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From: "Sileya" <sil@sileya.net>
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Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 12:27:59 -0600
Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW CORR: It's All Relative [TOS, Sa/Am, Soran, Al, Nel, T'Sar, K, S/NC-17] 7/8
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PART 7 [CORRECTED VERSION]

Disclaimer in Part 1

The meeting ended, and everyone filed out of the conference room in a tense,
subdued mood.  The Cellesians still had not signed, and although they did
indicate a willingness to consider the points made today, Sarek was not
hopeful they would change their minds.  Only Spock and Kesep seemed
unaffected by the day's failure.  They were both now at the rear of the
group, speaking amicably amongst themselves while their fathers struggled to
maintain polite conversation during the walk back to the transporter room.
They had just rounded a corner in the corridor when the door to the lounge
slid open and a small group of crewmen in casual garb spilled out, bumping
into the diplomatic party.  Apologies were boastfully offered, and after
wishing everyone in the vicinity a loud but Merry Christmas, the crewmen
made their way down the hall singing carols along the way.

Kezule's party watched them move away, then looked at the ambassador
questioningly.  Sarek was nonplused, and looked at his son for an
explanation to his crew's behavior, but Spock was no longer behind them,
apparently having left the procession along with Kesep on their own agenda.
Sarek cleared his throat, "I apologize, Leader Kezule.  It is obvious those
crewmen were somewhat intoxicated.  I'm at a loss to explain why, but I
assure you it is not acceptable conduct for the Enterprise crew."

"Looks like the Christmas party's started early," Amanda supplied.

"Christmas party?" Kezule asked.

"Yes, Christmas is an Earth celebration, and the parties are just an
opportunity for family and friends to get together and share food and drink,
and have a good time together.  I think those gentlemen have simply had more
celebration than they're used to.  They meant no offense."

"Yes, my people also enjoy celebrations."

"Well, shoot, why don't we all mosey on in there for a bit and see what sort
of goodies they've cooked up?  Apparently the boys have gone off for awhile,
so we gotta wait somewhere."

"I believe we have occupied enough of their time, Alfred," Sarek
interjected.

"Nonsense.  They said they enjoy celebrations, didn't they?"  He walked
toward the door the crewmen came out of.  He looked over his shoulder to see
if the rest were following as he stepped into the room.

"We accept." Kezule promptly said, his party nodding their approval.

"I see," Sarek said lamely.  "In that case, I suppose a few moments at the
festivities would not hurt." He turned and led the party into the lounge,
stopping short inside the room to stare at the noisy crowd before him.

The noise dimmed slightly when several of the crewmembers recognized who had
entered, but soon the merriment continued.  Sarek turned back towards his
wife and father-in-law.  "I do not think this is a wise idea."

"Sure it is.  Let them see us as we really are," Al said.  He led them to a
relatively quiet corner of the room and went to get some trays of food.  He
motioned over a steward and asked for a couple of bottles of wine - the good
stuff, mind.

Al had unwittingly chosen the perfect location.  The bench seats were flush
against the wall, and as the Cellesians were led to the back, the men all
took the seats and the women had no choice but to be allowed to sit beside
them.  There was nowhere else for them to go.  Once everyone was seated at
the table, the Cellesians watched the activities around them, eyes wide and
faces smiling at the jubilance.  Al brought the food and drink and passed
them around.

The crew was robust in their celebrations, running around the room, singing,
and laughing.  Sarek almost cringed when a young couple practically fell on
their table when their play became out of hand as the male attempted to
extract a kiss from the female, but fortunately Kezule and his men seemed
quite amused at their antics.

"This one is your only wife?"  Kezule's question brought Sarek's attention
back from watching the couple slip away back into the crowd.  He noticed the
Leader looking Amanda over assessingly.  "I have twelve," he boasted.

"Yes, she is," Sarek confirmed.

