- For the TNG episode of the same name, see Sarek (episode). For the novel of the same name, see Sarek (novel).
S'chn T'gai Sarek (2165-2368) had a very distinguished career as Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, a capacity in which he served throughout the twenty-third and twenty-fourth centuries, until his death from Bendii Syndrome in the year 2368.
Biography
Early life and career
S'chn T'gai Sarek, son of Skon and T'Rama, was born in the city of ShiKahr, Sas-a-Shar on
on 18 June 2165. Sarek's name was a cognate of the name Surak used by the Vulcan nation that had launched the nuclear weapon responsible for Surak's death, and whom Surak had forgiven in his final days. (ENT - Rise of the Federation novel: Uncertain Logic)
Sarek was given a traditional upbringing on Vulcan and was groomed to be a diplomat like his father. At age seven in the year 2172, he was bonded to the Vulcan princess T'Rea, as was traditional in Vulcan society. He also had a brother known as Silek. (TOS episode & novelization: Journey to Babel; TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Search for Spock; TOS novels: Sarek, Demons; TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Final Frontier)
By 2185, Sarek had begun his successful career as a diplomat, following in his father's footsteps. His early diplomatic career included many trips to Earth, including a visit to watch the World Series in 2180. His familiarity with Earth and Humans made Sarek the logical choice to negotiate the Interstellar Comprehensive Trade Act between Earth and Vulcan in 2192. (TOS novel: Spock's World)
In 2206, Sarek moved to Earth to serve as a diplomatic attaché at the Vulcan Embassy under Ambassador Selden. Sarek speny much of the next fifteen years on the planet, which affected his pon farr cycle.
In 2212, he was appointed Vulcan Ambassador to United Earth. (TOS novel: Spock's World)
In 2218, Ambassador Sarek was appointed as Vulcan liaison to the planet Freelan. Sarek's first voyage to Freelan was in 2221, when under Selden's orders to conduct trade negotiations for crysium ore that was recently discovered in the Freelan system. While aboard the Freelan space station, Sarek began to experience his first pon farr, and was forced to return to Vulcan. There he married T'Rea, and unknowingly conceived his first son, Sybok. (TOS novel: Sarek)
Sybok's birth in 2222 was initially kept secret from Sarek, but he later discovered the truth. His marriage continued until 2224, when T'Rea ascended to become High Master of Gol and the marriage had to be annulled. (TOS novel: Sarek; TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Final Frontier)
- The TNG episode: "Sarek" states that Sarek's first wife was from Earth -- obviously a reference to Amanda Grayson. It is supposed that either this first marriage was annulled - so henceforth it never happened - or that Sarek and T'Rea never married, which would contradict Sarek.
Rise to prominence
Sarek's life began to change forever in 2228 when he met schoolteacher Amanda Stemple Grayson on Earth. The two began attending a series of formal receptions together, and over the next year, the two began to develop a strong relationship. They were married in September 2229. Following a Human ceremony on Earth -- including a honeymoon on Carmel Beach -- Sarek and Amanda traveled to Vulcan where they were joined in a Vulcan ceremony. Following the wedding, Sarek and Amanda permanently set up home on the outskirts of ShiKahr. (TOS novels: Sarek, The Vulcan Academy Murders)
A year later, their son, S'chn T'gai Spock, was born. His conception and birth were not easy, and he was one of the first products of genetic manipulation between Humans and Vulcans. Sarek's early relationship with the young Spock was often strained, as Sarek often displayed shame at Spock's emotional outbursts. However, Sarek and Spock did have an underlying respect for each other. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Final Frontier; TOS novel: The Vulcan Academy Murders; TOS episode & novelization: Journey to Babel)
When Spock was a boy, he would often disappear into the mountains for days at a time. Sarek asked him what he had done and where he had gone but Spock refused to tell him. He forbade him to go but he went regardless and endured the punishment for disobeying his father. Shortly before his death in 2368, Sarek told Captain Jean-Luc Picard that he secretly admired "the proud core of him that would not yield." (TNG episode & novelization: Unification)
In the 2240s, Sarek and Amanda then took Michael Burnham as their foster daughter and raised on Vulcan. When logic extremists bombed the Vulcan Learning Center, Burnham was considered medically dead. Sarek was then able to use a Mind meld to revive her. As a result of this meld, a part of Sarek's Katra remained in Burnham's mind and allowed them to communicate across great interstellar distances. (DSC episodes: "The Vulcan Hello", "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry")
