Alekhine's Gun

Chapter 20

The next Wednesday found Amanda in her office, preparing for class. It was the week assignments were due, and she was curious to see what her students had produced on mating rituals. Though the decision for that particular task had been made in a post-coital high, she'd had plenty of time to come back down. Still, Sarek's desire to marry her and the advent of T'Nerual's pregnancy drew Amanda to the topic.

It had been a long few weeks. Though she and Sarek talked most nights, she'd only seen him a handful of times. She understood he was busy and she could not fault him for that- as she too had been following the development of Earth's financial crisis and understood what he was trying to do. She was at a point where each day felt almost surreal. The markets had dropped to their lowest points since the Great Recession of the early 21st century and the level of economic uncertainty was throwing a damper across the entire city. It felt as if the Bay Area was waiting for the next proverbial shoe, to drop.

Her students were just as impacted, Amanda noticed. Berkeley tended to foster a very optimistic and free-spirited atmosphere and its students tended to lose themselves in the region's open and genial environment, yet that too was subdued. Everyone was distracted. The worry was palpable.

The frustration with the situation was growing more obvious. Amanda shook her head. She was upset with her own naivety and the fact that, had she been paying more attention, she would have seen the signs all along. It felt this latest crisis happened suddenly and had unfolded rapidly, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized it had been bubbling under the surface for a very long time.

During one of their frequent night-time conversations (Amanda had to give Sarek credit for carving out time for them when it was so obvious his efforts were needed elsewhere) they had openly discussed the issue. Sarek would not tell her what he was working on, but let her know he was attempting some sort of resolution. Obviously, since she was not a member of government, she was not privy to exactly what it was, but she was pleased he felt comfortable enough to discuss even that aspect of his occupation with her.

Last night, he had arrived at her apartment unexpectedly. She'd been surprised by how harried he looked. It was not one particular thing that gave it away of course, but there were little signs. His normally subdued curls stood springy and rebellious atop his head and indicated an extended period of time between grooming sessions (which Vulcans were meticulous about) and the slight sagging of his shoulders indicated he was well past needing a resting period.

Amanda had welcomed him in and he had sat beside her on the couch. She lay her head on his shoulder, and brought her feet up, and they had remained there for some time, each quietly listening to the sound of the other breathing.

If he wanted to talk he would. She wasn't the type of woman to press. And truth be told, after more than two weeks of intermittent contact, to see him, feel him and smell him was enough. It also let Amanda know he would be there for her, and she for him, when they needed it. They didn't need to speak those words aloud. His being there with her, and she with him, had been confirmation enough.

Now a month and half into their formalized "courtship" period, she had learned how much of their communication depended on non-verbal cues.

It was a pleasant change from her interactions with human males. Now, that was not to say Amanda had any complaints with her own species, not at all. But with Sarek, things were just…different.

Sarek's long work hours did not bother her because she was secure with him. There was no ambiguity about their relationship. Sarek, for all his faults (and Amanda knew there were many), was honest.

She knew where he was and what he was dealing with. But when she wanted him and needed him—those were the times he seemed to want and need her too. This is how he had come to her home, and why they had spent the evening in companionable silence on her couch doing absolutely nothing but being with each other.

Smiling at the memory, Amanda gathered her Padds and logged out of her communication console to head to her next class.

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Sarek, Silek and Sakketh had been through an exhaustive series of meetings with the highest levels of the federation council. They had been working well into the evenings and for days on end to ensure their plan for Vulcan's withdrawal of funds would not permanently damage Earth's fragile economy, but serve as the catalyst they would need to prove a point.

For her part, T'Pau had worked with them, and they had crunched numbers, weighed statistics and slavishly tracked the latest market developments. If they took any misstep, the planet's economy would crash and the impact of it would be felt federation-wide.

Withdrawing too little money would not have the desired effect they needed. Too much could cause a calamity. If they did it too soon, it would look as though Vulcan were directly responsible. Too late, and their effort would be wasted as there would be nothing left to withdraw. The planet's currency was dropping sharply against the credit system.

On Vulcan, T'Pau had been in negotiations with the council, and in presentations she had extended the plan for a partial withdrawal of Vulcan credits to the council members who had long supported the action. They would view it as a political victory in their favor. At the same time, it would take a three-quarters vote from the full council to approve the plan, and the group that advocated for withdrawal only held half the votes needed. To achieve the other necessary votes, she had to frame her argument so the logic of the matter would be seen from two opposing points of view. After careful analysis and a meticulously planned presentation, T'Pau won full approval from the council to withdraw the funds.

