Fishbowl Ops

Posted on 10 Jan 2026 @ 2:34am by Lieutenant JG Aerie Mak

773 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Epitaph
Location: COO office
Timeline: Immediately after the Security/Ops coordination meeting

The doors shut, the resounding hiss echoing in his ear. Mak stared at the unmoving PADD on the desk. Even the lines stopped scrolling, a singular green light flashing. He blinked --- once, then twice --- followed by a slow exhale. Snatching the PADD, he groaned, flinging it across the desk. It slid across the surface, gliding to a stop at mid-point over the cliff.

Placing both hands on his face, he rubbed his temples. His thumb found the metallic earring on his right ear, tracing the familiar shape before slipping just behind it. There, he removed the small Starfleet-issued device.

Officially, it was the Sensory Modulation Device. To Mak, it was simply the AFD --- the Auditory Fidget Device --- a device attuned to the grounding hum he relied on. The size of his palm, he flipped the unit over and pulled out a small, cylindrical pin. Gently, he pressed the small notch on the edge of the device. The back plate of the unit released with a soft click, revealing a compact LCARS screen. With a few taps of his stylus, he tinkered with the settings, coaxing the device back into proper function. Fine-tuning the calibration with his stylus, the device started vibrating softly against his palm.

Satisfied, he snapped the back plate in place, put the stylus back into the small hole, and placed the AFD behind his ear. Feeling the small vibration against his bone, he lay back in his chair and exhaled. Small and subtle, the fidget device calmed him down as he closed his eyes for a few brief moments. Subconsciously, he picked up his forgotten roasted Kava-root blend and sipped it. The cold bitterness hit instantly. He gagged, spitting the vile liquid back into the cup.

"Prophets," he spat. Grabbing both his coffee and the chief's abandoned Klingon coffee, he strode to the replicator and pressed the button. It dissipated both drinks into tiny bits of atoms.

"A glass of Kava juice."

It appeared, and Mak immediately snatched it. He drank one half in one shot before exhaling. Approaching his desk, he grabbed the almost forgotten ops brief PADD. Carrying it towards the replicator, he pressed the button.

"Computer. Take the forty pages of the ops brief and make a copy, summarizing it while highlighting the important details for an operations chief."

The replicator beeped, producing a second PADD. Grabbing both, he tossed the original one into the open drawer and carried the summarized version towards the small observational section of his office. Atop the recessed alcove was the secured empty fishbowl. Finishing his Kava juice, he placed the empty glass on the shelf and opened a small door of the compact recess next to the shelf.

A simple, compact brewer sat inside the small niche. Taking a coffee cup, he placed it into the slot. Picking up the bag of the New Bajor Kava Roast Blend with dried Kava leaves mixed in --- which had been ground specifically by his mother, who grew Kava in her fields --- he poured the ground Kava root blend into the brewer. He'd found the brewer in the New Rakantha Bazaar, right before leaving for his second posting on board the Black Hawk.

The brewer activated, taking a few minutes to boil the kava roast blend into the cup. The aroma drifted past his nostrils as he lifted it and took a sip. The semi-bitter taste was softened by the cherry-like note from the dried leaves, warming him as the liquid entered his bloodstream, improving his energy levels only slightly. Grabbing the empty fishbowl, he walked over to his desk and sat down, setting his cup beside him.

Reclining back into his chair, he lifted the empty fishbowl and studied the spherical replicated glass. Fragile, lightweight, but durable. He'd found it upside down on his desk when he walked in earlier, before the ops briefing. Staring at his reflection, he mumbled, "Little fishbowl. Just you and me. Not where we're supposed to be. Hrm."

He lifted it slightly, studying the smooth curves, before adding, "I'll fill you with water, I promise. Not the replicated nonsense. Real, clean lake water. Maybe even an ecosystem if I can keep it alive. Need to do some science research," he'd pause, inclining his head and lifting the bowl a bit higher for a better vantage point, finishing, "then I'll find a fish. Maybe two."

He placed the bowl back down, picked up his coffee, and pushed his chair back a bit. It creaked. Taking a sip, he hummed again, his AFD fidget unit grounding him,"Tinker tailor...Starfleet...

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