Do You Want to Build a Garden? (Part II)

Posted on 09/27/2023 @ 7:49pm by Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca & Captain Cara Letsul

1,657 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Pages...
Location: Arboretum
Timeline: Current

[PREVIOUSLY}

"Yes." Brianthe held up her own hands. Her nails were neatly trimmed, but short enough for working with dirt and plants. "Sometimes I also go barefoot, depending on where I'm working." She laughed again. "I've been called a bit of a free spirit." Among other things, but generally she didn't mind. Bohemian was one that made her smile, but mostly she just liked being called Romani.

[CONTINUED]

Cara gave an acknowledging nod and a huge smile. The more she was getting to know about Brianthe the more she was liking the lady. "Oh, I love going barefoot when I can, and in my quarters I go barefoot. Can't always wear shoes. As for being a free spirit, I have no problem with that. Nothing wrong with being that way." she gave a little bit of a sigh of contentment, glancing around the arboretum once more. "How soon can you start? I am ready to say you are the one."

"I put in for a transfer before I came here, so as soon as it's approved." She liked Cara, and she liked this place. It had a good feel to it. "I can help out until then, if you'd like." She was eager to start caring for the plants. The soil would probably need a good dose of nutrients after the damage from the attack.

Pulling out her padd, Cara entered a few codes and making an entry, gave a smile, looked up from the padd at Brianthe, "You are now entered into the manifest, with all necessary codes needed. Welcome to SB50 aka Poseidon Station as it is fondly referred to." Holding out her hand in a welcoming gesture. "I am looking forward to seeing the adjustments and design ideas that you have in mind."

Brianthe executed a pirouette and smiled. "Thank you." She slipped off her shoes and put them in a pocket. "If you have the time, I would love a tour. If not, I can wander around on my own." She wanted a quick overview of the arboretum so she could get a good idea of what it needed. Then she'd start making plans. This place had a good feel to it. Her grandmother would be pleased.

"Sure, let’s have a walk." Cara also taking off her shoes., holding on to them. "Okay I am ready."

"Perfect." Brianthe couldn't help doing a few steps of a Romani folkdance. "Sorry. I'm just happy to be here, and when I'm happy, I like to dance."

Cara gave out a chuckle, and did her own dance steps, giving a bit of a twirl herself." I do love to dance do not apologize for you being you." she did a little bit of a soft shoe and sang quietly. "Gotta dance, Gotta dance." the tune from Singing in the Rain.

Bri grinned. "I am definitely going to like it here." She looked around. "What parts of the arboretum sustained the most damage? I think that is where we should start. Then we can end up somewhere more pleasant." There would be plenty of time to dance in the rain when the plants were taken care of.

"Well, we can go to the top of the arboretum level, and get a birds eye view first, how does that sound?" Cara remarked as she looked upwards.

Bri looked up and assessed the view from where she stood and how it could be improved to add to the feel of stepping from the station into a haven. Some stations had river walks, some had mazes, so had trees that were four decks high. Little of that would fit here because of the size, but there were still plenty of options to make the arboretum feel larger and more private than it actually was. "Yes. I think that's a good place to start."

With a nod, Cara led the way to the top. From the bird’s eye view there was seen several trees, one large enough to climb. The others there were smaller trees. There could be seen damage to garden areas that had planters, several were broken now. Cleanup had begun, piles of debris were being gathered into a pile. Cara gazed at that for a few moments, a wave of emotions coming from her, sadness, anger but also determination. "This will get renewed; it is very important that we do get this done."

"It is important, but it's also important to make sure the plants that are here get the help they need. I noticed that the soil could use some nutrients--probably because of the attack. Cleanup crews don't always think of checking the soil for contaminants." She pulled a PADD out of her pocket and took notes of what she saw and what she thought would work best. "You definitely need more climbing trees. Especially for the children."

Cara chuckled." Oh, I agree whole heartedly. I know of some children as well as maybe one or two adults who would love to climb trees as well. And you are right, there does need tender loving care for the plant life there. The ecosystem is needing a freshening up."

"I'm sure there are more than one or two," Bri replied, grinning. "I'm one of them. I used to dream of a tree house I could live in. Or one of those magical trees that had rooms inside." She shook her head. "I don't know about the tree house now, but if I could grow a tree that had rooms inside, I might be tempted." She could also feel that the arboretum was sick because of all the time she spent in the woods on her home planet. But people thought her a bit too odd when she mentioned it.

"A magical tree with rooms inside made naturally. I like the sound of that." Cara replied with a smile. "if it could actually happen it would be lovely." Another glance down at the arboretum. "So much work to be done down there. A bit of rebalancing needs to be done. A differentiation of night and day to help both plants and beings have the chance to allow their natural inner clocks to ease and have a state of rest and repose. The arboretum has gone through a lot as of late."

"Yes. An artificial sky can help with that," Bri said. "It can reflect seasons, too. We could program it to match the planet below with lunar and solar cycles as well as night and day. It'll be good for the trees and plants, too. I'd like to add some misters and maybe even create a light rain. Irrigation is all well and good, but sometimes they need a good rain. That, and some new soil should do wonders." It was the first thing she wanted to do. She also wanted to do a bit of remodeling while they were at it, but she needed to see what was available first. From what Cara said, there were several areas that needed nothing but some TLC. "Is there a stream around here?" she asked, an idea about swings and water taking shape in her mind.

"There is a small one that adds to some of the more relaxing features. A fun place to dip the feet in when wanting to take a break." Cara replied. "It does look like a bit of work cut out for you and others who will be restoring the arboretum. It would be interesting to have one area that had a light dusting of snow sometime. Would certainly be needing a controlled area for that to happen."

"That would have to be a room on its own to keep it cold enough for snow. I don't know if the space allows it, but it could be fun to have a seasonal area and rotate between different climates." Bri also wasn't sure how many people would want to do more than just walk through a snow room. Unless she had an ice cave or ice sculptures.

"You know maybe something can be worked out for that, and could even set aside a room just for even educational purposes." Cara stated, as she thought through things.

Bri nodded as she thought about the possibilities of working with the local teachers. "That could be fun. There are a lot of possibilities, depending on what the teachers want." She would have to come up with a list of ideas and present it to them.

"That sounds like some fun and creative ways of education, not just for the young but also all ages." Cara having a huge smile. "Make certain you get with the engineering department as well, this way you can get to know them and get ideas on how to have the creative ideas come to fruition. It’s all a team effort here. Most definitely." she nudge Bri slightly "Also don't forget to keep me posted. I am very eager to see how the transformation of the arboretum will come about."

Bri nodded. "I will. I'm going to take some notes, then create a scale model of the arboretum so I can see what works." Even though she had a good idea of what she wanted, it could still take some trial and error. Better to do that holographically. "In the meantime, I'll talk with engineering about the ceiling and irrigation so we can get that started along with the repairs." She smiled at Cara. "Beyond that, I'll let you know."

"That sounds amazing and I'll definitely be in touch as well." Cara responded with a smile. "I best be off and let anyone else know that the position is now filled. Thank you for coming at a really good time."

"Thank you!" Brianthe said, keeping herself from doing another dance. She was going to enjoy working here.

A post by:

Commander Cara Letsul
Operations Commander
Poseidon Station

Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist
Poseidon Station

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