Shore Leave: The Beach

Alex comes to a halt at the edge of the path leading to the beach, watching the children frolic on the sand with a crooked smile. She shakes her head slowly and says to Cass, "Well. Did you ever get a beach vacation when you were a cadet? Back in my day, we had to negotiate a treaty to annex the beach for the Consortium first, and then hope the ocean wasn’t, say... liquid ammonia. Kids these days."

She might be joking.

Cass huffs a small laugh, though she seems a little distracted to Alex's perception. Or maybe just disconnected.

"When I was a cadet, I was on report about half the time, so my shore leaves were... infrequent." She gazes out over the beach as though she'd been expecting something better - although there's certainly nothing wrong with the pristine sand and gorgeous blue water. "I see a couple of empty lounge chairs over there," she says, pointing.

"These kind of moments make it hard to believe I was ever a cadet. Seems so long ago now."

Alex watches the cadets a moment longer, lost in her own thoughts, her typical dry smile in full evidence. "Looks like you’re staying in command a while longer. How’s that feel?" Alex asks as they head over to the empty chairs. She eyes one of the chairs critically, and brushes some sand off before spreading a beach towel over it.

Cass shrugs. "I dunno. Fine, I guess. I'm just so sick of talking to admirals. I've been debriefed so many times I'm pretty sure I'm chafed. I..."

She trails off, dropping into one of the lounge chairs. A large umbrella looms between the two chairs, and she waves a hand to activate the controls, adjusting it so that both chairs are shielded from the sun. She's quiet for a while, then finally says, "The worst part of it is, all of this brass that're heaping praise on me right now? A lot of 'em are the same people who fought my promotion to first officer very recently. Some of them put notes in my file as far back as just past my graduation from the Academy. Now, suddenly, I'm worthy of my rank, even being considered for command." She shakes her head and pushes a button to make her chair recline a little more, closing her eyes.

"What's the most popular drink ordered for sitting on the beach?"

Cass glances at Alex and makes a decision. T"Two Nekkian Spiderwebs, please."

Cass tastes the drink, frowns in assessment, takes another drink, and sighs. "Well, this is a bit of a letdown."

Sitting down and stretching out on the lounge chair, Alex still manages to look tense. She sits the way anyone else does, but stiffly. If you didn't know better, you'd wonder if she was actually an android.

Alex takes a drink of the Spiderweb, then holds it up to the light, studying it with an expression of mixed sadness and disdain: curled lip, slumped shoulders. "It's revolting. It's like someone distilled blandness and poured it in a glass. It's offensive in its desperation to avoid being offensive."

She brings it to her mouth again, looking down at it skeptically. Taking one more drink, she grimaces, shakes her head and sets it down. "Nope. It's bad."

Resting her hands in her lap, Alex looks out at the expanse of water, eyes moving from side to side to take in the entire horizon. "Hm. Ocean."

Cass watches this performance with an inward scowl. Only one of them should be allowed to be in a funk at any given time. At this rate, they'll be making a suicide pact before lunchtime.

"Yep, that's an ocean. Feel like a swim?"

"I haven't been swimming in ages," says Alex thoughtfully. "Let's give it a shot."

She climbs out of her chair, stretches her arms out in front of her, and considers a plan of action. She looks over at Cass. Maybe there's something showing on the commander's face, maybe it's the diplomat sense kicking in. Whatever it is, Alex chuckles dryly. "I'm not the best companion, I know. Shore leave is... a foreign concept to me. My... well, let's just say I've been accused of being unable to relax."

"Ah, so that's what the problem is. Well, just about everyone will tell you that's never been an issue for me."

She waves over the comm unit in the umbrella. "Hi. We'd like two Garabnian Tail Twisters, please." She stands up, tosses her sunglasses onto the chair, and sprints toward the water. "Last one in is a Captain Thompson."

Alex opens her mouth to respond, but Cass is already sprinting away. Giving the commander's back an acid look, she mutters, "Now that's a dirty stunt to pull."

