The Garden of Death and Healing
Posted on Tue Mar 24th, 2026 @ 4:23pm by Captain Marc Kidd & Commander Mariko Tao & Lieutenant Siadra Molaur & Lieutenant Maya Canak & Senior Chief Petty Officer Margaret Houlihan
Edited on on Tue Mar 24th, 2026 @ 4:26pm
2,843 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Episode 3 - The One Who Got Away
Location: Herbology Garden - Deck 5 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD002 1125 hrs
It took Maya a while to get the permissions she needed to create her poison garden and more time to gather the plants. She added several healing and herbal plants for additional study and use. While she waited for the plants to arrive, she selected one of the larger labs and built the infrastructure. The poisonous plants were along the back wall, farthest from the door, The healing plants were along the left wall and the herbal ones along the right. In the center of the room was a worktable with benches. On the wall just inside the door was a large cabinet with supplies for taking care of the plants and equipment to aid in their study.
All the plants had some beneficial or medicinal uses, and most could be harmful or deadly, in the right--or wrong--combinations. In addition, some of the medicinal plants were antidotes to the poisonous ones.
When everything was set up to Maya's satisfaction, she invited Siadra, Captain Kidd, and Commander Tao to see the garden.
Siadra was highly curious about the invitation, when she stepped inside, she took a moment to look at the layout.
"Maya, this looks intriguing." Siadra walking over to where Maya stood.
"Good. I decided to expand on the idea of a poison garden. As some beneficial plants are poisonous, and some herbs can be deadly, I have the more toxic flora along the back, with herbs on one side and healing plants on the other. Mostly." She smiled. "The computer has a list of each plant, its beneficial and harmful properties, and how to take care of it. That way, we can use more than botanists here."
"That makes sense." Siadra commented "and I like that. Also would make things easier to compare what sort of poison has been used, if it is a derivative of a plant. Then again, aren't most poisons a derivative of a plant? Besides those of a mineral type." she was walking around examining the plants. She though was quite careful when she drew near the poisonous ones.
"There are some that are chemical in nature, both natural and artificial. Humanity seems bent on finding new ways to destroy itself. But then, that has been the case from the beginning--or at least as long as we've kept records."
Sidara nodded, as to what Maya had said.
"I was wondering about something, I know that the only way that you could have put this together would be having gotten permission from the Captain. Has he gotten to see this? Or even the XO? It is amazing, but I'd like to see firsthand as to their reaction would be as well." the trill chief science officer giving a bit of a smile.
"I invited them, but I asked you to come a little bit earlier," Maya explained. "They should be along shortly, if they aren't too busy."
Marc always knew that there would be a significant draw on his time as Captain of a starship. However, he never expected it to be so much. He felt like his duties were doubled as he worked as a Captain of starship, the Captain of a detective bureau and the administrator of a prison. Not to mention the court system. He huffed out his cheeks more to release the stress and tension than anything else as he walked into the garden. "Doc, you rang." He said with a broad smile.
Mariko stepped in just behind the Captain, the doors sliding shut softly at her back.
She paused a fraction inside the threshold, taking in the space before speaking. The air was different here — humid, alive, layered with scents that didn’t belong to recycled starship atmosphere. Green. Sharp. Sweet. Dangerous.
Her eyes traced the layout instinctively — door, central table, cabinet, back wall. Order before admiration.
“Doctor,” she greeted with a small incline of her head, then glanced toward Siadra with quiet acknowledgement.
Only then did she allow herself to actually look at the plants.
The division was obvious once seen — healing to one side, herbs to the other, and along the back, the darker silhouettes. Not menacing exactly. Just… waiting.
"Thank you both for coming," Maya said as she greeted the captain and first officer. "I thought you'd like to be the first--along with Siadra--to see our joint medical and science lab. I call it the garden of death and healing. Our goal is to study the plants and herbs to research both ancient and modern uses and hopefully discover new ways they can be of benefit."
"A little science among the law. Getting back to the reason that some of us joined up. I love it. As it is said we are Starfleet after all." Marc looked around and took it all in. The place looked great. Although he felt that the name could use a little work. It seemed a bit dark and perhaps dramatic.
"I do really like how it is put together, and definitely is a balance." Siadra commented as she began to roam about admiring the plants, both deadly and healing.
"Yin and yang." she uttered softly.
