Chapter 11: August, 2229
An Interview
Three weeks later, a lot had gone on. At this moment Sarek again found himself in a most improbable situation, this time seated across from an overly cheerful reporter from the Terran Times-Journal on a live vid feed. As a matter of course, Sarek did not give personal interviews; he never had. They were illogical; they did not focus on relevant diplomatic issues and, by definition, invited requests for personal information that were considered most impolite by Vulcan standards. He had never understood the Human fascination for such "news."
Nevertheless, here he was, as a concession to events that had overtaken Amanda and him since their engagement was announced. The embassy's new consultant for Terran public relations, Gerard Stein, had urged him to do this interview as a way to "be more accessible to the people of Earth." Sarek was not certain that such an interview would accomplish this goal, but he had acquiesced.
The reporter, "Candy" Jones (why would someone wish to be named after an unhealthy food?), was announcing the "special opportunity to speak with Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan about his unexpected engagement." She turned to him and bubbled, "Ambassador Sarek, we're so glad to have you here this morning! Thank you for coming!"
Sarek nodded, thinking, I am merely here because circumstances require it. Diplomatically he kept that to himself.
Candy Jones continued, "First of all, congratulations! How does it feel?"
"I do not understand."
The reporter looked nonplussed for a moment but forged ahead. "How does it feel to be engaged? Are you happy? Excited? Nervous?"
"I would not characterize my mental state in those Human terms."
"I see… All right, well, how did you and Amanda Grayson meet?"
"We met at a meeting concerning the Universal Translator."
"Was it love at first sight?" Candy Jones asked, leaning forward, her smile broadening.
"That would not have been logical."
The reporter straightened back up. Persevering, she posed her next question.
"Was there any one special thing you noticed about your wife-to-be?"
"She is a unique Human."
"Well, how did you decide that she was the one you wanted to marry? After all, she's Human, you're Vulcan."
"It was logical."
Someone throw me a bone here, she thought. "Care to elaborate on that?"
"No, I do not."
Let's try a different tack. "Isn't there a rather large age difference between the two of you?"
"'Large' is a relative term. In our case there are no other comparative examples."
"How old are you?"
"Sixty-four point four five seven Terran years."
"Really? And how old is Amanda?"
"Dr. Grayson is twenty-two point seven five one years old."
"So that's a difference of…"
"Forty-one point seven zero six years."
"You don't think that's a lot?"
"No."
"Er — So how did you pop the question?"
"'Pop the'…? Ah, yes. The details of that are private."
Candy glanced at the wall chrono – how much more of this? "And how did
Amanda react?"
"She agreed to marry me."
*Sigh.* "What about your family? Are they excited for you?"
"In a manner of speaking."
Okay I give up, the reporter thought, exasperated. "Have you set a wedding date yet?"
"Not at this time. It will be announced."
"Well, I'm sure we all can't wait for that. Thank you, Ambassador. And that concludes our interview!" Jones smiled tightly at the holo-cam and at her impassive interviewee, and then quickly excused herself, on her way to have words with her producer.
When Sarek returned to where Stein and T'Vey were standing in the studio, he found the consultant with a hand on his head as he spoke to T'Vey.
"Did that accomplish your objectives?" Sarek asked, knowing the answer.
Stein shook his head ruefully. "You win some, you lose some, y'know?"
"Yes…?"
"I mean," Stein continued, "we'll find you some better interview spots. I'm told you can be charming. Better luck next time."
T'Vey raised a brow but made no comment.
Headlines and Protesters
Two weeks beforehand, the event that precipitated Sarek's participation in the Times interview and Stein's presence at the embassy had been a simple press release.
VULCAN AMBASSADOR ANNOUNCES ENGAGEMENT
Vulcan Embassy
San Francisco, Earth
Contact: T'glf S'ayn T'Vey [contact information appended]
San Francisco, Stardate 2229.59: Ambassador S'chn T'gai Sarek of Vulcan, and Dr. Amanda Grayson of Earth, today announced their engagement to be married.
