"Enjoy the rest of your night, Taurik."

"Thank you, Sir."

The exchange was sparse, some might deem it cold, but it was perfectly sufficient for Lt. Cmr. LaForge and Ens. Taurik at the end of another shift together. Of the two, the Vulcan was down in Engineering more often, and not only because Geordi was often summoned elsewhere.

He'd been on the ship a year and was still finding it difficult to adjust. It was simple in the Academy; everyone was too busy with their studies and basic survival to worry about socializing. And more often than not, people were cheerful and friendly. Or stressed beyond belief, and those were hidden away somewhere studying anyway.

Taurik was out-going, for a Vulcan. He had relished the fast paced life of excitement in the Academy, and the ease of making friends. He enjoyed dropping by a particularly busy dorm room, staying for a bit, enjoying a debate or a study session, or even a bit of a party, and then leaving. He didn't form lasting friendships, but he never minded. With how often students were dropped or graduated or took ill, it wasn't wise to form lasting commitments. Just enjoy a person's company while it lasted.

But it wasn't like that here. First of all, not everyone was overly friendly It seemed that Taurik was the only one aboard who knew that he was new. And the only one who cared. Geordi was basically his boss now, but barely noticed him, unless he was doing something wrong. No one else in his watch rotation made an effort to socialize or see him as anything other than the FNG.

It seemed that everyone was too busy, or already in their own cliques. And with no other Vulcan on board, Taurik soon felt quite left out. More than once, when he had invited himself to sit at a busy table in Ten Forward, the conversation would die out. As friendly as Taurik was, he was still stilted by human standards. That made things very awkward, especially since he still wasn't keen on the social atmosphere on board.

Things started to look promising when he was sitting at the bar and a dark haired human woman sat next to him. They talked for a bit, but then she had to go. His watch rotation kept him busy more often than not, so he wasn't able to catch her in Ten Forward again.

His roommate had been injured for most of the time, so spent all his time in Sick Bay, until he was finally transferred off the ship, and so after his long shifts (not all of them required), Taurik would spend his free time meditating, studying, exercising, half-heartedly playing a flute a relative had sent him.

He was depressed and didn't even realize it.

One day, when Taurik was feeling particularly desperate for some kind of companionship, he went to Ten Forward after his shift. Seeing all those people there made him anxious, because of his poor experiences in the past. He would have slunk back to his room if someone had not sat down at his table.

The young man looked vaguely familiar, but seemed to know Taurik. His smile was so warm and childishly open, Taurik responded with a slight, polite smile of his own. Smiling was excessive for a greeting with a stranger, Taurik believed, but he did it for the human's benefit.

"I haven't seen you around here lately," the human beamed. "I thought you'd left."

Taurik raised his eyebrows slightly. "I haven't had much time for socializing." He frowned a tad. "Have we met?"

"Oh! Of course. I'm Wesley." He thrust out his hand, and upon seeing the blank look on the other's face, sheepishly pulled it back. "Sorry..."

Taurik took this as a segue into conversation. He had come here to alleviate loneliness, and so far did not dislike this boy. "No need to apologize, Wesley. It's natural for you to be so...tactile."

"And Vulcans never shake hands?" Wesley asked, but he was teasing.

Always happy to talk about his culture with others, especially if they seemed easy to impress, Taurik explained officiously, "Indeed, we don't. Physical contact is reserved for more...meaningful purposes."

Wesley didn't take that as a jab. Not that Taurik had meant it that way, but he sometimes made offensive remarks without realizing. Instead Wesley grinned and asked, "So then, how do Vulcans greet each other?"

"You really don't know?" Taurik asked with a frown. Even if this boy came here fresh from the Academy, he still would have to have encountered Vulcans. Whereas in the past they used to eschew anything remotely military (with a few exceptions), now they were making up a significant percentage of the students and professors.

Wesley locked eyes with Taurik for a moment, a playful but enigmatic grin on his face. When he didn't get whatever response he was looking for, he broke first, looking away with a smile. "Well, sure. But I thought maybe you'd want to show me anyway. I mean, it would be appropriate, right?"