Mariko’s gaze shifted at that — first to Maya, then briefly to Siadra.
“The name is… bold,” she said lightly, though there was no criticism in her tone. “But accurate.”
She stepped a little further into the room, her attention settling again on the careful separation of the plants. The poisonous along the back wall, the restorative along the sides. Deliberate. Balanced.
At Siadra’s quiet observation, one corner of Mariko’s mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
“Yin and yang,” she repeated softly. “Interdependence rather than opposition.”
Her eyes lingered on the darker specimens at the rear of the lab.
“In my culture, we’re taught that balance doesn’t mean equal parts light and dark. It means understanding that one gives context to the other.” She glanced toward Maya. “Healing has always required knowledge of harm. To treat poison, you must first know it intimately.”
There was a pause — thoughtful rather than heavy.
“I imagine this will serve us well,” she added more practically. “Especially on a ship where cause of death can be as important as prevention.”
Her attention returned to the garden as a whole.
“It’s a strong foundation, Doctor.”
"Thank you." Maya was please the first officer understood what she wanted to do here. She'd always been curious to know how plants and herbs had been used by her ancestors. How they could be used now and what could still be learned.
Marc smiled as one of his famous puns came to his mind. "Just so long as we make sure that the death ones don't find their way into the mess hall. I think we may be the first ship in the fleet that has an apothecary aboard." Marc paused as the words of Mariko played in his head. 'You must first know it intimately.' "What can you tell me about these plants? The ones that you have here thus far."
Mariko allowed the faintest exhale at the Captain’s joke, the sound closer to breath than laughter. Trust Marc to ease the gravity of something simply by tilting it a few degrees off centre.
Her gaze drifted again to the back wall — to the darker leaves, the quiet threat held in their veins.
'You must first know it intimately.'
It wasn’t only true of poison.
Law was much the same. So was diplomacy. You studied the worst of something not to glorify it, but to understand how to contain it. How to counter it. How to prevent it from spreading further than it already had.
There was something honest about that kind of knowledge. Dangerous, yes. But necessary.
Mariko folded her hands lightly in front of her and listened as Maya began to explain, her expression composed — though her thoughts lingered briefly on the idea that even on a starship devoted to justice, it was healing and harm that still defined the edges of their work.
Maya took them around the room, explaining what each plant was, where it came from, and its properties. While some were beneficial and others toxic, a number were both, depending on the part of the plant used or how you used it. Two were from her home in the Yucatan, the rest from a variety of planets and cultures in and out of the Federation. "The most difficult part was deciding which plants to bring on board. I think what I have gives us the greatest opportunity for research."
"If I am not mistaken, antidotes can be made from the poison. That is definitely a good ace to have up our sleeves if we come in contact with someone who is poisoned." The proverbial wheels in Marc's head began to spin all the uses that these plants could be toward their overall mission.
Maya nodded. "Yes. And you can build up a tolerance for some types of poison by taking mild doses of it as well. It's come in handy over the centuries. I want to see what happens if I grow hybrids of certain plants. I've done some research, and it would be interesting to see if I can reproduce some ancient remedies."
"That being the case. Please make sure that any of the poisonous plants are logged in with security and there is some sort of protocol in place to make sure that they cannot be taken and used without authorization." Even Captain Kidd loved what he saw here, and the work that was put in. However, he was worried about what could be done with this should it get out.
The doctor nodded. "Everything is properly catalogued. I'll see that security is aware of it. For now, the four of us and the chief of security are the only people with access to this lab--unless one of us brings someone in. If you have any ideas for more, please let me know."
Siadra was watching the reactions of Mariko, and Captain Kidd to the garden that Maya had worked on.
"This is a work of art here, and when it comes to someone else coming in they will have to have permission." Siadra commented quietly.
"It's not a work of art yet," Maya countered. "Perhaps later, when the garden has a chance to settle in and grow. I hope to have herbs and mosses on some of the walls. And if Siadra is interested, perhaps some bioluminescent fungus. But that won't be for a while yet. Oh, and mushrooms. There will definitely be mushrooms."
Mariko's attention shifted back to Maya as hybrids and ancient remedies were mentioned.
“Innovation layered over tradition can be powerful,” she said, a faint warmth entering her tone. “My grandmother used to insist that modern medicine still owed a debt to the old kitchens.” A small, almost private smile touched her mouth. “She believed half the world’s healing began in a pot of miso soup.”
