Woolgathering and Introductions

Posted on Tue Sep 29th, 2026 @ 8:50pm by Commander T'Maas & Lieutenant JG Evanora Drei

1,125 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Last Space Station on the Left
Location: USS Equitas - Arboretum
Timeline: MD0

::ON::

It was a wonder to T'Maas that starships could house such beautiful arboretums. The science involved, the precise calibration of environmental pockets to produce diverse forestscapes in such a small area seemed like a miracle to her. Intellectually, she knew it was science and that it was a product of twenty-fourth century mastery of the technical details of keeping these plants alive, but she was always amazed.

She stood at the edge of the path, Starfleet-issue boots just touching the loamy soil. The new-pattern uniforms were adept at wicking away body-moisture and heat, and though she was in the sub-tropical rainforest section, the unfamiliar clothing at least felt comfortable in the heavy air. Eusideroxylon zwagerai read the small plaque in front of her. The Belian tree, ironwood. A hard unyielding tree, famed for its tough bark.

T'Maas wondered what it felt like. Wondered whether or not she was allowed to touch it. She closed her eyes, took another step off the path, and placed a palm against the bole of the tree. Her fingers felt the rough texture against her skin, the vitality that coursed through the wood.

Eva was pleasantly surprised to discover the arboretum early on in her exploration of the ship. She wasted no time in picking up tasks from the botanist. The rainforest section was hot and humid at first, but after spending hours in it with a uniform that wicked away body heat a little too effectively, Eva had put on an insulating jacket.

She was checking up on some of the flowers that she had transplanted: orange petals with red spots near the tips, a stunning set of stamens that splayed outward, and three sepals that caressed the base of the flower like hands holding a bird. Eva was monitoring its transition when her PADD alerted her to activity by the Belian tree.

Curious, she wandered over, soon spotting the beautiful tree and someone standing near it. Eva wondered what the alert was for until she spotted the contact, then her eyes widened slightly and she picked up the pace. "Commander," she called out once she could see the pips. "Commander, if I could ask you to step back, please!"

Letting out a calming breath, T'Maas opened her eyes at the sound of a youthful voice. Arching an eyebrow she took her hand off the tree reluctantly, and took the step back to the path whilst turning to face what turned out to be a Junior Grade Lieutenant stood a few feet away. 'My apologies ... I should have checked if I was allowed to experience the environment in a tactile fashion, Lieutenant.' She inclined her head in apology.

Eva wasn't focused on the tree. Once she reached the commander, she kneeled down to observe a patch of moss growing near the base of the tree. It was a copper colour with a hint of green, and blended in quite well with the soil and the tree's roots. There was a dark patch on the edge of the moss where part of the commander's boot had stepped into it. She briefly scanned it with a tricorder before opening the toolkit draped across her body to pull out what looked like a specimen container. "It's alright, I really need to get better signage in this place..." she responded. The rather sharp, earthy aroma told her that it had been damaged quite badly, so she also pulled out some micro-pruners. "I didn't mean to alarm, this particular variant of impronta arboricola is just dramatic." Carefully, with gloved hands, she began separating the dark patch from the rest of the colony. "It will retain an imprint of whatever applied pressure to it. Normally, the tree base will protect it, but if there's too much pressure... like getting stepped on... it releases natural oils preserved near its rhizoids. That's that tangy earth smell. The moss is sensitive to its own natural oils, because of course it is."

T'Maas had the decency to feel embarrassed. A cheek muscle twitched as she observed the woman bent over the moss with her tools. 'I ... you mean the plant is digesting itself?' she asked, curiosity overriding the embarassment. She knelt next to the dark-haired officer, ignoring the creak of her left knee, an old complaint, and watched more closely.

"More like giving itself a chemical burn," Eva clarified, cutting off the damaged part. Then, she grabbed a container and put the damaged part inside, and once the lid was sealed she removed the gloves. "How it hasn't damaged itself into extinction is anyone's guess. Anyways, sorry for the abrupt disruption, Commander...?"

'T'Maas,' the Vulcan replied with a nod. She watched the scientist treat the damaged plant with the appropriate amount of care, and was impressed. 'I'm the ship's Executive Officer,' she offered by way of clarification. 'I assume you're one of our scientists aboard?'

Eva nodded with a smile as she put things back into her toolkit. "That's right. Evanora Drei. I'm actually the chief of science." It was still odd to hear those words come out of her own mouth.

'Ah. Our Chief Scientist,' T'Maas nodded again respectfully as she got to her feet. She extended her hand to the officer on her knees. 'I hadn't expected to run into another senior officer so soon. My expectations had been to meet with the Commanding Officer first. This, however, seems a fortuitous opportunity.'

Accepting the hand, Eva stood, pulling the strap of the kit over her head so it would rest across her body. "Indeed! We can talk while I show you around?" she offered.

'This would seem to be the optimal choice,' T'Maas stated, looking around the arboretum. 'I'm afraid I would be out on a limb if I were to conduct a self-guided tour. Your expertise will be appreciated, and it would of course be an acceptable method of introducing ourselves to one another without the formality of our upcoming assignments.'

With a nod, Eva gestured in a direction before walking. "Well, you already met the moss that's allergic to itself," she joked. "There's a tactile section over here. So, what do you want to know?"

'Perhaps we should start with the tactile section,' T'Maas remarked as she cast a side-long glance at the younger woman. 'I assume that something in your personal history made you lean towards biology or botany as a discipline? Perhaps starting with your personal history would help better introduce ourselves to one another. I can provide mine as well in the interest of reciprocity. This is not an interrogation.'

::OFF::

Commander T'Maas
Executive Officer
USS Equitas

Lieutenant (JG) Evanora Drei
Chief Science Officer
USS Equitas

 

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