Friendship is extremely important to her, and she's used to having other people around all the time, friends or otherwise, because workspaces on a starship tend to be quite busy - although with her promotion she got partial use of a private office and she likes that a lot. Ari's very sociable, but she's also slightly introverted: not in the shy sense, but in that she does need some time alone to recharge sometimes. She's private about her emotions, and not generally physically demonstrative, but a lot of that is cultural. She had three very good friends on her ship, and a wider circle of friendly acquaintances, and that's the way she likes it.

She wouldn't call meetings opportunities to make new friends, because friendship takes time for her. She likes to connect with people, make sure they have at least a few shared values. She's certainly friendly towards new people - perhaps too much, and she's trying to tone it down - but for her to consider someone a real friend, there has to be something meaningful. Otherwise she'd say 'associates' or 'drinking buddies' - still positive, but not quite as deep.