Sarek suspected the profiles he brought up of all Algeans known to be on Earth during the conference bore too little difference for Perrin to discern possible suspects. Only one, extremely short compared to the average Algean and having green eyes, seemed to stand out. Strange, Sarek noted, that they would send someone with such unusual features to carry out a covert operation. He took back the PADD and brought up the manifest listing which ship he had come in on. It was listed as a medical ship consisting of five other Algean crewmembers.
"There were just three?"
"Yes; I only saw three of them in the hall; the officers would say the same." Replied Perrin.
"And they have." Said Sarek. The security officers present then had even less testimony to offer since Perrin's damaging the wall panel created enough sparks for her to see them but from where they had stood, they could not note specific details of the attackers. They had noted an insignia similar to the Algean medical seal pinned to their chests. To Sarek that suggested a high possibility all involved in the incident were aboard the same medical ship with the green eyed Algean.
Their civil war is becoming troublesome to the federation, Sarek mused; to discredit the wrong side, the rebels or the government, would be to sully our own moral standing in the galaxy. From what information Sarek had, he could not conclusively suggest what path the Federation should take. Unlike with planets that were members of the Federation or those who held treaties, Algea had only been allowed to enter Federation space and trade within it until the recent ban. The Federation had no obligation to send aid.
"Ambassador?" He looked at Perrin who exhibited an expression he deduced must be concern. As with most of her expressions of emotion, it was faint and predominately checked.
'I am fine." Her expression did not fade. He heard her sigh before speaking.
"Will I ever be able to leave Vulcan? To go back to Earth, to return to playing; I still can't decide if I should reject an offer from Palais Garner. I just do not know what to think and I think haven't been any help."
"You have helped; you've narrowed down the possible suspects to the most logical individuals." He replied. "It is possible you may return to Earth within these next days."
"But would it be logical to hope so?" Perrin asked, her lips curling over the word logical as she spoke it.
"Hope is not logical; it assumes what one wishes to happen will."
"It is possible that I will stay here forever, Ambassador?"
"Possible but unlikely. I doubt you would allow that." Answered Sarek. He suspected that she would indeed sooner steal a starship or stow away than be forced to hide forever.
"Are you teasing me?"
"I am not." He answered. She smiled up at him.
Seeing her in his home office was strange. Its last human occupant had been his wife, silently reading Alice in Wonderland on the small loveseat tucked in the corner that Perrin now sat in. She had a wider smile than Amanda, though Amanda often burst with unrestrained emotion, shamelessly experiencing it. She also shared it with everyone generously, even Sarek though he found his wife's efforts towards him pointless on that account.
On those thoughts, Sarek found himself sitting next to Perrin on the loveseat, forced to remember the last days before his wife died. A dam in his thoughts broke. He fought down the memories that slanted his sense of reality, giving everything a feeling of impropriety. Her book from then had been moved from its resting place on the small shelf next to where he now sat; it was now in his ship, idling in orbit, by the bed. Amanda's presence was no longer there in the house or its garden; it was only to be remembered and Vulcan memories were not able to recall as they would have to for him to really experience it again.
But he noted a softer presence now bearing on him. Perrin was hovering close to his face, again concerned for him.
"I am fine." He said forcefully. He meant to inform her that she was touching him, her hand slipping closer on the cushion, the tips of her fingers already lightly pressing against his legs, her shoulder pressed against his own. He did not.
"Ambassador Sarek." Sarek stood straight up at Spock's voice and walked a short ways to where his son had been observing them.
"You should have announced yourself Spock." Sarek stated, raising his hand to salute him.
Spock returned the gesture. "I just did."
Indeed, Sarek noted. But he found himself still half thinking Spock had been incorrect. He would have preferred him not to have come to his office and see Perrin touching him. To see him allowing it. Sarek avoided considering why, banishing it behind his mind with other stray thoughts that Sarek could not say with certainty remained there.
"We will talk in your mother's garden." Spock allowed Sarek to pass him and lead out. Perrin said nothing.
Amanda's roses are dispersing a pungent aroma today, Sarek noted. The gardener had pruned them earlier in the morning, also laying down some mulch by the poppies. And the nearby planet of T'khut glowed with activity over her flowers on the edge of Vulcan, close enough to be seen with specificity, never fully departing the sky around ShiKahr.
Sarek and Spock stood across from one another, both looking at the roses for a while before Sarek spoke first as was his due.
"You did not make known your intentions to visit."
"I would have if I had known. As I had not visited you since your return to Vulcan, I felt when the opportunity arose today it would be best to take it." Spock replied.
