Shi'kahr was golden and blazing brilliant oranges and reds. It had the same regal architecture as it had for over a millennia. The intricate detailed work on the metal facade and the elegant contours of the buildings were exquisite. The constancy of its infrastructure was a welcoming sight to Sarek when he looked over the marvelous city through the spacecraft's window. A sense of calm permeated through him as his eyes scanned the skyline. Vulcan was a more agreeable place than Earth. Sarek determined he would only go to Earth when he was summoned. Since his father was deceased he did not estimate that he would be taking a return trip anytime soon.

An unchecked anger ignited in his chest as his mind recalled the series of events that had taken place over the last 2 days. He took in a slightly sharp inhale of oxygen as his thoughts went through the vivid memories. Logic. Control. He chanted those words in his head. With his exhale of breath his control reigned again and it would be something he would analysis in detail soon. He stepped away from the window as the ship began to land. The constant humming of the engine was silenced in a moment. He instantly felt the weight of Vulcan's gravity but it was familiar and welcoming to him. Sarek knew it was time to vacate his quarters. He walked to the door and it slide open for him automatically. It was odd that the corridors were silent as he passed through them. He did not observe any other Vulcans in the space. Sarek decided to continued en route to exit the ship. As he approached the main lobby he saw the other members of the delegation. There were approximately 15 of them. Various members of his clan and those that were extremely loyal to his father Skon. There was an almost solemn air about them. Their eyes all turned to him as he entered the lobby. He started to walk pass them to exit the ship.

Some in the delegation gave him long looks as he passed by them in his traditional robes. A few offered the Terran salute as he passed. It was a fascinating sight. He was not familiar with the knowing glances, and strange sense of solidarity he almost saw in their eyes. It was a foreign sight to behold. The universe was usually cruel and relentless.

A young male from his clan known as Soval approached him as he passed, "Tushah nash-veh k'odu, Sarek."

Sarek slightly nodded and replied "Lesek, Soval."

He walked through the exit and could feel the steady gaze of those behind them. His eyes focused on the platform and noticed there were an unusual amount of Vulcans present. He was immediately surprised to see his clan pid-kom, T'Pau. Her presence made Sarek's eyebrow raise slightly in question. The elderly Vulcan woman's life was filled with many years. Each wrinkle on her face showcased the amount of wisdom she had gained over her lifetime. The traditional robes she wore stated that she was the matriarch of the clan. The Terran Empire symbol was worn on her chest next to the S'chn T'gai symbol. There was a sense of arrogance and severity that accompanied her, but her presence demanded automatic respect from those around her. T'Pau was the strictest in her logic and in control of her own emotions at all times. She was perhaps the most controlled one out of the entire clan.

T'Pau offered the salute and Sarek returned it.

"Pid-kom, I question why you are here at my arrival on Vulcan?"

"It was necessary that I oversaw thy safe return to our planet."

"I see."

"We must return to the fortress with haste."

Sarek knew the statement was an absolute command. T'Pau's sense of urgency was intriguing and Sarek wondered what the source of it was. He assumed there was much to discuss about Skon and T'Latya.

"Agreed," replied Sarek.

Sarek walked next to T'Pau who was leading the way to a hover car. The sound of heavy boots hitting the floor reached Sarek's ears. In his peripherals he could see Imperial Starfleet officers running towards him.

The officer shouted, "Hey! Wait!"

The sound reverberated off the walls and all movement on the platform came to an eerie halt. Sarek stopped his course to the hover car. The man ran up to him and soon another officer was behind him. They both seemed slightly out of breath from the amount of physical activity they had completed.

"You are subject to a complete search by order of the Emperor."

Sarek was not pleased by the request, but he did not have anything that would incriminate him. In any case, the idea of being physically searched was an unpleasant thought. The fact that he would be subject to do so in front of many was highly uncomfortable and mortifying. His eyes darted across the space and he estimated 43 individuals were in clear view of the scene unfolding in front of him. Terrans did not understand how inappropriate physical touch was. They were far from concerned about the customs and traditions of any sentient being that had a different genetic make up from them. Their own traditions and beliefs seemed to permeate everything and dominated anything that was less than them.

Sarek felt some hesitation before he could speak. In his mind he knew that his chances of continuing to exist would increase if he subjugated himself to this unbearable situation.

He spoke evenly and with much control, "I only wish to serve the Emperor. Proceed."

The officer started to approached Sarek with a tricorder to conduct the first part of his search. The other officer started to conduct a physical search by patting him down. He braced his mind as the officer started to examine him. The tricorder came back with inconclusive results and the young officer sighed in frustration.

