Caaral Topaz-Smythe adjusted the sleeves of his uniform jacket as he stepped into the arboretum. Its warm microclimate wrapped around him as the landscape enveloped him. Starbase Bravo’s garden was a massive, enclosed sanctuary. The landscape was full of soft grasses, chirping insects, and the rustling song of alien trees swaying in slow artificial wind. The woman he was here to meet knelt near the pond’s edge. Her dark green hand carefully guided a trowel into the red soil.

This civilian botanist was hard to miss. Thyzaa had skin the shade of shadowed rainforest leaves. Her hair was a brilliant volt-lime that seemed to glow like charged plasma. Lavender eyes stood out for their brightness. A square, chiseled jawline gave her delicate face a slightly masculine frame. She looked up as Caaral approached. The Orion flashed a wry smile that showed a hint of amusement at his stiff posture.

“You’re early,” she said, voice lifting to a high pitch. Her trowel gestured to a collection of oddly shaped bulbs laid out on a cloth beside her. “I like that.”

“I’m early for most things,” Caaral said, smiling as he knelt beside her. “Punctuality is how I manage anxiety.”

Thyzaa laughed. “Classic Starfleet. Well, grab a trowel. We’re planting three specimens tonight. Just don’t mix up the spores or we’ll wake up with talking ferns.” Her lavender eyes immediately locked onto Caaral’s brown-amber irises. She wanted to see if he believed that last line.

Caaral wore a look mixed with confusion and assumed humor. The Orion woman felt a sense of satisfaction at his state. “Really?” He chuckled awkwardly.

She handed him a small container holding the first plant. Inside was a crystalline bulb wrapped in fine, iridescent fibers. “This is Sorellium prismata. It’s native to Gliese IV. The petals refract light into spectra that attract flying pollinators. It only blooms under pressure. Literally! You have to compress the soil just right or it’ll wilt.”

Caaral took it gently, holding it like a rare vial. “So beautiful… like bioluminescent glass.” He paused. “And wilting plants. I can relate.”

“You and half my garden,” Thyzaa replied. She moved beside him. The woman’s toned arms flexed as she pressed the soil down around the bulb. Caaral followed suit after placing a bulb in a small hole dg by his finger. His eyes watched her hands, not wanting to mess it up.

They worked quietly in harmony for several minutes. The subtle hiss of mist-emitters cycling a spray nearby cut the silence. As the prismata settled, Thyzaa gestured to a spongy root bulb with veins like copper wires.

“This one’s Vashti’s Lantern. They grow on a Class-M moon in the Aris system. It doesn’t bloom until it hears a tone at 220 hertz. You have to hum to it.”

Caaral blinked. “Are you serious?” This time he wanted to confront her, not sure if she was joking again.

“Deadly.” She cocked a teasing eyebrow. “Want to try?”

He cleared his throat, visibly nervous. A low hum emitted an unsure, resonant note. The root twitched. The two exchanged surprised looks.

“Either you have perfect pitch,” Thyzaa said, “or you just impressed a plant.”

“I’ll take the win,” Caaral said. “That’s more responsive than some of my Academy professors.”

They laughed together. Caaral felt a sense of warmth being in he presence.

Thyzaa held up a pod filled with shimmering dust.

“This one’s Eilan’s Whisper. They’re from the dark side of Mersis Prime. It only grows in shaded soil and produces a calming neurochemical scent. It’s great for meditation. You can’t touch the dust directly, though… Or it won’t germinate.”

Caaral reached for the tiny spade. “Shadow-grown and sensitive… Sounds like a metaphor for my dating life.”

Thyzaa leaned in as her lavender eyes danced. “You’ve had that bad of luck?”

“I get dates,” he admitted. “Just nothing lasting. Either I talk too much about work, or I say something dumb.”

“Well,” Thyzaa said as she pat the soil around the last pod, “you haven’t said anything bad yet.”

They moved to sit on a bench near the beds they’d planted. The soft, glimmering lights of the arboretum’s overhead dome cast a pale light across the garden. A wide range of flowers of all shapes colors and sizes surrounded them. A set of firecracker vines caught Caaral’s attention, petals of orange, red and white forming a gradient that snaked up a trellis. He recognized the alien plant as being from Earth.

Caaral watched Thyzaa study a set of red and purple flowers with reverence. “You really love this,” he said quietly. “Planting things. Watching them grow.”

“I do,” she admitted. “There’s something sacred in gardening. You don’t rush it. You don’t force it. You just give it what it needs.. and wait.”

He nodded. “Virology is like that too, in a way. People think fighting viruses is all quick fixes. The process always takes time.”

Thyzaa turned to him and rested a hand lightly on his. “You strike me as someone who tries very hard to be what everyone else needs.”

“I do,” he declared. “But I’m not sure I always know what I need.”

“Maybe that’s what this is for,” she said as she gestured to the flowers. “Finding that out.”