But if nothing else, it gets her moving. She may be significantly older and likely slower, but she's not one to back down from a challenge. Off she goes, kicking up sand as she chases after Cass.

Cass doesn't slow down, intent on not giving Alex an excuse to back out. She keeps running until the water is at hip level, then executes a shallow dive to immerse herself, popping back up a few feet further out and smoothing her short, dark hair back on her head as she watches for Alex.

Alex isn't all that far behind, long legs helping her make up some of the distance, but not nearly enough. Still, it gives her a chance to pinpoint Cass's location: when the commander pops up out of the water, Alex is within leaping distance.

"Call ME a Captain Thompson, will you?" she calls out, laughing. "Permission to dunk you under the water, Commander?"

Of course, she's already jumping at Cass, fully intending to knock her into the water. Politely. Mostly.

Cass is leaning back, half floating and half treading water even though the depth is only to her chin. She watches in utter amazement as Alex vaults toward her, only to execute an awkward belly flop a good two or three feet away from Cass. She can't help but laugh. "Permission granted, after you report to sickbay for a check of your depth perception."

Alex comes up from her ill-timed leap coughing and sputtering. And laughing. She wipes water from her eyes and runs her hands through her hair. "That was... better executed in my head," she says weakly, coughing a bit more water out. "Still... Captain Thompson? I can only imagine what he'd say, watching that display. 'Nice job, old woman. Looks like you're even less graceful than you are useful in negotiations, which is saying something!'" she says, with a pretty fair imitation of the captain's unmistakeable pompous tone. Alex grins widely and splashes water toward Cass.

Cass laughs, trying to dodge the splash but still taking some of it in the face. She swims slightly further out, kicking to splash back at Alex. "Oh, he wouldn't use something as mundane as 'old lady,' would he? It'd be more like, 'Nice job, granny.' But that was a killer imitation of him." She thinks, once again floating and lazily treading with her hands. "Okay, what do you think he sounds like when he's actually trying to charm someone? Like, how would he go about trying to pick someone up in a bar?"

"Granny!" Alex cries, and turns to catch the return splash in the side of the face. "I knew I wasn't getting that part quite right!" She fixes Cass with a suspicious look. "Though you did come up with that awfully quickly..." she says, overdoing the skeptical tone to indicate the joke.

Alex sinks down in to the water up to her chin and goes into her Thompson impersonation again. "Drinking a Nekkian Spiderweb, I see. My favorite drink. You know, I'm sure you don't know this, but that's made with milk from a Nekkian animal a lot like the cows we have back on Earth. Beautiful place, Earth. I saved it from destruction single-handedly seventeen times? That's right, seventeen. If any one of those negotiations hadn't had my brilliant insight available, boom. Whole place, destroyed.

Cass grins and tries her own impression of Thompson. "Also, the warp engine? It was my idea. Well, not the original engine, of course, but the modern version. A paper I wrote for school when I was twelve got picked up in the astrophysics community and inspired the latest improvements we have today. Of course, I didn't get credit for it. They offered, but I turned it down..."

Alex looks skyward and laughs. "What a raging asshole he was. How we managed to sneak through that business without him destroying everything we'd worked toward..." She shakes her head in amazement. "Glad to have rid ourselves of him.

She lies back and floats idly on her back. "And Commander? Regardless of what's in store... it's been an honor and a pleasure. You'll get that promotion, and you'll deserve it. There aren't so many Thompsons in Spacefleet that they'll fail to recognize talent."

Glad that Alex seems to finally be starting to relax, Cass murmurs her thanks for the compliment and tries to conceal her complicated feelings on the topic. She plunges underwater and swims in a lazy circle to surface near where she was when she started, resuming her floating posture as she idly scans the beach full of rowdy cadets. "They have no idea what life in Spacefleet is really going to be like, do they?"