Amanda heard the question and leaned forward to offer her own input.  "I
assure you I am the only wife he needs, or can handle."  She smiled at her
husband saucily, enjoying a moment of sweet revenge for his teasing earlier.

Sarek raised an eyebrow at his wife's challenge, "Yes, she is," he
deadpanned, allowing her this dig at his expense.

Kezule studied the odd couple seriously for several moments, his eyes
roaming over Amanda yet again, but this time his thoughts were disturbingly
clear to Sarek.  Finally he nodded, somehow finding them to his liking, or
at least accepting them.  "I also once had a wife whom I developed great
affection for.  She was killed several years ago when a rival tribe
attempted to overtake our village, but not before providing me with Kesep."
He glanced briefly at Amanda again before addressing Sarek.  "She also had a
tendency to speak out of turn; however, I found her..." he searched for an
appropriate Federation term, "proficiency at her other duties enabled me to
forgive her sharp tongue."  The smile upon his face left no doubt as to
which duties he was referring.  Sarek nodded knowingly, and Amanda quickly
hid her smirk behind a napkin.

Their attention then turned to Spock, who joined the table followed by
Kesep, carrying Spock's lirpa.  As the sons sat down, the Cellesians eagerly
examined the weapon as Kesep proudly showed off his new possession.

Sarek's eyebrow rose at the sight of the weapon, then he leaned over toward
his son and asked, "You armed the opposing team?"

Spock flushed slightly, shrugging.  "He was interested in our combat weapons
so I took him to my quarters to show him my display."

Sarek nodded, then reiterated, "Then you armed the opposing team?"

Spock swallowed hard.  "He appeared to truly appreciate the craftsmanship.
I thought it would be a gesture of trust."

Soran entered the conversation by saying, "We knew they were interested in
our weaponry, did we not?  This is a solid show of good faith.  Well done,
Commander."

"Indeed, let us hope that our faith is not misplaced in young Kesep then,"
Sarek said, his tone teasing.

Soran joined in the ribbing.  "At least it is refreshing to know that Spock
has kept his equipment in good condition.  The lirpa looks well polished
and... sharp."

"Lemme look at that thing!" Al said, his eyes wide at the ferocity of the
weapon.

Kesep proudly handed it over to the elder Grayson.

"Holy moley, this thing is wicked-looking!  Nell, did you know he had this,
what did you call it?"  Al had never seen it before.

"A lirpa," Spock said.  "I have been trained in its use since the age of
five."

Kesep and Kezule looked at Spock with admiration.  Such a formidable weapon
at so young an age was most impressive.  "Is this normal for your children,
or are you specifically trained in the warrior arts?" Kezule asked.

Sarek spoke up, "It is required learning for all males."  Sarek didn't
explain why it was so as it was a private matter due to the weapon's
possible use during the kalifarr.

"Do all your males train for war then?" Kezule asked.

"Not for war, but for self-protection," Sarek amended.

"It is more a tradition," Soran added.  "A task all males must learn before
becoming men.  The art is rarely ever needed anymore."

"Our males also have to protect themselves as well," Kezule said, looking at
his son.  "This reminds me of our maturity rite.  We must swim to the island
of Treol, which is many deops away.  It is an arduous swim, and only the
strong are able to do it.  We lose some each year."  He shook his head.

Sarek nodded knowingly.  "We also have such a rite, but across the desert,
of course, as Vulcan has very little water.  We no longer permit our
children to perish in the trials, however."

"You have no system to monitor the swimmers?" Amanda asked.

"No.  It is a test of strength.  Why would we coddle them during that?"
Kezule demanded.

"Why lose your youngest boys?" Amanda answered.

"If they are not strong enough to swim to Treol, then we don't want them,"
Kezule countered.

"What if they're just having a bad day?" Amanda snapped, angered at the
thought of children dying in some useless rite of manhood.  She could
clearly recall her anger when Sarek insisted Spock perform his kahs-wan.  It
was only when he assured her no harm would come to Spock that she relented
and permitted his participation.

