by Lt. Breaux and Captain Zanh
80115.2330
Following Instinct
--=In the Arboretum aboard the Sera=--
80115.2330
Following Instinct
--=In the Arboretum aboard the Sera=--
Zanh Liis was good and mucked up by the time Zander Blakeslee had left her company to start his day.
She moved toward a nearby water faucet and turned it on, trying to rinse some of the dirt from her hands.
The next visitor she was due to have was one of the new Engineering staff; a Human male named Avery Breaux.
She was about to sink back to the ground- with mounting fears that she wouldn't be able to rise again from it afterward- when a man wearing engineer's gold approached.
Breaux saw the work that had recently been done in the dirt and noticed the figure standing in front of it, as though measuring their progress.
"I would have stopped by and gotten a shovel if I'd known, the crew was planting here...this is beautiful. My name is Avery, can you tell me where to find Captain Zanh?"
Zanh thought for a split second about having a little fun with the man, but his face was far too honest and his manner too open for her to deny her identity, even if only for a moment.
"You've found me." Zanh smiled, extending her mostly-clean left hand to him. "Zanh Liis. Pleased to meet you." She looked all around her. "So, do you like our arboretum? A lot of the design credit goes to your fellow Engineer, Lair Kellyn."
Avery was caught completely off-guard.
"My pleasure Captain...I'm looking forward to this posting." Breaux thought about mentioning his earlier faux pas with Kellyn and thought better of it. "The system in the ceiling," Avery looked up, seeing how well hidden the irrigation system was, "is really something."
"Glad you think so. Because if it ever breaks down you're likely going to be helping to fix it." Zanh laughed. "I've been down there awhile and I could use a good stretch. Want to take a walk around, see the whole thing?"
"I would indeed...I like the use of bamboo...there's something forgiving about it," he mused, noting a stand of it by water's edge.
"I've met a few of the crew so far, I have to say I'm impressed. I'm looking forward to hearing your expectations for me." Breaux ambled along with his CO, taking in the beauty of the human-made habitat.
"Expectation is a word that frightens me," Zanh Liis answered honestly, as she stopped by what appeared to Breaux to be a miniature Weeping Willow tree.
It was actually the Bajoran Solace tree that had her tiny initials carved into it, years ago, by a young Jariel Camen. His were beneath them. The carving was hidden at the bottom of the trunk beneath lush, green foliage.
She thought about what "expectation" had done to Jariel, and sighed.
"I have hopes for people. I have. . ." She sought the correct phrasing. "Clear cut requirements, when it comes to the fulfillment of their duties aboard any ship I serve on. But as someone who has been in Starfleet for years, I have no doubt in my mind that you know how to perform your duties without me telling you how."
She brought her left hand upward and absentmindedly twisted the chain of her earring. "They say that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I would submit there's also a parallel pathway to the same destination that is laid with expectations."
Breaux appreciated her contemplative nature. He had grown used to contemplation when he studied at the Dakeen Monastery-in fact, he had pondered leaving Starfleet and living his life there.
*Damn, here I am at 50, and still contemplating what I want to be when I grow up...engineer, doctor, Vedek...tinker, tailor, soldier, spy...* thought Avery.
Breaux nodded, "I think I understand...maybe I was just being subservient in a chain of command kind of way..."
Avery felt he could be honest with Zanh -he was fairly adept at sizing up people.
"My apologies, I guess it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks...I haven't had a new commanding officer in ages." He paused. "If I'm not being presumptuous, I studied for six months at the Dakeen Monastery. . .I always appreciate an exchange about Bajoran culture, should time ever permit."
Zanh Liis' bobbed, dark hair obscured her face as she looked at the grass beneath her feet and laughed, shaking her head.
"Bajoran culture? I can give you insights on that all day long, if it pleases you. The Prophets?" She tilted her head. "Not so much."
She could tell that he was honestly interested, and so she continued. "I was raised by Vedeks at the children's home within the sanctuary at Altaan. We just returned from there, matter of fact, I hadn't been back in years."
She looked up at him from beneath the curtain of her straight, shining bangs. "But I almost failed my religion and philosophy course in secondary school. I'm afraid that I differ greatly from the rest of my people when it comes to view of the Prophets."
Her gaze changed somehow, to a haunted expression that Avery would have had to call 'sad' had he been forced to stick a label on it.
"But I do know just the man for the job, should you want to discuss that very topic." Her eyes brightened now.
"Our ship's counselor and Chaplain, Vedek Jariel. He will be tending the arboretum also, among his varied duties. He was raised as I was at the monastery at Altaan, and took of the ministry from his youth. He served in the Central Vedek Assembly for a long time before becoming an ambassador. He was once very nearly. . ."
"Elected Kai!" Avery's face displayed a wide-eyed, reverent recognition. No wonder the man he'd met in the lift earlier had seemed so familiar- he was at one point a decade ago one of the most prominent members of clergy on his planet. "I knew I recognized him from somewhere."
He grew puzzled. "I, don't remember the Vedek being a mute," he frowned. "Was he injured somehow?"
Liis looked at the flowers they were walking past with intense interest, suddenly. "I'm afraid that's not my story to tell. But, seeing how you spent so much time at Dakeen," she offered him a lopsided grin, "I think you will find that in Vedek Jariel, you already have a better friend aboard this ship than you can imagine."
Breaux nodded, and stooped down to clear a weed from under one of the flowers. "I've had a chance to meet Lt. Commander Lair. She's given me a list of tasks. If I can add anything to it, please let me know, I'm anxious to immerse myself in the workings of the Sera."
"Noted. I like your initiative, Lieutenant. Likely you'll have more to do, between Sera and her fledgling than either of us can imagine at this moment."
Breaux looked to his left, "Ohhh, those are nice...Bajoran lilac. We had those in abundance at the monastery, no thanks to any green thumb of mine. I think the only thing we had more of was moba fruit. An endless supply. Luckily, we could barter with a nearby village, make some decent exchanges. They really craved the fruit."
"High vitamin content." Zanh offered by way of explanation. "Very healthy." He noticed a look cross her face, as her lips turned up into a smirk. "And yes, as I'm sure you can tell from my reaction, I hate moba fruit."
Breaux wanted to ask more about where they would be headed, but he resisted the temptation. "With regard to engineering...you've found no problems not using the bio-neural gelpacks?"
"I've only just arrived, I would have to consult with Salvek on that topic before I could give you a proper answer." Zanh explained, admitting readily that she did not have the exact information that he was seeking.
This surprised Avery- in the past he had seen very few Starfleet captains who were willing to admit they didn't know anything- let alone something so integral to the workings of their ship.
"Sorry about that. I'm a little out of the loop. Where I've come from," Liis considered how much information she share in the moment as she continued.
"Well, let's just say that after the past few weeks, I'm lucky that I'm not intimately getting to know the interior of the Celestial Temple on a permanent basis," She watched as Avery's expression adjusted, reflecting his understanding.
"Oh," he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"No apology necessary, I don't think anyone but those who were on the Alchemy know."
She reassured him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I know that you have a myriad of questions, Mr. Breaux. So do I, about Sera, and the state of Alchemy, and where we're going," She smiled at him once more. "If you'll just bear with me a little longer, I promise you, you won't be bored."
>Lt. Avery Breaux
Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
=/\=Captain Zanh
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
=/\=Captain Zanh
USS Serendipity NCC-2012