"This damn thing isn't working right. It's a piece of shit."

Sarek titled his head slightly, "The tricorder is not excrement. I do no not understand your usage of the word."

The young Terran looked livid after hearing Sarek speak, "You Vulcans better learn your place! All of you act like you don't understand a single word that comes out of our mouths. You are all green-blooded idiotic robots!"

The emotions of the young man were shocking to Sarek. Yes, he had seen anger and other emotions come from Terrans, but he was not used to infant-like behaviors emanating from them. He should have expected that much from them. His opinion was incrementally becoming more negative in regard to them. A small sense of annoyance went through Sarek. Vulcans continually had to bend to Terran cultural and social norms but they never tried to understand Vulcans and their culture. It was a frustration that Sarek rarely thought of. Currently it was at the forefront of his mind and he felt a spark of rebellion in him.

Sarek titled his chin slightly to the air and spoke in an even voice, "Stating that an entire species is machinery is highly inaccurate."

The Terran clenched his jaw and tightened his fist. Sarek could tell that the officer was ready to assault him. He was able to calculate his trajectory and avoid his hand.

The man looked even more frustrated, and tried again. Before the man could throw another punch T'Pau came up to the man and nerve pinched him. The man slumped to the ground at their feet.

"Enough. Thou must return to the fortress." T'Pau's face was stoic and her command was infallible and Sarek started to follow her. The other Imperial Starfleet officer finally spoke,

"You can't just do that to Terrans!" The officer was holding a phaser towards T'Pau. Sarek's posture stiffened when he was saw the weapon. Calculations went through his head at the possible outcomes of this event, and the possibility of T'Pau getting exterminated were well over 50.2%. Sarek glanced at those gathered around. A number of Vulcans had stopped and stared at the spectacle.

Before the officer could pull the trigger, Sarek heard the sound of another phaser being activated. He saw the laser beam reach the officer before they could even react. Sarek looked over at the person who had fired the weapon. Assaulting an Imperial Starfleet officer had devastating consequences to behavioral credit. It was not logical to do so. To Sarek's astonishment it was the young male, Soval, who had expressed his condolences. The young man looked over to Sarek, "It is only logical to preserve the life of our clan leader."

Sarek raised his brow, the only emotion he could place was gratitude.

T'Pau spoke to the young male, "Thy service honors us."

Sarek glanced at the crowd of Vulcans that now surrounded them. It was only moments later when Sarek could hear more Starfleet officers heading towards them. Their shouts and feet hitting the ground were filling the silence that was around them. The officers shoved their way through the crowd, and stood silently as they observed what was in front of them. There was an unconscious Imperial Starfleet officer slumped on the ground and there was a young male Vulcan who was still holding a phaser. Sarek saw one officer clench her fist. The hatred that blazed from their eyes sealed the fate of Soval.

Multiple phasers started to buzz as they prepared to shoot Soval down. The tension that filled the air was intense as everything went to a standstill.

The next moments could only be described by Sarek as surreal. Soval shot his phaser at the officer that was closest to him and they were obliterated to ashes. Within 2.3 seconds Sarek saw the phasers glow as they buzzed with energy; the weapons all fired at various times and his eyes followed the shot that made Soval into nothing more than dust. The other shots were fired haphazardly into the crowd without much consideration or thought. One of the laser beams reached an innocent bystander and they met their death in an instant. After the firing stopped it was dangerously silent as the officers looked at each other nervously and the Vulcans were trying to process the events that had just occurred. Sarek watched as a Vulcan charged at another officer with a violence he could only imagine was presence before the pre-reformation. The Vulcan was able to tackle the officer to the ground and soon a frenzy of violence filled his view. It was utter chaos and Sarek had never seen anything like it. The smell of sizzling flesh reached his nostrils. Red and green blood started to assault his vision as he took in the scene. The sounds of the phasers and shouting filled his ears. In a matter of seconds a massacre was taking place in front of Sarek's eyes. The havoc that he saw was unlike anything he had seen on Vulcan soil.

Vulcans were strict in their obedience of the law. It was not logical to completely give into anger and violent impulses if they made your ability to maintain control disappear. Sarek continued to look on as he saw phaser beams and Vulcans nerve pinch officers. Through the chaos Sarek heard T'Pau's voice.

"We must depart, Sarek."

Sarek did not hesitate and he almost ran into the hover car. Through the window, Sarek looked on at the events taking place. A part of Sarek knew that this event would change the stability of Vulcan. An incident of this scale could not be overlooked by the planet. The news of it would spread and reach every Vulcan household. He could not anticipate social reaction but he knew that the news would be met with outrage. The coming days would only reveal what would happen.

