A/N – Thanks to all you reviewers out there. I love the feedback. Special Note to Snowdove30 – who has supported me throughout my works including my Harry Potter stuff . Welcome Elaine451 – thanks for the reviews.
Chapter 9 – Hodge Podge
Once Autumn returned because she found out about Sarek's heart attack, she insisted upon taking care of him even though he could take care of himself. However, Sarek knew feminine stubbornness so he let her cook for him. Since she swam in his pool, let her dogs roam in his ample yard and generally looked after his well-being with all but the latter at his insistence, logic dictated that she move in with him: platonically. Plus he wanted to ensure her safety. Together they researched for the upcoming peace talks: her with cuisine and him with Romulan culture and politics. Often they collaborated successfully. Over all, he found her presence pleasant leading him to one logical conclusion. He contacted her family and arranged a video conference with her parents the day before they left for the peace talks.
To prepare, Sarek did a background check before speaking to them. Oddly Autumn's maiden name was Beaumont as well. It seemed her husband was Autrey Beaumont of Tennessee but no relation. Autrey finished Starfleet Academy as Autumn began the Bauman Culinary and Holistic Nutrition Institute. They lived in adjacent apartment complexes from the beginning of their schooling. That's probably how they met.
Autumn's Beaumont family had been around for several hundred years and started as cotton growers. Two hundred years later they switched to peaches. With the acquisition of more land and hydroponics, they branched out into over thirty different fruits and vegetables two hundred years ago. Currently, Autumn's parents Clay and Brenda ran their farm with Alston their eldest son, Summer their daughter and third child and Hastings their son and fourth child. They donated some farm equipment to a displaced Vulcan farming family who set up their farm on New Vulcan.
Autumn's anxiety over the menu assured him of privacy as he connected the call. Before him, a rather tall sandy haired man with a farmer's build and tan and his wife a rather petite fair blond with facial features similar to Autumn's features calmly watched the screen. They sat on a large plush couch in a huge open air living room with old fashioned lace curtains on the tall arched windows, a grandfather clock and hardwood floors in the background. From the size and clarity of the picture, he deduced they embraced everything modern as well as everything old. The phrase Salt of the Earth came to his mind. "Good evening, I'm Sarek of New Vulcan. Thank you for accepting my call Mr. and Mrs. Beaumont."
"Well, it's such a pleasure to speak with you. Please call me Brenda and this is Clay." Her accent was a bit thicker than Autumn's. Clay nodded. "Are you calling us about Autumn? Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine and yes I'm calling regarding Autumn."
Just then a tall young man of twenty or so resembling Clay, a teenage girl resembling Autumn but younger and with straight hair and a blond fifteen year old boy ran in and descended in front of and next to their parents. "This is private." Clay glared at them. "Out," he said.
"But Pa, I wanna see the man Autumn's crushin on," Summer said in a whiny voice.
"Pa, this Ambassador Sarek. He's famous." Hastings slumped away.
Alston herded them out. "I was trying to stop them."
"Sorry bout that," commented Brenda as they left. "So anyways, you wanted to talk to us about Autumn."
"Yes, we have been spending some time together and have developed a mutual fondness. If things continue to progress favorably between us, the next step will be bonding and marriage. Mr. Beaumont, I'm asking for your daughter's hand in marriage."
Both of them almost gasped. "Well, I'm honored that you asked me first. That shows character but then I guess you wouldn't be an ambassador if you weren't honorable." Clay leaned forward. "Now, me and my family spent a month on New Vulcan helping the Agri Excolo clan get there farm goin' so I'm familiar with your culture and I have no problems with your people. They're good people. I know better than to say anything about age because I know Vulcans live much longer than humans so that's not a problem. The other thing I know is that Vulcans don't lie and appreciate candor themselves so I'll be blunt if you don't mind."
"Please," Sarek replied.
