... is still a Rose

Posted on Sat Oct 21st, 2023 @ 7:15am by Thrita sh'Qirhess

2,725 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Deck 9, Arboretum, USS Columbia
Timeline: MD C7 1800 hours

=/\= On =/\=

Thrita led Shanir by the hand, pulling his arm. She increased her walking speed until she was basically forcing him to jog. "This way", she said as she giggled.

The more developed path curved into one made of softer, alien soil. It felt like a gentle foam under their footfalls as they made their way through the last grove of human trees.

They made their way through rows of Juniper trees. Vegetation changed as the weather slowly began to cool. Wildflowers seen in places like the Yukon or Siberia replaced the violas and strawberry vines.

"Look at all of these pretty alien flowers", she said, slowing down. Her hand hadn't let go of his.

"I didn't realize this was back here," Shan commented, appreciating the cooler weather. "The arboretum's climate controls are more varied than I thought they were." He looked around at the landscape, taking in where the cooler climate likely transitioned and how it was contained.

They continued through the brush as more exotic plants crept along the path. Flowers were in many different colors, different scents each floating through the air.

Shanir and Thrita approached a patch of flowers they recognized.

"So the Captain planted these," Shan commented, noticing the Andorian wildflowers already starting to bloom. "You said you had seeds to plant?" Shan asked turning to look at her. He wanted to kiss her again, but he held back.

"He's always planting something", she said as she moved between him and a taller Andorian vine. Dark purple flowers were formed with delicate petals. Extremely thin, thorny spines ran along each light blue stem.

"Ryhl spent forty minutes talking to my ship's Commander about plants. Once he found out they had a garden on board, he beamed over." She sounded exasperated. "Ugh! It was so embarrassing."

"He transplanted these." Thrita turned back to Shanir, gesturing towards the flowering bush. She looked into his eyes, antennae scanning. Her feet lined up with his, boots tapping against his toes as she leaned forward.

"Well.." Her dark purple irises locked onto his. There was a playful tone to her voice. "I don't have them now.. We'll just have to come back." She felt as if they were finally alone as she looked at the vegetation surrounding them.

Shan wrapped his arms around her waist, and looked down into eyes. He felt himself involuntarily smiling. That's what being around her did to him. He wasn't really thinking about future consequences or what rules they were supposed to be following. He was just here. In this moment. With her.

He took one hand and brushed her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear. He liked how her silky white hair felt in his fingertips. It seemed as though they could feel one another's heart's beating as they stood this close, lost in one another's gaze. Shan spoke softly, "I have something to confess to you actually."

He took a heavy breath as he let his hand fall from her face. "I never do this," he said looking at her. "I've been very guarded about dating. I just never wanted to get into a situation where I would have to let someone down if... well you know." He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't even know what compelled me to today. I didn't come into Ice trying to meet someone like that. You are special, Thrita. And now that I've met you, I want to know everything there is to know about you."

"I don't normally approach people either", she said before snorting a laugh. "Not like that. It was a genuine moment. I think we could be something special." She tip-toes to peck his lips with a kiss, quickly sinking down and out of reach of the kiss,

"I mean.. Being forced into a bondgroup is still not ideal. I'd rather just... Get to know you", Thrita said as she thought about their situation. "But we can still take our time with that. Just you and me."

"That sounds perfect," Shan responded sincerely. He reached down to kiss her, just briefly. Her lips felt warm against his. When they parted lips, he took his hand from her waist and loosely held hers in his. "So did you want to sit down... climb a tree?" He asked, a playful expression on his face.

"Wait.. I have an idea", she said. Thoughts of childhood science classes rushed to the Shen's memory. Thrita turned partially towards another set of tall flowers. The mature plants grew together in bunches of dark blue stalks and hot pink blooms.

Her free hand peeled back several of the delicate petals, releasing a sweet scent. Long, thin seeds rested in a honeycomb-like pattern hidden underneath them. "Look! We have seeds after all."

Thrita felt a nervous excitement around the idea of looking for things to do. Part of her wanted to just sit under the flowers and express herself to him, but the thought made her anxious. She had never felt so grateful to find seeds to occupy herself.

"Are they ready?" Shan asked, kneeling down to look at the flower. "The flower looks so young still." He looked up at her, "I'm afraid I'm not much of a botany expert," he confessed. "We had gardeners do most of our landscaping. My shreya would put bouquets together for inside the house. I don't really have an eye for how to do it myself."