"Did you?" Alex responds. "I'm not sure anyone ever does. All I wanted was adventure. When I signed up, I thought it was going to be an endless series of dramatic encounters with strange life forms. Then it turned out to be bureaucracy, paperwork, talking, and... well. I guess one series of dramatic encounters with strange life forms."

She turns to look off toward the beach again, a faint, rueful smile coloring her features. "Makes me think of my daughter."

Surprised, Cass turns her head sharply at that, but manages to keep her voice casual. "You have a daughter? Where is she now?"

Alex turns to look at Cass, smiling. "You're supposed to say, 'you can't possibly be old enough to have a daughter!', you know."

She chuckles, takes a deep breath, and can just barely been seen shrugging under the water. "Getting ready to graduate from the Academy. Or she was when I heard from her last. She hasn't answered my comm requests the last couple of days. She's a bright girl. She'd love this place, actually, though mostly for the terraforming they've done. Planetary geologist."

"Wow, she sounds amazing." Cass hesitates. "Do you usually... Does she generally communicate regularly? Are you worried something might have happened?"

"No," says Alex, casually waving away any worry with a chuckle. "She’s pretty busy. I’m sure she’ll respond before long."

There’s a long, nearly uncomfortable pause, when Alex says, "How about you? Anyone eagerly awaiting news of your shore leave? Family? Friends? Enemies?". The way she puts a slight emphasis on your shore leave gives an indication that maybe she’s not so unaffected by her daughter’s lack of communication as she pretends to be.

Cass gives a little laugh that sounds a bit more bitter than she'd intended. Apparently, the fact that Alex is trying to conceal her feelings about her daughter's radio silence are corroding Cass' own emotional armor. She sighs, resolving to ask Alex more questions about this later.

"I got a message from one of my brothers who apparently heard something about the Veron mess from a friend of a friend. I gave him the non-classified summary of things, which he said he'd pass on to our other three brothers. My dad..." She pauses, trying to work out what she really wants to say about him. She decides to just go with the unvarnished truth. "My dad and I have never gotten along. He never supported my Spacefleet career, just like he never supported much of anything else that I wanted to do. Right before the mission where we rescued you and Lorq, I sent him a communication. No details, just that I'd been thinking about him and that I was on a big mission, but maybe I could come and visit him when it was over."

She reclines even further back, doing a slow set of lazy backstrokes. "I've still not heard back from him, even though I'm sure Danny - that's the brother I mentioned - told him about... what just happened. So I guess that really is more or less giving me his answer."

Cass turns over onto her stomach abruptly and slips underwater, swimming until she's under Alex. Reaching up, she grabs Alex's elbow and pulls her under before darting away and surfacing. When Alex comes back up, sputtering, Cass grins at her. "C'mon, I bet those drinks I ordered have been served."

Cass notices the three cadets as she and Alex move toward the shore. Since the louts seem determined to stay right in their path, she adjusts course to go around them on their way to their chairs.

Cass glances at Alex and says, "She might consider her commanding officer to be annoying, but no, I have no complaints. And thanks, but we're just here to relax and forget about things for a while. Enjoy your vacation, guys." She continues to their chairs.

Grinning, Cass rubs her hands together in a theatrical show of anticipation before reaching to lift up the glass box. "Now, this is a real drink," she says, handing one glass to Alex and lifting the remaining one to her lips.

She watches for Alex's reaction as they both drink, but frowns as the expected zing doesn't materialize. Cass takes a second, larger sip, then flops into the chair with a sound of frustration. "Why does everything have to be such a disappointment? Can't a simple drink just be what I'm expecting?"

Alex takes a drink, holding it in her mouth for a moment before swallowing. Her lips purse in a speculative look, and then she nods. Without a word to Cass, she activates the comm unit and says, "All right. Listen up. I don't know what bartender you dragged out out of the gutter, but here is exactly what you're going to put in the next Tail Twisters you bring us, because you're missing about three of the most important ingredients."

