The Captain and senior officers materialized with a flash of white in the midst of a hydroponic utopia, greeted by a lavender sky that seemed to shimmer in the early morning light.
"Welcome to Lukar, my friends!" Admiral Kumaarke greeted them with a wide smile, her arms open in an enthusiastic gesture of welcome.
"It's so good to be home!" Lusaalli cheered, looking up at the lavender sky and the blue sun that cast a serene glow over the landscape.
"This is rather… different," Anzyl gasped in amazement. All around him were smooth metallic and chrome structures, with alien flora growing out of ports and hydroponics all around. Vines climbed up and around tall metallic structures, their leaves reflecting the hues of the vibrant sky. Trees grew in cylindrical hydroponic bays lining the streets, painting the horizon with shades of blue, green, and violet.
"That is a… lot of… flora specimens," Nolan commented, looking higher and higher up the chrome skyscrapers, all with plants and flora of all shapes and sizes lining every floor.
"My home planet has more," Tey'un muttered, unimpressed, "And bigger trees."
"Bigger trees than that?!" Nolan pointed to a tree that was several hundred feet tall, its canopy spreading wide above them.
"Yup," Tey'un replied, still unimpressed, "Home Tree is 2.4 kilometers tall, and it's not even the biggest on Eywa'eveng." He moved casually to stand near Kumaarke, his demeanor calm.
"Well, THAT is something I wish to see one day, Chief!" Kumaarke chimed in, her eyes sparkling with genuine interest. "But for now, shall we all proceed into the main Council Chambers? The Council has set up quite a surprise for you, Captain. After all, you're almost a celebrity here on Lukar!"
"What?" Anzyl was taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise. "Me? Really?!" His face showed a mix of embarrassment and disbelief. "What'd I do… I didn't do…"
"Captain!" Lusaalli almost burst with excitement, her voice filled with pride. "YOU are the first Starfleet Captain to make First Contact with the Lukari People! After you and Kumaarke's first meeting, you showed the Lukari people just what was out there! The Council ended our reclusion, reinstituted the space program, and embarked on space exploration, travel, and trade!" Lusaalli held the Captain's hands, hopping in giddy excitement. "You almost single-handedly led our people into the 'Spatial Renaissance!'"
"There is no physical way our people can thank you enough, Captain," Kumaarke joined in, standing beside her giddy protégé, "but as a very small token of our gratitude for all you've done for our people, the council is throwing you and your senior staff a banquet in your honor! This way, my friends!"
"And the rest of the crew?" Tey'un asked, his concern mainly about his brother.
"Well, there is no way we could physically fit all 5,000 members of the Nexus crew in the banquet hall…" Kumaarke frowned thoughtfully.
"But!" Lusaalli perked up, her face lighting with an idea. "We could send servings of the dishes into the replicators aboard the Nexus and add the banquet items to be ordered by anyone on Nexus who would like to. Then we can have one of the holodecks replicate the banquet taking place!" She was so excited she couldn't contain herself.
"That sounds like a splendid idea, Ensign!" Anzyl patted her on the back, his face beaming with approval. "That way no one aboard gets left behind. Tey'un," He turned to his chief of Engineering, "You'll be in charge of scanning and holoimaging the banquet hall and food for replication. Set up any holodecks and holographic waitstaff that you need to fit everyone. No one misses the Lukari hospitality tonight!"
Tey'un nodded and pulled out his tricorder, "Mhm… K," he said in his usual terse manner.
"Now then, Admiral," Anzyl turned to Kumaarke, "Shall we?"
—
Kumaarke led the Captain and senior staff into a large chrome and white metallic chamber hall, plants in hydroponic bays lining every vertical surface. The room was bathed in a soft, natural light that seemed to enhance the vibrant colors of the flora.
"Welcome to the Planetary Council chambers of the Lukari Concordium!" Kumaarke announced as the crew walked with open eyes and gawked mouths at the almost perfect blend of technology and floral biology.
"It smells so…" Eroga took a deep breath, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled the crisp, clean air.
"Clean? Fresh? Organic?" Nolan asked, flaring his saurian nostrils wide, savoring the pure, plant-purified air.
"Sterile," Eroga replied, her voice tinged with mild discomfort.
