Chapter 112
A few days later, Sarek decided to attend his wife's next medical exam. Normally he would forego this activity and read the reports they would submit later. But given her recent distractedness, for which he could still find no logical cause, he wanted to be sure nothing was overlooked.
As he stepped into the room, he noticed that there were no less than five healers present. What need do they have for so many? He thought to himself. The head healer: Solkin, came forward to him respectfully.
"Welcome Osu," he bowed. "We are currently undertaking the fitness exam. You are welcome to my seat," he gestured to a chair in the corner at the desk. "I must ask that you refrain from touching any equipment until we have concluded," he asked politely.
Sarek nodded and decided to take the man's offer of his seat. Behind it, he could see all of the statistics that the healer was monitoring.
Amanda was currently running at some pace; a breathing mask covered her face to monitor her respiration rate. Her eyes widened when she saw him but she kept going. Her cheeks were flushed and her face shone with sweat.
Sarek's eyes moved to the displays before him which compared current data with her previous history.
"Her health and fitness are vastly improved, Osu," the healer explained to him. "She is now at the correct weight and her immune system has adapted enough to our environment that we will not need to perform any bone marrow injections for at least a year."
Sarek could tell the healer was pleased. However he himself was not satisfied yet. He consulted the data on her brainwaves, looking to see if there were any differences. Her alpha waves were more pronounced but this was logical due to the increased amount of meditation that she was doing. He needed to go a level deeper to the theta waves that could explain her increased absentmindedness. But when he considered the data on her theta waves he was dismayed to find no difference at all. Then again, perhaps in her current state of exertion it wasn't possible to assess. He needed data when her mind was at rest…
"What is next in your assessment?" Sarek asked the healer.
The man bowed his head again, unnecessarily.
"To assess her recovery rate. We are also running our final tests on her blood sample. After that she is free to leave," he explained.
Sarek wasn't sure if the recovery period would reveal any insight but he was distracted by the voices of two other healers that stood by the other wall. They were whispering and not close enough for Amanda to hear, but he could.
"Her readings are well above the benchmark. It's time to stop the test. Such an increase in endurance is quite remarkable," said one of them.
"She could go further. She does not look tired. We should test what her new endurance level is," the other encouraged.
"That's not what Osu requested," the other contested.
"It's in our mandate to understand the patient's wellbeing. How can we do that if we do not know what level they are at? Besides, it should not take much more to find out. Increase the resistance."
The other looked pensive for a moment but his curiosity got the better of him.
Sarek watched as Amanda gritted her teeth at the additional strain. She shook her head as if urging herself to push on. He watched her heartrate begin to increase rapidly. After a few minutes he could see her muscles beginning to tire as her rhythm became uncoordinated and jerky. He turned to the head healer.
"I think that is enough, don't you?" he said pointedly.
The healer gestured to the pair and Amanda was slowly reduced to a walking pace. She paced heavily with her hands on her hips as she gasped for air. When she stopped, she crouched down into a ball and Sarek watched as drops of sweat fell from her nose to the floor.
"I didn't realize how much humans could perspire," murmured one of the healers across the room.
Ignoring the man's tone, Sarek watched as her heartrate and breathing slowly recovered. Eventually she stood up and grabbed a towel to dry herself. One of the healers assisted in helping her remove her breathing mask. She picked up a sachet of concentrated water and was about to drink it before she noticed everyone was watching. She moved behind a divider to drink in privacy.
Still no change in theta waves.
The head healer approached him again.
"The blood samples tested well. All are within acceptable levels. You will have our full report by this evening."
Sarek nodded and he watched as the displays were shutdown. He would have to keep looking.
As Amanda was cleaning herself in their rooms, Sarek reviewed the latest report from Ambassador Velor at his desk. After the Council had approved their suggestion of escorting the scientists with an old Vulcan ship, Velor had met with Ambassador Ovina to see whether this would be an acceptable compromise. Thankfully, Velor reported that Starfleet had agreed to the arrangement, albeit reluctantly. Discussion had now moved on to which scientists would take part from both sides and the VSA were busy in their search for a suitable ship.
Detecting movement, he looked and registered a brief moment of surprise as S'Kelnek entered their rooms. As Amanda was his student he rarely visited as all her sessions were held in his rooms. I-Chaya, who had been lying languidly before the ventilator moved into a stretch before coming to Sarek's side and sitting. Sarek closed his applications and stood respectfully.
