#Watch this without thinking how composed Spock is

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E12: The Conscience of the King

Original Thoughts

"It was fine. Not too much to keep me invested compared to others, but still worth a watch. Learning some more Kirk backstory was nice and performed well by William Shatner. The climax and ending are very much tragic. A tyrant caused genocide, then tried to hide and keep that legacy out of his daughter’s touch. But it failed, and that daughter killed the survivors to keep her father from facing retribution. It’s just… sad. They’re both murderers, but clearly loved each other, and the ending where the girl accidentally kills her father is just heartbreaking (even if her reaction dragged a bit too long). Finding out that Kirk survived a freakin’ genocide was also a pretty big reveal. Not the most interesting watch, but still a good one."

(Original Post)

Rewatch Thoughts

I sometimes wonder what was going on in my head back when I did the first watchthrough. I had originally started watching TOS out of pure boredom, so maybe I wasn't giving it as much attention as I should have. I had a feeling that I would enjoy this one far more than the first time... and ho boy was I right~!

This one is... a lot. Like... a looooot. We're dealing with a Shakespearean company, murder, and past genocide. And in the middle of it is Captain James T. Kirk. We find out that he was one of the people who survived said genocide and one of the few witnesses to have seen the man who ordered it. It certainly wasn't a detail about Kirk that I was expecting when I started this show, haha...

This is such an excellent Kirk episode. This is him dealing with a situation that is incredibly personal. One that he thought that he had moved on from until one of the other witnesses involves him and ends up dead. We see Kirk investigating, changing plans and reassigning one of the other witnesses without giving any explanation to Spock or anyone else, and trying to get close to the suspect's daughter Lenore (who is 19... ugh, at least she's of legal age this time...) to find out more. This is Kirk at some of his most methodical. He is a man on a mission, and the looming question throughout is if Kirk is doing this for justice? Or is it out of vengeance? A question that even he doesn't know the answer to.

This won't be the last time we see this kind of personal conflict pop up with Kirk. Obsession next season will do something similar. But this one is much more... real, for lack of a better word. He's composed for the most part, but you can tell that what happened on Tarsus still haunts Kirk. How when presented with the fact that this dictator may be alive, he doesn't want to believe it at first, but the more he looks into it the more he has to do something. He even snaps at Spock, who has realized what's going on and points out his irrational behavior, for getting involved in his personal business despite how it's affecting the ship, and it's thus Spock's job to pry. Even at the end when he stops Riley from killing Kodos, he also makes no move to save him when Lenore accidentally kills her own father. Say what you want about William Shatner as a person and as an actor, but he did a phenomenal job as Kirk here. It's one of his best performances.

Kodos himself is complicated. I don't think anyone will argue that he's a horrible person. He didn't get the name 'Kodos the Executioner' for nothing. You can argue that he was put in a difficult situation with deciding who on Tarsus got food and who didn't... but the fact that he did it based off eugenics theories causes it to not hold water. And regardless, he killed thousands, caused immense trauma for countless others, and was so much of a coward that he faked his death and started over. A chance that none of his victims had. Twenty years later he's a shell of a man, forever haunted by what he did and the constant threat of being discovered. You know what? Good. He brought all of this onto himself, and him evading justice for so long in and of itself is terrible. And the one person he tried to shield from his horrible legacy? Went insane, murdered, and caused his own death. It's sad in a away, even pitiful. But more because of those that Kodos affected, not for Kodos himself.

And Lenore... oh God Lenore. The girl was born after the Tarsus massacre, but still ended up in her father's bloody legacy. A legacy that even he wanted to keep her out of, probably the only decency he's ever shown. But not only did he fail, but she chose to murder the people her father ruined the lives of to save him. Kirk and Riley are the only ones who survived, and that was just barely. It's clear when she confesses that she's not quite mentally stable, and she loses it completely, living in her own world where her father is able to continue with his performances. There's no justifying what she did, but it's just unfortunate to see this girl ruin her own life as she did. An utter tragedy.

Then we have Spock and McCoy. Ah, we're in that part of S1 where we start getting far more with them, and their scenes are a delight. When alarmed about Kirk's bizarre choices, who does Spock go to? McCoy. Mind you, McCoy doesn't take it seriously at first, but it's still nice to see the two talk about Kirk matters. Then as Spock uncovers more and shares it with McCoy, the latter tries to deny it... but it's clear that he realizes exactly what Spock is. And even despite that, when Kirk snaps at Spock, McCoy outright tells him that it's Spock's job. We're gonna be seeing some more tension rise between the two, especially since Galileo Seven is the next episode, but it's still nice to see McCoy defend Spock.

They're both concerned about what Kirk is doing, though ultimately McCoy has to deal with Riley while he's recovering and Spock actually helps Kirk with identifying Kodos. McCoy's also worried about Kirk's mental state and what his actual motive is. Justice or vengeance? Kirk himself has no answer... and he never does reach an answer, I don't think. He didn't get to. I don't know what's worse, finding out that the tyrant who caused you and others so much torment was alive, or watching them die and not being able to see them get either justice or get your own vengeance. He can't even feel glad that Lenore is stopped, since she both lost her mind, and he grew to at least like her despite using her. You get nothing. All that Kirk can do is have Lenore placed in proper care and go on with the knowledge that he's seen Kodos die before his eyes, but never truly have closure. Even as McCoy tries to talk to him at the end, he just stays in Captain Mode and gives orders to continue on. It says all that you need to know.

Like I said, there's a lot here. This episode is a tragedy, full stop. I don't know enough about Shakespeare to read into any of that, but it certainly feels like a Shakespearean tragedy. It's an excellent episode, and I can't believe that I thought it wasn't much of a watch the first time. There is SO MUCH to read into with Kirk, this tidbit of his history, about Kodos and Lenore, and just how horrible and senseless it all feels. So many lives ruined by one man, including his own flesh and blood, despite trying to prevent it. At least he's dead now, for all that's worth.

Original Rating: 3/5 Rewatch Rating: 8/10

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[lucycola]

Hey could you do a Spock X reader where she knows nothing about Vulcans and like keeps accidentally doing taboo things e.g touching hands or touching his ears

I thoroughly enjoyed writing this! I accidentally made it gender neutral, because I forgot what pronouns, you used. I’m sorry! I hope you like it.

WARNINGS: Fluff, affection, ignorance of affection in Vulcan culture idk. Maybe Spock is slightly OOC but who cares. I took a little liberty of giving the reader a pinch of background.

To say you were oblivious was an understatement. You weren’t a complete idiot, or anything, just innocently scatterbrained. Perhaps that was the explanation why you didn’t flinch when every you were chastised for a mistake or given a strict order by your commanding officer. As a blue shirt, you fell under the command of the Enterprise’s first officer, and his reputation as a stony, unfeeling, authoritarian preceded him. You were never bothered by this. He was most terrifying, others noted, when Captain Kirk left him in charge when unable to take the chair. You were warned about him-to never cross him and always do exactly as he said. Spock was a hard-ass. He was handsome and perhaps at first you wondered, but it had been made clear to by others he wasn’t interested in anyone.

You had met more terrifying people. You had nine brothers and a strict, often unfair and bully of a father. Commander Spock was a piece of cake. It was in your nature to be gentle, welcoming, and comforting despite the constitution of your upbringing. It was your personality. You didn’t like to let people bring you down.

You were elated alone to be living your dream, anyway. You weren’t going to let the attitude of anyone around you affect your nature or happiness.

You obviously didn’t know anything about Vulcans either.

The first touch was accidental. It always is.

You never took the Vulcan to be clumsy, but on one occasion while discussing your current assignment in passing he dropped his holotape. You both reached  for it, and in a cliché manner brushed hands. While your boss pulled away, you did not and picked up the tape.

“Here ya go!” You cheerily patted the tape in his hand for good measure, “I’ll have that report in the morning like you’ve requested, sir.”

Bypassers gawked as you cheerily skipped away. Your commanding officer only quirked a brow and went on his way.

The next time was less on purpose and more out of your kindness as your commander internally lamented about his captain’s safety during an emergency situation. He had donned the chair and even while appearing composed and direct you had an eye for spotting worry in well kept men. In an brief moment you pressed your hand to his wrist and said softly, “He will be okay. You’ll make sure of it.”

He tensed under your touch and you removed your hand a smiled.

“Report to your station, Ensign,” he said in his usual tone, no hint of distaste or approval in his voice.

“Yes sir.”

The third time was even worse. Somehow you had been suckered to prompting Spock by Doctor McCoy into reporting to an impromptu physical. Confidentiality be damned, the Vulcan’s stress levels were unusually high and it was affecting his demeanor. You accidentally overheard the nurse and the doctor whispering something perhaps about pon farr happening again, but no it hadn’t been seven years yet. Whatever that was.

“I don’t think he’ll listen to me, but if you say it’s important, I’ll try.”

“You’re his favorite, so you’re my best bet.”

“Mister Spock doesn’t have favorites,” you laughed, “But I’ll do it anyway. Someone has to draw the shortest straw. I never mind it being me.”

“Thankyou, Ensign. And good luck.”

You skipped along to the your commander’s quarters. You had never been inside and only rarely had delivered your reports to him in person when requested. He couldn’t always come to you and that was understandable.

At the chime the door slid open and though it was subtle, your boss clearly wasn’t expecting you.

“Hello, Mister Spock,” you greeted, “Doctor McCoy-”

“I am aware of the doctor’s request. As it is not mandatory  I do not find it necessary to attend.”

It wasn’t like him to interrupt you. He was tense and though he stood perfectly erect like a statue there was a little shake in his right hand. Without thinking, you grasped it to still the quiver.

“Are you alright?”

Many would expect his to snatch it away, but he didn’t and stood there. If he was caught off guard, it wasn’t apparent. His expression was unmoving and his eye contact never wavered.

“I am fine, Ensign. Report back to your duties.”

“Doctor McCoy said it was important.”

“I am not here to entertain the doctor’s every illogical human whim.” He pulled his hand away, “There is no empirical evidence to suggest I am ill.”

“You’re shivering.” You put your hands on your hip and gave him the most mothering look you could muster.

“Multiple factors such as the natural low temperature of deep space can illicit such a reaction,” he retorted.

“It’s broiling in your cabin, Mister Spock. Only people with fevers do things like that.”

“Humans, Ensign. Humans,” he corrected, “I deduce you are not aware of Vulcan biology or customs.”

“Please don’t lie to me,” you requested softly, “How am I supposed to work efficiently under an ill commanding officer?”

The way you spoke nearly convinced him to do your bidding, but still he remained stubborn.

“I do not comprehend how that would deter your work efficiency.”

You grabbed his hand again, “I am going to worry myself to death if you really are ill and you’re just trying to act like you’re alright. That will keep me from working like I’m supposed to. Efficient crew needs an efficient captain.” You winked at him.

“But Captain Kirk-”

“It’s a metaphor, Mister Spock. Now please come so the doctor can stop paging me and I can work on my report concerning the Althenian plant’s healing properties and various uses from its sap.”

“I yield,” he said after a small beat and without releasing your hand, followed you to the medbay. More people inwardly gawked watching to drag him down the hall. His face was tense, albeit slightly amused.

After reaching your destination you waved him and the doctor off sweetly and made your way back to the lab. You heart wrapped around the thought of him being ill and you hid that worry ill. A little heat bloomed in your chest at his previous touch. You brushed it away. No, you told yourself.

The doctor was only a little surprised. His suspicions were confirmed.

“I had my doubts at first, Spock, but now I see it’s true.”

“Despite Vulcan’s telepathic abilities, I cannot automatically read your mind. Elaborate, Doctor.”

The doctor chucked, “That ensign is your favorite.”

“I do not understand.”

“Who else could have convinced you to come here to let me scan you? Probably not even Jim-”

“I am inclined to follow the captain’s every order.”

“You don’t let anyone touch you like that. Especially not for a long time. If I’m not mistaken you two were practically kiss-”

“That will be enough elaboration, doctor. Please proceed with your medical assessment, as I have much work to attend to.”

The doctor chuckled again. “It’s too bad I can’t tell with that one. They act like that towards everyone.”

“Everyone,” Spock repeated flatly although it was intended to be a question.

“Sweetest soul I’ve ever met. Lights up a room as soon as they enter it.”

“Indeed,” Spock nodded, familiar with the colloquialism.

The doctor’s eyebrows raised and he grinned, “I knew it.”

You of course were oblivious to all of this as you continued through your work, happy as a clam.

After some deliberation one of your coworkers decided to explain the delicacies of Vulcan culture after viewing a friendly hand grasp as a greeting between you and your commanding officer. You were elated to see his shivering had stopped and once again he tensed under the touch, but nodded his head at your greeting. You had blushed while doing so. It was sweet, but your coworker had to break it to you as they had before when warning you last time about him not being interested in anyone.

“Vulcans don’t like to be touched, you know,” they said to you, taking you aside.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re very sensitive to skin to skin contact. They guard themselves mostly, but hand touching is extremely taboo the way kissing in public or other sexual acts are.”

“You mean...” you blushed, “I’ve been--! I hope he’s not offended.”

“Normally he’s not afraid to explain things or clear up-“ you coworker coughed,”-unwanted affection. I’ve seen plenty girls get a talking down to.”

“What are you saying?”

“Perhaps he’s forcing himself to be polite.”

“Oh, I’ve got to apologize right away!”

You felt so stupid! How could you be so offensive to him or his culture? You should have read up on his customs before truly interacting with him. It would seem like a smart thing to do-but you were so lost to the world it was embarrassing.

You paused in front of his door for the first time in your life, afraid to speak to him.