"That's because it is," Lusaalli said beside them, her voice softening, "The Lukari people wanted to be the polar opposite of our previous homeworld, Kentar, with the Kentari people. Lukar is completely clean, and the air is as pure as it can almost possibly be."
—
After a brief tour of the Council chambers and seats of government of the Lukari Concordium, Kumaarke led the crew into the main ballroom and banquet hall. There were round chrome tables decorated with hydroponic plants as centerpieces and glistening chrome plateware. Along one edge was a large buffet table with all sorts of Lukari dishes, showcasing various colored vegetables, fruits, and plants, each one more exotic and tantalizing than the last.
Tey'un went to work right away, scanning the banquet hall with his tricorder for holoimaging, while Lusaalli prepared small dishes to be transported aboard for replication scanning and inputting into the computer's database for future replicator use.
Moments later, council members and other dignitaries began showing up, mingling with the Nexus crew. The atmosphere was one of celebration and mutual admiration, as the Lukari people eagerly shared their culture and hospitality with their Starfleet guests.
—
After what seemed like an eternity to Anzyl, he was finally able to sit down and eat. He was famished from all the walking, his cheeks ached from smiling almost non-stop, and his hands hurt from all the vigorous handshakes he received, an obvious sign that the Lukari people were embracing the cultures of their newfound allies.
As he was shoving what he could only describe as "Lukari Ratatouille" into his mouth, Kumaarke and the Chief of Planetary Biomes both approached him, their expressions turning serious.
"Now, Captain," Kumaarke began, her tone shifting to one of business, "about that 'important mission' I mentioned earlier."
"Ah, yes," Anzyl said, nodding and wiping his mouth with a silver napkin, "I was wondering about that. What next great adventure do you have for us, my friend?" Anzyl asked with a genuine smile to his friend and colleague.
"We received an…" the Chief said, hesitating, "interesting request from our Kentari brethren, requesting you two specifically as well."
"Define 'interesting'?" Neil asked, his curiosity piqued as he ate his blue and purple salad.
"They want us," Kumaarke chimed in, "to help 'clean' their homeworld of New Kentar."
Anzyl paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. "Is New Kentar? It's almost identical to Old Kentar. Polluted well passed the point of no return. Why are they asking us?"
"Because during the Tzenkethi war with the Hurq, when they nuked the New Kentar moon, it was you and I that helped bring the moon back to life," Kumaarke frowned, her expression grim. "But that was after a Proto-matter warhead cleaned the planet of all organic matter… Now they want us to help clean their planet and bring it back to the way their moon is, with no Proto-matter and hoping that they won't have to migrate to another planet… again."
"So they trashed their second planet," Anzyl was not amused, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "and now they want us to help clean up the mess they made?"
"In short, yes," the Chief replied, nodding solemnly. "In breadth, they say you two did it before on their moon, and now they want us to see if it CAN be done for their home world or if they should cut their profit losses and migrate to another planet and start anew."
"So they can trash a THIRD planet?" Nolan blurted out, shaking his head in disbelief. "Do they think Class-M planets are cheap and abundant? There is a reason so many other species thought they were the only sentient life forms in space prior to first contacts. Habitable planets are a minuscule fraction of all planetoids in the galaxy."
"Oh, we are fully aware of that fact," Kumaarke added, her voice heavy with concern. "Us finding Lukar was a miracle in itself." She shook her head, "But to let the Kentari pollute yet ANOTHER planet, after they had two chances to change their polluting ways…" She shook her head again, clearly troubled by the prospect.
"Three strikes, you're out," Neil muttered, "This would be their second strike."
"I don't know what that means," Kumaarke admitted, "But I take it, it's not good."
"It means 'We'll give it a try,'" Anzyl added, his expression serious. "Let's rest this evening. Then tomorrow morning, the Nexus, the Reskava, and any other science vessels you may need to recruit can all rendezvous at New Kentar. We'll take preliminary scans of the planet and see just how… polluted… New Kentar is, and if it can be saved." He turned to Nolan, "Nolan, as Chief Science Officer, I am putting you in charge. Use whatever resources aboard the Nexus you need."
Nolan nodded, his mind already racing with plans. "Yes, sir," he said, then sitting back in his chair.