Posted by Lieutenant Kenneth Fleet (Helm) in Side Sim: Surprise Date Night- Hydroponics Lab

Posted by Lieutenant Kenneth Fleet (Helm) in Side Sim: Surprise Date Night- Hydroponics Lab

Posted by Lieutenant Naomi Locke (Sci) in Side Sim: Surprise Date Night- Hydroponics Lab
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Naomi’s lips creased across her face. Her eyes narrowed, and she marked down her findings in her data pad. The device clicked as it stored the data. She had a lack of improvement with nursery plants NPP-120. Their leaves held discoloration and a droopy appearance, both indicated ill health. As Americans would say, she had a brown thumb when it came to plants.

Defeated by her lack of skills in plant nursing, she looked at the time. 18:30. About half an hour past dinner time causing her to sigh. A hiss caught her attention, and she spotted Kenny with two large trays in his hands. Her lips curled into a smirk at his thoughtfulness.

“Perfect timing.” She walked over then planted a kiss on his cheek.

“I was just thinking about dinner before you showed up.”

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci

Kenny grinned, and balanced one tray on his arm, the other on his hand, and did a flourishing move with the other hand in order to tug the lid off the hand-balanced tray and reveal a delicious smelling plate of spaghetti and meatballs. “You know, I think I might have been a waiter in another life,” he said with a chuckle, putting the lid back and switching back to one tray per arm.

“Now,” he paused to kiss Naomi on the cheek. The trays were too precarious for him to do anything more than that. “Is there somewhere we can eat in here, or do I have to carry these all the way back to the dining hall?”

Fleet, Helm

Naomi smiled. Kenny’s affection still lingered on her cheek as she considered his statement. His positive energy and sweetness felt too good to be true some times.

Since his return, their schedules had been chaotic. Arranging quality time had been a challenge, but they managed. It made these rare moments more precious in her eyes. Her figure walked to a small keypad. She pressed in a few numbers as an automatic rollout table hissed and set up for them.

“We can set up right here. The perk of technology, it has tables available. I’ll get us some seats.” She let him set up the food while she grabbed some stools for both of them.

“Oh, I might have a project I need your help with after dinner. I do not have a green thumb and I fear I’m about to be a plant killer by the end of the week.”

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci

Kenny easily - and gratefully - placed the trays down on the table, and pulled utensils wrapped in a napkin from his pocket. He set up the plates and utensils, then followed Naomi to help her with the stools, but it seemed as though she had it well in hand. The two settled on opposite sides of the small table, and after a moment of silence, Kenny dug into his meal.

A few bites passed before he spoke. “So, you said something was wrong with some of your plants? Wanna talk through it while we eat, or do you think that’s too much blending of work time and leisure time?” he asked with a small grin.

Lt. Kenneth A. Fleet, Helm

“I don’t have a better topic, so why not?” Naomi said as she took a seat.

She undid the napkin wrapped about the utensils. Her fork dug in then twisted the noodles about and stabbed a meatball. The sauce oozed as she bit into it. After a thoughtful chew over her first bite, she then began to explain.

“Some new plants appear to be turning brown around the edges.” she paused to point at the collection close to Kenny.

“That group beside you in fact. I’ve been giving them fertilizing, watering, and plenty of sunlight. However, they seem like they are dying.”

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci

Kenny turned his head to look at the plants, then he actually put his fork down and spun around in his chair to look at them more closely. His finger dug into the soil slightly, feeling it. “Have you considered that you might be overdoing any of those things?” he said, not turning back to look at her as he was now in the green-thumb zone. He lifted the leaves and ran a finger along the edge of the plant. His finger dug into the soil at the edge, searching for roots. “From what I can see, it looks like nitrogen poisoning. You know, some plants need a lot less fertilizer than others. I learned that the hard way one spring when I was a kid. I was fertilizing the pines, and my grandma looked ready to strangle me when she found out how much I was giving those poor plants. I got to see for myself that summer as those trees got an almost sickly yellow pallor, and the ones that got the right amount of fertilizer. It… was an enlightening experience.”

Kenny turned back to smile at Naomi. “It could also be overwatering, or a combination of both…” he muttered, then turned back to the plant, digging a little in the soil and pulling out a little root. “Oh shit. Or it could be that. Yeah, you’re definitely overwatering these little guys. This is root rot. You’ve got a bit of a fungal infection going on in these roots, and that’s going to really hinder the ability of the roots to soak up water. So it looks like they’re being underwatered,” he gestured to the browning leaves. “But it’s actually the opposite. You’re going to have to uproot these little guys and put them in fresh, clean soil, then make sure you monitor how much water they get to make sure you don’t overwater them and leave them in damp soil.”

Fleet, Helm

OOC: so apparently I’m a plant nerrd cause that was fun to write :P

“That was one thing I didn’t consider the soil storing the water. The other girl never writes down what she’s done on her list and the soil’s so thick, it sucks up. So I can never tell if it’s been done or not. It’s rather bloody annoying.” Naomi grumbled.

She considered doing it now, but she preferred to wait. Her meal took priority over the flora who had been sitting in stale water for any number of days. It wouldn’t kill them instantly to tolerate it for a little longer.

“I’ll get to changing them after we’re done with our meal. I don’t think a few more minutes will instantly kill them.” The ensign hoped her lack of plant empathy didn’t insult him.

“How’s your family doing?” Naomi picked a topic she knew he wouldn’t ignore.

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci

OOC: Now I know two people who are plant nerds, does this mean your house will look like a jungle too? XD

OOC: no, actually. I know a lot about them but I don’t stick in one place long enough to keep em alive. I have one plant and it’s dying because I left it at my parent’s house for one single month and my mother murdered it.

IC: Kenny chuckled. “No worries about that,” he wiped off his fingers on his shirt, not worrying about the dirt now staining his uniform, and turned back to his food. “Unlike animals who, if something is wrong usually need immediate assistance, plants work on a slower time scale. Plus, good to know it wasn’t necessarily your fault they’re in a bad way,” he added with a small thumbs up.

After a moment of munching on his meal, Kenny sat up slightly again. “Ah, yeah. Family. They’re doing well. Dealing with Allison’s disappearance was difficult on everyone, but I think by the time I left home my parents were mostly adjusted. I think it was good I was home… let me help them through it… and vice versa.” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Still, it was hard for us to part, since it was out in space where the accident happened.”

Kenny, Helm

Naomi didn’t know what to say. Her hand reached out and gently laid on top of his free on. A gesture of kindness to ease the pain that she couldn’t do through words. For a moment, she regretted asking about his family since she had forgotten about their loss.

“I’m sure whatever happened, she’s fine now. I wish I could say or help more, but best I am is just a set of ears.” She tried to lighten the mood she caused.

It was a subject she tended to avoid in order to keep things fun and light between them. With the time he spend in a coma, she regretted not touching on both good and bad.

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci