Just Roll With It (2/5)

Posted on Sat Apr 4th, 2026 @ 7:05pm by Captain Jaro & Lieutenant Elara PsyD

817 words; about a 4 minute read

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

Jaro paused, his tweezers hovering just millimeters from a plastic corner. He didn't look at the engineers or the syrup; he didn't even flinch at the wet thud of a heavy tool bag hitting the floor three tables over. He simply gestured again to the chair opposite him, his expression turning quite serious. "Sit, Elara. Please. I prefer to speak with my officers when we are on the same level."

“ My apologies.” Elara moved to sit, her eyes never leaving Jaro as a focus allowed her to sieve out the external noise; to release the tension. In a way it also gave her an opportunity to just study the man in what she guessed was a relaxed environment to him.

Her hand reached out to pick up one of the black blocks; her thumb brushing over the coloured square as she tried to understand what it was he was trying to achieve; both in the materials he was working with and also with having her meet him here.

He set the tweezers down with a soft clack and looked her directly in the eye. "Tell me something, Lieutenant. And be honest. Are you a good counselor?"

Her hand paused in its exploration of the small cube, her mind taken a little aback of the question. Elara had understood that the Captain had agreed to this meeting to allow discussion about where the crew stood in readiness for deployment. She wasn't sure what her competency had to do with that.

At the same time, she recognised that he must have had a reason for asking and a Captain was allowed to get to know the senior crew he was having to work with. “Yes. I understand that I originally studied psychology because it was a trait in my family that genetically I was predispositioned to. It made sense to return to the career after my removal from the Borg because it held a familiarity. My experience and trauma leans itself also to understanding how psychology and counselling works and how to help others.”

A low chuckle emanated from his chest. Not malicious or ridiculing. More bemusement than anything. He leaned forward, his voice low but not devoid of warmth. "I would have believed you just as much if you had simply said ‘yes’, Counselor. As for what makes a good Captain? Well, I have learned over the decades that the most vital trait of a captain—far more than tactical brilliance or technical mastery of his vessel—is the ability to appear as though the situation is entirely under control. No matter the circumstances. Whether we are facing a Borg cube or a replicator malfunction that has coated an engineer in grape-flavored material."

He picked up a red square, pensively turning it over in his fingers. "The crew doesn't look to the bridge to tell them how to do their job; they look to the bridge to see if the Captain is worried. If I am sitting here, methodically cleaning a toy while we are three days behind schedule on shakedown checks before jumping halfway across the galaxy with no clue when or if we’re going to return, what does that tell the Ensign who is currently having a panic attack over a false shipment of isolinear chips?"

Elara became very confused. At one moment she seemed to be getting a grasp on the Captain but the next minute he seemed to shift from logic to illogical. His trail of thoughts was difficult to follow as she couldn't figure out where he was going with all of this.

The woman picked up a blue block as she brushed her finger against the curling paper edges, the sides all smooth apart from the hidden underside that suggested it clipped to something else. “I am unsure what your question has to do with the readiness of your crew for moving to the Delta Quadrant. If anything, surely sitting here with this…toy? It's just showing your crew to take a time out which could only lead to further delays on departure.”

"On the contrary, Lieutenant," Jaro replied, his attention returning briefly to the cube he was working on with surgical focus before setting it down with a satisfied nod. "It tells them I have full confidence in them to complete the task at hand. I am not on the Bridge breathing down the Neck of the Operations officer to calibrate our sensors. I am not in Engineering double-checking the antimatter flow rates. I am not behind closed doors learning about who might not be able to mentally cope with our journey. I am here. Available. If someone needs a decision made, they know exactly where to find me. But until they do, my presence here says: 'The Captain is not concerned, so you needn't be either.'"

[TBC]

Captain Jaro
Captain
USS Amazonia

Lieutenant Elara
Chief Counsellor
USS Amazonia

 

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