She launches into a detailed explanation of how to properly make the drink, with exact measurements, specific types of liquor, and careful directions on how to mix it all. "And if the next two drinks come back tasting of mediocrity and hopelessness, I'll be speaking with Toram Al-Vintar myself. He owes me a favor, you see, for the time I helped him with a very personal problem," she finishes.

Deactivating the comm unit, she lays back on her chair with a satisfied smirk. She looks to the side at Cass. "And if that doesn't work, I'll make you one myself. I worked with a Garabnian on Hyetian-1. Remarkable drinks." She rests her head back and closes her eyes with a mischievous smile. "Great with the hands. All four of them."

Cass wears an ever-broadening smile as Alex schools the bar staff on the Tail Twister. When the diplomat promises to make the drink herself if the next one also falls short, Cass clasps her hands to one shoulder. "My hero!"

The mention of the four-handed bartender makes her a little sad, in view of the loss of Marbo from the Potential's crew. She's going to miss that fishy weirdo. So many things have changed in such a short time.

The question seems to speak itself, without the participation of her conscious mind. "Do you think people really do change?" She's surprised at having said it, but now that it's out, she feels obliged to clarify. "I mean, at their core? Or do they just adapt to changing conditions with what they know is expected of them?"

Alex turns and opens one eye to look at Cass. "Deep thoughts."

She lets out a slow breath as she considers her answer. "I don't think those two things are mutually exclusive. But at the core? I think they can, if they truly want to, but I think it's rare, and I can tell you from personal experience, it's damned hard." Pause. "Why do you ask?"

Mentally cursing the impulse that had opened this conversation, Cass watches some of the cadets as they generally act like the children they more or less are. "I guess because... I've spent most of my life rebelling against authority of one kind or another. Mostly my dad, but then when I went to the Academy, against rules that I thought were stupid or overly restrictive. If I hadn't been good academically and an awesome pilot, they probably would have expelled me on a couple of occasions.

"Then I spent the bulk of my career being this cocky officer who followed the rules when they were convenient and didn't cramp her style. I was more or less still doing that when Darcy sat me down and told me that I could either keep being that person and eventually end up being demoted, or I could start 'acting like an adult' and take responsibility for my career. So of course, I did the latter."

She draws her legs up to turn her body in the lounge chair to face Alex. "But I was faking it, you know? I was going through the motions of being an exemplary officer, doing it by rote. When I was made First Officer, that was even more true. And then suddenly, I was in the middle of this crazy emergency and flying by the seat of my pants the whole time. And somehow, we managed to get through it without too much negative fallout, and I'm being toasted and lavishly praised by some of the same brass who used to threaten me with expulsion from the Academy, or who tried to talk Darcy out of promoting me." Sighing, she sits back and stretches her legs out, again watching the cadets. "So what I'm trying to figure out is, which person am I really? The reckless rulebreaker I've been for most of my life, or the distinguished Spacefleet officer I was for a few hours three weeks ago?"

Alex sits up, and turns to face Cass, leaning forward with her forearms across her knees. "Is there a reason you can't be both?" Before Cass can protest, she lifts one hand slightly. "Seriously. Hear me out."

"Look, you and I both know Spacefleet protocol chapter and verse. I'm sure you know every rule that says what you should do in just about every situation. Maybe not as a captain, sure, but you can't disregard the rules if you don't know what they are."

She reaches out one hand to touch Cass's arm. "But you saw first hand just how much good those rules do when your ship's under fire, key members of your crew are hostages or otherwise incapacitated, and you're under serious danger from a life form whose motivations -- even their true form! -- are a mystery. The rulebook goes out the window and you play it by your gut. I've served under a few Spacefleet captains, and the best ones are the ones that know themselves, their strengths and the strengths of their crew, and the weaknesses of both. They know that the rules can't possibly cover everything, and they trust themselves and their training in the most challenging of moments."

Alex gives Cass's arm a gentle squeeze. "Maybe you're being toasted and lavishly praised now because they realize you've seen the necessity for that, and you've come through under fire. When you were just that irritating, cocky kid pilot, well... they're cute and all, but not someone you're going to trust to save your life when all hell is breaking loose."

