"Making Friends"

Rahel sat with Ashraf, her brother, at one of the eating establishments on SB375. They were awaiting the arrival of the Taurus which was coming to pick them up. Ashraf could see that Rahel was excited as her eyes danced with expectation.

"I thought you'd be just a little hesitant to go back out again, sis," he smirked at her.

"Are you kidding?" she replied her eyes wide with surprise.

"Well, you didn't have an easy time with your last assignment," he replied.

She shrugged. "Well, sometimes things go wrong. They can't be helped."

"Still..."

"Ash, I'm fine!!" she replied. "And I am very anxious to get back out among the stars! Especially now with you by my side!" Her smile lit up her face.

"Older brother to keep you out of trouble!"

"Are you sure it won't be the other way around?" she laughed.

He laughed and shook his head. "Troublemaker," he replied.

Suddenly, her attention was drawn to someone sitting nearby. It was a young man, with blond hair. She didn't pick up really anything in particular, but there was one thing she seemed to sense. He was part of the Taurus crew.

"I think there's someone else here coming aboard the Taurus. Let's go say hello."

Before Ashraf could stop her, she was out of her seat and approached the young man. "Hello there," she smiled. "I'm Rahel Kahfre," she said extending her hand. "New chief medical officer on the Taurus. I thought I'd come over and introduce myself."

Sitting up, the officer made a puzzled expression, clearly not recognizing her from any service record. "How did you know...?" He began.

She smiled. "Well, being a telepath does have it's advantages," she replied. "This is my brother, Ashraf." she introduced.

The other glanced between the two of them and shrugged, a delighted smile coming over his face. "Fai Lune," he declared himself, happily accepting Rahel's handshake. "Nice to meet the two of you. I think I'll be manning the Ops station on this voyage." As pleased as he seemed to be, something elusive in his first reaction had hinted that it may not have actually been so nice to have met her; the presence of telepaths seemed uncomfortable to him.

She raised a brow for a moment, but didn't pursue it. "Well, I don't know how much we'll see of each other, but you never know," she said. "I just hope its not for anything more serious than a cold or something." She laughed.

"I'm the new Science Officer," Ash added taking Fai's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Are you looking forward to the Gamma Quadrant, Ashraf?" Fai asked, and made a subtle gesture that the pair could sit down.

Ash shrugged his shoulders as he and Rahel took seats. "I suppose," he replied. "But not as much as my sister, apparently."

Fai lifted an eyebrow invitingly to the telepath. "Oh?"

"What can I say?" she replied. "I love being among the stars. There's no greater thrill than being out there."

"And no greater danger, either, but I agree with the sentiment." Fai cast his eyes out through the large observation window that made up one wall of the lounge, out over the various starships that lay in port. "I can't wait to get out there."

"You know, I have been through all kinds of stuff out there, but... it doesn't stop me from wanting to go back," she replied. "Not ever."

"But after what happened, you think it would have," Ash replied.

She shrugged her shoulders. "As I told you, dear brother, things happen.

They can't be controlled. That was then, this is now!"

"It wasn't that long ago..." He replied.

Seeing the look on Fai's face she looked at him. "I was in the war with the Proktolans not long ago. Several on my ship were killed. Ash, here, worries about me because of it. Not that he has too!" She elbowed him gently with a smile.

Fai grinned, seeing their closeness. "Nothing that dangerous has ever happened to me, sadly. The last ship I was on was an under-powered, overworked Constellation. We had to eject three warp cores in a year to prevent her from exploding, but that was the limit of our excitement."

Not surprisingly, as he spoke, he began to notice that the initial apprehension he had felt surrounding a telepath was melting quickly. He would later have to think about why he had felt so naked in front of her to begin with, but for now, he made a note to hang around this person more often. Anyone with such a bubble of sociality was always helpful to a new crew member.

"We still have some time to kill before the Taurus gets here," Rahel replied. "Care to join us in the holosuite? We haven't even decided on a program yet, so you could help us chose."

Fai's eyes lit up with mischief. "I think you'll soon learn better than to ask me that."

"Oh really?" she asked with a hint of a challenge in her voice. "You have to come with us now!" She laughed.

With that they all got out of their seats and walked away toward the holosuites sure they had made new friends.