Parents

Parents

Disclaimer: Paramount/Viacom copyrights star Trek and I do not own any of these characters. I write about them for pleasure and not for profit.

Spock stepped over the threshold of the big, old ShiKarii house and immediately heard Sarek declare somberly, "Such behavior cannot be tolerated."

A moment later his mother Amanda, employing the soothing manner she used whenever Sarek was specifically disturbed about some issue, murmured diplomatically, "I agree, Husband. The situation seems to be an impossible one."

He had learned early to avoid Sarek when in that disposition. Now he paused out of sight in the cool hallway, tensed for flight, his head tilted to one side, while he listened intently to his parent's conversation. As he continued to eavesdrop attentively for any clue to the subject of the discussion, his agile brain hastily reviewed recent actions for any indiscretions. For it was, undoubtedly, that tone of voice. What could he have done that was so appalling?

Maybe it had something to do with the meeting Sarek had requested that morning with Spock's teacher, Master Shaanak. But while Spock accepted that his schoolwork rarely measured up to Sarek's exacting standards, he was convinced that it had not deteriorated enough to be deemed intolerable even by his father. So, if not schoolwork, what else could have distressed Sarek to such an extent?

Again his father's stentorian tones rumbled out into the hallway, "--- totally incomprehensible, Amanda!"

Spock shuddered in trepidation. He had already heard far too much for his peace of mind. If he disappeared for a time maybe Sarek would forget his ire and all would return to normal. Knowing already that his optimism was misplaced he edged past the archway that led into the sai'en where his parents were talking and using all the stealth and cunning of a hunting le-matya, crept soundlessly up the stairs to his own apartment. The chaos he had left there earlier that day confronted him as soon as the door whooshed open.

Perplexed, he entered the room and stared in growing despondency at the scatter of metal, crystal, and plastic components that littered the floor. He recognized the various bits of shiny machine parts with almost a guilty start remembering with what ease he had appropriated the mechanical food server from its niche in the sai'en and dismantled it in a fit of childish curiosity only a few short hours ago.

Could the server's disappearance be the reason for Sarek's disapproval? The thought made him apprehensive. Fretfully he tried to arrange the room into some kind of order. But despite his efforts the little piles he shuffled together looked even messier, and twice as incriminating, as they had done before. Spock abruptly envied his mother's flair for making everything look so neat and smooth with just a brisk shake. Within moments she would have packed up all the bits and tidied them away in his chasulh, the large wooden trunk standing against the wall.

Defeated by the debris, Spock inclined his head to listen as the muted voices of his parents increased in volume once more. Although he could hear little of their conversation, he easily caught the note of censure in the air.

More often than not when he was under discussion, they would take opposing views, one attacking, and one defending him. Hardly ever, in his limited experience, had they both sided unanimously against him at the same time.

He drew in a subdued breath suspecting that it was not just one misdemeanor that had sparked off Sarek's irritation but his entire record of petty misdeeds, emotional outbursts, and indefensible conflagrations with the other local boys that often took place in public.

His father's prodigious memory could even have delved back to the time when Spock had propped open the garden gate, allowing Ee-chiya - the family's pet sehlat - to follow the unsuspecting Sarek to the Science Academy. The old sehlat, Sarek was not slow in pointing out to his delinquent son, had proceeded to cause mayhem among the quietly industrious laboratories and debating halls before he could be suitably restrained.

Perhaps Master Shaanak had conveyed the opinion to Sarek that his young son was apt to have an embarrassing tendency to forget what logic he had miserably learned and react more with raw emotion than good judgment. Spock knew his temper was short, and his ability to control it marginally shorter - a fact that left him disgraced and totally at the mercy of his classmates. However, his many troubles at school resulted mostly from his major confusion over which path to follow.

It was no easy task to make the choice wholly between Tehr'n and Vulkhanir - and to merge the two successfully had proved beyond his prowess so far. He was afraid to show the qualities that marked him indelibly as an Earther - but neither in all good conscience could he deny his mother's birthright.