Afternoon in the Arboretum

Posted on Mon Feb 8th, 2010 @ 9:11am by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti

Mission: Episode 1.1 - "Now Boarding"
Location: Arboretum, USS Pandora
Timeline: MD 03, 1000

ON: [[Arboretum, USS Pandora, MD03, 1000]]

The counselor wandered into the arboretum with a mug of coffee and PaDD in hand and glanced with curiosity around the foliage that surrounded her. The doors slid closed behind her and the smell of grass and damp earth was intoxicating. It wasn't hard to remember that she was still in space, the ceiling certainly gave that away, but it was quiet and peaceful in a way that was hard to find on an ordinary starship. She had only intended to take a few minutes away from unpacking her office but as she passed a small pond she wondered if she would be able to drag herself back to work after this.

While Iluvar was out touring the Pandora, Aris (NPC) had decided to take his own tour of the ship. The two highlights that he wanted to be sure to visit were the arboretum and the library, neither of which had been aboard the Tethys. Upon entering the arboretum, however, Aris had immediately been drawn to the authentic natural environment. Holodeck simulations were nothing compared to the sweet smell of the botanical garden or the murmur of a small brook. The grass felt soft and inviting as the young Ba'ku stretched out on the ground against a nearby tree.

Aris' had been watching his Rh'yl, which was perched on his knee, for about ten or fifteen minutes when the sound of the arboretum doors caused him to turn. The sudden movement startled the small creature, a native of the Ba'ku homeworld, causing it to dart across Aris' leg and into a pocket of the boy's tunic. It didn't take long for Aris to see the ship's counselor making her way down the main path.

The counselor noticed the young man as she rounded the bend and smiled at him before coming over. "Well you look at home." Her smile widened as she tucked her PaDD under one arm. "Mind if I sit?"

For a moment, Aris wasn't quite sure what to say. He didn't really see any reason why she couldn't, but he still didn't know many people on the senior staff all that well, not to mention the crew at large. "I guess...if you want," he replied apathetically.

Hannah repressed a grin at the young man's attitude. She remembered being that age very well and hoped she wasn't proving to be one of those adults that she had always hated. With a little moan she settled back onto the grass. She sipped her coffee in a slow moment before looking over at the boy. "I guess I didn't introduce myself, I'm Hannah."

"Aris," the boy replied, reaching his hand into his pocket in an attempt to coax his Rh'yl out. He didn't know what to make of the woman one way or the other, except that he knew she had been the chief counselor aboard the Tethys. She seemed rather nice, but people could always seem nice when they wanted to.

The counselor took another sip and lay the PaDD beside her on the grass. "How're you finding the Pandora?"

"It's alright, I guess," Aris replied, feeling the small creature in his pocket rub its nose against his fingers. The Rh'yl seemed comforted by the familiarity of its owner's hand and Aris could feel its tiny feet as it began to crawl into the palm of his hand. Not wanting to startle it again, Aris did not immediately withdraw his hand. "I haven't seen all that much of it yet," he clarified, "but it's bigger than the Tethys."

Hannah nodded. "Yeah it is. There's lots more in the way of recreation, too." She smiled. "Maybe you'll even get lucky and there will be some other people your age." She suggested and then offered a wry smile. "As entertaining as the adults around here must be."

"I don't know," Aris said with a shrug of his shoulders, "I kinda like to be alone." Slowly, he pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it in front of him. The Rh'yl blinked and looked up at the boy with wide eyes. Nimbly, the small creature ascended Aris' arm until it was perched comfortably on his shoulder.

The counselor watched the small creature as it watched Aris. This boy was just full of surprises and the little animal was kind of cute. "Who is this?"

At the sound of the counselor's voice, the Rh'yl turned its head to look in her direction. While the small creature did not retreat to Aris' pocket again, the boy could tell that it was assessing the situation, trying to determine if the woman was a threat or not. "It's called a Rh'yl," Aris replied, putting his open palm to his shoulder so that the pet could crawl onto it. After a brief moment, the Rh'yl decided that the counselor wasn't dangerous and proceeded to crawl onto Aris' hand. Aris slowly lowered his hand so that he was holding the animal just above his legs. "They're native to my homeworld," he explained, "Iluvar told me they have Rh'yl on the Ba'ku in this universe too."

"I've never seen one before," the counselor explained. "Does it have a name?"

"No," Aris answered, "I don't think I've ever heard of anyone naming a Rh'yl."

