Alara walked aggressively through the corridors. So much so that it could have been called a march, and that was exactly what it was. Anger seethed through her body, angry tears blocked her vision until she rubbed at them, blinking them back. She continued this way for a long time, taking back corridors and passageways, not really going anywhere, just running off her anger.

She came to a dead-end, and her anger came to a head. With one angry growl, she balled both fists and slammed them into the wall. Her face contorted slightly as she bit back the pain, but she refused to cry out. Alara took a deep breathe and rested her forearms against the metal, sighing slightly as her forehead contacted the smooth surface.

'Can't you see I'm just trying to help, Daniel?' she asked silently, her frustration ebbing into reasonable amounts. She sighed as a few tears dropped to the floor. 'You can't fix every problem' her criticizing voice answered. Alara turned around, resting her back against the wall of this rarely traveled area. "Computer, what's the time?" she queried.

"The time is nine hundred hours." It replied.

"Great, I go back on duty in three hours." She said, rubbing her eyes again. Sleep had been taken from her once again, but that was okay, she could deal with that. As long as there weren't too many stray anger emotions floating about... Slowly she began walking again, this time heading for the commercial areas, where people of less complicated thoughts were.

Her feet were weighty, and she walked more calmly now that she had expressed her anger. She sighed, letting go of all the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. Alara whistled a little tune in her head, telepathically. It was something only other telepaths could have picked up on, and that in itself was interesting to observe. Her feet wandered, taking her up and down staircases, around corners, across the front of shops, peering into windows.

She felt someone notice her, and turned. The man she had seen much much earlier that morning was standing there, and approached her. Alara's dark eyes met his, her eyes clearly held recognition as she brushed a strand of her black hair back behind one ear. Damien smiled and then said "I'm lost can you tell me which way is the hydroponics bays?" She knew the moment he said it, that it was a lie, but it was definitely one of the ice-breaker types, the 'I don't know what else to say' lies.

Alara returned his smile tiredly. "It depends on which hydroponics bays you are looking for... if you're looking for those relegated for research on the science levels, or if you're looking for the commercial ones, or if you're looking for the ones for personal rental and usage...." She answered him.

Damien looked at her, "Well I was interested in renting a plot, so I would ask for the personal bays?" Damien lied again, but it was working so far. "Would you mind showing me the way?"

The woman looked at him for a moment, then shook her head with a smile. He obviously didn't realize she was a telepath, and even if she wasn't, somehow he seemed to conveniently forget that the computer could lead him to where he was going just as well. But she had three hours to kill, and this struck her as an amusing, if somewhat wasteful, way to spend it.

"Sure, no problem," she answered. Waiting a moment to see if he was following, Alara began to lead him to his requested destination, silently. She wondered how long he'd continue with this escapade. When five minutes ticked by, then six, then ten... she wondered if he'd let her lead him all the way there before saying anything.

Damien began to feel guilty as they walked towards the bays. He didn't want to keep lying. But he didn't have many friends yet. But making friends after lying was not a good start to a friendship. He summoned up his courage and said "I have to be honest, I don't really need to go to the hydroponics bays. But I thought you had a kind face, and me being new on base, thought we may talk a little."

Alara stopped, and smiled slightly. She turned to him and looked into his eyes. "I know. So where would you like me to lead you?" She asked.

Damien smiled at that. "Well how about dinner and a movie?" Damien chuckled at that. But Alara just gave him a puzzled look. "It is a old human expression. It represents what human used to commonly do on a first date."

"Ooohhh..." Alara said, a look of understanding coming into her eyes. "Well, as you may or may not know, I'm Betazoid, so I'm just a little... out of the loop on past human culture, Starfleet current I am fairly familiar with though." she smiled.

Damien felt lightheaded, and his face was getting warmer. 'I must be blushing', he thought. 'Great I started out by lying, and now I have to be totally honest,' he thought, but she wasn't eavesdropping any longer.

"You're the first Betazoid I have ever met." Damien knew that full Betazoids were telepaths, and that if their lineage was interspecies that the ability was great reduced. "Can I ask how strong your abilities are?"

Alara saw the blush rise on his cheeks, but pretended not to notice it. She leaned back, placing her hands behind her and standing with her shoulders against the corridor wall. "I really don't know..." she said simply, like she was unaware of his discomfort, "I haven't been re-tested since the accident which caused damage to my paracortex."

Damien began to ease up a little. "Well can you hear my thoughts? For example, I am incredibly embarrassed right now." Damien was starting to wonder if he should just say thanks for letting me be an idiot, and walk away.

The black-eyed woman looked down and shook her head slightly in almost bemusement. "I could read your thoughts if I was attempting to, but I'm not... I can still tell a lot of what you're thinking by your body language, but anyone with eyes could read that." She said, smiling gently. "I don't just read people's thoughts indiscriminately."

Damien stood almost at attention and spoke. "I'm sorry to assume that you just went around picking out peoples thoughts. Please accept my apologies. But the offer still stands. May I buy you dinner? I could use the company and you could educate me on how to handle this situation better in the future."

The Betazoid woman yawned, putting her hand over her mouth. "My apologies.... Not enough sleep in the recent past... I'll take a rain-check on that invitation." She smiled "but I do have time for a hot coffee at one of the cafes... before my next duty shift."

