His Assistant

Sarek was up before the sun, looking over his schedule for the day. As he sorted through various PADDS, he took a moment to watch the sun rise over the San Francisco Bay. He shivered slightly and then chided himself for the gesture. The climate controls throughout most of the Embassy kept room temperature at an adequate approximation of what he and the mostly Vulcan staff found conducive to maximum work capability. The hallways were another story and the few rooms which Human employees occupied. He regarded himself foolish, but permitted himself to get up and close his door. The heat leaving his office would be replaced by the vents quicker than the colder air from the hallway would displace the warm air. He was alone however, and found it easier to keep his iron control in place during the day if he not only meditated more, but also allowed himself to relax a little in privacy.

There were many small meetings on his schedule today. Then there were documents from both his home world and Earth that needed to be dealt with. The rising sun he was now watching would be long set by the time he retired to his personal quarters. One meeting intrigued him more than any of the others. It had been recommended a couple years back that he take on a Human assistant as well as his Vulcan ones. He had welcomed the idea as yet another way to study Earth culture and be an appropriate representative of his world and people. In application, however, it hadn't gone as smoothly as it should have been. In the past three years he had gone through eight assistants. He had decided this would be the last one if they couldn't at least more than one Earth season.

The credentials, at least, of this one looked promising. Amanda Grayson had not only studied Vulcan culture, but also had an impressive command of the Vulcan language. Perhaps she had higher odds of lasting than the others. She had even offered to start an Earth languages and cultures class for the offspring of the Vulcan staff in her spare time. Such devotion to one's work was something to be admired as well as her academic records.

The official work day had just begun, the offices filling up when Soran brought Amanda Grayson into meet him. After the brief introduction he watched as Amanda bowed formerly and spoke, "T'nar pak sorat y'rani" He did not let his astonishment show, barely a raised eyebrow was his reaction to her flawless formal greeting.

"T'nar jaral" he offered in return, bowing just a tad deeper than he would have for any other Human offering him this greeting. As he rose, he looked at her closely. The planes of her face and the way her hair framed them were most aesthetically pleasing. If he were human he would have simply called her beautiful, as she was, by any standard- Vulcan or Human. It was not logical, but as long as he did not show it, he allowed himself the hope she would last far longer than any of his other Human assistants.