At the mention of mushrooms, that smile grew just a fraction.
“Matsutake,” she said thoughtfully. “Highly prized. Difficult to cultivate. Almost impossible to force. They grow where they choose, not where you plan.” She glanced around the developing garden. “There’s something reassuring about that. Even in controlled environments, nature keeps a measure of independence.”
She folded her hands loosely in front of her, her posture easing.
“It’s a thoughtful foundation, Doctor. Ambitious, yes. But not reckless.” Her eyes moved once more across the balance of healing and harm. “And on a ship like ours, understanding both sides of that equation feels… appropriate.”
There was nothing rigid in her expression now. Just consideration.
“I’d be interested to see what grows here over time. Not just the plants. The knowledge that comes with them.”
Maya was pleased that the captain and first officer understood what she was hoping to do here. "My grandfather taught me that there were more useful plants in the jungles than people realize. We just have to discover them." She indicated the plants around her. "Or find new ways to use what we have. I will definitely keep the three of uou updated on any progress made here."
"That would be wonderful" a pause, then Siadra commented, "When it comes to mushrooms, both edible and non edible. I am certain that you've already have plans to make certain that there won't be any accidental hybridization." it wouldn't be good if by some chance a poisonous variety ended up being mixed with edible ones.
"I do," Maya assured her. "But I want to work with what we have first. Mushrooms will need to be handled carefully, so I want to make sure they can be maintained in a controlled environment." She looked around. "More controlled than this, anyway."
Marc had been walking around the perimeter as everyone else spoke. He observed the plants and how they had taken so quickly to the environment that was provided for them. It was Mariko's comment about having an understanding of both sides of the coin on a ship like this was appropriate that brought Marc's full attention. "This ship seems to be the definition of yin and yang."
Maya paused at the captain's comment. "It does indeed. I'm drying some of the herbs for teas and poultices. You're welcome to come back later and try some."
The doctor watched the others as they looked around. She knew they were busy and didn't have much time to linger, so she remained quiet unless they had any further questions or comments.
Mariko’s gaze shifted back to the Captain at that, and there was the faintest lift at one corner of her mouth.
“In’yō,” she said softly. “That would be the Japanese equivalent. The same principle, only we tend to package it with fewer flourishes.”
Her eyes moved over the room again, no longer assessing so much as taking it in. The order of it, the care, the patience. It already felt less like a lab and more like something that would quietly become part of the ship.
“My grandfather used to say balance was never something you reached and kept. You just kept adjusting before everything tipped over.” She gave a small, almost thoughtful breath. “Which, now that I say it aloud, sounds uncomfortably like command.”
When she looked back to Maya, the approval in her expression was plain enough.
“It’s a very good start, Doctor. Thoughtful, practical, and just dangerous enough that I imagine Security will be developing a nervous twitch.”
That trace of humour lingered for only a moment before she eased back into herself.
“We should probably let you get back to it before the Captain decides the Ready Room has been tragically under-served in the herbal department.”
"He is always welcome to one of the herbs here," Maya said, "Plants do a great deal for one's mood." She cast a humorous glance at the captain, then turned back to Mariko. "Thank you for your visit and your kind words. I have high hopes for this place."
Marc had been looking around as the others spoke. Fact was he had high hopes for this place as well. Although he would be lying if he said that it did not make him nervous. There were some of the oldest and most dangerous weapons here. But, this was Starfleet. There was no one on this vessel that would put these plants to any ill use. "You both have outdone yourself here. I imagine that the studies done here will be read at the Academy in the years to come. Thank you both for introducing some of what Starfleet is here to do to this vessel. With our mission, we can sometimes lose sight that we are here to explore."
"Indeed. Thank you for coming," Maya said. to Mark and Mariko. She was pleased by their response.
A pleased gleam in Siadra's eyes seeing how well the Captain and the XO received the garden that Maya had set up.
"I am looking forward to the development of this Garden of Death and Healing, there is so much that can be learned here." Siadra giving a nod and a smile.
A Joint Post By:
Commander Mariko Tao
Executive Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Captain Marc Kidd
Commanding Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Siadra Molaur
Chief Forensic Science Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Maya Canak
Chief Medical Officer/Medical Examiner, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Senior Chief Petty Officer Margaret Houlihan
Head Nurse, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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