It was sort of a mundane routine at this point. The Europa was a small ship, and there were only so many ways to make the same decks be interesting and new. Her job was as varied as one might expect a department head’s to be, but ever since her parents had left the ship to have her father convalesce in a better place, she had felt… adrift.

Was that even the right word? It wasn’t that she wasn’t her usual chipper self, with a bright smile and an easy quip with her team, but behind the mask, the fire had dimmed. She was trying to stoke the embers but failing miserably. She also didn’t want to put the burden on Steven either, even though their relationship was sort of like the ship. It just ticked over day by day. It wasn’t a bad thing at all. But she didn’t know how to feel about it.

So, as usual, Cassidy Abrams found herself taking a seat at the bar in the small lounge and ordering a mai tai, hoping the colourful drink would inspire her. Or something.

Abrams, COS