Wanted: A Nanny for One Adorable Child

Posted on Tue Aug 18th, 2026 @ 4:25pm by Lieutenant Zachary Addams & Lieutenant Colonel Ashok 'Ash', Son of Norath & Cirilla

2,014 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Kintsugi
Location: Ashok's Quarters/Engineering
Timeline: After the big battle

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ON:

Ashok walked down the corridor, hand and hand with Cirilla, who was determine to skip the whole way to their destination. She would occasionally hum a tune or spurt out a random animal fact she learned to keep her mind occupied which only kept a smile on Ash's face. After the battle he just went through, a battle he hoped his daughter would never had to witness or be a part off, seeing her like this put him at peace.

"Daddy?" Cirilla asked in her soft voice. "Why did we have to leave Hur'q behind? He needs to explore the ship too. He needs more friends."

Ash chuckled softly, scoffing slightly in the end, as he looked down to her for a moment before focusing back on the path ahead of them. "Because, Ciri, Hur'q still hasn't got used to being around new people yet. We can't have that little Targ running at everyone he sees thinking he needs to protect you."

"But... He's just trying to keep me safe." She countered softly.

"I know that, but the crew isn't trying to hurt you here. You're safe. Hur'q hasn't learned that. He's got a warriors spirit, but he's not old enough to learn the difference between friend of foe."

Cirilla giggled as they eached the entrance to Enginnering. "I know the difference between friend and foe, Daddy. You taught me."

"That's right." Ash stopped, just outside of Engineering, as he looked down to Cirilla and added. "So, maybe you should teach Hur'q the difference. That way, he can join us and make some friends with you."

Cirilla looked up to her father and smiled from ear to ear, before letting out a soft squeal of joy. She wrapped her arms around her fathers leg, before taking his hand again. "I will, Daddy."

"Alright then. Let's go see if someone from Engineering can help us with our idea, okay?" The Klingon said firmly, a bit of a smile on his face, as he daughter nodded her head firmly. The two soon entered Engineering in search of someone who wasn't busy and could help them with their special request.

Zach came out of his office, padd in hand, looking over some notes. He was whistling to himself when he looked up and saw an unfamiliar face--not that there was a short supply of those these days--but one with a shorter, smaller face standing next to him. He immediately went into performance mode and smiled a big, cheery grin, walking up to them and looking down at the girl. "Well, hello there, young lady," he said.

"Hi." Cirilla replied, looking up at the new person with a big smile on her face. She was happy to meet new people. She had spoken to almost everyone that worked with her father, it exciting to see someone new and different. "My name is Cirilla and I am 4 years old." The little girl added as she held up a hand with four fingers.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Cirilla," Zach said, kneeling in front of her. "And four? That's a great age. Let me see here...four..." he held up his hands, showing they were empty, then swept them past each other and held up a red, felt ball. "Well, there's one," he said. He put it in a hand and held it out. "Blow?"

The little girl looked up at her father, her mouth and eyes wide with amazement, before looking back to the man. She seemed to hesitate, her eyes locked on the mans hand, curious as to what would happen. She could wait, so she leaned forward and blew into it, unfortunately spitting slightly from her excitement.

He opened his hand and four little red puff balls appeared. "There we are: four. Good job!" He grinned at her and took one of the puffballs and handed it to her. "You hang onto this one for me, okay?"

Cirilla's eyes and mouth remained wide in wonder. She took the red puff ball from his hand and almost immediately stepped forward, quickly wrapping her little hands around his neck, standing slightly on her tippy toes. "That was so cool." She said with her voice slightly raised.

Zach smiled and patted her back by her shoulder. "Glad you liked it." He put the ball in her palm and closed her hand around it, then stood back up, wiping his hands, making them empty again. Zach then looked up at the girl's father and nodded, smiling more professionally. "Good afternoon. I'm Lieutenant Addams, Chief Engineer. How can we be of service?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Ashok, Marine Commanding Officer." Ash replied firmly with his deep sounding voice. His face shifted from smiling with his daughter to a stern one. As he locked his eyes with the Chief Engineer, he continued. "I have an idea for a project for one of your engineers. Would it be possible to add a holo-emitter or projector to my quarters that contains a holographic nanny? With all my duties, I would like to be able to leave my daughter in our quarters, until she is old enough to go to school with the other children onboard. A nanny program could keep an eye on her until I return to our quarters."

Zach mulled it over. "It would take more than one emitter, but I'm sure we could arrange something. We would have to see about sourcing a responsible program, or writing something in-house. It wouldn't happen today, but I can put it on a priority."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Ash replied, placing his one free hand behind his back. "I know you have a lot of repairs to do and must have a lot on your plate already. I appreciate you looking into this for me. I have made some personal requests for the program, if you don't mind handing it off to whoever you find to do it." He said as he reached into one of his leg pouches to remove a small data PADD from it. He handed it to the Chief Engineer.

