Women In the Middle - Part IV
Posted on Sun Apr 19, 2026 @ 5:54am by Lieutenant T'Lul & Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
1,236 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Jubilee
Location: Arboretum
Timeline: MD01 - late afternoon after Ace Advice
[PREVIOUSLY]
"Right now? Those two are plenty. They keep me busy and they keep me going between the station and the planet. On the station I have Paula to take over when I'm gone, and I really don't have to worry about feeding and watering the garden and grove on the planet." Bri paused, then added, "Well, not often. I do have to check on them, but not as often as I do here."
[CONTINUED]
"I should take some time to talk to Paula," T'Lul mused aloud. "It sounds like you have implicit trust in her."
"As far as the arboretum goes, yes, I do. But she's a civilian, so her authority is limited. At least I can trust her to take care of things here so I have the time I need for the planet."
"Who would you trust to make decisions when Paula could not?" T'Lul asked curiously. "And why did you limit your trust of Paula to the arboretum? Is there something that concerns you?"
Bri looked at T'Lul for a moment, her brow furrowed. "No. As I said, Paula is a botanist and a civilian. Her job is to work in the arboretum. What I do on the planet is not part of that, or part of Starfleet. They're my own projects, just like Bag End is Alanna's. If I needed someone to make decisions and neither Paula nor I were around, I'd trust Alanna. She was the chief science officer before being put over the science and exploration on Pangaea. She's an archaeologist, so it makes sense she oversees the portal complex and all the archaeological and exploratory work on the planet. She's still the station's archaeologist, but Leam Blackwood is now over science as a whole. Alanna helped Paula and I make some changes to the arboretum when we got here, so she knows what needs to be done and still helps out from time to time."
T'Lul notice Bri furrowing her brow and considered it. Apparently that question bothered her. However, she also did not answer in a way that I anticipated. I meant if she trusted her as a person, not in her work. Was I unclear? I do not believe that I was. Odd. I will have to consider this later. Is everything that Brianthe thinks about just work and plants? If so, why is she so hyper focused? It could be a method of not having to consider or think about her own problems, which would make sense given her reluctance to talk about her past and confirmation about something there being an issue.
"Alanna introduced me to anise bread at Pierre's. Have you ever been there or had the bread?" the Vulcan asked conversationally.
"Yes. Alyssa and I have been there a few times. Not as much since she moved down to Pangaea, but we try to get together at least once every time she's on the station. And when I'm on Pangaea, I have a room at Bag End."
"I'm not as familiar with Pangaea, as I have only been down there once and for a very limited purpose. What is down there?" T'Lul inquired curiously.
"Trees. Plants. Lakes. Rivers. Mountains." Bri shook her head. "Mostly what you'd expect on a planet. There's the science colony and the Marine camp, plus the portal complex and a few ruins. Most of the planet is off-limits. My interest lies in the plants and trees."
"Undoubtedly," T'Lul answered, realizing that Bri seemed to have a one track mind. What DID Ace see in her? It was a bit beyond the counselor who seemed to think that Matilda had more variety to her and logically, Ace should like that more. "I don't know what you would think that I would expect on a planet as there is so much variety, but I suppose on an M class planet, those things would come to mind. Animal life would also come to my mind."
Bri nodded. "Yes, but there isn't much on Pangaea. Perhaps in the places we've yet to explore, but I haven't really seen much--except for fish."
"How do you know there is not much if the exploration is not complete?"
"We are only allowed on the main continent. And, while we haven't physically explored all of it, there have been aerial surveys," Brianthe explained. "That does not mean we know everything, and new entities do tend to show up from time to time, but from what we do know, there are some of the smaller woodland creatures and little else." Except for the ones that pop out of temporal ripples, but she didn't count those.
"Why can we not explore more than main continent?" T'Lul wondered aloud. Pangaea had not been something she had seen due to her workload on the station.
That surprised Bri. Everyone was supposed to know about the planet. "Pangaea is a fae world. They allow us to use and inhabit the main continent, but the others are forbidden. There are notifications about it on the station and warning buoys around the planet. Anyone who violates that will be killed." She wasn't going to tell the counselor about the station commander's role as she didn't know who was privy to that information. "You can only take a shuttle to the planet because of the temporal ripples."
"I wonder why the others are forbidden," T'Lul mused. "And why do they allow us to use and inhabit the main continent?" she continued her thought. It was not of any consequence at the end of the day, being far outside of T'Lul's needed knowledge set. "It is rather unusual, don't you think?"
Bri clearly must not have explained properly. "The planet is still a fae world. They have given us access to the portal complex under Commodore Michaels and Alanna. They allow us to utilize the main continent. They control the rest of the planet. I see it as they have gifted us the use of the main continent but retain the rest of the planet for themselves--as long as we don't overstep the authority we've been given."
"Yes, I understand that, but why the main continent? Why not somewhere else? Why did the fae decide to give us anything?" The Vulcan's eyes squinted for a moment. She then came back to her normal self and said, "I am sorry. I have a tendency to ask many questions, as you probably have already noticed."
"No idea...and I don't recommend you ask the fae." Yes, the counselor did have a lot of questions. "Is there something else I can help you with?"
"Since you do not wish to divulge more of your thoughts regarding Matilda, Ace, or Paula, I believe it is unlikely. Though, I suppose that I could speak with Paula since I am here. Do you object?"
What question didn't she answer? Bri was confused, but she refused to ask because that would send them both down another rabbit hole. "Of course not. I think she's spreading mulch right now."
"Thank you, Brianthe. You have been helpful and I do hope we get to know each other better in the future."
"You're welcome. Good luck with your investigation>" Bri waved and went off to find something to do far from the counselor.
A post by
Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
Deep Space 5
&
Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist
Deep Space 5 & Pangaea
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