Star Trek: Starbase 777 - botanical-gardens

The botanical gardens were a popular spot for anyone to go on a date. Carefully maintained by the station's botanists, the gorgeous plants from all over the world were sure to provide an educational and aesthetically pleasing walk for Edgar and Vida to get to know each other.

Vida entered the botanical gardens with an eyebrow lifted. Supposedly, this was the location of her date. It was very sunny, and the colors of the plants cast a beautiful spotlight around the room. She just hoped her date didn't prefer walking. Vida had chosen to switch up her style and try on some dyed hair. She'd chosen a deep purple, with some blue highlights at the tips. She wore a white dress shirt and a black skirt, with a pair of platform shoes on. Unfortunately, this wasn't the best location for an all-out fancy outfit.

Ed, a bit unsure of how the whole thing worked but eager to give it a try, swept the stray strand of his hair out of his face for the millionth time. He’d spent some time on figuring out what to wear, eventually ending up with one of his favourite sleeveless shirts, black with detailing across the front that looked like a dragon, and a pair of distressed grey jeans. It wasn’t the fanciest, but he didn’t look like he’d just come from the jefferies tubes, which was a win. Stepping into the botanical gardens felt a bit like stepping onto another planet, in a way, with how lush everything looked. As he headed down the path, he noticed someone up ahead. Someone whose shade of blue he recognized. “Vida?”

Vida's eyebrows shot up at seeing Ed. "Eddie!" she gasped. "Were you scheduled here for a date too? I didn't realize you were on the romance scene." She chuckled, approaching her friend. She figured he was paired with someone else on a date in the same location. That must have been some mistake on the organizers' part.

“Yeah, I was! Figured I’d give it a shot, y’know?” He grinned, breaking into a jog to catch up to her, stopping a few feet away. “Weird that we both got our dates scheduled here, though.” “I didn’t know you signed up for this, though, that’s cool!” He chuckled.

"Yeah, I thought it was meant to just be one pair for each location." She responded. "You're the first guy I've seen in here." Vida frowned. "Well, in any case, might as well talk while we're here. Have you used any of those recipes i gave you?"

“Hm, yeah. You’re the first person I’ve seen here, in general.” He hummed, glancing around a bush to double-check and see if either of their dates were there. “Yeah, I’ve been trying to use the recipes! I made soup a while ago— accidentally made too much, but I gave some to one of the Lieutenant Commanders. It turned out good, though, no complaints.”

Vida grinned. "Oh, you have got to let me have some." Vida also turned around. She tapped her foot impatiently. "Seriously, someone must be running late here, I don't get it."

“I doubt anyone would stand up a blind date like that, so maybe something happened?” He thinned his lips, before blowing away the hair in his face again. Curse you, ponytail. “But totally, you can have as much soup as you want. It’s just chicken and rice, pretty typical.” He paused for a moment, eyes looking down as something popped into his head. “Wait, are we supposed to be on a date?”

Vida frowned. She looked back to Ed, confused. "Well, that doesn't make any sense. Aren't you supposed to choose the gender of the person you want to be paired with?" Vida asked. Vida placed her hands on her hips in annoyance. Why would they pair Ed with a woman? Oh wait... "Ohhh...."

“I mean, it’s— it’s either one, and…” He blinked, before laughter bubbled up faster than any words could, and he nearly doubled over laughing. “I’m so sorry, Vida—“ He exhaled, once his giggles had subsided, “I should have realized sooner, it’s— that’s my bad.”

"No, no, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed." Vida waved a hand. "Sorry, you just give off that vibe, y'know." She fidgeted with her feet, before looking back to Ed. She fluffed her hair up. "So, I suppose this is a date, then?"

“Ha, yeah, I get that a lot, it’s… not entirely wrong, but whatever.” He chuckled. He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. “I mean, if you want it to be. If not, we can just do a casual hangout kind of thing, no pressure.”

"Oh, come on, where's your chivalry?" She prodded Ed. "If we're supposed to be on a date, then you should be more of a gentleman, no? Come on, do something gentlemanly." (edited)

“So it is a date, then.” He blinked, before grinning, moving to one of the flower beds and picking up a small blossom— one in a gathering large enough that it wouldn’t be missed by the botanists, of course— and carrying it delicately back to her. He wondered if he should do something else, put it in her hair or something, but opted to just hand it to her with an exaggerated bow. “For you, then.”

"Ooh~" Vida cooed. She took the flower and tucked it carefully in her hair. "That's more like it. Well, aren't you going to take me on a walk?" She gestured to the rest of the garden.

