Just Roll With It (1/5)

Posted on Fri Apr 3rd, 2026 @ 12:04am by Captain Jaro & Lieutenant Elara PsyD

805 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: 48 Hours and Counting
Location: USS Amazonia: Mess Hall
Timeline: T - 36hours

Elara glanced down again at the PADD in her hand; confusion across her features as she followed the route to the mess hall. The day wasn't going as she had planned; set appointments, set administration time and set time for chasing the people who seemed adverse to contact when they saw the ships counsellors names.

There was additional pressure at the moment; with the knowledge of the ship moving to the Delta Quadrant for medium to long term duty; mental health evaluations needed to be firmly in order to ensure the chosen crew would be capable for what lay ahead.

Elara narrowly avoided walking into a body as hands grazed her arm to prevent the collision and words reached her ears, “Seriously, be more careful.” The counsellor glanced up, “Sor…” The words trailed off as she realised the person had already continued on their journey. Already she was losing the run of things by not remaining focused.

“Focus Elara…” The woman muttered to herself as she reached the mess hall; narrowing in on the Captain seated on a table by the window; objects scattered on the desk in front of him.

“I have to say Sir that this is most irregular…I don't understand why you couldn't have just met me in the counselling suite.” Her voice was direct, this inconvenience taking time away from her schedule and requiring a rearranging of appointments after to factor for the few minutes spent getting to and from the mess hall.

Jaro didn't look up immediately, his magnifying loupe fixed over one eye, giving him the appearance of a wide-eyed, inquisitive deep-sea creature. With a pair of tweezers, he delicately scraped a stubborn fleck of adhesive from a white plastic facet. "Irregular is the name of the game in Starfleet, Lt. Elara," he replied, his voice anchored by the intense concentration he was applying to the micro-tool. He finally peered over the rim of his spectacles, offering a wide, genuine smile that crinkled the ridges on his forehead. "Please, sit. I’m certain your schedule is a well laid-out masterpiece of efficiency, but even a masterpiece needs a bit of negative space to breathe.” He gestured to a small pile of colorful, individual parts with partly scraped off stickers and a bottle of mild solvent, "Here, would you be so kind and help me clear the residue off these squares? The blue ones are proving to be particularly stubborn."

Behind them, the mess hall was a symphony of controlled—and occasionally uncontrolled—chaos. Two engineers were currently locked in a heated, staccato debate over a disassembled replicator panel nearby. "I'm telling you, the matter-stream sequencer is misaligned with the bio-neural gel sync!" one shouted over the wheezing noise the device emitted. As if to prove the point, the machine let out a wet groan before suddenly sneezing a thick, iridescent violet syrup across the front of the other engineer's previously pristine uniform. The victim stood frozen, dripping with the sticky, unidentifiable substance, while his colleague frantically slapped at the control pad to stop the flow.

The Captain leaned back just an inch, watching her with an observant, kindly gaze that belied his distracted hands. "You’re wondering why I’ve dragged you into the 'eye of the storm' instead of having our chat in the quiet sanctity of your office. And no, it isn't just because I needed a second set of hands for this adhesive—though your help is certainly appreciated. There is a specific reason I chose this table, at this hour, in this room. If you look around you, Counselor... Can you tell me what it is?"

Elara felt the tension in her body as she had tried to follow the Captain while the outside world continued to go on around them. The continued noise and interactions pushed in on their space as she tried to regulate and concentrate; tone out the static of the unnecessary while continuing to focus on the important.

The noise from the scrambled replicator caused her body to go rigid as she let out a slow and steady breath; forcing herself to look down at the table. The small blocks acting as a hinge to bring her back to her own space and own awareness. “Apart from seeing a puzzle you want help with I'm afraid that I am just not following Captain.”

Elara finally allowed her eyes to move, focusing on Jaro as she continued to stand and her fingers began to flex at her side; a calming technique as she tried to unravel the tension in her body. “I am not sure why what is happening in the mess hall has any bearing on a meeting between two people. It only stands to interfere and distract.”

[TBC]

Captain Jaro
Captain
USS Amazonia

Lieutenant Elara
Chief Counsellor
USS Amazonia

 

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