Cass looks at Alex, then slowly turns her gaze back to the ocean, trying to work out what she thinks of her friend's assessment. Realizing that she needs to spend more time with it, she chooses distraction over responding to it. "They sure are taking their sweet time with those drinks, aren't they?"

Alex grins broadly at the bartender's back as he retreats. "You should negotiate a new deal!" she yells at him. "I know a good negotiator!"

She picks up her drink and looks at it critically. "Not quite the right shade of orange, but... you know what? Nothing's perfect, right? And I suddenly have the urge to get happily drunk." Extending her glass toward Cass, she says, "To breaking the rules, and getting away with it.

Cass grins and clinks glasses with her. "To getting happily drunk with a friend."

"Now that's something to drink to."

Alex takes a long drink from her glass, and grimaces. "Stars, it's still bad!" Wrinkling her nose, she stares at the orangey goo inside her glass. "Still... it's here."

She tips her glass back and drinks the rest as quickly as she can. A shudder passes from head to toe, and Alex bites her lip. "Wow... pretty sure they're using acetone rather than ethanol, but... drink it fast and it does the trick!"

She stands, maybe too quickly under the circumstances, and she has to put a hand out to Cass's shoulder to steady herself. "Come on... knock it back, and we'll go find this Merengi Keeper of the True Recipes!"

"Yes, ma'am." Dutifully, Cass downs the cocktail quickly. Lacking Alex's finely honed palate, she doesn't shudder, but it's definitely not the kind of Tail Twister she was hoping for. She stands, too, and makes a sweeping "after you" gesture. "Lead the way, Lt. Commander. I'll back you up one hundred proof. I mean, percent."

Cass wakes up late to a pretty substantial hangover, but she'd anticipated that - her first shore leave in a long time, after an extremely stressful and traumatic incident, and a reduced tolerance for alcohol these days were an obvious recipe for post-party misery. Rifling through a bag she'd brought for toiletries and accessories, she pulls out a bottle of pills that Moira had recommended to her.

The label proclaims the medicine "Hair of the Dog" and bears a photo of a smiling golden retriever. The instructions say the dosage is one pill as needed, so she shakes one into her palm. It's a little less than a centimeter in diameter and looks like gray and white swirls. It almost looks like compressed fibers, prompting her to re-check the label for the ingredients, just in case it actually is dog hair.

Satisfied that the cure won't be worse than the ailment, Cass swallows the pill and then orders a light lunch from the replicator. Once she's fed and feeling that she can face the sunlight without discomfort, she sets out for the beach.

They'd made a loose plan the day before to play beach volleyball, so she checks the area with the nets and makes sure that there are balls available. No one else from the crew is here yet, giving her some time to take a walk with her own thoughts. She kicks off her sandals and walks toward the wet sand where the waves are gently lapping and starts a leisurely stroll, enjoying the salt air and the breeze from the water.

For a moment, Cass is too surprised to react, but then she matches his grin and throws her arms around his neck. "Nic! It's so good to see you. Stars, it's been a long time." She lets go and steps back to look him over. "Hmm, looks like you're enjoying civilian life. What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're vacationing here out of nostalgia."

Cass' smile tightens and she keeps her eyes straight ahead. "Yes, nothing says adventure like severe facial disfigurement."

"Nothing modern medicine couldn't fix," she says lightly. But no, they're old friends. She owes him more honesty than that. "It was pretty bad," she admits. "But the injury wasn't the worst of it. It was... well, everything else. Losing the away team. A member of my crew violated in the most abhorrent way. Life and death decisions when there are literally no good choices."

She looks at him with a lopsided smile. "You know - business as usual."

Cass shakes her head. "I still can't believe you resigned your commission. I still remember how psyched you were to start your Spacefleet career when we graduated the Academy. Did you really give all that up just for money?" She wrinkles her nose mischievously. "And sexual liaisons in your quarters?"