The list seemed understandable, for the most part. A Nanny program that was familiar with Klingon traditions and culture. A list of possible ideas for the programs appearance and demeanor, but then there was an odd request that you wouldn't expect from a Klingon. A request for the program to be familiar in Romulan traditions and culture. Knowledge of the Romulan homeworld and history. Considering the feud between the two species, it was an odd request.

"I'll probably have more questions to fill in more details, but this is an excellent start," Zach said, going through the notes. "I might also suggest polling the wants of the program's primary user." He gave a wry smile, indicating Cirilla with his eyes. "Give me a few days to come up with some templates on the holodeck, and once we get the program down, we can get it set up in your quarters."

Ash looked at the Chief Engineer firmly, before gently covering Cirilla's ears. He leaned in slowly to Zach before speaking softly, in almost a whispering tone. "If my daughter had it her way, Lieutenant, her caretaker would be a bipedal Targ that found any excuse to sing and dance around the quarters. I don't have the patience to deal with such a program when I return home to our quarters. At the moment, she is 4. When she is old enough, I will consider allowing he to make alterations within reason."

"I'm not saying give her full creative control," Zach agreed, "but children respond better to things they have involvement with. Maybe get her opinion on hair color or if she would prefer a Nanny who reads books with different voices versus just reading them straight. Or allow her to pick the program's favorite color. Something to make her feel the program has value to her."

The large Klingon looked at the Chief and soon gave him an understanding nod. He had a point. Involving her in the process, even with small details, would make her more inclined to want to interact with the Nanny program and want to continue to use it. It was, afterall, more for her benefit that for him.

"I see your point, Chief. Thank you." He said before uncovering his daughters ears before giving Zach a nod, followed by an appreciative smile. "Lets go, Cirilla. Say goodbye to Lieutenant Addams." Ash said in a calming tone.

"Good bye, Sir." She said as she took her fathers hand and turned to walk off. Suddenly she stopped in her place, as if she remembered something extremely important and needed to do something because her life depended on it. Cirilla quickly let go of her fathers hand and ran back to the Chief Engineer, holding out her hand to him. "I almost for to give you-" She stopped mid-sentence, as she opened her closed first to reveal... nothing. No red puffy ball she was told to hold onto by the Chief. She looked frantically around, her eyes watering slightly, as he heart began to race. She lost it. She couldn't have. She held onto it tightly, like he asked her to. She was sure of it. Where could it have gone? How could she have lost it?! Cirilla looked up at her father, a sad look in her eyes, before looking over to Zach, quickly saying in a slightly trembling voice. "I-I-I'm sorry."

Zachary took his hand out of his pocket and immediately knelt down to her eye level. "Don't cry, sweetie, you did nothing wrong," he said. "You didn't lose it, it ran away. Sometimes, they get a little flighty. He looked up above her in the air. "Do you see it anywhere?"

Ciri's little heart raced as she looked around nervously, her eyes tearing up. Even with the comfort of the Chief Engineer, she still felt like she left the man down.

"Oh, there it is," he reached up and plucked a small red ball from the air. He smiled and held it out to her. "Here you go. All yours."

The little half Klingon girl saw the red puff ball and immediately let out a sigh of relief. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and slowly took the ball and looked up to Zach again. "Th-thank you." She said between sniffs.

"You're very welcome," Zach said. "Sorry to worry you. And just so you know, I still have the other three, safe and sound," he said, opening his right hand again and revealing three of them hiding between his fingers. "So you hang onto that one. It won't give you any more trouble."

Cirilla gripped the red ball tightly, letting out another sniff before wiping her eyes again. She turned to her father, who got down to a knee and smiled, prompting her to walk over to him and hug him. He whispered something softly. As he brushed her hair back with his fingers, it revealed her pointed ears.

Ashok whispered softly to her. "Everything is okay now, my little heart." He looked her in her eyes and smiled, adding. "No harm was done. The Lieutenant was just showing you a magic trick. He didn't mean to worry you." He wiped her tears, tilting his head slightly towards Zach, giving him a quick nod and smile. Signaling everything was fine.

As her father picked her up in his arms, he placed her against his side, allowing her to place her legs around his side and place one hand at his neck to hold on. She looked over to Zach, giving the Chief a smile, before holding out her free hand and waving good by.

Zach waved as well, then with a flick of his wrist, the red balls disappeared. In the moment between her looking at her father and looking back at Zach, he'd vanished as well.


Lt. Zachary Addams
Chief Engineer
USS Tokyo

Lt. Colonel Ashok 'Ash', Son of Norath
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Tokyo

Cirilla, Daughter of Ashok
Child/Civilian
USS Tokyo

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