#Sarek son of Sybok

[spirkbitch]

listen i do not care what book said it or what was intended to be in the movies i absolutely refuse to believe that Spock and Saavik got married

[bumblingbabooshka]

Came across a faux interview between Gene Roddenberry and Sarek (the actor who plays Sarek is playing Sarek) and I think Sarek & Amanda's mad scientist relationship is so goddamn interesting - TERRIBLE parents ("We felt Spock's torture of course but Amanda and I had a dream. One that justified even the risk of our precious son's life and sanity. What point is there in any life, surviving, unless it has meaning?") but my God...TALK about matching someone's freak. I also like the picture Sarek paints of Vulcan society, (which I've been rambling about recently) it's a very specific portrayal of Vulcans and how they view emotions which I don't think is carried over into much canon - wherein somebody emoting at someone else is seen as almost a hateful act.

[simptasia]

sarek:

[shanastoryteller]

Hell yes its HALLOWEEN! Moar Sybok and Jim please! 🎃🎃🎃

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Sybok feels a deep sense of satisfaction every time he sees Jimmy, sees him healthy and strong and laughing. He knows that Jimmy feels the same way about him, which he tolerates only because he has the good sense to never say it. He feels it every time their skin brushes, but he doesn't begrudge him that.

As the eldest son of Ambassador Sarek, Sybok had never been placed on the list for extermination. Jimmy was not so lucky, no matter that his last name is Kirk. A dead famous father is far less of a threat than a living one.

Still, his intelligence and name would have kept him safe, except that it couldn't, he and Sybok couldn't let it.

He'd hated this part of the plan. He'd argued against it strenuously, but in the end he'd been forced to bow to the logic of Jimmy's position.

They needed one person in and one person out for this to work. Sybok was older and stronger and better equipped to endure starvation. But he was one person Kodos would not risk eliminating for the political implications alone, and the plants would die sooner than the animals. It would be far more difficult for him to survive on the outskirts than it would Jim, and he'd be taking up far more of the plants that they would be able to find without calorically dense meat to supplement it.

They'd met in secret, Jimmy leading his band of resisters and everyone they could sneak away and save, which wasn't enough, but more than they'd hoped. Very few people were willing to live in luxury while their neighbors suffered and died for it. It wasn't just Sybok saving his food, drying and canning and putting as much as he could aside to pass off to Jimmy or one of his runners when they could risk getting close to the city.

They'd each taken the other's growing thinness personally.

Seeing him now, broad and filled out, muscle and fat and nothing gaunt about his face or the laughter there - it sooths something in him that had nearly broken on Tarsus IV.

Watching his little brother stare in consternated fascination at his best friend is a new, unexpected bonus.

[spocks-husband]

Spock was an incredibly talkative baby. Like, nearly from the day he was born. He cried as a newborn-- something most Vulcan children didn't do, something that Amanda was secretly quite pleased by as it was her own, personal little sign that he had inherited some of her humanity afterall. All through his toddlerhood he'd babbled constantly, and Sarek would nod pensively as if these discussions were quite insightful. "Indeed, Spock, that is quite true," he would confirm stiffly as his son would squeal and babble. "Exceedingly logical, my son." Amanda found these exchanges endlessly entertaining.

At times, Sybok, Michael, Amanda, and Sarek would all sit quietly and watch as little Spock stumbled about their living room, rambling in his own unknown language as he explored around the room.

He quieted down, eventually, as all Vulcan children are taught to, something that silently broke his mother's heart, but Amanda will never deny an opportunity to show what few holograms she managed to capture of that phase-- much to McCoy's delight and Spock's mortification.

[parallelfallout]

I was talking to my friend and it hit me that there is SO much potential for a My Big Fat Greek Wedding Spirk AU.

Like dude. Just picture it.

30 something year old Spock trying to live his life and gain some autonomy from the bounds of Vulcan culture and trying to date Kirk in secret. Spock having a big ass family and the reason he keeps not telling Jim about his relatives is because he can’t keep track of them there’s so many. Instead of a bunch of cousins named “Nick” Spock has ten Vulcan relatives all named Selek. He secretly has no idea who is who (much less which part of the family they’re from).

The scene where they find out about Toula’s boyfriend and they’re like oh so YOURE Mr Pottery Class EXCEPT it’s “ah, so YOU must be Mr Transwarp Theory Logistics,” and Jim is like sweating bullets while Spock is internally hemorrhaging.

Jim having to undergo various Vulcan rituals and learning the language in order to impress Spock’s family.

Someone PLEASE write this. Like.

Jim: I’m sorry I didn’t ask to date your son, but sir, he’s THIRTY years old!

Sarek:

Jim: Alright. May I.. PLEASE ,, date your son???

Sarek: …

Sarek: no.