"Funny. Yes, I did get lucky, but it's not like Darcy doesn't have high standards and enforce discipline."

Cass laughs. "Me? Leave Spacefleet?" It's a preposterous thought... isn't it? "A team again, huh? What exactly is it you're doing these days?"

Cass sighs deeply. "I do. I miss the simplicity, I miss the thrill of flying. I miss--" She stops, switching gears. "But command has its own thrills and rewards."

It sounds like a rather half-hearted defense, even to Cass. "And the chair isn't that uncomfortable!"

Cass grins. This is safer ground for the conversation. "Nic, we've known each other a long time. You know that I don't kiss and tell. Now, look." She stops walking. "You're giving me a pretty hard sell for your new job, telling me all the perks and benefits. But they're all superficial things - things I don't think have really ever been that important to you. What's the real story here, Nic? What do you really like about working for... I'm sorry, what's the name of the company?"

She looks at him, a little troubled by how casually Nic mentions that he's working for a Merengi. But he certainly seems sincerely happy in his new career. "I know that what happened to me sounds scary. Hell, it was scary. But it was an anomaly, you know? At least, for an acting captain. We both know that a Spacefleet captain is usually pretty insulated from undue risk. Of course, when Darcy resumes command and I go back to being first officer, I'll be leading away missions again, and that carries more risk, but--"

She stops, realizing that she's making his case, not hers. "Anyway, I'm glad you love your new job. I like seeing you happy, but I just can't see throwing away everything I've worked for in Spacefleet. It's... where I belong."

She smirks at the threat, but then gives him a more sincere smile. "I miss you, too. I've been thinking a lot recently about our time at the academy. We were... well, we were rebellious fools. But once in a while, I wish I could cut loose like that again."

She's not sure where that came from. Yesterday, she was confiding to Alex her fear that she might still be that irresponsible rebel. Does she secretly hope she is still that person?

"Anyway, some of my bridge crew are here on leave, too. We're going to play some volleyball soon, if you'd like to come meet them. You could even play, if you'd like."

"They won't mind," she says. Then she clears her throat. It's possible she's blushing, but hard to tell in this sunlight. "As for the getting drunk, well... I might have already beaten you to that."

"Yeah, well, you'd probably be more disappointed if you'd seen it. Seems I can't hold my liquor the way I used to."

They walk a few steps and Cass says, "How did you know I was here? I don't believe you just happened to vacation at a Spacefleet resort at the exact moment I take shore leave here."

Cass chuckles. "Where are you staying? In one of the cottages?"

"I just thought that, with all the money you're making, maybe you were staying in that swanky, exclusive hotel I've heard so much about."

"Very gracious of you. So, tell me more about your job. What exactly do you do for this Lon?"

"Frankly, my last mission was too exciting."

Cass moves to one side of one of the volleyball nets and gestures for him to get on the other side. They begin to bat the ball back and forth, warming up and reacquainting themselves with volleyball techniques neither has put into practice for years. "And you're sure it's all aboveboard, right? Nothing illegal? I mean, I trust your judgment, but the Merengi are known for their business acumen, not their ethics."

Cass is distracted from replying to Nic's defense of his boss' business when she spots Moira and Max. Waving, she walks off the volleyball court to greet them. "Morning, Moira. Hope you feel better than I did when I first woke up." Turning to Max, she extends her hand. "Good morning, Lieutenant. Commander Shawna Cassano. We're very excited to have you joining our crew."

As Nic approaches to join them, she says, "This is an old friend of mine from the academy, now captaining a civilian ship. Nic Seville, Lieutenant Commander Moira Bruce, and Lieutenant Max Harris."

Rolling her eyes, Cass puts a hand on Max's shoulder. "Max, ever played volleyball? We used to play at the academy."

Moira chuckles.

You think ah'm nimble? Good luck to yeh.

She thinks Nic seems weird.

Moira shakes her head and smiles.

