Shore Leave: Cottage 114

Alira

"Oh, I'm doing great", Nic replies. His voice sounds almost as carefree and casual as it always does but Alira can sense some tension underneath, like something is bothering him and he's trying to hide it. "Freelance work is great. You have a lot more freedom and if you're good at what you're doing, you earn much more latinum in private service." He sounds distracted. "It's very different from fleeter life, though, and it'll turn you into a different person than you would be in the fleet, for better or worse."

Cass

Cassandra smiles back nervously. She looks down at her drink and only now seems to notice how fast she has finished it. "I did not expect your reaction. I was already nervous about tonight and our talk earlier did not make it better." Her eyes flash to Helena, who is currently facing away from you and working on the meat on the barbecue. "I'm sorry that you felt I was disrespecting you. The way I went about this whole thing might have been a bad judgment call. It wouldn't be my first one."

Cassandra replies: "I have, more than once, but not in years..." Her voice trembles a bit as she says that but her expression stays the same. "But I'm not worried about the party. Helena is great at everything social so the party is safe. It's about the announcement, the fact that I'm leaving. I guess now that you already know it makes it easier..."

Cass

"Wait, you didn't know? I thought that was why you were so angry earlier", Cassandra says. She takes a deep breath and looks over the table. Everyone seems to have found their seats by now, so she says quietly: "Let's just get this over with."

Alira

Nic replies: "It's not just about the money. It's about the freedom. I can actually make my own decisions, I'm not bound by some prime directive or any of the other thousand regulations. Our command structure is much less authoritarian. I only served for spacefleet for a few months before I left but I feel like camaraderie is even stronger outside the fleet." He grins and says: "And since you're interested in security, it also has the added benefit that you get to try out a lot more different weapons than just your regular spacefleet phaser."

Everyone

Once everyone is sitting, Cassandra rises from her chair and clinks her knife against the empty cocktail glass she's holding to get the guests' attention. "Thank you all for coming", she says once the conversations around the table have stopped for the moment. "As some of you already know, there's a reason why I invited you all here tonight."
"Two reasons!", Helena interjects from the barbecue where she's still standing.
Ignoring her sister, Cassandra continues: "As much as I enjoy working in security, my long-term goal for my career is to captain my own ship. I'm hoping to become First Officer within the next couple of years and I thought once Cassano inevitably fails, it'll be my turn to take over, but our last mission has made me rethink that." She turns to Cass. "I'm not so sure anymore that you are doomed to fail. I know I haven't been much of a friend to most of you but I've gained a lot of respect for you all. But if I want to advance my career, staying on the Potential is the wrong move. I can't stay in the shadow of my father - and Cassano - any longer. I have requested reassignment to the USS Luna Moth and have been accepted as new chief of security there. I will not be returning to the Potential after this shore leave."

Vega loudly announces: "Finally this party is getting fun."
Max mutters "Oh boy" but raises his glass with everyone else.
Helena laughs softly and raises her glass. "To Cass, who's a much better officer than public speaker. I'm sure this was not intended the way it came across."
Cassandra sits back down, visibly embarrassed. "Enjoy the food", she mutters, quiet enough that the people farthest away from her can't even hear her anymore.
Julia whispers back to Alex: "Maybe you should have written a speech for her."

Julia leans over her mother to offer Zephyr her hand to shake. "I haven't but I'm egg-cited to meet you. I'm Julia.", she says.

Nic hesitates before replying to Alira. "It depends, I guess. But I have seen people lay down their lives for their comrades. Usually, we make sure that doesn't have to happen, though." He takes a sip from his glass and asks: "How come you decided to change ships? Just a career move or were you unhappy with your old crew?"

Helena comes around the table to give everyone some meat from the barbecue. Max declines. When she gets to Zephyr, she says: "Chicken will be done in a minute." When she reaches Cassandra, she leans in to whisper in her ear and Cassandra gets up again. "One more thing that I forgot to mention." She gestures toward Alira. "I have been looking for a replacement for M1 and me and this is who I've found, Lt. Alira Vitan. I think she is the best person you could wish for for this position. I invited her here so you could get to know her and make a decision about whether she is a fit for the crew or not."

Helena nudges Cassandra with her elbow and Cassandra sighs. "My sister is also insisting that I should tell you that last week was my birthday."

Helena grins and allows Cassandra to sit back down. Before she turns to go back to the barbecue, she looks at Cass and says: "If you have a second, can you help me here for a moment?"

"I don't know. Look at the meat or something", Helena says with a quiet voice. "I know how Cass' speech sounded, it was bad, but let me try to do some damage control here. Her opinion of you really changed during the Veron mission. She's leaving the Potential because she doesn't want to compete with you any more. She did not mean to embarrass you or make you look bad in front of your crew. Cass might not be able to express it well but she likes you."