Ambassador Sarek, originally from Shi'Kahr, Shi'al Province, Vulcan, has served as Vulcan's ambassador to Earth for the past 22.43 years. He holds advanced degrees in Astrophysics and Computer Science from the Vulcan Science Academy.
Dr. Grayson, originally from Minnesota, Earth, was most recently the Linguistics Chief Investigator for the Federation Universal Translator project, and prior to this was a member of the Linguistics faculty at Harvard University. She holds a doctorate in Linguistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Masters in Comparative History from Harvard.
A wedding date will be announced. The couple plans to reside in San Francisco.
When she issued the compact announcement, T'Vey had not expected it would achieve much notice. It was curiously structured, but the format and content were considered traditional, according to Dr. Grayson. Although such events were announced publicly here, they appeared to be formalities rather than news events.
She could not have been more wrong.
Minutes after she released the announcement, her comm was flooded with voice and text requests for additional information, interviews, and holo opportunities. Less than an hour later, there was a throng of reporters outside the embassy gates hoping to speak to Sarek or Amanda, preferably both.
The release had hit the news feeds immediately, accompanied by holos and previous coverage of the pair, plus frenzied news analysis about the "unprecedented" nature of the announcement and speculation about what it meant. Editorial and public comment input surged, creating a public relations firestorm. The headlines and editorial titles spoke volumes about the discussion: the announcement generated widespread astonishment and curiosity, a small amount of approval, and a disturbing portion of vocal, persistent disapproval.
Only a few hours into the media storm, T'Vey compiled yet another summary data feed of the response to Kevet-Dutar Sarek's bonding.
Communications Report, Stardate 2229.60
Focus: Announcement of Kevet-Dutar's Bonding
Report #4
Media Sampling
1) Representative Press Features (video and text; full bodies appended):
"Vulcan Ambassador and Human Professor in a First Interspecies Marriage"
"Surprise Announcement: Human to Wed Vulcan Ambassador"
"Unexpected Output of Universal Translator"
"Ambassador Sarek, Dr. Amanda Grayson to Wed"
"Boundary Crossed in Inter-Species Engagement?"
"Political Rationale for Vulcan-Human Union?"
"Diplomatic Coup or Quagmire for Vulcan Ambassador?"
"Implications for Vulcan-Earth Relations"
[Representative sample from approximately 4,236 items in Terran and allied vids and publications on Stardate 2229.59]
Trending: Negatively construed coverage up to 28% from 22% since last report, based on analysis of accepted language connotations in Federation Standard
2) Editorials (video and text; full bodies appended)
"There is Right and There is Wrong"
"Where We Don't Need Vulcan"
"Diversity – and Free Choice – Are Good"
"New Ground That Doesn't Need to be Broken"
"Human Men for Human Women!"
"Machiavellian Maneuvering Behind Engagement?"
"Taking Diversity Too Far"
"Nothing Off-Limits From Vulcan Domination"
"Has Sarek Finally Over-stepped?"
"She's a Traitor in Our Midst"
"Human Values at Risk"
[Representative sample from 18,659 comment pieces posted on Stardate 2229.59]
Trending: Negatively construed coverage up to 88% from 62% since last report, based on analysis of accepted language connotations in Federation Standard
T'Vey briefed Sarek as she did on every other media topic of significance. While he was unconcerned, as usual, for the negative publicity focused on him, he was less sanguine about the critical coverage directed at Amanda. There were potential implications for her safety that he did not like.
Amanda, on the other hand, was appalled at the conflagration surrounding their engagement; first, that it was much of an issue at all, and second, that the level of vitriol directed at them was so intense. She remembered her words to Soran months ago about the underlying motivations of the press to stimulate viewership and realized their situation, and the controversy it generated, was a perfect vehicle for doing so. They were probably going to have to deal with this for a while.
Then the protesters arrived. Amanda had just resigned herself to the tsunami of negative media sentiment with the rationale that the most vocally expressed opinions were often the least representative, when Stanek comm'd her.
"Dr. Grayson," he began in a somber tone. "I have alerted Osu Sarek, and I believe you should see this as well." Curious and concerned, Amanda immediately headed to his office.
