The Arboretum

Posted on Thu Jul 22nd, 2021 @ 11:17pm by Lieutenant JG Odelle Lin & Lieutenant Commander Shaille Levine & Lieutenant Renee Salchin & Lieutenant Valeria Mordin & Lieutenant JG Stan More

Mission: Recovery
Location: Deck Seven

Stan stood with his hands on his hips and looked around. The space and location was perfect. In his mind's eye who could visualise the Arboretum. Growing around him hear the soft hurling of the koi pond. Smell the different aromas around him. Yes this was going to be amazing.

But with every project. You had to start at the beginning. The foundations would need to be done first. You could not just plop an Arboretum anywhere. Especially on a moving Star ship. Preparations had to be done first.

“ Ok.Our first task is to lay all the underground sensors and also set out the Holo projectors. We will also need to set up the control computer network. But before all that I would like to show you all the plans for the Arboretum. After all it is for everyone on the Wellington.” Stan said” If you have any ideas and suggestions please let us know.” Stan said showing them a padd.

"On Ts'usu naval ships..." Valeria started, "It's customary to bring something from home with us. A particularly large rock, or a tree, or a piece of art. Something to remind us of home. Wherever we go, Ts'usu is there. It helps with morale, but more importantly, should the enemy attack us... they're not just attacking us, they're attacking Ts'usu." she continued, "We fight braver, stronger, smarter, and harder... because we're not just defending some collection of metal and wire, we're defending our home." she finished with a soft smirk.

"Now, I don't expect everyone to just jump onto the Ts'usu way of thinking. I agree with Lt. More, that something familiar and pleasant would do wonders for the crew."

Renee reached out and gently took the PADD from the Science officer and took a look at it. In her own typical fashion, she was wearing something uniform...ish. Her tunic was the gold and black of engineering, but the gold was glittering and shiny, almost as if it were made up of sequins while her pleated skirt looked amorphous due to her black stockings ending in shiny golden heels, None of the technical things should be a problem, but I do agree with Valeria here... Sure, maybe start off with holographics, but work in some real trees, plants, rocks, even live fish shouldn't be a problem. Even if I just set up a subset of inertial dampeners in here specifically for it." She grinned and winked at Stan as she made to hand the PADD back to him, "Should be nice, peaceful and a romantic place in the end."

Lin walked in to the arboretum location. She let the nurses handle Sickbay for at least a bit. It wasn't like there were going to be any serious casualties for a while. Unless Prel somehow mutinied... She winced a little at the thought internally. "Hope I'm not late!" she said

"Not in the slightest." Valeria started with a soft smirk, "We have yet to plant the tree." sometimes it was hard to get a read on a Ts'usugi's body language, their tone, or their intent. Other times, like now, it was clear that she was having a bit of fun.

Stan nodded and pointed.

“ The plants and trees will be real and so will the koi pound plus fish. But we will have to use the Holo emitters to produce insects and birds. To help with pollination with the plants and trees. We can’t have real ones in case they escape.” Stan said

Renee shuddered, "Yeah, getting stung just wouldn't be all that fun... Of course, now that I think about it, with us being here in the Delta Quadrant, are you thinking Terran trees and plants and stuff, or local stuff? And if Terran or other Alpha Quadrant species, how are we going to get the seeds or already grown plants? Not sure we could really replicate them properly..."

Stan nodded.

" I brought some seedlings with me when I arrived. By the time we have all this ground work done. They should be out of quarantine. Plus there are some plant samples already on board. The fish may be a problem. We may have to use holograms." Stan replied.


"It might be worth doing both if that's a possibility." Lin suggested. "Something representing both home and where we're at? It's just the replicating though and honestly, I might be a tolerable doctor but I suck at keeping plants alive. Most of my hosts have." the Trill added with a laugh

Stan smiled.

" That is ok. You can help in other ways. This is going to be for the whole crew to enjoy. Whether its helping to just keep a watchfull eye on things. To making sure the fish are ok. Perhaps you could design a picnic area? somewhere quiet for people to sit and enjoy this place." Stan said.

"I agree. Even if it's just an experiment, the grounds should be accessible for everyone to enjoy and relax. Though, tracking productivity and stress factors before and after the inclusion of the grounds would make for an interesting experiment all its own." Valeria smirked, then looked over at Lin, "Don't tell the crew. It's not a blind study if they know." there was a smirk to the rabbitess, and it was hard to tell if she was serious...

More thought about this before nodding. It was always best to agree with your department head. Especially when you were new to the ship. But inside he felt differently. The arboretum was a place for calm. Somewhere the crew could go to relax and enjoy. The scenery, it’s colours , it’s smells. Somewhere to destress after a not do great day or mission.

