Pacifica Plant Plot Resolution | PARTY POST | In The Botany Lab, Deck 10

[ten_fwd_npcs]

"Enterprise's Head Botanist Keiko's log, Stardate 46172.364,

"My time on Pacifica was quite rewarding, and with the permission of a number of the locals, I have several new samples to study going forward.

"The first is a green herb they call Seajade. The Seajade seems to thrive in salt water, rather than fresh, but turns an astounding shade of teal in brackish water. It is used by the natives for cleaning impurities out of fresh water, which unfortunately kills the plant. I will be researching a way to increase its ability to live in water other than pure salt. I have been given several samples as well as some cuttings as this plant is rather common on the world.

"The second sample is called Dancer by the natives. It is a beautiful flower that for some reason is less common than the Seajade. The locals were somewhat evasive when asked about the properties. I noticed that some Dancer blooms were available for sale in the marketplace that serves off-planet guests, but no full plants, and no Dancer was sold in the main markets that the locals seemed to frequent. I questioned a scientist who studied me oddly for several minutes, then packed me a sample from her own lab, but asked that I not say where I got it. I was concerned at first, however I no longer am. I have also purchased samples of the cut plant as it is sold to tourists, to compare them. The bloom looks like a winged woman performing a ballet. It is quite lovely.

"The third sample is called Beachrunner. It was originally thought to be a weed on the world, and was removed wherever it was found for hundreds of years until about sixty years ago when a botanist from Oceanus IV discovered that it had curative properties when applied to the site of a burn caused by UV exposure. It is now one of the primary exports of the Genendo Botany Lab, which takes in enough money from the sale of Beachrunner alone to self-fund all of their research. While our technology can do the same, I bought some to study and will share my samples and my findings with Doctor Crusher.

"Computer, end log."

"Keiko's log, Stardate 46172.799,

"I have been working with these samples for hours. I have replanted all of the whole plants and have had my assistants working on properly labeling them with the information I was provided. The cuttings have been arranged and labeled for study. My hope is that Dancer, at least, will prove a fitting candidate for replanting in the Arboretum, however the evasiveness of the locals is making me hesitant. The more I think about it, the odder they seem to have been acting about it.

"And they aren't the only ones. Maybe I'm just tired. I should be tired, but I don't seem to be. I feel fine; happy, in fact. But it does seem as though everyone else has had either a little too much to drink or a little too little sleep. I understand that we are all excited to have had the chance to visit the planet and to gather samples, and it is exciting work studying them, however...

"I will be contacting Doctor Crusher if things do not change. There had been an incident on board the ship on Stardate 41209.2 where a widespread infection caused crew members to act as though they were intoxicated. We are all now inoculated against that, though, so whatever is happening now, while similar, does not seem as drastic or as quick to build. I will be setting this file to auto-send to Doctor Crusher if I have not canceled the command by 0800 tomorrow. I do not feel as though I am infected, of course, or I would have quarantined myself and my staff. It is always possible that they simply imbibed too much while on leave. Normally I might have an issue with this, but we've all been dealing with a lot recently, and there was a wedding. So long as everyone is sober and accounted for tomorrow, I will let it go. I'm in too good a mood to be angry, anyway.

"I have been working with Beachrunner mostly, though the others have been focusing on Dancer. I want all eyes on that one to unravel the mystery as soon as possible. Miles came in about an hour ago, and was so taken with the beauty of it that, rather than asking me when I was returning for dinner, he took one of the blooms to put up in our quarters. I almost stopped him, but he seemed so happy, and it was one of the ones from the tourist market. If there is some reason they should not be spread about, it is probably too late already. And he thought I would like to have it there. I have a wonderful husband.

"The only issue we have discovered so far with Dancer that could account for anything is the scent. When kept in an enclosed space the scent grows quickly to an almost unbearable level. It is pleasant, but too much of even a good thing is still too much. One of the techs has opened the vents and rerouted the ventilation system to circulate the air. Miles said even the corridors smelled nice as he came in.

"I am going to work some more on Beachrunner tonight, before I look over the Dancer notes to prepare them for the report to Doctor Crusher tomorrow. You know... one of these blooms would look quite lovely in her hair. I wonder why I didn't think of that before.

"Computer, end log."

It has been one full solar day since Keiko's last log was made, and in that time things aboard the Enterprise have grown truly unusual. The ship is well out of Pacifica's range by now, returned to open space, but things are not back to normal.

News of the Botany Lab's breakdown has spread by this point, as any are invited to help manage the issue.


[OOC: Party Post! Come get your top-levels and scenarios below! This post signifies the end of our February plots with some cool-off time before March begins. Hit up the OOC comm if you have any questions.]

Comments

Infected -- Deanna Troi

[ships_counselor]

The frivolity and relaxation in this area of the ship is a bit odd, but Deanna had come on a mission. She had. She remembered that. She had something to ask of Beverly. Or was it she'd come down to tell her something? Whichever it was, she'd been first distracted. By the people in the lab, and then further distracted by the gorgeous flower on the main table, which looked like it had the makings of a shrine around it.

That should have concerned her deeply. It really should have.....but the flower was gorgeous, wasn't it?
It reminded her of the flowers of her home world, only too recently seen again, if for too short a time really and truly.

The rest could wait. A few minutes more. Deanna reached out a hand and stroked the delicate, beautiful petal softly.