Disclaimer: It doesn't break any copyrights if I borrow characters and junk for the amusement of myself and others, so stop complaining lawyer people!

Author's notes: I love you all! I'm also writing to Anarra to apologize for not being able to go to that concert.

A few days later, Zandile was on duty at the airlock to the space station (DS9, if anyone forgot), making sure that only authorized people came aboard, when Deanna Troi approached her. Deanna smiled and said, "Hello, Lieutenant."

Zandile smiled back and replied, "Hi Counselor, what are you up to?"

"I'm waiting for my cousin, Zarin. He's a stellar cartographer. Starfleet was going to send a stellar cartographer to map sector 945, so Zarin asked to be sent here so he can visit.

"That's fun. My sister is coming to live with me, so I'm waiting for her, too."

"Is your sister part Vulcan like you are?" Asked Deanna.

"No, she's human. What about your cousin? Which side of the family is he on?"

"He's on my mother's side of the family. He has telepathic powers, just like many Betazoids. Just be thankful that my mother isn't coming, too."

Zandile raised an eyebrow waiting for an explanation, because she had never met Deanna's mother. Any explanation was cut off as the airlock opened. A man loaded down with luggage struggled through the airlock. Brown hair could be seen over the top of an enormous suitcase that obscured the man's face. He also held a smaller case, which he dropped as he struggled to balance the suitcase. The case broke open, spilling data pads and data chips all over the deck. He put down the huge suitcase to pick up the spilled briefcase.

Deanna chuckled as she bent down to help the man pick up his things. "You always have to arrive with a bang, don't you, Zarin?" She said, smiling.

Zarin smiled handsomely back at her. "Hi, Deanna. It's good to see you. I haven't seen you since I graduated college 5 years ago." He put another data pad onto the pile he was making, and the whole thing spilled again. Zandile bent down to help pick things. Zarin, who hadn't noticed Zandile before, looked up at her, surprised. "Hello, who are you?" Zandile was suddenly lost in his deep brown eyes. She blushed and opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Deanna rescued Zandile from looking embarrassed and puzzled and made introductions. "Zarin, this is my friend, Lieutenant Zandile Rey. Lieutenant, this is Zarin, my cousin."

Zandile found her voice but all she could say was a shy, "Hello."

The scene froze again for a few seconds until the airlock opened again. Again, it was a man piled down with luggage. A teenager who was also piled down with baggage followed him. The man was Zandile's stepfather, Captain Carsen. The teenager was Zandile's sister, Lynette. Captain Carsen couldn't see where he was going and almost tripped over the huge suitcase that Zarin had set aside.

"Whoa, dad. Your gonna drop my stuff!" Cried Lynette. Zandile grabbed the carrying cases from her stepfather before he dropped them. Zarin and Deanna picked up the last of the data chips and stuffed them into the briefcase. Zarin got out of the way seconds before Lynette dropped her precarious load onto the deck where he had been.

Deanna picked up Zarin's briefcase and Zarin picked up the huge suitcase. "Come on, Zarin, I'll show you your quarters before we get more things dropped on us." She said. They got onto the turbolift at the end of the corridor. Deanna winked at Zandile before the door closed.

"What was that all about, Z?" Asked Captain Carsen. He picked up some of the dropped baggage, and handed a few bags to Zandile.

"Counselor Troi's cousin is visiting. He's the stellar cartographer for the next mission."

"Hi sis!" Lynette got untangled from the straps of her luggage and gave Zandile a huge bear hug. "I can't wait to see the ship! And go on adventures. Everyone on USS Freedom always said that the Enterprise got the best missions."

"Those missions are always the most difficult, though." Said Zandile, sounding like the logical Vulcan that she half was.

Captain Carsen cleared his throat for attention. When Zandile and Lynette were looking at him, he said, "I have to go to my ship. They are expecting me."

"Bye, Dad. I'll miss you and call as often as possible." Lynette hugged her dad and took her bags off his hands.

"See you later, Marshall. Good luck with your new command." Said Zandile, giving her stepdad a quick hug.

"Thanks for taking care of your sister, Z." Captain Carsen turned to Lynette. "I'll miss you, pumpkin. You keep your grades up. I promise I'll call you as often as I can, but I will be very busy now." He gave a salute, which Zandile returned, and left, with Lynette's final, "bye Dad," ringing in his memory.

There you have it, folks. Don't worry, the story will be getting better once they start the mission. Please review!