“ I think the overall theme of this place should be just to relax and for a short time. Forget your worries. Which reminds me we need to set up a Holo grid for the pond. Real water and holograms tend to clash. So the whole thing will have to be a hologram.” Stan said.

Renee shook her head slowly with a grin as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation, “Oh sure, if done by amateurs.” By that she meant people up to and including most rather proficient engineers, “But you’ve got me! We can set up the pond using force fields to begin with, but as we bring in the first and other supporting materials we’ll use those as the primary support with mutative fields to provide any additional stability we require. Real mud or sand between the toes feels slightly different than holograms. And while it isn’t quite the easiest thing, until we get real fish in there, I can arrange for holo-fish to swim in the pond.”

Valeria gave Stan a nod, letting him know she agreed with his project, his idea. Perhaps running experiments on the crew was simply a joke. Though, when Renee laid out the plans, Valeria shook her head. "Overly complicated, we could just simply install a resin basin and make an actual pond." she offered. "I understand it hardly then is a demonstration of your prowess, but it is the simplest solution. In my studies, we were taught that all things being equal, the simplest solution is usually correct."

"I'd also appreciate it if we could keep unwashed toes out of the sand and soil?" she offered.

"Who are you calling unwashed?" Siobahn asked lightly as the doors closed behind her, a ceramic pot with a somewhat worse for wear looking orchid of some kind cradled in her arms. "I've had this in my quarters, but, well... I'm better at keeping humanoids alive than plants... I thought this might be a better place for it?"

Something clicked in the rabbitess' brain. "Of course, native flora... If we could simulate a day / night cycle, I could add a Tattletale to this." a pause, "It's a flower native to Ts'usu."

Lin looked around the area under construction. "A picnic area might work over around that corner? she gestured to it. Close to the pond and enough of a view to take everything in once it's constructed. And a Tattletale?" she asked. "Sounds like an interesting story behind that name."

"The actual name is the Night Warden. They're flowering plants that bloom in moonlight, and use bioluminescent pollen to attract moths to carry their pollen to other flowers. Children call them Tattletales because the pollen was difficult to get out of clothes in a hurry, so if you were playing someplace you weren't supposed to, all your parents had to do to find out was turn off the lights, and the flower's pollen would tattle on you. Hence their other name."

"I hated that flower growing up, but when it came time for me to enlist with Starfleet, I couldn't think of anything I'd rather bring with me." she said with a smirk.

"I can't add anything of my own to the garden, but I can certainly put a proper day/night cycle in place. Dialable as well, in case the visitor wants something particular and they come at the wrong time." Renee smiled brightly.

"Maybe we could put a small section for fresh herbs?" Siobahn asked hopefully. "It would be nice to see some fresh herbs in the kitchen, and in sickbay."

The rabbitess paused, then turned towards Stan, "Mister More, this is your project. I'll give you final say as to how to proceed, and what stays or goes. This is your passion, I won't let it be co-opted."

Suddenly all eyes were pointed toward Stan. He would need the wisdom of King Solomon here. The all had good ideas which he was sure they could implement into the arboretum. The did prefer the idea of a real koi pond. They could always rig up some artificial fish. Instead of holograms until they could get some real ones.

He took the plant from Siobahn.

“ Thanks this wee fella…..sorry thanks this will fit on here perfectly. Your ideas are very good. However I feel we need to stick to something simple. If we start putting in too many exotic plants. Keeping them alive may be tricky. When we are busy on a mission. The simpler the better. As for the pond. There is nothing like the real thing. Maybe engineering could come up with some robotic fish maybe? Until we can get the real thing of course. I like the idea of also having a herb garden. I love the smell of mint.” Stan said

"Mint? It's like you've read my mind." Lin said. "I'm sure I can find something even from my world to put in. There's this one herb that goes incredibly well on.... Not sure, I think your human equivalent is a chicken."

Stan thought for a moment. His hands ran over the surface of his padd.

“ Is this it?” He asked

Valeria gave a nod after pausing for a thought, "I do think it is. We've got the groundwork laid out, and we can start planning any expansions once we have the base arboretum in place."

Renee rubbed her hands together in anticipation, "Well, I suppose we should get to work."

With everyone given a task. Work began on building the arboretum. Stan wanted to check the soil they would be using. It was just as important to have the correct under soil. Many of the plants wood have deep rooting systems. Many of the trees would need proper soil. More ran a tricorder over the soil and shook his.

" Oh dear. This under soil is way to sandy. The trees wont be able to hold moister. We need to add some clay to this." Stan said.

"I can replicate some." Lin said. "Shouldn't be that much of a drain on power. How much do we need?" she asked.

Stan rubbed his hands to clean them of the soil. He then did some calculations on a padd. Then he showed her the figure.