“Ha, sure thing!” He smiled, offering his arm, in something that was attempting to be chivalrous but wound up just seeming a bit silly. He didn’t take himself too seriously, which was at least a strength in this case.

Vida gladly took it and began hauling him through the garden. "I think I heard there were some morning glories this way."

He stumbled a bit, being dragged across the path with such force, but he caught his footing and matched her pace. “Those’re your favourites, or…?”

"Of course." Vida responded. She came to a stop by a wild bush of vines and light blue, softer flowers poking out all over. She looked at them in admiration. "Splendid, right?"

“Totally. They look a little bit like wormholes…” He tilted his head, looking closely at the blossoms, “Y’know? With the colour on the inside, and the…”

"Hm? Oh, I guess. I've never really thought about it like that." She leaned in to peer at the flowers. "I think they look like watercolors."

“Oh, yeah! They do!” He nodded, “Actually, now that you mention it, they look straight out of a painting. They live up to the name, I guess.” He chuckled to himself, nodding. Definitely glorious.

"Wonder what else they have." Vida gasped. "Oh, I know earth has really pretty flowers that grow out of those pain plants. Do you wanna see those?"

“Like… cacti?” His brows shot up, a bit surprised to hear the spiky personification (plantification?) of a pain in the ass, but happy to go along with whatever, “Hell yeah! Let’s go see ‘em.”

Vida admired the array of colors as the two walked through the garden. "I should get some flowers for my quarters." She said. "They'd have to be, like, self watering, though. I'm too busy for that. And I'd have to keep it out of the way from Sugar."

“There’s ones that are non-toxic, for pets and stuff.” He offered, eyes tracking a massive vine that climbed all the way up to the ceiling, “My mom used to buy those when my sister was little— she liked to bite things, and nobody wanted to drag a screaming Klingon kid to the emergency room.”

"Klingon?" Vida's eyebrows turned upwards. "Well, aren't you full of surprises today?" Vida pondered the offer. She probably shouldn't get something even if it wasn't toxic, because she didn't want that brat tearing it up. Maybe if she could get something vine-y for the ceiling.

“Adopted. It’s a long story.” He laughed, but realized that it wasn’t that long of a story, after all. He hummed, glancing around. He knew next to nothing about flowers, just that they made his roommate sneeze and Vida pretty happy, but the gardens weren’t too bad at all.

"Well, you're supposed to share a bit about yourself on a date, right? Go on, spill the tea." Vida urged Ed. She waved for him to speak up, even as she was admiring the flowers.

“Well, my parents adopted five kids.” He chuckled, “My sisters are the oldest, Ares is Klingon and Anya is half-troll. My brothers are the middle ones, Kore is Andorian and Jace is human, like me. I’m the youngest.” He did a little hop and kicked a pebble in the middle of the path, watching it skitter across the way. “Anya’s biological parents were really close friends with my dad, and Ares’ dad lives on Qo’noS, so there’s that. My parents kinda retired after Anya and Ares, and my dad usually was the one to stay at home and watch us.” He explained, before huffing out a bit of a laugh, “I think that’s the whole story, actually. Not as long as I thought.”

"Wow, big family guy, aren't you?" Vida walked around Ed and peeked around his shoulder, lifting her eyebrows. "Must be nice, having siblings around." Vida put her hand to her chin, looking up to the wide-leafed trees around them.

“It’s nice, but also… shit, it’s a lot sometimes.” He exhaled, remembering the last time he was home, the constant chaos and competition, “You’re an only child, then?”

Vida sighed dramatically, with her fingertips brought to her collar. "Yes, it was just my mother and I for the longest time. Of course, now I'm by myself, so no need to worry about that." She explained. "Still, I've always thought it would be nice to have a little brother. Well, if he didn't end up like one of those asshole Orion guys."

“I used to wish I was an only child. Seems a lot quieter.” He remarked, trying to imagine her childhood. He exhaled, before adding gently, “What was your mother like?”

"Oh, she was a real pain. Still is." Vida answered nonchalantly, not picking up on the heavy tone in Ed's voice. "She was all 'Oh, don't you want to stay and have a family?' and, like, hello, I'm talking about working on a space station?"

“Ooof. That’s rough.” He winced, rubbing the back of his neck, “In this day and age, too? I thought a lot of species were done with that whole you gotta have a “proper” family or you have nothing shtick.* That sucks.”

