by Vedek Jariel
80111.23
After At First Sight
--=USS Serendipity=--
80111.23
After At First Sight
--=USS Serendipity=--
Having left Zanh Liis to the rest of her tour, Camen decided to see exactly if what the Admiral had promised him was true.
He was no fool. He knew that the Admiral wanted Zanh Liis to command this ship, and that was why Vox had promised him whatever he wanted if he would agree to stay on the Serendipity.
Truth be told Vox could have offered him a six pack of Slug-O-Cola and Camen would have stayed- so long as Liis did. However, as long as Vox was offering, Camen felt it only polite and diplomatic to hear out the Admiral's proposal.
When Vox had told him he had not only gotten all of Camen's philosophic and religious texts from his last post, but most of his signature plants from the arboretum as well, Camen could not help but agree.
He dropped the baggage off at his... their new quarters, knowing there would be plenty of time to unpack later. For now he wanted to see just how well Vox and Starfleet's engineers had done recreating the work of Salvek and Kellyn in the new arboretum.
He made his way through the corridors of this new ship. He smiled and nodded politely as he passed crew members, who seemed slightly curious as to why this Bajoran civilian was wandering around. In time, he was sure he would come to know them all.
He had bounced around the quadrant with Liis from station to station for many years, but this ship felt like a place where they would stay, for a long time.
Camen entered the turbolift, and nodded politely to the man inside. The man watched over his shoulder with curiosity as Camen tapped in his destination manually rather than simply calling it out to the computer.
"Avery Breaux." The man declared confidently, as he extended his hand to Camen. Jariel grasped him firmly and gave him a single solid shake. He had come to understand humans from reading his texts that their males made judgments about other males based on an initial handshake that could last a lifetime. Camen did not want to disappoint.
He released Avery's hand and nodded again, politely. Breaux's eyes darted around the lift rather uncomfortably.
"And you are?" He finally asked.
[[Oh, I'm sorry. You see, I cannot speak.]] Camen signed.
At his last post, the main computer had been configured to give a simple audio translation of his signing when Camen was "speaking" to those who did not know Universal Sign. He made a mental note to call on TC Blane the next morning, to see if the same system could be set up here.
While Breaux did not know how to translate the Vedek's speech, he at least knew that he was signing, and therefore concluded Camen could not speak.
"Oh! I understand." There was an awkward pause, until Camen noticed that Avery was holding a PADD behind his back. Jariel pointed towards the device.
"Oh this? It's just a list of things Commander Lair needs from engineering." Jariel once again motioned, more emphatically this time, as if to say "Give it to me."
Breaux handed the PADD over, and Camen began tapping at it. Avery silently hoped this man was not erasing Kellyn's list. He had gotten off to a good start with the Chief and didn't want to throw a wrench into that already.
Camen handed the PADD back to him.
"Vedek Jariel Camen." He read. Jariel asked for the PADD back, and began typing again. As he did, Avery spoke.
"A Vedek? I have an interest in Bajoran beliefs. If you are staying with us perhaps we could..." Breaux paused, looking for a word other then "talk".
"Perhaps we could discuss Bajoran philosophy."
Camen looked up from the PADD, smiled and nodded his affirmation. He handed the PADD back to Avery once again.
"Please deliver a message to Kellyn for me..."
Breaux looked up from the PADD and Camen slowly signed the word "Hello."
Avery imitated the motion, and guessed its meaning. "Hello?"
Camen nodded once again, as the lift door opened. He stepped out into the corridor, leaving Breaux alone in the lift. *Congratulations. * He thought,
* You just passed your first lesson in Universal Sign. *
On his left were the large double doors of what was his new arboretum.
He took a deep breath and stepped up to the doors. They slid apart slowly and Camen stepped through into the room. The scale was smaller, but the work no less awe inspiring than that which Kellyn and Salvek had completed at his last post.
The ceiling was covered in holographic panels that displayed a lifelike image of the sky right down to the holographic star that dispersed radiant heat throughout the room to give a visitor the feeling that they were actually standing in direct sunlight. If this arboretum was true to what Salvek and Kellyn had done before, at night there would be a full "sunset" and the stars would come out and shine.
Concealed above the ceiling was a piping system that, every afternoon, would drop "rain" on the flowers, and any visitor unfortunate enough to have not found shelter, below in drops just like a real shower. The "sky" would also cloud over and the sound of thunder would fill the room two minutes before the rain began as a warning of the impending moisture.
Altogether, the effects fully simulated a planet-side thunderstorm on a steamy summer afternoon.
Admiral Vox had not disappointed. Everything was as it had been, scaled down into this cozy room where he could planet his flowers during his free time. There was also a small gazebo and grass area in the center of the room where the crew could rather for social events, like the upcoming party Salvek had planned.
Even February's statue of the weeping angel was here, tucked safely in among the flowing plants in a secluded area of the room.
Another quiet, out of plain site, area featured a simple two-person swing.
Camen found his garden supply shed at the edge of the room. It was only about four feet by four wide and contained a few shelves for his tools, and umbrella (just in case) and a control panel where he could access the environmental controls for the room. He decided that the afternoon thundershower was due, and tapped up the controls to start the rain.
He retrieved the umbrella and walked through the sprinkles as the sky began to turn light gray. In the distance, the dark clouds were gathering and a soft roll of thunder filled the room. Camen stepped up into the gazebo and sat quietly and at peace in his new home, watching as the clouds and soothing refreshing rain moved in.
