People Puzzle [3/3]

Posted on Fri Apr 24th, 2026 @ 12:05pm by Captain Jaro & Lieutenant Noxe (Cogenitor 125) Tome

756 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: 48 Hours and Counting
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: T -30 hours

"That's what she's there for, isn't she? I know things are a bit hectic right now, but if you feel it'll help you do your work better, then by all means, take some time and talk to Counselor Elara. I trust your judgement on that one."

As he turned to sit abck down in his chair, Jaro noticed it was occupied by a holographic red cat. And even though he knew it was an ESH (Emotional Support Hologram) the Lieutenant had been given on recommendation by her counselor when they were debriefed, he didn't quite understand why it had to be this authentic in it's behavior. The ESH meanwhile, cared about none of that, regarding him with a look that was part indifference, part challenge. Yes, this is my seat now. No, I have no intention of vacating it. Luckily, the photonic feline stayed very close to Lt. Tome, as was his programming, so he would have his chair back eventually.

"By the way, how are you getting on with your little companion?" His question was partly born out of genuine curiosity, since Denobulans kept animals, at best, for study, but usually only as a food source. So the concept of pets in general was one he never fully aprreciated. Why, after all, seek the company of a lesser being, when there are people to spend time with. Though he also knew that Denobulans were clearly in the minority with that attitude.

Noxe snapped back when Jaro asked about her cat.

"OH!" She stood up and grabbed the hologram from the chair. "Come on, Zhuk," she said, settling back down and placing the holo-cat into her lap.

"He helps a bit; petting him is nice. Like your people, on Vissia, we don't keep animals as pets or livestock. They're allowed to run free," she said. "I like the noise he makes. The counselor said it's called a purr," she told him. Her Starfleet assigned counselor was a Human woman and knew about these things.

"And I will take you up on the menu tasting sometime. Anyway. Thanks for your time. I appreciate it. I will leave you to your work; I should go make sure that everyone is settling in and that we're ready to launch tomorrow," she said.

Jaro still wondered why it was considered a desirable engineering feature for little Zhuk to leave holographic hairs in his wake, wherever he sat. But at least they would dissipate... eventually. In lieu of sitting down, he turned to face Noxe once more. "Lieutenant, taking care of the people under my command is my work, at least partially.

She nodded. "I know, but part of Ops in this generation of Starfleet is doing Chief of the Boat stuff. Until you hire one, anyway," she said. She read the manual. She knew the rules.

He opened one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a Rubik's cube. "Speaking of our counselor, if you're going to see her anyways, would you mind passing this onto her?" He sat it down on his desk, within her reach, but not forcing it into her hands. "She helped fix it, so I thought it would be nice for her to have it."

Noxe nodded but looked at the cube. "What is it?" She asked him.

"It is an old human toy. A puzzle, actually." He picked up the cube again, showing all the sides to the younger Lieutenant, before demonstrating the mechanics as he explained "This is the completed state of the puzzle, order. One color for each side. To start it, one must first introduce chaos by destroying the order. Keep in mind, that each move has an effect on the whole, so you may make things more chaotic than they already were as you attempt to solve it. It is exactly why I do not go in more than 3 moves before reverting it. I'd rather maintain the order as is." having completed his tour of the small plastic device, he sets it back down in front of Noxe.

"If you'd like your own, I've added it as a pattern to the replicator. But this one, it is an antique. Elara helped me fix it, hence I'd like her to have it. Besides, as a counselor, she can probably appreciate the notion that everything is interconnected and that it takes patience and forethought to make something whole that was fractured."

[END]

Captain Jaro
Captain
USS Amazonia

Lieutenant Noxe Tome
Chief Operations Officer
USS Amazônia

 

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