"Oh, trust me, you haven't met an Orion mom." Vida laughed lightheartedly. She didn't seem very torn up about the separation from her mother. "I'm doin my own thing now, no more pestering. Still, a sibling would have been nice. Some family Id want to talk to."

“Maybe I don’t want to meet an Orion mom, then. I’m already a little scared of my own.” He chuckled quietly, “Is it everyone that you don’t want to talk to? Not a cousin or something?”

"Nah, none of that, just my mom." Vida huffed. Her brown eyes raked over the greenery surrounding them. He was nice for letting her vent, but she was still looking for something date-worthy. She turned back to him. "Not super interesting overall. But what about those siblings of yours? Where are they all working?"

“One of my sisters is in Starfleet, she’s working in security. They’re all kinda freelance, archivists and botanists and musicians and the like.” He shrugged, “It’s a little tricky to keep in touch with all of us being all over, but I don’t mind. “It’s weird, isn’t it? Figuring out who you are without your family or home to define you?” He chuckled after a minute, “Although you never struck me as the kind of person to struggle with that, you know what you want and you go for it.” (edited)

"Of course." Vida said, with a confident flick of the wrist. She paused to admire a row of cacti. They each had a flower blossoming that was mostly white but pink in the center. She enjoyed it, almost like it was their hearts. "I was kind of confused for a while," she remarked. "My mom used to get so upset with me, 'cause I was always jumping from new activity to new interest or hobby. Cost her a fortune!" Vida giggled, remembering her childhood.

“Oh, yeah?” He quirked an eyebrow, his grin returning with full force as he heard her giggle, “Hit me. How many hobbies are we talking?”

She scoffed. "Geez, gunna make me work? Hm, okay..." Vida leaned against the railing facing the cacti display. "I did ballet for a while, I played the vizar—this Orion string instrument—I know at some point I really wanted to study bugs. Uhhh, I wanted to be a vet for a while. I owned some fish, fed them too much, that didn't end well..." She prattled on, tapping the railing.

He hung onto her words, watching and listening surprisingly closely. Vida was someone he always found himself curious about, and everything she said seemed to make her even more of the kind of person he found completely fascinating. “Holy shit, wow. That’s an impressive list.” He mused, “How’d you pick cooking, of all things?”

"Picked it up as a trade. It's easy, and who doesn't want a good cook on a ship?" She shrugged. "I'm here cause I'm good." She didn't really put too much thought into her place in the world, and was ultimately confident in a state of stability and personal freedoms afforded to her. "And you, sweetheart? Where'd you get your engineering skills?"

“Well, I think best when I’m doing stuff with my hands, so it kinda worked out that way.” He remarked, holding out his hand to brush against a plant nearby as he thought out why exactly he had joined the engineering team, “I’m not too great with words or research, but making stuff is kinda my strong suit, y’know?” (edited)

"Ooh. Sounds like cooking would be a good fit for you." She told him, looking to the plant he grazed. "Maybe you could join me in the kitchen? Make these dates a more regular thing." She teased.

“Hey, as long as you’re willing to be the one teaching me, I’m down.” He elbowed her in the shoulder with that same dumb grin he always sported, “Cooking dates sound awesome.”

"Well, lucky for you, then," Vida narrated. "Given I happen to be a master." She smiled at his strange smirk.

“I’m honoured, then.” He dipped over in a dramatized bow, with his hand to his chest and everything, “I also… should probably warn you that I burned spaghetti once.”

"Hm." She frowned. "Well, then it might be more like babysitting." Vida tapped a thumb to her chin. "Alright, number 1 compatibility test: what's your dream home? How do you decorate it?"

Yeah, he probably should’ve mentioned that. It was one time, but it still haunted him to this day. “Mm… probably colourful decor, enough storage space for it to not be cluttered, and preferably with a nice view? Maybe waterfront or something, it’d be nice to have access to a lake anytime.” He answered, pursing his lips slightly as he thought, “What’s yours?”

"Ah! Lovely. Wide, breathy view of the sea, color everywhere, paintings, sculptures, houseplants everywhere, that's how you live." Vida clasped her hands together giddily and let out an airy sigh. "Now you're speaking my language, Eddie. I wonder where I should get one, though, there'sso many little islands on Earth. Oh, it'd have to be on Earth, too." (edited)

“Ooh— if you want Earth, Cali, for sure. Warm, sunny, you’ve got lots of coastlines, and you’re close to all the HQ stuff, which means you get all the good foot traffic.” He smiled.

