K'hat'n'dlawa

Accusations

The next morning, she was immediately aware of a change. Everyone she passed on the campus of San Francisco State treated her...different. They stared, they whispered- they gave her strange looks. They skirted around her on the brick path and in the hallways. She tried to ignore it- but she couldn't.

Confused, she hoisted the strap of her bag up higher onto her shoulder and prepared to enter her History of Xeno-Cultures classroom. She was almost over the threshold when a girl approached her.

"Amanda?" she asked hesitantly. Amanda stopped short, and turned to her- she recognized the girl as one of her classmates. She vaguely remembered her name to be Kristina...or was it Kristen? Something like that, anyway...Amanda had a lot of acquaintances, as she had no trouble chatting up people she didn't know- she just didn't keep them close enough to her to become friends.

"Yes?" Amanda asked, checking the time on the nearest computer terminal. She had three minutes.

"I just..." the girl paused, and wet her lips before continuing. "I've been through the same thing, and I got over it. I just want you to know, that if you ever need someone to talk to about it...I'm available."

"Um...okay." Amanda replied, bewildered.

"You shouldn't have to put up with that- no matter who he is. Keep that in mind, okay?" the girl backed away. "See you later." she added, and turned to head into her next class.

Amanda stared after her- and then, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be in class, she took her PADD out of her bag and ducked into the nearest empty room- an unused classroom.

Something was wrong. And if everyone but her knew whatever it was- she knew it had something to do with the press.

She checked her news feed, and stopped dead when she saw the headline of an editorial:

Inter-Species Abuse? The Possible Truth About Ambassador Sarek- by Laura Anderson

She stared at it for nearly a full minute- her heart pounding in her throat. Fingers trembling, she prodded the 'read' option underneath the title with her stylus.

It seems that the relationship between Ambassador Sarek and Amanda Grayson took a turn for the worse- and the worst is far more than anyone ever imagined.

Barely two weeks after Ms. Grayson's announcement that she and the illustrious Vulcan ambassador had broken up, there was speculation that the couple had reunited- following a sighting of the pair leaving a restaurant together last Saturday evening.

But just why did this couple get back together? Out of mutual love? Or because of something darker? The photograph accompanying this article, which was taken just yesterday morning as Ms. Grayson entered the Embassy, may offer us a clue.

Amanda scrolled over to the picture- and let out a forceful exhalation. She sank down onto a desk behind her, her knees too weak to support her weight. She felt numb- disbelieving. The picture had indeed been taken the day before- and at a most inopportune moment.

Her hair had been blown off her shoulders by a breeze, and she was looking up- she remembered, that was when she saw Sarek open the door for her. The strap of her bag had snagged on her light-blue turtleneck, pulling the collar down...and affording a partial view of a bruise. She remembered the exact moment when Sarek had bitten her there- just beneath her jaw. That had been the bruise she worried the most about being seen, due to its unfortunately high position.

Now, she knew that she had been right to be worried. She turned her eyes back to the editorial, as panic began to well up within her.

As can be clearly seen, Ms. Grayson has a large bruise on her neck, partially hidden by her clothing. This contusion is consistent with past domestic violence case photos- we have conferred with a doctor, who states: "I can't say for certain- her shirt covers up too much. But yes, it looks like it could be a classic case of asphyxiation to me."