"You still allow your mother to influence you." Sarek referred to his use of felt.
"After my death she felt it logical for me to explore some of my humanity. It is a part of me; you did allow a human to mother your child after all." Sarek did not reply.
This exploration was not one he protested too much as he noted a steady decline in the behavior after Amanda's death. And his wife did have her own logic, Sarek noted. Of a sort Sarek learned to acknowledge living with her for so long and of a sort that he observed in the actions of Spock's human associates. He had it to thank for his son's life; and his own, Sarek added after a brief hesitation.
"May I ask who she was?" Spock inquired. He glanced back towards Sarek's office. Sarek's answer was hesitant, having detected a degree of incredulousness in his son's voice.
"I was assigned to guard her by the Federation."
"That surprises me Sarek. I would not expect such work to go to a respected and accomplished diplomat of so many decades."
"Work is no burden."
"As you wish. Your chief of staff seems concerned about the degree of work you have taken on; perhaps she could be dealt with by another—"
"Kavik is too concerned for my health. The importance of this assignment extends beyond Perrin. Yes; I insure her safety but in doing so I insure the highest interest of the Federation." Sarek infused a degree of force to his words, believing it would persuade Spock to move on. It did not.
Moving closer to his mother's roses, Spock knelt by one of the small benches Sarek insisted on placing out there as Amanda aged and became less mobile. So slow, he recalled her, and looked out to the desert. Picking the dirt off the marble legs gave Spock some confidence to continue his questions.
"You're shutting down Tau Ceti Station."
"I myself cannot shut it down. I am suggesting that would be the most logical course; they have experienced several malfunctions. The station was constructed in the 22nd Century." Sarek started to wring his hands together.
"Would these malfunctions include mother's death?"
"I spent enough time there in my investigations to know there were far more problems than just her shuttle accident. I had been there only 6 weeks and 5.53 days ago to see these malfunctions have continued and increased."
"You are certain" Spock paused, "that logic alone guides your decision?"
"Spock, are you accusing me of allowing emotion, not reason, to guide my decisions?"
This was a line of questioning Spock did not want to cross into. He rose and faced Sarek.
"You are and have been an exemplary Vulcan." He answered. Both faced each other, equally aware of Spock's omission of his true thoughts.
"I will be staying at my home. You may contact me there if you wish." He saluted his father and went back through the offices.
Perrin was looking through the titles of old Earth books, Through the Looking Glass, Treasure Island, The Once and Future King, and others. She was surprised to see such fantasy books between old tomes of Vulcan literature. Suspecting they were Sarek's wife's, Perrin found herself wishing she could have met her. Throughout what parts of the house she'd seen, she'd seen little concessions like these books. Two small flower pots with lilies by the door, a bright impressionist painting of two people watching it rain through a window above a divan in the living room that was itself covered with several bright blankets. These things somehow looked like they belonged there, complimenting the Vulcan artwork and furniture. I wonder if that's how she knew he loved her, Perrin wondered. She wondered if Amanda saw her place in his heart grow the more things of hers appeared untouched in the house, in more and more public spaces.
Hearing the door open again derailed Perrin's train of thought. Spock passed the office with a strained expression, displaying a touch of emotion in his eyes she would ever have expected to see from Sarek. He noted her looking at him and circled back to where Perrin stood by his father's bookcase.
"When I arrive I noted you were leaning against Sarek. You are aware that to Vulcans, physical contact is disapproved of?" She was.
"You are blushing. Please explain; did you mean to do so? I can assure you my father will not reciprocate the gesture, if that was your intent, nor find it comforting."
"I simply didn't realize; I will apologize to him." Wanting to be defensive from embarrassment, she elected to say nothing to Sarek's son. I owe him a great deal to be picking a fight with Spock, she thought. Spock looked through the door leading to the gardens.
"You will get your chance now." As the back door opened a few minutes later, Perrin heard another towards the front of the house close with a whoosh after Spock had walked away.
It surprised Perrin to see the same look of vague distress in Sarek's eyes as in Spock's. Even more intense in its presence Perrin thought, caught unprepared to see it. He did not stop to continue his interview of the conference attack; Sarek went on down the hall and it was a few moments after that Sarek's driver came to find her. He informed her that Sarek was retiring for the night and they would be leaving in the next 6 minutes.
Perrin had gotten her things together, and finally the shoes she'd left by the door to keep her focus off of scuffing the stone floors of the house, before she decided to go back search for Sarek. I hope that my touching him did not offend him too much, she thought with worry as she went down a long hall, hoping to explain.