He watched her carefully handle the flower, delicately so that the petals didn't get damaged. Thoughts were swimming in his head about how much he didn't want the day to end.

Thrita giggled as he mentioned bouquets. She listened to his story and tried to visualize his family. "I was never good at making bouquets. The trick is to cut long stems and trim them up.. But mine never look.. Full."

She took a closer look at the seeds. They seemed to be colored slightly differently, fading from white into a dark red. "I would imagine the darkest seeds are the most ripe", she said. "Some of these seeds probably won't sprout."

She gingerly peeled the petals open to show Shan where the seed pods rested. "See? There's something calming about touching a plant.. About the primal act of gathering seed and planting vegetation."

"Primal, huh?" Shan said, smiling at her. "It's worth a try right? A reason to come back here in a couple of weeks and check in on them." He was looking at her now, not the flower.

Thrita blushed under Shanir's intense eye contact, looking away momentarily. A giggle escaped as she took a few steps away from the plant. Thrita knelt, bending her knees while reaching towards the ground. Her fingers didn't hesitate before poking small dimples into the soil. Each seed was placed into a nook with care before covering them with soil.

"Let's hope they make it", she said as she approached him with open arms. They moved to wrap around his lower back, Thrita still keeping some distance between them.

"Did you want to find a place to sit, here where it's cooler?" Shan asked. "Or we could walk around a bit." He could since the distance she was starting to put between them and didn't want to push her. "I don't want this to be weird. Has it become weird?" he asked. "We could call it a day if you want. And maybe you'd think about letting me take you on a proper date later this week."

"It hasn't", she said as she rested her head against his shoulder. Slowly she crept closer until she rested against him. Thrita had never been this close to another romantically before. She closed her eyes, feeling a warmth envelop her.

"Tonight has been... absolutely amazing", she said while looking back up into his eyes. "There's so much I want to learn about you... Ugh.. We'll have to talk with my thavan soon.. Should we just get it out of the way? He'll be happy that we finally met. Things will probably be a lot clearer once we all speak our minds."

"Sure, if you want," Shan said gently. "Whatever you're comfortable with. If you want me there, I'll be there." He made the statement as if it were a promise. And to him it was.

"That means a lot", she said "And by the way.. I'll be expecting that date", she said, pulling back slightly with a grin. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a small communication device. She didn't wear a badge, carrying the small tool instead

"I think we should try to meet quick tomorrow morning, before the shifts kick off. Breakfast?"

"Dad.. It's me", she said after activating the communicator. "I'm kind of with company.. You'd be happy." Although Thrita's parents split when she was very young, she learned the human terms of 'dad' and 'father' during early childhood education aboard the USS Cairo. Thavan was the Andorian term for her father of the thaan gender. The term was an informal endearment between them.

Shanir would hear a familiar voice over the comm speaking with a different inflection.

=/\=Hello, Ice Star! How was your...=/\=

Thrita pressed a control to cut into Ryhl's comm call, a feature which convinced her to buy this model from a Ferengi trader.

"Dad I'm with Shan!" Thrita interrupted Ryhl before he said any other embarrassing things.

=/\=Oh!=/\= Ryhl's voice was excited, but seemed to pause. His voice was hesitant as he next spoke. =/\=Is he.... there right now?=/\=

"Yes", Thrita said, turquoise blush of awkward excitement creeping along her cheekbones. "We met at Ice. We've got to meet tomorrow for breakfast.."

=/\=Hello uhm, Mister.. Tha Shanir=/\= Ryhl usually referred to junior officers by last name and rank. It was at this moment that he realized Shanir could truly become family. =/\=I hope she's not giving you too much trouble.=/\=

"Um, no Sir. Of course not. Not at all," Shan responded. He nervously scratched the hair behind his left ear, his antennae twitching slightly at the sudden surprise. "We met at Ice, and then she brought me to see the Andorian flowers you planted on the Arboretum. Quitely lovely, Sir. It feels like home." Shan felt his cheeks flushing. Time to stop talking now, he told himself.

He looked at Thrita and shrugged, hoping she would take back over before he made a fool out of himself.

Ryhl laughed to himself before responding. He remembered being young. =/\=It appears we will be getting to know each other after all. I wasn't sure if you to would like each other. It's great to hear you've met. I know things have been very formal on the bridge, but I want you to know I am more than just your Captain.=/\=

"Thank you, Sir. I'll be looking forward to it," Shan replied. In reality right now he was quite nervous, but he was sure it would be okay after a while. It would just take some getting used to is all. ... Right?