The door open quickly and you stepped back, surprised. He had looked like he had been going to leave and you sheepishly smiled, “I’m sorry for interrupting you, sir. I need to speak to you.”

“Come inside.”

You blushed at the request, wringing your hands as you entered.

You turned to him and blurted, “I had no idea what I was doing, sir, I swear. Had I known that touching you was wrong I would stop. I’m so used to being touchy-feely on Earth I forgot that not everyone-”

“Ensign,” he said firmly.

“Yes?” you squeaked.

“Had those interactions provoked me I would have made it known. I should be the one offering an apology. I should have explained what such interactions mean on Vulcan before anyone else claimed the opportunity. I assume someone took the liberty of doing so.”

“Yessir. I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize.”

“Why not?’

“Because your actions did not provoke me, but precisely did the opposite.”

“What-what do you mean?” Your face was fully red and you obscured it with your hands. He let out a sound that was the closest Vulcan thing as a sigh and stepped closed to you.

He grasped your hands and lowered them from your face. His eyes were soft and the most vulnerable as you had every seen them.

He pressed his right hand that was shivering terribly to the side of your face. It stilled instantly.

“I am aware of your affection for me and I return the sentiment.”

You couldn’t find your voice and after a long moment of studying your features he leaned down to give you a kiss, warm and firm.

You gasped into his lips and pressed back.

He released you and you looked at him starry eyed.

“So it was true, what the doctor said, you said in a hushed tone.

Spock’s arms were around you gently, “Elaborate.”

“I am your favorite.”

“Affirmative.”

FIN

[mylittleredgirl]

trekathon: enterprise “in a mirror, darkly”

season 4 episodes 18 & 19:

oh my god, the first contact music 💗😭

the opening sequence to the enterprise mirror universe eps really is inspired. i also like to imagine the composer metaphorically tossing it down on a table in front of all the fans who’ve been complaining for four years like “HERE’S YOUR FUCKING INSTRUMENTAL OPENING THEME” and storming out

i’ve been breaking up the discovery recaps because there are 19 concurrent plots and i’m trying to keep them straight, but i feel like a stream-of-consciousness bullet point experience is appropriate here:

those of you watching today will never know the special delight that mirror captain forrest brought to internet nerd fans back in the day. the site television without pity used to write snarky tv show recaps, and keckler, who wrote the enterprise recaps week to week, decided early on that admiral forrest was such a boring character that he must be evil -- and so after 3-some years of calling him “evil admiral forrest,” him showing up in the mirror universe was like prophecy coming to pass

mirror phlox and reed developed the agonizer booth!

apparently non-terran rebellions against the empire are a recurring concern

mirror!travis is REAL hot

they’re all hot but travis? with that earring? and that hair? dang.

i think we can all agree that phlox is the creepiest mirror version, just casually performing live vivisections of random animals with a smile 😬

i’m glad discovery went the full-on sexy leather uniform route instead of just slapping some pins and patches on the existing uniform style and putting the ladies in crop tops

mirror!t’pol going through pon farr (and ~ahem~ asking trip to help her out) raises my continuing question about how and when pon farr affects female vulcans

does it just kick in at some point, like with vulcan men? is it connected to their bond-mate? should i be worried about tuvok’s wife is what’s behind my question

mirror archer is such a hopeless disaster and hoshi very obviously like “wow... those orgasms... so great... 🙄” really gives me life

vulcan bowl-cut rebellion!!

the vulcan science directorate has found no evidence of alternate realities 

given it is ALSO going to be time travel, the vulcan science directorate’s about to take a double hit

okay okay space science time! tricobalt device + gravity well of dead star -> interphasic rift to other universe

i don’t know why trip saying “so what?” is so funny

i totally forgot the suliban had cloaking technology by the way

i also forgot how great the enterprise transporter effect is!!

okay now i want to watch “the tholian web.” star trek marathons are not linear

mirrror!malcolm getting horny for future phasers is very on brand

tos sound effects 🥰

honestly impressed they even have escape pods in the mirror universe

i assume they’re all on the evil line of the alignment chart, but i guess that makes captain forrest lawful evil, hoshi neutral evil, and archer chaotically unhinged evil

part ii!!!

“release the ducking clamps!” bakula why

t’pol’s orange eyeshadow is quite a look

on-screen text falls into the “canon if i feel like it” zone as far as i’m concerned, but i love that archer’s profile starts with: “charming, bold,”

apparently he was the starfleet chief of staff, the ambassador to andoria, and the president!! of the federation!!!!

the best part is that when i paused it to read, the closed caption says [LAUGHING]

our babes look so good in velour

GORN!

disaster mirror archer hallucinating prime!archer is an entire thing i’m not even sure how to deal with

a cgi gorn was a bad call from start to finish. this isn’t a 16 years on thing. they did their best, but it was ridiculous then too. 

shakespeare’s plays are “equally grim in both universes”

omg travis high-kicking the admiral

archer parading around the shuttlebay of the admiral’s nx-01 ship, making a dramatic speech to about 18 people all looking either bored or concerned. i love that they chose to make this entire episode about what a clown mirror archer is

those 18 people include two vulcans, an andorian, a denobulan, and an orion, and we saw a tellarite officer earlier. during this period in history there are a significant number of aliens serving on starfleet ships -- as opposed to Just T’Pol in the prime universe. they’re all second-class citizens, but they hold officer ranks. in the discovery era, i don’t think we see any non-terrans holding military positions. 

okay actually given that they successfully take over a ship i can see why that policy doesn’t last

i have a specific desire to see t’pol with hyper realistic disco spock style ears

i love that even mirror hoshi protects phlox 🥺

i would like to thank the director of this episode for the artistic decision to only show archer and hoshi hooking up in silhouette form

“it may take centuries, but humanity will pay for its arrogance” YES i love that connection to the ds9 mirror universe eps

they really can design the heck out of a negligee in the mirror universe can’t they

hoshi and travis making out!!!!

honestly i don’t think hoshi had a long game here? i buy her being content as forrest’s captain’s woman, but then archer betrayed forrest and she wanted revenge, and then forrest died so she had nothing to go back to, and then it’s like “well i was going to go for tenure but now that i’m here i might as well rule the empire”

[kinetic-elaboration]

March 19: 2x11 Friday’s Child

Finally watched this week’s TOS. This was a hard day again and I’m tired and basically as soon as the ep ended my mood deflated again but I think I can write up a few notes and then crawl right back into bed again.

Another episode about negotiating for a mining treaty, huh? (I’m keeping track of all of these, roughly, for my own Nefarious Purposes).

The aliens are seven feet tall and they wear silly outfits.

Wow, what a dumbass red shirt. You’d think Starfleet would train people NOT to just randomly draw their weapons in diplomatic situations.

I honestly forgot there were Klingons in this.

DC Fontana wrote this!! I forgot that too.

Lol Kirk just drops the deceased red shirt. And then keeps holding his hands out like ‘what am I to do now?’

“They want to negotiate for our rocks. Our stupid, useless rocks. Everyone wants our rocks! So weird.”

I’m actually kind of surprised DC Fontana wrote a Klingon ep but like... I guess it’s not that surprising given this guy doesn’t even have a name and is also really dumb lol. At least he’s not in brownface.

When Kirk and Spock disarmed I didn’t realize they were throwing down their communicators and I was a little confused as to why they had to carry so many phasers each.

Kirk’s pretty upset about the crewman’s death, which I get, he always goes feral when one of his people dies and I appreciate that about him... but that guy really did fuck up lol.

I like seeing Scotty in command.

Oooh mood lighting in the tent. And Spock is meditating I think.

Emotion is “inefficient and illogical.” No wonder Kirk thinks they can never be in love!!

And yet jealous is also inefficient and illogical and I detect some of it in Spock when the blonde Cappellan comes in.

“They consider combat more pleasurable than love.” Hmm sounds like someone else I know.

... Honestly I wish the Grounders had been like this. I feel like there’s more thought in creating this society in one episode than in creating that one over 7 seasons.

I love Bones in this and his role as cultural translator.

The Federation believes in self-determination.

“The sky does not interest me.”

I really do dig the world building here. There’s so much going on in this one ep, even just in part of an ep, and you really get the sense that this is a whole world with its own rules and customs and values, and its own complex political machinations that our mains have really just wandered into.

Also the soundtrack today is NOT messing around. TV composers just don’t go this hard anymore, sorry.

Oooh now the Klingon’s afraid at the prospect of fighting Kirk.

The Enterprise just walked into a coup I guess.

Lots of fighting! Kirk must be having fun.

Scotty is so commanding! I feel like he and Uhura were already friends at this point. Like whenever he’s in command she seems really comfortable just wandering up to his chair all the time.

Also why are they ALWAYS signing stuff?

Yessss silent triumvirate communication.

“To live is always desirable.” I mean she’s not wrong but so much for being willing to die without a fuss lol.

It’s kind of wild how this ep started out being about a mining treaty and drama with the Klingons and all of this alien political drama and then basically becomes all about saving one (1) pregnant widow (and themselves) from huge, ,hostile aliens in funny feather boas.

Sulu insulting Scotty’s knowledge of ships lol. Not smart.

Can’t believe the Klingon couldn’t get his weapon back but Kirk got his communicators back no problem. Who is the smarter alien?

They’ll find us BY SCENT ALONE what a detail to just throw in there!

Lol this whole scene with McCoy and Eleen is hilarious and ridiculous in equal measure. Like I can’t entirely blame her for not wanting to be touched intimately by a strange alien man (rude!!) but also I do enjoy McCoy’s gruff insistence that he WILL care for his patient. This is what AOs didn’t get about “Grumpy Bones.” He’s not mean, he’s just...not up for niceties when he has a healing to do. He WILL care for you dammit!

And he has soft hands.

Spock is loving this.

Kirk’s subtle reverse psychology. “Well if you don’t think the communicator plan can work” and then Spock like “I didn’t say that exactly...”

They aren’t human, they’re humanoid!

And again, the subtle taunting/goading of Bones: “Well if you can’t do it...”

I’m a doctor, not an escalator! One of the best lines.

Detective Scotty. Kind of ridiculous how he solves the case of the taunting Klingons luring them away from the planet...but then sticks around a bit more just in case.

The child is McCoy’s!

Spock is so uncomfortable with this giving birth thing. “Oh look Captain, vegetation!”

“Just repeat ‘The child is mine.’“ “Yes, the child is yours.” Lol.

Arts and crafts with Kirk and Spock! I love that this is a McCoy ep with subtle space husbands in the background.

Favorite moment though is McCoy trying to teach Spock how to hold a baby. “I would rather not, thank you.”

“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on...won’t get fooled again.”

I love that Chekov is consciously messing with them about everything being from Russia.

Also the absolute GALL of the Klingons trying the exact same ship luring technique a second time.

Can’t believe that Bones wants to go off and have fun with the boys and just leave the baby alone in the cave. You’re a dad now McCoy!! Be responsible!

“Small patient.” Yes very small!

Cool little robot battle station unfolding at the helm.

I feel like when Kirk and Spock have that exchange about cavalry coming over the hill and Spock says "if by that you mean..." Kirk should have answered, "I thought I just said that." But then that wouldn't be very Kirk of him. He never makes fun of Spock.

This Klingon is not having a good day!

Scotty and the redshirts here to save the day.

I guess Maab wasn’t so bad after all. And Elaan is perhaps a little confusing, but I admire her desire to both save herself and adhere to her people’s traditions, even if those are incompatible desires.

Spock absolutely IS going to consult linguistics about baby talk. Probably Uhura specifically.

LEONARD JAMES AKAAR. Absolutely one of the top 5 final bridge scenes. They really missed an opportunity to return to the planet in a later movie or series and interact with the Teer.Captain Picard meets Leonard James Akaar.

This was a good ep! I really only remembered the Bones and Elaan parts with the baby, so I forgot all of the political machinations and stuff in the beginning of the ep. It’s a pretty solid world building episode and of course, lots of McCoy, can’t go wrong with that.

I actually think it makes a lot of sense for Bones to be the child’s “father” tbh. Like, I know everyone thinks it’s funny but like... in our culture, we assign pseudo-parental roles to people who aren’t blood relatives of children based on the adult’s relationship with the child’s blood relative and that’s arguably weirder. Like you can be a kid’s step father by marrying his mom even if you really don’t have any relationship to him, so why shouldn’t McCoy, who saved Leonard’s mother’s life and delivered him, and convinced her to actually desire to raise him, be considered his “father”? ESP given that this society seems to have no place at all for fatherless children. They just can’t conceive of such a thing. So “father” has to encompass something other than, or not strictly limited to, biological father. She was so quick to assign McCoy fatherhood status, I have to assume this happens a lot, that people take on that role for non-bio children.

Not a lot for Spock to do today but I think he had fun. He got to explode some rocks and make some bows and shoot some arrows. And Kirk got into a lot of fights so I think he enjoyed himself.

I don’t know if I believed the Cappellans were 7 feet tall but they did look broad and alien so I will give them that.

It was nice to see Scotty in command again. I’m so mad at AOS still for making him comic relief. I think he’s actually quite a serious person. Talking with my mom, I’ve decided that the crew can be grouped into ‘cracks jokes through a crisis’ and ‘generally gets very serious in a crisis, reserves humor for calm moments’ and while Sulu, Chekov, and Spock are in group 1, Scotty is definitely in group 2 with Kirk and McCoy. (Uhura seems generally lighthearted and fun loving but not funny per se so I don’t know how to group her.)

Also this is one of the early filmed Chekov episodes (as you can see by the hair) and he spends it, again, at Spock’s station. It’s so obvious he was introduced as Spock’s protege, not as the navigator, which I think is very interesting. Like I want to hear the backstory on that.