After weeks of effort, the quartet was confident in their plan, and began bracing for the fallout to come.

II

"I just don't understand why Earth didn't join the federation credit system after first contact."

Amanda stood on the stage of the lecture hall. Though her class wasn't political science, she had opted to indulge the desire of her students to express their views on the issue of the day. Currently, she was acting as moderator to the discussion and letting the students talk it out amongst themselves.

The statement had come from Ryan Hawkins, a third-year history major.

"I mean, if you look back at the boom-and-bust cycle that marks certain periods of Earth's history, it's always been noted that stronger, more collaborative currencies are always the best option for a globalized, and now interplanetary, economic system."

"Not necessarily," came a reply from one of the back rows.

Amanda looked up. "Ms. Hughes, you have a response to that?"

"Yes, Dr. Grayson. Ryan said collaborative currencies have always proved to be the stronger. That's both accurate and inaccurate. Ancient Rome had a unified currency system. But then, Rome fell. In fact, most superpowers held some form of nationalized currency system. In more recent history, the early 21st century European debt crisis is a prime example. It was not the currency that caused the problem, but the debt that had been underwritten by investors. We're talking about a similar situation here."

"Dr. Grayson, can I say something?" Amanda turned her attention to the left side of the room where a hand went up.

"Yes Mr. Huffington, go ahead." Huffington was an economics major who she had allowed into her anthropology class after he had written a very compelling response to her initial denial that dealt with tracing the evolution of man to its monetary systems.

"In a sense, both Ryan and Carmen's point is accurate. A unified currency system is much stronger than individual systems, because no one can dominate the other. It's what's partially attributable to the establishment of the minimum standard of living. At the same time, when one sector grows too debt-heavy it can affect the entire system. So what we're seeing here is investors opting to protect themselves and lesson their exposure. It's like nature. A fox in a trap will chew off its own leg in order to salvage the rest of its body."

There were mumbles across the room as the students reflected on the points that had been made. Finally the bell sounded that marked the end of class.

"All right folks, there's certainly much to talk about here, but obviously we're dealing with a situation this planet hasn't seen in over a century. Perhaps one day one of you will be the next Earth president and will have similar issues on your desk. This is living history. You are in it. Padds please!" she shouted as the seats began to empty out with the students still talking passionately.

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Afterwards, Amanda made her way back to her office, passing two groups of student-protesters on the quad.

"Financial Freedom or Galactic Slavery!" one group shouted at the other.

"From darkness comes the Light!" the other group chanted, equally passionate.

The doors to Morris Hall swooshed open as she made her way inside, taking the stairs to the third floor and down the hall to her office.

With another swoosh, the doors to her suite slid open and, at the tall figure standing directly inside, Amanda let out a yelp of surprise and dropped the stack of Padds she'd been carrying.

"Sarek! What are you doing here?" she said as she bent down to begin picking up the Padds now scattered across the floor. He knelt beside her.

"Did you not receive my communiqué? I was in this part of the city and was attempting to "surprise" you. I was under the impression human females found pleasure in "surprises."

The dryness of his tone and the sincerity of his motivation made her chuckle. "Well, as you see, I am surprised."

His brows furrowed together but he said nothing as he took the Padds from her and she moved to her office and let him in.

Sarek placed the Padds on her desk and turned to her, his hands behind his back.

"Have a seat, Ambassador," she said, resisting the urge to hug him. The door was open, she had office hours, and on top of it being resoundingly unprofessional, she also knew how Vulcans felt about public displays of affection.

He sat in the chair opposite her desk and looked around at the items in her office. The walls held vintage posters and antique clocks; the tables, old typewriters and other loose odds and ends from ages old.

Amanda personally loved her office. And she was proud of the collection of goods she had assembled.

"It is…eclectic," Sarek said and Amanda smiled.

"It certainly isn't modern, but it's mine and I like it."

"Indeed, it is like an extension of your home."

"It's always good to have familiar surroundings when working."

Their back-and-forth was interrupted by a beep alerting her that someone was waiting, followed by a booming voice.

"Dr. Grayson? Are you in here?"

Both Amanda and Sarek rose just as Dr. Templeton appeared in the doorway, already talking before he noticed Sarek.

"Amanda, Human Resources needs us to fill out some sort of new document for our direct—Oh!"

Finally seeing the tall Vulcan, Templeton stopped.

"Pardon me, Dr. Grayson," he said, switching to a more formalized speech, "I did not know you were with someone. Hello," he said turning to directly address Sarek. "I'm John Templeton, the Chair of the Department of Anthropology here at Berkeley."

