The Man with the Orange Orchid

Posted on Sat Jun 26th, 2021 @ 3:46am by Lieutenant Percival Bálor Ph.D & Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii

1,776 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Out of Time
Location: USS Ontario | Deck 02 | Lt. Ra-Gruvloveii's quarters

Catching Percy messing around in the Ontario's Computer Core could have been detrimental to Percy's future aboard the starship. Yiv could have made his life harder, could have reported him, but whether it was Percy's sweet talking or playing into the man's assumptions and deductible leads, Yiv hadn't tattled. Yiv had let that whole matter go by the wayside, and for that Percy was grateful. Still, he felt that he owed Yiv more than a the simplicity of a 'thank you' that night, and the guilt of allowing Yiv to believe Percy was interested in Amanda Rose was repugnant to say the least.

The spider had tried her best, weaving her sweet webs and trying to lull Percy into a state of trust and forthright willingness. He resisted. At every turn, he had countered her. His opposition research had proved effective so far. Though they had only had the initial first contact encounter, he and Amanda. It was all but guaranteed that they would meet again one on one. Percy needed to be ready for anything, but before that, he needed to see Yiv.

Carrying a small box through the corridors of the starship, Percy was very careful with transporting the plant by foot. It was a plant native to Vulcan, one of the very few plants that grew in the Vulcan Forge. Percy had learned that Yiv had a bit of a green thumb, and an interest in desert plants. The Favinit plant of Vulcan with its spicy scent, sweet yellow stalks, and spiked orange petals seemed so apropos.

Standing outside the man's quarters Percy carefully wedged the box with the plant against is chest and the bulkhead as he pressed the door chime. He gave a quick run of his hand across his head to wrestle his hair into partial submission, something calculatedly messy but not sloppy. He quickly brought his hand towards his mouth, gave a good exhale and sniffed to make sure he wasn't going to kill the Chief Intelligence Officer with halitosis.

Looking up from a new book he'd downloaded to his personal PADD, Yiv got to his feet, frowning. He'd purposely not advertised his availability this evening. Reconciling his own wants with Percy's desires was proving more difficult than he had imagined.

He palmed the door access. 'Yes?' He demanded testify before the doors had fully opened.

Percy snorted at the man's response, inquiring before permitting entrance. Intelligence officers he thought to himself. "Ars longa, vita brevis," replied the Chief Science Officer, in old Earth Latin no less. An expression that roughly translated to art is long, but life is short. "Part the red sea and let me in please, or grab a staff and tell me I shall not pass."

'Ars something alright,' Yiv muttered, before smiling, 'I may look like a wizard, Percy, but i' just a humble officer. Come in.' He moved so that he allowed him entry. 'Make yourself comfortable on the sofa. Or the comfy chair.' He paused then sigh, 'just don't wrinkle the throws, please. They're genuine Delta Efros items.'

"Proper posh and swanky," replied Percy as he made his way over to the sofa, and sat the box with the flower on a nearby table. "I brought you a little something to say thank you for not selling me out," the half Tellarite said with a chuckle. He then eyed Yiv's PADD. "Some nighttime reading? Hope I didn't intrude."

'It's fine,' replied Yiv, finding it actually was fine. He had been unsure as to how he would feel seeing Percy again after their earlier run in. And the file he had had to set up in lieu of a security investigation. There was something engaging in the half-Tellarite. 'Just a horticultural book, one of the plants ... is sick. Advice was needed.'

He smiled as he looked around the room, 'it's not posh, not at all. Just some traditional decorations from the colony and the homework.' Taking a seat he looked at the box. 'Booby trapped?'

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Percy inquired. "You know if you ever need anything, you know where to find me. I have a way with plants," added the half-Tellarite. "Not booby trapped, but you'll want to be careful. It's a plant from Vulcan with spiked petals."

'I suppose you are, aren't you,' Yiv said with a smile, 'maybe. There's some advice in the book about leaf rot. If it doesn't prove helpful, I'll be sure to come get you.' He grinned at the half-Tellarite as he began to open the box, 'just don't go messing about with the comms for any additional information.' The Efrosian took a deep intake of breath as he lifted the flaps of the box. 'My this ... is a pretty flower.' He admired the orange flowers for a moment before gingerly digging in to the box and lifting it out by the bot. A swipe of the hand sent the box flying out of the way, creating space on the table.

