Time Spent in the Soil

Posted on Mon Feb 24th, 2025 @ 9:35pm by Ensign Khrys Ral

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Arboretum, Deck 2
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 0000

The soft hum of the USS Sojourner filled the quiet expanse of the ship’s arboretum, a serene haven tucked away on Deck 2. Khrys stood over a row of delicate Betazoid flora, his fingertips lightly brushing the edges of the purple leaves as he adjusted their growing conditions. The smell of soil and fresh plant life surrounded him, a small but precious comfort amidst the vastness of space. His black eyes, usually warm and expressive, were lost in thought as he gently tended to the plants.

He had always felt connected to the earth, even before joining Starfleet. The sprawling gardens of Rixx, his childhood home, had been a place of solace, where the scent of fresh rain and the sight of blooming flora had filled him with a profound sense of peace. The connection he felt to Betazed’s natural world was more than just an appreciation of its beauty—it was part of his identity, part of his soul.

But now, as his hands carefully moved the tiny Betazoid saplings into new planters, Khrys couldn’t help but feel the distance that spanned between him and his home planet. He hadn’t been able to return to Betazed before embarking on this mission to the Delta Quadrant. The Sojourner’s assignment to explore strange new worlds, to catalog lifeforms, was an opportunity he had always dreamed of, but there was a certain sadness to it. The life he had left behind—the botanical gardens of Rixx, the rich cultural heritage of his people—was a part of him that felt distant now.

Khrys’s thoughts drifted to his family, his parents, and the days when he would spend hours poring over ancient texts about plant life and ecology. He had always known that Starfleet was his path, but leaving behind the world that shaped him had been difficult. The distance was more than just physical. The time he spent on Betazed, learning and growing amidst its natural beauty, was something he had taken for granted. Now, in the Delta Quadrant, surrounded by alien flora and strange ecosystems, Khrys often wondered when—or if—he would ever return home.

"Maybe one day," he whispered to himself, his fingers pressing gently into the soil. "Maybe one day, I’ll be able to walk in the gardens of Rixx again."

He leaned back, wiping his hands on his uniform as he observed the plants. His mission here was to catalog new botanical lifeforms, to explore alien worlds and see what could be discovered. He was excited about that—truly. The unknown was thrilling, and the thought of uncovering new species to share with his peers back home made his heart race with anticipation. But even as he looked at the strange, colorful flora from distant planets, there was a longing for the familiar, the plants he knew intimately, the ones he had grown up with.

Khrys paused, the Sojourner was far from home, traveling through the uncharted stretches of the Delta Quadrant, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Betazed was still with him, in every leaf he tended, in every new species of plant they discovered. His connection to his home wasn’t bound by distance. He carried it with him in the work he did, in the quiet moments of reflection, in the very essence of who he was.

For now, the plants would have to suffice. And while the journey was far from over, Khrys had the feeling that one day, he would return to Betazed—not just as a visitor, but as someone who had seen the universe through new eyes, someone who had discovered new lifeforms, and perhaps even learned a few things about himself along the way.

With a final, thoughtful glance at the Betazoid plants flourishing in the arboretum, Khrys gently activated the environmental controls, ensuring the temperature and humidity levels were just right. He smiled to himself, his heart still aching for home but feeling, for the first time in a long while, at peace with the path he had chosen.