Hannah smiled. "In this universe a lot of people have pets and they usually give them a name to help distinguish them from other members of their species," she explained. "But you don't need to." She tentatively reached out a hand towards the small creature, seeing if it would trust her enough to touch it.

Hesitantly, the Rh'yl stretched out to sniff the counselor's hand. It seemed to consider her for a moment, then decided that she was a bit too close for comfort. With surprising swiftness, it climbed nimbly up to Aris shoulder opposite from the counselor, earning a slight chuckle from the boy.

Hannah jumped, but smiled at the animal's swift movement, then retracted her hand. "Guess I'm too scary," she said with a note of sarcasm. She sipped her coffee. "So how did you spend your leave?"

For a moment, Aris wasn't sure he wanted to answer her question. It was almost as if she was treating this as a counseling session, or maybe she was just naturally inquisitive. Still, he didn't like the feeling that she was analyzing his answers and, by extension, him as well. He glanced down at the Rh'yl on his shoulder as he contemplated whether or not he was going to answer the question. If he didn't say anything though, he might come off as rude. "Camping," Aris replied briefly.

The counselor smiled, that was something she understood. "I did some camping too, actually." She fell silent, assuming the boy's brief answer meant that he didn't feel like talking. She almost laughed, he was very much like Iluvar that way. Maybe he just didn't feel like talking about himself and so she continued. "I went down on one of the planets, just one night," she explained briefly. "I went orbit diving too. But leave always seems to go by too quickly." She went quiet again and took a longer drink of her coffee, wondering if he would pick up the conversation or continue to enjoy the silence.

Aris chose not to reply, as the counselor had not asked any question. Instead, he looked around at the room. Iluvar had suggested he might consider taking care of the arboretum, which would give him something to do. If he was going to do that, he'd need to figure out what species of plants were growing already and what their needs were. The thought of doing research reminded Aris that he had wanted to get to the library as part of his tour. He smiled at the fact that he had been delayed by this little sanctuary of nature.

Hannah finished her coffee and wondered if she should head off. She hadn't planned on grilling the boy and didn't want to make him uncomfortable, although he already seemed to be just that. She watched him for a moment from the corner of her eye and then grinned as she realized who he reminded her of. "Aris, do you like to read?"

"Yeah," Aris replied cautiously, not sure where the counselor was headed this time.

"Have you ever read Treasure Island?" The counselor asked. "I just realized what's been bugging me about you -- you remind me of the book's main character."

He'd come across the title while perusing the works in the Tethys' database, but had not gotten around to reading it, partially because he'd not had the time and partially because he'd preferred to read the physical texts rather than the digital ones. Perhaps the Pandora's library would have a copy available for him to read. The fact that she was associating him with the book's main character was a bit confusing for the boy, as he didn't quite know what to make of it. "No, I haven't," Aris answered, checking to make sure the Rh'yl was still on his shoulder and hadn't wandered off.

"I don't know you very well, but you're sort of what I always pictured him to be like. Quiet but obviously intelligent and observant." She shrugged, noticing his continued put-off attitude. "I'm not trying to classify you or something, I just wondered if you'd read it." She paused and then pushed forward, hoping her ribbing him wouldn't be taken the wrong way. "I'm sure the ship's library has it. Unless you would deign accept a lent copy from me." She paused and then continued as though flushing out the idea for herself. "But then you'd have to accept that I'm not after anything and we couldn't possibly have that," she said with a look that made it clear she was teasing him. "I much prefer the evil head-shrinking counselor persona, thank you." Her voice ran with friendly sarcasm.

Aris wasn't sure if the counselor was trying to be funny or if she was being serious. Quirking an eyebrow, he reached up to his shoulder and gently picked up the Rh'yl, placing it back into his pocket. "I should probably get going," he told her, getting to his feet, "There's still a lot of unpacking to do."

Hannah nodded, she should probably get going too but had no desire to appear as though she were following the boy around and so stayed put on the grass. "Alright."

She watched the boy go, a little disappointed that he hadn't spoken to her further. She must be losing her touch. Then again, as one of her instructors had always said 'you can't please all of the people all of the time.' She laughed at herself and hopped to her feet, it was time for her to be getting back to work anyways.

OFF

by

Aris Ibanya (NPC)
Crew Family Member
USS Pandora

Played by

Rear Admiral Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

and

Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti
Chief Counselor
USS Pandora