Next week’s episode is The Deadly Years, which I remember as being very solid.

[per-ineptia-ad-astra]

Star Trek Episode 1.23: A Taste of Armageddon

AKA: Good God Y’all, What Is It Good For?

Our episode begins with the Enterprise on its way to conduct some diplomacy. Kirk elaborates for us:

“Captain’s Log, Stardate 3192.1. The Enterprise is en route to star cluster NGC321. Objective—to open diplomatic relations with the civilizations known to be there. We have sent a message to Eminiar 7, principal planet of the star cluster, informing them of our friendly intentions. We are awaiting an answer.”

Kirk is filling in the time until they get that answer by being a nuisance on the bridge, first hovering over Spock’s shoulder and then going to bother Uhura about whether they’ve received a reply yet. She patiently tells him that yes, the hailing frequencies are open and no, they haven’t gotten a reply yet. Before Kirk can try asking, “Okay, how about now? How about…now?” the lift doors open and a man in a suit with a collar you could dunk a basketball through and a face like people have tried to steps onto the bridge.

[ID: A screenshot of Fox, a middle-age white man with short curled blond hair, blue eyes with heavy bags under them, and a bitter expression. He’s wearing a grayish-brown top with a round collar wider than his entire head.]

He also wants to know if they’ve gotten a reply yet. Kirk tells him no, they’re still waiting for Eminiar 7 to call back. In fact, it’s only since today that they’ve even been sure the Eminians have gotten their signal at all. But just then, Uhura announces that they’ve finally gotten something back from Eminiar, and it’s “Code 710,” repeating over and over. “Is that supposed to mean something?” the ambassador says loudly. Kirk explains to him that Code 710 means that under no circumstances are they supposed to approach the planet—no circumstances whatsoever (something you’d think an ambassador would know). You notice he didn’t say “under no circumstances except the circumstance that you, specifically, think we should do it anyway” but apparently that’s what the ambassador heard, because he immediately tells Kirk, “You will disregard that signal, captain.”

“Mr. Fox, it is their planet,” Kirk points out, but Fox is not impressed by this. “In the past twenty years, thousands of lives have been lost in this quadrant,” he snaps. “Lives that could have been saved if the Federation had a treaty for here. We need to have that port, and I’m here to get it.” Kirk points out that disregarding Code 710 could result in an interplanetary war, but Fox says he’s prepared to take that risk. Oh, you’re prepared to take that risk. I’m sure that will make everyone else who winds up involved in an interplanetary war feel better about it.

Further protests for caution prove equally useless; Fox reminds Kirk that his mission gives him the power of command, and he’s going to exercise it. Kirk’s job is to get them into orbit, and leave the rest to Fox. Then he stalks back off the bridge, leaving Kirk to sit gloomily in his chair for a moment before putting the ship on yellow alert, raising the shields, and having the phaser crews stand by. “We’re going in, gentlemen,” he says. “Peacefully, I hope, but peacefully or not...we’re going in.”

After the titles, we see the Enterprise in orbit around a nice Earth-y looking planet while Kirk gives us a quick update: they’ve made it to Eminiar 7 and are preparing to beam down. “My orders are clear—we must establish diplomatic relations at all cost.” I see, going for the “be friends with us OR ELSE” approach here.

Kirk is on the bridge talking to Spock, getting the lowdown on the Eminians. Apparently their civilization is “advanced,” by whatever metric we’re judging that, and they’ve had spaceflight capability for centuries but have never left their own solar system. First contact was made fifty years ago, at which point Eminiar 7 was at war with its nearest neighbor, and the ship that made that contact, the U.S.S. Valiant, never returned. Spock says it’s “Listed as missing in space.” Right, sure. Same way the Lusitania is listed as “missing in the Atlantic Ocean” I bet.

At this point Fox comes onto the bridge and shoves his way into the conversation, demanding to know, “Kirk, what’s this about you going down alone?” Kirk says, nonsense, he’s not going down alone—he’s taking some redshirts with him and everything. Of course, what Fox really means is, what’s this about Kirk going down there without Fox. Kirk says that whatever Fox’s prerogative as ambassador might be, he’s not going to risk beaming Fox down until he knows “what kind of a reception [Fox is] going to receive.” Which makes sense. You don’t want to just beam your ambassador down into a completely unsecured situation, who knows what might be going on down there. Of course, you also wouldn’t want to beam the captain of the ship down into a completely unsecured situation but, well, you can’t have everything.

“Your safety is my responsibility. Those are my orders, sir,” Kirk tells Fox. Then, before Fox can come up with a rebuttal to this, Kirk leaves him standing there and walks off to talk to Spock. Spock reports that the transporter is ready, and they’ve selected a beam-down spot that they’re guessing from the traffic is near some kind of official establishment. He also reports that they haven’t noticed any signs of hostility from the Eminians, or in fact any sign of the Eminians acknowledging their presence at all—which is odd, because they were scanned when they arrived, so the Eminians obviously know the Enterprise is there. So they’re leaving the Enterprise’s shields down for the moment, but Spock assures Kirk that all defensive details are on general alert, just in case.

Kirk wants the landing party to take some ‘phaser number ones’  when they go down, but keep them inconspicuous. Then he tells Scotty, “The ship is yours. Take care of her until I come back.” With that, Kirk, Spock, and three waiting redshirts depart into the lift, while Fox glowers after them.

We then see an establishing shot of a pleasant enough looking city down on the planet...

[ID: A screenshot of the Eminian city, consisting of several tall white buildings with black and gold detailing and a wide expanse of mowed grass in the foreground. A couple of monorails are visible among the building, and a small group of people can just barely be seen standing on some paths among the grass.]

...before cutting to an interior corridor, where a woman is looking at a device as she walks, flanked by a couple of guards in very silly hats. After consulting her device, the woman says, “They will materialize there.” (How she knows this is never explained.) “Remember your instructions. They are to be treated correctly, nothing more.”

[ID: Three people walking down a corridor composed of several angular archways that are lit in bright green, pink and purple. In the center is a white woman with blonde curly hair, wearing a kind of wrap tied draped diagonally across her chest, colored in blocks of teal, black, white and blue, with black tights and flats underneath it. She is looking down at a gold device in her hands. On either side of her are two men dressed in black one-piece uniforms that each have a colored stripe going diagonally across the torso and down one leg, with a large silver clasp on the shoulder; one guard has a red stripe and one has a purple stripe. They are both wearing a hat of a corresponding color which is tall and somewhat resembles a paper bag standing on its end.]

ah yes, our proud and noble city guards, the Sack Hats

Sure enough, the landing party materializes in a nearby courtyard, next to a nice bit of abstract art. As the woman and her escort walk over to meet them, we get a swell of romantic music and a shot of the woman’s face sparkling in soft focus, for no other reason that I can tell except that she’s a woman. Seriously, she’s not even a love interest in this episode.

Kirk introduces himself and says he’s representing the United Federation of Planets, which is incidentally the first time we’ve actually heard the Federation referred to by its full name. “I know,” the woman says. “I’m Mea 3. I congratulate you on your instrumentation. You’ve come directly to the Division of Control. If you’ll follow me, please?” Oh boy, the Division of Control. That doesn’t sound ominous at all.

Mea 3 leads them back into the building, but as they start to head down the corridor, her professional decorum breaks for a moment. She starts to say, “Captain, I wish...” When Kirk prompts her to go on, she just says, “You were warned not to come here.”

Kirk says he had to come anyway, because orders, what you gonna do, then asks why they were warned off anyway. Mea says it was for their own safety, which baffles Kirk, because he sees no danger here. I mean, how can there be danger if you can’t see any danger? Doesn’t make sense. But Mea 3 says the danger exists anyway. “Nevertheless, you are here. It would be morally incorrect to do less than extend our hospitality. Anan 7 and members of the High Council await you.”

She picks up the pace again, leading the party down another corridor ending with a big door watched over by a couple more guards. Mea takes the group inside, where they are awaited by five men sitting at a half-circle table, all of them dressed in the same black-and-color-stripe uniform as the guards, but without the silly hats. The man in the middle is also wearing a kind of beige shawl over the top of his uniform to set him apart from the rest. Ah yes, beige. The color of authority.

Kirk introduces himself, Spock, and the redshirts: Galway (hello again!), Osborne, and Yeoman Tamura. (Why do you keep bringing Yeomen on these kinds of missions.) The man in the beige shawl stands up and introduces himself as Anan 7. He welcomes them to Eminiar 7 and asks what he can do for them.  Kirk says his mission is to establish diplomatic relations between their people, and Anan 7 immediately says, “That is impossible.” Ohhhhh boy, this is gonna be a long visit.

“Would you mind telling me why?” Kirk asks, very politely but with a look in his eyes that says clearly that he is already SO tired.

“Because of the war,” Anan replies. When Kirk is surprised that they’re still at war after fifty years, Anan tells him that in fact, they’ve been at war for over five hundred years. This catches Kirk off guard because, as he says, they conceal it very well. He then calls Spock up to the front of the class to give a quick presentation on the subject. Spock says they’ve scanned the planet and found it, “Highly advanced, prosperous in a material sense, comfortable for your people, and peaceful in the extreme.” So, very nice planet, 4.5/5 stars, would stay again, so how can there be a war going on when there’s no evidence whatsoever of it?

Nonetheless, Anan tells them that they see 1-3 million civilians dead every year from direct enemy attack. That’s why, he says, the Enterprise was told to stay away: as long as it’s orbiting the planet, it’s in serious danger. Well gee, thanks. The Eminians sure do lean a whole lot on that “you were WARNED to STAY AWAY” thing considering the incredibly tepid effort they made with the actual warning. Sure, they sent out a code, but as we’ll learn a bit later, they’re fully capable of contacting the ship well enough to have a full conversation, and the Enterprise was trying to establish such a conversation for quite some time. There’s no reason we’re told that the Eminians couldn’t have explained specifically why the Enterprise should stay away, or established communications with them at a safe distance—they just didn’t bother.

Spock asks who these invisible people are that they’re at war with anyway, and Anan explains that they’re at war with Vendikar, the third planet in this system—which is something Spock should know, considering he earlier described the Eminians as being “at war with their nearest neighbor” fifty years ago, and all indications are that this is the same war, but never mind that. Anan says Vendikar (I don’t know why Eminiar 7 has a number but Vendikar is just Vendikar) was originally colonized by Eminiar 7 in the first place, but apparently there was some kind of falling-out, because Vendikar is now “a ruthless enemy—highly advanced technologically.”

At that moment an alarm starts buzzing, and one of the walls of the room slides open, revealing an adjoining room filled with computer banks and screens on the wall. “Please excuse me,” Anan says. “Vendikar is attacking.”

He asks Mea to look after their guests and hurries off into the computer room, leaving the landing party to watch in confusion. Kirk asks Mea if they’re not going to take shelter, but Mea just gives him an odd look and says that there is no shelter. She doesn’t seem especially perturbed by any of this, and when Spock asks her if the attacks are frequent, she calmly says, “Oh, yes. And we will retaliate immediately.”

One of the screens in the computer room, which is showing a large map, suddenly lights up. Mea looks stricken and explains that it’s showing a hit—right here in the city. Since there’s a conspicuous lack of any explosion noises, the landing party is naturally even more confused by this. When Kirk asks Mea what weapons are being used, she says it’s fusion bombs, being materialized over the targets. Not the sort of thing it’s easy to miss, but there’s no sign at all of anything happening. Kirk even calls up Scotty and asks him if the scanners have noticed anything going on, but Scotty says it’s all quiet down there.

While Kirk and Spock are trying to figure out what’s going on, another illuminated spot appears on the screen in the computer room. One of the councilmen points it out to Anan, who grimly muses that “They were warned.” Yeah, keep telling yourself that. The councilman says that this is “Just as it happened fifty years ago.” Considering that fifty years ago was when the Valiant came here and was never seen again, this exchange doesn’t seem to bode well for our heroes—and neither does Anan’s subsequent order for the councilman to alert a security detachment because “they may be needed.”

As the councilman heads off, Anan comes out of the computer room to talk to Kirk. “It was a vicious attack,” he says. “Extremely destructive. Fortunately, our defenses are firming, but our casualties were high, very high.” Kirk is so confused by this that he wonders out loud if it’s all some kind of game, but Anan takes immediate offense, telling him that half a million people dead is no game. Then he tells the other councilmen to “activate the attack units” for an immediate counter-attack.

With this, Spock has finally got this whole thing figured out: “Computers, captain. They fight their war with computers totally.” Kirk protests that computers don’t kill that many people, which is obviously wrong. There are many exciting ways for computers to kill people. Those ones in the background right now could probably take out several just by falling over on them.

Of course they’re fighting with computers, Anan says. The deaths have been registered and the dead now have twenty-four hours to report. Report to what? Why, the disintegration machines, of course.

“You must understand, captain,” Anan explains in the face of Kirk’s increasingly confused and horrified expression. “We have been at war for five hundred years. Under ordinary conditions, no civilization could withstand that, but we have reached a solution.” Spock asks if that means the attack by Vendikar was theoretical, but Anan says that no, it was very real—Anan’s own wife was killed in the last one. It just wasn’t an attack accomplished by any real, tangible weapons. Their computers, and Vendikar’s, calculate where such weapons would strike, and what the damage would be, and the people who became casualties in the simulation must then become such in real life, and report to the disintegration chambers to be killed. “Our civilization lives. The people die. But our culture goes on.”

When Kirk expresses stunned disbelief that the people of Eminiar will just walk into a disintegration chamber when told to, Anan simply replies, “We have a high consciousness of duty, captain.” Right, I bet they do. Enough propaganda will do that for you.

