Just Roll With It (4/5)

Posted on Wed Apr 8th, 2026 @ 8:34pm by Lieutenant Elara PsyD & Captain Jaro

532 words; about a 3 minute read

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

She allowed herself to smile a little as her hand reached for the bottle of what she assumed was solvent and pulled over a few more of the squares. Her fingers moved in precise actions as she applied the liquid and peeled away what tape she could. “Do you not think that maybe it would normalize you to your crew and show them that you share in how they are fee…”

Her word was cut off as her fingers squeezed hard when a tremble coursed through the muscle; sending the cube she was holding flying into the back of the head of a Bajorian seated behind the Captain. As the alien glanced around and stared at Elara; a very faint flush crossed her cheeks before she stuttered and stumbled over an apology. “I'm sorry…I just…my hand…my hand, it just slipped.”

The Bajorian tipped his head slightly in acknowledgment of the woman’s words, turning his focus back to his own table.
Trying to distract and redirect away from her embarrassment; Elara flexed her fingers once again before picking up a white coloured cube and trying again. “Wh..what are these for?”

Jaro leaned down to retrieve the stray part from where it had settled near his boot. He turned the piece over in his hand, inspecting it for damage before setting it back on the table with a quiet click. "This, Counselor, is a Rubik's Cube. A 20th-century Terran logic puzzle. Simple in concept—aligning colors—but, since all parts are interconnected, maddening in practice. And no, it’s not an analogy for anything this time. Just a toy."

He took a moment to carefully re-center the small plastic part among the others. Only when he was satisfied with its placement did he let his hands go still, his eyes drifting slowly from the table to her fingers of the hand that had just betrayed her. "My confidence in this crew is not a facade, Elara, It is my true feeling. I don't need to make the rounds or give every officer under my command a pat on the back to let them know I consider them capable. I simply make sure my trust is on proper display—it gives them the room to be the experts they are without having me meddle in."

He let that thought hang in the air for a beat, the noise of the mess hall continuing to swirl around them; before looking up at Elara. "But there is more to being a captain of a ship than making it look like you are in control while others do the work. You also need to know when to step in."

The warmth remained in his expression, but the focus of a scientist peeked through. "Are you alright? That was quite a tremor." Jaro had obviously read Elara’s dossier weeks before she ever stepped onto the Amazônia—the harrowing details of her life in the Borg collective, her deassimilation and the long, arduous road of rehabilitation. He didn't spell out what undoubtedly still haunted her. Instead, he simply fixed her eyes.

[TBC]

Captain Jaro
Captain
USS Amazonia

Lieutenant Elara
Chief Counsellor
USS Amazonis

 

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