Replanting

Posted on Sat Jan 10th, 2026 @ 2:59pm by Ensign Khrys Ral & Lieutenant JG Thomas Mitchell & Ensign Noah Balsam & Ensign Brobostigan

Mission: Port of Call
Location: Arboretum, Deck Two
Timeline: Mission Day 15 at 1430

The arboretum still smelled faintly of smoke. Where there had once been a lush, curated jungle of Betazoid shade-vines and Terran broadleaf ferns, now there stood uneven stretches of scorched soil, broken irrigation lines, and the black skeletons of trees. Light filtered harshly through the damaged overhead panels, revealing the quiet wreckage of what had once been one of the most beloved spaces on the ship.

Ensign Khrysaros Ral stood near the center plot, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, knees smudged with soil. He had been working in silence for the better part of the day, if one could call what he was doing ‘working.’ Mostly, it was clearing debris. Sorting what root systems might still be coaxed back to life. Taking stock of what remained.

He brushed his nimble, soil stained fingers across a charred leaf. It crumbled to dust. Khrys exhaled slowly. Not gone. Not gone. Not if there’s still light. Not if there’s still seed. The arboretum would look different now, even if they restored it perfectly. It had been touched by trauma, same as the crew.

“If you can hear me,” he said to the arboretum itself, or maybe to the crew, or maybe to something else entirely,“we’re going to start again. Slowly. And together.” He remained there a moment, one hand resting in the dirt. Footsteps sounded somewhere behind him, someone entering the space. Khrys didn’t turn right away.

Thomas stepped into the space that housed the Arboretum and took a moment to look around. The damaged panels, irrigation lines, burnt and disturbed areas all stabbed him emotionally. From the remnants he could easily tell this had been a well-tended and cared for space, one that could be coaxed back to life and renewed in purpose. An idea of reserving a small section of the space to house whatever plants remained, set aside as both a memorial of the past and promise of a new future, struck as he walked through.

It did not take Thomas long to see another person in the space, the tell-tale signs of work on the arms and hands of the individual. Instead of interfering with whatever was ongoing, he decided to give the crewmember space and walk around a bit more, closely examining the damage, and seeing what remained to work from.

This was a hard place to be. Duty demanded. But when Noah closed his eyes and reached out, he half wondered if he could feel her here. Were souls a real thing? How long did they linger? Was it fast and painless? Did she suffer? God- if there was one- he hoped not. His eyes squeezed. His calibrator errored out for the second time. "Damn," he murmured through the grit of his teeth. Words flashed in front of his device. Error. Signal Packet Degradation at fourteen percent. Retry? Annoyed, Noah fled from the process and instead flicked in to diagnostics. But part of him felt like what was wrong had more to do with him than the technology.

He stood and set his device down in front of the opened conduits and monitoring systems- his role was the data, not the power systems. He sighed and put his hands limberly on the backs of his hips.

Planetary Ecologist and Xenobotanist Ensign Brobostigan walked through the door to find the dead Arboretum once again. He hated the Kazon and hoped one day they'd make them pay for their actions. He saw a man he didn't recognize making his way around, though his fellow Ensigns Khrysaros Ral and Noah Balsam were around the dead room.

Brobostigan approached Ral first, the Jelna Rigellian offered a sympathic smile. "Don't worry, we'll have this place green and beautiful in no time." He supplied.

Part of Khrys bristled at the comment, though he fought to keep it from showing too sharply on his face. This wasn’t about making the place pretty again. It wasn’t about decoration or “bringing life” in the casual, upbeat way people sometimes talked about gardens. This was about honouring something. Someone.

His gaze lowered to the ruined soil beneath their boots, to the scattered remnants of what had once been tended with care. He swallowed, feeling the words tighten at the back of his throat. “It’s not,” He stopped, shaking his head just once, almost imperceptibly. His voice softened to something quieter, rougher. “It’s not just about making it green and beautiful again.”

He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to. There was a long moment before he lifted his eyes again, dark and earnest.

“I… erm…” His voice caught, betraying the tug of emotion he couldn’t fully hide. He pulled in a breath and steadied himself. “I think we could use some help with assembling the hydroponic troughs.” He gestured toward the crates stacked near the Arboretum entrance, unassembled kits waiting like a promise of work, and of remembrance. “They’re… heavy. And there’s a lot of them.”

The implication hung there:
You can help by being here. Really here. Not just to fix the plants—but to respect why we’re doing this at all.

Khrys didn’t say that part aloud, but it flickered clearly in his expression.

"Of course it's not about that," Brobostigan's tone softened. "We are rebuilding and replanting in their honour and memories. Could we put up plaques to name the new plants after them?" He requested as he stood beside the Botanist, "they'll be with us, supporting us as we carry on in their name." While he didn't know many among the crew for long, he couldn't imagine that pain of loss, and probably won't until it happened to him.

His thoughts went to his brothers being killed in action or combat, that scared him, but he wanted to be a pillar of stability for his crewmates. He looked over at the crates and nodded. "Do these go in a specific section or anywhere will do?" Brobostigan gestured at the crates of the kits. He figured that if they dwell on the sad, they'd not get anything done.

