Chapter 106
Normally at this point in the evening on Earth, Amanda would be nursing a glass of wine to help her make it through the rest of the night. Unfortunately there was no such thing on Vulcan unless it had some medicinal purpose. Amanda smirked inside at the idea of Vulcans administering alcohol through some form of hypo spray.
Just as she returned to the function room she saw Sarek knelt on the platform tuning his lyre with the accompanist. The room was quiet now but low conversation still murmured around the edges. Unwilling to be drawn into conversation just yet Amanda stood against the wall amongst some of the servers, trying to be inconspicuous.
As Sarek began to play, the Vulcans gravitated closer towards the platform to appreciate the performance but one figure left the throng and came towards her. Amanda tensed until she realized it was the elderly Svolnak.
"You performed admirably," he complimented as he stooped over her. "That must have taken considerable effort."
Amanda nodded.
"Indeed. I am grateful for the patience of my teacher and her apprentice. I could not have done it without their persistence."
They stood in silence for a moment, their thoughts drawn to Sarek's music. It was not something she had heard him play before. The melody was pensive and calming. As he continued to play, another figure emerged from the crowd and started to make their way towards them. After a couple of meters they stopped and then hastily moved away in another direction.
"I see you have drawn the eye of our first secretary," Svolnak said thoughtfully, watching him move away.
"Yes… He was keen to demonstrate his mastery of standard to me earlier," Amanda replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
Svolnak's eyebrows flickered upwards briefly. He seemed to consider something before speaking to her again.
"I trust the Ambassador has made you aware of everyone present and his relationships with them?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes," Amanda said uncertainly, not sure what he was alluding to.
"Even those he has offended in the past?" he said, giving her a sharp look.
Amanda opened her mouth to speak and then realized that actually… he hadn't. But she wasn't sure whether this was some kind of trap.
"I'm sure the Ambassador has always done his best to avoid others taking offense," she said neutrally.
Svolnak let out a little huff at this.
"He should have prepared you better than this," he said brusquely.
Amanda tried not to be taken aback.
"During Ambassador Sarek's time in office he has made some enemies amongst the corps. Salvik being one of them," he explained.
"Why?" Amanda asked. Not sure if she really wanted to know.
"Salvik was promoted ahead of his time and ultimately his own competence by the strong influence of his mother. He was sent to staff a post on Terra but routinely alienated his colleagues of the different embassies. Eventually there was one incident that the Ambassador had to swiftly resolve before it became public, ultimately ending in Salvik returning to T'Khasi where he now remains indefinitely."
Amanda looked up to the stage to watch Sarek as he played. What kind of incident?
"I won't explain more," he replied before she could ask. "But needless to say, Salvik has never forgiven the Ambassador for his actions even though it was in his best interests. He's been searching for a way ever since to obtain another off world posting. But as long as Ambassador Sarek remains in office that will never be."
Svolnak gave her a warning look.
"Be careful," he said before moving away.
When the music came to an end a few minutes later, Amanda realized she had been staring numbly into the distance for all that time. Casting her eyes around she saw Salvik on the far side of the room watching her. She turned away and was thankful to find refuge in Socran.
"Do you have any final requests before I perform?" he asked abruptly.
Amanda shook her head.
"No. You should be…" Amanda trailed off as she saw that T'Nerrin was still here on the other side of the room and heading in their direction. A small spark of an idea appeared in her mind.
She turned back to Socran.
"You should be next to perform," she finished.
"Then I shall take my leave," he said.
"Ah, but wait a moment," Amanda said, raising her hand to still him.
"Why? We have finished talking."
"It's just for a minute," she said before looking into his eyes. "Please?"
Socran raised his eyebrows and folded his arms behind his back.
"As the hostess requests," he said, a little confused.
After a brief pause, T'Nerrin finally came close enough.
"Ah T'Nerrin!" she said politely drawing her gaze.
Socran's eyes locked on to her as soon as she came into view. That's what I thought, Amanda thought to herself. She turned back to Socran.
"My apologies, I forgot we were in conversation," she said feigning the typical human trait of forgetfulness. "Socran, have you met T'Nerrin?" she asked.
Socran shook his head. T'Nerrin came closer giving Amanda a wary look.
"I was about to depart for the evening," she explained curtly.
"So soon? But you will miss Socran's performance. He will sing for us next," Amanda explained.
T'Nerrin's head tilted to the side.
"Do you know of any songs from the second century?" she asked him curiously.
Socran seemed to have found his voice at last.
"I know two from Vimek," he explained. "Do you have a request?" he asked.
T'Nerrin took a step forward, her plaited loops swaying in front of her doe like eyes.
"You would do that?"
Amanda watched as they continued to gravitate towards each other. She ever so subtly shuffled back until she was no longer part of the conversation. The two were so engrossed they did not notice her disappear.
As the night wore on, Amanda lost track of the number of conversations she had held with the guests. Most were polite, some were stony but none openly hostile to her presence. As she made the rounds of the room checking that everyone had what they needed she finally made it to a small gathering where Sarek stood with his right-hand man Se'tek close by. They had been inseparable all night.
As she approached the group, Se'tek nodded to her, his silver hair glistening in the light. He had become noticeably leaner after his return to Vulcan and becoming a father. In a way it suited him.
He made space for her to join the circle next to Sarek and she waited patiently for a lull in the conversation. The current topic was about a local dispute between two of the Vulcan clans after a historical dig in the southern desert had revealed some important artifacts believed to be from pre-Surak times.
When the discussion petered out, Se'tek turned to her.