Ah've been known ta spike more than mah water bottle, if that's what yeh mean. And you?

Within the first ten minutes of the game, Max manages to make every possible mistake. Cass doesn't really care about winning, so she's patient and friendly as she tries to coach him, but he somehow fails to absorb most of what she teaches, and misapplies what he does retain.

And he talks. Constantly and profusely, spewing irrelevant detail like a gardener trying to soak a vegetable patch in a drought. All she can think of is, I'm going to be trapped on a scout ship with this guy. He's going to sit at my left hand on the bridge.

She grits her teeth and keeps smiling.

Moira is better at this than she let on. Not amazing, but no slouch, either. Granted, she has had more years of shore leave than these kids. She can't believe that someone as antsy as Max was signed on to train her. What did she do wrong? In this instance specifically, at any rate?

She knows that there's no way poor Cass can win with Max on her team, so, with a wink to Nic, she intentionally bats the volleyball toward the water. It's a mighty blow, and it "plunks" neatly. She laughs and runs for the water.

Oi! Ah guess that calls it! Last one in's in violation a' tha' Shoreside Treaty 'a '78!

This is, of course, a fake treaty often cited on shore leaves to mess with cadets.

Thank all the stars in the universe, Cass thinks. She's never been so relieved for a volleyball game to end. She turns to her new crew member. "You heard her, Max - everyone into the water!" She sprints toward the water, racing Nic.

She's accustomed to Nic's cheating ways, so when he makes contact with her, it doesn't entirely take Cass by surprise. She lets her momentum carry her to the ground, then redirects it to spin around with a straighten leg to sweep his legs out from under him.

Cass is up before Nic and resumes her dash, also laughing as she puts everything she has into getting to the water first (after Moira).

Cass snorts and splashes water at his face. "I think you mean I'm a counter-cheater. I was defending myself against your underhanded tactics." Grinning wickedly, she adds, "As usual."

As the four of them are lazily swimming and floating, engaging in small talk (when anyone but Max can get a word in), Cass has a sudden thought.

"Hey, tell me about this ship you command, Nic. How big is it? How many crew members?"

Moira grins.

Trade secrets? Ah, ah'm sure ah know most of em'. Is it more armed than usual?

Cass notes Nic's sudden tension, but says nothing about it. Neither she or Moira has ever worked in the private sector; issues of proprietary tech and information don't generally come up in a Spacefleet career.

"I'm a pilot. Of course I'm interested in a new ship. What's her name? Is she in orbit?" Her eyes sparkle with enthusiasm. "Can I see her?"

"Yeah, maybe. We'll see." Cass is disappointed that the ship isn't handy; it would have been fun to beam up and see her. The idea of cutting her time on Caspera short is less enticing - she doesn't want to just ditch her crew members in the final days of their shore leave. Or give anyone the idea that she's considering leaving the fleet. Because that's certainly not an option.

Not at all.

Nope.

Moira waggles her eyebrows back at Nic. "Nobody's getting hurt" and "armed" are red flags, but he seems okay so far.

Honestly she's more concerned that he appears to be flirting with Cass. She replies as if he gave the invitation to everyone.

Ah'm sure she's a beauty! Tha Fork has a nice ring ta it. Long time since ah've been on a freighter. Maybe tha last day. But shore leave is real rare fer us. You freelancers wouldn't understand..

Cass waits for Max to wind down, then when he does, jumps in before he can start up again. "Lunch sounds like a great idea. Anybody have any suggestions for where to go?"

Moira rolls her eyes and lets out a chuckle.

Ah yes. Missing out on no retirement, shoddy healthcare, unpredictable hours, and not knowin' where tha next paycheck is comin' from. Not ta mention we miss seein' tha galaxy an' goin' on adventures - OH WAIT.

She smiles.

Ah'd kill fer a burger.

Moira begins wading out of the water.

Oi, an' Stone makes a great soup, too. Let's go! Tha walk'll dry us off.