We Plants are Happy Plants (part 1)

Posted on Wed Jun 7th, 2017 @ 1:13pm by Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jackson & Veronica Kiley

1,045 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Pulling Together
Location: Arboretum
Timeline: current

ON

"Hello, anyone here?", Veronica shouted curiously, as she walked through the large door labeled 'arboretum'. She didn't know what to expect, but she was definately surprised to find something resembling a large forest inside, like a separate little world, dominated by various plants of different origin. It was so different from what was called 'botanics section' on board the Benecia, that she didn't really know what to expect here.

Grownups are strange, the girl lamented, wondering on why did her mother advise her to visit this place. It was full of plants, and nowhere could any ice cream or even a soccer ball be found around. If she needed a walk in the forest, she'd visit the holodeck. And besides, she'd play some soccer instead. Walking through the grassy path of the small forest, Veronica finally noticed another person - a blonde-haired woman, apparently doing something to a plant. "Hello...", she addressed her, as she walked closer.

Lizzie was carefully weeding around a patch of fern when she heard the voice. "Hi!" She stood and wiped her hands on her thighs. "How can I help you?"

"Well, my mom is a doctor.", Veronica said, while sizing up the lady who just stood up to meet her, "In fact, she is the doctor. Chief medical officer. And she told me she'll infect me with a deadly virus if I don't go to the arboretum," she told Lizzie, leaving a few seconds of silence to see how the woman would react, "Alright, it's not true. She just told me to look up the arboretum cause I can learn a lot here," she rolled her eyes, not exactly believing what her mother told her about the educational values of this place.

Lizzie smiled at the girl. "You can learn a lot here, if you like learning about plants and how they grow. Or if you like to climb trees. I used to do that a lot when I was your age." She leaned closer to the girl. "I still do, but not when anyone is looking." She gave the girl a conspiratorial grin. "You can also start your own plant here and take it back to your quarters when it's big enough. Did you know that plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen? They're very good for space travel."

"We have a goldfish in our quarters. Mom says he's very good for space travel as well.", Veronica said with a shrug, thinking about what the light-haired lady said, "Climbing trees is cool.", she smiled and imagined a grownup like her actually climbing up one, "Sometimes I do that as well... mostly on the holodeck." She wished she could climb real trees for a change. "Sooo... how does one actually start a plant?"

"A goldfish? Those are pretty, aren't they? We have coy fish here in the arboretum. They hep keep the stream clean." Lizzie nodded towards her workroom. "Come back here with me and I'll show you the workroom where we have our starters."

She led the girl to the workroom set aside for students and for plant starters. One long table along a side wall was filled with flats of containers, each had small plants in various stages of growth. Along the back wall was a table with plants waiting to be potted and all the accoutrements. The third wall had empty posts, pebbles, and potting soil. "This is the starter workroom."

Veronica looked around. As far as she could see, it was nothing but a simple room with a table and some plants and stuff connected to them. Boring. "Soo... we start plants here?", she asked not sure what she might do in this place. "By the way, I'm Veronica.", she then gasped, "Sorry, I haven't even told my name."

"Don't worry about it." Lizzie smiled at her. "Yes, this is where the plants start. They grow slowly at first. Some of them will just be for decoration. Others," she indicated a table with blue pots. "Those are herbs. They're used in cooking. Some of the crew still like to make their own meals. And the cook comes here from time to time to get fresh herbs. They taste better than replicated ones. But some people prefer the full-grown plants. Like out in the arboretum. There's lots to explore there. Did you know we have a waterfall behind the fern forest? You can walk behind it, too. I can show you, if you like. Or if you like flowers, we can go to the upper level. That's where the gardens are." The girl didn't seem too impressed with the flowers. "Me, I love trees the most. Sometimes I'll climb the little pyramid and just look over the arboretum. Then I go to my office and have cookies and ice cream."

"Sometimes mom likes to make our food herself.", the girl said, "Like when she makes Feijoada. She learned it from my grandma.", she explained, then thought about the waterfall and tree climbing, which well, she admitted to herself, sounded fun. "I'd like to explore the waterfall.", she said, then, hearing the familiar sound of someone saying cookies and ice cream, her eyes popped wide open. "I love cookies and ice cream!", she smiled with a wide ear-to-ear grin, then thought for a moment, "But please, don't tell mom. She doesn't really like it when I eat too much of that."

Lizzie smiled. "Okay, I won't tell her. How about we look at the waterfall, then have some cookies and ice cream; then, if no one is around, we'll climb some trees?"

"Sounds like a great plan.", Veronica said with a smile. This lady seemed truly weird, but in a good sense. She was different from most adults, but she couldn't exactly tell how. "I never climbed a real tree before. Only on the holodeck.", she then said.

"It's not the same. Real trees have a feeling about them. They're alive. They have sap running through their trunks and branches, they take nutrients from the sun and soil. Theyfeel different. If you hang around trees often enough, you learn to tell the difference."

(To be continued...)

Veronica KIley
Alexandra Alves' daughter

Lieutenant JG Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jackson
Botanist

 

RSS Feed