Spock admits that all this does have “a certain scientific logic” to it. Anan takes this to be approval, but Spock coldly corrects him.

[ID: 1. A screenshot of Spock saying, “I do not approve. I understand.” 2. A screenshot of Anan, a middle-aged white man with short graying brown hair, a short brown goatee, and brown eyes, looking off to the side and saying, “Good.”]

no NOT good! weren’t you listening???

Anan then reminds them, once again, that they were warned not to come here and did so anyway, and now “I’m sorry, but it’s happened.” “What’s happened?” Kirk asks, in the voice of a man rapidly approaching his breaking point. Anan grimly explains that once the Enterprise was in orbit around Eminiar, it became a target in the war, and in the attack just now it was marked as being destroyed in a “tri-cobalt satellite explosion” whatever that is. By the rules of Eminian/Vendikaran warfare, everyone aboard the Enterprise is now dead and has twenty-four hours to report to the disintegration chambers—and Kirk and co. will be held in custody to ensure their cooperation.

Of course, the Enterprise may have been warned against approaching the planet, but they weren’t told why they shouldn’t, and certainly not told anything about the simulated war or about the incoming attack, giving them no opportunity to take evasive action or defensive measures as they ordinarily would do when engaged in battle. Indeed, we’ll later see that the Eminian weapons aren’t capable of doing more than lightly shaking the Enterprise when her shields are up—and it seems unlikely the Vendikaran weapons could do much more, since they seem to be pretty evenly matched. The Eminian style of war might be cleaner, by some definition, but it removes all hope of second chances. No taking of bullets for someone else, no deaths averted due to swift action by a skilled commander on the scene or by luck or by someone getting medical attention fast enough. You not only don’t have a say in whether you’re involved in this war if you’re born onto the planet or just happen to be in the nearby vicinity, but no action on your part can ever do anything to avert the preordained death of you or your loved ones. No wonder everyone on this planet is so defeatist about the war. They’ve spent their last five hundred years as a culture having the idea hammered into them that nothing they do individually could do anything to change it.

I’m sure you can just about imagine Kirk’s reaction upon being told that his entire crew is supposed to report for execution, but as soon as he and the security men start reaching for their phasers, they find themselves surrounded by Sack Hats with their own weapons drawn. A couple of them grab Kirk by the shoulders, keeping him from escaping but not from all but vibrating with palpable fury.

“If possible we shall spare your ship, captain,” Anan tells him, apparently trying to be reassuring. “But its passengers and crew...are already dead.”

The comment about sparing the ship was probably meant as nothing more than a bit of filler dialogue, but if so inclined I think you can take it as quite indicative of Anan’s worldview. Kirk dearly loves the Enterprise, sure, but the idea that he would be concerned with the ship itself remaining intact, or would find any degree of solace in that idea, in this moment when the lives of literally everybody aboard are now at risk, is pretty absurd. We know Kirk better than that. It’s not even practically useful to him, since even if he and the landing party survive and could get back on the ship, what would they do then? Try to fly back to Federation space with five people manning a ship meant to have a crew of four hundred twenty? That would just be silly.

But that Anan would say such a thing as he breaks news so incredibly bad perhaps shows that it’s the kind of thing that, were their positions reversed, he would find comforting to hear. It echoes what he said just a few moments ago: “The people die. But our culture goes on.” Anan’s culture evidently places a high enough value on inanimate things and concepts that they consider the loss of individual lives tragic, but worth it to preserve those things. The question is, was their culture being like that what led to them conducting war in this way? Or did five hundred years of living through this endless war and being forced to justify it to themselves change their outlook over time?

After the break, Kirk gives us a quick recap via captain’s log:

“Captain’s Log, delayed: The Enterprise, in orbit about Eminiar VII, has been declared a casualty of an incredible war fought by computers. I and my landing party, though apparently not included as casualties aboard the Enterprise, are confined on the planet’s surface awaiting...what?”

We then see that the landing party are indeed confined, although as far as holding cells go you could do a lot worse; the room they’re in has some nice chairs, a rug, even a coffee table with some mugs on it. Swanky. Kirk’s obviously not taking much consolation in this, though, judging by the way he seems to be trying to wear a furrow in the floor with his angry pacing.

The door opens and Mea 3 enters, accompanied by a Sack Hat. She says she’s been sent to ask if they require anything.

[ID: Kirk, Spock, two male redshirts, and a young Asian woman in a red uniform dress, assembled in a small stone-floored and walled room with two chairs, a couch, a coffee table, a rug, and several pieces of assorted abstract art. Kirk is standing near the door and talking to Mea 3, saying, “yeah we could use some creamer for the coffee if you don’t mind OF COURSE WE REQUIRE SOMETHING”.]

Kirk positively snarls that he requires a great deal, starting with speaking to Anan, but Mea says he’s busy coordinating casualty lists. “He’ll have more casualty lists than he knows what to do with if he doesn’t get in here and talk to me!” Kirk fires back.

Mea, now starting get a bit ruffled, tries to say something about their duty, but Kirk isn’t having it, and tells her that it is not her duty to be cheerfully disintegrated. Actually, Mea says, that is very much her duty now: she’s been declared a casualty and is required to report for disintegration by noon tomorrow. Which is a bit odd, because Mea was in the same room and standing right next to the landing party while the attack was underway, and none of them were declared casualties. Either there’s been another attack in the meantime, or there’s some kind of lottery system in place to determine who dies, out of everyone in a specific area that was designated ‘hit’.

Kirk looks pretty thrown by this for a moment and asks if that’s really all this is to Mea, to dutifully report in and die. Mea informs him that no, she values her life as much as he does his, but she doesn’t have a choice; if people on Eminiar started refusing to report to their deaths, the terms of the agreement with Vendikar would break down and they would have to start using real weapons again. Eminiar would have to retaliate in kind. “More than people would die then. A whole civilization would be destroyed. Surely you can see that ours is the better way.”

“No,” Kirk says. “I don’t see that at all.”

But better or not, as Mea then reminds him, it’s been their way for five hundred years, and they’re clearly pretty stuck in it. At any rate, she’s not interested in arguing about it any more, and turns to leave, then stops to ask Kirk once again if the party needs anything. Kirk just repeats his demand to see Anan, so Mea sighs and leaves them in there to stare gloomily at each other.

Back up on the Enterprise, McCoy is engaged in his favorite pastime: standing on the bridge and grousing. Specifically, while they still don’t have any idea what’s actually going on down there, he’s concerned that they haven’t heard anything from the landing party by now. Scotty agrees that they should have heard back by now, but the fact is they haven’t, and they have no way of knowing why because they can’t raise the group. McCoy protests that dammit Jim Scotty, they can’t just SIT HERE! So Scotty asks what McCoy would have him do, then.

[ID: 1. A screenshot of McCoy looking taken aback. 2. A screenshot of McCoy looking off to the side and saying, “uh...tbh I didn’t think I’d get this far.”]

McCoy is forced to admit—well, more accurately, ‘come close to skirting around suggesting at admitting’--that he does not, in fact, know what they should do. “Would you have me open fire?” Scotty demands. “Of course not!” McCoy immediately replies, but he’s still not happy.

But that’s what happens when you put McCoy and Scotty together for too long. They make a dangerous combination. I always feel like they’re about thirty seconds away from either getting into a raging fist fight or egging each other on into committing arson, it’s just a toss-up as to which.

Luckily, before either of those two things can happen, Uhura reports that there’s a message coming in from the captain, and all disagreements are hastily thrown aside to pick it up. “Good news, Mr. Scott,” Kirk’s voice says. “The Eminians have agreed to the establishment of full diplomatic relations.”

[ID: A shot on the bridge, with Scotty sitting in the command chair, leaning forward, while McCoy stand next to him with his hand on the buttons on the chair’s arm.]

Bones get your hand off the chair console you’re gonna accidentally go to red alert.

Well, that sounds great! So no worries, then? Everything fine? Indeed, everything is so fine that, Kirk goes on, the Eminians have extended an invitation for all personnel to visit the planet for shore leave, and he’s been personally assured that they’ll have a wonderful time.

At this point some dubious looks start getting traded across the bridge. Starfleet might have some remarkably lax standards for what constitutes an appropriate shore leave location, but the middle of an active war zone is pushing it even for them. Plus, there’s that thorny little bit about sending down all personnel, something not typically done due to the minor little issue of the ship needing some people on it to prevent it from crashing into the planet. But Kirk assures Scotty that yes, he really did mean all personnel. Everyone. Send ‘em all. It’s fine—they’ll just beam up some trained Eminians to assume support positions aboard the ship. No worries!

As Kirk’s voice is heard saying this, we briefly switch perspectives to see that Anan is holding Kirk’s communicator up in front of a speaker system of some kind. “Those are my orders, Mr. Scott,” he says sternly in Kirk’s voice.

Scotty, of course, is no fool, and also would saw his own arm off before trusting the Enterprise solely to the care of a handful of absolute strangers, so he assures ‘Kirk’ that yes sirree captain, we’ll get those shore leave parties going right away, and hangs up. Then he gives McCoy a look and says, “Well, now, what do you think of that?” McCoy, rather surprisingly, doesn’t have a fiery opinion on hand about the situation, though he’s clearly got a sense that something’s up. Scotty is rather more certain, and marches over to the computer to have it run Kirk’s message through a voice analyzer. Apparently voice analyzer technology has improved in the Federation since that whole Kodos business, because rather than having to compare a couple print-outs of sound waves the computer just quickly runs a scan and then immediately tells him that nope, not Kirk’s voice, just a close copy. Most likely it’s from, as Scotty guesses, a “voice duplicator.” I think the implication is that Anan was using the machine we saw him holding the communicator up to to imitate Kirk’s voice, but it really could have been presented more clearly.

But never mind the mechanics of how it was done. The point is, as Scotty says, “They’ve got them, doctor. And now they’re trying to get us.”

Back in the holding room where the landing party has gotten Got, Kirk is asking Spock, “Are you sure you can do it?” Spock admits he’s not sure if this is going to work or not, but as he tells Kirk, “Limited telepathic abilities are inherent in Vulcanians.” He then goes over to the door, which we see has a Sack Hat standing guard on the other side of it. There follows a somewhat strange scene in which Spock puts his hands on the door and frowns at it, causing the guard to start looking increasingly uncomfortable and twitchy until finally he moves to open the door. So yes, I guess Spock can telepathically influence people to, at the very least, open doors, even without any direct contact.

Everyone quickly hides up against the walls, and as soon as the guard is within the room, Kirk chops the gun out of his hand and knocks him out, leaving the redshirts to drag him away. Yeoman Tamura asks what they’re going to do now, and Kirk says the immediate plan is to get back their communicators so they can contact the Enterprise. But to do that, they’re also probably going to need to secure some weapons. Kirk tells Spock that they’ll try to go easy, but they may wind up needing to kill, to which Spock nods glumly but says he understands.

The group sneaks out of the room, narrowly avoiding being seen by another passing guard, before heading off down an intersecting corridor. We then see a light set in a ceiling and flashing orange. But the landing party hasn’t been caught yet—this is no alarm but, in fact, an indicator light of some sort, installed above a booth set into a wall with a console set up outside. One Sack Hat is manning the console while another is talking to a woman in a purple toga, or at least something toga-adjacent. The party comes around the corner just in time to see the door to the booth open and the woman step inside it. Then the door closes again, the Sack Hat operates some controls, the light flashes, and the door opens again—now with no sign of the woman. Well, that doesn’t bode well.

As the landing party watches in grim horror, the other Sack Hat proceeds to get into the booth himself. “An entrance, captain, but no exit,” Spock comments. “They get in, but they do not come out.”

Well, given what we already know about the Eminians, it’s not hard to work out what we’re looking at here: this is one of the aforementioned disintegration machines, processing some of the day’s casualties. Given the cultural significance attached to these booths, I would kind of have expected them to be off in their own dedicated space, maybe with a few more guards around in case anyone got cold feet. But apparently they’re just stuck in various corridor junctions in this one very multi-purpose building, which is surely going to cause some traffic problems in these corridors on days with a particularly high body count.

Kirk leads the group in a careful creep down the corridor towards the machine, but as they approach another junction they suddenly and almost literally run into Mea coming the other way. She actually starts to walk right past them without seeing them, but Kirk quickly grabs her by the arm and pulls her off to the side, scaring the bejeezus out of her in the process.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he demands, and then cuts off her flustered stammering by telling her that she’s not going in there. Mea protests that she must and tries to get away, but Kirk’s got her by the upper arm, which as we all know makes it impossible for a woman to escape. “Please, don’t worry about me!” she says, while meanwhile the guard down the corridor continues to somehow be oblivious to all this.

Speaking of which, Kirk directs Spock towards said guard, and Spock sets off down the corridor while Kirk covers him with the gun they took off the chamber guard, still holding onto Mea with his other hand. For someone who supposedly has no qualms about getting in that chamber, she sure isn’t struggling a whole lot against the person preventing her from doing it.

[ID: A gif from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory of Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka saying, “Help. Police. Murder,” with a totally deadpan expression.]

Down by the disintegration booth, a couple more people have shown up to be, ahem, processed. (And none of them have noticed anything either.) Spock casually strolls up to the Sack Hat, who surprisingly does not shoot him on the spot.

[ID: A gif of Spock walking up to one of the guards with silly hats and saying, “Sir, there’s a multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder.” When the guard turns his head to look, Spock nerve pinches him.]

