Friendship – Second Steps

Posted on Fri Sep 5th, 2025 @ 3:34pm by Tristi Richardson & Selari Vonn

Mission: Season 6: Echoes of the Zynari
Location: Deck Ten, Civilian Holosuite 2
Timeline: Current
518 words - 1 OF Standard Post Measure

The holosuite shimmered to life, revealing the lush interior of a small Bajoran hill garden. Warm gold light poured through soft clouds, catching in the petals of blue-and-purple blossomed flowers that never wilted. The breeze carried the gentle sound of bells in the distance and the faint chirp of unseen birds.

It wasn’t perfect—Tristi’s programming was still rough around the edges, and the floral rendering glitched every now and then—but it was peaceful.

Tristi dropped to her knees in the soil (well, simulated soil) with a small grin and a fake spade in hand. “You sure you don’t want to code in some gardening drones?”

Selari knelt opposite her. “Manual labor builds patience. You… could use some.”

Tristi snorted. “Thanks. I’ll remember that the next time you spend six minutes debating the shape of a leaf.”

Selari quirked a brow. “Botanical symmetry is foundational to—”

A sudden flutter of light burst above the flowerbed.

Both girls froze.

Tiny orbs of bioluminescence spun like fireflies, drifting around them in slow, spiraling arcs. The air shifted subtly—there was no sound, only sensation: the feeling of being watched, and somehow… seen. The feeling of approval.

Tristi whispered, “Is that… them?”

Selari tilted her head. “Zynari presence registers in low-level photonic shifts. This aligns with their patterns.”

One of the orbs drifted low toward Tristi’s fingers. She reached out—just barely—and it pulsed with a soft blue light before rising again and joining the others. Then the lights coalesced and shimmered—briefly taking on a translucent shape.

Two small figures, just faint outlines, as if sculpted from clouds and sunlight. They were watching.

Tristi, wide-eyed, leaned close to Selari. “Do you think they’re going to prank us?”

“I believe,” Selari said, her voice steady but warm, “they already have. Their mischief is not always malicious.”

The flowers around them suddenly bloomed—all at once—in a rush of color. New species appeared among them: flame-lilies from Betazed, blue nightroses from Vulcan, and strange spiral vines that Tristi had never seen before but felt oddly drawn to. Their scent was soft and comforting.

A small message flickered into the air before fading just as fast:

"Friendship is the seed from which all beauty grows."

Tristi sat back on her heels, blinking fast. “Okay. That’s... definitely a prank. A weirdly beautiful one.”

“I suspect they know what we are attempting to cultivate,” Selari murmured, touching the petals of a nightrose. “They are assisting.”

Another orb zipped past, leaving a light trail that danced around Selari before fading. She actually smiled—small, but there.

Tristi gave her a playful nudge. “You’re grinning.”

“No, I am not.”

“You are.”

Selari didn’t argue again.

They worked until the sun began to dip over the holographic hills, planting new simulated flora, refining code together, and talking about nothing important—and everything meaningful. For the first time, the universe didn’t feel so harsh to either of them. The Zynari watched silently from the edges of light, their quiet presence a strange sort of blessing.

OFF