He's a very good man, but... he's needed more in our universe. [ all the new events surrounding the romulans and remans... it's going to be a diplomatic nightmare for a while.
she manages a nod at the question. ] We are members of Starfleet. Commander Riker and I have served under Captain Picard for several years.
[ that doesn't really explain her connection to riker, but she isn't so sure she wants to yet. it's hard to know where to draw the line here with all the temporal variances going on. deanna swirls her spoon around in her chocolate mess and takes another bite to savor it and figure out what else to say. it isn't that she's forgotten that talks and hugs are good; it's more that she's dancing around a directive and a close friend whom she is unable and unwilling to tell too much of the future to. the last thing data needs is to know what deanna's been through recently... and what his future holds. ]