The Garden - Melissa Scott [66]
"Right, Captain," Paris answered, and Kim cleared his throat.
"If it's all right with you, Captain, I'd like to go ahead and start the downloading now. That way, we'll have at least some of the data by the time we've finished."
"Proceed," Janeway answered, and Kim looked at Paris.
"Tom?"
Paris hastily unhooked his tricorder, and the younger man took it, crossed to the nearest console to begin the transfer.
"Now," Janeway said. "Mr. Paris. Let's hear from you. What did you find on the planet?"
Paris blinked, marshaling his thoughts. "Well, to begin with . . . the exact information's in the tricorder, of course, but pretty much everything they- they being Revek and a Kirse called Grayrose- showed me was not only edible and nutritious, but according to the sensors contained esters that would taste pleasantly similar to familiar foods. I took a number of molecular samples, too, which ought to prevent any nasty surprises like last time, but that will have to wait for a closer analysis."
Chakotay cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt,
Captain, but I should mention that the doctor has already set up a test protocol, and all molecular samples are being routed directly to that program." Janeway nodded. "Excellent. Continue, Mr. Paris." "That's pretty much it for the food." Paris hesitated, wondering exactly how to bring up the fight with the gardener-creatures. "We ended up flying to fields some distance from the citadel, and while we were there, our party was attacked by some of the creatures that we saw when we first landed."
Janeway's head lifted at that. "I want a full report, Mr. Paris. All the details."
Paris nodded. It didn't take long to tell the story, even putting in all his conjectures, and when he'd finished, he was all too conscious of how little he actually knew about the Kirse.
"So the creatures nearer to the citadel are-what did Grayrose call it, 'adapted'?-to make them docile, while the ones farther away are not, " Janeway said thoughtfully.
"It would be interesting to determine the size of the Kirse safe area," Tuvok said. "It would give us some idea of their-the Kirse's-assessment of their own defensive capabilities."
Janeway nodded. "I concur. Mr. Tuvok, that's your department." She looked at Kim. "What about you, Mr. Kim? Let's hear your report."
Kim took a deep breath. "I don't have much to add to Tom-Paris's report, Captain. Everything that I scanned and sampled was edible and potentially something we'd be interested in trading for. I did see some of the gardeners, too, though my escort-Harp, her name was-didn't seem to think they were dangerous." He paused then, frowning. "All of them had the metal parts that we saw before, and Harp said
those were the adaptations. And when I asked why they bothered, she said something about doing what they can with available materials."
"Can you remember exactly what she said?" Jane-way asked.
Kim's frown deepened, but he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Captain. She said they used the creatures because they were available. She said it would be a waste of resources for the Kirse to farm the planet- to do the actual work themselves-and that the creatures would otherwise be useless. But that's all, and I can't swear to the words."
"That might explain why they kept cringing at our tricorders," Torres said. As always, it was hard to tell if she was angry, or merely intent on the job at hand.
Paris nodded. "It might also explain why they've got the roads booby-trapped the way they do-it's not to stop the Andirrim, but any unadapted gardeners. From what little Grayrose said, they're not intelligent."
"Would she say if they were?" Chakotay asked. His face was drawn into a frown of distaste. "Captain, I have to say that the Kirse show a great disrespect for these animals-even if they are a lesser one, they're still another life-form. I'm not sure it