Elias saw three more officers walking into the golden apple. He was curious to see who they were; since they were still quite far away, he couldn’t distinguish or make sense of their faces.

Cam, oblivious to his surroundings, engaged in a fierce struggle with his Raktajino. This being his second cup, he tackled it as if in a time-sensitive contest, scalding his palate. Despite accidentally spilling the drink on his lap, he maintained composure, concealing the intense pain coursing through his legs.

Lieutenant Soren had just reported aboard Starbase Bravo, having completed the journey from her previous command just the other day. Being an anthropologist, the Bajoran enjoyed exploring places full of new people and different experiences, making the lounge the perfect place for one of her first stops on a tour around the station. With a quiet smile tugging at her lips, the woman moved through the space to see who she might encounter.

Seeing the awkward quiet coming to their conversation “come on boys you can relax around a counselor like myself”. Arwa smiled in both Elias and Cam. She noticed Soren and she waved her hand “Hey there lieutenant you look like your in need of a social recharge” she winked at her direction.

Sonja had been busy today especially with new intake paperwork. she had been tasked with providing access to the new officers and it was a nightmare to navigate. The shift had been longer than anticipated and though she loved her job she knew she needed a moment to relax. She remembered counselor Awra suggested the golden apple so she decided to go back. She walked in and saw the counselor with a group of people she did not recognize. She walked in that direction with a smile on her face. “Counselor looks like your making new friends.” she said and looked at the two people beside her. “Greetings I am Lieutenant Sonja Thompson.”

“It comes with the job to expand my circles”. She winked at Sonja “Sonja has been given the advice from a very kind and professional person to come more often to the prestigious Golden Apple to socialize and make friends” Arwa smiled taking a sip of her drink in a victorious accomplishment

Sonja smirked “Oh is that what you call it. If that’s the case I need to shrink some of my circles.” She laughed jokingly. as a security officer the circle of people she knew was bigger than most people understood.

Cam glanced up from his own troubles, relieved that his beverage stunt had gone unnoticed. As he observed Arwa’s banter with the newcomer, he then made eye contact with Sonja and quipped, “Looks like you’ll have to wait to shrink your circle, Lieutenant. I’m Lieutenant Camden Solari, but you can call me Cam.”

Sonja looked over and nodded “My circle will never shrink, but I can make the joke.” She smirked “Nice to meet you Cam.”

“There is a difference between social and professional circles Sonja” She raised her glass at her “welcome to the social one”

Unbeknownst to Cam, Elias saw everything that happened and laughed slightly at what happened. Standing up to the newcomer, Elias introduced himself to Sonja. “Pleased to make your aquinatance, Lieutenant Thompson.”

Cam lifted his drink in response to Arwa’s remark, nearly spilling it once more. The dread of another burn was evident in his eyes, yet he mustered a smile as he uttered, “Cheers to that!”

Soren nodded to the woman who had called out to her, weaving her way through the throng of bodies between her and the other Lieutenant clad in teal. When she finally made it to the area around the group, she gave them all a nod of greeting.

“It’s nice to meet everyone,” the Bajoran said with a breezy smile affixed to her lips, “Having just made it aboard, I wasn’t sure how quickly I’d find myself in such a large and diverse group like this. I’m rather excited to see it happen so quickly.”

Bowing his head half-way as a sign of greeting, Elias stood up and greeted the lieutenant. “Greetings! This friend group is surely getting bigger and bigger by the minutes passing by,” said Elias, chuckling a bit.

“It would seem so, yes,” Soren responded, glancing at all of the people who had gathered around, “Quite the diverse group. I’m just hoping I’m not the only Science officer here, I would hate to think I’m the only one who appreciates this from an anthropological standpoint.”

“I think though we may not be in Science we can still appreciate the work that science does.” Sonja commented thinking back to a class she had learned when she was younger. “If not for science we would not be here where we are now.”

“Technically I fall under medical science?” Arwa points out with a shrug “so you are not alone, but I can’t say science talk is my strong point here.” She taps on her head “i’m more an expert on the mind”

“Well,” Liara couldn’t help but laugh a bit before continuing, “I was going to comment that this is exactly how civilizations get started, with small groups coming together to form larger ones.”

While still smirking, Lt. Soren turned toward Arwa, “Psychology does play a big part in what I do as an anthropologist… at least a little. But we mostly just guess at what drives people to form communities and plot their progression over huge swaths of time, so it’s not exactly the same… but still close enough I’m sure you’d have some good insights to share. If I ever get brought in to an archeological dig while I’m here, I’d love to get your take on our findings from a more clinical point of view.”

Butting into the conversation and answering Soren’s question, Elias replied. “Hmm, I guess I would technically fall under Space Sciences? I took Astrophysics as a major in the Academy.” Thinking for another moment, Elias then replied. “But now, I work with Fleet Research? I practically sleep in the laboratories already.”

“Some of us can confirm the sleeping part”. Arwa smirks at Elias and then nodded in Soren direction “Science is a diverse division, maybe even the best”

“Speaking of science, have any of you gone to the colloquium yet? If not, I think we can all come together if that’s no bother. We’ll come up with something as our duty times might conflict, so yeah,” said Elias while muttering the last few words. “Who’s up for it?”

Cam looked at Elias, a death serious look on his face while he said, “I haven’t received the schedule for when the Deputy Director’s special project is exhibited; then I’ll certainly go,” all while subtly winking at Arwa.

“I just got here, so I need to check in with my department before I get too wrapped up in something like that. I have a tendency to get a bit absorbed in things and lose track of time. I’ll end up late to duty if I wander around any exhibits…” Soren remarked with a surprising amount of restraint, “But once I take care of the formal stuff, I will be floating around taking everything in.”

Arwa shrugged a bit looking at Cam “I didn’t know you were interested in the humanoid behavior when they are pushed into a corner when danger is closing in” She takes a sip of the drink “But the fair has quite some interesting exhibits that we all could explore together”