Posted by Ensign Skye Shepherd (Scientist) in Science Labs: The Start of Something New (Ens. Shepherd)
Only a few weeks had passed since the Trill hybrid had stepped off the U.S.S New Jersey into uncharted territory. Her new assignation? U.S.S. Chimera under the science department. The shuttle trip leading to the starship was filled with excitement. After all, this vessel happened to be much larger than the Constitution Class ship she had grown up aboard. Adrenaline rushing through Skye’s veins.

She adjusted the blue and black colored uniform upon arrival to the main Shuttlebay where their transport had now landed. Picking up what appeared to be a duffel bag filled with clothes. Blue gray eyes scanned the room and every officer walking past. Nervousness appeared to have become a normal part of the process, as her father had once explained. But this time, was intended for a blonde hybrid to experience the real world on her own.

With that Starfleet embroidered bag now hanging from her shoulder, the ensign made sure to reach what appeared to be an opening turbolift. Sweat now forming on her beige spotted forehead. She offered a thanking nod to the gold dressed officer who had held those doors open for the new arrival. Those words had come out from her dry throat, barely able to conceal that much enthusiasm. Though being able to get ahold of first impressions would become important down the line. Looking professional at the moment mattered vastly.

Standing there, frozen once the doors slid open was the same reaction every new ensign held when exploring an environment as different as a starship could be from their home planets or former crews. Having come from a mixed background, the unknown happened to be pretty much Ensign Shepherd’s kind of normal. But she hadn’t yet experienced what Starfleet really meant behind closed doors within these confines of space. Walking without a hurry down the hall, made a shiver run down her spine.

Upon reaching the main biology laboratory, a hand reached down to a holster strapped around her hips, which held an old Mark VII scientific tricorder which had once belonged to her father. The letters ‘O.T.’ carved on the side. With a deep breath, finally walking inside to find the vessel’s Chief Science Officer. Posture straightened just enough to cause a first impression. “This is Ensign Shepherd, reporting for duty.” Those words came out a little shakier than she had once expected. But perhaps first impressions didn’t mean everything to this vessel’s crew. Especially to an individual who had spent most of her life aboard an old Federation vessel still on active duty after so many centuries.

[[Ensign]] [[Skye Shepherd]]
[[Science Officer]] [[U.S.S. Chimera]]

The doors to the Chimera’s biology laboratory parted with their usual hydraulic sigh.

But the room beyond did not resemble the sterile, bright science labs most Starfleet officers expected.

The lighting was softer here.

Dimmed deliberately to a warm twilight hue that seemed closer to the filtered light beneath a forest canopy than the sharp white glow of a starship bulkhead. Bioluminescent moss grew in small cultivated clusters along the walls, their faint blue-green glow gently illuminating the laboratory in living light.

The air carried a subtle scent.

Damp earth.

Living bark.

A trace of growing things.

At the far side of the lab stood a towering terrarium column, nearly two meters high. Inside it grew a fragment of a world far from Federation space.

A small lume-tree sapling rose from rich dark soil, its glowing veins carrying light through the trunk like slow-moving rivers. Moss blanketed the roots while delicate glowing fungi dotted the ground like stars fallen into miniature forest night.

Moisture drifted slowly through the enclosed ecosystem.

A tiny forest breathing quietly inside the ship.

Along the curved bulkhead behind the terrarium hung something unusual for a starship science lab.

Instead of flat LCARS projections, several three-dimensional star charts floated within circular projection frames grown from curved wood-like structures. Each projection showed sections of local space mapped not in rigid grids but in organic patterns, the star systems connected by flowing arcs of light resembling branching roots.

To Nytha’rae, the stars were not simply coordinates.

They were ecosystems.

Between the projection rings ran several arching beams of shaped living wood, installed along the ceiling. Their curved paths connected across the room like branches stretching between trees.

These were not decorative.

They formed a network of flight paths and perches for Nytha’kae.

Small resting points had been deliberately carved along the beams, each one polished smooth by tiny claws. The dragon could glide from perch to perch without ever touching the floor if he wished.

Near the terrarium sat a shallow water basin carved from smooth stone, its surface faintly rippling from a tiny recirculating current. Several small polished hunting stones rested beside it smooth mineral pieces that Nytha’kae occasionally carried and dropped during play.

