Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or any of its associated content.


"I don't understand why you even went over there Sarek." Amanda Grayson looked up at her husband over the edge of a PADD. "T'Mana has made no secret of her low impression of you and frankly, I think she was right. You are the very last person that should be giving her a hard time about recommending that the high council hire a Human consultant." Amanda took a sip of tea and returned to her reading.

"You are missing my point Amanda." Sarek was edging on exasperation. "It is not the matter that the consultant is Human but that she recommended him. And my main contention has been that the price is exorbitant. Vulcan could procure another year's worth of food for the price they are paying him."

"No, darling, I see your point." Amanda spoke detachedly, as though she were only half interested in the conversation. "However, it also seems obvious to me that T'Mana is not the staunchly xenophobic woman that you believed her to be. Would she have a small Human child with her if that were the case?" Amanda was an optimistic person and tried, as a general matter, to see the very best in people. Even people who had publicly decried her race as inherently inferior.

"Yes. And about the child. Do you not think it odd that a child of that type would speak Vulcan and quote Surak? Have you ever heard of such a thing Amanda? You are an educator by profession."

"What type is that darling?" Amanda began to realize that this conversation was going to require a choice between the Journal of Adolescent Education and her husband's unusually bothered state. Anyone unfamiliar with Sarek would not see a problem; however, Sarek had been going on for hours about his visit to T'Mana's personal home and what he found there.

"A Human." Sarek's voice reflected a level of annoyance that his face would never betray. He wondered if Amanda was being purposely obtuse or if she was just ignoring him. He decided that it was a little of both. He turned to look at his son. "Spock, do you know of any Human children that speak Vulcan fluently or are versed in the teachings of Surak?"

"I do not know any Human children father." Spock kept his eyes on his chess board. He was playing against a new computer program that he had designed that morning and was hopeful that it would more challenging than the setting that had come with the 3-D chess set.

Sarek finally left, feeling that his family was incapable of understanding the incongruity of his discoveries of the day. Amanda was right. T'Mana had made it quite clear that she did not approve of his post as Ambassador. Sarek had believed that her constant reproach about Sarek's marriage had been because of T'Mana's underlying bias against humans; however, now, it seemed that his conclusions had been in error. Perhaps she simply hated Amanda because Amanda had the audacity to marry someone she already disliked intensely. In either case, Sarek realized that going to T'Mana's private home to discuss matters of governance was probably a mistake that would make his life difficult for the near future.

Still, Sarek was not the only Vulcan that had been bothered by T'Mana's recommendation of Kiano Uhura to solve the impending Vulcan food crisis. Sarek pondered whether he was the only one that had been so surprised by it. While other Vulcans that he had spoken to had indicated their reluctance to cooperate with Kiano Uhura because he was a Human, Sarek had not perceived anyone registering the unusual nature of the source of the recommendation. Sarek had not yet decided if he would be cooperating with Kiano Uhura. He had more reason to cooperate than not to. Sarek, as ambassador, would probably have his name in the renegotiation of the trade contracts in some manner and if he assisted Kiano, it was more likely that his name would be mentioned positively. At least if Kiano was everything that T'Mana claimed he was.

T'Mana had the most political clout of all of the members of the Vulcan High Command. Her late bond mate, Visec, had been the head of the Vulcan Security Directorate and together, they had essentially ruled the political landscape of Vulcan. With no one to successfully object to their plans, the rest of the Vulcan High Council had gotten into the habit of taking her recommendations with little consideration. Visec had only succumbed to illness and death in the last few years; however, things had remained remarkably the same.

Sarek decided that he would reserve judgment on Kiano Uhura until he met the man the next day. Sarek had been instructed to meet with the Vulcan ministers of information and the head of the Vulcan Merchant Fleet to brief Kiano on the state of Vulcan trade. From what Sarek understood, Kiano would be evaluating the existing agreements and utilizing his own connections to broker better deals. Sarek was very skeptical of all of this. He did not feel that Kiano was being transparent and that, when it came to the reputation of the Vulcan people, transparency in dealings with off-worlders was imperative.

***

Basim sat on T'Mana's lap and dabbed at a piece of paper with an object that seemed like a Vulcan version of a calligraphy brush. T'Mana was encouraging Basim and teaching him the Vulcan alphabet, something that Basim excelled in. Among the happy noises that Basim made while he was garnering praise for his writing skills, Nyota asked her father about his day. Kiano told her that they had gone to a facility where legumes were grown in bulk and another facility where the popular plant plomeek was grown. It all sounded very dull compared to the day that Nyota had.

