. Bht if he didn't, things that could be done in days going through all the proper channels, would take weeks to complete. His background in engineering often saved a lot of time otherwise spent waiting for repair teams.

"I suppose mine has been spared because mostly my 'back' is a mental back..." she said and tilted her head, watching his face. He had a lot of things on his shoulders, this reserved man. Many things he kept private. "Although the massages wound like a great idea in general. Never taken the time for things like that myself..."

"You can take my appointments," Pieter replied, making a disgruntled face. "I don't like massages. I don't like just laying there, not knowing exactly what's happening when my VOICE is off."

She frowned at the words, swallowing. "No, I...I can see that making you feel rather vulnerable," she admitted. He would not have idea what was going on. Most people needed verbal clues during massages...it was the whole being still while another person was touching you. It was about trust. It would be a different matter if he trusted that person, but it would just be anyone assigned to him.

Pieter shrugged it off. "We all do things we don't like," he said. There was really no use complaining about it. It was either get the message or have debilitating back pain. He could suck it up go through one hour of discomfort for the greater good.

"Yes, we do," she agreed before smiling weakly. And it was what made them what they were. "So, Pieter...what plant can you recommend to me?" She changed the subject, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable by dwelling on it. She didn't want this to be a session, she wanted...well. Social.

Pieter raised his eyebrows then and smiled a little beighter, happy that they were on a subject he enjoyed. "Actually, I have something already prepared for you," he informed her before motioning for Prudence to follow him down one of the hand-paved paths to what looked like a small greenhouse. As he let her go in before him after putting in his access code, they stepped into what looked like a nursery, with many tiny plants growing in little pots under an artificial light.

He motioned for Prudence to follow him to another part of the room. There, on another table that held a large amount of paDDs, was a small case holding four potted plants that looked to be in the intermediate stages of developing.

"These are for you," he said with a kind smile.

She watched them with awe, smiling as she met his eyes before looking back at them. "They're beautiful, Pieter...and four too! That's much more than I ever expected...what are they?" she asked, curious...and wanting him to tell her rather than reading up on it. She felt moved that he had picked four for her, and had them ready for her.

"These two," he pointed to the ones at the top, in the purple pots, "are the Fire lilies I mentioned. This one is a very resilient Aaamazzara primrose that managed to survive PO Hudson's wrath," he explained, pointing to the one in the lower left corner. Funally, Pieter moved his hand to the last plant. "This one, is a surprise. You'll just have to wait for it to bloom to find out."

She smiled at that, with excitement as she nodded. "I will keep her somewhere...special. So I can see her grow slowly..." she said with warmth before meeting his eyes. "Thank you, Pieter...this is above and beyond what I thought I'd get."

"You're very welcome. I'm glad you like them," he said sincerely. He'd tried to pick out the best looking specimens, even if they weren't the most morphologically perfect from a botanist's point of view.

"The only thing you need to know is not to keep the primrose neary a direct light source and only water the lilies every couple of days.

She nodded, making a mental note of that. She touched the pots carefully, shaking her head with awe. "How can I repay you for this, Pieter? This is...far more than I expected..." she met his eyes, smiling gently to him. She appreciated the care he had taken with this.

"Don't be silly," Pieter told her, feeling slightly uncomfortable with her intense gratitude. He was just doing a nice thing that felt right, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was nice to have someone who appeeciates horticulture around.

"Okay," she said, with a chuckle as he picked up the crate. "They are really pretty though, so forgive my gushing."

"It's kind of cute, so you're forgiven," Pieter assured her. It wasn't often that someone got so excited over a simple assortment of plants that weren't even in bloom yet. Her elation was refreshing.

"I haven't had anything remotely associated with me called cute for a decade..." she said and shook her head, but with good humour. "I better get these darlings home and settled."

"And I need to head back to the station to meet my sister," Pieter said, looking around the nursery to see if anything else needed to get done, but things seemed fine, so he just followed the doctor outside.

"She must be very proud of you," she said as they walked...they were heading the same way anyway, so she felt like she could continue the conversation a bit.

"I'm proud of her," Pieter returned. "We haven't seen each other in a six months, so she's paying a visit with her kids."

"Sounds absolutely lovely," Prudence smiled warmly at that. This was the perfect time for visits like that. And she hoped everyone of Galileo's crew took the chance to see their families.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked, curious. Despite not being close in their childhood, Pieter and his siblings had gotten over their awkwardness an tension after their mother died and now Pieter couldn't imagine not speaking to them at least once or twice a month.

"A brother," she said and smiled warmly, shaking her head. "A bit of a trouble maker, but in a good way. He is on Earth...he teaches, you see. Quite a nice chap. I do love him to bits."

Pieter smiled. "My brother-in-law is professor. Math." He rolled his eyes as the idea of someone devoting their life to such a subject. Pieter had always enjoyed math to the extent that it needed to be enjoyed to become an engineer, but actually spending your whole life teaching it...it sounded terrible. "But my sister is an architect, so I suppose in some way it makes sense to her."

"It must, for her to marry a mathematician..." she admitted with a small smile, shaking her head as she walked with him. "But I once married a criminologist, so I can't talk."

"Does that mean I should look for a zoologist? I should tell my sister, she's been trying to set me up for a decade."

She laughed softly, looking at him for a long moment. "I think most women would be lucky to have a good botanist. It's a rare breed after all and most people I know are dreadful with plants and flowers," she winked before nodding ahead. "Well, this is where our ways part this time. I hope you have a lovely time."

"You as well, doctor," Pieter said, giving the woman a polite nod before going down the adjacent corridor.

OFF:

Lt. Prudence Devin
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

PO1 Pieter Van Zyl
Botanist
USS Galileo
[PNPC by Idris]

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