“ That should do it. I dinna.....sorry I don’t think that amount will drain the power. It’s quite basic in its cellular make up. Plus it’s a simple combination so the replicator should be able to handle it.” Stan said

Lin looked at it. "This looks about like it'll work. I'll get the replicator started. Should take about... Probably 10 minutes."

"The trick is going to be getting it mixed in, right?" Renee asked. Contrary to her normal activities, she'd actually taken to the physical work here rather well, even breaking a decent sweat as she manually worked with some of the items, "I don't want to screw things up, that's for sure."

Stan shook his head as he ran a probe over a container holding some soil nutrients.

“ I would nay…..sorry I would not worry. There is nothing you can screw up.I am sure you will be a big help with this project. Actually if you like we can pick out the water plants. Once the soil is down we can set out the pound. Then fill in the area with the new base soil. As there is no direct sunlight we’ll be using a pre-built pound mold. It’s easier with all this new soil. So what type of flowers do you think we should have?” Stan asked

Lin generated a PADD. "For what we're building, I think these kinds will work. This type we may have to adjust temperatures a little though and I don't know what that will do for the rest."

Stan considered this.

" Good choice as for the temperature change. I don't see nay.....no problem the change is not that bad. Plus this particular plant is good at keeping the water clear. Good choice indeed. Now we need to pick some Koi carp that will go well with the plant colouring. Our next door neighbour in Edinburgh had this pound with the largest gold fish I ever saw. Mind you I was only 9 years old at the time. The whole world is huge to a kid." Stan said

"That it is, and the galaxy is a larger place still!" Renee said from where she was working with the soil, "But I've seen lots of Koi in my time, a great decoration at parties, and with these flowers... A mottled white and orange perhaps? If you want them to look like they're flitting in and out of the shadows, mottled white black and orange would look neat as well!"

Stan nodded then he bit his lip in thought.

“ What do you think would be best. A waterfall or fountain or perhaps nothing?” More asked

"A waterfall, I think. People gather at fountains to wish. They gather at waterfalls to relax." Valeria pointed out. "Though, if we set up a fountain we could finance any upgrades to the arboretum with any currency thrown into it. We'd just need to go into the wish-granting business." she shook her head, "Which, from everything I've ever read, is a rough market."

“Which tells me that you’ve never been an engineer.” Renee giggled and stuck her tongue out at Valeria, “We grant wishes nearly every day, not to mention perform miracles that the good Lord would find harrowing. But, it’s right there in the fine print of an engineer’s commission: ‘Must be able to do the impossible and perform miracles on command.’”

"Never a day." Valeria admitted, then gave a smirk, "Though, as a scientist, it's my job to find out how the wishes work. Reliably." she shook her head, "Like you said, it's all in the fine print." a pause, "Which, truth be told, is a statement I never heard, or understood the syntax of, until meeting the Federation."

Stan shook his head.

" A waterfall would be better. The running water will help keep the green algae levels down. If people start putting currency into the fountain. It will harm the plants and fish. Once we have real ones installed. Plus in my mind waterfalls look quite pleasant. In my oppinion." More said

Valeria gave a nod, "Your opinion, your mind, your project. A waterfall it is."

Stan blinked. He did not mean for people to think. Just because this was his project. More wanted things done his way.

" Listen I don't mean just because this is my project. My final say is the word. If you feel a fountain would be better please tell me. It's just a waterfall would keep the water moving. Thus stopping any algie from clouding up the water. Plus it would stop crew dropping anything say coins , into the water. Poisoning the water and killing the fish." Stan said

Valeria actuall gave a soft smile, "I prefer the waterfall." she paused, to let that settle, "And, I suppose I'm just a little used to how things are back home. When a project is called for back home, there are many many advisors. Sometimes, too many." she giggled, "But there's one director. One person in charge. They seek advise, they consider the council, but at the end of the day... they are the director."

"I didn't mean to imply anything more than I don't want your project running away from you. This means a lot to you, and I want for this to succeed. Not just for the glory of the Sciences division, but I enjoy the look on someone's face when they achieve something. That unrestrained smile, that feeling of a job well done." the rabbitess explained. "I suppose I still have a lot to learn about how exactly the Federation handles the little things."

"I think a waterfall would be much better. More in keeping with a natural look. I've seen hundreds of waterfalls, but I've never once seen a naturally occurring carved fountain." she offered with a smirk.

Something Stan had once seen as a teenager came to mind. As a treat for doing well in his exams. His grandmother had aloud him to go on an archaeological with his archaeologist parents to Bajor , for the summer holidays.

" Actually I once saw a naturally occurring carved fountain. In a monastery on Bajor. It was adapted from a natural geyser. Had some unusual flowers growing around the pounds edge. But we will stick to a fountain , unless anyone else has any ideas?" Stan asked

"Sounds great to me!" Lin replied. "A fountain would work fine I think."