She was not prepared for what she saw. There on the security cams that monitored the embassy's exterior were hundreds of protesters, if not more, on all sides of the embassy. Many carried placards, some blinking electronic ones, others hand-scrawled, voicing many of the sentiments from the editorials.
"Miscegenation. I don't think that word has been used in public for centuries," Amanda murmured, putting on her academic's hat for a moment. While some of this was indeed interesting from a linguistic and sociological point of view, though, she still couldn't suppress a shudder as she looked out on the angry crowd. Whatever happened to tolerance, individual choice?
At that moment Sarek entered the room. Amanda turned to him, distress written on her face, before she composed herself for Sarek's and Stanek's benefit. "I am ashamed for my people," she said, shaking her head ruefully.
Sarek crossed to her side. "Amanda, just because Vulcans do not protest in the streets to express their displeasure does not mean that some of these very same discussions are not going on right now on my planet."
That's a sobering thought, she considered, even as she knew he was intending to reassure her about her own people. It occurred to Amanda that Sarek must have seen a lot of ugliness on many different worlds in his years as a diplomat; she admired his calm in the face of it, even when it became personal. She took a deep breath to steady herself.
Just then noise outside drew their attention. A small group of supporters, judging by their placards, had pushed their way to the front of the crowd by the gates and was loudly challenging the much larger opposing group. The conflict was escalating, and it was obvious it could boil out of control at any moment.
Sarek addressed his security chief dispassionately. "Stanek, summon both City and Federation security at once. Inserting our own personnel will only have counterproductive effects. Take action only if lives are threatened. Implement appropriate security protocols."
"Immediately, S'haile." Stanek departed to carry out his tasks.
Amanda looked down at the fulminating crowd in dismay. There's going to be a riot. Who knows how many people will get hurt? The enormity of what they were facing struck her anew. Amanda turned to Sarek. "I just want to marry you and get away from here for a while," she said quietly, closing her eyes.
Sarek took a step toward her, uncertain of what to do. She is expressing an emotional, rather than a practical desire, and she is attempting to maintain her control. He was honored by that, knowing that were she in a private setting her reaction would most likely be far more emotional. Distress radiated from her through their bond, a swirl of fear, guilt and frustration.
He made a decision. Though they were in a public area, they were for the moment alone. He believed he knew what she needed. Closing the remaining distance between them, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head. After a moment, her distress subsided somewhat, replaced by greater calm and a wave of affection for him.
"I love you," she murmured, resting her head against his chest.
Gimme Shelter
A few days later Amanda had just finished a meeting at Federation Headquarters concerning her next paper when she was spotted by a reporter in the hallway. Amanda knew the journalist; she covered Federation issues and had written about the Universal Translator.
"Dr. Grayson," the woman called quietly to get her attention. "Rhonda Moore, Federation Today. Can I ask you a few questions?"
Amanda hesitated a moment but then relented; she had always been fairly comfortable with the media, and hiding out wasn't going to improve the coverage she and Sarek were getting.
Moore's questions turned out to be innocuous enough, focusing on the Federation-related aspects of her engagement and on the future of the Universal Translator.
Unfortunately, the open hallway proved to be the wrong place to hold an interview. Two men walking by heard Amanda speaking and one exclaimed, "Hey, that's Amanda Grayson! Looks like she's giving a statement." They hurried over, the second man pulling out a holocam.
Before she knew it, a dozen reporters surrounded Amanda, and they were all asking questions at once. Where did they all come from? "All right, one at a time, folks," she admonished. "This isn't a prepared press conference, so please give me a moment to answer each of you." This only seemed to encourage some to shout their questions louder, as if to drown out their competition. She realized ruefully that the idea of answering just a few inquiries turned out to be quite naïve.
And then the interrogation began veering out of the zone Amanda found acceptable. Whereas the first queries she fielded consisted mostly of easily verifiable public information, this new set was clearly more personal, and in some cases, intrusive.
"Twenty-three people were arrested this week in the altercation in front of the Vulcan Embassy. Do you feel responsible?"
"Can you have children together?"