Having pulled off that legendary little maneuver, Spock then grabs the guy’s gun and backs up the way he came, while everyone else watches nervously. Including the other guards—apparently only that one had a gun. Once Spock is back with the group, Kirk yells at everyone to clear the area, then shoots the door of the disintegration booth. I might have aimed for the control panel, but apparently Kirk’s idea works too, because the whole thing starts smoking dangerously.

“What are you doing?” Mea exclaims in horror. “Throwing a monkey wrench into the machinery,” Kirk replies, undoubtedly a confusing statement for poor Mea who would have no idea what a monkey wrench is. “You can’t do this!” she yells, but as Kirk points out, he already has. Right on cue, the chamber explodes. Kirk and co. make a hasty retreat, hauling Mea along for the ride.

[ID: A screenshot of the geometric corridor, with a door at the end of it that is emitting large clouds of smoke.]

and thus the execution chamber was itself executed

Back in the council room, the councilmen are sitting around their table listening gloomily to someone radioing in a report about the landing party’s hijinks. Anan looks particularly grim, and sends out an order to the security personnel to find the landing party and “if they resist, do what is necessary.” This is interspersed with scenes of people running away from an explosion. I’m reasonably sure it’s supposed to just be that one explosion, but the editing makes it look as if disintegration booths are blowing up left and right.

Anan moves on to calling up the planetary disruptor banks and telling them to lock onto the Enterprise. I guess he’s figured out by now that they’re not going to report for shore leave. “In ten seconds, open fire,” he says. “Destroy the starcruiser. Those are the orders of the council.”

After the break, we get a report from said starcruiser in the form of a ship’s log from Scotty:

“Ship’s log, stardate 3193.0—chief engineer Scott recording. The captain and first officer are overdue and missing on the surface of Eminiar 7. I have taken standard precautionary measures while we continue our attempts to locate them.”

To kill time while they wait for news, McCoy and Scotty are having a conversation about some flashing lights on one of the consoles.

[ID: A gif showing a goldshirt at work at the helm in the foreground, while in the background McCoy and Scotty are standing at one of the computer consoles, looking at a screen with some flashing colored lights on it. McCoy points at one of the lights and says something to Scotty.]

One of the helmsmen, a Mr. DePaul, starts making a standard station check-in report, but just as he’s getting to the part about the sensors not reporting anything he hastily corrects himself. The sensor readings aren’t zero, they’re off the scale! Man, they should really install more than just those two settings on those sensors.

Immediately after DePaul says this, something impacts the ship, causing the lights to flicker and the bridge to shake a bit, although no one falls over this time. When it all dies down, DePaul reports that the screens are holding firm, and that they just got hit by some real hefty sonic vibrations. “Decibels—eighteen to the twelfth power. If those screens weren’t up, we’d be totally disrupted by now.”

Okay…there’s a couple of problems with this. Eighteen to the twelfth power equals about one quadrillion, or 1,156,831,381,426,176, to be precise. For reference, it takes a mere 194 decibels before a sound is so loud it stops being a sound and becomes a shock wave. The Krakatoa explosion, the loudest sound recorded in our history of recording sounds so far, registered 172 decibels at about a hundred miles away. I don’t know what one quadrillion decibels would do to you, but I’d be willing to bet that “we’d be totally disrupted” is a bit of an understatement. Also, THERE’S NO SOUND IN SPACE.

At any rate, as McCoy muses, this at least proves pretty definitively that their suspicions are correct: the Eminians aren’t feeling real friendly towards them. “Aye, but what about our captain, and the landing party down there, somewhere?” Scotty says. “We get them out!” McCoy replies, because of course he does. “If they’re alive, and if we can find them,” Scotty says. “That’s a big planet.” Right, whereas a small planet we could search no problem.

“Not too big for the Enterprise to handle if it has to,” McCoy snaps back. Steady on there, Bones, we can’t just go around blowing up every planet that Kirk doesn’t come back from on time, there wouldn’t be any planets left.

Scotty points out that while the Enterprise might have Eminiar outgunned, they’re a bit limited on reprisal options at the moment: they can’t fire their phasers with the shields up, and they can’t risk lowering those shields while the Eminians have their crosshairs on them. They could shoot off a dozen or two photon torpedoes, though. Probably not a serious suggestion—though it’s hard to tell with Scotty sometimes—but unfortunately who should walk onto the bridge just in time to hear it but Ambassador Fox, resulting in a swift rebuke that Scotty is to do no such thing.

“Mr. Fox, we’re under attack!” Scotty protests, but Fox isn’t interested. He claims it’s all obviously a misunderstanding.

[ID: 1. A shot of the bridge seen from just in front of the helm, with McCoy, Scotty and Uhura all looking up at Fox, who is standing near the lift. Fox is saying, “And one of my jobs is to clear up misunderstandings.” 2. A very similar shot, with Scotty saying, “so what’s your other job?” and Fox replying, “being incredibly obnoxious of course”. ]

McCoy jumps in to angrily point out that the Eminians are holding Kirk, but Fox waves this off, saying they don’t have any proof of that. I mean, no solid proof, maybe, but they did fake his voice to send a message trying to get everyone to leave the ship, bit hard to come up with an innocent explanation for that one.

“I am responsible for the safety of this ship!” Scotty protests. “And I’m responsible for the success of this mission, and that’s more important than this ship!” Fox replies. Ooh, bad move. Not a good idea to tell Scotty that anything’s more important than the Enterprise at the best of times.

[ID: A shot of Scotty looking confused and betrayed, saying, “the FUCK did you just say”.]

Fox insists that they came here to establish diplomatic relations and dammit, they’re going to establish diplomatic relations, regardless of whether they’re attempting to kill us as we speak. And Fox’s orders—according to Fox, anyway—get priority. He tells Uhura to open a channel and tell the Eminians to expect a priority one message from him. Uhura looks rather less than impressed by all this, but she does it.

“There will be no punitive measures, gentlemen,” Fox says just before he exits back into the lift. “Those are my orders.” I like how he addresses that not just to Scotty but to the whole bridge, presumably expecting that McCoy might just start throwing things out the window at the planet otherwise.

“Diplomats,” Scotty sneers. “The best diplomat I know is a fully armed phaser bank!”

Down on the planet the landing party is hurrying back into their original holding cell, choosing it as a place of cover since, as Kirk explains, it’s the last place the guards are likely to look for them. Mea is still insisting that Kirk has to let her go, because her time is almost up. Kirk asks if she’s really that anxious to die, and Mea starts to say, “You don’t understand--” before Kirk, undoubtedly seeing another rendition of the same rhetoric from before in his future, just cuts her off to talk to Spock instead.

Spock reports that their raids on the disintegration booths have netted them four guns, two complete Sack Hat uniforms, and, most importantly, a communication device. Unfortunately, it’s not able to reach the ship. But Spock thinks that with a bit of time he might be able to jury-rig it to get a longer range.

While Spock gets to work on that, Kirk pulls Mea aside and says that he wants her to give him a complete layout of the complex, especially regarding how he can get to the war room. Unsurprisingly, Mea refuses. “Now listen to me,” Kirk tells her, employing his favorite rhetoric technique of grabbing people by the shoulders. “I’m trying to help you. To save your life, and the lives of millions like you. If you help me, maybe I can do it. If you don’t, you’ll die. We’ll die, and the killing will go on—or are you that fond of the war?”

Mea, for the first time, really hesitates. “I believe you,” she says, looking down sadly. “But...”

“Tell me what I want to know,” Kirk says, still holding her by the shoulders. “Please.”

Back in the council room, Anan is standing at the table, addressing the other councilmen. Their situation’s not looking good: they haven’t been able to take out the Enterprise, they’ve lost a disintegration chamber, the prisoners are running loose, they’re behind on their death quota (the worst kind of quota), and they’re rapidly running out of time to fix any of these problems. Anan openly admits that he doesn’t know what to do now.

But at that point, a messenger suddenly comes in to tell the council that the Earth ambassador is calling them with an urgent message. Anan pauses woefully and says, “What is the greater morality...open honestly, or a deception which may save our lives?” Well, y’all have already committed one deception and didn’t seem too fussed about that, I don’t know why you’re having moral qualms about it now. Apparently said moral qualms aren’t too great anyway, because Anan sits down without waiting for a reply and asks to be put through to the Earth ambassador.

Up on the Enterprise, Uhura tells Fox that a channel is open and that he’ll be talking to “Anan 7, head of the high council of the Eminian Union.” McCoy and Scotty are standing by, ready to start yelling at a moment’s notice.

After brief formalities, Fox cuts to the chase: we came here to make friends, and you attacked us, and also you’re holding our landing party? What the heck? Anan smoothly replies that this was all one big mistake—a sensor error indicated the Enterprise was about to attack them, and, well, they are at war, after all. But no worries, it won’t happen again! Water under the bridge! Not even a thing! And as for the landing party? Don’t even worry about it.

[ID: 1. Scotty standing behind Uhura at her comm station, his arms folded and a disbelieving look on his face. Over the comm, Anan is saying, “You have my sacred word as an Eminian...”2. A shot from a different angle, showing Fox and McCoy standing behind Uhura, as Scotty says, “no good. I’ve known too many Eminians.”]

Fox smugly says that he thought all this just had to be a mistake, giving Scotty quite the eyeball in the process. Scotty is not impressed, and when the helmsman reports that the disruptor beams are no longer hitting them, Scotty immediately tells him to maintain their status anyway. Meanwhile, Anan is going on about how they’re really very eager to establish relations with the Federation and he’s so sorry about all the accidentally-shooting-you business, but we see him pause in the middle of it to mute his mic and tell the councilman next to him, “The moment their screens are down, open fire.”

Oblivious to all this, Fox tells Anan that he expects Kirk to be there when he beams down, and Anan assures him that Kirk will be. Satisfied with that, Fox tells Anan that Eminiar and the Federation are going to be best buds, he just knows it, and he can’t wait to meet Anan in person. Then he hangs up, turns to Scotty and McCoy, and rather snidely says, “Diplomacy, gentlemen, should be a job left to diplomats.” Well, sure, but keeping the ship from getting blown up should be a job left to people with a good track record for not getting the ship blown up.

He then casually adds that they will, of course, immediately resume a peaceful status. “No, sir, I will not,” Scotty replies, in a Superman pose for good measure.

[ID: A shot of Scotty standing behind Uhura, chest out and hands on his hips like Superman, saying, “No, sir, I will not.”]

“What did you say??” Fox demands, stunned and outraged. Scotty is unperturbed. “I’ll not lower the screens, not until the captain tells me to.” Fox tries to remind Scotty that he’s taking orders from Fox and he is to lower those screens as a show of good faith right now, young man!

“I know about your authority,” Scotty replies doggedly, “but the screens stay up.” Fox just stares at him, dumbfounded and clearly at a loss as to how to respond to this. (For a diplomat, you’d think he’d be better at handling it when people don’t do exactly as he wants them to.)

McCoy chimes in at this point to remind Fox that the Eminians have fired on the ship and faked a message from Kirk—and now you want us to trust them, just like that? It’s actually quite restrained for McCoy, but he’s got a good point: the whole “whooops we accidentally fired on your ship, just a misunderstanding, our bad!” thing doesn’t do anything to explain the fact that they faked a message from the captain, something Fox didn’t even attempt to bring up with Anan. But Fox, of course, ignores this. “I want and expect you to obey my lawful orders!” he demands. “No sir!” Scotty insists. “I won’t lower the screens!”

Fox, now in the middle of a full-blown fit, splutters that Scotty is endangering the success of this whole mission, and Fox could have him sent to a penal colony for this! It seems rather unlikely that Fox, however high his diplomatic clout, could have someone sent to prison just like that without at least a court martial first. But who knows how these things work in the Federation? On the plus side, I’m sure the penal colonies are much nicer now that they’ve taken out the brain-melting machines.

“That you can, sir,” Scotty says, without the barest flinch. “But I won’t lower the screens.” Stone. Cold.

“Your name will figure prominently in my report to the Federation central!” Fox fumes, and stalks off angrily into the lift.

“Well, Scotty, now you’ve done it,” McCoy says. Hey! Whose side are you on here?

[ID: A shot of Scotty looking tired and saying, “Aye. The haggis is in the fire for sure...” while McCoy stands behind him with his arms crossed.]

yeah that’s definitely something Scottish people say

Back down on the planet, Anan has retreated to some private quarters and is drowning his woes with a stiff drink, from a bottle that’s a lot more neck than bottle.

[ID: A shot of Anan standing at a low stone table, holding a green glass bottle with an extremely long neck, having just poured it into one of three glasses positioned on the table.]

the perfect design for when what you really want is a high glass: alcohol ratio.

But he’s not even managed to take a sip before Kirk suddenly steps into the room behind him. Anan pauses, obviously realizing he’s there—presumably because he heard the sudden musical sting—and says, “Won’t you join me in a drink, captain? You’ll find our trova most interesting.” First tranya, now trova. I’m starting to pick up a naming pattern with these made-up alien drinks.

Kirk’s not interested in acquiring new tastes at the moment, though. “I didn’t come here to drink,” he says flatly. You don’t say.

Anan points to the disruptor Kirk is currently pointing at him and says, “I presume that is what you used to destroy disintegration chamber twelve.” Kirk calmly remarks that it’s a very efficient weapon, and one that he’s not afraid to use.

“My first impression was correct.” [siiiiiiiiiip] “You ARE a barbarian.”

Anan goes on to say that there’s no need for Kirk to look confused—of course he’s a barbarian. “We all are. A killer first, a builder second. A hunter, a warrior, and—let’s be honest—a murderer. That is our joint heritage, is it not?” Wow. Projecting much?

