“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” exclaimed R’Mar, who had just stood up abruptly, his chair threatening to go much further had it not been for the bulkhead directly behind him, his arms locked, knuckles on the tabletop.

The officers assembled had just been informed of the resignation of Lieutenant Commander Rose, their Executive Officer, to be in effect as soon as they were secured station at Deep Space 9.

The outburst had been expected by Tim Coleman, who had been serving with R’Mar for several years now, and by Amanda Rose, who also had been serving with him for a while. Unfortunately, it took the others by surprise.

Jonathon Rey, while being there physically, was mentally far away, thinking about a particular four-breasted woman he had met last time he was on Angel III, but was attempting to hide it with a PADD in his hands of, well, of some schematic or another of some such system somewhere aboard this infernal machine. The surprise caused him to toss it upwards almost a meter before the artificial gravity emanating from below the deck plating pulled it downwards, making it clatter, loudly, on the desk in which R’Mar was attempting to grind into sawdust. “Oh, uh, congratulations, Commander. Amanda. Whatever,” he said, not sure what to call her, not that he cared. He picked his PADD back up and went back to day-dreaming about that very physically blessed woman he knew.

Krunk, while also surprised, did nothing more than widen his eyes and bare his fangs before resuming his natural posture and facial expression. Inside, he had already imagined coming across the table at R’Mar and ripping her pointed ears right off the side of her smug head. While the Tellerites didn’t have as much animosity towards the Romulan people as the Klingon’s did, that did not mean Tellerites found Romulans to be pompous, arrogant, uncouth and otherwise unpleasant to be around. That said, Krunk had never had a problem, officially, with R’Mar, but the thought did pass through his mind before collecting himself again. “That is most unfortunate, Commander. You have large shoes to fill,” he said, using the human idiom incorrectly, which made everyone (that was listening) smile.

Peepon was also startled by the sudden cacophony, both from the outburst as well as the clattering of the PADD to the table. She pushed herself back quickly, a reflex really, to distance herself from the threat, only to realize as her chair hit the opposite bulkhead that R’Mar’s hit, that there was no threat. She reached out, grasped the table and pulled herself forward again. “It truly is unfortunate,” she said, parrotting her friend Krunk. She looked to Tim. “Does that mean one of us will be promoted to Executive Officer, or will you be looking externally for one?” Ever the scientist, her mind was always working for the solution to the opportunity that faced her.

Tim Coleman, for his part, had raised his hand gently towards R’Mar, palm towards the junior officer, to pause him and remind him to sit down and hear everything out. “That is a good question, Eeraine,” he said, using her first name. Most of them in here, save for Ensign Rey, were on first name basis when not in front of the rest of the crew. “Honestly, it is not something that I have decided on yet, or, truth be told, if Admiral Brexx will decide it for us. It is something I will have to consider very carefully as we get closer to Deep Space 9.”

Amanda took the opportunity to speak up. “This was a hard decision to make. I’ve been in Starfleet for 20 years, my entire adult life. Like any meaningful relationship, the decision to walk away was a hard one. I care for each of you so very much,” she said looking at each of them, save Rey, in turn. “I will miss you, but Im only a communique away, and if your duties take you to Earth, well, all of you are invited over for a cookout.” Even Rey, she admitted to herself, if only privately. Hopefully he would not take her up on the invitation. “The opportunity I got, I simply could not pass up,” she explained.

“Nor should you have,” Tim said. “I think any one of us would jump at that sort of opportunity. The prestige alone is greater than mine as a Starship commanding officer.” He intentionally used that phrasing, instead of ‘Captain.’ “We will certainly miss you, and like everyone here has all but stated, your loss is going to be felt quite profoundly here, but the company you are going to work for, they are getting a diamond among diamonds.”  Amanda smiled deeply and warmly at her commanding officer. It was probably the sweetest thing he had ever said to her. For that matter, it was the sweetest thing a man had ever said to her, not that she was interested in men (or women), but that was a horse of another color entirely.

“How are you getting back to Earth,” Peepon asked. “Bajor, and Deep Space 9, are several weeks away at high warp.”

“The company that hired me has chartered a Delta Flyer class shuttle, complete with crew so I don’t have to actually do anything, to get me back to Earth. Its quite nice of them, really.”

“Seems it is all set,” Coleman stated. “Mr. Krunk, when are we scheduled to arrive at DS9?”

The Tellerite took a look at the chronometer on the wall. “We should be there in just under 27 hours at present speed, sir.”

“Good. Then tomorrow afternoon, we will have a going away party in the cargo bay. Krunk, see to it the cargo bay is cleared out and decorations are set up. We are going to send you off in style, Amanda. That is all I got, unless any of you have anything. Questions, comments, bitches, gripes, complaints?” As he said the words everyone, except Rey, naturally, mimed the words along with him. He always said the same phrase after every meeting. It was more a rhetorical closure rather than an actual question. After a momentary pause, “Alright, lets kick a chicken people.” With that, the crew was dismissed.