"Well I respect your emotional control but if you want to marry my daughter you better love her. Since I know about your privacy and respect it, I won't ask you the question directly but instead ask that we not continue this continue this conversation if you don't love her."
"We should continue this conversation," Sarek stated.
"Good," Clay replied.
Brenda looked at her husband and back to Sarek with a furrowed brow. "My daughter has quite the opposite personality of what most Vulcans have. Are you sure you two can get along or do you hope she'll change?"
"As to compatibility, she has been staying with me for two weeks, platonically of course, and I've known your daughter for a few months now. I find her personality compliments my own. Therefore, I don't wish for her to change."
"Autumn's living with you, platonically?" asked Brenda.
"Indeed," replied Sarek. "Some of the traders who pass through are unsavory and New Vulcan's defense force is still being assembled. By having her here, I can assure her safety."
"You have my blessing," replied Clay.
"Mine as well," replied Brenda.
"Thank you," Sarek replied. "I plan to propose in a few weeks. I would like it to be a surprise."
"We won't tell her," replied Brenda.
Sarek turned off the comm and meditated. Already, he gave Autumn some literature on bonding since she expressed curiosity about how Vulcans interact and date which they really didn't do. Their relationship progressed slowly though they were already committed. For both of them, it worked. Inhaling deeply, he opened his eyes and snuffed out the incense.
From behind, he felt cool arms hug his neck and kiss his cheek. "Goodnight," Autumn whispered against his ear which sent a tingling down his spine.
Sarek stood and held out two fingers and she responded. "No excitement, Ha'ge," he said as he brushed aside a silky tendril of fair hair. "Ha'ge means light."
"No excitement, huh," she said with a light peck to his lips. "Then you better stop flirting Handsome." With another quick kiss, she headed to her room. "Besides I'm being good. I'm wearing a baggy football jersey."
"That is skimpy by Vulcan standards."
"Well Handsome, you need to stop looking then."
Hodge Podge
Need It? We have it. Don't Need It. We still have it. Can't imagine it? We still have it.
Anything and everything under the red sun, yellow sun, many suns and many moons you need, can be found at Hodge Podge. While diplomats fight over who owns the space dust, we bargain. Conveniently located near the Briar Patch but not too close and not serving any Empire. Visit us because we have it.
No weapons allowed. Management reserves the right to refuse service to any patron. Politics forbidden – Credits Welcome. Parking validated with purchase of two hundred credits or more per day.
First Ring: Ship repairs, parts and service
Second Ring: Clothing – Female
Third Ring: Clothing – Male and Unisex
Fourth Ring: Beauty and Health
Five Ring: House wares
Sixth Ring: Food Court
Seventh Ring: Electronics
Eighth Ring: Music and Media
Ninth Ring: Jewelry
Tenth Ring: Exotic Plants
Eleventh Ring: Exotic Animals – No kill vendors only
Twelfth Ring: Harrods
Thirteenth Ring: Occult
Fourteenth Ring: Groceries: Fruits, Vegetables and Other
Fifteenth Rings: Groceries: Meats
Sixteen Ring: Children's Department
Seventeenth Ring: Bridal
Eighteenth Ring: Antiques
Nineteenth Ring: Residences
Twentieth: Under construction
A picture of a long cylindrical space station with circular bumps, like stacked tires, appeared on the screen. Touted as an engineering marvel, the middle axis served as a power fission generator using waste generated from the station itself. Decorative plants throughout the station oxygenated the atmosphere to supplement the normal atmospheric generators. Shuttle bays jutted from six points of each of the spheres. Neon signs of every color noted the contents of each cylinder. While diplomats fought, this massive strongly shielded space mall managed to promote peace for all races through shopping and mutual profit. Aboard a ten year old runabout with small living quarters but storage specifically designed for food, Sarek switched the controls to over to the station's master control which scanned the ship for weaponry before a tractor beam guided it to a space dock attached to the grocery section.