"That would be great." Damien felt as if the last five minutes had taken years. He had not liked the way the conversation had gone. 'A simple thing like asking a women out for dinner, and I'm acting like a fifteen year old.' But Damien remembered, he had not done this since Nancy and he had been first introduced, ten years ago. "A coffee would be great, but I'm buying. Could you suggest which cafe?"

She thought for a moment. "The Stardust one is pretty good..." she commented, smiling softly, albeit a little tiredly, at him. "Sounds good." Damien put his arm forward, palm open to suggest that she lead the way. She nodded and took the lead, falling back to just in front of him when she knew he was following him. "So..." she said "I take it you've been assigned to the Isannah... or you were hopelessly lost in the Isannah's section." She smiled.

"No not lost, and yes I have been assigned to the Isannah as ACSO. But I have barely been onboard. By the way, you haven't told me you name." Damien had just realized this and was determined to at least make a better impression than he had earlier.

She paused and smiled, extending a hand. "Keeves, Alara Keeves... ensign, and in your department. So you're who they've sent as ACSO..." she looked at him again.

Damien took her hand in his, it was warm to the touch. He shook hands in a firm manner. "A pleasure to meet you Alara. You're in science? Great, what fields do you specialize in?" As he asked this Damien and Alara walked through the station. Damien didn't know exactly where the cafe was, but he followed Alara.

Alara laughed "Whatever they need at the moment, it seems..." then her attention was distracted "Ah! There it is." She pointed towards the cafe, and turned to him.

Damien offered Alara the seat directly next to him, she had started to take the seat across, but switched, seeming not to mind. The waiter approached the small round table and asked "Can I help you?"

"What would you like?" Damien asked Alara.

She smiled slightly, "Double strong coffee with two creams, real cream not milk."

"That sounds good, make it two." The waiter walked away, and Damien turned his attention to Alara. "So how long have you been on board the Isannah?"

"Oh, it feels like forever..." she smiled. "Let me see... almost, three years now."

"Do you have any plans while the Isannah is being refitted? R&R, refit duty?" Damien was waiting for an opportunity to find out a little more about his coffee companion.

She smiled, "Actually, I was rather quickly drafted into assisting Lieutenant Johnson." She yawned slightly, sipping her coffee with a slight sigh of contentment "Which is why I didn't get any sleep."

Here is the chance Damien had been waiting for. "I have been trying to get in touch with the Lieutenant but have not had any luck. I wanted to volunteer for refit duty. I have even left him a message in his quarters. I know he is busy, but I'm going space happy just waiting here. Refits are hard work. Sleep is not a top priority when a ship is waiting to return to space." Damien smiled as he said the last part.

Alara snorted slightly, "Tell me about it..." she grumbled. Then she flashed a smile at him "Oh, but one more pair of hands should lighten my duty somewhat..."

"Well I would be able to be the first one to get my hands on the new sensors, and that would make my day! Plus it would let me get to know the ship and some of the crew a little better to." Damien looked at Alara. He smiled and thought how lovely she looked in her uniform.

She stifled a yawn again, "Sure, but the new sensors aren't in yet... right now it's grunt work... tear down..." she smiled sheepishly "I shouldn't have said that, should I?"

Damien smiled at that. "Hey even grunt work would get me on board. Then when those sensors are ready to be worked on, I can be there. Plus I feel that the science division should see its officers doing a little grunt work from time to time."

Alara smirked slightly while taking a sip of her coffee that resulted into the most undignified sputter and cough. She grabbed a napkin and smiled sheepishly. "I thought that's what I have been doing..."

Damien Looked at Alara in the eye "You misunderstood me, I meant I could do grunt work as well." Damien finally took a swig of his coffee. It was strong, like he used to get at home.

Her eye sparkled "I know... I was just teasing," she said, downing the last of the coffee in one final gulp. "You're welcome to join me when I take the next shuttle out to the ship for my duty shift."

"Well there is a sense of humor in there. I thought you might have been part, what species is that, oh yeah Vulcan. There are the ones with the pointy ears right?" Now Damien had a twinkle in his eyes. "What time does the shuttle depart?"

Alara tossed her head slightly and pulled the hair back behind her ear, showing that it was just as rounded as his. "I'm certainly not Vulcan." Then she checked the chronometer "Twenty minutes."

Damien noticed as she moved her hair, it was different. But how to ask a woman if she has changed her appearance. If she had, she will tell you, but if she hadn't she thinks you want her to change it. 'Well here goes,' he thought. "Didn't you have red hair when I saw you before? Not earlier this morning, but yesterday morning?"

She smiled. "Yes... but decided that it was silly to announce my temper in my hair... or at least that's what my brother said. This is my natural color, I just wanted to go back to it."

Damien looked at her in a new frame of mind. "The red was nice too, but this color suits you better"

Alara smiled. "A text-book response... someone must have trained you well." she laughed. "Thank you." She smiled, her voice more sincere.

"Want another cup of coffee?" At Damien thought he had found at least one member of the crew he would like to have as a friend.

The dark-eyed woman smiled slightly. "Thanks, but no. We should be heading to the bay now... this is a starbase, not a ship, one has to factor in the time getting from place to place."

"Well, we better go." Damien paid the bill. Alara stood and waited for him at the door, then led the way down to the station. She kept thinking about how he had expected her to be in his mind... it seemed to be a common worry among those without telepathic abilities. But just the same, Alara was glad right now that no one was eavesdropping on her worried mind.

Loaded: 05.11.2004