Frosty Afternoon In The Garden

Posted on 17 Jan 2013 @ 2:45pm by Ensign Tavish Hunter
Edited on on 17 Jan 2013 @ 4:35pm

1,245 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 4, Arboretum
Timeline: MD-02: 1600 hours

ON:

Tav had managed to report for duty and have a tour of engineering and come away in one piece and ready for his first swing shift. Having managed to find time for a short break he had wandered the ship, trying to get used to its impressively compact layout and ended up in the, equally comprehensive, arboretum. He stood gazing at the variety of flora that the botanists had managed to pack into such a small space when he heard the movement of another person.

Liyar was sitting amidst the expansive territory of grass, legs crossed in what looked like the lotus position with his eyes closed. The Vulcan was straight-backed and looked peaceful, breathing deeply. It looked as if he were asleep, tuning the world out. In front of him was a small warming stone, in place of the potential fire-hazard the asenoi could cause in the arboretum. He discovered this place after his meeting with Meridian. And he'd been there ever since. He couldn't comprehensively meditate, but he had to get to the second level, the third level. Enough to calm his body down, regulate his breathing, autonomic processes. He wasn't thinking, just letting the flow of life around him enter and exit through his awareness. The plants, various foliage, small animals and insects. Of all the places on board the ship, this felt the most alive.

Beside him the two circular bracelets he usually now wore over his wrists were stacked beside the stone. He didn't want to be limited. He wanted to connect, the flow of particles and molecules, down and deeper through reality into their cores. He could feel them, vibrating, shifting. The essence of life. This essence was rudely interrupted by the abrupt chill that flew through the air as the doors opened and someone... Terran, crashed through his perception, cutting through the scenic vision he'd created in his mind like a bull in a china shop. Liyar blinked his eyes open and stared up at the man standing over him expectantly.

"Sorry," Tav began. "Was I interrupting? I'll leave if you need to concentrate."

"Is there something that you require?" Liyar asked, not answering either of the man's queries or ponderings, his position unshifting, steadfast, save for the fact that his eyes were now open instead of closed.

"No, I was just getting acclimatised," Tav explained. "I came aboard yesterday, so I'm still finding my feet."

Liyar arched an eyebrow and looked downward. "I should not think you have lost them, Ensign." His tone was entirely serious.

"Sorry, figure of speech, it means finding one's way around," Tav corrected himself with a grin. "Lieutenant."

"I see," Liyar replied. Another convoluted idiom, then. He reached over and grabbed the bracelets on the ground, snapping them over his wrists under the hideous purple of his diplomatic uniform. Immediately he felt things become a little duller, less vibrant, less present. He was a Vulcan, so he gave no indication of the fact that this new state of things disquieted him.

Tav watched as the officer replaced his bracelets. The problem with some Vulcans was the lack of non-verbal communications. Some showed no sign of anything which was going through their head, others did, it was never clear to him why, but it was almost as disconcerting as talking by message. "You're a diplomatic officer?" Tav asked, hoping to spark some conversation based upon his observations.

"Affirmative," Liyar informed him with the enthusiasm one might offer a table coaster. It wasn't very helpful in the conversation department, but he'd just finished getting to level three in his meditations and his mind was taking its time adjusting to the real world again. It had been the first time in a long time he'd actually managed to sustain the level for longer than a few minutes. The arboretum was helpful. He blinked slowly, taking in the officer in front of him in continued silence, but at least he seemed more aware of the guy now. For a diplomatic officer, he did not seem very diplomatic.

"I've just taken up post as the Assistant Chief Engineer," Tav explained, ever hopeful. Getting an emotional response from this man was akin to swimming in a frozen lake.

Liyar inhaled calmly and tilted his head up. "Yes, I am aware of this, Mr. Hunter," he said in response, his words frosty and curt as they always tended to be. On anyone not Vulcan, they might even have been classified as impatient, though they were delivered with the same cadence as before.

"Great, sir," Tav remarked, adding the formality as a matter of course. He really had no idea how to communicate with some people it seemed, and was rapidly becoming aware that the conversation was growing tedious. Perhaps a bit of reasoning would help. "I just wanted to make sure I put names and positions to faces, as I feel it aids my communication and inter-departmental working in the future."

Another slow-blink, perhaps a Vulcan non-verbal cue. "I am Liyar. Diplomatic officer." He rose his hand in the ta'al, the traditional Vulcan salute, for a moment before lowering it again and tending to the firestones in front of him, pulling them back and arranging them carefully in a small wooden box with Vulcan characters on the side. He didn't, however, make any move to stand up, and leaned back against the tree he had sat under.

"Good to meet you, sir," Tav responded. "If you need any engineering work, you know who I am, feel free to call directly." He watched as the Vulcan replaced his stones. He wondered if that was a sign he had finished whatever he was doing, or was frustrated by Tav's presence. Surely it was more logical to tell someone you didn't want the intruding as opposed to keeping quiet about it.

Liyar remained unaffected, letting his hands wander to the ground, feeling the soil between his fingers, in his palms. His eyes closed. Even with the braces, he could feel the pleasant thrum of the earth. Tiny worms, bacteria, fungi. Growing roots and oak. It reminded him of the wet-planet observatory in the estate at home. "I am capable of completing any necessary feats of engineering within the course of my duties," he informed the ensign bluntly. "You have stated it is good to meet me. Yet you are disconcerted, and uncomfortable. I therefore can conclude only that this is a pleasantry. I do not know you, and as such cannot discern whether my meeting you is good. Nevertheless, I believe the correct response is an equal pretense in return. It is good to meet you." The Vulcan quoted the phrase woodenly.

"Thank you," Tav said, feeling he was becoming almost as wooden as the Vulcan stoically pointed out his emotions. "I will leave you to your business, sir."

Eyes still closed, Liyar didn't twitch. "As you wish, Ensign," he said, apparently unconcerned whether or not he left at all.

Tav, more confused at being unsuccessful at managing a conversation, shook his head slightly and walked away. Maybe, when there was business to discuss, he would get more than one word answers out of the Vulcan. Then again, maybe not.

OFF:

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, VDF/SDD
USS Galileo

Ensign Tavish Hunter
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

RSS Feed