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Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 12:26:43 -0600
Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW CORR: It's All Relative [TOS, Sa/Am, Soran, Al, Nel, T'Sar, K, S/NC-17] 4/8
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PART 4 [CORRECTED VERSION]

 Disclaimers in Part 1

Five days after their arrival at Celles V, Amanda, Alfred, and Spock were
having a nice chat in Amanda's quarters when the swoosh of the cabin door
distracted them from their talks.  Sarek and Soran had returned to the ship,
exhausted; their frustration was palpable.  Without a word Sarek immediately
entered his office, Soran following hot on his heels.

"Well, hello to you too, darling," Amanda muttered.

"What the hell was that about?" Al asked.

"Dad..."

"I, too, must admit to a certain amount of curiosity," Spock concurred.

"Your father has been like this ever since he started these damn - er,
darned - negotiations with the Cellesians."  She sighed, looking at Sarek's
closed door.  "I wish I could do something to help."

"Indeed," Spock said.  "His behavior does seem unusual."

"Unusual?" Al snorted.  "He's running around like he's got a Denubian
sandworm wedged up his--"

"Dad!"

"Well," he smiled apologetically at his grandson, "you get the idea."

"Yes, the image was quite clear, unfortunately."  Spock attempted to
exonerate the thought from his mind.

"Well, I'm worried sick about him, Spock."  Amanda chewed her bottom lip
thoughtfully.  "Maybe you can talk some sense into your father."

Spock's eyebrows disappeared beneath his hairline.  "Mother, I do not
believe that my father would appreciate my interference in his work."

"Oh, nonsense.  Whether you believe it or not, your father respects your
opinion.  He's very proud of you, you know, even if he is too stubborn to
admit it."

"If you say so."  Spock looked at her dubiously.  "Mother, I will be of any
assistance that I can; however, it is my impression that Sarek does not wish
any involvement other than Soran's."

There was another snort from Al's direction.  "Bloody lot of good they're
both doing!  Those Cellesians won't even give 'em the time of day."

Spock looked at his grandfather, puzzled.  "Why should they give them the
time, Grandfather?  At any rate, I find it unlikely that would be the issue
as Vulcans have a perfect time sense, so 'getting the time of day' would be
unnecessary..."

"Boy, don't go all Vulcan on me," Al said, laughing.  "You're not too big
for me to turn over my knee."

"Grandfather, I was simply pointing out..."

"Enough you two!"  Amanda lamented.  "All I know is that these negotiations
are practically killing your father, and he'll take Soran right along with
him."

Spock's voice softened as he tried to comfort his mother.  "I, too, am
somewhat concerned about Father's work schedule, Mother, but I do not
believe that it is my place."

"Well, it's my place then!"  Amanda declared, striding purposefully to the
office door.  She raised her hand to sound the door buzzer, then paused,
looking back at her father and son who had remained in their seats.  "I'm
not going in alone; get over here!"

Al and Spock rushed over to her side.  Taking a deep breath, Amanda decided
to forego the warning that sounding the door buzzer would provide and just
walked into the office uninvited.  Sarek was seated at his desk, fingers
steepled and lost in deep thought.  Although he didn't seem to notice their
arrival, Soran did look up from his computer terminal.  He looked from
Sarek, to his family, and back, an expression of alarm briefly crossing his
features.  He shook his head, giving a pointed look in Amanda's direction, a
warning that Sarek would not be tolerant of interruptions.

Ignoring him, Amanda called out softly to her husband.  "Sarek."

He didn't respond so she tried again, louder.  "Sarek!"

His eyes cleared, his gaze snapping to Amanda by the door.  "You require
something of me?"

"Yes, I 'require' that you at least say hello to us."

"I do not have time for this, Amanda," he warned.

"Your son has taken time out of his busy schedule to help you; in fact,
we're all here to help."

"I see.  When my son or any of you become qualified to negotiate agreements
on behalf of the Federation, then I shall be interested in your opinions,
but until that time then..."  He trailed off, indicating the door.

"We did not mean to intrude," Spock bowed respectfully, turning toward the
door until his mother's grip on the arm of his shirt stopped him.  He
watched his parents glare at each other, neither blinking as some unspoken
challenge passed between them.