"I fear I would surely fail your rite, Kezule," Sarek interjected,
attempting to turn the conversation away from Amanda's confrontation.

Soran took this advantage to change the subject, and said, "Yes, as I recall
Sarek had some experience with water while he was courting his wife.
Perhaps you can relate that story to us, Ambassador?"

"Indeed I did, Soran.  It was an. interesting experience."  Seeing the
anxious looks from all of the others, he realized that neither Spock nor his
parents-by-marriage had heard it.  "It was my first attempt at taking Amanda
out for dinner, but the vid media prohibited it.  Amanda suggested that we
return to her residence instead.  She lived near the ocean which I always
found fascinating."

Amanda nodded, smiling at the memory of that night.

Sarek continued.  "We ordered Chinese food to be delivered and after the
meal and two bottles of wine, we decided to go for a walk along the beach.
If I recall, the moon was full that night, was it not, Amanda?"

"Oh, yes, it was light as day, just about.  Good thing, too, or I probably
would have lost you in the water!"

"Indeed.  As we were walking, we wandered close to the ocean and a large
wave came in and knocked me down.  My robes filled with very cold water, and
I was pulled out with the wave.  I am unable to swim, and the heaviness of
my clothing was pulling me under the surface.  I was very concerned that I
would drown."  Sarek almost shuddered at the memory.

Amanda chuckled slightly.  "It wasn't funny at the time, but after the fact
I couldn't help but realize that had Sarek drowned, he would have died on
only about four feet of water!  It wasn't deep, but between the hard waves
and those robes, he couldn't even manage to stand up."

"All I remembered was Amanda's voice, calling to me and telling me to
stand."  Turning to Spock, he said, "Your mother is a very strong swimmer,
but I was panicking and would have drowned her as well had she come close to
me.  She kept telling me to stand and move closer to her.  Being in all of
that water is very disorienting."

She looked at Kezule sharply.  "I suppose you would have suggested I let him
die!"

Kezule turned his attention to Amanda, eyeing her tensely before leaning
across the table to address her. "Woman, I think he would not have died, not
when he had you waiting on the beach to tend to him."

Amanda's mouth opened, a sharp retort waiting to be fired off when she
realized the Cellesian leader had actually given her a compliment.  She
blushed, speechless.

Hurrying to continue the story before all the goodwill evaporated, Sarek
said, "Once I stood up and realized the actual depth of the water, she came
and helped me onto the shore.  We then went back to her place where I dried
off."  Looking at his wife, he said, "I believe I developed a cold after
that experience."

Al grunted, drawing attention to himself.  "And what exactly were you
wearing on that first date while you were 'drying off' at my little girl's
house, hmm?"

Turning to his father-in-law, he deadpanned, "A blanket."

"A blanket from where?" Al demanded.

"From her hall closet, I believe."

"Well, Dad, a blanket was the only thing that made sense.  We couldn't share
our body heat in a little towel, now could we?" Amanda teased.

Al paled, grabbing a nearby flask and filling his glass to the very top.
"I'm not hearing this," he muttered emptying the glass in one gulp and
refilling it.  "I don't want to know.  Let's move on, please."

Nell shook her head.  "Don't ask if you don't wanna know, you old coot."

Al looked at his wife imploringly.  "Did you know about this?"

"Of course not. But they're married now, so what's the big deal?" Nell
asked, innocently.  "It's not as if they did something we hadn't already
done when we were dating."

Al groaned, "But the first date?"

Spock stared at his father, his expression pensive.

Sarek simply looked at his son as if to say, 'What?'.

The Cellesian delegation roared in laughter at the teasing.  Kezule slammed
his fist on the table, shaking the glasses.  "This is good.  We must leave
now, Ambassador, but I think we can sign your treaty in the morning.  The
particulars will work themselves out, I believe."

~~**~~




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