Deza walked out of her quarters to be greeted by Ritru, who would join her at the station. She wasn’t wearing anything luxurious, just something relaxing, as they had planned on meeting with Chon’al in one of the station’s many lounges. “What is going on?” Deza asked as they began to walk down the corridor heading towards the docking bay where they would enter the station.

“What do you mean?” Ritru asked.

Deza looked at her, letting a frustrated groan escape her mouth. “Why is half our ship being reassigned?” Deza replied as she threw her hands up. “Additionally, Commodore Dex is now in charge of Tranquility Station, and we are getting three more additions to our squadron. Why?” She said with a bit of a raised voice at the end.

Ritru remained silent as they walked, letting Deza vent. “Things change all the time,” she finally replied. “Though it’s not like we won’t ever see them again; they will be on ships within the squadron and station alike.” She said, trying to reason with her, though she knew when she was upset, there was no reasoning with her.

They continued walking as they entered the station, heading down the corridor towards the turbolift that would bring them to the promenade. Deza was still clearly upset, though it was not just because other crew were being reassigned. It was the fact that Chon’al was leaving the ship as well. Though she didn’t want to admit that, as they had kept their relationship somewhat private, she wasn’t one to show affection in front of anyone, not even her friends. Though only a handful of people knew, she didn’t talk about things even then.

“You’re upset that Chon’al is being moved to the station, right?” Ritru said as she finally broke the long silence that had gone on long enough.

“No,” she said flatly with a bit of a pitched voice which said otherwise.

“Right,” Ritru retorted, knowing better. “I know you are lying,” she replied.

Deza stopped dead and turned to face her, “I am not lying.”

“Seriously, Deza,” Ritru replied as she got annoyed by how Deza acted. “I know you are seeing him, and it is self-evident how you reacted when I asked you that question that you are upset.”

“Whatever,” is all she said before she started to walk off, almost leaving Ritru where she stood.

Rolling her eyes, she began to catch up to Deza. “Take my advice if you are to be the first officer. I suggest you change your attitude, or the crew will not listen to or take you seriously.” She said with annoyance in her voice.

They kept walking as Deza decided not to respond to that statement. They reached the Elysian Lounge, a massive lounge with plenty of seating. It felt relaxing, with its soft colors and beautiful chandeliers on the ceiling. The seating was more booth-like chairs that one could find relaxing. Smooth, relaxing music played in the background set the mood so that someone could come and relax after a long day. They looked around and found Chon’al sitting at a table near the corner of the room next to a large window, excluded from others, enjoying themselves.

Ritru noticed that Dazra was sitting on the opposite side of the lounge. They walked up to Chon’al. Deza sat down while she stood there and smiled. “Hey,” she said.

“Have a seat,” Chon’al replied.

Ritru looked at Deza briefly before turning back to him. “I am good. I am going to see what Dazra is up to. I think you two need to have a private discussion anyway,” she said before she looked at Deza, who just gave her a look. If looks could kill, it definitely would have.

“Oh?” Chon’al said as he looked between the two women.

“Anyways, I’ll see you guys later,” Ritru said as she turned and walked off before Chon’al even had a chance to respond. Ritru walked over to where Dazra was sitting and smiled. “Care for some company?”

Dazra looked up and shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

Ritru sat down and ordered herself a drink when the server came over once she was spotted. “A beautiful place to relax for sure,” Ritru said, trying to make some small talk as she wanted to get her recent encounter with Deza out of her mind and relax while the Saratoga was docked at the station.

“Indeed,” Dazra replied, looking around. “I thought you were going to have drinks with Deza and Chon’al.”

“Yeah, well, they need to sort things out, and I’d rather not be a third wheel right now,” she said with a shake of her head. Then she started chuckling, which seemed to confuse Dazra even more. So what brings you here?”

“Just seemed like a good place to relax,” Dazra admitted with a smile as they spent the next few hours chatting. More of the senior staff showed up and joined them for drinks. Ritru glanced over to where Deza and Chon’al were sitting once in a while to see how things were going. Still, she didn’t seem to see anything worrying, so they must be working things out between them.

“What do you think about all the changes?” Ritru asked, wondering what her thoughts were. Just as she asked the question, she saw Odan and Jheria walking their way.

“It’s a lot of changes for sure, all at once, but I am happy for those who received promotions; they deserved it,” Dazra said as she waved at Jheria and Odan. “Come join us,” she said.

“Hey guys,” Jheria replied with a smile as they both sat and ordered a drink.

“A lot going -” Odan began before they heard Deza raise her voice at Chon’al, almost yelling at him. They saw her get up and storm off, leaving Chon’al looking at them before getting up and heading out of the lounge. “What was that about?” Odan asked as he felt he had missed something.

“Deza has had a bit of an attitude at the news of the changes, though I am not sure what happened there,” Ritru said with a shrug, as she was tired of the drama and just wanted to relax.

“And she is going to be our first officer? That will be lovely…” Odan replied as he knew about her short temper.

“I know. I tried to advise her about her attitude and that it needed to change, but I will see if she listens,” Ritru replied with an audible sigh.

“Well, let us not worry about that now but enjoy ourselves,” Jheria smiled as drinks arrived at their table. This is such a beautiful lounge,” she added, looking around and admiring the view. They nodded, began to chat amongst themselves about different subjects, and spent the remainder of the night enjoying each other’s company. It was nice to have some downtime to relax and not think about what would happen next. The last few months have been nothing but crazy.