Percy nodded. "Yeah, it is actually one of my areas of expertise, though you probably wouldn't know that from the killer plomeek incident," he said with a shrug. He was sure everyone aboard had probably heard about that incident by now. How was he supposed to anticipate awakening dormant genes? "I won't mess with the comms again. I promise," he added. This time, not crossing his fingers behind his back as he had done in the past with the First Officer.

'Vulcan you said?' as he looked the plant up and down. 'I didn't know anyone else knew I liked flowers ...'

The half-Tellarite smiled. "Yeah, from the Vulcan forge. That whole desert area where they have their little are you going to find peace or die of dehydration and starvation region," he said with a snort. "Oh, but you don't just like any sort of flowers. Well, I am sure you do, but you are a little more special than that. You like things from desert environments."

'No, not just any flowers. They have to come from a dry climate, that is correct,' Yiv said idly, twisting the pot this way and that as he inspected it. 'It's quite the specimen. Just the right size for the shelf. Very well grown. Your work, I take it?'

"A labor of love," Percy replied. "You could say that I enjoy a challenge, and that thing was surely not going to do well in hydroponics. So, I kept it in a lab and kept the environmental controls in the room ideal for its growth."

He eyed the half-Tellarite, 'a labour of love, huh? And you just happened to know that I enjoy some specific horticultural specimens?' His eyes twinkled, 'a hobby exactly three of us on the ship know about. You didn't message Brownsville twice now did you?' Yiv chuckled lightly.

"Why three?" Percy inquired. He shrugged his shoulders. "Three...such an odd number. Why not two? It is cozier, and the best kept secrets are between two if they aren't by just the one." He looked at Yiv with a playfulness. "I only needed to message them once to get what I wanted. I have a habbit of doing that," quipped Percy.

He crossed his arms. "When I see something I want, I tend to get it...eventually. It may be the Irish or maybe the Tellarite. I can play a long game and I am awfully stubborn at times."

'I understand,' replied Yiv sagely as he nodded, 'but I've already said I'm fine with you pursuing Amanda, using legal methods naturally.' He smiled, and indicated the plant, 'a peace offering is not required. But I like it so I will keep it. It has a lot of the person who grew it in them.'

"You are a clever man, Yiv," Percy replied, "Very clever, but you need your eyeglasses," added Percy which was a peculiar choice of words given Yiv had them. He made his way over towards the replicator unit in Yiv's quarters, admiring some of the decor.

Percy smiled. "You seem like a well read guy. Earth literature perhaps?" Percy speculated with an inquiry. He cleared his throat: "'I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them," quoted Percy, using the words of Oscar Wilde.

'I'm not familiar with that passage, unfortunately,' Yiv smiled apologetically, 'though I agree in principle that we should be the masters if our emotions.' He shrugged, 'your emotions in matters of love will always run wild.' Yiv was assuming they were still talking about Amanda.

"Mmhm," replied Percy as he stepped toward the replicator and tapped away at the controls. He was programming something, not ordering. It took him several moments to do so. When he was finished he just stepped away and returned his attention to Yiv.

'Something the matter with the replicator?' Asked Yiv as he half got to his feet, 'I can get some refreshments sent up if you need anything.'

"Nope," said Percy. "Just adding my pizza recipe to it. It gives me an excuse to come back," he explained. Percy looked at Yiv. "What are you doing tomorrow night after your shift? Because if you don't have any plans, I'm coming over for pizza, but don't worry about fussing around. I'll take care of everything. "

'I'm not doing anything ... I, uh. Pizza recipe?' Yiv enquired confused. 'You have your own pizza recipe?' He stood properly. 'I mean, of course you're welcome,' he slipped into traditional Efrosian friendliness. 'What's your is mine etcetera.' Yiv paused, remembering who he was speaking to, 'within reason.'

"Mmm. Within reason? Boundaries from an Efrosian?" Percy countered with a smirk. "I look forward to testing those...within reason of course." Percy inched towards the doorway. "See you tomorrow, Yiv" he added on his way out.

Yiv shook his head at the retreating scientist, baffled by the behaviour. 'Uh, wait!' He took a few quick steps and grabbed a shoulder, reflexively noting how bored they seemed, 'I, uh, didn't thank you for the gift.' Yiv remover his hand quickly as if scalded.

Percy snorted. "You're welcome," was all the Chief Science Officer said. He stepped backwards out the parting doors and looked at Yiv from across the threshold for a brief moment. The doors closed soon thereafter.

 

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