The scent of rich soil and alien blossoms filling the air. Caaral looked down at the vibrant life born from strange worlds and patient hands. For the first time in a long while, he didn’t feel like he had to say the right thing. He just had to be there. A smile crept across his tan-gold facial features.

Thyzaa rested her head lightly against his shoulder as they scooted closer on the bench. “Let’s see if we can get these bulbs to sprout. That’ll be our first test.”

Caaral’s chest lifted with a quiet breath. “Challenge accepted.”

After a few minutes relaxing in silence, Thyzaa spoke. “Shall we explore? I want to show you something.”

“Sure!” They both stood before walking off along a stone path.

The arboretum curved outward into what Thyzaa called the “outer orchard”. Towering along the curved ridgeline were large old lateleaf oak trees. Their deeply furrowed bark and dense canopy created an exotic tunnel. Trees on both sides of the path sent massive, gnarled branches off in dozens of directions.

Caaral walked beside Thyzaa as she followed a winding mulch path. “I didn’t know Starbase Bravo had Earth species this rare,” he murmured as he tilted his head to take in the oaks’ vast limbs.

“They were translocated from the Davis Mountains,” Thyzaa said. “This grove is older than the starbase itself.”

Nestled beneath the canopy was a low wooden structure. Moss grew along one side. A wind chime shaped like a Bolian prayer spiral dangled from the roof’s edge. Inside were shelves of clay pots, woven baskets, and a few trimmers and shears.

Thyzaa handed Caaral a basket. “Try not to squish anything. The juicy ones stain.”

He took it carefully. “Noted. Lead the way, madam forager.”

She grinned and led him deeper along the orchard edge. Cultivated zones transitioned into wild-looking brambles and creeping vines. First came the Shurrel berries that grew in tight clusters along silver-threaded stems. Each berry was deep violet with an almost oily sheen. A closer look showed tiny flecks of gold sparkling in the light. When Caaral picked one, it squelched slightly between his fingers.

“Taste it,” she urged.

He hesitated before biting down with a blink. “That’s… citrus and cinnamon? With a cooling aftertaste?”

“Exactly. And high in amino acids. The transporter crews beg for these after long shifts.”

They moved on to the next row of flora. Towering, spiraled stalks of thick green growth climbed towards the light above. From these twisted trunks hung looped vines that twisted back towards their stalks like handles. Dark red, hand-sized fruits grew in bunches along them.

“These are Tellarite tomatoes,” Thyzaa explained as she reached up to unhook one from a vine. “They’re savory, not sweet. Think roasted pepper and sharp mushroom, with just enough bite to remind you that you’re awake.”

Caaral plucked one carefully and studied its ridged skin. He bit into it and coughed at the bold flavor that hit his tongue. “Wow. That is aggressive.”

“They’re called ‘debate fruits’ on Tellar Prime. You don’t eat one unless you’re ready to argue.” Thyzaa laughed at his face as he took another cautious bite.

They strolled past a line of short, domed bushes that looked like they were carved from translucent blue coral. Chunky indigo fruits protruded like gemstone knots.

“These are Kassari meloruns. They’re very rare outside of their homeworld. Interesting flavor. They’re sharp first. Bitter. The taste slowly turns sweet, like some kind of honey. The seeds crackle on your tongue too!” The civilian botanist’s voice rose excitedly.

She handed him one. Caaral turned it in his hand before taking a bite. The texture was firmer than he expected. The first crunch sent a tart sensation to his tastebuds. A bitterness next bloomed like tea. “Mmm”, he said as a syrupy aftertaste clung to his palate. His eyebrows raised in surprise as the seeds crackled with fizzy energy.

“I have no words,” he said while chewing a mouthful. “That’s like three courses in one.” The Trill-human hybrid chuckled after finally swallowing.

“Complex flavors keep you honest,” Thyzaa said as she stared him down aggressively. She looked away playfully as she took her own bite. “You can’t fake your reaction.” Luminous pale violet eyes locked back onto his.

They sat moved to sit against one of the old oaks with their baskets between them. Simulated solar light trickled through the wiry cascade of leaves and bark above their heads. Caaral leaned back and brushed soil from his sleeves. Thyzaa stretched her arms, volt-lime hair catching the light like bioluminescent moss.

“This is more grounding than anything I’ve done all week,” he admitted. “I’m usually up to my elbows in data samples or virology exams.”

“Plants are patient,” Thyzaa said. “They teach you to slow down, wait and breathe. Something about pulling food from the soil reminds you that you’re alive.”

He glanced sideways at her, deep in thought. “You really live in the moment, don’t you?”

She smiled at him with soft, warm eyes. “I try. It’s easier when I’m not alone.”

Caaral looked down at what was left of the fruit and smiled. “Then I’m glad I came hungry.” His honey brown eyes looked back up to meet hers. He took the last bite slowly and savored the cascade of flavors.

They clinked the next two fruits like glasses, and took another bite under the rustling shade of ancient oaks and whispering alien leaves.