Once they landed, they set their comm links to track each other in case they got lost. Sarek sent a transmission to the central message center for Safak with the details of their landing and departure. Taking one of the Tribble Trails as the locals called them, a semi transparent walkway from the space deck to the main cylinder, they encountered humans, Andorians, Klingons, Ferengi, Talaxions and everything in between. Armed guards provided a safe environment throughout the station.
First, Autumn shopped for the meats without him in order not to offend his vegetarian tastes. While she did, he picked up some odds and ends for Spock and Nyota. For Spock, he chose some stringed instruments and for Nyota and several compilations of the latest music groups as chosen by the tattooed young human female behind the counter.
Then he made his way to the jewelry and exotic plant sections for some special items for Autumn. The young human female looked at him strangely as he walked into the ring section. "May I help you?"
"Yes, I need an engagement ring for a human female, size six."
The clerk showed him some rings and he picked something unique with diamonds. "Is is durable? She works with her hands quite a bit."
"These are treated so they won't tarnish. We can also treat it with skin tack so it won't easily slip off."
"Then do so."
Afterwards, he picked up a few suits for himself in the third ring. Autumn sent him a messaged asking him to meet her in the fourteenth ring to help her shop for some herbs and spices from some Ferengi in an hour. Since the occult section on the thirteenth ring intrigued him, he decided to use his hour there.
Oddly clad aliens and décor that reminded Sarek of Earth's Halloween decorated half of that level. Psychics and Tarot readers offered to tell his fortune. In the religious section, media evangelists promised his soul would go to heaven if he gave them all his money. In a back corner of the religion section, several different aliens from different religions screamed at each other as to which one was right. Sarek sighed. Of all the cylinders and of all the sections, this one that touted peace seemed the most combative. One of the guards stepped nearer and pressed a button which encased all the arguers together within a force field so outsiders couldn't hear them. "Until you can debate nicely, you're in time out."
As Sarek left the magic tricks section, he spotted the Conglomerate surrounded by guards heading into a conference room. The Conglomerate composed the station's owners and managers carefully balanced between all races to ensure the appearance of fair trade between all species. Two Orion males, one younger with a short cropped dark hair wearing very expensive tailored clothing while the other wore a blue suit of a style typified by Orion government officials entered with them. Sarek overheard mumblings of "that sort of trade is absolutely forbidden by the Federation."
While Sarek witnessed many peculiar occurrences in the universe, today he added one more. Behind them, a female Orion with bluish tinged green skin and long ebony hair in tiny braids wearing an expensive gown glided along tethered by her wrist to the younger male Orion with a delicate silver cord. Though Sarek had unfortunately encountered Orion slaves both male and female and found the entire business appalling, normally slaves wore irons. Maybe she was his wife. The female had an air of grace and serenity but not overt sexuality. However, Sarek couldn't decide which was more unusual: the Ferengi male trying to GIVE her a gold- pressed latinum anklet or the Klingon female expressing concern for her well-being.
"Come along Adena," the young male Orion said gently. "No one minds if you're in the same room with us while we discuss business."
Then Sarek joined Autumn on the fourteenth floor gently touching her two fingers to his. "Sarek, it seems that the Ferengi only want to discuss business with me if I'm naked."
While Vulcans suppressed emotions, rumors of Spock nearly killing his own captain had spread. Now everyone knew that they merely repressed them and that one should never anger a Vulcan or they may kill you. Though Sarek buried his feelings inside a fortress of logic, giving the appearance of anger was acceptable. In a raspy voice, he addressed the Ferengi dealer. "You told my female you wanted her naked."
The small big eared young Ferengi swallowed hard. "A mere jest," he replied. "Ninety percent off for Vulcan," he added.
Autumn then picked out a bounty of spices, tasting them to ensure freshness.
When they returned to their ship, a stocky young Vulcan named Safak awaited them. Inside the shuttle, he looked at the one cot and then to Sarek and Autumn. Ever so slightly, a look of disdain entered his eyes but quickly left as they left the space dock.