Jim: …

Jim: I’ll see you tomorrow Spock

(Bonus points for Sybok - or Michael- being like Hey Jim! We’re gonna kill ya!) ⌄ ⌄

[branwenjade]

After the preventable tragedy that was Tarsus IV Sarek and Amanda spent months on Earth. Spock had stayed home on Vulcan with some family, so he had no idea what his parents were dealing with. Something horrible had happened, Spock could see that by the haunted looks both his parents had in their eyes on their return.

Amanda would be found in the kitchen late at night or early in the morning perfecting recipes that Spock never saw her make for the family.

Sarek spent hours every day going over classified documents, and Spock could feel the frustration and impotant anger that poured off of his father in waves.

He didn't know just what had happened, but Spock knew it broke something inside of his parents.

The days stretched into weeks, and the weeks stretched into months and Spock had never felt more alone in his life. He no longer even had his older siblings to keep him company, as Sybok had been disowned, and Michael had left to go to Starfleet Academy.

It had been a year since his parents had returned, both of them traumatized in their own ways by what they had encountered, and Spock was adrift, he felt as if they had abandoned him in their... grief, he realized that they were grieving and he didn't understand why or who they were grieving.

One morning he awoke and felt something new. There was a sense of excitement and the almost oppressive feeling of grief that had filled the house was lessened.

When he saw his mother that morning he saw something he hadn't seen in almost a year, she was smiling. It was as if a switch had been thrown and his mother was back to her old self.

He watched as she worked around the house, going to one of the guest rooms, the one she had reorganized and decorated just after their return home a year prior, making sure it was free of dust and changing the bedding.

"Mother?"

Amanda smiled at her son, "He's finally coming home, Spock." At Spock's confused look she said, "Your Jimmy. He's on his way home. We've been trying to get him home for months now and we've finally been able to get him here."

Spock had to sit down. It had been so many years since he'd seen the younger male, and he'd almost made himself believe that Jim had just been a figment of his imagination, because if he was real then he'd been through something that had almost broken him, and Spock as well due to the bond they shared which they had formed when Spock was only three years of age.

He remembered the fear, the hunger, the despair he'd felt before his parents left for Earth. And now things made more sense to him. The recipes, all shelf stable ration type bars and high calorie high protein shakes. The hours of work over classified documents. The hurt and frustration he felt from both of his parents.

Something horrible had happened to his bonded, something that his parents knew about. Something they had kept from him.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't want to get your hopes up until we were certain that we'd be able to get custody. The first few months were... It wasn't certain that he'd survive, and we couldn't... We knew that if you knew, and he passed, that you'd..." she couldn't finish the sentence.

"That I would have chosen to follow him," Spock finished in a whisper.

Amanda nodded, "But he's healthy, and we've finally gotten through all of the redtape and your father is bringing him home as we speak."

[cdr2002]

Mirror Universe Concepts: The Family of Spock

Sarek

A longtime rebel against the Terran Empire, Sarek was believed to have been killed when the ISS Charon bombed Harlak during the waning days of the reign of Emperor Gorgeau. That illusion provided a convenient cover to go underground and disappear from both public view and Terran Intelligence. Beginning to operate with cloak and dagger tactics against the Empire, as well as using his influence on Vulcan to help ferry or hide his fellow rebels, Sarek was instrumental in keeping the fight against the Empire’s tyranny alive into the 2260s.

Initially, Sarek was unaware that his estranged son Spock had deduced his survival years ago, but simply let the matter lie. Disapproving of Spock’s decision to join the Imperial Starfleet, a decision that Spock at the time rationalized as owing to the fact that no rebellion against the Terran Empire in galactic history had ever succeeded, Sarek did not speak to his son for years. He was needless to say, very surprised to find out that Spock had begun his own revolution and coerced a bulk of the crew of the Imperial flagship into joining it. Initially skeptical, Sarek tested Spock’s convictions via a mind meld, learning that he to had been exposed to knowledge of the alternate universe from which the benevolent variant of Michael Burnham he had previously encountered hailed.

Sarek would come to join his and Voq’s rebellion with his son’s and aid Spock in expanding his network across present and former Terran Empire territories, liberating many and repairing his relationship with his son in the process.

Amanda Grayson

Wife to rebel leader Sarek and mother to Spock, Amanda was formerly an ambassador of the Imperial Senate, tasked with conveying their will to subjugated worlds. It was on a mission to bring news of increased water reserves as a reward for loyalty to the people of Vulcan that she met and fell in love with Sarek, who elucidated to her many of the flaws of the Terran Empire. Already aware of the Empire’s penchant for cruelty, something she had made efforts to minimize when possible throughout her career, Amanda would join his rebel cause, learning many of the secrets that kept Vulcan rebellion quiet throughout the last two centuries and covertly aiding many liberation groups due to her political standing.

