A Plot for Home

Posted on 13 Oct 2015 @ 3:43pm by Cadwyn Lane & Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika

2,042 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Arboretum
Timeline: MD1: 1600

ON:

Marika walked into the arboretum, the glare of the temporary repair lights blinding her momentarily. Looking around she smiled at the memory of her little escapade into this area a few days ago. It all looked a lot less romantic now that the lights were on. Once mysterious shadows and obscure silhouettes, were now fully exposed. Most of the scraps and pieces seemed to have been cleaned up already, leaving behind battered flora.

As she walked around, scanning for whoever was in charge of the reconstruction, she marveled at their ability to bring a piece of home wherever they would go. That one could take a moment and smell the perfume of an actual flower having bloomed in this very spot, was to her a small miracle. It was a true privilege to bring along such beauty and comfort.

Cadwyn was, as he always was, knee-deep in a charred flowerbed assessing whether or not to try and save the spray of petunias that were now casually dotted in the mud, or whether to pull them all from the ground and start a fresh. There was something more satisfying about salvaging that which was struggling to bloom; and like with life, everyone loved the good overcoming adversity. He sighed, resigning himself to the cause as he then noticed a wandering, unfamiliar face in his domain.

"Can I help you?" he called out, getting to his feet from his knees.

“Actually I was hoping I could help you.“ Unabashedly looking him over, trying to get the gist of his person in a single long look, she continued. “Came through here on my way in last week, and I loved it. Came back a few days ago after our little misadventure and found it in a state of disarray. Awesome for the acoustics though. Anyways, I have a little experience with gardening and landscaping. My mom was a professional landscaper who worked for the provisional government to help make things pretty again. I’m by no means my mother, but perhaps I can be of service.”

Arms flailing about as she spoke, Marika beamed a smile at her interlocutor after spewing out her answer in three quick breaths, oblivious to the fact she had done so just shy of 12 seconds.

"I don't imagine that the arboretum is anyone's priority at the moment, came Cadwyn's beaming reply. "Obviously there'll be some scientists who were growing things here who will be keen to get things back as soon as we can but I think things like life-support and the like will come first on their list." He stood and then stuck out his ingrained hand. "Cadwyn Lane, pleased to meet you."

The young Bajoran took a step forward and took his hand. "Lenaris Marika. To my knowledge life-support is fully operational as are most vital systems. While it's true there are still many repairs to be done, I believe the arboretum is more important than many others. One should never discard the boon to morale such a place offers. I can attest to that myself." Looking around she viewed it through the eyes she had upon her arrival.

"My favorite poet wrote that; perhaps if we are surrounded in beauty, someday we will become what we see. She was of course speaking about the occupation and how important it was not to forget art and the natural beauty around us as we rebuild our world. But on the single occasion I was lucky enough to meet her, she did offer that she believed it to all things, not just Bajor." Shaking her head out of the cloud she had been for a minute, she beamed a smile at the gardener.

"I have only been to Bajor once," Cadwyn replied as he marveled at her words. "Do you miss it?" He thought about that for a moment. Despite Trill being his adult-adopted homeworld, he missed the rolling valleys and hills of Wales. The farmland and lakes that cut into the slated cliff-faces and the wide skies of blue and fluffy white clouds. He smiled and then answered the question for her. "I imagine that you would. I've heard so many things about the peaceful atmosphere there now."

Marika actually thought about it for a moment. "No not really. I miss the people I left there, my family, my friends. But not Bajor itself. I guess that when I do, I'll know it's time for me to go back." She snapped out of her thoughtful stare and smiled at him again. "How did you like? Bajor I mean. Where did you go? What did you see? I personally love it out here."

"It was only a fleeting visit," Cadwyn professed. "I took a shuttle out there from Deep Space Nine while I was in transit to Trill. I had a few days layover and sitting on that station didn't quite hold the romantic sway a field trip to Bajor held. In fact, I couldn't tell you where on Bajor I went. It was a retreat. Out in the hills in the North. Something a guide set me up with on the station." He smiled as he remembered the glens and forests he camped in. "Very few places in the universe still harp back to a time before such advanced technology. And being a gardener that appeals to me. A simple life."

The gardener’s words seemed to fill the young woman with intense pride, so much in fact she almost appeared to glow for a few moments. It strangely also seemed to have an almost calming effect on her. “My culture is one of balance. Granted we may have lost our way in the last century but, we are working very hard to regain that equilibrium. It’s a work in progress. Much like this arboreum.” Her smile grew with the jest in her tone. “What’s your world like?”