Suddenly releasing a deep breath, Amanda took a seat in the chair opposite
Sarek, turning her attention solely to Soran.  "Brief me on what happened so
far.  I want all the details."

Soran hesitated, waiting for his superior to object, but Sarek sat unmoving
in his chair; his fists were clenched and his face tight, but he remained
silent.  Clearing his throat, Soran quietly updated the threesome of the
negotiations to date and their perceived failures and successes.  "So you
see," he continued, "we have followed protocol, offered the usual gifts,
accepted theirs in return, and the talks seem cordial, but the Cellesians
refuse to be swayed and they will not explain why."

"Sounds like they don't trust ya," Al surmised.

"They have no reason to distrust us," Sarek spat, getting up from his chair
to pour himself some saya from a nearby flask.  "We have come to their
planet giving them the advantage, allowed their negotiation team to greatly
outnumber our own, offered gifts of which they approved, demonstrated
sufficient enthusiasm for the gifts they gave us, made concessions on
several points they requested, and we have in no way reneged on any of our
agreements.  What reason would they have to distrust us?"

"Well, you're not exactly a ray of sunshine sometimes, ya know?"

Sarek dismissed his theory immediately.  "I have dealt successfully with
emotional species for 48.687 years.  I highly doubt my Vulcan control would
be a concern at this point."

"Considering their proximity to our planet, I'm sure Cellesians have had
contact with Vulcans before," Spock supported.

"They have, which is why a Vulcan was chosen to conduct these negotiations,"
Soran inserted.  "What I find most unusual is that even now, after days of
talks and compromise, they still seem agreeable to the Federation's
requirements but simply refuse to sign the treaty."

"But they are interested in joining the Federation, or else you wouldn't
have gotten this far," Amanda mused.

"Presumably."

The room grew silent as everyone considered the situation.  Al got tired of
standing and took the chair next to Amanda's, resting his feet atop Sarek's
desk.  Spock remained standing, although he did venture farther into the
room as the discussion took off, and Sarek maintained his vigil by the saya.
"Perhaps there is some social protocol that has been overlooked?"

Soran consulted his PADD, shaking his head negatively.  "Not according to my
notes, which I assure you are both accurate and complete, Spock-kam."

"Of course, Soran-al, I would not suggest otherwise, except that your notes
are only as complete as the information currently available to the
Federation.  Perhaps there is some ceremony or custom that you unwittingly
failed to observe?"

"Perhaps so, Spock, but that information is hardly useful to us if the
Cellesians refuse to inform us of the slight."  Sarek went back to his
chair, tightly closed his eyes, and pressed his hand against his forehead.

"Sarek?" Amanda rose from her chair, prepared to rush to her husband's aid.

"A moment, Aduna."  Sarek held out his hand to forestall any further
intervention on her part.  A moment later his face relaxed, and he lifted
his head to address her directly.  "My head pains me just now, but it is
manageable."

Al shifted in his chair, uncrossing his feet and re-crossing them in the
opposite direction, still on top of Sarek's desk.  "Well, I would say - not
having any sort of experience in this, mind you - that the surest way to
know you haven't messed up their customs would be to imitate everything they
did."

"Such as?" Sarek asked, reaching out to move some of his documents from
beneath his father-in-law's feet.

"You said they greatly outnumbered you."  Spock stepped forward, addressing
his father directly.  "Perhaps there is a reason why, other than the 'safety
in numbers' advantage.  How many of them were there?  Could that number hold
any significance to them?  Who exactly was present at the meetings?  Do they
hold a particular significance to the proceedings?"

Soran and Sarek looked at each other and thought about who was in the room
at the time of their negotiations.  "Perhaps.  There was the Clan leader as
well as other high members of the Clan, their sons and nephews, and assorted
females who were not introduced to us," Soran said.  "The Clan leader's
eldest son seemed very involved in the proceedings.  He was listening
intently and occasionally whispering into his father's ear."  Turning to
Sarek for confirmation, he continued, "As far as I could determine kinship
lines, the elderly male that the Clan leader deferred to may have been his
father."

"Is it possible that those 'assorted females' were the wives and mothers of
the males?" Al asked.  "I dunno, but it sounds like they had their families
around them."

Soran looked at Sarek and raised his eyebrow.  "I suppose they did," he
said.

