Talking With Trees - Part II

Posted on Sun Aug 6th, 2023 @ 2:40am by Captain Ryhl th'Zeles & Lieutenant Commander Johanna Lyngstad

1,299 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Deck 9, Arboretum, USS Columbia
Timeline: Following Part I

=/\= On =/\=

Ryhl turned back to Johanna. "You know.. The best times of my youth were spent when I could get away from the family mining ships and travel back to our hometown of Uskit. The province is known for its tall conifers. I would love to section off a corridor of the arboretum for Andorian plants. Do you have any open room on the floor plan?"

Johanna had reviewed some of the ship's personnel files by this time and recognized the Counsellor. She turned to the Captain. "Let's pull up the floor plan." She pulled out her sciences tricorder. "Hmm, we have tall conifers back home as well." She studied the floor plan. "We can set up that area over there," she pointed to a far corner. "It can be set for colder environments, so any conifers there will flourish. If I move..." she did a few mental gymnastics, "then we should be able to...", she paused and then said, "Yes, that will work quite well." She thought for a second, "Do you have saunas back home?"

"Actually we do", Ryhl replied excitedly. "My people lived underground for thousands of years. We use the natural springs to build warm tubs. Where the water flow only trickles, we have rooms similar to human saunas."

"What is your idea?" Andorian flora would be brought in from slightly more temperate regions along the equator, like Clorisev and Uskit. It would withstand extremely cold temperatures, but would also do fairly well in a climate between 55-60 Fahrenheit or 12.8-15.5 Celsius. It would just need a lot of water.

Johanna started walking to the corner that she had indicated. "We can take these plants here and move them to the empty space over there. Once that is done, we can have enough room for three conifers. We can leave these plants here," she gestured to a different group, "because they like shade and tolerate cold temperatures. These lingonberries and strawberries, for instance."

Ryhl studied the human berries. "Interesting", he said. "Not so much where I'm from, but in Clorisev, the rare Veliska berries grow. I'll try to have my family's botanical contact gather several interesting specimens. Perhaps some tuber-root."

"I'd like to try ice bloom", Ryhl added. "But I'm not sure it'll thrive here. Do you have any other plans for the space? There is still a lot of room to work the soil." The arboretum was a massive space which stretched for much of this section of the enormous ship's deck.

"Not at this exact moment. Maybe some more mosses in the hot area. Starfleet HQ has an area that is really oxygen rich, thanks to all the mosses. It can make you a little giddy." Johanna smiled.

"Andorian mosses wouldn't do well there at all", Ryhl said with a wide smile. Plants really seemed to put him at ease. Thoughts of flora from his homeland sparked his creative spirit. "I look forward to seeing this place grow and evolve. I may stop by to turn a trowel, every now and again."

Ryhl looked up, nodding to the Counselor as she returned.

Feeva paused in front of the other two. "A waterfall or something would be beautiful here," she said. "Vissia is known for our Limestone art," she said.

"Very interesting. I will definitely look into having a nice waterfall here. Oh, I'm Johanna by the way. Johanna Lyngstad." She offered her hand to the Counsellor.

Ryhl smiled upon greeting Feeva. "Did you two have any other ideas you wanted to run past me?" The Commander shifted his weight on his feet, turning closer to Johanna. "A few people came to me with ideas for some club. Others wanted to start a band. If you have any ideas that will make this ship feel more like a home, let me know."

"A band would be great. If there are enough musically talented people on ship. I really have to check out the gym soon and make sure there are regulation hoops up."

"Yes, you may have missed it. The large court is tucked away towards the back of the gym. Full size with a row of fold out bleachers", Ryhl said happily. "Perks of such a large ship. You will see me on the courts, Miss Lyngstad", Ryhl quipped.

Thoughts of an Andorian playing basketball might seem funny to a human. Ryhl learned at the Academy, during a time in his life when he was very competitive. He was slowly getting a little older, but still had a lot of spring in his step.

"Counselor, did you have any other ideas for ship activities?" Ryhl's antennae twirled around inquisitively as he listened. He began to walk, leading the pair towards the bench where Feeva had sat.

She smiled. "Not really; my focus mostly is on my daughter these days; perhaps some sort of family activities-movie nights or turn the Astrometric lab into a star-viewing event," she said. "Otherwise, we tend to make our own fun in our quarters," she said. "I don't know how many of the other crew have family aboard; I almost sent her to live with me father," she said. "But...in the end, I decided she was better off here with me than on Vissia."

"Family is important", Ryhl said as he looked from woman to woman. "I definitely must keep families in mind. Movie night, hmm? That's an excellent idea."

"A stellar-cartography event would be fun, but it would require the help of the science department. What do you think, Miss Lyngstad? Would you have officers on hand to help host such an event?"

"Yes, certainly, Captain. Our Astrometrics expert (what was her name Johanna thought) and I could host the event. There are certainly many very beautiful things to see out in space."

"Consider it another event to look forward to", Ryhl said as he sat on the picnic table and rested his boots on the bench. "I hope to attend with my daughter. She'll be joining us in a few weeks.... Hopefully as a cadet."

Commander th'Zeles didn't know that his daughter had already made a slight change of plans. She was still moving aboard the Columbia, she'd just soured on the idea of serving as a cadet on her dad's ship.. The prospect was awkward to say the least.

Feeva simply nodded. "Well, then, there you go. If you both will excuse me, I should get back to Medical, just in case my next appointment is early," she said. "I will see you both later. Don't forget your onboarding exams!" She said, as she scooted off to the turbolift.

"I'll make sure to stop by", Ryhl told the Counselor.

"I have to go track down our Astrometrics expert and let her know about the upcoming event. Captain." Johanna turned to leave. "Oh Captain, looking forward to seeing you on the court."

"Indeed", he replied. "We'll get a game together."

Ryhl chuckled a little as the two women started to leave. "I'll be off to the bridge in a moment. Nice seeing you two. Safe travels."

It was then that a shape caught the Commander's attention. He stood and moved towards a set of brush alongside the winding creek. As he got closer, he saw what appeared to be little trees standing about three feet tall. Blooming from the tips of their limbs were wrapped flowers made of a transparent material that looked similar to cellophane.

Ryhl called out to the two woman just before they moved out of sight. "You missed the little plastic trees", he shouted.

The door to the Arboretum shut closed in the distance, leaving the Commander to himself.

Commander th’Zeles
Commanding Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Johanna Lyngstad
Chief Science Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Junior Grade Feeva Drylo
Counselor
USS Columbia

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