Chapter 111

The human had failed.

The woman that called herself the "Samaritan" lay on her bed staring into the ceiling. Her lips were purple, her face ashen. She could no longer consume solid food anymore, accepting it only by tube. She could feel her blood sluggishly pumping round her system. Her heart dully thudding in her side. She was on so many drugs now she could barely feel anything.

She had tried several times to call the human back to her but each time she failed her condition deteriorated further. Even telepathic communication was a strain. Sometimes in these long stretches of nothingness as she waited for death's call she would deliberately exert herself to cut through the drug induced numbness. She forced herself to feel something even if it was pain, to prove to herself that she was still alive.

The one thing that she still had left was her ability to track the passage of time. It had been three weeks since the human had bled on her floor. She had watched her go, guided her responses and led her to the one person strong enough to save them both. If only she had listened to her warnings. If only she had gotten away…

She swallowed, aware that soon she would lose consciousness all together. There was only one thing left that she could do now. Summoning the last remnants of her strength she reached out one last time before slipping into a deep and terminable sleep.

"Father… I need you now."

It was late in the day when Sarek chaired a meeting with several other of his diplomats in a conference room in the Vulcan embassy. Se'tek sat at his right hand, a representative of the VSA sat on his left and the rest of the table was comprised of other minor delegates and aides, including unfortunately Salvik, with the remaining seat taken by his wife at the far end on the left. It was she who he was studying most intently. She however, seemed oblivious to his attention. His mind was disquieted by how often he now found her pensively staring into the distance.

"Osu, the Ambassador Ovina has again requested an audience with you. She says that the offer of the VSA's data on the asteroid although well-intentioned is not acceptable," one of the aides addressed him.

Realizing that he had captured Sarek's attention the aide faltered for a moment.

"She said…" he cleared his throat, "and I quote: 'If you have something to hide then let's be frank with each other about it.'"

The aide lowered his gaze to the table once he finished the quotation. Sarek moved his attention to Se'tek.

"This appears in line with our assumption that she is under pressure from Starfleet to procure results," he said calmly.

Se'tek nodded in agreement.

"Indeed Osu, from what Mr Cuthers has reported he believes she is discreetly requesting an outright statement from T'Khasi to deny access to Vulcan space. She has insinuated that she has more pressing matters to attend to," he explained.

Sarek's eyes briefly went to his wife at the mention of Mr Cuthers, her old friend and colleague, but she had not reacted. He returned his attention to Se'tek.

"Then this is in our favor. At least she is not suspicious of a change in our circumstances. Now we must find a way to give her what she needs to convince her Terran colleagues. An outright statement is not possible and she knows it. The repercussions would be too limiting."

Sarek thought for a moment and waited for some input from the other attendees. Several minutes came and went but the room remained silent.

Again, Sarek's eyes wandered to the blue robed form at the end of the table. In the past Amanda would have freely voiced her opinion to him as his aide even though it was not the Vulcan way. But no longer. She had been sat still and quiet for the whole afternoon, not interacting or speaking with anyone. He had no sign that she was even listening to the conversation. It was a risk to draw attention to her but if she really wasn't paying attention then there was no benefit in having her there…

"Amanda, what are your thoughts?" he asked finally.

All eyes turned to her for the first time that meeting. Many at the table had been present in earlier meetings where she had also been a silent presence. He knew there was great curiosity among the corps about her abilities. She would have to prove herself sooner or later.

She regarded him placidly.

"Ambassador Ovina wishes to draw the matter to a close and quickly," she said.

Sarek steeled himself to be patient. Over the last few weeks she had taken to answering a question by confirming what was already known. This new default reaction was trying but he had the patience to bear it out.

"And how would you suggest we do that?" he prompted tersely.

She cocked her head to the side and looked to the ceiling in thought, causing some of the diplomats to turn their heads to see what she was looking at. Sarek made a mental note to remind her in private not to repeat that particular behavior that so confused her Vulcan counterparts. After a moment, she returned her gaze to him.

"If T'Khasi cannot deny access without giving offense and the offer of Vulcan data on the subject is not suitable despite it being considerably more advanced than Starfleet's, then the best approach is to give them access but not in the way that they have requested," she said.

"And how can we achieve this whilst following the Council's instruction to not allow Starfleet into that part of Vulcan space?" Se'tek queried.

"The concern from the Council was that a Starfleet ship would be able to scan the surface of T'Khasi. Instead, offer to take a Starfleet scientist onboard one of our ships."

Sarek could see that her use of "our ships" had confused some but not Salvik who saw the opportunity to challenge her. Sarek let him take it.

"It is not logical to offer them an even greater prize than the one they seek. A Starfleet scientist would be able to obtain far more knowledge to advance their technology from investigating one of our ships," he chastised.

Amanda wasn't affected by his tone.

"It doesn't need to be a science vessel. It doesn't need to be a newly built ship either. It can be a survey ship barely a decade older than the time of First Contact," she countered.

But Salvik wasn't done yet.