Completing the walk around, Thomas now found himself coming up to the two. "Sorry to interrupt, but the XO mentioned the damage and some extra hands being needed, so here I am. I take it one of you is Ensign Ral, and the other is Ensign Brobostigan? Haven't had a chance to meet either of you yet. LTJG Thomas Mitchell, ACSO." Nodding politely instead of extending a hand, following his tradition of allowing the other parties to make that opening.

Khrys pushed himself up to standing, brushing the dark, charred soil from his palm against his pant leg in an absent, almost apologetic motion. The ash left faint streaks on the fabric, but he didn’t seem to notice. His mind was still half on the ruined garden, half on the newcomer in front of him.

“Ral, sir,” he said, offering his hand in greeting. His fingers were still smudged with soot. “Welcome aboard.”

Under different circumstances, his voice would have carried its usual brightness, an effortless Betazoid charm he didn’t even have to think about. But today, his tone was softer, steadier, stripped of the usual bounce. The loss that hung over the Arboretum dimmed the edges of his smile, though the sincerity was unmistakable.

Thomas took the hand and shook firmly, noting the tone and not minding the soot one bit. "Pleasure to meet you all, Ral. And save the sir's for on duty if you could, we're all partners in here by my accounting."

"Sir, Ensign Brobostigan Planetary Ecologist and Xenobotanist, welcome aboard," the Jelna Rigellian male snapped to attention, in a gentle motion but still hurried. Brobostigan smiled instead of the usual crisp Starfleet salute.

Thomas waved the attention stance back down. "Relax, please. As I just said, save the formality for on duty. I was an Ensign not too long ago and this isn't a place for it. Lots of Eco and Xenobotany on board, guess I'll be focusing more on the Geological and other non-bio sides of my training with the numbers here.

A softer smile was given to both as Thomas looked around. "So, seeing as I am the newest one around here, Ral, how do you recommend we proceed?" He asked directly, indicating he was deferring to the member with the most time aboard, and the ranks weren't an issue.

Khrys nodded, steadying himself in the familiar rhythm of explaining a task. “We’re using portable reclamation units to get the soil back to usable levels,” he said, hands settling on his hips as if anchoring himself. The tightness that had held his shoulders only minutes earlier had eased, leaving him looking more composed, more in control.

He drew in a slow, measured breath and continued, “Otherwise, like I was telling Ensign Brobostigan, we’ve got a set of hydroponic troughs that still need assembling by the entrance.” His eyes angled briefly toward the crates stacked neatly near the door, and he gestured toward them with a small flick of his hand. “Everything you need should be in those containers. It shouldn’t take long once we get started.”

There was a steadiness to him now, the faint sense that burying himself in the work was exactly the thing keeping him balanced.

"But we are on duty," Bo said to his superior, he did relax and turned to Khrys. "What do you think of putting the names on plaques' idea, Ral? Apologies I didn't introduce myself earlier as I am new as well, but I wanted to get helping and got overly excited about getting stuck in."

Khrys planted his hands firmly on his hips, grounding himself before lifting his voice toward the other end of the space. “Hey, Noah,” he called out to Ensign Balsam, his tone casual but purposeful, “what do you think about some commemorative plaques? Do you think the Captain would go for that?”

"Huh?" How long had he been lost in thought, thinking, circle after circle, of her. Her plump and pleasant face. "Oh uh." Noah leaned up from his squat. "I-I think we'd have to ask but... I'm sure he'd say yes. He'd probably just want to be asked."

A quick smile was leveled at Brobostigan and a wave Thomas' hand to the comment. "Technically, yes we are. I'm not as big on formalities though, and this isn't a required project. At the least, I'm here as a volunteer and extra pair of hands. This is Ral's project, he calls the shots on it, and as such, I'll just get started on assembling those troughs." A quick nod to the others was given, and Thomas walked over to the entrance to start laying out the parts in an assembly line fashion to speed up the task.

Ral nodded gently, his attention following Lieutenant Mitchell as he turned and set off toward the task at hand. Ral’s focus shifted back to Ensign Brobostigan. His expression softened, encouraging rather than evaluative. “Why don’t you write a request to the Captain about the plaques?” he suggested, his tone calm and measured. “I suspect he’d appreciate seeing that kind of initiative, especially from a newly arrived Ensign.”

He gave a small, affirming nod, as if to underscore the point. “It shows thoughtfulness. Care. Those things matter, sometimes more than people realize.”

Brobostigan grinned. "Aye, I will. Thanks for your blessing." He gestured to the Lieutenant and the hydroponic troughs containers. "I'll get some of that stuff done first, will you join us?"

Khrys shook his head. “I’m gonna finish up here first.” He reached for a portable soil reclamation unit and returned his attention to his work.

A post by:

Lieutenant Junior Grade Thomas Mitchell
Assistant Chief Science Officer

Ensign Noah Balsam
Computer Systems Specialist

Ensign Khrysaros Ral
Science Officer

Ensign Brobostigan
Eco Botanist