In 2243, Sybok, now aged 19, came to live with Sarek and his new family. Sybok's presence caused some tension in the household due to his support for emotionalism, which earned him disdain from many of his peers, including Spock, and a degree of shame from Sarek. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Final Frontier)
In 2245, Burnham then attended the Vulcan Science Academy as its first human attendee. Four years later, Burham graduated from the Academy and applied to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group. Sarek attempted to gain admission for both of his children but was told that only one could be accepted. Sarek chose Spock, who ultimately decided to join Starfleet, rendering Sarek's decision meaningless; Sarek felt terrible guilt about this incident for many years, since he was forced to lie to Burnham (telling her she had been rejected). Sarek then took Burnham aboard the USS Shenzhou. (DSC episodes: "Battle at the Binary Stars", "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry", "Lethe")
Meanwhile, Sarek's career as a diplomat continued to flourish. After being appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Earth, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2248 for his diplomatic and peacekeeping efforts in holding the United Federation of Planets together. (TOS novels: Memory Prime, Spock's World)
2249 saw the beginning of an eighteen-year rift between Sarek and Spock. Sarek wanted Spock to enter the Vulcan Science Academy and eventually follow in his footsteps into diplomacy and continue the family career. However, Spock decided to enter Starfleet Academy instead. As a result, Sarek proclaimed Spock to be a vrekasht and vowed never to speak with him again. Being emotionally stricken at the rift between father and son, Amanda left her husband for a teaching job in San Francisco. Amanda returned in 2250 when it was revealed that Sarek's father, Skon, had died. (TOS episode: "Journey to Babel"; TOS novels: Sarek, Vulcan's Forge, Recovery)
Ambassador Sarek
In 2256, Sarek was contacted by Burnham, by then the USS Shenzhou's XO, who asked for his advice in dealing with Klingons. Sarek told her about a Vulcan contact with the Klingons in 2016 at
, who encouraged the Vulcans to fire first at the Klingons until formal relations were established. Unfortunately, this advice led Burnham to mutiny against Captain Philippa Georgiou and Starfleet's direct orders at the Battle of the Binary Stars, sparking the Federation-Klingon War of 2256. Six months into the war, Sarek traveled to Cancri IV to speak with several Klingon houses that wished to discuss an alliance between them and the Federation as an opening to cease-fire talks. However, Sarek was _targeted by logic extremists , whose sent suicide bomber V'Latak aboard Sarek's shuttle. Sarek was saved by Burnham and the USS Discovery. (DSC episode: "The Vulcan Hello")
In 2257, Sarek then accompanied Admiral Katrina Cornwell to confirm the re-appearance of the Discovery. There, Sarek mind melded with Commander Saru and confirmed that it was the actual Discovery and its crew. Sarek also confirmed that Captain Gabriel Lorca was not the Lorca of their "prime" universe. Sarek spoke with Saru, Burnham and Stamets about the current situation in the war. (DSC episode: "The War Without, The War Within")
Throughout the 2250s and 2260s, Sarek continued his prominent career, earning the respect of many other ambassadors from across the Federation and beyond. Sarek earned a reputation for not being easily swayed to positions which ran counter to his logic. This was especially true regarding the question of Coridan III's admission to the Federation in 2267: while Sarek supported their admission, the Tellarite and Andorian ambassadors did not, leading to several heated arguments aboard the USS Enterprise. When Tellarite Ambassador Gav was later murdered, Sarek was considered a suspect in part due to these arguments, as well the use of the tal-shaya in Gav's death.
It was also during that mission that Sarek suffered a coronary attack, having already been prescribed medication for it, and required emergency heart surgery. Spock agreed to a blood transfusion to allow his father to live, finally leading to the mending of the rift between the two. (TOS episode: "Journey to Babel") Sarek recovered well enough to attend and give a speech at the Babel Conference in support of Coridan's admission to the Federation. This speech was credited with swaying the delegates to admit Coridan to the Federation. (TNG episode: "Sarek")
In 2269, Sarek argued against Federation intervention on Arachnae. (TOS novel: Vulcan!)