"Oh, I've never heard of Cali?" She asked. "Is that where you're from?" She poked around at the various pink and yellows of the flowers on the cacti.

“California, yeah! Born and raised.” He confirmed, “I may be a little biased, because of that, but I do think you’d like it.” He watched her interact with the cacti, a step or two behind her. “There’s this one spot, a little restaurant right next to Venice Beach, that’s totally your kind of thing. The owners have a couple of cats as well, and so you’d get to say hello and pet them when you get your meal.”

"Ooh, I'd definitely like that." Vida laughed. "Maybe it'd be a good place for Sugar to make friends." This conjured the image in Vida's head of the giant Andorian caracal trouncing the smaller felines, and while it was amusing, it wouldn't be exactly healthy for them. "I wonder when I should move out." She remarked, turning over the idea of a house by the shore. "Maybe in another few years."

“Hey, don’t leave us just yet.” He chuckled, putting a hand on his hip and tilting his head to look at her. They’d only known each other for a few months, and he didn’t want to cut it short, especially since she’d just agreed to teach him to cook properly. “But… when you do wanna move, I think you’d like Earth. And I think they’d like you, too.”

"Hey, hey, you're not rid of me yet," she reassured Ed in a snarky tone of voice. "But, you know, Starfleet isn't gonna be my lifelong gig." Vida threw back a collection of her hair and continued reviewing the plants.

“I wouldn’t dream of it!” He held up his hands in response to her snark, “But I do understand.” He looked around again, before spotting a large patch of daisies. Large enough, at least, that it would be possible to pick a few. “Hey, you ever made a flower crown before?”

Vida turned to Edgar, confused. She raised an eyebrow at the question. She chuckled. "Well, not since I was a kid. What, is it, like, regular practice on Earth?"

He hadn’t made one in years, and was probably somewhat rusty as well, but it made for a nice keepsake. “Not really, but…” He gestured towards the small white flowers with a grin, “You want one?”

Vida tapped her chin. "Well," she looked at Ed slyly. "It would be rude to say no." She crouched down, poking her knees forward, pressed together, as she rested her chin on the back of her right hand.

He moved to crouch near the flowers, selecting just enough to make a small crown, before moving to stand. It was muscle memory, mostly, that made it so easy to make one quickly, which was exactly what he did. He wasn’t an extremely dextrous person, but he did love making things out of plants as a kid. After a few minutes, he produced a small tiara, carefully placing it on her head, but not before double-checking for bugs.

Vida blushed, leaning forward to let him perch the tiara on her head. "Ooh, I didn't know you were so courteous." Vida teased him.

“Yeah, well, I come with many skills.” He laughed, shaking his hands off as he put the excess leaves back into the garden, “Not all of them are useful, but… y’know.”

"I'd say you're plenty useful." Vida teasingly ruffled Ed's hair. "Good for conversation, at least." She put her hand on her hip. "But not very lucky with the romance scene?" She guessed, given him signing up for a blind date.

Laughing at the hair ruffle, he tried to dodge, but to no avail. “Eh, it’s— just weird circumstance.” He shrugged, before joking, “Dating in space is, believe it or not, kinda scary.” He bit his tongue, before looking back to her. “How about you, then?” He asked, “Honestly, I assumed you were dating someone before this— with the vibes you give off, I feel like you don’t have any trouble.”

Vida furrowed her brow at his admission. "Geez, guess I seemed off the market, then?" She gave her hair an extravagant flip. "No, I can get a date. I just only accept the best."

“I mean—“ He stumbled over his words a bit, before laughing, “Sorry, that was weird of me to say.” He raised a brow at her declaration, gesturing to the area around them. “I hope I qualify.” He joked.

Vida put her thumb to her chin in pretend thought. "Hmmm... well, you did make me this crown." She teased. "Eh, you're cute, I'll allow it." She folded her arms, after her joking. "So, you haven't dated anyone since joining Starfleet?"

“Well, when you put it like that…” He feigned indifference, before giving up any jokey facade and allowing a grin back onto his face. “But… yeah, last time I really dated was in the academy.” He shrugged, “It wasn’t anything major, but I kinda got too busy with engineering, so, y’know.”

"Such a busybody." Vida commented as she continued to walk ahead, admiring the cacti as she went. "This is why I picked a job with plenty of free days." She stopped to admire a flower of numerous colors. Yellows which faded into orange and scarlet.