"Rumor has it the ambassador divorced his Vulcan wife to marry you. Is this true?"
"Have you dated other alien men? Are you attracted at all to Human men?"
"What's Vulcan sex like?"
Amanda had been attempting to patiently answer each question, even if only to say "No comment," but these were getting to be too much. Resolving not to lose her temper, she finally put up a hand to stop them. "I'm afraid that's all, ladies and gentlemen. I have another appointment," she announced and attempted to leave. The two Vulcan guards who were discretely accompanying her moved in closer.
Several reporters simply chose to follow, still pressing her with questions. Jerks, Amanda thought darkly. Deciding that her original plan to take a hover-bus back to the embassy would not end well with reporters dogging her, she quickly hailed a taxi and the trio escaped. To her utter amazement, they still followed.
Once back at the embassy she dodged in the front entrance and was past security before the trailing reporters could harass her further. That was not the end of the day's troubles, however.
When she returned to her desk she had messages from two of the smaller language institutes she had been talking to about a position. When she spoke to her contacts, they each informed her that their respective institutions did not possess adequate security and crowd control that they felt would be needed should she accept an appointment there. Hence, they were withdrawing their offers.
Amanda was surprised, but she could understand their position. The next call she received was far more disturbing. The Dean of Research at Instituto Brasiliero called to inform her that his institution, too, was withdrawing their offer. "Some of our trustees are concerned by the recent publicity surrounding your, uh, personal situation, and they feel that it's not in keeping with the image of the Institute."
"'Not in keeping with the image of the Institute' – what's that supposed to mean?" Amanda asked indignantly.
"There's concern from some of our donors, that's all."
"You mean some of your donors don't like my engagement, so you're knuckling under to them?"
"I'm not suggesting anything, Amanda, so please don't shoot the messenger –"
"Of course not, Ricardo. Thanks anyway."
Shutting off the comm unit, Amanda rested her head in her hands. Things just seem out of control. What can go wrong next? She had a pounding headache. As she thought about going home to a warm bath, an idea of what could go wrong next occurred to her. Stubbornly remaining in her apartment no longer made any sense. At a minimum she was setting herself up for more harassment there; if her home address wasn't already common knowledge, it soon would be.
Resolved to take action on something she could control, she set out for Stanek's office. The security chief was surprised but more than willing to implement her "unexpected but logical," as he put it, request.
ooo
Several hours later that evening, Sarek located his tired and somewhat dirty bondmate just outside an empty suite in the residence wing of the embassy, energetically sorting through and unloading several suitcases and boxes of books. "Amanda," he greeted her.
She brushed a stray tendril of hair off of her face. "Hi."
"Stanek informs me that you have elected to accept the embassy's offer of residency."
Amanda smiled wryly. "Yes, I decided to move in."
Sarek gave a circumspect glance toward the suite that was not his own, then decided against comment. He was at least pleased that she was under the same roof as he. Instead he said, "While I am gratified that you have made this choice, I am curious as to why now."
"I decided it was wise, given recent events."
Sarek nodded in agreement. "And you are not concerned about adverse publicity from this?"
Her laughter had a dark edge to it. "It could hardly be worse than it has been, don't you think?"
"Your point is a logical one."
A dark expression suddenly crossed Amanda's face, causing her blue eyes to flash. She slapped the stack of books she was carrying down onto the desk, whirling to face Sarek. "You know, it's just not right!"
He was startled, but did not show it. "What is not right, Amanda?"
"We— Humanity, that is — struggled for centuries — centuries! — to eradicate hate and prejudice as justifiable reasons for doing horrible things to one another, and only recently seem to have achieved it, when this happens! One Human and one Vulcan simply want to declare themselves to each other and all of a sudden it brings these, these… people out of the woodwork who seem like they've been stockpiling hate and prejudice since the Eugenics Wars!"
She is emotional. Calm, rational explanation is best. "Reactions such as those we have been observing are typically borne out of fear," Sarek offered.
