I ran a "challenge" for this issue, asking for stories interpreting T'Guess's gorgeous cover.
I ran a "challenge" for this issue, asking for stories interpreting T'Guess's gorgeous cover.
Dovya Blacque, Anna S. Greener and Elise Madrid each came up with her own unique and imaginative interpretation of what is depicted in that scene.
THE CHALLENGE STORIES...
THE DARK DISTANCE by Dovya Blacque
If he knew what Spock wanted, he'd be more equipped to plan his own future. And that knowledge disturbed him on a level he was afraid to contemplate. How he'd become so meshed with his friend's life was something that could be traced back to the moment they met. He'd never felt such empathic awareness of another being in his entire life. And that feeling, that knowledge that they were almost one being, had only increased over the years.
Now everything was changing. And not for the better.
*** Change is inevitable. Missions end. Kirk must face a variety of possible futures and make his choice....
ADDICTION by Anna S. Greener
How many times had he performed this ritual? He did not know. He had long since stopped counting. It had been more than fifteen years since he'd found his treasure on a nameless, rain-drenched frontier world in a sector where secrets were currency and outcasts of every description wandered freely, unbound by Federation law or the blood pacts of the Klingon Clans or the Edicts of the Romulan Emperor or rules of any making save their own...
*** In a rough bazaar on a lawless frontier world Spock finds a mysterious artifact. But will this object give him the answers he seeks, or pose new questions?
DESTINY by Elise Madrid
She stood underneath the overhang of a brightly colored tent. Behind her, in bold letters of garish blue, read "Cassandra-Sees All, Knows All! Let her discover your destiny!"
"Is this what you dragged me out here to see?" he asked with humor in his voice. He wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a quick hug.
Lori smiled and Kirk could see a flash of hope temporarily gain precedent over the fear and confusion that had shadowed her eyes for far too long. "Come on, Jim. It'll be fun. Besides, don't you want to know what the future will bring?"
*** Existing in a loveless marriage with Lori Ciani and haunted by memories of his past, Admiral Kirk humors Lori's suggestion that they visit a carnival psychic.
MORE STORIES!
As usual, T'hy'la is all about variety. And there's quite a variety in the following selections:
GOOD VIBRATIONS by Allie Benet Atwater
Kirk glanced up and down the street, hoping that he did not spot any familiar faces-i.e. crewmen from the Enterprise. Then again, he had transported halfway across Argelius to prevent just that. He looked at the throbbing black-light sign that marked the club which had been recommended by his previous night's sexual partner-a stunningly beautiful woman who had charged an exorbitant fee for her services and hadn't seemed at all offended when he called out someone else's name at the crucial moment.
*** The Stygian Club - for males only - is the perfect place for encounters in the dark...
NIGHT IN THE APOLLO by Farfalla Caquí
"Jim." Kirk leaned into Spock's outstretched arm. The Vulcan held him in this one-limbed embrace as they shared a brief kiss.
"Well, we're stuck in a world-famous science museum after hours with very little security. This could be fun! What should we do now?" Kirk rubbed his hands together, almost visibly shedding years as he spoke.
*** What would happen if Admiral Kirk and Captain Spock got locked in a science museum overnight?
I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE by Farfalla Caquí
As he lulled Kirk into a trance with the soothing waves of his mind, a tendril of his essence wrapped around Kirk's. I do not know how you are here.
I am where you are, Kirk answered, before slipping away into a dreamless slumber.
*** Jim Kirk would always love Spock, in any time, from within any form, and would stand beside him against all adversaries.
DARE by J S Cavalcante
Spock drew him in by his shirt, inexorably, and perhaps the ancient fires of Vulcan smoldered in his eyes, for Kirk's widened in shock.
Spock did not stop until he had drawn Kirk's face so close to his that their noses nearly touched. "Thee will come with me," he said, his tone brooking no disobedience.
That Kirk suffered this captivity without trying to break free was all the confirmation Spock needed that the drug was taking effect, and that meant time was most definitely of the essence.
***Spock would do anything to defend his captain, even humiliate himself by breaking the Vulcan customs that forbid emotional release. But once Spock's controls are undone, who will protect Kirk from the beast that lurks in the Vulcan soul?