"It would be an inefficient use of our resources to supervise such an expedition. They would need to be constantly monitored to make sure they were not attempting to survey T'Khasi."

"Vulcans need less sleep than humans. Two Vulcan scientists should easily be capable of such supervision and there are small adjustments that can be made in the environment to tire their human counterparts quicker," she said assuredly. "Besides, don't we have an agreement later this year to conduct research together with the VSA and Terran scientists?" she said, looking to her husband for confirmation.

Se'tek nodded on his behalf.

"Then this would be a good first exposure. A practice run, if you will," she concluded.

Salvik looked towards the VSA representative for support in his challenge but to his dismay he also agreed that it would be a good opportunity to learn more about the scientists they would come to host on the Vulcan space station.

The rest of the attendees seemed satisfied with the arrangement and as if she knew she was no longer needed, Amanda returned her gaze once more into the distance.

In the great hall that evening, Sarek noticed again Amanda's absence of mind. They sat in a ring with Se'tek and his family. T'Pen sat with her in companionable silence. As Se'tek's wife spoke with another couple in the circle, Sarek took the opportunity to address him.

"Se'tek, have you noticed anything unusual about my wife's behavior recently?" he asked telepathically.

Se'tek turned his gaze as if he were looking around the hall for an acquaintance whilst secretly assessing Amanda's state.

"She has been reserved of late. However that is understandable given recent events," he replied.

Sarek knew that he was referring to her recent disappearance. It was unfortunately one of those secrets every clan member was now privy to. However it didn't explain the calming of her emotions. As any human, she had unpredictable emotions but she had been almost tranquil for a considerable time now. He did not know how to explain this to Se'tek without revealing too much but his trusted assistant seemed to understand his train of thought.

"She has grown considerably in maturity since she arrived here. It is quite remarkable how well she has adapted. Her emotional expression is greatly subdued. Perhaps this is a natural part of her integration with our community," he supposed.

But I have not seen her laugh or cry in days, Sarek thought to himself. To see a gradual decline in such events would be natural but a complete cessation? He considered again her still form as she sat next to him. She could have had her eyes closed for all the notice she gave him. T'Pen noticed and their eyes briefly connected before she looked away again. So he wasn't the only one aware of this…

Taro's words came forth in his mind:

"She would not have needed it if you had not neglected her."

Could this behavior be as a result of his neglect? One of the qualities of Amanda was that she was clear in her communication with him of what she needed. This made it easy for him to address his shortcomings. But… he couldn't rule out that perhaps she had not had the confidence to ask him for some things or that if she had, he had not been available at the time.

He had expected their intimacy to grow as she began working more closely with him again in her role as cultural attaché but they were seldom alone together. And even if they had the opportunity, her frequent training sessions with S'Kelnek would interrupt them. The man was zealous in his commitment to training her…

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Amanda cover her mouth to stifle the yawn that threatened to escape. Deciding they had contributed enough for the evening, he made their excuses, dismissed T'Pen and escorted Amanda to their rooms.

From the doorway to their bedroom, Sarek watched Amanda slowly brush her hair at her dresser. It had grown to a length much longer than he had seen on Terra. When loose it now fell past her shoulders and rested on her breast. The way her hair framed her face and neck was aesthetically pleasing to look at. The orange glow of their room lights gave her hair an almost amber luster. He felt the illogical impulse to feel its softness under his hands but suppressed it. He needed to focus his mind on other things.

He stepped forward and stopped behind her, resting his hands reassuringly on her shoulders. At his touch, her eyes immediately leapt up to his and she offered him a small, wan smile. He pondered it for a moment before dismissing it as a result of the fatigue of the day.

He considered briefly whether her reticence might be overcome if they coupled again. It had been a longer interval than normal since their last. Although she was usually the one to initiate that didn't prevent him from doing so.

Deftly he began to use his fingers to massage the muscles in her shoulders in the way that he knew she liked. They contained quite some tension that as he worked slowly gave way. He heard her sigh appreciatively. A good sign.

He continued down her spine, working methodically until he reached the plump area at the top of her buttocks. She arched as he continued to knead her lower back and appreciate the suppleness of her body.

Judging her to be truly relaxed by now he returned his hands to her shoulders to see what effect it had made. This time she truly smiled at him and almost in a daze she took his right hand and kissed his palm before cupping her cheek into it. He could feel her eyelashes lightly tickle his fingers.

He bent close to kiss her but he felt her form grow limp. Kneeling, he allowed her to rest against his chest. Drowsily, she kissed his cheek before nuzzling into his neck and her eyes fluttered closed. Her breathing began to deepen as she slowly descended into sleep.

Realizing that she would no longer respond positively to his advances at this stage, he picked her up gently and took her to the bed. As he pulled the sheet over her, he noticed her sigh in contentment before curling up on her side.

As he still had some tasks to do this evening and was not yet in need of sleep, he made his way to the desk in the living area. Out of his sight, Amanda turned over in her sleep, a small crease furrowing her brow…