The rest of the drive was met with complete silence. They reached the fortress and T'Pau motioned for him to follow her to the ancient battle room that existed in the home.

When he entered he saw his mother T'Rama and 2 other clan members. Sarek felt through the parental bond that he had with his mother her sense of relief at physically seeing him. No one spoke, and Sarek looked to T'Pau for her words. Her face remained emotionless but in her eyes he could almost see anger.

"I did not anticipate the violence that ensued at the station. The blood of innocence cries from the ground loudly. The Terran Empire will not react to this lightly and neither will citizens of Vulcan. The S'chn T'gai are true and loyal subjects of the Empress. Now is the time to set an example to the Vulcan people."

Sarek nodded, "I only wish to serve the Empire. It is only through logic and submission to the Terran Empire that we can obtain peace."

T'Pau seemed almost pleased by Sarek's response. She must have questioned his loyalty to the Empire. His resolve in his beliefs of the Terran Empire were growing thin but his support could not waver, especially now. He knew that he must ignore his growing distain for the brutality of the Terrans, and he would for the sake of his clan, and for the sake of Vulcan.

"Thy service honors us all. The death of thy father, Skon, has been most unsatisfactory. His loyalty was without question and his intentions were only concerned with the progression of the Empire. Through intelligence from the ISS Forge we have discovered that T'Latya has factiously created evidence that made it appear that Skon was guilty of treason."

Sarek responded quickly, "T'Latya did not hesitant to exterminate Skon at the delegation. She revealed to me that the Emperor pledged to her governorship over Vulcan when the decree was to be lifted. I have only circumstantial evidence for her betrayal. I estimate that her desire to become Governor of Vulcan has been presence for a number of years. Her actions were extremely calculated and thorough. "

"T'Latya's crimes must be discovered in their entirety. We must find evidence. She must not fill the governor seat to Vulcan. That is why I have gathered T'Rama, Torin, and Lhai to assist thee in thy efforts."

Sarek raised his brow, "Pid'kom, you have insinuated that I wished to be involved?"

"It is without question thou are involved. Thou hast seen the blood of Skon spilled before thee. Thou are to manage these efforts for thyself and thy clan."

"You are correct in your assumptions. I will honor us with this service, T'Pau. Yet a complication in the matter is present; my current occupation at the Vulcan Science Academy is full-time."

"That is why I have selected thy clan members to assist thee."

Sarek nodded silently and looked over at his mother and his clan members Torin and Lhai.

Torin was a 2nd cousin to him on his father's side. He was middle aged man and had pepper colored hair. Sarek had spoken to Torin on various occasions but never developed a close relationship with him. Torin was an academic and was an ideal choice for this assignment. Lhai was married to his cousin Kovar. Lhai was closer to Sarek's age but she was 10.3 years older than him. Lhai was an Imperial Starfleet officer, and was an instructor at the Terran-Vulcan Imperial Academy. Her connections were valuable and Sarek agreed with T'Pau's logical choices. Sarek had one question on his mind and spoke.

"What is the correct way to communicate with Selek? I am anticipating that his discovery of our investigation of his bondmate would only be met with extreme displeasure."

"He is to not be informed. Only those in this room will have any knowledge of the investigation of T'Latya. We can only reveal our information after we have found the evidence we seek."

"Understood. That is the correct way to approach this assignment. We will start immediately, Pid'kom."

Sarek's mind started to think back on the last 5 hours and felt a small sense of urgency at addressing his and T'Pau's presence at the station when the violence occurred.

"T'Pau?"

"Speak, Sarek."

"How are we to inform the authorities of our presence at the station? The situation occurred because of the physical search that was being conducted on my anatomy."

T'Pau lifted her brow in response, "Terrans can be easily manipulated with credits. Our presence was only a coincidence and the violence only occurred because of Soval."

Sarek should have assumed as much. That is how the clan operated to maintain a positive relationship with the Terran Empire, as well as, Vulcan.

T'Pau left the room without another word and Sarek looked to his mother and his clan members. Sarek felt a sense of determination rise in his chest to see T'Latya's demise. They had much work to conduct and it was only the beginning.

Author's Notes:

I have officially moved and started my new job. So I have finally found time to write this. This is a shorter chapter but I already have the next one partially written. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon if life doesn't get too busy. Sorry about any grammatical errors I missed while editing.

Please leave a review! They are seriously food for my fanfic writing soul.