Towers of Greenery Part I
Posted on Fri Oct 13th, 2023 @ 7:53pm by Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren & Captain Edmund Merrick
Edited on on Sat Oct 14th, 2023 @ 8:45pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 14 - The Poseidon Adventure
Location: Garden Cube = Deck 10 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD012 1800 hrs
It was getting close to the time that the USS Pioneer was about to depart. Two days before. Cara finally found the time to get in touch with Commander Alyssa Maren. Tapping on her combadge, Cara sent out a message.
"Commander Maren, this is Commander Letsul, could we get together and I get a tour of where you work? I am sorry I've not contacted you until now." Cara stated.
"Of course." Alyssa's schedule was still pretty light, and she would love to get feedback on the vertical gardens. "Bring Lieutenant Oaxaca with you. I'd love to see what she has to say."
"I'd be delighted." Cara stated tapping on her combadge to close off the communication. She immediately contacted Brianthe.
"Brianthe this is Cara, care to join me in taking a tour on the USS Pioneer? We'll be meeting with Alyssa Maren, the chief scientist of the ship. I'd like to see what they are doing on the ship where their gardens are concerned."
"I would love to," came the reply. "When?" She wanted to see how they'd utilized a cargo bay. It had some interesting possibilities.
"As soon as you can arrive at the entrance of the Pioneer, for us to meet with Alyssa." Cara having a feeling of excitement bubbling up inside. She was excited to see what Alyssa had done.
"Great." Brianthe set aside her PADDs. "I'll be right there." There was no time like the present and she knew the Pioneer wouldn't be around for long.
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Alyssa was waiting for them. "I'm glad you found the time to come see our project. While it was my idea, there were a number of people who helped bring it to pass."
She led them down to where they'd taken over one of the cargo bays and stepped aside for Cara and Brianthe to go in first.
A framework of transparent aluminum had been constructed around the walls and ceiling of the cargo bay to contain the soil blocks and irrigation system and make the most of the space available.
Vines of varying types were carefully woven through the trellis on the ceiling in blocks separated by frames of colored aluminum to section off the various plants, creating a checkerboard effect.
The same checkerboard pattern was repeated on the walls, separating smaller flowers and colorful plants from blocks of grasses and leafy plants.
On the deck, walkways separated the squares containing small trees, hedges, and bushes, creating a maze-like pattern. In the center of the maze was a small waterfall surrounded by benches for people to sit. The benches were surrounded by tall fern and hanging vines.
There were several other benches around the garden where people could sit by flowering bushes or garden plots.
Several blocks in the front corners were set aside for kids and crew to learn to grow their own plants.
The back corners were set aside for fruit, herbs, and berries. Everything was carefully laid out so there were no incompatibilities between the various vegetables, flowers, and vines.
The computer had information on every plant in the vertical garden, accessible by PADD and everything in the garden was edible.
The moment that Cara stepped foot into the cargo bay and saw the little garden of Eden made there, she was enchanted! "Such sheer beauty! And practicality. I love it!" her voice ringing through the area. Almost like a butterfly it seemed that Cara was moving from one area to the next. It reminded her of what she had done years back on the station she had been on. This though was incredible. She could feel the sting of tears being awed by what Alyssa had accomplished.
Brianthe started at the walls, touching a plant here, a flower there. "I love the way you set this up," she said to Alyssa. "Why did you choose a cargo bay?"
"There's no room for an arboretum, so I asked the captain if I could repurpose one of the cargo bays and this is the result. It wasn't all me. I had a lot of help, especially with the actually build."
"I love it." Brianthe found a rope in a corner and used it to climb up to the ceiling to have a closer look at the vines. "Very nice indeed." She examined how the vines were anchored and slid back down to have a look at the maze.
Cara gave pause, watching as Brianthe climbed up the rope, that looked rather fun and it was something she'd not done in years. Can she do that still? Up the rope Cara went, finding it blissful to be able to do so still. She wasn't as quick as Brianthe but she still had the muscles to do so. It gave Cara a huge thrill, she gazed around from her perch taking in another perspective of what had been designed and worked out.
"Alyssa, this is amazing, and I know I had said that before but it truly is." Cara sliding down from the rope to the floor below.
Alyssa smiled as she watched the two women climb the rope to the vines. "It is, and I can say that because it really was a team effort. I had help from several botanists. We're going to have a grand opening after shore leave so the crew can see what we've done here. Once classes start, I hope to have kids in here to help with the weeding in exchange for a small plot of dirt."
"That is a wonderful plan, and I hope the kids are willing to do so. " Cara looked over towards Brianthe. "Definitely would love to incorporate this in the Arboretum. What do you think?"
She could definitely have a room set aside for kids and crew to have their own garden patch. "I'd love to have the space for a vertical garden. It's one thing to have plants on the ground around you, but another to be surrounded by them." Bri raised an eyebrow. "Do you think there's space available for one?"
"There probably is. Just need to look at the plans of the station just to figure that out maybe even reconfigure a science lab or two. Just need to go talk with the chief of science or even the assistant chief of science." Cara said, musing about the possibilities.
A Joint Post By
Commander Cara Letsul
Poseidon Operations Commander
Chief Counselor
Poseidon Station
Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist
Poseidon Station
Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren
Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
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