Sarek and Dansk
Chapter Eleven
Sarek led Dansk up to the guest rooms and opened the door to the suite that had been prepared for her. She smiled and said,
"I feel like a princess."
Sarek nodded and said,
"Dansk, may your rest be productive."
Sarek turned to leave and then informed her,
"Someone will knock on your door so as to escort you to the dining room in the morning."
"Thank you Sarek, may your rest also be productive."
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The next morning, as promised there was a faint knock on the door and a youthful voice that said,
"Osu Sarek awaits you for First Meal."
She was already dressed and groomed. she opened the door to discover a young Vulcan girl who nodded and started down the stairs and then turned back to insure that Dansk was indeed following her.
Sarek rose from his chair at the head of the table to welcome her and then after seating her to his left he removed the place setting from the far end of the table and set it before her.
"Dansk, it is the adun who is responsible for the well-being of his aduna and children. I believe that this subject was addressed by the education providedby my daughter and her companions. So what you are now going to experience is The Vulcan Rite of Service' where the adun serves his wife and children before he serves or eats himself. This I will perform for you now.
The meal was consumed in silence and once finished Sarek said,
"I will now give you the tour I promised."
As they walked the silent hallways and entered rooms, the staff bowed their heads in deference. Sarek could see the question forming in her mind.
"Dansk the deference you observed has nothing to do with me as a person, but it is respect for my office. You will, as my wife, Lady Dansk, will also command the same respect."
Besides him he heard Dansk inhale and then there was a whispered,
"Oh."
"Think of it as similar to the honors inherent to the position of judge. People stand at their entrance and exit, must address said person with terms and address of respect, and an individual can be arrested and incarcerated if disrespect is shown for that office. I am sure that the judge no longer is consciously aware of this, but has knowledge that such goes along with the position. In due time, that is how it will become for you."
Sarek thought back on the difficult adjustment that his Amanda had to make. She was a passionate voice against injustice and tyranny, but hated the spotlight her efforts might entail. She was the equivalent of a Terran female lion in the protection of children of any species. He recalled the case of an orphanage that had been brought up on charges of mistreatment of its charges, and finding her in their bed, reduced to tears, with papers scattered around her. Making a spot for himself on the bed he lowered himself to her and placed his hand on her face. She had cried so long she was shuttering. This event occurred after the loss of two of their children and from trembling lips she said,
"She was only three years old."
Knowing that in her state she could never narrate the cause of her pain he placed his hands on her PSI points and she nodded.
The images that flooded his mind first was a tan skinned child being held by His Amanda. It looked as if she was visiting a facility to read to the children. This was a highlight of every trip she made to Terra. The child rested her head on his aduna's chest and was practicing the unsanitary Terran habit of thumb sucking.
Amanda always said, that the children usually outgrew the habit and felt it was better than the alternative, the pacifier. The child soft curls met her lips as she kissed her head and the little girl looked up and smiled.
Amanda was rocking back and forth in the throes of her grief. Grasping her shoulders he lowered his forehead to her's and sent her his calm. She finally voiced the reason for her grief,
"They killed her."
Sarek nodded in understanding.
"They shook her to death. They were enraged over her lack of bladder control. She was brought to the hospital and was there pronounced brain dead."
Sarek then gathered his aduna into his arms and held her. We will bring this matter to court. At that time it was His Amanda that had acted as his assistant and the case had been argued successfully with the identification of the one who had performed the criminal act and the establishment of Federation-wide regulations of all orphanages.
It had just taken seconds for Sarek to bring that occurrence to mind. He felt himself grateful that within his lifetime he was twice able to find someone who would complete him.
He relegated those memories to a deeper recess of his mind to allow his new life experiences with Dansk to take preeminence. He looked forward to his future with confidence.
Returning to the presence he took Dansk's elbow and guided her towards a series of doors on either side of a rather long hallway. He explained,
"These offices are dedicated to the acquisition of goods for trade and purchasing with Terran companies.. All the workers in these offices are Vulcan communication specialist. Each one has mastery of several Federation languages. He then took her back to the grand foyer and directed her attention to another Hallway on the opposite side with the same amount of offices.
"These offices house workers who review trade agreements that are generated here on Terra. All contract are read and reviewed by a group of four who then advise the Grand Committee on New Vulcan as to whether the pending agreement is for the benefit of 'the many'.
Returning to the foyer Sarek guided Dansk to the grand staircase and they climbed past the second floor where the stair cases divided to left and right. On this second floor were the guest rooms and the security office and apartments with its full glass view of the foyer and the front door. This area between Sarek's private apartment and the guest rooms were separated by that area.
The library contained writings from every part of The Federation were contained therein. Not only in digital form but also on printed page. Like the great houses of Europe whose libraries were the work of many generations, this library boasted of its being in existence since First Contact. Sarek pointed to an apartment in the rear of the library that was the private residence of his son and his family while visiting the embassy. They skipped the next two floors which were the staff's residences. Sarek and Dansk reached the top floor which housed conference rooms and storage. It had been determined that the most secure floor was of course the top one so these were always used when foreign delegates met at the embassy because of the safety factor. On the roof Sarek showed Dansk the indoor swimming pool, showers, sanitary facilities, closets, lockers and a gymnasium enclosed in reinforced transparent aluminum.
When the two of them viewed the basement, Dansk remembered being in the Classrooms there. On that level there were also additional storage rooms and housing.
Sarek led Dansk to the far left of the building and tapped a panel and an elevator door appeared.
He now said,
"What you will now see, My Dansk, is where we will call home while we are here on Terra. In case you have felt a change in gravitational pull while here at the embassy, it is because this building was designed with magnets imbedded in the floors so there has been a compromise in that area. The gravity is not quite Terra's, not quite New Vulcan's. The benefit is that it makes adjustment to New Vulcan easier and of shorter duration.
They now entered the lift and the elevator immediately rose to the family apartment. The door opened and Dansk observed a well-ordered large room with a kitchen area to the rear and doors on either side.
The furnishings were a mix of Vulcan and Terran. How appropriate. She questioned,
"Your Amanda decorated this apartment?"
Sarek nodded.
"She was a very wise woman."
Sarek pointed to the door on the left and explained,
"Those rooms at one time belonged to my son, but with his bonding, my mother gifted he and his aduna with her private apartment that has it's entrance in library and then she took his rooms. Taking her hand in his after raising his shields he led her to the other rooms and stated,
"These are our rooms. I will wait for you here in the sitting area. Feel free to examine these at you leisure and note any corrections you would wish to impose. These will be implemented immediately."
Dansk cautiously traversed the rooms, touching several items and made a determination. Returning to Sarek she said,
"I am certainly not afraid of 'ghost' either literal of figurative, but I would appreciate a change of the master bedroom. Do you have any recommendations?"
"We shall go shopping and you may pick new furnishing for that area."
Dansk sighed,
"Thank you my Adun."
Rising from the couch and taking her arm he said,
"Now we will visit the garden."