Soren had been invited to play 500 cards with Geordi, Commander Riker, Data, and counsellor Troi.
It was the first time Soren had been around the counsellor since he met her 8 weeks ago.
Being the youngest and most inexperienced of the group, Soren was quiet trepidation.
'Counsellor Troi will be here momentarily,' Data said as they took their seats.
The doors opened. 'Am I late?' Deanna asked.
'No, we just sat down,' Riker answered.
Deanna was wearing her purple uniform.
As the game got underway, Soren had to concentrate on each play to ensure he didn't end up looking like a fool.
After one unlucky hand, played badly, Soren was down by 300 points.
Riker chided him. 'Aren't you supposed to a maths genius?'
'Scientific maths, sure. Card counting and probability, no.' He smiled and lent back from the table, as if he was unworried.
'You're just out of practice, isn't that it?' Geordi came to his defence.
'I'm more of an administrator really, anyway… I'm not one of those crazy scientists,' he added.
'Round 4', Data informed them.
He glanced at Deanna who was checking her cards.
'And doesn't she read minds?' Soren jeered, gesturing across to Deanna.
'She's not allowed to, in this room.' Riker answered as he checked the cards he was dealt.
Deanna looked offended. 'Generally, with most people, I can sense what they are feeling.
Soren was sceptical that any human player could beat Data - who can easily calculate probabilities -
but he said nothing. The conversation was light and jovial as the players continued to contest the points and deceive each other.
An hour later, the point ceiling was reached by Soren.
Soren nodded at Riker and Geordi , in thanks. They returned the nod.
'Great game, guys.' Geordi congratulated Data and Deanna.
'Well played,' Data said to Deanna.
'Too good, Counsellor.' Soren stood up to go.
'Why not stay and have another game?' Riker offered.
'I should get back to the lab,' shaking his dark head of hair. 'Lee might need some assistance with his latest Neutrino explosives, I mean experiment.'
Deanna and Geordi laughed while Riker feigned amusement.
Soren blew out a long breath as he waited for the turbolift. That was fun, he thought.