That same year, following the Federation's capture of Liviana Charvanek, Sarek was lured to Romulus under the pretense of a peace negotiation and taken prisoner. Spock oversaw his father's exchange for Charvanek and escorted him back to Vulcan where Sarek advised his son to consider undergoing the ritual of kolinahr. (TOS - Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment comics: "Part 2", "Part 5")
In 2273, Sarek's embassy office had the task of informing the next-of-kin of Commander Sonak of his death in a transporter malfunction. (TOS movie: The Motion Picture)
That same year, Sarek began talks with the Legarans, which would continue on and off for the next 93 years. (TNG episode: "Sarek")
In 2281, Sarek became the Vulcan Ambassador to the Federation. (Last Unicorn RPG module: All Our Yesterdays: The Time Travel Sourcebook))
In 2286, Sarek was able to persuade the Federation Council to grant leniency to James T. Kirk for his actions at the Genesis Planet. Sarek also thanked Kirk for the risks he had taken on Spock's behalf. (TOS movies: The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home)
In 2287, Sarek attended the trial of Captain Kirk. (TOS comics: "The First Thing We Do...", "... Let's Kill All the Lawyers!", "Trial and Error!")
In 2293, Sarek advised the Federation President on his response to the Cetacean Probe crisis, as well as the arrest, trial and conviction of Kirk and Leonard McCoy on Q'onoS. Sarek later attended the Khitomer Conference between the Federation and Klingon Empire. (TOS movie: The Undiscovered Country)
Shortly thereafter, Sarek's wife Amanda died. (TOS novel: Sarek)
Later that year, Sarek represented the Federation in negotiations with the Beta Promethean Kannish for the release of kidnapped
officers. (TOS novel: The Fearful Summons)
By the year 2327, Sarek had remarried, to a human woman named Perrin.
That same year, he hosted a conference at Vulcan Space Central between Federation President Thelian and the Legarans. Also invited as observers were representatives of the newly encountered Cardassian Union. Federation relations with the Cardassians were a major topic, with now-Ambassador Spock opposing his father on how openly to trust this new race. Their disagreement created a new rift between father and son, which lasted for the rest of Sarek's life. (TOS comic: "Enter the Wolves")
Later career
In the later years of the 23rd century, Sarek trained a young Curzon Dax in the ways of diplomacy when the young Trill served as an aide on the ambassador's staff. After Dax left Sarek's tutelage, he would occasionally call on Sarek when he had difficulties focusing on a problem. (TLE novel: The Art of the Impossible)
At some point in his life, Sarek became a member of the Symmetrists; however, he left the group upon seeing the drastic actions they would take to achieve their goals. (ST novel: Avenger)
Steady decline
By the mid-24th century, Sarek remained serving as the Vulcan's ambassador to the Federation in the 2360s decade. (ST reference: The Worlds of the Federation)
By the mid 2360s, as he reached his 200th birthday, Sarek began to gradually suffer the effects of Bendii Syndrome, causing him to lose emotional control and to project his emotions telepathically onto others. At first, Sarek's aide Sakkath was able to use his own abilities to reinforce Sarek's emotional control.
In 2366, nearly a century of working with the Legarans finally paid off when they agreed to meet with Sarek to conclude a treaty. Sarek's wife and aides were convinced that Sarek could complete this one last mission; however, the progression of the Bendii syndrome, and the pressure of this final mission meant that Sakkath's assistance was not enough anymore, and Sarek caused a number of violent outbreaks aboard the USS Enterprise-D. To save the conference, Captain Jean-Luc Picard agreed to enter into a mind meld with Sarek, to give him the emotional control he needed. The meld allowed Sarek to reveal to Picard his love for Perrin and Spock - feelings that he couldn't reveal publicly. (TNG episode: "Sarek")
Two years later, the disease had advanced so that Sarek had lost all emotional control. When Spock unexpectedly traveled to Romulus, Picard approached Sarek, asking about his possible motives. For a few minutes, Sarek was lucid enough to give Picard a lead, suggesting Spock may had gone to see Pardek. However, Sarek lost this control, and begged Picard to tell Spock of his love for him. A few days later, Sarek died. (TNG episode: "Unification")
Legacy
After the death of Sarek, his widow Perrin gave Jean-Luc Picard a Vulcan book of Sarek's. Despite being unable to read the language, Picard's mind meld with Sarek allowed him to gain an impression of some of the words in the book. (TNG novel: The Devil's Heart)
Starfleet named the USS Sarek after the ambassador by 2374. It fought during Operation Return in the Dominion War. (DS9 episode: "Favor the Bold"; DS9 novelization: ...Sacrifice of Angels)
The Sarek School of Diplomacy and Ambassadorial Studies was established on Vulcan in 2380, and dedicated in a ceremony attended by Picard, Perrin, and Spock. (TNG novel: Before Dishonor)
In the years following Sarek's death, it was found that his Bendii syndrome had begun as the result of poisoning by the Symmetrists. It was not until 2374, six years after his murder, that this was discovered, when Spock also began to show symptoms of Bendii, despite being far too young to have contracted the disease. (TOS novel: Avenger)
Alternate timelines
In an alternate timeline, Sarek and his wife Amanda Grayson separated following the death of their seven-year-old son Spock during the Kahs-wan ritual on the 20th day of Tasmeen in the Vulcan year of 8877 (which equated to the Earth year 2237). Not long afterwards, Amanda was killed in a shuttlecraft accident at Lunaport on her way back to her native Earth. Sarek did not remarry after his estranged wife's death. (TAS episode: "Yesteryear")
Many years later, Sarek discovered Saavik on Hellguard, an abandoned Romulan outpost. In 2274, he met Thelin th'Valrass, the former first officer of the USS Enterprise, and David Marcus at the Andorian Science Institute on Andoria. On that occasion, he experienced a rare lapse of emotional control as David reminded him of his late son. Shortly afterwards, Sarek sought out his eldest son Sybok and was able to repair his relationship with him, which allowed Sybok to get his life back together.