WATCH WITH LOVER by Anne Elliot
"'Your Celebrity Questions' is not the sort of programme on which I am usually forced to appear. Or would ever choose to watch."
"You were on 'Your Celebrity Questions'?"
Kirk looked at him sideways as he continued to ladle food onto their plates. "Don't sound so horrified. It wasn't that bad…." He licked the spoon contemplatively for a moment, then said, "Actually, I lie. It was that bad. It was worse than bad: it was awful."
*** Starfleet Command feels Kirk needs to do his bit for publicity - and books him on a celebrity talk show.
THE CHESS GAME by Syn Ferguson
"Put the card on him," said a low male voice. "Give me the bottle."
Kirk tensed, but the bottle was upended over the limp member of the group. Sympathetically, he flinched from the icy drench. Setup, he thought.
"Now mark him up," said the speaker, hoisting the still form up with effort.
They moved in together and the light showed Kirk Starfleet uniforms from his cadet days. He hadn't been motivated to interfere in a mere mugging among civilians, but a frisson of anger sharpened his vision and the sound of a solid blow moved him forward. Suspicion coalesced into certainty as he recognized the ungainly length of the limp form, the gleam from black hair.
*** An excerpt from a new work in progress in which an aging Spock rescues an alternate Kirk in order to stop attacks upon the timelines in which Kirk and Spock became partners.
HMS ENTERPRISE: A SPACE OPERA by Gallimaufry
Kirk was considered the smartest lad in all the Fleet, a splendid example of the Federation's highest principles: intelligent, brave, audacious and loyal. And gorgeous, thought Spock, in the few, the very few unguarded moments he allowed himself.
***Put on your "Gilbert and Sullivan" soundtrack for this pastiche of "HMS Pinafore". Lt. Kirk is in love with First Officer Spock - and vice versa - but Starfleet and circumstances have put obstacles in their way.
LOGICAL HEARTACHE by Nadja Lee
McCoy slumped in defeat. Whatever Kirk was thinking would surely end badly. Couldn't he just accept that Spock as a Vulcan would never be able to love Kirk the way he wanted and needed? "Then what are you gonna do?"
Kirk held the same determined look in his eyes that he always had just before he battled Klingons…and won. "Why…I'll fight for him of course," Kirk said with a smile.
***Vulcan has given Spock an ultimatum. He must marry a Vulcan woman for political reasons - despite the fact that he's already married to Kirk.
THE NEEDS OF THE TWO by Patricia Roe
"Right, Jim. As I see it, these cousins of Spock's have served a writ on you-this what-chamacallit, this Fritnersler..."
Jim didn't bother to correct the abysmal pronunciatiation, and simply nodded forlornly.
"...and correct me if I'm wrong, but that basically means they want you to make an honest wo...er, man of him-marry the guy-or else?"
Another nod.
*** Spock's relatives have had enough - it's time for the Captain to declare his intentions.
NEVER A BRIDE by Rae Trail
"Oh, no." Jim let his head down onto the edge of the desk and began to bang it softly. Across the room Winona and Spock looked up from their game of gin rummy and stared. He lifted his eyes to theirs and shook his head. "Spock, remember that ancient dream of quietly getting on with the mission and having a little reception with the command team in the observation lounge?"
"Yes, Jim."
"It has been phasered out of existence."
***Someone has "spilled the beans" to Admiral Nogura that Kirk and Spock are bonded. Not one to waste an opportunity, Nogura figures the best possible way to turn this to Starfleet's advantage: a big, splashy, public wedding.
Also includes stories by kira-nerys (THE ROAD TO BELONGING), Rosemary Heaton (REMEMBER!), and Gallimaufry (I FELL IN LOVE WITH MY FIRST OFFICER).
POETRY: There is some outstanding poetry in this issue. The poets: S. R. Benjamin,
J S Cavalcante, Helen, Hypatia Kosh, Kelly Reiger, and T'Marii.
ART: T'Guess has created, in addition to the intriguing cover, a frontispiece and 3-piece portfolio. In addition, Shelley Butler has drawn a wonderful shower scene, and kira-nerys contributed a lovely poolside piece.
NOTES: "Never A Bride" and "I Fell In Love With My First Officer" have appeared on the internet. "The Needs of the Two", "Remember!" and "Watch With Lover" were previously printed in the K/S CONnections contest zine.