Unfortunately, this only seemed to incense Amanda further. "Fear? Fear of what? What, are these people afraid they'll be forced to marry Vulcans as well? The notion is idiotic. What happened to tolerance? And since when is fear a legitimate reason to decide you can just go hate another group of beings? It's not, and it sets Humanity back centuries." She shook her head. "I get so angry at this intolerance I could just throw things!"
"Please do not." Sarek was reasonably sure that her questions were rhetorical ones, as she was not waiting for him to answer them, but he was less certain as to how figurative or literal her last statement was meant to be. Her turbulent emotions are indeed unpredictable.
A mix of sympathy and amusement appeared on Amanda's face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm alarming you with all this anger, aren't I?"
"I am not alarmed," Sarek countered, his voice still calm. "I am attempting to enjoin you from doing further violence to your possessions. And I must point out that anger is illogical."
"No, anger is emotional, but it can serve a very logical purpose – for Humans, anyway. Anger, a sense of injustice, can catalyze us to take action against things that just aren't right. If we didn't have anger to mobilize us when needed, we'd still be sitting in the mud throwing stones at one another!"
"That is… not one of your more scholarly assertions, my intended," Sarek cautiously responded.
Amanda giggled, and he could not entirely prevent his confusion from showing as he detected her emotions rapidly shifting from anger and frustration to amusement and affection. "Oh, my love," she began with a suddenly tender smile, "am I causing you to regret bonding with a Human? A thoroughly emotional, illogical, unpredictable Human?"
Sarek relaxed his body, realizing he had become somewhat tense under the barrage of Amanda's emotions. Allowing that hint of a smile he permitted himself in her presence, he replied, "It is a constant learning opportunity. And a challenge which I am most capable of handling." He extended his paired fingers.
Meeting his with hers, Amanda looked up at him teasingly. "Is that a threat or a promise?"
"Perhaps both," he said, lifting a brow. He continued, his voice soft but with a commanding undertone, "At this point, my intended, I must see to it that your quarters are properly arranged to enable you to obtain sufficient rest." He picked up a heavy box. "Where shall I deposit the contents of this?"
He helped her until she finally shooed him away so that she could take a shower in her new abode.
Later, as he prepared for the evening's meditation, Sarek reflected on the captivating creature he had taken as his bondmate. Was it possible to be more fascinated with her now that she was his bondmate than he was before? Apparently it was, even if the logic of this was not obvious.
Sarek found himself anticipating when he would next see Amanda, automatically calculating the hours, minutes and seconds. He also found himself preoccupied, in and out of her presence, with everything about her: her thoughts and emotions, her appearance, her scent, her voice, her mannerisms, those inexplicable things she did. It was fortunate that he was capable of managing multiple thought processes at once.
Tonight he had witnessed what he believed she would call "letting off steam." An utterly alien coping method, it was like a da-eshu'a, a tornado, appearing suddenly and violently in one moment, and completely gone the next.
Experiencing episodes such as this tested his control, but also enabled him to better understand his bondmate's inner workings, and by extension, those of her kind as well.
There would be those who would assert that having a Human bondmate weakened Sarek's control. They could not know how much the opposite was true, how great his control needed to be to manage not only his Human bondmate's emotions, but to manage his own distractions and inclinations as well. And they also would never comprehend the benefits of doing so.
ooo
It was midnight, and Sarek had just concluded his meditation when his door chimed. It opened to reveal Amanda, clad in a robe. Although apparently fresh from a shower, her eyes looked tired, still preoccupied with the events of recent days.
"May I come in?" she asked.
"Of course." He stood back, allowing her to enter.
Once inside, she turned to him wordlessly, and slid her arms around his waist, resting her head against him. His arms came up and held her while he waited for her to speak. After a moment, she pulled back to look at him, a worried expression on her face. "Sarek," she began, taking a breath, "This isn't becoming a Romeo and Juliet situation, is it?"
Sarek understood her reference to their discussion six months ago and recalled his analysis then. He responded without hesitation. "No."
She gave him a relieved smile. "I'm glad to hear you say that, although I must admit I don't follow your logic from our last conversation about this to now."
