Marooned - Christie Golden [2]
"Then, you will try to take Voyager?"
The commander shook his head, his gaze drawn inexorably to the tiny, delicate girl-woman on the table. "No. I will take Kes."
"OH, LOOK, CAPTAIN! THE CYMARRI'S FINALLY STARTED to bloom!"
Kes clapped her hands together delightedly, radiating pleasure as she hastened to the fragile blossom that was only just beginning to unfurl its petals. She reached to touch the trembling purple plant with gentle fingers.
"I've been wondering if this would happen at all. Six months is a long time in the life cycle of this plant." She chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I was worried I'd killed it."
"You?" It was Captain Kathryn Janeway's turn to laugh. "You were born with what my mother would call a green thumb." Janeway permitted herself a moment to look around at the wonders Kes's diligent care had wrought. Though the Ocampa's "garden"
was a feast for the eye, it was the fruits-and roots, and leaves, and berries-of these plants that would eventually become real feasts. Kes's work here was, in its own way, almost as vital as the tasks she performed in sickbay.
"Mmmmm," Kes breathed, closing her eyes as she pressed her face into the flower. "It smells so beautiful. Captain, you must smell this!"
"What you and I both must do is head over to transporter room one," Janeway chided, feeling a smile creep onto her face nonetheless at Kes's rapture over the flower's fragrance. It was a pretty picture, no doubt, this image of the fragile, elfin girl surrounded by a riot of colorful plants. "The administrator is waiting for us."
Kes nodded her comprehension, all business now, save for a last, lingering touch of the cymarri's soft petals. As they left, the door hissed quietly shut behind them.
"I'm rather looking forward to this," Janeway said as the two strode down the corridor. "We haven't seen all that many space stations here in the Delta quadrant."
"Are there many of them in the Alpha Quadrant?"
Kes queried.
"Oh, yes. They're quite common indeed."
"Why do you think they're not so numerous here?" teaming. Kes always seemed to want to be learning. It was as if, Janeway mused with a sudden, unexpected pang of sorrow, the Ocampan were trying to cram a dozen lifetimes into the nine brief years allotted to her species.
"We've yet to encounter an organization comparable to our Federation out here. Without a unified group of planets deciding to support a station, there's really no point in having one. Oasis, though, is right in the middle of a cluster of class M planets, and at least according to Administrator Yashar, it seems to be doing well enough. If that's the case, then I'm hopeful they may have some star charts to sell."
They turned a corner. Janeway nodded in greeting to a young ensign who hastened past. In the back of her mind, Janeway noted that the youth looked tired. Yashar had mentioned that Oasis would be a pleasant spot for some shore leave. Depending on what the away team found, that might not be such a bad idea.
"I'm particularly looking forward to the greenhouse that Administrator Yashar mentioned," said Kes, interrupting Janeway's thoughts.
"You haven't seen all that many," Janeway replied. "It's logical, when you think about it. A space station. can be pretty cold and sterile. Something green and living-that can brighten the spirit a great deal. And it might be particularly important to the local culture. Many civilizations have sacred groves or their equivalents." She glanced over at Kes, her eyes dancing. "Like your garden, for example."
Kes caught the teasing and laughed. Together they entered the transporter room to find the other members of the away team, B'Elanna Torres, Tom Paris, and Neelix, waiting impatiently.
Still smiling to herself, Janeway stepped lightly onto the platform. "Energize."
Their host's voice