Tahlia smiled as the captain laughed. It was hard not to, the others joining in with a chuckle or smile as well. He didn’t just lead these people, he had their respect and in some ways affection. It was commendable, though she wouldn’t say anything on the matter. She sat back a little in her chair, starting to relax around these people in a way she hadn’t been able to on an ITC vessel. Not that the good men and women she’d lost today were far from her mind, a flicker of sorrow crossing her eyes for a moment, guilt that she was sitting here and enjoying herself while their molecules drifted about the void of space. “There’s a great deal of comfort in being your own boss, for those willing to take that risk…” she murmured appreciatively. She’d know soon enough, the way her father drank, amongst other vices. And if her fool of a cousin got himself killed with all his reckless acts, she was slated to get his part of the company too. Not that she wished that on the young man, but she was a realist and had to at least acknowledge the possibility.<br/><br/>Picking at her salad slowly, though actually eating, she listened to the officers chat amongst themselves, her table manners impeccable, from the way she held her fork to the manner in which she cut her salad with a knife into small bite sized pieces, her elbows never once touching the table. “I’m truly just grateful to be eating right now.” she replied softly to the captain’s comment about the meat. “So long as we’re not eating some enseign who missed his shift one too many times, that is…” she added, a faint teasing tone to her voice.