Vorik was on his way down to Engineering from his quarters when the Maquis began passing by in pairs, each pair accompanied by a Security officer. From their direction, it was clear they were being escorted to quarters, rather than the brig....where they belonged. He barely had time to register that one of them was a rather attractive female of his own species before she launched herself at him and pulled him into an entirely inappropriate embrace. His thoughts became rather incoherent at that point. He stood helplessly immobile while she chattered at him enthusiastically.

''Illogical...-a stranger is touching me.... She must be V’tosh katur*.... and strangely happy to see me.... Taurik’s friend perhaps? Stop laughing and help me!'' This last was for the security officer. Vorik had not yet had the chance to learn his name. Half the names he had learned now belonged to the dead, which inspired him to mild irritation at the wasted effort. Certainly not grief. She gave him a last squeeze and pulled away.

''You keep them from blowing me out an airlock and we'll be even. See you later!'' she said cheerfully, allowing herself to be locked into the room with another woman. "Even for what?" he wondered. Assuming this woman knew Taurik, just what might she have done for him? The thought was disturbing.

The security officer grinned at him. ''It's nice that you have an old friend on board, even if she is Maquis. How do you know her?''

''I don't.''

''So you've never seen her before?'' The security officer looked at him oddly.

''I don't believe so. She may have mistaken me for my brother.''

''You two look much alike?''

''Very much so. We are genetically identical. However, I do question how she might know him. Our social circles overlap quite tightly and she is not at all the type of person we would wish to know.'' That was something of an understatement. His parents strongly disapproved of the acceptance the V’tosh Katur were gaining in Vulcan society.

''Not even before she joined the Maquis?''

"Doubtful."

The officer shrugged. "Your loss. She's a pretty good specimen of the Vulcan ideal. Isn't she?" Vorik had to concede the point. She was.

"You know, the Captain plans to rehabilitate them and make them crew members. We're going to be out here a long time. Maybe you should call dibs."

"Call dibs?"

"Assert a claim on being the first. In this case, first chance at dating her." What an absurd concept. One did not ‘call dibs’ on exclusive rights to court a female, one simply did it, and eliminated the competition in the most effective fashion. With a lirpa, if ultimately necessary.

"I am not yet prepared to accept that I will not be able to return to my fiancé in time." Vorik told him.

"Yeah, I get it. Hopefully my girl will wait for me a bit too.”

Vorik nodded, and continued to Engineering, where he was dismayed to find one of the Maquis had already been assigned a duty shift. He calculated just how much of his shift he could spent avoiding him without negatively impacting efficiency. The answer wasn’t encouraging.

Author's Note: V’tosh katur are Vulcans that express their emotions, with philosophies ranging from moderation to complete debauchery. Lirpa are those fanbladed polearm swords that Spock tried to kill Kirk with in Amok Time. And yes, my Vorik really is that much of a twerp.

Star Trek belongs to CBS and Paramount Studios.

I'm just playing in the sandbox.