"Welcome, Osu," he greeted. "I was not expecting you."
The elder Vulcan inclined his head.
"Greetings nu'ri-veh. I've come to collect Amanda for her next lesson," he explained.
Sarek gestured to their seating area.
"She is getting ready and will be some time. Will you sit?"
S'Kelnek sank stiffly into the more supportive chair whilst Sarek knelt on the bench. Sarek sent a mental request to T'Pen to slow Amanda's arrival so that they had time to talk. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sarek spoke.
"If I may ask, Osu. How is my wife's mental training progressing?" he asked.
Sarek had never broached the subject before with him. The only person that S'Kelnek had to keep informed was the Matriarch herself. For someone who was used to having all information available to him, this layer of confidentiality was disagreeable to Sarek but he had to respect the old ways. Especially when elders like S'Kelnek were concerned.
S'Kelnek considered him carefully.
"You may," he agreed. "Is there anything of concern that you wish to speak to me about?"
Sarek noticed him sidestepping the question and his attempt to distract him with another but he played along.
"The frequency of your sessions has markedly increased recently. Are these remedial?"
"Is this undesirable for you?" S'Kelnek countered.
Sarek didn't understand why he was being so evasive but again exercised patience.
"You must not think that I am ungrateful, Osu," he supplicated. "I am merely curious to understand whether she is progressing. More frequent sessions could indicate that she is not making the required progress and if this is the case from your point of the view then I might be of assistance."
His words had the desired effect as S'Kelnek rested his fingertips together thoughtfully in front of him.
"I understand your concern," he said calmly. "And it is good to see that you take your responsibility for her welfare as her husband seriously," he said, approving.
"In truth, it is not possible to measure her progress definitively as she is the first of her kind to undergo such training," he explained.
Sarek nodded to show his understanding, politely encouraging him to continue.
"She has progressed considerably under my tutelage. You should not take the increased frequency of our sessions as a bad sign. On the contrary, she has finally reached a stage where we can practice more extensive exercises. As you know, most children are bonded at eight years of age giving them years to practice together and strengthen their bond. We don't have such freedom," he said giving Sarek a pointed look.
S'Kelnek stood up to stand by the ventilator. He turned to face Sarek, like a teacher to a student.
"To make up for lost time, the sessions will be more frequent and more intense. However your assistance will not be needed," he said dismissively. "Your time is better spent serving T'Khasi. I will tell you when she is ready."
Before Sarek could ask further, Amanda walked through. She bowed deeply to S'Kelnek. It made Sarek uneasy but he couldn't pinpoint why. T'Pen followed, looking flustered.
"Master, I am ready," said Amanda before straightening.
S'Kelnek nodded his approval before addressing Sarek once more.
"Patience, nu'ri-veh. I guarantee that you will be satisfied with the results," he assured.
And then he left. Amanda followed a few steps before hesitantly turning and offering Sarek a brief bow in acknowledgement. She was clearly confused what the protocol was in this setting and had decided to play it safe with the most formal approach in S'kelnek's presence. With S'kelnek's back to him, Sarek raised his hand to her in a muted expression of the human gesture for goodbye. This earned him a brief secretive smile.
After they'd both gone, he leaned forward and rested his fingertips together. He replayed the conversation in his mind before T'Pen broke the silence.
"I don't trust him," she said darkly.
Mildly startled, both that she had spoken to him and by what she had said, he straightened in his seat.
"Why?" he asked.
She jerked her head to the corner of the room. Sarek turned and saw I-Chaya staring into the corner of the room, the wall mere inches from his face. It was a very submissive position for the sehlat and Sarek recalled S'Kelnek's general disdain for animals. As if a spell had been broken, I-Chaya shook his head before coming to sit before Sarek. I-Chaya bumped his head against Sarek's shoulder in a request for affection. Sarek gently massaged I-Chaya's forehead.
"I-Chaya doesn't trust him. So I don't either," T'Pen finally explained.
Sarek looked into I-Chaya's eyes to see if he had experienced any discomfort but saw only the brightness of feline intelligence. It was not common for Vulcans to have telepathic control over animals. His nephew Taro was one of a few. Even he himself couldn't actively control but request and reprimand.
As T'Pen left to carry out the rest of her duties, Sarek mulled over the events of the day and wondered what possible mental exercises could be undertaken if she was telepathically inert. Or was she?