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Amanda thought that the only people that were going to the dinner were in the first room when the dinner was announced. She couldn't explain why Admiral Nelson said there was no room for her. It turned out that they weren't the only ones at the dinner. The table had to have been at least thirty-five feet long and every seat was filled. There had to have been at least twenty people there.

The metal walls of the room were large and the ceiling had to have been at least fifty feet in height. The large table left more than enough room for everyone to spread their arms to their sides and still not be able to touch the other person.

She was at one of the ends of the table with the people that were in the previous room with her. Sitting next to Doris, Amanda watched her family speak to the Vulcans and the Admirals about new things such as the latest Starfleet happenings and things the Vulcan High Council had said about the new shipment. Not only were there human antiques being moved to the new planet, but there were also Vulcan antiques too, it was for this reason that the Vulcan High Council wanted everything to go as flawless as possible. This was the first time they trusted humans with their valuable belongings.

That's why the Ambassador was there, to make sure everything went as planned and nothing unexpected happened.

While everyone dined on meat, salads and ate breadsticks with their hands, there were two exceptions. Silek and Ambassador Sarek didn't eat with their hands, preferring to eat their breadsticks with a fork and knife and they ate no meat, preferring the salads and vegetables that were offered. It was then that Amanda remembered something she read on one of the texts on her Data Device about the Vulcans. They were vegetarians and found that eating meat was barbaric.

Halfway through dinner when the conversations of the shipment ceased, they talked about different things going on in the news. Negotiations, new cadets and the graduating Starfleet class of that year. Amanda was thankful for the change of topic, preferring to hear something else other than the shipment.

"Miss Grayson, I understand that you are a schoolteacher."

Amanda hadn't been spoken to all night, at first she thought that he was talking to Doris. When he finished his sentence, she turned to the men seated to her left. Silek looked at her intently, his hazel eyes looking straight at her.

He had spoken to only her but the whole table stopped their conversation and looked at her. At first she didn't answer, struggling to find the words but when she did, everyone went back to their conversations. Sarek, though sitting between her and Silek, had not once during the dinner looked at her, this time was no exception.

Amanda swallowed and cleared her throat. "Yes. I'm an elementary school teacher back home. I also teach six-year-olds at a day-care during the summer vacation."

"Do you enjoy your job?"

Amanda nodded, feeling a little more at ease. Silek's questions were something that she could handle. "Yes, I do. There's nothing else I would rather do. I think that there's nothing better than teaching children, helping shape the leaders of tomorrows, helping them achieve their potential."

"Are you saying, Miss Grayson, that tomorrow's leaders are in the small town of Quilcene, Washington?"

Sarek hadn't spoken to her since before the dinner, when he told her that he would call on her the following day. Now, his tone was distant, like always, unlike his brother who sounded like he was genuinely interested. Though it was distant and it sounded like he could care less about what she said, she blushed, thinking about what they would talk about tomorrow. She knew that it wasn't reason to blush, but she couldn't help it.

Just thinking that the attractive Vulcan wanted to talk to her of all people present, made her cheeks flame. She tried to hide it, taking the napkin off her lap and pressing it to her lips, as soon as she felt the hue die, she placed the napkin back on her lap. She had never been like this with a person since she had a crush on Billy Bob back in ninth grade.

She took all thoughts of her having a crush on the Ambassador and buried them deep, deep inside herself. She couldn't think about that in that moment.

She didn't know how he found out that she lived in Quilcene, then decided that he probably read up on her family when the plans of the shipment began.

"There is greatness in everyone, there are no geographical exceptions or discrimination," she began. "Greatness is not destined for just one geographical point. Just because a person is from a small town it doesn't mean that they won't make a difference. For example, the next great Captain of Starfleet can come anywhere from Vulcan to Washington and even the smallest town in Iowa. No one can judge it."

"The girl is right, brother," Silek spoke behind him.

Sarek didn't bat an eyelash. "And six-year-olds are destined for greatness."

It was almost sarcastic, if, Amanda thought, Vulcans knew what sarcasm was. By the tone of voice, it sounded like they did. She almost spat a response but tried to sound as unemotional as she could. "It is never too early to plant morals in children."

