Lt. Commander Tahna Meru - Return To Tradition
Tahna Meru
((Mestrata Farms, Palanon))
Few things were as good for the soul as being out in nature with good company. Meru figured that was especially true after what the Gorkon crew had just experienced, so she’d invited her department down to Palanon for tea. It was something of a tradition to go for tea in the places they visited, a mandatory break from hunching over microscopes and lab reports. Meru slipped her hands in her pockets, the deep purple Bajoran dress swishing pleasantly as she walked.
Mestrata Farms, named after a sea on Tyrellia, promised to be a scientific and culinary wonder. It was not so much a farm as a collection of large gardens in a valley below the Mindirra mountains. Each garden was covered by an invisible forcefield and mimicked a climate either on Tyrellia or on one of the home worlds of the many varied species that called Palanon home. It was an experience as much as a meal.
Tahna: So, we start here, with tea and hors d'oeuvres in the first Tyrellian garden, and follow the walking path through each biome. Each has their own tea and course inspired by a different world. And all the tea and food is grown in the gardens themselves.
E. Reynolds / V. Sienelis / Vorin / Taelon / Pace: Response
A beautifully-carved wooden table sat in the garden, under a natural canopy provided by a tree bearing fragrant white and lavender flowers. She’d seen trees like that in the capital, Yarista, with Ena, though that felt like a lifetime ago.
Meru sat at the table, casting a small smile to the group. Many had been on the Gorkon longer than Meru, and were there for that first disastrous tea years prior. Taelon and Pace were newer, but had more than proven themselves over the last year.
Tahna: It’s been a long road, and the last year was not easy. We all had to put projects on hold and redirect our efforts, often to areas outside our realms of expertise. We all lost people and fought to bring them back. So I want to take a moment and say that I am grateful for your dedication, your work, and your sacrifices, and I am so proud to serve with you all.
E. Reynolds / V. Sienelis / Vorin / Taelon / Pace: Response
The table was already set in the Tyrellian style, a small menu at each place detailing the course to be served. Meru smiled.
Tahna: Now let’s not dwell on the past, there’s too much tea to consume in the near future.
E. Reynolds / V. Sienelis / Vorin / Taelon / Pace: Response