Sulu's door chimed and he opened it to reveal Uhura standing in the doorway.
"Well hello," he said. "Come on in! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Uhura entered the room with some hesitancy and took a seat. "This seems silly, but I've been missing my Tribble."
Sulu grinned a little. "Oh, is that so? I'm sure the captain would let you get another pet if you asked -"
Uhura held up a hand. "I appreciate that, but I really don't want to push my luck."
"That's fair."
"I heard that you know a lot about plants, so I was wondering if you could give me a recommendation for a plant I could take care of in my quarters," Uhura said.
"Certainly," Sulu said. "There are all kinds of plants that you could replicate in your quarters. You'll need to get an appropriate light source, but I don't think that should be a problem."
"Thanks so much for your help! I'm still a little embarrassed that the Tribbles got out of control but, well, I suppose some things just happen."
Sulu shook his head. "Nothing to be embarrassed about. We all got a laugh out of it, anyhow."
In the end, Uhura picked a fern – almost as soft as a Tribble but appreciatively not born pregnant.