Ultimately, she would leave Terra when the rebel base at Harlak was discovered, leading to the seeming death of her husband. Further radicalized by this, she began to openly fight through Empire, and would be continuously hunted as a remnant of Sarek and Voq’s rebel cell. Just as Imperial Starfleet was able to catch up with her, Amanda had her death faked in a seeming transporter accident. In secret, she reunited with her husband and his continued rebellion, albeit now having taken an even shadowier form. Amanda joined Sarek in going underground, vowing to never be separated from him again, and aided in his cloak and dagger rebellion. In particular, Amanda took to the concept of fighting the Terran Empire through knowledge and literature, leaking banned works to databases on various Terran worlds, especially those of schools, and becoming a teacher to the children of rebel forces.

Eventually, the revolution would grow in strength when Amanda found herself reuniting with her son Spock, who much to her joy, had begun fighting the Terran Empire himself. Though she still thought poorly of his prior service to the Imperial Starfleet, and knew his relationship with his Fabre recoils take time to heal, this reunion of her family served as a great inspiration for Amanda. Their fight has a chance.

Sybok

A controversial figure in Vulcan society, Sybok was the son of Sarek and T’Rea, a Vulcan “Princess” who was a figurehead of the Terran Empire before Sarek convinced her to join his nascent rebellion, resulting in her ultimate death at the hands of Terran forces.

Sybok abandoned the teachings of Surak, believing that logic had tempered the Vulcan people and made them into complacent slaves of the Empire. As such, he began a rebel movement based out of the backwater planet Nimbus III, using his unique variant of Vulcan psychic ability to instill the sense of pain caused by their actions onto killers from across the Galaxy: Terran Starfleet officers, murderous criminals, and even a few Klingons and Romulans. With his “Galactic Army of Light”, Sybok believed that the Galaxy could only be cleansed of violence and evil if the perpetrators of said violence were made to understand and feel the pain they had caused and either made reparations or forfeited their lives.

By the time Spock began his own revolution, Sybok was a formidable enemy of the Empire and one of the most influential rebels among the disparate cells. Well aware of his brother’s work, Spock would contact him and bring him into the fold when he decided that the various rebel cells needed to unite in order to stand against the Terran Empire. Though estranged from his family, Sybok readily accepted. With Spock’s help, he aims to bring about galactic peace, a concept many would dismiss as a myth, but one which Sybok fully believes in.

Commander Angel

A free-spirited human pirate captain with a disdain for the stifling attitudes of Terran society: the rigid adherence to a flawed doctrine of Terran superiority and draconian loyalty to the state, and what they felt were shackling ideas of how that loyalty should be exhibited. To that end, Angel struck out on their own, acquiring a vessel, the Serene Squall, and remaking themself as an infamous pirate captain known for taking from the Terrans, the Orions, the Klingons, the Ferengi, and anyone else who they saw as imposing their will upon others, and redistributing their gains to the planets left behind by the current galactic powers. Incredibly cunning and skillful, with the Squall being a fast, if underpowered ship, Angel was able to outrun and outhink any forces who attempted to pursue them.

Being branded a criminal by any of the Empires they spit in the face of only emboldened them more, as did being marked for death by criminal networks, which Angel considered just as fascistic as most governments, in their own way. Angel greatly believes in personal freedom and aims to dismantle the systems that oppress billions across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, though their crew is mostly content with basic hit-and-runs and the occasional Robin Hood-ing, and Angel has had the means to do little else for the bulk of their career, due to their relatively small pool of resources compared to the forces they challenged. Things began to change when Angel came into contact with Vulcan outcast and revolutionary, Sybok. Over time, the two fell in love, and Angel joined Sybok’s revolutionary movement, gleefully bringing justice to butchers across the galaxy, but also studying psychology in order to help those who Sybok’s telepathic powers had caused to become remorseful over the lives they had taken. Angel finds the revolution now undertaken by Sybok’s half-brother Spock to be interesting. They believe that if Imperial Starfleet officers can change without Sybok’s assistance, it is proof that despite the propaganda of empires, no one is just one thing, including even the Terran people. In a way, Spock has begun to restore Angel’s strained faith in humanity. Perhaps their people can be more than what they are…

T’Pring

Betrothed to Spock in accordance with an ancient Vulcan ritual, T’Pring carried a great love for him that was greatly strained by his time serving in the Imperial Starfleet. An advocate for criminal reform, T’Pring had no great love for the Empire’s doctrine and felt betrayed by Spock’s servitude to its ideals. T’Pring would come to aid Vulcan rebels in secret, fearing that Spock would eventually become an enemy who she might even need to kill.

When he came to her with ideas of revolution, she was surprised, and partially relieved, though she wished Spock had come to these conclusions sooner. The damage to their love was done, but the two carried a great respect for each other nonetheless, and vowed to work in random for the freedom of a Galaxy.