Nyota told Kiano about all of the books that she had been able to read and how T'Mana had helped her when she stumbled over words. Nyota usually only received this type of attention from her father, so she was quite pleased when other adults that were happy to read with her. She told Kiano about the big bed that she had been able to sleep in and about T'Mana taking her on a walk to see a recitation of Falor's Journey, a long story poem. Finally, Nyota told Kiano about the man that had come to visit T'Mana and how she had spoken to him in Vulcan. Nyota was very pleased with her ability to speak Vulcan to an adult, even when she was angry. Kiano told Nyota not to worry about what Vulcans said about him and to ignore them when they were not friendly. Later, T'Mana and Kiano tucked Nyota and her little brother into the bed that Nyota had napped in during the day. Nyota heard them talking down stairs, their words in Vulcan and English just barely floating up to her as she lost the battle with sleep.

At dawn, T'Mana woke Nyota and Basim up to prepare the traditional plomeek broth and then helped them dress. T'Mana would be staying with Basim today while Nyota went with Kiano to work. Nyota was disappointed but T'Mana told her that she had a Vulcan lyre performance to look forward to and that if she helped her father be efficient, they would be able to obtain the best seats. Nyota had read about the Vulcan lyre and she very much wanted to hear one played. Nyota nodded and took her father's hand, assuring T'Mana that she would make sure that Kiano got much accomplished. Kiano looked at T'Mana and raised an eyebrow as Nyota said this and called T'Mana ezyet. T'Mana said nothing but did not object to the use of the term. If Kiano did not know better, he would have ventured that T'Mana was pleased.

When Nyota saw Sarek, she was very dignified. She said nothing of the events of the day before although she could tell that he was watching her closely. Nyota sat next to her father and helped him organize his documents as he reviewed the budgets and trade agreements that the Vulcans presented to him. Unlike the men from their first day on Vulcan, these men were truly neutral and hid no animosity. At the end of the day, Kiano excused himself and indicated that he would create projections overnight and begin to work on estimates that Vulcan could be expected to pay for new contracts. As Nyota and Kiano exited, Sarek fell in step beside them.

"Mr. Uhura." Sarek approached them. "Might I have a moment of your time?"

"Oh, I suppose so Sarek, what is one more minute when we've just spent the last seven standard hours together with no intermission?" If Sarek recognized Kiano's sarcasm, he made no show of it. Sarek wanted to ask after the nature of Kiano's relationship to T'Mana. Kiano admitted that they made an odd pair, but told Sarek little of its true nature. Sarek stated openly that he would have never thought that he would find T'Mana in the company of a Human child, one that spoke Vulcan and quoted Surak no less. At that, Kiano looked down at Nyota who was dutifully carrying Kiano's bag and pretending not to hear the conversation between Sarek and her father.

Nyota was bored with adult conversation for the day, even if it was about her. Her curiosity was not piqued until she heard Sarek mention his own son, not much older than Nyota, and his interest in the Vulcan lyre. Sarek had escorted Kiano and Nyota to the transport depot where they would catch a transfer vehicle back to T'Mana's home and had made conversation with Kiano about his ideas around the education of young people on their respective planets. Sarek admitted that his son, half Human, might benefit from the advances in Human education as well and thought Kiano would be as good of a person to ask as anyone since Nyota displayed learning that Sarek considered uncommon among Human children in general.

"Mr. Sarek what is your son's name?" Nyota was suddenly keen to pay attention.

"My son's name is Spock." Sarek was more interested in Kiano's responses that speaking with Nyota, however, as an ambassador, he knew not to be rude. Sarek began to speak to Kiano again but quieted as the first of the transport vehicles arrived and their passengers emerged. Sarek opened his mouth to speak again; however, he was interrupted.

"Does he have many friends?" Nyota chirped, enlivened by the prospect of Vulcan children, something she still had not seen in her days on the red planet.

"I do not know." Sarek's eyebrows came together very slightly, the clip of his tone the only other expression of his annoyance. "Spock is... solitary." Sarek turned again to Kiano, but another transport vehicle arrived and a large group of Vulcan commuters poured out. Many of the passengers stared openly at Kiano and Nyota, but none said anything to them.

"We're going to see a Vulcan lyre concert tonight." Nyota volunteered, trying to offer some segue between her desire to know more about a Vulcan child and Sarek's original conversation with her father.

"Nyota, honey, here's our transport vehicle. Move closer to the doors and stand to the side so that the people can get out without bumping into you." Kiano watched as the transport vehicle pulled into the station. "Sarek, I'm sure I'll see you again before we leave. I'll be working on these projections this evening." Kiano glanced down at Nyota, who was watching another stream of passengers emerge. "After the concert of course." With that, Kiano and Nyota slipped onto the transport vehicle, leaving Sarek incredibly unsatisfied with the answers that he had received.


Author's note: Up next-- Nyota sees a Vulcan Lyre performance... I wonder who'll be there? :) Thanks for reading!