“Fair enough, the days off do sound kinda nice.” He replied, following behind while giving her a respectful amount of space, “Sometimes… downtime feels a little daunting, I don’t know.”

"What's the concern? Plenty of time to screw around." She said, confused at Ed's admission.

“Eh. I just like to keep busy, doing… whatever, honestly.” He shrugged, “I don’t know what to do with myself when I have time off. Maybe I just need to find new hobbies or something.” “Although, I do cook more when I have the time. Thank you for that, by the way.” He smiled.

"Ah, wonderful. Always the perfect hobby." Vida smiled. "For my own hobbies, I love to decorate, read and gossip with my girl friends at the coffee shop." Vida chuckled. "You'll find your niche, kid."

“Thanks, kid.” He replied, mirroring her laugh, while rubbing the back of his neck as he walked, “And your decorating is always great, from what I’ve seen. Which is… a single room, but y’know.”

"Ah, thank you." She replied. "Nice to be acquainted with someone normal." Vida clasped her hands together. "Most of the people on these stations are just too weird."

“Weird how?” He quirked a brow, curiosity getting the best of him, “I mean, I get it, but I’m curious what kind of stuff you’ve seen.”

"Like, there's a lot of people from, like, the war, or they've lived on like 20 planets or dating like half the crew." Vida listed off to him. "I love the gossip, of course, but it's nice talking to someone without all those cans of worms." She put her hands behind her back and leaned over to him. "Unless you've got some secret. Go on, you can tell me."

He couldn’t help but crack up, shaking his head to confirm that, no, all of his work cans had already been opened. “Nah, I’m… relatively un-traumatized.” He assured her, “Although I think I know one of the people you’re talking about.”

"If you ask me," Vida went on. "I'm perfectly happy here for the foreseeable future. Decent job, no need to worry about paying for nothing, and plenty of time to relax. I definitely prefer it to moving around one planet to the next last job I had." Vida resolved.

“Yeah, true.” He conceded, “We have it good here, all things considered.” “Oh? What job was that?” He turned to her with a curious grin.

"Ah, starship. Too much travel. This is much more my pace." She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "You more of a station guy?"

“Eesh, yeah.” He exhaled through his teeth, recalling his… interesting experience with his first posting, “I was on a starship, too. It was falling apart, rushing all over, the whole shebang. Definitely a station guy, totally.” (edited)

"Oh, how dreadful." Vida replied to Ed's lament. After her response, however, she lightened up. "I must say, seems we're lined up pretty perfectly. We both want to work on bases, both want to visit Earth on leave, it's perfect."

“Hey, yeah! True!” He chuckled, before adding jokingly, “Although I wanna know your opinions on other stuff, too. Might be a dealbreaker or two.”

"Hm?" Vida blinked. "Like what?" She leaned against a rock wall and propped her chin on the back of her hand.

“Y’know, sunglasses indoors, socks and sandals, that kind of stuff.” He continued talking, with the kind of grin that could only mean he was kidding.

"Hm. Well, yes and no. Sunglasses look good at any time. Sandals look good never." She gave him a confident look. "Trust me, you won't have to be worried about dealbreakers if you have good taste."

“Y’know what, I respect that.” He gave her a nod in solidarity, noting to never wear sandals around her, “And you don’t give me any reason to worry about it. You’re a woman of immaculate taste, and I’m cool with it.”

"Oh, well if you think so, you must have good taste." Vida laughed. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "We really should make this a more regular occasion. You're a real sweetheart."

“Hey, if you’re down, I’m down. You’re fun to hang out with.” He grinned, nodding and contemplating whether or not to put his hand on hers. Was that weird? It was probably weird, he decided to not do it.And I’m your guy, if you need another flower crown.”

"Oh well I'll have to keep your number in mind." She gazed up, taking in the swirls of color in the canopy that dotted the ceiling like a starry night. "I'm glad I did this, I definitely think I got to know you better."

“Yeah, me too. This was really nice.” A genuine smile spread across his face, replacing his grin with something warmer, “Thanks for signing up for the blind date. And for being a good one.”

"Oh, of course." She said. "And thank you for not making this awful." She continued to walk the path through the series of greenery, passing her hand through the leaves.

“Hey, anytime. Not terrible is my specialty.” He joked, snickering to himself, following and watching her run her fingers over the plants she passed, “Happy Valentine’s, by the way.”

Vida chuckled. She poked him with her elbow. "Happy Valentine's to you, too, cutie." She teased.

He grinned widely, nudging her in return, trying not to do it too hard, as they continued through the gardens.