Michael Burnham

Notes: Burnham and Spock are not related in the mirror universe, but I wanted to include her in this post regardless.

In agreement with the admins of Memory Alpha, I am regarding the “Terra Firma” mirror universe as an alternate timeline

Branded a traitor to the Empire for her collaboration with the upstart Gabriel Lorca to seize the Imperial throne and marked for death by Emperor Georgiou, Burnham was presumed to have been killed and dealt with by the time her prime universe counterpart was forced to impersonate her during an unplanned sojourn to the mirror universe. However, this could not be further from the truth.

Suspecting the fragility of Lorca’s plan as soon as it resulted in the official announcement of her death to justify a hunt for the man, when she could have served more usefully as an agent within Emperor Georgiou’s inner circle, Burnham parted company with Lorca at some point prior to his transposition to the prime universe, under the guise of seeking more allies for their plan. While Lorca sought revolt using those within the Imperial Starfleet who could be turned, he and Burnham had considered manipulating the enemies of the Empire. She made an attempt to rally together the Klingons and Romulans against the Terran Empire, believing treaties could be secured once she was in power, but this ultimately failed due to existing bad blood between the two races.

With the impatient Lorca dead and Burnham herself once again presumed to be such due to the destruction of the ISS Charon, she found herself a walking ghost. Though adopted by Georgiou as a daughter, Burnham’s status as a traitor left her unable to leave hiding and claim the rite of being her heir, nor was the bloodbath of the fight for Imperial control after Georgiou’s seeming death worth the risk to her.

Burnham decided to bide her time, but found she had waited too long when Imperial war hero Garth of Izar crowned himself Emperor. With the power of the throne granting Izarius access to the knowledge of her plot with Lorca, Burnham has been left with no leg to stand on in terms of challenging him, as she could not invoke her rights as the previous Emperor’s daughter.

Her Terran pride also prohibited her from bowing to the new Emperor’s rule and hoping to gain acceptance back into the Empire. Even if she allowed herself that option, there was no guarantee she would not be executed regardless, or thrown into an Agony Booth to “remind her of her oath to the Empire”. Nor did she like the idea of doing whatever Izarius might ask of her to earn her trust. She had nearly ruled the Empire alongside Lorca, and could have claimed the throne for herself if she could catch him unawares. She considered concocting a story of a secret mission from Emperor Georgiou to infiltrate Lorca’s rebellion, but who would believe that? No, there would be no return to the Terran Empire without the seizure of the Imperial throne itself. A takeover that was swift, bloody, and left her unchallenged. But to achieve that, Burnham would need allies.

Most of her co-conspirators in Lorca’s plot had died aboard the Charon, shrinking the circle even further. Perhaps she could throw her weight around onboard the ISS Shenzhou, take back her command of the ship and be its secret captain, with the Shenzhou’s current commanding officer as a face to put in front of Imperial Command as she waged a secret war against the Emperor. But that would be a risky endeavor, and just one ship would not land her an Empire. Garth had loyalty, respect. The fleet at his beckon call. Burnham had supporters, people who owed her favors, but even that wouldn’t be enough. As treasonous as the thought was to her, Burnham even considered joining a resistance cell rather than trying to position herself as the leader of one, and manipulating their goals for her own purposes from within. But she decided against that too.

Unaware of Spock’s revolution and how far it would soon grow, Burnham believed no rebellion against the Empire would ever succeed. Instead, she contacted her remaining allies in the Imperial Starfleet and enlisted their aid in helping her remain hidden, as well as promising them glory and power once she rose to the throne. Burnham tasked her supporters with keeping their eyes and ears open, looking for anything that might weaken Izarius’s powerbase and provide her an opening. For now, she would rely on an information network, wielding knowledge as power on her way to the throne.

One potential avenue that Burnham had been considering was a little secret that Georgiou had let her in on, a technology known only to the Emperor and the Admiralty. The late Doctor Stamets’ invention: The Spore Drive. The basic technology had powered the massive ISS Charon, though its initial development had been to increase the speed of Imperial vessels, rather than their firepower. One Spore Drive had been successfully installed aboard the ISS Discovery as a testbed, a carefully guarded secret. With the Discovery gone, and the ISS Glenn scuttled after a mysterious accident, Burnham would need another meand to gain access to the technology, and a ship to install it in. Should she lay claim to an operational Spore Drive, Burnham believed she would be able to destroy any ship that stood in her way, and carve her path to the throne of the Empire. As for the ship, the new Discovery-A, commissioned to honor the death of Captain Killy, would serve her purposes nicely.