In 2286, Sarek was killed at Starfleet Headquarters when the Cetacean Probe ravaged Earth's biosphere. (TOS - Myriad Universes novella: The Chimes at Midnight)
In another alternate timeline where Montgomery Scott rescued James T. Kirk before he could be absorbed into the Nexus, Sarek was the leader of an interstellar Alliance, united against fighting the invading Borg Collective. Sarek's power was under constant danger from the Cardassians, including former councilman Zarcot, who made an attempt to undermine his position by claiming no one could truly rule the Alliance unless they personally observed the Nexus, which could prove to be more dangerous than the Borg; the Vulcan was forced to travel aboard the
and observe the energy ribbon himself. The scientist Kasok, whom Sarek had personally chosen to the observation team on Alliance Outpost Number 3, contacted the Wisdom, its commanding officer Varkan, and Sarek, and requested they investigate a mysterious vessel that had appeared near the anomaly. Sarek retained what he ascribed to be false memories of the "true" timeline, which caused him to recognize Kirk and Scott when they met, although his initial shock had been of discovering Terrans; he had them transferred to Interrogation until he could ascertain that they were not agents of the Borg. Zarcot made an attempt on Sarek's life by faking a distress call from a lifepod, making it appear to be malfunctioning so that the Arbiter would lower the Wisdom's shields, allowing a cloaked Cardassian vessel to attack it; Kirk and Scott aboard the
were able to see the cloaked ship and warned Sarek before the attack was successful, and Zarcot was held for later questioning. Kirk and Scott were again invited aboard the Wisdom, this time as guests, where Sarek recalled his false memories and inquired about his other life, including his son Spock and the fal-tor-pan; in this timeline, the only son he had was Sybok, who had been killed by the Borg in the early part of the century. Sarek later spoke with Commander Tal aboard the
, who had met the USS Enterprise-D which had followed Scott back in time, and agreed to bring the two Terrans to rendezvous with the Enterprise. When they arrived, Sarek and the others were beamed aboard where Captain Jean-Luc Picard warned Sarek that a Borg spy was among the crew, and they could uncover it without also revealing their knowledge. The spy was dealt with, but the Borg were now aware of Picard, and the Borg Queen remembered him as Locutus of Borg and moved to destroy him. Sarek first utilized an ultrasecret network of interphase cloaked photon torpedoes to destroy one cube, and then ordered his loyal fleet on a suicide run against a phalanx of Borg cubes, perishing in the engagement. The timeline was restored when the Enterprise returned Captain Kirk to the Nexus. (ST novel: Engines of Destiny)
Appendices
Background information
- Sarek was played by Mark Lenard.
Appearances
- TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Final Frontier (
flashback)
- TAS episode: "Yesteryear"
- DSC episode: "The Wolf Inside"
- DSC episode: "The War Without, The War Within"
- DSC episode: "Will You Take My Hand?"
- DSC episode: "Brother"
- DSC episode: "Light and Shadows"
- DSC episode: "Perpetual Infinity"
Connections
| Preceded by: Selden |
Vulcan ambassador 2212 - 2368 |
Succeeded by: unspecified |
| Vulcan Ambassadors to United Earth | ||
|---|---|---|
| Primary universe | Solkar • Sasav • Soval • Selden • Sarek • Sytok | 
|
| Kelvin timeline | Sarek | |
External link
- Sarek article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
Sarek article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki.