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

[last_ofthe_jedi]

While part of Luke very much wants to request Cash's company back in their room for a bit first, he thinks that teasing him for a while out in "public" (as public as a holodeck gets, that is) might make for even more exciting activities in their room later.

He gladly downs the rest of the offered whiskey and smirks at Cash as he swallows it, though his nose wrinkles just a bit as it burns his throat.

"This is our first real date, isn't it?" He slides off the bar stool and takes Cash's offered arm, grinning as he always does at his boyfriend's affectionate charms.

[startedtheflamewar]

Cash feigns bewilderment as he leads the way out of the room and in the direction of the holodecks. His efforts to memorize the ship have been going rather well. Though they're helped by the fact that Cash is naturally gifted as far as orienting himself are concerned — something which had kept him alive, as an agent of the OSS.

"You sayin' that wiping out scarecrows and demons wasn't date material?"

He's almost certainly feeling better, thanks to the pollen he hasn't picked up on, if he's mentioning the scarecrows in casual conversation. Normally, that's what most of his nightmares are about. That and being forced to shoot the people he cares about, as if he's a secondary rider in his own body.

But right now, his attention is firmly on the man he has on his arm.

"Or games of chance in dirty pubs?"

[last_ofthe_jedi]

It's a pretty big ship, and even though he technically knows the way, Luke doesn't exactly frequent that area. He gladly lets Cash lead the way. It even feels a little romantic, being swept off somewhere by a tall, handsome man. As romantic as holographic imagery can be.

Since Luke's never seen exactly what the holodecks can do, however, he's about to be pleasantly surprised. He's seen plenty of holo technology but he's never seen anything like this before.

And because of the sheer joy that would naturally accompany getting to finally spend time with one's significant other this way, Luke still hasn't picked up on just how oddly cheerful the both of them are. Sure, they've both managed to forget their other problems at quite convenient times, but it's easy to see that as gradual recovery.

Things have been pretty great here.

"I seem to remember you being a little embarrassed about calling our visits to the dirty pub 'dates'," he says with eyebrows raised up at Cash. "The faces you made..." Yes, he's going to keep reminding him of that for a long time to come.

[startedtheflamewar]

He makes an exasperated, and joking, noise in the back of his throat as he glances down at Luke. "A guy's nervous once and nobody lets you forget it."

Well, not that anyone else here would be in the position to bring it up. They've left all of that behind. Good and bad. But it's worth it, to be safe. And there are a few familiar faces here. More for Luke than Cash, but Cash isn't bothered. He can make friends easily enough.

And right now, he feels like he can make a whole lot of them.

"I'm sure the replicator can give you curtains, if you're still hankerin' for 'em," Cash jokes.

[last_ofthe_jedi]

Luke's eyebrows go up even further and his smile fades slightly as he looks up at Cash in blatant surprise. "You were nervous?" The idea of Cash being nervous about what could have only roughly been called a date at the time is almost too cute for him to handle.

His grin returns and he even chuckles softly as he hugs Cash's arm and rests his head against his shoulder. This. This is the sort of thing that goes straight to his heart and makes him fall even further in love. Someone showing him their vulnerabilities, especially when they have a history of pretending they don't have any, always succeeds at drawing him in.

"Is that why you were acting all tough and oblivious?"

[startedtheflamewar]

Cash wrinkles his nose, glancing anywhere but at the man on his shoulder. He'd considered himself out of practice, and outings with attractive company typically took place in a location where he didn't know anyone. Or only knew the bartender. To be surrounded by familiar people, while trying not to say anything too stupid, had been a new experience.

And it had rattled him a bit in the beginning. He likes to think he'd gotten better as the evening had worn on.

"Maybe," he says evasively. He doesn't shrug, but only because he doesn't want to unseat Luke. It feels nice to have him there. "A little. Wasn't a very romantic date. We can start correctin' that now that we've got access to anywhere the holodeck's programmed to. Or when the ship stops at another planet."

[last_ofthe_jedi]

There it is, that face again, the one with the wrinkled nose. Luke grins up at him, thoroughly enjoying watching the struggle. Not for any sadistic reason, but simply because he finds the display pretty adorable.

He nudges Cash playfully. "You know something, knowing how you really felt makes it seem a lot more romantic. In retrospect, at least."

Their walk has taken them to the lift and Luke gives it instructions as they step inside. As the door closes and they appear to be alone, Luke's voice takes on a slightly sheepish tone, though he still feels oddly confident, as if he could tell anyone just about anything at the moment.

"And sometimes... sometimes when you play it cool or pretend not to care it just seems like you're not all that interested in me." He quickly catches himself and shrugs. "Well, I know better now of course, but it's still nice to know the truth."

It's strange. Normally he'd be nervous about bringing up such a subject, but right now he feels completely relaxed. He hasn't even stopped smiling.

[startedtheflamewar]

Everything feels great right now. Cash thinks he could talk about anything with Luke and feel great. Certainly he feels a lot like that on a good day, but it wouldn't matter the subject. Anything. He's unlikely to think of anything off the weathered path, though, so to speak -- because at the moment his mind is focusing on happy things. Things that make him feel fuzzy.

He slides his arm around Luke's lower back and pulls him close, pressing a soft kiss into the top of his head before he looks down at him earnestly.

"I know m' bad at showing what I feel," Cash murmurs, voice warm. There's nowhere else he'd rather be. "M' sorry about that. But I love you, n' I care about you, n' every day I'm just so grateful I found you again."

[last_ofthe_jedi]

By now Luke's decided that being held by Cash is just about the best feeling in the world, especially when it's coupled with a kiss or two. Or many. Preferably many.

His hands slide up Cash's arms and then around his shoulders as he leans into him comfortably with a satisfied smile on his face. He goes decidedly pink and his gaze lowers sheepishly as Cash starts to open up. Despite what Cash says, it seems that no other response could have made Luke happier.

Once he manages to look up at Cash again from under long eyelashes, he tells him in a soft, lowered voice, "You're better at it than you think you are."

And then Luke leans his head in, pulling Cash to him as he does so, letting their foreheads press together and their noses just touch. "Well I want you to know that I'm crazy about you."

[startedtheflamewar]

Everything is usually fuzzy and nice with Luke, so Cash doesn't suspect that anything's out of the ordinary with his system and how it's handling the situation. Aren't you supposed to feel this happy when the object of your affections says that they're crazy about you, after all?

Cash smiles happily and nuzzles his nose against Luke's. "The feeling's mutual."

While he thinks he's a lot better than the callous asshole he used to be -- or pretended to be, depending on one's point of view -- maybe he's got a lot of room for improvement. Most people do, he reminds himself. Nobody's perfect, even if they seem that way. Meeting Luke has made him a much happier person, and he'd certainly made Denouement much more tolerable. Losing him had been a real blow that had taken most of the wind out of his sails.

He idly rubs circles with his thumb against Luke's side as he enjoys their closeness. Whenever the lift doors open, it'll be too soon. But they do have the holodeck to look forward to.