Bolstering her plans would be another cunning mind and an unexpected ally: exiled Imperial captain James T. Kirk, ousted by his first officer, Spock, who had claimed him to be a madman to Imperial Command. Hunted and with a limited selection of allies himself, Kirk tuned in to rumors that Burnham lived and sought her out. She to had become curious about him, finding his story of being betrayed by the very Empire he had served so loyally to be all too familiar. With their combined tenacity and Kirk’s knowledge of another Imperial superweapon that not even Burnham had been privy to, their deadly alliance poses a serious threat to both the Empire and the revolution.

Saavik

The child of a union between a Vulcan and a Romulan who fell in love while infiltrating Imperial space, Saavik’s life was almost immediately at risk. The Terran Empire had reacted aggressively to discovering the shared heritage between the Vulcans and Romulans, hunting for any potential Romulan presence among their citizenry. Busting down doors, dragging out families to be examined. It was an invasive persecution that for many elder Vulcans, brought back memories of when the Terrans had conquered them in the late 21st century.

With the fear of being found out before them, Saavik’s parents chose her life over theirs. Her father took his own life and her mother was forced to present his body to Imperial Police in order to masquerade as a loyal citizen of the Empire who had killed a Romulan infiltrator for them. The ploy worked and the Terrans never took a second glance at her daughter.

Though taught in the Vulcan way to control her emotions, Saavik would grow up in constant fear, fear that no amount of logic could dissuade. At every moment she risked being discovered, and then her life would be over.

Saavik would develop a tendency to avoid Terrans, fearful that any one of them could report her. As if they would somehow discover that she was half Romulan just from looking at her. She was more comfortable in Vulcan company, but still felt like something of an outsider due to her inability to fully commit to Vulcan serenity.

This changed when Saavik met an Imperial Starfleet officer, Spock, who had returned home to visit his fiancé at the time. Being half-Terran, Spock could recognize many of Saavik’s struggles and offered to aid her in dealing with them. Saavik accepted and became Spock’s pupil, eventually trusting him enough to share her heritage with her.

Spock’s solution to her situation was far from what Saavik expected, and an idea to which T’Pring strongly opposed. Spock recommended to Saavik that she enlist in the Imperial Starfleet, as he had when his parents became known rebels against the Empire. He suggested that the way to survive the Terrans’ xenophobia was to embed herself in their system and make herself useful to them. To present a loyalty to the Empire that outshined any personal details.

The prospect was needless to say, nerve-wracking to Saavik. But she trusted Spock, and accepted his sponsorship to the Imperial Academy.

The setting did little to help her anxiety, but Saavik did her best to bury that under as much emotional control as she could muster. Academically brilliant and a fast learner of various combat techniques, technical operations, and regulations; Saavik excelled in the Academy. She had to, in order to survive. If she was an excellent enough Imperial officer, she would not be questioned.

Saavik’s class happened to include another Vulcan, a woman of about her age named Valeris, who had enlisted for similar reasons of assimilating as a method of survival. She even made displays of emotion here and there and acted on impulse from time to time, in order to make her Terran peers more comfortable. It was fascinating to Saavik.

Saavik quickly gravitated towards Valeris and despite some awkward early encounters, managed to befriend her. Both were in need of a fellow Vulcan to make their environment more bearable, and began to confide in one another at the end of each day. Over time, it was impossible for Saavik to deny that she had fallen in love with her, and Valeris felt much the same. Saavik introduced Valeris to Spock, and it was difficult to mask her delight when he approved.

Eventually graduating from the Imperial Academy, Saavik quickly began a command path with her field commission, hoping to rise in the ranks as a further means of protecting herself. Spock warned her that a starship captain was a major target just as much as they held power, but Saavik had gained some confidence from her training, and believed she could deal with any potential assassins. Valeris for her part offered to protect her by any means necessary.

Saavik would not see Spock for a few years, as his duties aboard the ISS Enterprise increasingly demanded his attention. When they finally reunited, it was after Spock had seemingly flown in the face of his own advice and become captain of the Enterprise.

While Saavik was initially joyful upon meeting with Spock, in her own understated way of course, she was surprised by the seeming change in attitude.

She would go on to discover that there had been a profound change in Spock. As soon as they were in private and away from any potential ears, he revealed to her his realizations about the illogic and irrationality of the Terran Empire, and the need for massive radical change in order to save Terran society from itself, and those who had been subjugated by the Empire in the process. All this from the same man who had told Saavik to fight for the Empire to survive. Saavik was confused and all but shocked, but she trusted Spock deeply, and allowed her mentor to explain himself.

To fully detail his plan, Spock offered a mind meld with Saavik. She accepted, and was shown images of the mind of one Leonard McCoy. But not the doctor aboard the ISS Enterprise… a different Leonard McCoy.

Through his eyes, Saavik bore witness to another reality. The utopia, the paradise.

The Federation.