Sarek gave a slight nod in recognition."I am Sarek, Vulcan Ambassador to Earth."

Templeton's eyes grew wide.

"We'll it's a pleasure to have you here. Especially at this time." His eyes shifted to Amanda then back. "What brings you to Berkeley?"

Amanda interjected quickly.

"Ambassador Sarek has expressed an interest in my research. We were just about to start a conversation. What did Human Resources say?" she asked, switching subjects in order to distract him.

Templeton got the point.

"Well, HR's request should be in your comm. Mail. When you get a minute just see it and come see me. It's just some forms, not that important. Although, Ambassador…"

Amanda watched as Templeton's eyes gleamed with mischief.

"It's always so rare when we get diplomats and such important people as you here. Perhaps, if you are not too busy, it would give our students an excellent learning opportunity if you would come and talk with some of them. Especially now. People have a lot of questions, and not enough answers."

"Anyway," he continued, "it was good to meet you. Dr. Grayson, I'll let you go." He turned to leave but not so fast that Amanda missed the sly smile that was working its way across his face.

Damn. She knew he'd be back later to grill her with questions.

After he had left, she turned to find Sarek staring at her with a look of contemplation on his face.

"I was unaware the financial conflict had adversely impacted the academic setting."

"I wouldn't go as far to say "adversely," but yes, it's certainly come up. In fact, it's all my students were talking about today."

He went silent and Amanda waited. She knew now that his silence did not mean he had no response or was ignoring her, but that he was giving weight to what she actually had to say.

"Indeed. Perhaps I will accept the office your Dr. Templeton has extended."

He was rewarded with one of Amanda's beaming smiles.

"Really, Sarek? That's wonderful! My class would love that. You'd do it, for them?"

"I would do it for them, yes. But I also do it because of you and because it pleases you. As your future mate, it is my duty to ensure your satisfaction."

III

Amanda was excited. She had sent out messages to the entire department to let the other professors know about the presentation and had even received permission to move her class to one of the university's larger halls that could accommodate more people. Now, there were well over 1500 students assembled in the auditorium, and as she waited backstage, she couldn't resist peeking out into the crowd.

She had instructed her class to sit in a special section- for them attendance was mandatory, and she was pleased to see they had placed themselves in the front three rows. The rest of the hall was taken up by students and professors from the other sections in the History division and there were also interested groups from the political science and economics division. Today her only job was to introduce the speaker and then she would take her place among her students and allow them and their speaker free reign on the conversation. It was such an excellent opportunity and the added fact Sarek was open to it only made her happier. She hoped her students would learn more about Earth's first planetary partner, and she also hoped they wouldn't embarrass her—students were notorious for asking obvious questions.

The bell chimed, signaling the beginning of the class period and the chattering of the crowd began to die down as she walked to the center of the stage. It was a familiar setting as she raised her hand for complete silence.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Today we have with us Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan. The Ambassador has been at the embassy for the past six years and is presently working to assist Earth in a resolution of the present financial crisis. Many of you are keenly aware of the role that diplomacy has had in the shaping of the federation and especially in the history of Earth. Without further delay, I am pleased to introduce Sarek of Vulcan."

Amanda stepped back and allowed Sarek to walk to the center of the stage and step behind the podium. She moved behind the curtains and down the stairs as Sarek began with an abbreviated history of Vulcan.

Sarek did not need a vocal enhancer. His voice reverberated off the walls and filled the room under its own power and she found herself engrossed in his presentation. He had ended the introduction and had begun speaking on first contact. She, along with the rest of her colleagues and students, listened with rapt attention as Sarek discussed the initial meeting between the two planets, from a Vulcan perspective. It was completely new information to her, and she was loving every moment of it, and by extension, him too.

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At the end of the hour-long session the bell chimed again and students and professors rose and began walking up to the stage. Amanda hung back, as Sarek patiently remained to answer the questions posed to him. They had talked of Vulcan history, of his role as an Ambassador, and there had been many, many questions centered directly on the financial crisis.

In all, it was an additional hour before the last person left the auditorium and only she and Sarek remained. Dr. Templeton was the last to depart, after receiving the contact information for the embassy. He and Sarek had spoken at length about the need for greater cultural understanding. Sarek had given Templeton the contact information for Silek- who, as embassy director, was in charge of the public relations sector.

Now it was just the two of them, and she waited between the pews as Sarek walked down the side stairs of the chairs to join her.

They walked out of the auditorium and into the mid-day sun side by side, neither touching, but comfortably close.

Two weeks later, the markets crashed.