Gardening Talk

Posted on Fri Jun 21st, 2024 @ 1:55am by Lieutenant JG T'lenn & Lieutenant JG Thivi

1,545 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Menagerie: side stories & mischief making
Location: Deck 9 Gardens
Timeline: Just a day...

"You know, word has it that you've been spending quite a lot of time with someone of late." Thivi's comment seemed quite nonchalant as she stood watching one of the garden's ploughing droids loosen the plot in front of her and her companion. When she'd found out that T'Lenn had an interest in gardening and didn't mind having someone to share the hobby with her, the idea had instantly sprung to mind. Get a plot, get some seeds, plant seeds, freshly grown produce in a matter of weeks thanks to modern botanical science. Not too bad, right?

At her feet was a large bag of what seemed to be packets of seeds. Most were Kaminar varieties - fruits, vegetables, a kind of bullet-shaped seed Thivi insisted was some kind of decorative bush that normally grew in arid conditions but thrived anywhere else, too. "Not that that's anything bad! I'm glad to hear that you've found someone that's very close to you, if that's what it looks like..."

"Jason Williams joined my table in the officer's lounge one evening when the lounge was full. I offered to give him my table, but he insisted that I stay. He has been quite forward with regards to his romantic interest in me," T'lenn responded.

T'lenn had brought with her a smaller collection of seeds for the garden, mostly flowers that were used in particular tea recipes.

"And the two of you have been meeting ever since? Sorry, my sickbay staff love to gossip." Thivi snickered. The gardening droid returned and beeped, signifying the end of its task, and indeed the plot in front of them had been neatly plowed in straight rows. Time to get to work. Thivi reached into her pocket and retrieved what seemed to be a small hammer of sorts. She extracted the bag of bullet-shaped seeds from the sack and began to plant them, always striking each individual seed where the percussion cap would be with the hammer.

"These rely on the bottom being damaged to begin growing. Rain usually triggers it, but in the absence of that Kelpiens sometimes break them open like that." Thivi explained. "How interesting, don't you reckon?"

"Are the seeds weakened by moisture, or is the rain on Caminar that aggressive?" T'lenn asked.

"Moisture, usually. They grow in the desert." Thivi explained. "Though they do fetch a rather good price on the market when fully grown. That being said our rainy seasons can be quite intense." She shrugged. "No one ever gets injured, but the especially heavy rains can leave little red marks on your skin if you're not covered up properly."

"Here, have a go." She hands T'Lenn the hammer and a handful of seeds. "So how do you feel about Jason? Surely there must be some reciprocity of feelings?" Thivi snickered.

"Up until this week my feeling bore little to no relevant purpose on my life. Yet it would seem that since becoming acquainted with Jason Williams both he, and now you are asking me to articulate emotion," T'lenn said casually as she took the hammer and seeds from Thivi. "I have spent a lifetime exercising emotional suppression."

"But you feel. As much as Vulcans try to seem utterly emotionless and logical you still have preferences and opinions - which are both driven by emotions, as you know. You said he likes you in a romantic sense - do you think of him the same way is what I'm asking." Thivi clarified.

"He has... incited an interest from me," T'lenn admitted. "He is reckless and spontaneous, and almost all of his actions are driven purely by emotion. A logical assessment would conclude we are not compatible."

"As much as that may be - he interests you doesn't he? Why don't you give things a shot? Not everything can be rationalized with pure logic or medical science." Thivi added. She knelt down and began to loosen the soil with a trowel before planting more of those bullet shaped seeds in the ground. "Even if the two of you wind up just being friends..."

"We have been spending time together in a manner consistent with courtship," T'lenn admitted. She handed the seeds over to Thivi after she had stricken each one with the hammer.

"How do people find mates on your world?" T'lenn asked.

"Like humans do, really. Go out, meet people and see if you click. Of course, there are often other factors that get in the way, which is when either party decides that they might be better off as friends or forgetting they were ever together." Thivi shrugged. "It's a long and complicated process, I know. But I suppose it works. Me? I've so far not had much luck, really."

"T'lenn looked up from her seed preparation with curiousity. 'Forgetting they were ever together'" T'lenn repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, some relationships go way sour." Thivi explained. "There is a complete disagreement and disconnect between both parties' values and priorities and fights break out, arguments get heated, maybe one party cheats because their partner doesn't offer them what they need." She shrugged her shoulders. "So they part on unpleasant terms and vow to act as if the relationship never happened. Some extreme cases involve the two wanting to do slightly more than to never see each other again, but I digress."

"At any rate." Thivi picked up her trowel and began to cover the seeds with soil. "Those situations tend to be quite rare. Where do you forsee yourself with Williams... mmm, say, next year. Small goals."

T'lenn raised her eyebrows. "One year is a long time to predict, and many things may happen between now and then," T'lenn stated seriously. "As of right now we have gone on one... date. And I presume that there will be more."

"So you think that this relationship might go somewhere." Thivi quipped. "It certainly seems that way to me! Since you expect that he might invite you on more - nor do I detect any objection from you so far!"

"I have decided to keep an open mind, although this was not in my original plans for my future. It has always seemed to me that it was logical to find a suitable Vulcan mate in 40 or 50 years and have children thereafter. Establishing a romantic relationship with a human partner now, certainly would change my future plans significantly," T'lenn pointed out.

"Indeed it would. And I trust that you'll come up with the right decision when the time comes. Maybe one day I'll be that lucky." Thivi sighed wistfully as she opened a bag of small green seeds. "Kelpien winter melon. Sweet, juicy and best of all, excellent in dessert." She announced, showing the packet to T'Lenn before planting them in intervals along another stretch of tilled land. "You should try the drinks we make with them sometime. I'll make you one when these are fully grown."

"The seeds that I have brought are flowering plants, used in a variety of tea recipes from Vulcan. Many of the recipes require precision while preparing, and the replicator rarely concocts a truly accurate representation. I can teach you how when the flowers are ready," T'lenn offered, as she took the seeds which were packaged individually by species in the larger bag.

"I'd love to try it. Vulcan tea, as I understand it, is like a work of art." Thivi quipped.

"What is it that you are looking for in a mate?" T'lenn asked.

"Oh, well, that's a rather loaded question." Thivi sighed and blushed slightly. "Someone understanding. Non-judgmental. Honest. Someone who can make me laugh." She said. "Which so far is proving hard to find, really. Not that it bothers me all that much."

"I have found that being a minority serving on a Starfleet vessel presents some challenges when it comes to making social connections. Particularly when one's culture is vastly different from Human culture and others that have evolved similarly," T'lenn confessed. "It must be even more difficult for a Kelpian. There are many Vulcans in Starfleet. The same cannot be said for Kelpians."

"Oh, yes. I am aware that there are a sparing few of us in Starfleet - though I appear to be the only one on this ship. And I have access to the full ship's roster." Thivi replied, somewhat wistfully. "Well. I suppose the right one shall come along eventually. It's only a matter of time. Though I do know that most humans and their like tend to be quite open with whom they take as partners..."

"Indeed that is true," T'lenn agreed. "The ship has not been commissioned long, and it is a new crew that has been kept busy. Perhaps in the coming weeks we will see more free time that is conducive to finding you a suitable mate -- if you desire."

T'lenn finished planting the Vulcan flowers along the boarder. "The flowers are not only good for making tea, they should also provide a pleasing aesthetic to the garden as well." She looked to Thivi. "Have you anything else to plant today?"

"Quite a bit more. Don't worry, it won't take long." Thivi held up the bag of seeds she'd taken with her. "We'll have all evening..."

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