When the mind meld terminated, Saavik understood her mentor’s goals. She was uncertain if it could truly be done, but she was willing to try. Later that night, she initiated a mind meld of her own work Valeris, and before long, her lover was on the side of the revolution as well.

Saavik is now one of Spock’s agents behind Imperial lines, supporting the revolution from within Starfleet, and waiting for the day to enter the battlefield for freedom directly. It is Spock’s wish that she and Valeris be among the first of a new generation, that will look out into the stars not to conquer, but to explore. Saavik meanwhile, dreams of living in fear no more, and of a future where a kid like her will not have to be afraid either.

[sopheadraws]

You don't see them very often - they're native to YouTube comment sections - but some of my favorite Tumblr users are the people who're *really nerdy* about some media, but don't have much experience engaging with other people in fandom, so they'll mosey into the replies/reblogs of Spirk fanart or whatever to earnestly explain that

"Actually, Kirk and Spock aren't in a romantic or sexual relationship in Star Trek. In TOS S3e14, Kirk describes Spock as his 'brother', and Spock describes Kirk as his 'friend' in TWOK. In fact, in the novelization of TMP, Gene Roddenberry explicitly states, through Kirk, that Kirk and Spock aren't romantically or sexually involved even though they're t'hy'la, which is Vulcan for 'friend, brother, or lover', in a footnote. Even though Kirk dies single in Generations, Spock eventually marries Saavik according to beta canon, and this is confirmed in TNG S3e23 when Picard says he 'went to [Sarek's] son's wedding'. He couldn't be describing Sybok's wedding because Sybok died in 2287, and Picard was born in 2305. Furthermore, Spock couldn't have married Kirk because Kirk died at 65 and was born in 2233. You are a very talented artist."

[dark-elf-writes]

Okay but aos au with Spock having to watch Sybok’s child (and hadn’t that been a scandal, both that Sarek had chosen not to exile his oldest son when he had chosen to embrace emotion and that Sybok had returned to Vulcan one day with an incredibly and unashamedly emotional child with no explanation nor any other parent mentioned) while he is offworld doing… something during the academy days and Jim just so happens to run into the kid when they need help and gains himself a new devoted best friend in the form of a tiny genius child.

Just Spock trying to keep his cool Vulcan mask up when he has an excited eight year old babbling about how cool Cadet Kirk is and did he know that Cadet Kirk could drive motorcycles and he speaks Vulcan and

[electronickingdomfox]

"Yesterday's Son" review

Novel from 1983 by Ann C. Crispin. The author would continue the story in a sequel, a few years later. This one is somewhat different than the average Star Trek novel. For starters, it presents an interesting premise: what if Zarabeth had a son after her encounter with Spock (in the episode "All Our Yesterdays")? And what kind of dad would be Spock? (spoiler: a pretty bad one, at least at first). Thus, the main plot is not about battles in space or encounters with new civilizations, but about the relationship between Spock and his son, and how they overcome their emotional barriers. Of course, there's also a subplot involving Romulans to spice things up, but that's not the meat of the story. And the Romulan threat is there, above all, to strengthen the father-son relationship.

I liked this novel overall. Poignant at times, and with a rather bittersweet (yet satisfying) ending, it offers good character drama. Zar, the son of Spock with Zarabeth, is well developed and sympathetic, and his failed attempts at reaching out to Spock are pretty moving. It's also funny to meet another secret, emotional relative of Spock, years before Sybok appeared in canon.

Spoilers under the cut:

During a casual conversation about Sarpeidon (the now destroyed planet that Zarabeth lived in 5000 years ago), Spock comes across some disturbing photographs of paintings, taken from a cave in the planet before its destruction. The paintings depict a Vulcan face very similar to his own, but with basic differences. So Spock puts two and two together, and realizes how badly he screwed up; some fathers may forget their son in a car, but he forgot his own in an ice cave, five milleniums in the past! Spock decides that it's not fair to abandon his child like this, and convinces Kirk to bring him to the Guardian of Forever, so he can rescue the kid (and Zarabeth if possible).

Since Spock can't get rid of Kirk and McCoy to attend to his family business, the three of them are sent to Sarpeidon's past, around the time when his son was still a kid. The weather is frigid, and after a few days of pointless search and avoiding dangerous beasts, they finally find a trail. Just then, a hooded figure attacks them, but they subdue him, discovering it's actually Zar. They miscalculated while travelling through the Guardian, so instead of a kid, they find a grown-up man in his late twenties (thus too old to pass as Spock's son). Back in the cave, Zar explains that his mother died seven years ago. So completely alone now, and thrilled at the prospect of meeting his father and exploring new worlds, Zar agrees to go to the present with them (it's not like he needs a lot of convincing, anyway).