Anyway, Kirk’s not here to talk about philosophy any more than he’s here to have a drink. What he wants is to contact his ship, so where are the communicators? “In a safe place,” Anan answers calmly. “You take a lot of chances, councilman,” Kirk warns, but Anan, still not intimidated, replies that Kirk may be worried about his ship, but Anan is trying to save a whole world.

Kirk suddenly elbows Anan up against the all and says, “If I were you, I’d think about saving my life.” Good one liner. But it’s ineffective against Anan, who only looks glumly back and says, “Won’t you have a drink, captain?”

You could interpret this as Anan simply calling Kirk’s bluff, and to an extent I think it is that—Anan’s already seen how outraged Kirk was at the idea of this war even before he knew that it would have an effect on him and his ship, and the fact that Anan has received reports about destroyed disintegration machines but no reports about deaths should tell him that at the least, Kirk is not inclined to kill if he doesn’t have to, even in a situation where doing so would further his goals. But I also get the impression that Anan is so unperturbed even by imminent danger because he’s all but given up. Practically everything Anan says throughout the episode is dour, glum, positively Eeyore-ish. Over and over we hear him say some variation on, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” Coupled with the fact that his wife has died recently in the same attacks that dominate Anan’s life day in and day out, which he clearly sees no hope of ever ending but has to carry on responding to anyway, it’s not a big leap to guess that he might just have all but stopped caring about his own life.

Kirk, clearly realizing that this tack isn’t working, looks at Anan for a long moment, then slowly backs off, shrugs, picks up the bottle, and pours himself a glass. Careful there. Never trust a drink described as interesting. Then he makes the mistake of strolling away a bit, and while his back is turned, Anan surreptitiously presses a small button under the bar, while saying, “And then we can discuss our differences.”

“I’m not interested in discussing our differences,” Kirk says. “You don’t seem to realize the risk you’re taking. We don’t make war with computers and herd the casualties into suicide stations. We make the real thing, councilman. I could destroy this planet.” Dang! Sometimes you forget Starfleet is supposed to be a military, but not in this episode, huh.

Anan says that’s exactly why he’s not letting Kirk talk to his ship, but Kirk says no, he doesn’t need the ship. “You mean, all by yourself, with a disruptor, you could destroy this planet?” “That’s exactly what I mean.” A heck of a claim there, but it might not be a bluff. If Kirk destroys enough of the Eminian infrastructure to leave them unable to meet their casualties quota, Vendikar would attack, and probably destroy the planet in the process. Despite their guards carrying lethal weapons, at the end of the day Eminiar doesn’t seem to be prepared for much in the way of real, physical resistance, considering the way they responded when Kirk and Spock blew up that one chamber. They probably have no need to be, if everyone is as compliant in reporting in as Mea.

But Anan clearly isn’t taking this threat anymore seriously than the more immediate one being levied against him personally. When Kirk once again demands to know where the communicators are, Anan says, “If I told you, captain, would you walk right out and get them?” “Something like that,” Kirk says. “Very well, captain. They’re in the war room. Go left, down the corridor, left again. They are unguarded.”

Kirk walks over to the door, then pauses and gestures Anan over. As soon as Anan gets within range, Kirk grabs him. He might not have actually seen Anan press the button, but he clearly still doesn’t trust Anan as far as he can throw him—which indeed he does, out the door and straight into the Sack Hat that was right outside. Unfortunately for Kirk, another Sack Hat is just arriving, and he quickly leaps into the fray.

[ID: A gif showing Kirk in a fight with two guards. He barrels into one guard, spins him around, and throws him into the opposite wall, then kicks a second guard in the ribs and chops him on the back of the neck, knocking him the floor. The first guard gets up and tries to punch Kirk but Kirk manages to throw him to the floor, only to have the second guard back up him up against the wall.]

Kirk gives it his best effort, but in the end one of the Sack Hats manages to whack him on the back of the head with the disruptor, which puts him out for the count. Anan examines Kirk and sees that he’s stunned but still alive. “Pity,” he says. “A man like that would’ve...preferred to die fighting. Take him to the council room.” Pretty sure he would’ve preferred not to die at all, actually.

The guards drag the half-conscious Kirk away, letting him dangle between them in a position that must have been hell on the knees.

[ID: Anan watching two guards, walking in very awkward positions, haul a limp Kirk away, his knees dragging on the floor.]

actually I’m willing to bet all three of those people had sore knees in the morning

After the break, we get another exterior shot of the city—in fact it’s the exact same exterior shot of the city-- followed by Fox beaming down at the same place where the landing party originally did. He’s accompanied by a man that I assume is a subordinate of his, based on the fact that his clothing is similar to Fox’s but his collar is much smaller. Must be a status thing.

Anan and an attending Sack Hat stroll up to greet them, and pleasantries are exchanged. But as soon as the two have been led inside, Anan turns to Fox and says, “Mr. Ambassador...I am sorry for what must happen.” Which is never a good way for a conversation to start. Anan proceeds to tell the baffled and increasingly alarmed Fox that he and his aide have been declared war casualties, and will be taken immediately to a disintegration booth so their deaths can be recorded.

Which seems like a significant tactical error, actually. I get that Anan is desperate to start getting the casualties from the Enterprise reported, but Fox is pretty much the only person on that ship who’s not immensely distrustful of the Eminians right now. If they kept up the act for a while longer and let him report in and tell the Enterprise that everything’s fine down here, really, see, I told you—well, it probably still wouldn’t convince Scotty, but it’s definitely going to convince him that something’s amiss if Fox beams down and immediately disappears and is never heard from again. Then again, if the Eminians were that good at tactics this war probably wouldn’t have gone on for five hundred years.

“You mean...we are to be killed?” Fox says weakly, while one of the Sack Hats starts tugging his file folder out of his arms.

“That is correct, Mr. Ambassador,” Anan says sadly, just like he says everything. “I very much regret it, but there is nothing I can do about it.”

He then walks off, leaving Fox to just stand there looking absolutely dumbfounded until the Sack Hat starts hauling the two of them away. Well, that’s a bummer. Not only has he just learned he’s about to be executed, he’s also learned he was wrong. The Eminians were up to something! Even if he gets out of being executed he’s going to have to eat so much crow he might prefer being executed.

Back in the holding cell—where, true to Kirk’s prediction, the guards have still not found the landing party—Spock is sitting on a couch tinkering with one of the Eminian communicators while Mea and the redshirts watch. I say redshirts, but only Yeoman Tamura is still wearing red; the security guys have put on the uniforms they stole from the Sack Hats.

It seems that whatever Spock did—installed a new SIM card, perhaps—was a success, because when he tries to call the Enterprise Uhura picks it up. Scotty immediately rushes over to take the call. The first thing Spock asks about is the ship, which Scotty confirms has taken a few hits but is still doing alright. He, naturally, wants to know what’s been going on with the landing party. Spock tells him that they’ve suffered no casualties, but Kirk is overdue to come back from his little solo jaunt. But never mind that now—the most important thing for the crew to know right now is that no one, under any circumstances, should beam down from the ship, because they’d be killed immediately. No one, you got that? No one. You haven’t beamed anyone down, have you? Because you shouldn’t. It’d be very bad, if you did that.

Scotty’s like, “Well. Uh. About that,” and tells Spock that Fox just beamed down not five minutes ago. “...The ambassador,” Spock says, although his tone says, “aw, goddammit.” He then tells Scotty to get out of maximum phaser range from the planet and wait for further orders, then hangs up. I do have to wonder how Fox beamed down, actually, since the fact that the Enterprise is still in orbit instead of having been shot out of the sky proves that they didn’t drop the shields. Then again, Spock called himself a Vulcanian earlier, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised they hadn’t worked out the whole “no beaming through the shields” thing yet either.

Spock takes a moment to nurse a “well, fuck” expression, then regretfully gets up and tells Tamura he’s going to go rescue that damn stupid bloody ambassador, ugh, I guess, if I have to. Oh, and Kirk too. “You stay here,” he adds, “and prevent this young lady from immolating herself. Knock her down and sit on her if necessary, this is a killing situation. Do what you must to protect yourself. Clear?” “Yes sir.” Man, someone’s just full of snark this episode.

He and the two redshirts in disguise head out, while Tamura turns to watch Mea, who looks at the camera with a somewhat sulky expression, but doesn’t attempt resistance. Speaking of said damn stupid bloody ambassador, Fox and Friend are currently being hauled, struggling, down the endless corridor toward a disintegration station. Actually, only Fox is really struggling, his aide seems rather apathetic towards the situation.

While the Sack Hats are trying to shove Fox into the chamber--despite his protests that he’s “a representative of the United Federation of Planets! A special representative!”--Spock and the redshirts come walking down the corridor, pulling the ol’ ‘you guys pretend to take me prisoner’ trick. They use one of the redshirts ushering Spock into the line as a pretense for Spock to get close to the Sack Hat holding onto the aide, at which point Spock quickly takes him out while the redshirts handle the other Sack Hats.

Fox is all “wait what” but he’s got no time to be confused because Spock none-too-gently herds him and his aide back down the corridor. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he tells the crowd of confused and concerned casualties-in-waiting, “please move quickly away from the chamber, or you may be injured.” Everyone obediently scrambles for cover while Spock and the group back up down the corridor, guns at the ready. When Fox asks what they’re doing, Spock replies, “Practicing a peculiar variety of diplomacy, sir.” Then he blows up the chamber.

Spock says that he’ll take Fox to a place of comparative safety before finding the captain, but Fox stops him and says he knows where Kirk is—the Sack Hats, for some reason, told him and the aide that they took Kirk to the council room under heavy guard. Spock nods and says, “By now, Mr. Ambassador, I’m sure you realize that normal diplomatic procedures are ineffective here.” Fox looks pretty subdued, but he says, “I’ve never been a soldier, Mr. Spock...but I learn very quickly.”

The group heads off past the burning chamber, while various panicked extras run around in the background. I notice no one asked the aide if he might not prefer to be taken to a place of comparative safety.

Cut to: Kirk, not dead, extremely unimpressed. He is, indeed, sitting in the council chamber, being lectured by Anan while some Sack Hats stand around him on guard and the rest of the council watches the exchange, still as superfluous as they have been all episode.

“Surely you can see the position we are in,” Anan is saying. “If your people do not report to our disintegration chambers, it is a violation of an agreement that dates back five hundred years.”

Kirk points out that he and his people can hardly be held responsible for whatever agreements Eminiar and Vendikar made between them, but Anan insists that they will be responsible for the ensuing escalation and everything that will come of it: “Millions of people horribly killed, complete destruction of our culture here—yes, and the culture on Vendikar! Disaster, disease, starvation. Horrible, lingering death! Pain and anguish!”

Kirk listens to all this with the kind of expression you might expect from a man who has firsthand experience with disaster…

[ID: A screenshot from The Galileo Seven of Kirk making his log and grimly reporting, “...that seven of our shipmates still have not been heard from.”]

...disease…

[ID: A screenshot from Miri of Kirk in the diplaidated classroom, sleeves ripped open and baring his arms covered in blue lesions, yelling, “Look at my arms!”]

...starvation…

[ID: Two screenshots from The Conscience of the King of McCoy and Spock walking through a corridor at night, as Spock says, “There were over 8,000 colonists and virtually no food.”]

...horrible, lingering death…

[ID: A screenshot from Arena of McCoy and Kirk kneeling over the injured colonist among the rubble, as McCoy says, “Shock, radiation burns, internal injuries for certain.”]

...pain and anguish...

[ID: A screenshot from Balance of Terror of Kirk hugging Angela Martine to him and saying, “It never makes any sense.”]

...and is now sitting here listening to a lecture about it from someone who has spent a career upholding a system that allows him to deal out death without ever having to face any of those messy, dirty things firsthand himself. In particular I would imagine Anan must remind Kirk of Kodos to some degree. Back in The Conscience of the King, when Spock and McCoy were discussing Kodos’s rule, Spock mentions that the people Kodos had executed died “without pain—but they died.” In many ways it’s the same rhetoric, really—it’s regrettable that all these people have to die, but it’s for the good of the society as a whole. We’ll make it quick and painless. Humane. You understand.

But all Kirk says to Anan is, “That seems to frighten you.”

“It would frighten any sane man!” Anan cries back. He’s still oblivious to the point Kirk is making for, instead doubling down on the same rhetoric we’ve heard from him all episode: we have done away with all that. We’ve done away with all the worst parts of war. Our way is better. Our way is the only way to avoid all that. And now you are going to be responsible for bringing it back. All the pain and suffering, all the destruction and noise and mess. Your fault. “Are those five hundred people of yours more important than the hundreds of millions of innocent people on Eminiar and Vendikar?” Anan demands. “What kind of monster are you?”

In the face of this, and the horrified stares of the other councilmen, Kirk only looks back calmly. “I’m a barbarian,” he says. “You said it yourself.” Level two, thinking about going for Path of the Berserker, haven’t decided yet.

“I had hoped I had spoken only figuratively,” Anan says, barely above a whisper. Oh, looks like someone was willing to dish out a lot of talk about “we’re all murderers” but doesn’t want to live up to it, huh. Kirk says, nope—Anan was totally right, and Kirk intends to prove it to him.

Anan furiously turns away and snaps at one of the councilmen to open a channel to the Enterprise. “You give me no choice, captain. We are not bandits, but you force us to act as bandits.” Okay, I really gotta ask what the heck Anan’s definition of ‘bandit’ is.

Before he can say more, Scotty answers the call, and Kirk immediately lunges forward for the table before the guards can catch him. “Scotty, General Order Twenty-Four in two hours! In two hours!” he yells, before the Sack Hats finally manage to wrestle him back into his seat.

