Pressed Petals, Applied Botany, and Other Acts of Care
Posted on Mon Jun 23rd, 2025 @ 3:15pm by Commander Cressida Vale MD & Petty Officer 1st Class Alina Tevaris
1,563 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Prologue
Location: Outskirts of the Bak'u Village
Timeline: Early 2387 (After “Coffee, Dirt, and just a little bit of Chemistry”)
Well, shit.
On a large rock, next to a large tree, within sight of the outermost buildings of the Bak'u village, Dr. Cressida Vale sat, annoyed and in pain.
This is why nature and I don't get along.
The ground had been uneven. Of course the ground was uneven; it was a barely carved trail through the nature. There were divots and grooves going down, and there were tree roots and rocks pushing up. It was by no means the most treacherous trail on the planet -- indeed, anyone with a modicum of experience would have recognized that the terrain was quite mild.
But Cressida was not a veteran woodswoman. She was a city girl at heart. Even the oldest cities with uneven cobblestone streets were still easier to walk than this, for her at least.
Which is why she was now sitting on a rock, keeping weight off of her left leg.
The one with the sprained ankle.
Of all the days to leave the medkit at the beam-out point. ‘What could go wrong?’ you asked. Well here’s your answer, Doctor.
The beam-out rendezvous point was a kilometre away and she wasn't sure she could make it. Oh, certainly, she could request a beam-out from there, but she would never hear the end of it. Chief Medical Officer hurts herself on a harmless trail. Needs an emergency evac. Better prep a stretcher.
"Hey there!"
Cressida's miserable reverie was broken by the upbeat voice coming from the edge of the trail. Pretty face. Long braided hair in a cute bow. Blue Starfleet uniform hugging a willowy frame. Carrying a Starfleet-issue duffel over one shoulder.
The girl from the stairwell.
Alina Tevaris.
They’d had coffee together after their tumble, and it had been fun. They had bonded over growing up away from Earth, comparing and contrasting their experiences — Alina was from Deneva, which was Class M and full of forests and lakes, while Cressida grew up on a domed city on Titan. Alina had come aboard just a few weeks before Cressida had, and the two had played like she had hidden knowledge of the secrets of the ship known only to those who had been aboard slightly longer than the CMO.
It had ended with them each returning to duty, but with Cressida saying she hoped they could do it again and Alina saying she would like that.
It had been real. Sincere. They both felt…well, something.
That was a week and a half ago.
Cressida had actually three times in that period tapped her commbadge and said “Vale to Te—”, but stopped before finishing, butterflies threatening to break her composure each time. Twice the computer beeped an error message at her. The third time it had embarrassingly connected her to the Tech Room. Comm system errors aren’t exactly common, so explaining that away to the Crewman at the desk had not been fun.
Now here she was. Alina Tevaris. The one who brought colour to her cheeks and butterflies to her stomach. Not to mention the one who glowed with her.
“Alina,” she said, redness in her face. “I’d get up but…I can’t.” She let out a sigh and gestured to her left leg, propped up as it was.
“Oh no!” Alina sped up to get to Cressida’s side closer. “Broken?”
Cressida shook her head. “Just sprained. But it hurts to walk on.”
Alina put a finger to her chin, thinking hard for a moment about the predicament. Then came the Eureka moment, celebrated with a finger-snap. “I know what can help! Move over a sec.”
The botanist crowded Cressida’s left side until she shifted a bit, giving Alina a little space on the rock. She set her duffel down on the now-available space and started taking out supplies.
First came a shiny metal bowl.
Next came a sample bag containing small yellow-petaled flowers. “These are called Arnisimilus bakuensis,” Alina explained. She opened the bag and, with a small pair of tweezers, started peeling petals off the flowers and putting them into the bowl. “We described them in an article in Nature just last month. It has similar biochemical properties to Arnica montana on Earth.” She opened a new bottle and squirted a transparent oil into the bowl, just enough to cover the bits of flower. She then passed the bowl and a small implement for stirring and crushing to Cressida. “Mix and mash these really well. And try not to get any on your hands. It isn’t harmful to touch but you don’t want to eat it.”