Thrita smiled, feeling new connections after sharing the moment. Her anxiety began to rise in anticipation of the next day.

"We'll plan this later", Thrita said before Ryhl added a quick goodbye. Thrita turned back to Shanir.

"You know.. I'm going to take care of a few more things tonight. Would you mind walking me back to my quarters? We can take the long way." She wondered more about Shanir and who he was. There was so much she wanted to ask him.

Instead she moved back into him, enjoying the moment.

Shan squeezed her gently into the embrace. "Of course I'll walk you home," he answered. "That comm was interesting. The Cap - your dad. He said he didn't know if we'd like each other. Maybe he's not expecting you to feel obligated to the bond group after all," Shan mused.

After a brief squeeze, she pulled away and took his hand. Thrita turned to Shan as they walked back down the trail towards the main path. "It sounded as if it was all a test. But what about the others? He told me he hasn't ruled out trying to get them assigned here. Should we reach out to them first?"

Shan felt his heart sink a little. "So that is why I'm here?" he asked, slowing down a little. "I always wondered, but I didn't ask. I was thinking that my Starfleet career and my personal life were... could be separate somehow." He looked ahead, his antennae scanning outward for people nearby. "Don't get me wrong, this is an incredible assignment, I had just hoped that I had earned it."

"The others..." Shan acknowledged. He took a few quick steps to get ahead of her, and turned back to look at her. "What do you want to do? I know we've all seemed to be putting it off for whatever reason. I don't really care, as long as I can keep seeing you."

"I've been putting it off too", she replied. "It's kind of overwhelming. But... I only care about you", she said as she squeezed his hand. "It still seems like it would be a good idea to at least check in with them. Let's find out how they feel.. Can't hurt, hmm?"

Thrita leaned her head forward to duck her curling antennae under a low branch.

"Sure, it actually doesn't seem as daunting now. I mean, now that we've already met." Shan followed her along the trail. There definitely hadn't been the low hanging branches to duck under when they had come in. "This must be part of the long way back to your quarters?" He asked, an amused smile on his face.

"I had to show you this place", she said happily as she continued to pull at his grasp. She had guided him slightly off the path and through the leafy trees and conifer branches. The packed soil underneath their feet was similar to the pathway.

The branches tightened and grew denser around the improvised shortcut. Cold-hearty trees blocked out the artificial light above, as they had to duck lower and lower through the archway. Thrita knew the cement walkway was somewhere ahead in this direction.

It wasn't long until they were away from the cooler climate foliage and approached the paved path. They turned towards the opposite direction on the main trail, heading towards an exit in the distance.

A Bolian science officer quickly walked by, offering a polite exchange of greetings in the midst of his daily exercise.

Shanir escorted Thrita to across the ship, into the turbolift and up to the doorway of her room. She didn't want the night to end and was glad that meeting a random stranger turned into something so profound.

"Well.. This is it for tonight. Thanks for escorting me back", she said as she turned to lean her head into Shanir's shoulder. Her palms rested on his upper back.

Shan breathed in a sigh of contentment, his palms resting against the curve of her mid-back. "Send me a message with plans for breakfast, and I'll be there... If that's what you still want to do."

Thrita's hand's were clasped together. Her forearms tugged Shan's lower back towards her as she spoke. "I'll make sure Dad shows up."

As she felt the warmth of his body, she was tempted to invite him inside. Waiting just felt right. "Goodnight Shanir", she said, letting his name roll off of her tongue. Her long Thalassan antennae felt extremely sensitive as she leaned upwards and pursed her lips for a kiss.

Shan leaned down into Thrita pressing his lips against hers. As he pulled back he smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Thanks for giving me the best day I've had here yet." He squeezed her gently. "I'll see you in the morning." He pulled away from her, letting his hand trail toward hers as he left down the corridor.

Thrita turned to watch him walk away, eyes rolling back in her head as she released a deep breath and turned away. She couldn't believe how quickly what seemed like a random interaction escalated.

"Door open", she said as the chime acknowledged. Thrita stepped into her home, unable to shake thoughts of the night.

Ensign Shanir Th'kaasnik
Operations Officer
USS Columbia

Thrita sh'Zeles
USS Columbia

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