He was no fool. He knew that the Admiral wanted Zanh Liis to command this ship, and that was why Vox had promised him whatever he wanted if he would agree to stay on the Serendipity.
Truth be told Vox could have offered him a six pack of Slug-O-Cola and Camen would have stayed- so long as Liis did. However, as long as Vox was offering, Camen felt it only polite and diplomatic to hear out the Admiral's proposal.
When Vox had told him he had not only gotten all of Camen's philosophic and religious texts from his last post, but most of his signature plants from the arboretum as well, Camen could not help but agree.
He dropped the baggage off at his... their new quarters, knowing there would be plenty of time to unpack later. For now he wanted to see just how well Vox and Starfleet's engineers had done recreating the work of Salvek and Kellyn in the new arboretum.
He made his way through the corridors of this new ship. He smiled and nodded politely as he passed crew members, who seemed slightly curious as to why this Bajoran civilian was wandering around. In time, he was sure he would come to know them all.
He had bounced around the quadrant with Liis from station to station for many years, but this ship felt like a place where they would stay, for a long time.
Camen entered the turbolift, and nodded politely to the man inside. The man watched over his shoulder with curiosity as Camen tapped in his destination manually rather than simply calling it out to the computer.
"Avery Breaux." The man declared confidently, as he extended his hand to Camen. Jariel grasped him firmly and gave him a single solid shake. He had come to understand humans from reading his texts that their males made judgments about other males based on an initial handshake that could last a lifetime. Camen did not want to disappoint.
He released Avery's hand and nodded again, politely. Breaux's eyes darted around the lift rather uncomfortably.
"And you are?" He finally asked.
[[Oh, I'm sorry. You see, I cannot speak.]] Camen signed.
At his last post, the main computer had been configured to give a simple audio translation of his signing when Camen was "speaking" to those who did not know Universal Sign. He made a mental note to call on TC Blane the next morning, to see if the same system could be set up here.
While Breaux did not know how to translate the Vedek's speech, he at least knew that he was signing, and therefore concluded Camen could not speak.
"Oh! I understand." There was an awkward pause, until Camen noticed that Avery was holding a PADD behind his back. Jariel pointed towards the device.
"Oh this? It's just a list of things Commander Lair needs from engineering." Jariel once again motioned, more emphatically this time, as if to say "Give it to me."
Breaux handed the PADD over, and Camen began tapping at it. Avery silently hoped this man was not erasing Kellyn's list. He had gotten off to a good start with the Chief and didn't want to throw a wrench into that already.
Camen handed the PADD back to him.
"Vedek Jariel Camen." He read. Jariel asked for the PADD back, and began typing again. As he did, Avery spoke.
"A Vedek? I have an interest in Bajoran beliefs. If you are staying with us perhaps we could..." Breaux paused, looking for a word other then "talk".
"Perhaps we could discuss Bajoran philosophy."
Camen looked up from the PADD, smiled and nodded his affirmation. He handed the PADD back to Avery once again.
"Please deliver a message to Kellyn for me..."
Breaux looked up from the PADD and Camen slowly signed the word "Hello."
Avery imitated the motion, and guessed its meaning. "Hello?"
Camen nodded once again, as the lift door opened. He stepped out into the corridor, leaving Breaux alone in the lift. *Congratulations. * He thought,
* You just passed your first lesson in Universal Sign. *
On his left were the large double doors of what was his new arboretum.
He took a deep breath and stepped up to the doors. They slid apart slowly and Camen stepped through into the room. The scale was smaller, but the work no less awe inspiring than that which Kellyn and Salvek had completed at his last post.
The ceiling was covered in holographic panels that displayed a lifelike image of the sky right down to the holographic star that dispersed radiant heat throughout the room to give a visitor the feeling that they were actually standing in direct sunlight. If this arboretum was true to what Salvek and Kellyn had done before, at night there would be a full "sunset" and the stars would come out and shine.
Concealed above the ceiling was a piping system that, every afternoon, would drop "rain" on the flowers, and any visitor unfortunate enough to have not found shelter, below in drops just like a real shower. The "sky" would also cloud over and the sound of thunder would fill the room two minutes before the rain began as a warning of the impending moisture.
Altogether, the effects fully simulated a planet-side thunderstorm on a steamy summer afternoon.
Admiral Vox had not disappointed. Everything was as it had been, scaled down into this cozy room where he could planet his flowers during his free time. There was also a small gazebo and grass area in the center of the room where the crew could rather for social events, like the upcoming party Salvek had planned.
Even February's statue of the weeping angel was here, tucked safely in among the flowing plants in a secluded area of the room.
Another quiet, out of plain site, area featured a simple two-person swing.
Camen found his garden supply shed at the edge of the room. It was only about four feet by four wide and contained a few shelves for his tools, and umbrella (just in case) and a control panel where he could access the environmental controls for the room. He decided that the afternoon thundershower was due, and tapped up the controls to start the rain.
He retrieved the umbrella and walked through the sprinkles as the sky began to turn light gray. In the distance, the dark clouds were gathering and a soft roll of thunder filled the room. Camen stepped up into the gazebo and sat quietly and at peace in his new home, watching as the clouds and soothing refreshing rain moved in.
************************************************
Jariel Camen
Ship's Chaplain
(and Arboretum Keeper)
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Jariel Camen
Ship's Chaplain
(and Arboretum Keeper)
USS Serendipity NCC-2012