"Well," he said replied, scratching the back of his neck unconsciously, "I grew up on Earth, but I settled on Trill. And, oddly, despite the ferocious Welshmen inside of me, I've come to know Trill in a way that I have never known before. I'm a gardener there - well, I was," he added, breaking eye contact with the Bajoran as the thought reminded him of his current role. "And I have a bit of a homestead there. Nothing too fancy. A hunter's lodge on Commander Stace's home estate there. A few lakes, some meadows and a dominating hill surrounded by deep woodland. It's mine to tend and mine keep. But I've been borrowed to help the commander out here for a spell. Before the longing of my own wilderness calls me back to it."

“That really seems peaceful.” Offering him a gentle smile she laughed lightly to herself. “I don’t believe I could do that for elongated periods of time. Mind you, I love having my hands in the dirt, be it to plant something, or dig something out. But I don’t think I could stay anywhere very long. Not yet anyways.” She shifted in place, as if the need to move was starting to get to her. “I think being on a starship is as big a compromise I can live with. Familiar, but always changing.” Her smile grew to it’s earlier excited self, as energy seemed to slowly grow once more.

"My nana used to say that once you close the door to the outside world, there's your home. And that's kind of true, I think. The outside changes so much, and if it's one thing that Norvi has taught me it's that the universe is forever changing and shifting. We just don't have the foresight to see it like a Joined species does." He paused and then smiled. "What's your name, sorry?"

“Oh! Right names! Pesky little things don’t you think? And yet, so evocative.” Her eye caught a broken rose behind her interlocutor. “What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet." Shaking her head slightly, she smirked and looked back at the Welshman. “Lenaris Marika. But please call me Marika. I’m not big on formalities.” Offering her hand and a warm smile, her eyes held something unidentifiable for a single moment.

"Just Cadwyn," he repeated, taking her hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you." He looked about him and then motioned to the next flower-bed, equally as charred and pathetically ruined. "You can make a start if you like, Marika," he said with a nod. "Anything you can salvage would be great."

“Awesome!” Rolling up her sleeves, she took in the damage and smiled at the gardener. Nodding to herself, she kneeled and proceeded to comb through the flower-bed. As she played with the soil for a few moments, memories of times spent with her mother tending their personal garden came rushing back. A happy laugh escaped her lips as she pulled out a flower bulb. Staring at it a moment, she turned towards Cadwyn and beamed him a smile. Positively giddy, she set it aside and continued on her search.

"There might not be much left," he said dejectedly as his eyes peeled towards his own charge. "It's not too much of a job to replant everything but I'd rather not." He paused and picked up a full bulb too. Setting it aside he marveled at its will to survive and live. "Is't nature such a wonderful mistress?"

Grinning at the man, Marika looked up for a moment. “She sure is, though I must admit I prefer to keep fate as my mistress. She may be fickle, but she sure is exciting.” Winking at the man, she laughed. “I find it amazing how we bring these along with us wherever we go. Even in the vastness of space, we bring a piece of home with us.” She played with the dirt in her hands for a moment, then continued on her quest.

"I suppose it's an anchor for most people," Cadwyn thought loudly. "Not being a 'Fleeter' myself, as they say, I'm a bit unsure how everyone thinks, but I certainly appreciate the thought of where I came from coming with me. To 'ground' me, I suppose." He paused and looked up. "Jumja? Isn't that a delicacy on your world. Like it or loathe it, it's still part of your make-up."

Nodding in agreement the young Bajoran smiled at him. “Wise words. I guess gardening does leave one time for reflection and introspection.” Looking around, hands in the dirt, she sighed to herself, content. “I hope you don’t mind, but I think I’ll be spending a little more time here. And anytime you feel like having an extra pair of hands, I’ll be glad to offer mine.”

"I'm not in charge here," he said with a wide, dismissive smile. "You're free to come and go as you please. Help out as you please, or just merely enjoy what's around you here. I just plant where they tell me and maintain what's here with my keen, rugged eye. Nothing more. And what's a garden if it's not enjoyed by anyone?" He paused and then looked to the patch of ground the Bajoran was sifting through. "Tell you what, why don't you pull up all of the bulbs in that bed and head on down the to the hydroponics bay? Pick out something to plant here yourself. Maybe a bit of Bajor here?"

Marika’s eyes lit up at the prospect of having the bed being her own doing. Beaming the man a smile worth a hundred kisses, she went to work with vigorous abandon. Her touch in this beautiful garden for all to see. What else could one look for in life but to mark others with beauty. That realisation slowed her down for a moment, as she took in it’s meaning and what it would spell out for her. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but words did not seem appropriate. She nodded and kept on with her work.

OFF:

Cadwyn Lane
Gardener
USS Galileo

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

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