"The schedule of cultural enrichment has been highly diverse this evening. Are we near its end?" he asked.
"We have concluded now. All performances are complete," she explained, a little relieved as it shouldn't be too long now before the event itself would end.
A couple of other diplomats took the opportunity to compliment her on the selection of T'Nerrin and Socran due to their considerable talent. Amanda accepted it gracefully and just as conversation was about to move on to another subject Salvik unfortunately jumped in.
"Is it true that all performances are concluded?" he asked, finally deigning to address her in Vulcan for the first time this evening.
Before she could speak, he interrupted her:
"It is tradition that the host contributes to the cultural enrichment of the evening. So far you have been an accessory to your ward's entertainment. Is there nothing that you alone have to contribute?" he asked pointedly.
Sarek became very still as he stood next to her. She could tell he was not pleased and she was glad that she wasn't on the receiving end of his cold stare.
Silence ensued for a moment and it seemed to affect other conversations in the room as they stopped to look in their direction. Amanda could only imagine the air was thick with telepathic signals.
Se'tek broke the silence.
"First secretary, were you not satisfied already with the performance?" he asked in a warning tone.
Salvik postured as if he was ready to contend further but Amanda could tell that this was exactly what he wanted.
"As hostess, if there is any area in which something is lacking for one of my guests then I shall of course oblige," she said, bowing reverently.
As she walked past Sarek towards the stage he gave her a searching look. They hadn't made a backup plan for this scenario. She was going to have to improvise on her own. However her words had the intended effect as all eyes turned to her and Salvik was thrust into the background, much to his dismay.
Entering the now bare stage Amanda picked up one of the kneeling cushions on the side and placed it in the center to kneel down as Sarek had done earlier.
Once seated, she closed her eyes and pretended to enter a brief meditation to allow her to think of her next move. Svelda's words floated to the surface of her mind as she sat:
"No sharp movements. The slower you move the more graceful you appear. Every action must have a purpose."
At least this allowed her to buy some time. She thought quickly over what possible skill she could show that would be of interest and that didn't require any preparation, costumes, props or accompaniment, of which there were few. A demonstration of the number of languages she could speak would have been noteworthy on Earth but barely noticeable on a planet full of inhabitants with eidetic memories. She tried to think of something that she had been particularly good at when teaching on Earth instead.
Her eyes flickered open when she came upon an idea. She would have to tone it up a bit but it could work…
"Tonight I will share with you a Terran oral tradition that has been passed down for centuries: the art of storytelling. The story I am about to tell you was originally told in the capital city square of an ancient desert country and has been passed down from generation to generation with the content remaining much the same. The name of this story is: the tin compass."
Amanda paused and was encouraged to find some of the diplomats come forward to sit before the platform including Sarek and Se'tek. There was no sign of Salvik but she pushed him from her mind as if she were swatting away an annoying fly.
"Our story begins with a poor but hard-working man, trying to make a living selling sweets on the streets of the city. He bought his ingredients early every morning and tried to sell his wares before nightfall. As times grew hard, he eventually was left with no money to even purchase his ingredients and although he had a brother in the city who was not so poor as he, he had never received any help from him. The man decided that night that he would look for a new place to live. He packed up his only possession of a tin compass and leaving the city, made his way over the mountain pass to the desert on the other side.
For days he saw nothing but sand before finally descending into an oasis containing to his surprise a small city of which he had never heard of before. When he passed through the market he didn't recognize their strange dialect. He was brought to the keeper of the city as no stranger had ever visited them before and as was their tradition, for three days they provided him with the best hospitality and refreshment that could be found.
Once the three days ended the man was dismayed that he had nothing to gift the keeper to show his gratitude. The only possession he could offer was the tin compass he had carried all this way. In trepidation he offered it to the keeper and said that he would return later with more gifts to repay the keeper's kindness.
The man was lucky however, the keeper had never before seen a compass and was fascinated by it. He took the gift reverently but was now faced with the quandary of how to repay the man for the gift for it was truly unique to this land. He had piles of precious metals and jewels but these were commonplace and not of much value. With embarrassment he told his staff to load some camels with as much of these precious metals and jewels as they could carry.
The man returned to his old city with his newfound wealth and bought a new house there where he lived contentedly. His brother, hearing of his good fortune visited him to ask what had happened. As the man was honest and trusting he explained the story of his encounter to his brother whose eyes widened in greed. If this man would give such wealth for a mere tin compass what more would they give in exchange for something of real value?
That night, the brother packed all of his most valuable belongings and made his way to the desert. However the poverty that had protected the man from robbers before could not protect his brother. His brother was mugged and all his valuables stolen. Despondent, he made it to the oasis with nothing but an old wristwatch.
The brother was treated with the same gracious hospitality for three of the best days of his life. When the time came for him to leave, he offered the keeper the only thing left to him: his wristwatch. Luckily for him, the keeper had never seen one before.
The keeper pondered over what he could give in exchange for such a marvelous gift. After much thought he finally told his servants to bring him his most prized possession from his safe. And so the brother was gifted: the tin compass.
Amanda waited at the end of her story to allow a moment for it to sink in. After a few moments she asked:
"Would anyone care to guess the moral of the story?" she asked.
The room was silent for a moment before Salvik, as expected, piped up from the back of the room.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure," he said, quietly confident in his use of the Terran expression.
Amanda looked towards the corner of the ceiling as if in thought.
"Perhaps… Although I've always thought it to mean," she paused and looked at him pointedly. "Greed never wins."