In the Enterprise, Zar makes some new friends and starts adapting to the modern way of life. However, once the rescue's done, Spock retracts behind his Vulcan wall, and starts being really cold toward his son. He barely shows interest in him, other than giving him lessons in science and teaching him how to control his telepathy (and you thought that Sarek was bad...). Things get even worse when Zar discovers that the warm, passionate Vulcan that his mother talked about, was just the result of Spock suffering a regression in his trip to the past, and that he probably never loved her. Unlike his father, Zar is a much more emotional Vulcan, due in part to his greater human heritage, and he shows a different empathetic ability. He can sense other people's feelings, and he can also project his own feelings on others. Under these conditions, Zar becomes much closer to his other dad McCoy, instead of his own father.

Meanwhile, some Romulan ships have been sighted around the Guardian of Forever's planet. The secret of time-travelling through the Guardian is only known by a few in the Federation, but the Romulans suspect something, and if they learn how to tamper with time, it could be disastrous. Zar starts feeling sick, and finally faints, a feeling he later recognizes as an omen of impending death. He also realizes something while looking at pictures of Sarpeidon's paintings (though we don't know what at this point). Effectively, upon reaching the Guardian's planet, the Enterprise finds the archeological personnel and the first landing party massacred by the Romulans. The intruders have also set a cloaking device around the Guardian, so they can't see how many Romulan soldiers are deployed.

Given his ability to sense the enemies' feelings at a distance, and his survival skills, Zar volunteers to infiltrate the Romulan camp. Spock goes with him, to install a force-field around the Guardian, so the Romulans can't use the portal. However, more Romulan ships are approaching, and Kirk gives them a deadline. If they fail to keep the situation under control, the Enterprise will have to destroy the whole planet, whether Spock and Zar are still there or not (WTF Kirk!!?). During the mission, Spock grows closer to his son, and Zar comes to understand his father's true feelings for him, and why he has such difficulty expressing them.

In the end, the usual status quo has to be restored, so Zar needs to return to his own time. It turns out the painting from Sarpeidon's past that alarmed him so much, was his own drawing of the Enterprise. He's thus the one who brought many technical and scientific developments to his planet, after his experience in the starship. And time-travelling shenanigans are confusing, but I think that an apparent plot hole was properly explained: why did Zar speak English? Of course, it was him who teached the language to the other inhabitants upon returning. So many generations later, Zarabeth would speak it (remember she came from the future in the episode), and would in turn teach it to her son in the past. It's... complicated, but the circle is closed. On the downside, I feel that Zar's departure was a bit rushed. I would have expected a greater resistance from Spock, and definitely from McCoy.

Spirk Meter: 7/10*. They're brief moments, but pretty powerful. First, and despite the statement that Spock can block other people from intruding into his mind, it seems that Kirk has developed the ability to read his thoughts, even at a distance. Kirk also insists on going with Spock through the Guardian, to the point of blackmailing him if he refuses. Later, Zar complains to McCoy that "there's only one person that Commander Spock cares deeply for, and that's... [...]Not me." In the end, and before departing, Zar asks Kirk to "take care of him" (meaning his father). And when Spock hesitates and attempts to follow his son through the portal, Kirk grabs him, and this happens:

"Spock. He doesn't need you." And he wondered if the Vulcan caught the unvoiced addition, "And I... we... do."

At least, poor Zar seems to take well the fact that his dad didn't love his mom, because he has this weird thing going on with his Captain...

More subtle, yet perhaps more interesting, are the Spones elements, even if they seem one-sided on McCoy's part. McCoy joins Spock in his trip to the Guardian in an even more forceful way than Kirk. Basically, he bursts into the turbolift uninvited and with all gear ready, and blackmails both Spock AND the Captain so they bring him along. Then he's pretty worried about Spock's feelings upon meeting his son for the first time. Once back in the ship, McCoy develops a close relationship with Zar, calling him "son" all the time. Which makes Kirk wonder why he acts as if he was his father, instead of Spock. And the doctor argues with Spock about Zar's education, and also reprimands Zar for rebelling against Spock. So it's easy to see a parallel here between Sarek and Amanda, and Spock and McCoy, as a "distant father/loving mother" pair. And it's noteworthy that the author of this novel was in contact with Howard Weinstein (who writes the intro here), since the latter's novel "The Covenant of the Crown" has also Spock and McCoy acting a bit like parents to a young girl. Besides this, Spock wonders about all the people that have tried to be physically close to him. Those include his mother and now his son, of course, but also Leila and... McCoy.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[sechere]

Rough Timeline For Sybok

NOTE: Given the fluidity of Star Trek canon the exact details such as ages, the role Sarek played in Sybok's early life, etc. I am open to discussing with partners in fact I respect it. This is primarily a rough timeline for my own reference and to use as a starting point when plotting.