Cressida had trouble containing her initial reaction, a raised eyebrow which spoke of deep uncertainty. But she started mashing. At this point she was desperate to get rid of the pain, so she was willing to try anything, save for calling for help. The contents of the bowl started blending nicely into a chunky yellow-green paste. “I hope this works,” she said, her skepticism hard to mask.
Alina took the bowl and examined its contents. The consistency looked good. “It won’t solve your problem,” she admitted. “But it should relieve some of the pain and reduce the swelling just enough that you can walk back into town without any problems. And it works, trust me. I did something similar when I twisted my knee during a hike on Proxima Centauri II.” She put on some nitrile gloves from her bag.
The botanist then got on her knees near where Cressida’s foot was perched. “Just let me know if your leg starts attracting bees,” she said with a warm smile.
And then, being careful not to apply much pressure to Cressida’s ankle, she gently slid off the doctor’s shoe.
And then her sock.
And then rolled up her pant leg to her knee.
Cressida inhaled sharply as the oily balm touched her calf. It was refreshingly cool, and the feeling of relief was almost instantaneous. Her breathing grew calm and level as the intense pain became a softer ache as skilled hands worked the Alien Arnica into her ankle.
“Someone likes it,” Alina said playfully. “Told you it’d work.”
And oh did it work. Cressida took some deep breaths, her whole body relaxing as this oil was massaged into her foot, ankle, and calf. “I never doubted you,” she joked before letting out a soft moan. This felt good.
“You know what they call traditional medicine when it works?” Alina asked as she massaged the balm into Cressida’s leg. “Medicine,” she answered, looking up and smiling at her own patient.
When Cressida looked down, she couldn’t stop the heat from coming to her cheeks. Looking up at her was this beautiful woman, giving what might be the best foot and calf massage she’d ever received.
The pain had largely subsided. But why was Alina still holding her?
Why wasn’t Cressida stopping her?
Their gazes locked for a precious few seconds. Just long enough…
The tension was snapped by Alina giggling, which was enough to provoke a similar laugh from Cressida. A few seconds later, she let go and stood tall. She passed Cressida her shoe and sock. “Well Doctor, I certify you fit to be moved. That should dull the pain just long enough for us to walk to the beam-out point, where you can use twenty-fourth century technology to fix you up perfectly!”
“U—us?” Cressida asked as she finished slipping on her shoe, which already fit better thanks to the reduced swelling. She pocketed the sock. “Together?”
“Well, I can’t very well abandon my patient, can I?” Alina held her hand out…
…which Cressida took, allowing herself to be gently pulled to her feet. “You know, this wouldn’t have happened in town. Even cobblestone roads are easier to walk on.”
“Oh you just don’t know the tricks yet,” Alina assured her. “I’ll show you sometime. My favourite trail is East of here. We’ll bring a picnic.”
Neither thought to let go of the other’s hand.
Mid 2388
One of the only times Alina Tevaris ever removed her engagement ring was giving foot massages. She could see in Cressida’s eyes which days in sickbay were the hard ones, and without either asking, she would have her fiancée doff her shoes and socks, rest her feet on her lap, and just relax.
It wasn’t every day, but it was a lot of them.
And Alina wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You’re too good to me,” Cressida whispered as Alina’s hands worked their magic.
“And don’t you forget it,” Alina teased, hands slick with massage oil, working on Cressida’s calf.
The doctor’s eyelids fluttered as she glanced around the room, briefly focussing on something new. “Was that planter always there?”
“They needed love,” Alina answered matter-of-factly. “I figured there was plenty in here. By the way, you’ll never guess who I saw in the arboretum yesterday….”
————
Lieutenant Commander (later Commander) Cressida Vale, MD
Chief Medical Officer, USS Guinevere
Petty Officer 2nd Class (later Petty Officer 1st Class) Alina Tevaris
Botanist, USS Guinevere
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