Al sat back looking smug.

"But what does that have to do with the negotiations?" Sarek asked.  "We are
trying to convince these people to give their women the same rights as the
males.  I fail to see how having one's son in the room will alter our
tactics."

"Maybe it's not your tactics they don't like," Al mused. "Maybe it's you
they don't like."

"That is not logical," Sarek stated categorically.  "They have dealt with
Vulcans before."

"Yeah, but how effective were those dealings, son?" Al asked in all
innocence.  "Seems to me that they haven't changed their ways much, have
they?  Anyway, it's just something to think about, is all."  Al straightened
in his chair and stood up.  "I'm going for dinner.  Who wants to join me?"
Al left the others standing in the room, then Spock joined him, out of a
sense of duty to this grandfather.

Amanda stood and crossed to her husband and his friend.  She reached out and
put her hand on Sarek's arm, trying to give him strength through her touch,
then left the two Vulcan diplomats and joined her father and son.

Sarek said softly, "Could it be that simple?  Could they have ignored us
simply because we failed to have family members present?"  Sarek put his
head in his hands.  "How could I have failed to notice that?" he asked.
"That should have been obvious to me, Soran, and it was not."

"If it is any consolation, I failed to see the connection as well,
Ambassador," Soran said.  He had rarely seen Sarek this troubled.  He knew
Sarek wasn't successful at all of his missions - no ambassador was - but he
had not seen him this affected before.  He knew that Sarek was a passionate
man under his strict controls, but he was concerned that his passion was
escaping its confines during this mission.  Soran wanted the women and
children given equal rights just as much as Sarek did, but Sarek seemed to
be losing his objectivity.

"Perhaps I should consider returning to retirement," Sarek said softly, so
softly that Soran almost missed it.

"Ambassador?"

"Perhaps I am out of my element," he continued.  "Perhaps someone younger
would be more effective."

"You are Vulcan's senior ambassador, Sarek.  You are not ineffective," Soran
assured him.

"I certainly am here," Sarek countered.  "I do not understand the tribal
chieftain at all.  Never have I been so... perplexed.  I know that there is
something crucial that eludes us, but I cannot precisely articulate this...
intuition."

"We were not briefed properly by the previous missions to Celles.  We were
never informed of the importance of family members attending the meetings.
That is not our fault, but we can salvage the situation."  Warming up to the
subject, Soran continued, "Before, we were not interested in the Cellesian
system joining the Federation, but now we are.  In essence, we are asking
them to change their ways to join our 'family' or 'tribe', so they are
expecting to be treated as family now.  They have shown us their family, but
we have not shown them ours.  Your father-by-marriage may have made a
correct observation.  We have been showing the formal respect expected in a
diplomatic situation, but perhaps they are looking for a more casual
response."

Sarek looked at his aide and friend, his eyes widening in understanding.
His voice was strong as he said, "We have not shown them the proper respect
they are due because we have not brought our family members with us?  Is
that what you are intimating, Soran?  That somehow not introducing them to
our families is a slight in their view?"

Soran nodded.  "I believe that is what I am saying, Ambassador.  It
certainly is worth an attempt.  If we are incorrect in our interpretation,
then we have lost nothing."

"Since the Cellesians seemed to be wearing their best clothing and weapons,
then we will also dress in our finest robes with all of our medals and
badges of office.  That may impress them as well," Sarek said.

Soran hesitated, then asked Sarek, "Will this mean that your
father-by-marriage and Spock will be joining us the next time we go
planetside?"

"I am uncertain," Sarek admitted.  "If we are to do as Alfred suggested and
imitate them, then they will no doubt be expecting my wife as well, but I am
not sanguine about Amanda going to that planet."

Soran nodded in agreement.  "I can certainly understand your apprehension.
Perhaps we could arrange for a meeting on the ship instead.  That would
ensure the safety of Amanda and any other females present."

Sarek thought about Soran's proposal and said, "They showed us their prowess
with their weapons.  I believe the Enterprise would be an equivalent show of
force."

"Indeed it would," Soran agreed.

"Soran, I leave it up to you to arrange.  I must meditate and prepare for
their arrival.  If you encounter any difficulties, inform me, and I am
confident I can persuade Captain Kirk to allow us the use of a conference
room."

~~**~~





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