Sybok was raised primarily by mother, T'Rea, and her clan. As to be expected from a former paramour* of Sarek, T'Rea was somewhat unconventional in her habits and raising of her son refusing to have him be bonded in childhood. A practice while considered the norm in much of Vulcan society is not without some controversy with some like T'Rea viewing it as illogical and primitive. T'Rea was also a Reldai, meaning her family could trace it's roots to before Surak and once held religious and political power.

Sybok's mother died when Sybok was in early adolescence. Despite being an exceptional student there were certain inconsistencies in Sybok's education aggravated by the upheaval caused by T'Rea's death and his being sent to join Sarek's household which left him vulnerable to certain feelings of vulnerability and even anger.

These unsuppressed emotions were not wholly 'negative' as Sybok did come to genuinely love his siblings Spock and Michael. His relationship with his siblings is significant as Sybok was able to observe first hand how they were treated differently than he was often for no apparent 'logical' reason. Furthermore many assumed that given Sybok's social status and being a full-blooded Vulcan he would approve or partake in such behavior which he always rebuffed.

As Sybok grew into adulthood he continued to excel academically but show signs of poor emotional control (Poor to Vulcan standards anyway). ** Sybok had also begun to make connections with others who had their doubts about Surak's teaching or at the very least did not embrace logic as the ultimate answer. By the time he'd reached adulthood Sybok was fully aware of his inability to fit into Vulcan society as expected and elected to leave Vulcan. *** It was during this period he entered a relationship with the human pirate, Angel.

At some point Sybok made the decision to return to Vulcan to advocate against the suppression of emotion. The civil unrest Sybok and his followers posed led to their imprisonment.

*It's possible Sybok's mother was Sarek's intended or who he was bonded to according to Vulcan custom with the engagement having been broken off for any number of factors.

** It's possible Sarek blamed himself for Sybok's emotional nature.

*** It's likely Sybok didn't inform anyone of his departure hoping to do so discreetly and without causing a scandal.

[marlinspirkhall]

I was listening to music and "In Control" came up on shuffle, and I was reminded that for a while I misheard "Failure was my only option/All I ever did was let you down" as "Failure was my only option/All I ever wanted was to make you proud"

Anyways uhhh thoughts on this?

Any interpretation of the song is cool with me, but I wrote “let him down” because these verses are supposed to be repetitive to show that he's getting fixated on the past & that these are seemingly inescapable cycles. Sometimes, stoicism only prevents people from speaking out about their pain.

‘Making someone proud’ is usually active; it requires you to do something. ‘Not letting them down’ is seemingly passive- all you have to do is uphold their values every single day without slipping, but if they aren't your own values or they're especially strict, eventually the pressure will get too much. I don't think Spock believed Amanda when she said that he was enough.

It doesn't matter that Amanda supported his decision to join Starfleet, because he was still driven away due to bullying. I think he could cope with it when it was ‘just children’, but by the time he was a young adult he'd realized that these issues were more systemic & if he joined the VSA it would be more of the same.

And of course the irony is that Sarek's “fully Vulcan” son, Sybok, suppresses his emotions far less than any other family member, so Sarek has failed as a parent by his own standards.

In Control

[agent-troi]

“sybok also is a son of sarek”

“you mean he’s your brother brother? you made that up”

“i did not”

“you did too, sybok couldn’t possibly be your bother because i happen to know for a fact you do not have a brother”

“technically you are correct, i do not have a brother. i have a half brother.”

“i gotta sit down”

[bookaddict13]

Not to mention Sybok:

*Sybok tries to kill them*

“Sybok is also a son of Sarek.”

“You made that up, because I happen to know for a fact you don’t have a brother.”

“Technically you are correct, I do not have a brother, I have a half brother.”

people who are like "how dare they retcon Spock having a sister" are so weak. have you seen the show? Spock said "one of my ancestors married a human female" and it wasn't until a year later his best friends found out he was talking about his fucking parents, and even then he only reluctantly let it slip because they were in the room

[branwenjade]

An AU where Michael is Amanda's daughter from a previous marriage (her husband died while she was pregnant with her). Sybok lives with Sarek full time. So when Sarek and Amanda have Spock he has both a Vulcan brother and Human sister as biological siblings but they both act so strangely, Michael acts more Vulcan than their father and Sybok is the most emotional being that Spock has ever known.

When Michael is almost killed when they are children Sarek packs up the entire family and moves them to Earth.

They meet and befriend a nearby family, a single mother named Winona Kirk and her two sons, Sam and Jim, and her niece, Sylvia Tilly (who was currently staying with them on Earth while her parents are off world).

Even though they are different ages Sam and Sybok become best friends constantly up to mischief. Michael and Sylvia become practically inseparable (due to being the only girls). And Spock and Jim sync with each other so quickly and smoothly that Sarek instantly has suspicions.