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The USS Voyager was currently in orbit around a small M-class planet which was populated along the dry, hotter equatorial region. As this was a pre-warp civilization, under normal circumstances, Voyager and her crew would have avoided the planet. But these were anything but normal circumstances. Voyager was running dangerously low on supplies.
After much debate plus running scans and diagnostics of the non-populated / unpopulated regions, it was decided to send away teams down to the safe areas to collect supplies. These supplies consisted of mostly foodstuff and would not affect the ecosystem of the planet in any way.
Small teams had been beaming down almost constantly for the last 48 hours as they did not want to impact the environment in any way by depleting the supply of anything on the planet and thus affect the ecosystem without even realising it.
Most of the crew had volunteered to be part of the foraging party as it gave them an opportunity to spend some time on solid ground, breathing fresh, non-recycled air. The areas they were foraging were the start of a heavily forested area where the trees were still thin and bordered on a savannah that grew a grain-like product that hydroponics had ascertained was similar to a cross of corn and barley. While some of the crew collected the grain, others collected fruits, berries and some tubers that they were lucky to find. Tom Paris had a real knack to finding the tubers and spent most of his time in the forest. Security was vigilant even though the area was non-populated, and scans revealed no predators in the area.
Captain Kathryn Janeway walked into the mess hall in the search of something to eat, even if it was only a small piece of fruit. As usual, she had skipped breakfast relying on her coffee intake for sustenance, but she found herself becoming jittery and decided that, maybe, real food was needed.
She spied Seven of Nine standing by the serving hatch and walked up to her.
“Anything look interesting?” Kathryn asked the younger woman.
Seven turned to her captain and raised her right eyebrow in true Tuvok fashion. “Define interesting,” she queried. “While I recognize many of the elements of these dishes, I am confused as to why Neelix would combine them in such a manner.”
Kathryn hid a smile. “Neelix calls it his culinary and artistic flair. He wants to tempt our palate with his unique blend of flavours… or so he tells me…” The captain eyed the dishes suspiciously. “But I think I will stick to what I recognize. What about you, Seven?”
Seven watched her mentor dish up a small amount of a rice dish and then place a piece of fruit on a side plate. “I, too, will not deviate and will partake of my prescribed supplement.” The statuesque former Borg crossed to the replicator and requested her supplement.
With her glass in hand, she walked with the captain to a table and sat down opposite. The Doctor had been coaching her on social interactions and sharing a meal with a crew member was an excellent start. Besides, Captain Janeway was more than merely a fellow crew member or even her captain. She was also her mentor and the person she sought to emulate as representing the best of humanity.
The two women sat in comfortable silence as each started on their meal.
“Have you had a chance to go down to the planet yet?” Janeway asked after a few moments, setting her fork down and taking a sip of her coffee.
Seven wondered abstractly when had the captain collected the coffee knowing that she hadn’t seen Janeway take any, but seeing Ensign Chell smiling broadly at the captain, she had her answer. The cheerful Bolian, filling in for Neelix who was currently planet-side, had probably ordered it the moment the captain had entered the mess hall and placed it on the table in readiness.
“No,” Seven replied to her question. “I am more useful here monitoring the planet’s surface and reporting information to the team leaders than I am on the planet. I am neither a hunter nor a gatherer and most definitely not an ornithologist.” Seven stated emphatically finishing off her supplement.
Placing her cup back onto the table, Janeway stared at Seven, half intrigued, and half confused by Seven’s statement. “I understand the hunter and gatherer, Seven, but where does the ornithologist fit in?”
“Lieutenant Paris has been most vocal in his encouragement that I visit the planet’s surface. He has described most vividly the surroundings, the smells and the sounds but it has not changed my mind. I am able to program all those parameters into the holodeck.”
Janeway nodded. “I know, Seven, but there is a lot to be said for the real thing rather than the simulated. I have a program of Lake George where I spent family holidays as a child, but it will never be as good as the real thing.” She looked wistful for a moment.
Noticing her captain’s expression, Seven asked, “Will you then visit the planet’s surface, Captain? You, too, are in need of the feel of real nature.”
“Maybe I should make the time, Seven. Thank you for reminding me… Even if it’s just half an hour to see how the crew are enjoying the experience.” Janeway finished her coffee with one final mouthful. “But you still haven’t explained the ornithologist?”
“In his attempt to get me to visit the planet’s surface, Lieutenant Paris has graphically described the onomatopoeia of the Aves that he has encountered while in the forested area.”
Now, thoroughly intrigued, Janeway asked. “What exactly did he say,” knowing that Seven would remember “exactly” and report it “exactly”.
As Seven explained, Janeway could not stop the chuckle which bubbled up inside her. When she started laughing, drawing looks from other crew members in the mess hall, Seven felt most perplexed. Was it really that amusing?
“That is so typical of Tom,” Janeway explained when her laughter died down. “I will most definitely make a point to visit the surface.” She stood up with a smile still on her face.
“Thank you for lunch, Seven. It’s been enlightening.”
What had the Doctor said about a social moment like this? Oh, yes… “It’s been a pleasure, Captain.”
Placing their dishes into the recycling unit, the two women left the mess hall.
Mid-morning of the following day, or what passed as mid-morning on a starship, Janeway walked into the transporter room and requested a beam down to the planet. As she waited, one of the morning away teams was beaming up and materialised on the transporter pads in front of her. She smiled when she saw Tom Paris holding a bag of supplies.
“I see you had a successful morning, Lieutenant,” she remarked, indicating the bag of tubers.
“Yes, Captain. It’s more time-consuming than you would expect because the idea is to take a portion of the root and not all of it to allow for the regrowth. And that takes time. But it is pleasant on the planet and there is a stillness that is almost therapeutic…” his voice trailed off as though he was embarrassed by what he had just confessed. Tom Paris enjoying the peace and quiet… who would have thought!
Janeway stepped up onto the transporter pad as her crew members headed towards the door.
“Really, Lieutenant Paris…” she smirked and raised an eyebrow, “you enjoying peace and quiet?”
Paris chuckled, not surprised at all that his captain had picked up on that comment. “Yes, Captain. Even I like peace and quiet sometimes.”
She shook her head regretfully, “And here I thought you were enjoying the ‘chirpy chirpy cheep cheep’ of the avian population on the planet… Energise…. “she nodded to Ensign Mulchaey who was mentally trying to figure out what the captain had just said.
However, it took Paris only a few seconds to understand Janeway’s reference and he started laughing. “I’ll explain later, Todd,” he said amidst laughter as he hauled his bag of supplies out of the transporter room.
end