PNPC Lt. JG Rhodium Wells - The Gardens Between the Worlds
Teayl Thorn
((Arboretum, Deck 05, USS Ronin, In Orbit of Endicronimas V))
She reached forward to clasp his hand in both of her tiny ones.
Wells: And you are Commander V’Len Kel. Head of the infamous Ronin science department. I am honoured to meet you and to join your department. Science officer Rhodium Wells, reporting for duty.
The handsome blue creature before her gave a sly smile.
Kel: You stay one step ahead of me like this and you'll soon have my job.
Her laugh crackled, like wind rustling dry leaves.
Wells: Non! One such as I is a listener—we do not take command. We merely live our long lives on the edges, drawn to important places… and interesting people throughout history. Your position here on the Ronin is quite safe, mon ami.
She tapped his blue-speckled wrist meaningfully with a dirt-smudged fingertip.
Kel: Of course, welcome to the Ronin. I see you've found your arboretum. I've never had the pleasure of working with a Xeno-botanist.
Her smoke grey eyes widened dramatically, dark with mischief.
Wells: Then I am your first. Lucky you! It is an underappreciated scientific discipline. ::wagging a finger, preaching gleefully:: The medicinal, therapeutic and aesthetic developments aside, the study of how alien flora and fauna interact—and interfere—with ecological and evolutionary development is fascinating. Even after four centuries, give or take a century it still keeps me suitably… diverted.
Kel: Impressive. I wish you'd been with me 2 years ago. I made first contact with the Esse, a species of sentient trees. You'd have loved it.
Wells: Ah, that would have been remarkable to experience, but all plants are sentient to a botanist, non? ::dropping to one knee, stroking the soil and plants with a root-like hand:: Take this arboretum. This one complains of thirst, and this one is ‘putting out’ for the insects that bring it pollen. They gossip about everyone, Commander. Even you! And yet…::pause, shaking her head, exclaiming dramatically:: Elle chante faux! She sings wrongly. Something is out of balance.
The commander took a moment to survey the surroundings.
Kel: What's wrong with this forest?
Rhodium pursed her lips, blowing a small puff of air through them as she seemed to listen to the ships' arboretum.
Wells: Not dangerous. Not yet.
She plucked a fallen frond, twirling it between her fingers.
Wells: But left alone, hm…? Then perhaps we grow something unusual. ::fanning herself with the leaf:: Very fashionable, very deadly. Don’t misunderstand, Ops has done their best, but this place needs someone who listens, not merely a gardener, to check for unforeseen interactions.
Kel: Response
Rho took his hand, springing to her feet in one nimble movement.
Wells: They are simply surviving, growing and changing as we… and sometimes we are in the way. Come—let us save your forest, Commander. Before it decides to eat someone important. Allons-y.
She led the way, skipping along the stepping stones, across the patch of soft grass, over the holographic stream with child-like ease until she reached the dark starboard corner of the arboretum, beneath the deck 04 walkway.
Kel: Response
Wells: Something that does not belong, imported… and awakened.
She pulled back more foliage to reveal a tree with a swollen bulge in its bark. A faint aqua-marine bioluminescence pulsed beneath the surface like a slow heartbeat.
Kel: Response
Wells: Call your most steady scientist, mon ami. :: Flashing a grin:: Because this is going to be fun.
Kel: Response
[Tags / TBC]
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Science Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
As simmed by
Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14