Post 353: Isn't It Ironic?

Stardate: 708204.1730
Title: Isn't it Ironic?
Author: Ensign Rada Dengar and Acting CO Zanh Liis
Time: Following: As the Worm Turns
Scene: 0030 hours: In the Arboretum of the Independence
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Rada had only just arrived aboard the Independence and before he had a chance to worry about everything he didn't know about the ship, he was summoned to meet the acting commanding officer, a Bajoran woman called Zanh Liis. That didn't surprise him. The location she chose for the occasion, however, did.

*In the arboretum? Odd.* He told himself, *Don't worry, just try to avoid any big questions, and you'll be fine.*

He had a feeling that things weren't going to be that simple, though, when straight after stepping into the arboretum, the lyrical question "Is this the way life's meant to be?" was posed to him in the form of a song that Zanh was blasting from the speakers overhead.

He was just glad that the musical database didn't actually want an answer because honestly, he had no idea.

He was not calmed at all by the sight of his new CO. She was wearing denim overalls covered with dirt- after midnight! He had originally thought she might have simply liked to hang around the arboretum to look at the plants, but of course nothing is ever that easy. She had to be a gardener!

Rada would have liked to at least have something in common with her, but gardening certainly wasn't going to be it. He had always believed that he had a 'black thumb'.

He stood up straight and tried to appear unaffected by the unusual way they were meeting. As if CO's in dirty cover-alls summoned their new junior officers to the arboretum at o'dark thirty in the morning as a matter of everyday business, and he'd done this a hundred times before.

He started to speak once or twice, but stopped, not knowing if he should interrupt the tug-of-war she was currently having with the weed she pulled on.

"This. . .thing. . .is. . .going. . to be the. . .death of me!" she groaned as she yanked, until finally the plant broke free from the ground.

It made a snapping noise as it did so, and sprayed a fresh shower of topsoil as its roots finally yielded. Zanh nodded with satisfaction, tossed the plant aside, and flashed Rada a smile that caught him off guard. "I hate weeds."

She dusted her gloved hands against her knees. "Our new engineer, I presume?" She already knew the answer, because she had seen his record.

"Ensign Rada Dengar," he bowed slightly, "Sir. It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain, Sir."

Rada said whilst extending his hand out in the way he had become used to Terrans doing. He figured it a much more appropriate gesture of greeting than was typical of her own people, which was to reach out and attempt to feel the strength of someone's "pagh" by wringing the living hell out of their tender ear cartilage.

Zanh shook the hand he offered with her gardening gloves still on, and left a bit of dirt behind which Rada tried his hardest to ignore.

"You can go easy on the "sirs" there, ensign. I like to save them up. Cash them in on a rainy day." As she spoke, the overhead irrigation system turned itself on.

She hadn't heard the 'warning' sound that the computer always gave in the form of the pre-programmed rumble of thunder, two minutes before the 'rain' cycle started. It had been added into the works specifically for the purpose of allowing anyone in the arboretum the time to find a sheltered spot in which to wait the cycle out.

It was entirely ironic to Rada, also, that not only did the rain the instant she said the words 'rainy day', but that the song which had drown out the warning sound was actually called "Rain is falling."

"It appears to be raining now, Sir," he replied, his expression blank as he thought that getting soaked was just the frosting on the cake; the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Zanh laughed. "So it is. This way."

He followed her to a small gazebo nearby, and she began analyzing the flower beds that surrounded it as the roof of the structure kept them dry. "Trip up from the planet all right?"

"It was. . .an experience."

"Oh?" She seemed genuinely concerned. "No one hurt, I hope?"

"We all made it through, but I think the Ganymede is going to need some repair work."

"Oh goodie. I nominate you to be the one to tell Lt. Commander Lair." She was teasing, but he didn't know her well enough to appreciate her sense of humor yet.

Rada knew that name; he'd read that Lair was the exacting, no-nonsense woman who was currently leading the engineering department, while her husband, the Vulcan Commander Salvek acted as the ship's XO.

"Aye, Captain. Shall I do it tonight?"

"Good grief, no. Lair is off duty until tomorrow afternoon, and you'd best not disturb her unless the warp core needs immediate ejection."

"Duly noted, Sir."

Rada knew he sounded calm, but he had read about this Zanh Liis, and knew that not only did she have an impressive record but that she had a natural ability to recognize people's intentions, even before they were aware of them.

He was not sure he wanted her to know his if he didn't. Given the option he would have much rather he'd been still back on the Ganymede facing possible imminent death than here talking with his gardening CO in her bib overalls. Unfortunately, fate is not always that kind.

Zanh laughed a little at last. "Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me pull some of these weeds?"

Rada was taken back; was she joking and would he look like an idiot if he tried to help? Or was she serious and he'd look like he was disrespectful and afraid to get his hands dirty if he laughed? He decided that it was better to look like an enthusiastic and respectful idiot than a lazy jerk, so he bent down to help.

"Sure, I once kept a garden on Angosia III" he lied, as he started to pull what he hoped were weeds.

"So you're a good gardener then?"

Rada knew that most people would answer this question with a humble denial of abilities, but since he was already lying, he couldn't risk his confidence being questioned and instead answered with a simple affirmation.

"Pretty good, yes. You?"

"Well let's just say I'm glad you are," she smiled again as she handed him a pair of pruning shears and pointed toward a large, thorny bush of some sort which was dotted with delicate pink flowers.

"Because truth be told, I have always had a 'black thumb', and if the Vedek comes back and finds that I've killed his prized kalact bushes, he will not be pleased."

*So, we do have something in common,* Rada thought, *I hate irony.*

He pasted on his best 'happy to be of service' smile, and started clipping.

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Ensign Rada Dengar
Engineering Officer
USS Independence

and Zanh Liis
Acting CO
USS Independence NCC-90791