“Enterprise, this is Anan 7, first councilman of the high council of Eminiar,” Anan says, trying to pretend like that didn’t just happen. “We hold your captain, his party, your ambassador, and his party prisoners. Unless you immediately start transportation of all personnel aboard your ship to the surface, the hostages will be killed. You have thirty minutes.” Oh, that’s fine, then. Scotty can do anything as long as he’s got thirty minutes.

[ID: A screenshot from The Naked Time of Scotty saying, “I got to have 30 minutes.”]

Anan insists to Kirk that he really means it—okay he totally just lied about having the rest of the landing party captive but he still really means it okay—but Kirk just shrugs and says that all that means is that he’ll be leaving the party an hour and a half earlier than he would anyway, because General Order Twenty-Four is an order for the Enterprise to destroy the entire planet. Immediately Anan wheels back to the comm and orders the planetary defense system to open fire on the Enterprise, but they can’t—the ship has moved out of range. Thanks Spock!

“You wouldn’t do this,” Anan says desperately. “Hundreds of millions of people.”

“I didn’t start it, councilman,” Kirk says. “But I’m liable to finish it.” ♫We didn’t start the war with Vendikar♫--nah, needs work.

Back in the endless corridor, Spock’s party encounters a couple of Sack Hats, leading to a disruptor-off. The guards go down, but so does Fox’s aide, so they just kind of...leave him huddled up against the wall and keep going. Man, no one cares about that dude, huh.

In the council chambers, a guy comes rushing in to announce in a panic that they’ve received a message from Vendikar accusing them of reneging on the treaty, on the grounds that their time is nearly up but their quota is still short by several thousand. Okay, hold the phone here. Sure, the Enterprise is currently making up a big chunk of that unmet quota, but there’s only about four hundred twenty people on there. As far as we’ve seen the landing party has only managed to destroy two booths, both located in one building in one city out of the entire planet—and given that we saw those booths process about one person every couple of minutes or so, there have to be a lot more than two of them because otherwise they’d never be able to process thousands of people in that time period no matter what was going on! How the hell can they be short by several thousand people? What have you guys been doing? Did everyone get so freaked out about what was going on that they just ran around in circles screaming for the past several hours instead of doing their jobs?

Anyway, Anan tells Kirk that, “You see? It’s started,” and Kirk replies, “You’re wrong. It hasn’t begun.” That really doesn’t mean anything, but okay. Someone else then calls in to report about the landing party’s recent antics, which have left two guards unresponsive and one more disintegration booth destroyed. Kirk definitely has quite a smug look on his face when he hears that, and he reminds Anan that he has less than two hours now.

“What I want or don’t want has nothing to do with it!” Anan insists. “Escalation is automatic! You can stop it!”

“Stop it?” Kirk says, clearly enjoying milking this situation for every drop of dramatic one-liners he can get. “I’m COUNTing on it!”

Up on the Enterprise, Scotty tells Uhura to open a channel to the council. “This is the commander of the USS Enterprise,” he tells them. “All cities and installations on Eminiar 7 have been located, identified, and fed into our fire control system. In one hour and forty-five minutes, the entire inhabited surface of your planet will be destroyed.” At this last, Uhura spins around in her chair to give him a shocked look, even though she certainly heard Kirk give General Order Twenty-Four in the first place. “You have that long to surrender your hostages,” Scotty goes on, paying no mind to this.

In the council room, Anan is finally having an absolute breakdown. “What can I do?” he moans, slumping over onto the council table in abject despair. “Somebody, please tell me.”

Then, for some reason, one of the Sack Hats guarding the door steps forward—I dunno, maybe he was going to give Anan a comforting pat on the back or something, but it gives Kirk the opportunity to trip him. Then he pushes the second door guard into the remaining two Sack hats.

[ID: Kirk and three guards in a tussle against the bland gray wall of the war room.]

gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

In the confusion Kirk manages to grab a weapon off one of them, which he points at the last remaining guard as he runs forward. Just like that, Kirk is in control of the situation. He chivvies all the guards and councilmen, including Anan, over to the door, then picks up another gun and says, “Now we’ll talk.”

Just after the nick of time, the door opens and Spock and crew come running in with their weapons pointed. There’s immense confusion among everyone for a moment.

“I had assumed you needed help,” Spock says, sounding just a tad reproachful that Kirk managed to get free on his own after Spock went to all this trouble. “I see I’m in error.”

“No, I need the help,” Kirk says, with, it must be said, an incredibly fond smile on his face. He opens the door to the computer room and directs Spock inside, then calls up the Enterprise. “Everything’s secure here,” he tells Scotty. “If everything goes according to plan, you can beam us up in ten minutes. If you don’t hear from us, carry out General Order Twenty-Four, on schedule.” Now there’s a check-in you don’t want to miss. Might want to set a timer or something just in case.

“Aye aye, captain,” Scotty says. “Is there anything else we can do?” “Cross your fingers. Kirk out.”

Kirk hangs up and looks back at Anan. “Death...destruction, disease, horror...”

[ID: A gif from Monty Python’s Flying Circus of Michael Palin, dressed as a cheesy talk show host on a cheesy talk show set, happily saying, “Blood, devastation, death, war and horror.”]

“That’s what war is all about, Anan. That’s what makes it a thing to be avoided. You’ve made it neat and painless. So neat and painless, you’ve had no reason to stop it. And you’ve had it for five hundred years. Since it seems to be the only way I can save my crew and my ship, I’m going to end it for you, one way or another. Mr. Ambassador?”

“Yes, captain?” Fox says, remarkably politely, for Fox. Kirk instructs him to take everyone out into the corridor and hold them there, except for one councilman he has a redshirt usher into the computer room, where Kirk tells him to show them where the communicators and phasers are. With that sorted, Kirk gets a low-down on the computer situation from Spock: they’ve got some attack computers, one for defense, and one for calculating the casualties. All of them are tied into a subspace transmission unit so that they’re in constant contact with the equivalent computers on Vendikar. If contact is ever broken, the treaty immediately becomes null and void. Also, Spock’s locked a circuit so that destroying one key computer will take out all of them. Excuse me, who set up this system? It should not be so easy to destroy all your vital computers at once. Please tell me you at least have a decent surge protector in here.

Kirk has the redshirt haul the wildly protesting councilman away, then shoots the key computer. He and Spock quickly run out and tell everyone to get up against the walls, right before the computers all blow up.

Anan wades through the ensuing smoke and raspily asks if they realize what they’ve done. “Yes, I do,” Kirk says. “I’ve given you back the horrors of war. The Vendikans will now assume that you’ve broken your agreement, and that you’re preparing to rage real war with real weapons. They’ll want to do the same, only the next attack they launch will do a lot more than just count up numbers in a computer. They’ll destroy your cities, devastate your planet. You, of course, will want to retaliate. If I were you, I’d start making bombs. Yes, councilman, you have a real war on your hands. You can either wage it with real weapons, or you might consider an alternative—put an end to it. Make peace.”

Anan insists there can’t and won’t be any peace. “Don’t you see? We’ve admitted it to ourselves. We’re a killer species. It’s instinctive. It’s the same with you, your General Order Twenty-Four.”

Yeah, about that General Order Twenty-Four. It’s pretty weird! The idea that Starfleet has a regulation in place for destroying all life on a planet and that said regulation can be casually invoked by a single captain is not only bizarre in terms of the tone of the series as a whole, it doesn’t even line up that well with what we’ve already seen. We know Starfleet doesn’t give that much autonomy to their captains—what would be the point of even having the Prime Directive if people can just go around obliterating entire cultures whenever they want? And, of course, it’s pretty ridiculous to think that Kirk, who earlier this episode said “We’re gonna use non-lethal force to knock out these guards even though they’re literally trying to kill our entire crew right now” would be so casually down with the idea of committing genocide.

This is all so weird that most people prefer to theorize that the whole thing was an elaborate bluff, presumably some standing arrangement between Kirk and Scotty. The episode never says that it was, but it doesn’t definitively say it couldn’t have been, either—although one minor problem with that is that is that GO24 does get mentioned in a much later episode, where it’s implied to mean basically the same thing as it does here. There’s also the fact that in a minute we’ll hear Kirk, while talking to Scotty with no Eminians listening, say “Cancel General Order Twenty-Four,” instead of anything to the effect of “Hey, our bluff worked,” or whatever.

But, for the sake of maintaining some degree of character consistency, we could say that perhaps GO24 does exist in some capacity, but is not something that would ever actually be used in a situation such as this. Perhaps it’s a purely theoretical protocol that exists in case of some situation that’s never actually yet occurred. Either Scotty knows Kirk and also Starfleet protocol well enough to immediately assume this is a bluff and act accordingly, or—a bit more of a stretch, but still possible-- ‘General Order Twenty-Four’ is a standing code between them that actually means something like ‘beam us up and GTFO pronto,’ which would explain why Kirk has to ‘cancel’ it in the end.

I think what confuses me even more is not just that GO24 doesn’t make sense in the greater context of the series, but that doesn’t even make a lot of sense in the context of this episode. Kirk invoking it doesn’t move the plot forward in any way. Even as a bluff it doesn’t do anything, because it doesn’t in any way lead to Kirk getting the upper hand—he does that all on his own a few moments later just by tripping the guard, and he doesn’t need the leverage from Scotty threatening GO24 to carry out the rest of his plans. I’m not even sure what the in-story motivation for it is, outside of the possibility of it actually meaning something else as just described (which might work as an explanation but is very unlikely to be what was intended because there’s no actual indication of it anywhere). Sure, ordinarily, ‘do what I say or I’ll destroy your entire planet’ would be a pretty effective threat, but Anan already thinks that his planet will be destroyed if he does what Kirk wants—whatever that is, because Kirk hasn’t actually made any specific demands clear to him. From Anan’s perspective it’s just a choice between having his planet blown up by Vendikar, or having it blown up by Kirk, whose bluff he’s already called once when Kirk had a gun to his head. It’s not a big leap to say that he’d prefer trying to call it again to angering Vendiker, who he was very sure would retaliate.

But if GO24 was a bluff in some way, Kirk sure doesn’t feel the need to enlighten Anan of that fact now. Instead he takes a different argumentative tack altogether.

[ID: Two gifs showing a scene of Kirk talking to Anan, with Spock standing next to Kirk and Fox standing behind Anan. Kirk is saying, “All right, it’s instinctive. But the instinct can be fought. We’re human beings, with the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it. We can admit that we’re killers, but we’re not going to kill today...Contact Vendikar. I think you’ll find that they’re just as terrified, appalled, horrified as you are, that they’ll do anything to avoid the alternative I’ve given you. Peace or utter destruction. It’s up to you.”]

At this point Fox smoothly cuts in to point out that, whaddya know, here you’ve got a neutral third party with ambassadorial expertise, be a shame not to use him, huh? Anan admits—and boy has it been like pulling teeth to get him to admit even this—that maybe there might be something of a very slim chance. They do have a direct channel with Vendikar’s own council, which hasn’t been used in centuries, apparently. Oh I see, so you’ve just been sitting on that this whole time, huh? Yeah, trying real hard to stop this inevitable war.

The two of them walk off, while Kirk and Spock watch them go. “There’s a chance it may work, captain,” Spock says. Kirk just smiles at him, then pulls out his communicator and tells Scotty to cancel General Order Twenty-Four (see? told ya) and beam them up. You might want to specify that Fox isn’t beaming up too, or there’s going to be an awkward situation here in a minute.

Sometime later, on the Enterprise bridge, Kirk is telling the helmsmen to lay in a course for their next destination. Uhura reports a message from Fox: negotiations underway with Vendikar, outlook hopeful. Kirk and McCoy, who’s hovering protectively near the captain’s chair, exchange nods.

“Captain...” Spock says, “You took a big chance.”

“Did I, Mr. Spock?” Kirk asks. “They have been killing 3 million people a year. It had been going on for 500 years. An actual attack wouldn’t have killed any more people than one of their computer attacks, but it would’ve ended their ability to make war. The fighting would’ve been over, permanently.”

Still, as McCoy points out, he didn’t know his plan would work. Kirk admits that it was a calculated risk, but “The Eminians keep a very orderly society, and actual war is a very messy business—a very, very messy business. I had a feeling they would do anything to avoid it, even talk peace.”

[ID: A gif of Kirk and Spock talking on the bridge. Spock says, “A feeling is not much to go on.” Kirk says, “Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on.” Spock says, “Captain...You almost make me believe in luck.” Kirk replies, “Why, Mr. Spock, you almost make me believe in miracles.”]

With that, the camera pans out and the Enterprise heads on its way. On its own this little denouement probably wouldn’t have been too bad an example of TOS’s tendency to try to end serious episode on comedic notes. Sure, it’s got a bit of that “everyone laughs, fade out” vibe, but it also discusses the heavy events of the episode with a tone that’s less overtly jolly and more a kind of ‘laughing mostly out of relief now that it’s all over’ feel. Except for the fact that after Kirk says his last line, there’s a little Humorous Musical Sting that plays over Spock’s expression in response, which completely changes it from ‘fond friends commiserating over having survived a tough situation’ to a joke at Spock’s expense that doesn’t even make sense as a joke. And that’s why it’s so dangerous for the power of post-production to fall into the wrong hands.

One other thing you might have noticed is a complete lack of any mention of the Prime Directive in all this, not even a half-hearted one like we got in The Return of the Archons. Which is pretty notable considering that what Kirk just did there would appear to be a pretty major violation of said directive—basically the exact opposite of what they’re supposed to be doing, really. It’s perhaps not surprising given both the other examples of early installment weirdness in this episode and the fact that its tone is in general a bit more, shall we say, aggressive than TOS often is. Even at the end no one questions whether what Kirk did was morally right, only how he could be sure it would work.

