Posted by Lieutenant Markus Woods (Chief Science Officer) in Another New Ship

(Snip)

‘Do you know how many unused holodeck slots go unused every week? A lot. Use the time you are allowed. It’s healthy for you. Doctor’s orders.’ She had worked on several plants and was moving towards another when she stopped. “Oh no, no no no. You can not be here.” She got up and disappeared coming back with the tray and began to dig carefully at the roots, releasing the plant from the soil to remove it. Before he could ask, “See all these plants are St. John’s Wort from Earth. It has so many medicinal purposes: depression, menopausal symptoms, somatic symptom disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, easing various skin conditions, including wounds, bruises, and muscle pain.” She nods towards the one she’s digging up, “This looks like St John’s Wort, but it’s actually Wayside Rantipole from Denobula. It’s poisonous to all humanoids. You can only tell them apart from the vein pattern on the leaves. See.” She plucked a leaf off of each and showed him. The St John’s was symmetrical in pattern, but the Rantipole was asymmetrical and even crooked rather than flowing in straight lines. She wrapped the roots in what looked like a burlap sack and set it on the tray to move to another location.

Mark listened to her lesson intently. He was familiar with the outdoors and related skills, but he was no herbalist, or even xenoherbalist. But she knew the difference between the plants. He was hesitant to touch the Rantipole, but observed it closely, filing that way. It probably wouldn’t come into play again, the odds were very low. But it was still useful to have in mind, just in case. As she went to bundling it up, he tilted his head. “Okay, this might be a stupid question, but I don’t have your level of sensitivity. Do poisonous plants like that have a different feel? Like… is their mindset different to you? Hostile, paranoid or afraid? Or is that just anthropomorphising?”

Sharah smiled, her eyes lit up. Olly used to ask her how the plants felt but never asked about the nuisances, the individual personalities about them…except the Beauregard. “Actually they do. The answer depends though. Some plants, like the Rantipole are poisonous to us but not to the plant and animal life around them. So it’s not a defensive adaptation. So though they have a unique feel for the most part they simply exist responding to the environment around them. Plants are not…complex in their emotions, they are very basic, more instinctual. Other plants, like…poison Ivy, feel…protective, like survival instinct. But usually they just are, being poisonous is an adaptation for survival in their environment.” She put down what she was working on and turned towards him, eager to share, “What really feels different are carnivorous plants. They are actually like....small animals, their sentient to an extent. Beauregard’s are angry, always angry, and they like being angry. Venus fly traps are calculating. On Ark Angel we had this massive Andorian Frost Beetle Lily and it was angry and predatory and it hated. I have a picture of it, I can show you some time.”

She’d ‘heard’ some of the thoughts floating about the ship, rumors mostly from the new crew that came aboard like she had. Most of the new crew thought it was just hazing from the older crew. But Sharah heard the thoughts and felt the emotions memories of the old Viking evoked. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but it had happened.

She’d missed out on a lot when she was younger because of what she was. Even Andrew had because of her. Her condition had ruled her family for her whole life. Now though, she was on her own, and they were free to have normal lives. “It’s not corny, it’s true. If people, if at least someone from each space faring culture had not gazed at the stars and wondered, we wouldn’t be out here. When I was younger though I would have found such a notion weird. I hated the stars and the idea of space travel.”

Fayth

“That’s very true.” He nodded in agreement. It just felt corny in some ways. But she was right. It was the biggest reason why Starfleet and the Federation even existed in the first place. It was their whole reason for being out here. Searching for answers, but also for others, for new connections. New peoples to call friend. Scooting a little closer he tilted his head. “If it was weird and you hated it… how’d you wind up out here in the black?” The question was a mild jab, poking at her a little, but also genuinely curious.

Mark

He was teasing her! It was such a strange sensation. He clearly got the impression that no one teased her not even her family. And impressions of being a small child and not understanding. Sharah wasn’t upset by it, rather the opposite. It was a different experience but not unpleasant. She acknowledged though that even a year and a half ago she would not have been comfortable with it. “My parents, they drug me all over the galaxy trying to find a way to help me. I hated leaving home, going to strange places, having to learn to cope with new minds, thousands, millions of unfamiliar people. Knowing they would tell my parents I was a stubborn deceitful child and I didn’t want to be helped. Or feeling their pity when they knew I tried my hardest but there was no help for me. For me the stars weren’t a promise of hope like they are for others.” She moved toward another plant, this time only clipping leaves and not the flowers from this one. “I ended up out here in the black because of my brother, Andrew…” She turned her head as if she was listening to something and then blinking went back to work. “He knew I wanted to be a doctor and Star Fleet medical is the best medical school in the quadrant. And that although I hated being dragged from one alien world to another, joining Star Fleet would let me continue to search for a cure when my own planet fail....”

“That’s understandable,” he said with a nod. Then frowned. She was focused on something else. At first he thought it might just be another conversation, a simple distraction. But the way her mood began to fall, his expression dropped. Something was wrong.

Sharah suddenly got up and walked away, her mental voice even going quiet drawn away. If Markus were to follow her, he would find her wrist deep in the soil that was dried and hard packed, working it loose with her hands, the flora practically dead, dried up and withering…and she was crying.

Fayth

He followed, then saw what she was doing. Without hesitation he moved to where he’d found her, snatching up the water can and returning at a brisk pace. By then she was visibly upset. Setting the can down, he tipped it forward, just enough to let a little bit of water into the mix, softening the soil so she could work it easier. It might be too late, but it was what he could do, even though it felt like watching someone he cared about find out they’d lost a fur baby. But there might still be hope, so he said nothing, but knelt next to her, one hand resting on her back, just listening in case she needed anything, offering silent support. ‘How can I help…‘

Mark

Into the space between them came a very specific list of items, 7 pots of specific sizes, a specific bag of soil, 3 different containers that contained plant food and water, lots and lots of water. Sharah used the water to loosen the dirt, and while he was gone she got up, and returned with a trowel. ‘It’s heartbreaking, they’re so sad.‘

Fayth