A/N: Written for a reader request.

I should introduce myself.

I am Zephyr Orpheus Laskaris, one of the Keih, pronounced 'key' in old Earth English. We Keih are the native species of Epsilon Eridani b, also known as Aegir. As we had no designation for our world upon joining the Federation, we adopted the name assigned to it by 21st century Earthers.

Aegir is a paradise to us, and therefore, we Keih rarely live off-planet. It is a world of vast oceans dotted with small landmasses, there are no continents of any significant size. Our world's topography, climate, and culture are much like your Aegean Sea and its islands. The Keih are seafarers, farmers, vintners, soldiers, poets, philosophers (professional and lay), and scientists. We live lives of moderation (somewhat … when it pleases us to do so) without foregoing the joys of life: food, drink, sport, and love.

I should explain the structure of my name. All Keih are identified in this fashion. My given name is the one I chose two weeks before birth. In our language Zephyr means 'west wind.' More on that in a moment. Our middle name is from the predominate occupational lineage of our fathers, our last name from the predominate occupational lineage of our mothers; respectively for me Orpheus (bard) and Laskaris (solider).

I, myself, am an expert in matter/anti-matter as well as fifth dimensional physics. My current home is Okinawa, Japan at the Daystrom Institute whose roots trace to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). My work centers on the spacetime continuum as it relates to propulsion, communication, and weaponry as well as contributing to nascent superstring theory research.

Like most humanoids, Keih have five main senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Unlike our Earth brothers, we evolved as a tactile species, touch is our predominate way of perceiving and interacting with the cosmos and its beings. Our touch is sensitive, with it I can accurately to four decimal places (in other words to a ten-thousandth fraction of 1) discern data such as the exact body temperature of another.

Telekinesis (some refer to this as psychokinesis) is a newly evolving trait in the Keih. Ten millennia ago the first indications of telekinetic ability were recorded. There are rumors of such powers in earlier legends and myths. Today, four in one hundred thousand Keih infants demonstrate basic telekinesis, in other words, they can move without touching it a small object across a 11-foot by 12-foot room (the size of an average bedroom on Earth). I am one of those children. Though my skills are vastly beyond basic and hence the reason for my given name.

On to what Keih consider more important matters. Or the most important – matters of the heart. Love of any type, of any expression is freely practiced among the fully-grown in our society. Perhaps encouraged is the better and more accurate term. Yet we marry only once. This relationship with our sýzygos is monogamous, for our lifetime and beyond. It is the union of both halves of one soul, a union with our split-apart as your own Plato theorized.

Unlike humans, there is no guesswork in identifying our soulmate. It is evident from our first touch of the other.

And now, after years of searching, I have found mine.

But she is not Keih and unaware she has found hers.

In fact, Ms. Chapel does not like me very much.

So I have transferred to her ship where I will win her heart by wooing and courting as an Earther would. Ah, sorry, my friend Hikaru corrects indicating courting is an old-fashioned word. Instead I will be dating her.

Once she agrees to the arrangement that is.

ooooo

"How was your trip?" Erica Ortegas asked as she slipped into a seat at the table in the main recreation room.

"Technically I'm still on leave until four bells tomorrow morning. Even if there were no other reason for serve under Captain Pike, alpha shift beginning at 6:00am rather than 4:00am makes him my favorite commander in the fleet," Christine Chapel said. She held up a freshly opened bottle of wine in invitation. "From Chief Louvier's brother's vineyard."

"Do I like driving at warp eight?" Erica answered the unspoken query. "Why ask a question you already know the answer to? Think we'll still get a dozen cases each year now that our previous head Engineer has moved on to the Starfleet Naval Yards in San Francisco?"

While she poured Christine said, "At the very least the Captain will be given a case or two and maybe he'll share."

"Mark the calendar so we'll remember to be model officers the week the next delivery arrives." Erica sipped from her glass. "Another winner. So how'd it go? When did you connect with Louvier?"

"Dinner at the Captain's ranch. I met the horses by the way."

"You're truly one of us now. And?" Erica prompted.

"My lecture at the Institute went well," Chapel replied.

"Excellent, great, couldn't be happier for you. And?"

"The Arabian colt didn't much care for Spock," Christine mused aloud. "How were things here?"

"Boring with a capital, and I mean very capital B. Number One's fixated on the warp burp we experienced last month so helm and engineering have been running tests and drills all week. Pike finally suggested she stand down and I quote, "Fuss about something else," Erica replied. She looked around the room. "It's really vacant in here tonight."

"Anyone who can is off ship for 'last night before we ship out' goodbyes."

"Which brings us back to my question. Throw a bone to one who's been stuck on the ship all week. Let me live vicariously through you. Meet anyone interesting?" Erica prodded.

"Not really, no. Nor anyone very good. Except for the last two days." Christine refilled their glasses and leaned close answering in a low voice, "The sex was mind blowing, physical, and I'd swear he had eight hands. He was tall, dark, handsome, and possessed the stamina of two Vulcans. I still can't properly nor comfortably sit."

"Sounds promising, did you get his hailing frequency?"

A head shake. "Definitely a swipe-lefter," Christine added for emphasis. "At some point you have to talk between bouts of ecstasy. And his ego is massive. Not unexpected given he's stationed at the Daystrom Institute. And get this, not only is his middle name actually Orpheus he always refers to himself with first, middle, and last names. Happily, our paths will never cross again. There's little worse than last night's mistake headlining the next morning's briefing."

ooooo

The Next Morning's Briefing …

Captain Pike addressed Enterprise's senior staff including head nurse Christine Chapel, "This is Lieutenant Commander Zephyr Orpheus Laskaris. He joins Enterprise for our mission to the Kami star cluster as our warp reactor engineer."