Sarek looked down at her, one corner of his mouth tugging upward slightly. "I… may not have given your logic sufficient credit at the time, K'diwa," he murmured. "It is most definitely not logical to allow the potential illogical behavior of others to inhibit actions which are logical for us."
"Good. That means what I want to do right now is logical." She bit her lip, looking up at him. "Let's counterbalance the hate out there. I want to make love."
Sarek tilted his head, not familiar with her wording. "You wish to… mate?"
Amanda nodded. "For us, I believe'to mate,' katelau, does mean'to make love,' fereik-tor ashaya. I am the linguist, after all," she said softly.
He reflected that only a short time ago he would have vigorously denied that a basic physical act, even this intimate one, could be described in such emotional terms. Now, however, he had to acknowledge that, in their private realm at least, she was absolutely correct.
He raised his paired fingers to hers.
ooo
The next morning Amanda's brother John called. "You're a welcome surprise!" she greeted him. "Many of the other calls I've been getting are not nearly as pleasant."
"About that, Mandy, I may be able to help. I've been getting calls from the media here on Rigel V, so I imagine it's gotten pretty intense for you."
"Oh, John, you don't know the half of it," Amanda replied, completely forgetting to correct his annoying use of her childhood nickname. "I'm pretty good with the media, but this is a whole different experience."
"You need a professional whose sole job is to manage the media, and has been in the trenches on Earth. Remember that alleged smuggling scandal that I had to deal with a few years ago? Gerard Stein got me through that. The company actually came out of it with a better public image than what we went in with at the beginning. He's who you need, and he's on Earth right now. I've asked him to call you."
"Thanks, John. I'll be interested to hear what he has to say."
"Of course; you're my little sister. So, how is everything else?"
"Never a dull moment, it seems. I just moved into new digs. Sarek wanted me to move into the embassy for security's sake and I finally decided it was a good idea."
John straightened at the other end of the connection and Amanda was certain her over-protective brother was going to lecture her on moving in with Sarek. Much to her surprise, he nodded appreciatively. "He's absolutely right. I'm glad to hear he's got his head on straight when it comes to security. And I'm even more glad you're listening to reason!"
"I can't believe my brother and my future husband finally see eye-to-eye – and the subject is how to keep me supervised and out of trouble! You two are a couple of cavemen," she teased as she leaned in to cut the connection.
"Love you too, Mandy…"
ooo
Both Sarek and T'Vey had agreed that the assistance of someone having familiarity with the rough-and-tumble Terran media was logical. And Gerard Stein turned out to be that someone. Loud, sarcastic, with a penchant for flamboyant clothing, and not afraid to speak his mind, he seemed wildly out of place in the Vulcan Embassy – but he knew his stuff.
"Look," he said in his first meeting with them. "The Earth media is a different animal than you'll find in almost any other place in the galaxy. There's a portion of the media here that eat, drink, and breathe scandal, and they won't leave you alone until something better comes along. If they can't get the story from you, they'll find someone else to tell it to them, or they'll just make it up."
"The situation is very different on Vulcan," T'Vey acknowledged.
"Yeah? Never been there – not enough after-hours clubs. But I bet I can imagine," he replied. Amanda bit the inside of her cheek, knowing her companions were perplexed.
"Anyway," Stein continued, on a roll now, "I've seen just about everything, and I can tell you that there is pretty much only one strategy that will work with the press here when you're in this kind of shit-storm situation. Trying to hunker down and wait it out doesn't work – you get destroyed, come out smelling like crap. No, the only way to deal with it is," he paused to look at the two Vulcans, "and you're probably not gonna like it, is what I call a 'constructive engagement strategy.' Or, put more descriptively, we get in their face, take our fight to the media, and put stuff out there, instead of waiting to react to whatever nonsense comes up."
There was a brief silence as Sarek and T'Vey sorted through the mass of curious idioms. Then it was Stein's turn to be surprised when Sarek spoke. Stein's approach resonated with his warrior roots. "Tactically, the concept has merit. Quite logical."
Stein stretched back in his seat, hands behind his head, sticking his purple cowboy boots out in front of him. He nodded at Sarek appreciatively. "All right, man. Let's do this!"