Sarek ( novel ) " The incredible story behind one of " Star Trek " s best loved characters . " Sarek is a Pocket TOS novel written by A . C . Crispin . Published by Pocket Books , it was first released in hardback in . Summary . Shortly after the Khitomer Conference , Sarek discovers that leaders of the Federation and its enemies have been subjected to outside mental influence . He suspects that the interference is linked to the Freelans , a race which has been part of the Federation for decades , but which no offworlder has ever seen due to a cultural taboo . Sarek once inadvertently discovered that the Freelans look like Vulcan s , but later dismissed the incident as a hallucination induced by the " pon farr " . After secretly accessing the Freelan computer system , Sarek discovers that the Freelans are in fact Romulan s , and that their Vulcan aides are the children of Vulcan spacefarers kidnapped by the Romulans and forced to reproduce . The Freelan ambassador Taryn is actually the Romulan wing commander in charge of the plot to spy on the Federation from within . The mental influencing of various leaders is carried out by the aides , who were raised as Romulans and never learned the telepathic ethics taught on Vulcan . Sarek ' s work is interrupted by the news that his wife , Amanda , is terminally ill . Although he returns to Vulcan to be with her , he is soon called upon to negotiate for the release of a colony world held hostage by the Klingon renegade Keraz . He agrees , even though he will not be able to return before his wife ' s death . Spock , who believes his father ' s first duty is to the family , has trouble concealing his anger when he learns of this decision , and their old estrangement ( ) threatens to reassert itself . On Deneb IV , Sarek successfully negotiates the colonists ' release and discovers that Keraz is also a victim of the Romulans ' mental influence . When Sarek returns to Vulcan for Amanda ' s funeral , he shares his findings with Kirk , Spock , and McCoy . Kirk agrees to take him to Freelan aboard the " Enterprise " , but the captain has his own plans to leave the ship and rescue his nephew Peter Kirk . Peter , now a senior cadet at Starfleet Academy , has been kidnapped by the renegade Klingon Ambassador Kamarag in order to lure Kirk into a trap . Kamarag , another victim of Freelan mental influence , is the leader of the renegade Klingons who defy the orders of the female Klingon Chancellor Azetbur . Peter is brought to the Klingon homeworld Qo ' noS and placed in the care of Kamarag ' s niece Valdyr , who believes her uncle ' s actions are dishonorable but who is bound by her secondary status as a woman to follow his orders . She is impressed by Peter ' s bravery and strength when he overpowers several Klingon warriors in an attempt to break out , even after five days of starvation . Over the course of Peter ' s imprisonment , the two fall in love and eventually escape together . As they approach a Klingon spaceport intending to hijack a ship , they meet up with Kirk , Spock , and McCoy , who had intended to rescue the cadet . The five of them attempt to steal a miniature Klingon Bird - of - Prey and escape back to the " Enterprise " . During the fight for the ship , Valdyr is seriously wounded by Karg , the warrior her uncle intended her to marry . Peter challenges Karg to a personal combat and manages to knock Karg unconscious , but he decides to let Karg live with the shame of his defeat by a Human instead of killing him . After the duel , the other Klingon warriors allow the Humans to leave with Valdyr . After they return to the " Enterprise " , a Romulan ship is discovered just inside the neutral zone . Sarek realizes that ship must be under the command of Taryn ; he beams over to its bridge with Spock and attempts to acquire incontrovertible proof that the Romulans are involved . In order to forestall an attack against the " Enterprise " , Sarek accepts Taryn ' s challenge to the Toriatal , an ancient form of duel that predates the division of the Vulcan and Romulan cultures . Taryn ' s choice of weapon is the " senapa " , a curved sword with a poisoned blade . Sarek is cut and exposed to the poison but manages to win the duel despite Taryn ' s advantages of size and youth . Both men are beamed to the Enterprise where they are treated by Dr . McCoy . Kamarag ' s renegade Klingon fleet chooses this moment to arrive . According to the terms of the duel won by Sarek , the Romulan ship fights alongside the " Enterprise " . They are joined by one of the Klingon ships commanded by Keraz , who hopes to win back the honor he lost when he committed treason under alien mental influence . Together , the three ships manage to hold off the renegades until an official Klingon fleet can arrive to deal with them . War between the Federation and the Klingon Empire is averted and the Romulan plot is foiled . Peter Kirk returns to Earth and takes his " Kobayashi Maru " final exam . Because of the knowledge he gained from his experiences , he becomes the second Kirk to beat the no - win scenario . However , he decides to transfer to Starfleet ' s diplomatic corps , partly in hopes of working more closely with Valdyr , who has returned to the Klingon Empire and is studying diplomacy under the guidance of Chancellor Azetbur . Sarek arranges for all of the Vulcans involved in the Freelan conspiracy to be welcomed by the Federation if they so choose . Taryn returns to the Romulan homeworld to face the consequences of his defeat . His work done , Sarek is finally able to return home and scatter his wife ' s ashes to the desert winds . Memorable quotes . " " I also gather that the KEHL has breached security at the consulate , ambassador , and copied Vulcan data that they claim would prove their case that your world has a master plan to take over Earth . " " " " Take over Earth ? The " Vulcans " ? What a load of . . . uh , that ' s absurd ! " " " " This is the man who killed Chancellor Gorkon ! Now he will kill Kamarag ' s niece ! " " " " Not bloody likely . I ' m not goin ' to let her die . " " " " In the time since the chancellor ' s death , Dr . McCoy has studied Klingon physiology extensively . He is completely qualified to assist this woman . " " " " It is well - known that Vulcans do not lie . " " " " Does everyone still " believe " that load of horse - puckey ? " " " " Another day or so , and you won ' t even know anything ever happened there . " " " " How can you say that when that place is all pale and soft ! " " " " As your own cells replace it , that ' ll be fixed , too . However , I should tell you , Valdyr , human males like a little softness in a woman . " " " " Not that one . " " References . 40 Eridani ; Earther ; " kahs - wan " ; " kal - if - fee " ; " katra " ; Khitomer Conference ; Klingon ; Kobayashi Maru scenario ; " kolinahr " ; " le - matya " ; Neutral Zone ; " plak tow " ; Qo ' noS ; Romulan ; Shakespeare ; Tellarite ; Vulcan