Death Never Smelled So Sweet - Part I
Posted on Sat Oct 10th, 2026 @ 2:15am by Senior Chief Petty Officer Dex Ravaro & Senior Chief Petty Officer Margaret Houlihan
Edited on on Sun Oct 11th, 2026 @ 8:36am
1,734 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Episode 3 - The One Who Got Away
Location: The Garden of Death and Healing - Deck 5 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD012 1950 hrs
Margaret had volunteered to spend an hour every day in the Garden of Death and Healing. As a nurse, she was fascinated with the healing properties of plants. She also had a quiet fascination with the ones that could both heal and harm. Not that she ever thought of hurting anyone. She'd taken an oath to preserve life. But it never hurt to learn what plants were deadly and how to save people who were accidentally poisoned. Helping to take care of the plants gave her a wonderful opportunity to learn more, which might come in handy if she ever worked on a new colony. Plus, the flowers here smelled lovely.
While she weeded and pruned, she listened to classical music. The plants seemed to enjoy it and she imagined that they were humming along in their own plant language. She'd read somewhere that plants grew better when exposed to classical music, so she planned to use that as her excuse if anyone asked.
The door to the garden opened without protest.
It shouldn't have.
Dex stepped through anyway, letting it close behind him before his attention settled properly on the room. Warm air carried the smell of damp soil, greenery and flowers, stronger than anything normally found aboard a starship. Classical music played quietly somewhere amongst it all.
And Margaret Houlihan was standing at one of the beds.
He stopped for barely a second.
'All right. She’s here. Work with it.'
Nothing else about him changed. Dex moved farther into the garden at an unhurried pace, his eyes travelling across the room with the easy curiosity of someone seeing it for the first time. The poisonous section along the rear wall drew no more attention from him than the flowering plants or the rows of herbs. Not while someone else was here.
“Evening, Houlihan.”
His voice carried easily over the music. He glanced towards wherever it was coming from and gave a small smile.
“I’d heard about the garden. Nobody mentioned the soundtrack.”
He came to a comfortable stop near the central worktable rather than moving any farther into the restricted beds. From there he could take in most of the room without looking as though he was trying to.
It was better organised than Kells had made it sound. Better stocked too.
Dex looked back towards Margaret.
“Curiosity finally got the better of me,” he said. “People keep talking about this place like Doctor Canak’s got half a pharmacy and half a murder mystery growing in here.”
There was a lightness to it, the sort of remark that could pass for nothing more than the Chief of the Boat poking fun at shipboard gossip.
His gaze dropped briefly to the work she had been doing before returning to her.
“You volunteer down here, or did Medical draw the short straw?”
"I volunteered." Her brow furrowed. The door was supposed to be locked. It was always supposed to be locked. At least from the outside. "I'm sorry, but this isn't open to the crew. Only a handful of people from science and medical are allowed in here. I appreciate that you're curious, but I'm afraid you'll have to leave and get permission from either Lieutenant Molar or Doctor Canak."
Was he interested in the garden, or was he looking for her? He was cute and all, but still... She straightened and brushed her hands off on the side of her pants. "Do you need my help with anything? We can go back into sickbay if you do..."
Dex’s expression barely changed.
“No, nothing medical,” he said. “Captain cleared me to have a look. I asked, he said yes, the door opened. That’s usually enough for me.”
There was no hesitation in it, no glance back towards the entrance to check his own story. If anything, Margaret’s concern seemed to amuse him slightly.
He could feel the wariness beneath her politeness. Not fear. She was trying to work him out.
'She thinks there’s more to this. Fair enough. There is.'
Dex rested the PADD against the edge of the central table and looked around again, comfortably now, as though the matter of his presence had already been settled.
“Kells told me about this place,” he said. “Made it sound a lot more dramatic than this.”
His attention moved over the beds, the tools, the flowers Margaret had been tending. He let himself take the room in properly this time.
“Though I’ll give him one thing. It does smell better than most of the ship.”
A faint smile touched his mouth before he looked back to her.
“So, since I’m apparently interrupting your gardening…” He nodded towards the plants she had been working on. “What are you actually doing with them? Just keeping them healthy, or are you using any of this stuff in Sickbay as well?”
The question came easily, without any particular emphasis on poison, toxins or anything else that might make it feel pointed. Just the Chief of the Boat taking an interest in what one of his senior enlisted crew did with an hour of her day.
'Don’t convince her. Let her convince herself. The Captain said yes, the door opened, and I’m standing here like I belong. Most people will do the rest for you.'
Dex gave her an easy look.
“And relax, Houlihan. I’m not here to raid your flowerbeds.”
She wasn't convinced the captain let him in. Not with the security he required to allow the garden in the first place. And Kells was an idiot. While she didn't believe the captain let him in, he was the COB and had access to a lot of places. But not here. She couldn't even imagine a plausible reason he'd be here. Curiosity? But he'd never been curious about the medical department before. She'd have to ask Maya about it later.
Margaret put her tools back. "This is a research project for Lieutenants Molaur and Canak. I just help with the watering and weeding. But I'm done now. I'll be happy to walk you out. I'm sure the doctor can answer your questions."
Dex made no move towards the door.
He watched Margaret put her tools away while the classical piece continued quietly around them, the garden otherwise still apart from the low environmental systems hidden amongst the beds. He didn’t need empathy to recognise that she wanted him gone, but it let him feel the extra weight behind it. She wasn’t simply following procedure anymore. Whatever she thought of his explanation, she hadn’t accepted it.
He couldn’t hear the thoughts behind that resistance.
He didn’t need to.
'You’re really not going to let this go, are you? I was hoping you’d make this easy.'
“There’s no need to walk me out, Houlihan.”
It wasn’t sharp. If anything, Dex sounded mildly amused by the suggestion. He remained beside the central table, completely at ease, as though there were nothing remotely unusual about him standing there.
“The Captain authorised my access. If Doctor Canak has a problem with that, she can come and find me.”
He glanced towards the plants Margaret had been tending, then back to her.
“Actually, before you finish up, give me two minutes.”
The request carried the quiet expectation of the Chief of the Boat rather than somebody asking permission to remain.
“You work down here. I don’t need the science lesson, but I should know the basics if I’ve got access. What the rules are, what I shouldn’t touch, what you do if somebody gets themselves into trouble.”
A faint smile returned.
“Save me finding out the stupid way.”
There was nothing confrontational in his manner. He wasn’t challenging her authority over the garden or pushing her towards the poisonous beds. He had simply taken the objection she had raised and turned it into a perfectly sensible reason for her to remain with him.
And beneath all of it, her unease was still there.
'You could’ve just let me look around, Margaret. Now I need to know how much attention you’re planning to give this.'
Dex rested one hand loosely against the edge of the table and waited, patient as ever.
"The plants along the back are for the two chiefs to deal with as they're experimenting with them. I check that the watering system is working properly, but that's it. The plants on the sides are the ones I weed and feed. If the doctor's busy, I also harvest some of the herbs for her to dry." She wasn't sure why he needed to know, but she recognized the question for what it was and knew she could get in trouble for ignoring it. "As no one else comes in here, no one should get in trouble. But you just have to call for help and the computer will alert sickbay."
Dex listened, his attention following her explanation towards the rear of the garden. The classical piece had moved into something quieter now, strings carrying softly beneath the hum of the environmental system.
She was still guarded. He could feel it hanging around the conversation no matter how politely she answered him. Margaret wanted this finished. Wanted him out.
That was becoming a problem.
“Right,” he said. “So the back wall’s the part I actually need to worry about.”
He moved a little farther into the room, not towards Margaret but towards the centre aisle, giving himself a clearer view of the specimens beyond her work area. He didn’t crowd the restricted section or reach for anything. He simply looked, taking his time.
“If I’ve got access, I’d rather know what I shouldn’t accidentally put my hand on. Seems sensible.”
A Joint Post By
Senior Chief Petty Officer Dex Ravaro
Chief of the Boat, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Senior Chief Petty Officer Margaret Houlihan
Head Nurse, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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