Mounted along one wall nearby stood a weapon rack unlike anything normally seen inside a Starfleet laboratory.

It had been constructed from polished living wood grown through hydroponic shaping rather than cut lumber. The curved frame resembled a branching limb of a tree.

Resting within its cradle was Nytha’rae’s bow.

The weapon was unmistakably ancient in design but flawless in craftsmanship. Its limbs were carved from a single piece of dark, flexible wood taken from her family’s tree, the grain flowing like frozen rivers along the weapon’s length. Thin inlays of faintly glowing sap traced delicate patterns across the bow’s surface.

Beside it hung a quiver of long arrows tipped with polished obsidian arrowheads.

Below the rack rested two long volcanic glass knives, their handles wrapped in braided plant fiber.

None of it looked decorative.

Every piece was clearly meant to be used.

Standing near the terrarium was the Chief Science Officer.

Lieutenant Nytha’rae.

She wore the standard Starfleet science uniform, deep blue and black, but on her it seemed almost like a borrowed thing an attempt by Starfleet to place structure over something far more organic.

The uniform sleeves ended cleanly at her wrists.

Below the hem of the uniform jacket, however, something moved with quiet grace.

A long tail, the same green-blue shade as her skin, extended behind her. It swayed slowly with unconscious balance, the tuft of dark fur at its tip brushing lightly across the deck plating whenever she shifted her stance.

And unlike every other officer aboard the Chimera

Nytha’rae wore no footwear.

Her bare feet rested directly on the deck.

The metal plating reflected faintly beneath them, but she stood as comfortably as if the ship were forest soil. Her toes adjusted slightly when she shifted weight, instinctively reading balance the way her people always had.

Even aboard a starship, she never fully separated herself from the ground beneath her.

Her skin held the shifting coloration of green and blue tones that mimicked forest shadow, darker in some places where light would fall through canopy leaves, lighter where the ambient glow of the room touched her.

Long black hair fell freely down her back.

Across her cheekbones and throat ran the delicate bioluminescent markings of her species, glowing faintly in thin branching lines of blue-green light. At rest they pulsed slowly, matching the rhythm of her breathing.

Above her, perched along one of the curved beams, rested Nytha’kae.

The small dragon’s jewel-toned scales shimmered in the dim light as he shifted slightly, emerald and sapphire wings folding neatly along his back. His head tilted with clear curiosity toward the opening door.

Nytha’rae had been studying the terrarium when the ensign entered.

Her hand rested gently against the glass, feeling the faint warmth radiating from the living ecosystem inside.

The voice reached her a moment later.

“This is Ensign Shepherd, reporting for duty.”

Nytha’rae turned.

The bioluminescent lines along her throat brightened slightly as she observed the new arrival.

She did not move immediately.

Instead she watched the young officer for a moment—the nervous posture, the way the duffel bag hung from her shoulder, the hand resting instinctively on the old tricorder at her hip.

Her tail shifted once behind her, the dark tuft brushing softly across the floor.

Above them, Nytha’kae gave a small flicker of light.

Then Nytha’rae stepped forward.

Her movements were smooth and deliberate, bare feet silent against the deck as she crossed the room. Even in Starfleet uniform she moved with the quiet balance of someone who had spent a lifetime navigating roots, branches, and uneven forest ground.

She stopped a comfortable distance from the ensign.

Her tail settled behind her.

Then she performed a small, unfamiliar gesture.

Her right hand lifted slowly and rested over the center of her chest.

Her head bowed slightly not submissive, but respectful.

The soft glow of her markings brightened briefly along her throat and cheekbones.

“May the Mother feel your steps as gentle,” she said quietly.

The phrase was clearly not part of Starfleet protocol.

After a moment she straightened.

“It is the greeting of my people.”

Then she continued in a more familiar tone.

“Welcome to the Chimera, Ensign Shepherd.”

“I am Lieutenant Nytha’rae, Chief Science Officer.”

Her eyes drifted briefly toward the tricorder the ensign held before returning to the young officer herself.

The glow along her cheekbones warmed faintly.

“It appears you have brought a piece of your past with you.”

Above them, Nytha’kae shifted his wings on the beam overhead, watching the new arrival with bright, curious eyes.

And for just a moment, the quiet laboratory felt less like a Starfleet facility.

and more like a forest clearing where two travelers had just met.

LT.JG Netha’rae