Waiting for Tal'Ara

The Federation had agreed, shortly after the summit, to improve Romulan relations by stationing a liaison aboard DS15.
From an aesthetic standpoint, Rai liked Romulans. He liked the maze-like turns of their minds, the intensity of their emotions, the sincerity of their anger, the complexities of their deception. He appreciated all of this from a distance. Up close on the other hand...
He waited by the docking bay doors, still shuddering off the latest in hangovers.

After several hours of cramped quarters aboard a tiny Federation shuttle-craft with a rather loquacious Bolian pilot, Tal'Ara was miffed, to say the least. As said shuttle-craft approached the docking bay, Tal'Ara incessantly fidgeted with her unflattering Starfleet uniform. She was not used to a uniform with so much breathing room, as her Tal Shiar attire was usually skin tight. The combadge over the left side of her chest seemed a bit off, so she re-adjusted it ever so slightly. And after a closer look, a horrified expression fell upon her face - there was a slight imperfection on the metal casing of the combadge. Most people would dismiss this or not even notice, but to Tal'Ara, this minuscule scratch was a glaring red beacon. She tried her best to see if it was only a smudge, but alas, it was unfixable. She shook her head and gritted her teeth as the shuttle-craft docked at the station.

The Bolian pilot turned to her and said, "Well, this has been... fun." He forced a pleasant smile.

Tal'Ara stood up and flared a nasty eyebrow raise at him, but said nothing.

He laughed uncomfortably as he wiped sweat from his shiny blue forehead.

The pod-bay doors opened, and Tal'Ara stepped through without looking back.

Waiting for her, was Commander Darren Rai. She scanned him up and down for a long moment.

She then cracked a wry smile and slightly bowed her head.

"Jolan tru," she said, calmly.

"Welcome aboard," he said, extending a neutral hand. "I'm so very pleased to have someone of your experience on my station. I imagine you have quite a bit of knowledge to share with us."
He laid his mind open to the waves of harsh emotion she emitted.

Tal'Ara accepted his hand, and firmly shook it.

"Commander Rai, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. And I imagine we both have quite a bit of knowledge to share with one another," she said in an oddly playful tone.

Rai was the first Betazoid she had ever encountered, but she was well aware of their empathetic and telepathic abilities... she could feel him attempting to sleuth into her mind, so she rearranged her thoughts accordingly.

She held on to his hand for just a moment too long - his skin was very pleasant to the touch - and unblinkingly kept eye contact with him. When she finally let go of his hand, she got right down to business, and spoke very rapidly.

"Now, I would like a briefing on current station affairs. I have already read personel profiles on your senior staff, and would like to have a staff meeting as soon as possible. I will need my belongings transfered to my quarters - I packed light, so this should not take long - perhaps there will be enough time for a brief tour of the station? I see it lives up to the reputation of fine Cardassian architecture," she said with a snort as she looked around, "Nevertheless, I suppose it will do, I have seen worse - oh, and my combadge is defective, I will need a new one."

She pulled the combadge off of her uniform and showed him the small imperfection.

Rai held it in his fingertips and craned his neck back, squinting.
"Ah, I see it. Fair enough, I'll have another one replicated immediately. We're having our staff meeting tomorrow at 0600 hours. Your belongings will be brought to your quarters.
Would you like the tour of the station now, or after you get situated? I imagine you might want to stretch your legs out after sitting on a shuttle for so long."

"Yes, I think walking around will do me some good... that obnoxious Bolian gave me a terrible headache... will you be giving me the tour yourself?"

Her right eyebrow perked up as she waited for his response.

"I'd be delighted to take you around the station," he said. A Romulan would take some getting used to, but Rai was of the belief that he could win anyone over to his side eventually.

"Thank you, Commander," she said through an odd smile.

The two left the docking bay for a tour of the station.

[post tour scene for Tal'Ara is in The Ceti Eel section]