Taurik relaxed. "Yes, it would. You're right, and it's in fact very rude of me." He held up one hand, palm outward, fingers forming a V, thumb extended. "Good evening, Wesley."

Wesley tried to remained straight faced as he returned the gesture. "Good evening..." he faltered and dropped his hand. "I'm sorry, I never caught your name."

Taurik dropped his hand. "You've been watching me all this time and you don't even know my name?" he said, but there was a trace of levity in his voice that put Wesley at ease. "It's Taurik."

"Taurik," Wesley repeated, as if studying the weight of the word on his tongue. A waiter came and the boys ordered drinks. Wesley asked Taurik, "So what department are you?"

"Engineering."

"Ops," Wesley replied with enthusiasm. He looked distracted a moment, and then started asking harmless little questions that would serve him no purpose but to get them talking. Small talk, this was one human practice Taurik felt he'd never get the hang of. It didn't annoy him, but his answers to Wesley's questions were so terse and matter of fact, they didn't lead anywhere, nor did Taurik ask any questions like these of Wesley. So the burden of carrying the conversation was left to Wesley, though Taurik would not have minded if Wesley simply sat and enjoyed his milkshake with him in serene, friendly silence.

Wesley's constant stream of little questions led to reminiscing about the past. Taurik didn't mind. He had enjoyed his time in the Academy and exchanging anecdotes could be amusing. But when he mentioned studying the work of Dr. Nils Diaz, Wesley brightened and his eyes grew wide.

"Diaz? Are you serious?"

Taurik frowned. "Why would I lie about that?"

"No, no, I know you're telling the truth, I'm just...wow!"

"Do you know of his work?"

"Know of it?" Wesley rolled his eyes and laughed, a curious behavior, as it could mean different things. In this case, it conveyed unbridled enthusiasm. "I spent hours studying his papers. I even cut into studying time for my own classes."

"But you did not pursue it? You said you work in operations?"

"Well, I need to know about warp fields in my job, too. And it was more a hobby, anyway. I wanted to get into ops, an I'm probably going to stay for a while. But I just...I don't know. Maybe nothing will ever come of it, but I still like reading stuff like that, you know? It's fascinating."

Taurik was now sitting fully facing Wesley. His fingers were interlaced on the table in front of him and he was much more attentive with the human. It wasn't often he met someone of his peer group-as in maturity level and experience-so interested in theoretical warp mechanics, who wasn't already an engineer.

Taurik began by testing Wesley's knowledge, to see if he really had studied this field. His knowledge was impressive, considering this wasn't his professional field, but he was no expert. Neither was Taurik, but he enjoyed filling in the gaps of Wesley's self education. And it turned out that Wesley had some insights of his own that were enlightening to Taurik.

They sat there talking so long, Wesley was startled by the time when he finally checked. "I'll be late for watch!" he exclaimed, getting up. Taurik got up also and stood with his hands clasped behind his back as Wesley gushed at how pleased he was to finally talk to him.

I'm pleased to have met you as well," Taurik said with a gentle nod. "Will I find you here again?"

Wesley grinned. "What are you doing tomorrow? 0800?"

Taurik mentally checked his shift rotation schedule. "I will be in Engineering."

"OK, when are you off?"

"1200."

"Great! Meet me at holodeck 2 when you're off?"

Taurik thought for a moment and answered carefully, "That would be acceptable. Should I bring anything?"

"Just yourself," Wesley smirked.

"Well, obviously..."

Wesley laughed and started to stick out a hand, when he remembered. He gave Taurik a Vulcan salute, which Taurik answered in kind.

"See you tomorrow," he beamed.

"I shall. Enjoy your night, Wesley."

"You too, Taurik!" Wesley said, already on his way out.

Taurik lingered a moment after, finishing his drink, reflecting on the conversation. He felt content. It had been a surprisingly stimulating discussion he was eager to continue. He went back to his quarters feeling more relaxed than usual.