Sarek's eyes gave a hint of amazement, though his facial features didn't move from its stone setting. The look was much too quick for Amanda to catch and she didn't notice it when he spoke again. "That is a very logical point of view, Miss Grayson." He turned away from her and said something to his brother in a language Amanda had never heard.

She was angry. Amanda didn't know whether to laugh or to feel insulted. She didn't think it was a logical point of view, it was what she felt. She felt it in her heart that her destiny was to help guide the future through children.

At that moment the waiters came and took their plates, leaving another one in front of them: desert. Amanda stabbed the cake angrily with a fork and placed a huge piece in her mouth, trying to shut herself up. She knew that if the desert hadn't come at that moment to preoccupy her mouth, she would say something that she would regret for the rest of the night and probably ship her off to Washington first thing in the morning. She didn't want to say anything to insult the Ambassador but his remarks didn't sit well with her.

"So, what do you do, Silek?" Amanda asked, preferring to speak to the Ambassador's brother rather than the Ambassador himself.

Silek turned to her. She could see pleasantness in his posture which was more than she could say about the Ambassador, sitting as all proper Vulcans did, without an ounce of emotion. She couldn't tell if he was happy to be there or insulted by her remarks as she was about his. In any case, she ignored him.

"I am one of the heads of the Planetary Exchange Program at the Embassy in Washington D.C."

Amanda knew what he was talking about. The Planetary Exchange Program was a program that Starfleet began not long ago. It was for those people who wanted to go to different planets and learn their customs and behaviors. Most planets in the Federation participated, not all, but the races that did, exchanged with a human for six months. Just like most people did at colleges in different countries.

Amanda grew interested, "That's amazing. What do you do there?"

"One of the things I do is help the newcomers adjust to human life. I teach them Terran customs, languages, those things of the sort. Most of the time it is teaching English to newcomers."

"That's fascinating," Amanda turned to him, leaving the rest of her desert untouched. "How long have you been living here?"

"Ten Terran years."

"That's quite a while."

"Your earthly customs are very intriguing. They are very fascinating to me, it's one of the reasons I moved to Sol III."

"Did you always want to move here and stay in D.C.?"

Silek didn't miss a beat. "Circumstances arose and I couldn't stay in Vulcan. My place is here."

Amanda wondered why he didn't stay in Vulcan. He probably could see her curiosity, she always knew that she couldn't lie or hide anything well.

He divulged. "My father was displeased for not sharing his ideas and following into his and Sarek's footsteps in a professional career."

Amanda's brow furrowed. "Do you mean a political career?"

Silek nodded. "Yes."

Now she turned to Sarek seeing it was only polite to ask him as they were talking about him. "Did you want to be Ambassador?"

Sarek turned to her, unattached. "I graduated from the Vulcan Science Academy as an astrophysicist."

"That's … amazing." Amanda paused. "That's really something."

Sarek looked uninterested. "I found that being Ambassador was better use of my time."

Amanda felt insulted again. He unknowingly belittled something that many people on her planet aspired and sacrificed to do. It was something that only a handful of people finally achieved with much sacrifice and hard work.

Sarek spoke of it as if it wasn't important, that being what he was, was much more important. She felt her hands ball into fists in her lap, her nails dig into her hand in the closed fist. She had never felt so angry with someone like she did at that moment.

She broke out of her reverie when Doris spoke. "Are you ready to go, Amanda?"

Amanda immediately nodded, afraid she would speak her mind concerning Sarek. She watched around the table, and saw almost everyone was leaving in their own parties. The long day ended

Amanda stood, placing the napkin from her lap to the table. "Excuse me, Ambassador, Mr. Silek. I'm leaving for the evening."

They both stood, the last at the table to do so. Sarek towered over her, he was much taller than her. Taller than his brother, she noticed.

Sarek, ever the formal Vulcan, bowed his head slightly in her direction. "Good night, Miss Grayson, Grayson family."

Her family said their good-bye's and began to leave when Sarek called her. "Miss Grayson?"

Amanda turned.

He waited until she was about to cross the automatic doors to call her. His dark brown eyes were fixed on her. "I will see you tomorrow."

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