I think it’s mostly just something you have to ignore, although I actually find it easier to accept that the Federation would not protest too hard about the whole thing in this instance, mostly because of that line from Fox about thousands of lives being lost in the area over the past two decades. I’m not sure why so many people were going through what was apparently a quite dangerous section of space to begin with, but the point is, at some point this war stopped being a matter that was only between Vendikar and Eminiar. It was becoming a problem for the rest of the galaxy as well. Vendikar apparently wasn’t doing anything about it, and with Eminiar’s “well really it’s your fault for coming over here :////” attitude they clearly weren’t about to do anything to rein it in either. It doesn’t much surprise me that the Federation would have turned a blind eye to Kirk violating the directive in this case, considering how many lives he ultimately saved by doing so. They’ve turned a blind eye to worse, let’s be honest.

A Taste of Armageddon is one of TOS’s more powerful allegorical stories, although what it appears to be an allegory for has changed over time. It aired in the midst of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and could hardly fail to be at least influenced by that, although I am certainly not the person to be able to dissect the intricacies of that influence. Nowadays, of course, the idea of conducting a war via computers and never having to see the results is a lot less of a sci-fi what-if and a lot more chillingly relevant. The whole thing reads as such an accurate criticism of drone strikes and other such remote forms of warfare that it feels downright prescient.

But for as much as you could read this episode as a comment, prescient or otherwise, on the dangers of how technology might affect warfare, it strikes me as interesting because of the contrast between it and most of the TOS episodes that are in some sense about being leery of technological advances. Often in TOS, when we see computers that are scary in some way—What Are Little Girls Made Of?, The Return of the Archons, The Changeling, The Ultimate Computer, TMP, etc—it’s because those computers achieved some form of sapience and thus, some form of control over the people who invented them. They’re characters, active agents in their own stories. The use of computers in A Taste of Armageddon hits much closer to home because it matches today’s real fears about advances in AI. The fear for us right now is not “will the AI become sentient and kill us all?” it’s “how will more advanced AI be used against us by the people who control it?” The computer here isn’t sapient or aware. There’s no point at which Kirk tries to talk it out of doing what it’s doing, because it doesn’t know what it’s doing. It doesn’t know, or, as far as we can tell from what we see, even remotely have the capacity to know what the numbers it crunches mean in real-life terms. It’s basically just running a very advanced game of Starcraft.

So we can’t blame the computer for what happens. The blame can only be pinned on the people who are using the computer, and not even in a “we created this but now it’s run amok ahhhhhhhhh” kind of way. Every day for five hundred years people went in that war room and chose to use the computer to carry on the war, instead of making any effort to end it. And that’s where the real core of the episode’s message comes in.

To me, the allegory of A Taste of Armageddon has always seemed to be one that can be taken more broadly than being about one particular war, or one way of waging war. It need not necessarily be about war at all. Because one thing the story shows very clearly is the danger of allowing any system, any state of being for a society, to become inevitable. To be viewed as something that cannot be changed, cannot be altered, cannot be acted upon. The Eminians—and, we can assume, the Vendikarians—have bent their societies and their lives around this war for five hundred years, so long that even if the original grievance is still remembered, it surely can no longer be relevant. The Eminians claim that conducting the war this way preserves their culture and society, but the truth is that the war has become their culture and society. How could it not? If you lived every day of your life knowing that at any time the call might come in that your number’s up and it’s time to report for death, how could that not affect you?

We don’t see much of the Eminian outlook—the only two significant Eminian characters are Mea and Anan, everyone else is little more than an extra. But what we do get from those characters is telling. Mea, when pressed on the issue, repeats time and again that their way is the best way and the only way, and that doing anything else would turn out even worse. Anan offers that explanation as well at the beginning, but most of his remarks throughout the episode come down to a deferral of blame. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it” is a refrain he repeats over and over.

Anan takes every opportunity to deny any control over the situation, and/or to deflect blame for it onto someone else. From the beginning he tells Kirk that it’s really his fault that everyone on the Enterprise has to die, because Kirk brought his ship there. Under other circumstances he might have a point about Kirk not heeding the warning (of course we know Kirk did heed it and only approached the planet when ordered to anyway by Fox, but Anan didn’t know that, and it’s mostly irrelevant anyway) but Anan acts as if his planet is gripped by some natural disaster that he can’t control, rather than a war which, as apparently the highest-ranked person on the planet, he has at least some ability to affect. And once Kirk makes his intentions to disrupt the war known, Anan really starts to buckle down on pinning the blame on him. If we go to war, real war, the blood of everyone that dies will be on your hands. Not ours, for starting this war and continuing it for five hundred years. Not mine, for not taking any action to end it. Yours, for doing anything to attempt to change the situation. Because if you’ve convinced yourself that there is only one possible way to handle a problem like this, then by default anyone who would attempt to implement another option must be misguided at best and actively and intentionally malicious at worst.

I don’t read Anan as someone who’s consciously using this deferral of blame as a manipulation tactic or whatever. I think he genuinely believes that he can’t do anything to affect the war. But that doesn’t let him off the hook in any way because I think he believes that because it’s easy. It’s much easier to think that your current course is not only correct but the only thing to do than it is to admit that there’s any chance that lives could have been saved if you had acted differently. And the longer you carry on a course, and the more the cost of doing so stacks up, the harder it is to change it, because doing so feels tantamount to admitting that those costs didn’t have to be paid. You have to carry on, because otherwise it will have all been for nothing. It’s called the sunk costs fallacy. If Anan ever was willing to challenge the status quo—which I doubt, but it’s possible--he’s clearly lost all such ambitions by the time of the episode. It’s hard to change things. Easier to apologize for not being able to change them.

And, of course, that’s all too real a message. Pick a topic, any topic—gun control, healthcare, capitalism, climate change, whatever you want—and think about how many times you’ve heard rhetoric to the effect of, “It sucks but there’s no point attempting to change things because the system we’ve got is the best possible one there could be.” It’s easy to look at Eminian society and their willingness to die when told to by a computer and call it laughable (and, look, I’m not saying it makes total sense—this is a Star Trek episode, after all), but completely preventable deaths occur every day in our societies, often for really no less arbitrary reason. At the risk of getting too intensely topical here, do you really think it would seem any less absurd to the TOS characters that we let people die because they can’t personally afford things that we have to spare?

I think that TOS usually did better when it made its allegories and its moral points more general, rather than attempting to directly mirror a specific real-life issue. I won’t say always, necessarily, but usually it resulted in a stronger episode. In this case I don’t know if it was intentional to make the point more generally applicable, but I certainly think it resulted in a very strong episode.

We have no tallies going up from this episode. Next time, everybody’s gotta get high, in This Side of Paradise.

[imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul]

Letting You Go - Leonard McCoy

Fic #12 of the Mamma Mia! Prompts Song: The Winner Takes it All

Pairing: Leonard McCoy x Reader Word Count: 1,502 Synopsis: The reader and Leonard are reunited after a difficult breakup.

Ever since you were young, and had decided that a life in politics was something that you wanted, your mother warned you that it would come at a cost. So long ago, you couldn’t comprehend what she meant by cost. When you were old enough, you enrolled in Starfleet, hoping that it would add an extra edge when you decided to run for office. Everything was going according to plan until you met Leonard McCoy and fell instantly in love.

You had scheduled to spend two years on the Enterprise, before starting your life in politics. Those two years turned into four, but eventually your call to serve brought you back to Earth. Heartbroken, you left an equally distraught fiancé and the greatest friends in the galaxy, and returned home. You knew what your mother meant by cost.

Now, nearly a year later, you stepped back onto the Enterprise, your heart beating fast. All of your memories came surging back. You tried to listen to your fellow senator as he described new policies he would enact to keep Starfleet running perfectly, but your mind was clouded.

“Ah, and here he is. Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet Captain James T. Kirk.” The bright blue eyes were the first thing you saw, and you couldn’t help but smile. Jim’s smile fell a little when he saw you.

“Jim.”

“Hey, Y/N,” he said softly, stepping forward to hug you. It felt good to be in his arms again, and when you pulled away, you felt a few tears prick in your eyes. “I didn’t realize you’d be on this expedition.”

“Are you kidding?” your fellow senator said, throwing his arm around you. “Y/N can’t shut up about Starfleet.” You laughed uncomfortably and shook his arm off.

“Glad to know you enjoy my company.” He laughed and kept blithering on about new reforms he wanted to make that would never pass as you walked around the all too familiar bridge. Spock walked in and gave you a curt nod. Although he was immune to emotions, it seemed that he, too, could sense the tension in the room.

"So, when are we going down to Med Bay?"

"Med Bay? Why-why do we have to go to Med Bay?"

"For our fact finding excursion," he said simply, rolling his eyes. Jim gave you a sympathetic look as he led your group down towards Med Bay. Spock looked at you inquisitively. You didn’t really have much choice. Either you stayed on the Bridge, literally hiding from your problems, or you faced the man of your dreams, who hated your guts.

“Good to see you, Spock,” you said, quickly jumping into the elevator with the group. Once you got to the floor, Jim pointed the group ahead and then grabbed your elbow.

“What are you doing here?” he asked under his breath, following slowly behind. 

“I”m a part of this-”

“This excursion group? Y/N, you know the Enterprise like the back of your hand, whatever kind of legislation you want passed you could do without coming here and breaking Bones’s heart again.”

“I’m not here to break his heart.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I need to see him,” you said gently. “I need to talk to him.”

“Captain? In here?” 

“Uh, yeah, right in there. Dr. McCoy will be waiting for you.” A breath caught in your throat, making Jim frown. He leaned in and kissed your forehead. “Just go easy. It really is good to see you, Y/N.”

“Thanks.” You took a minute to compose yourself before walking into Med Bay. Leonard was giving the group an overview of what happens on a daily basis, looking handsome as ever. You stood near the back, and once he was done, he went over to Jim. He spoke to him for a few moments before Jim nodded your way.

When Leonard looked at you, your stomach began to do flips. This was a horrible decision it turned out and you quickly walked out of Med Bay. 

“Y/N, Y/N, wait up!” If it had been any other voice you wouldn’t have stopped, but just hearing his voice was enough to bring you back down. You turned slowly and looked at him. “Hey.”

“Hi, Leo,” you said quietly.

“It’s good to see you again. You look great.” You smiled.

“Thanks, you do, too.”

“How’s the Senate thing going?”

“Good, really good.” 

“Good. I’m glad to hear it. Look, I need to get back to this tour that Jim signed me up for, but-”

“Leonard. I’m sorry.” He stopped and looked at you, smiling inquisitively.

“What are you sorry about?”

“Everything.” His small faltered and he shook his head.

“We don’t have to talk about that.”

“Yeah, but I want to.” He sighed and looked back towards the swinging doors of Med Bay.

“I should really-”

“Please, just let me talk.”

“I don’t want to talk about things we’ve gone through. Although it’s still hurting me, now it’s history.” Hearing him say that your past still hurt him made you tear up inside.

“Leo.”

“Y/N, I can’t do this. I’ve played all my cards, and that’s what you’ve done, too.”

“Maybe we haven’t,” you said, taking a tentative step forward.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You left to join the Senate. You said you couldn’t do both.”

“I know,” you said, cringing, “I figured it made sense to build a fence. I figured I’d be stronger on my own. But I was a fool.” 

“You’re not a fool,” Leonard said. You smiled and took another step closer. He looked into your eyes sadly.

“I lost someone dear to me,” you whispered.

“Me too.” You let your heart flutter with excitement that he might actually come back to you, just as he frowned. “But, maybe it was the right thing. The winner takes it all, the loser has to fall.”

“What does that mean?” you asked, wrinkling your eyebrows.

“Rules must be obeyed. You can’t be split.”

“I don’t want to be split,” you said, reaching for him. He smiled sadly and touched your arms.

“You’ve wanted to be in the Senate since you were a kid. This is how it has to be.” You set your jaw and nodded. He leaned forward and kissed your temple. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

“So you told her no? The woman of your dreams comes back and tells you she made a mistake and wants to get back together and you tell her no?” Jim asked in disbelief. 

“What can I say? I love her, Jim, but I can’t put myself through this again.”

“Maybe she won’t leave this time.”

“And what if she does?” he asked, taking a drink. “I don’t think I can do it again.”

“Tell her that, then.”

“What?”

“Jesus, you both love each other. Figure it out. Tell her you love her and you don’t want to lose her.” 

“I did that last time,” Leonard said with a sigh. 

“Well, do it again, because I invited Y/N for drinks and she should be here-” Knocking cut him off as he looked down at his watch. “Now.” He opened the door for you and saw the same pleased disappointment on both of your faces.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Well, I think I’ve had enough. You two have  pleasant chat,” he said, walking out of the door without another word. You laughed irritably and sat by Leonard.

“Hi,” you said again.

“Hi.”

“I don’t want to talk if it makes you feel sad. And I understand, you’ve come to shake my hand, and that’s-”

“No, Y/N, I don’t want to shake your hand. I don’t want things to be over with us.”

“You don’t?”

“Hell no. I didn’t when we broke it off and I don’t now. But I don’t want to break my heart or your heart again.” You nodded, looking down at your lap. He took your hands and pulled your eyes to him. “I love you, but if we’re going to do this, we’re doing this right.”

“No splitting.”

“No splitting,” he repeated. You smiled and brought his palm to your lips.

“You know, this excursion thing was more than just a tour. My friends in the Senate want to expand our worldviews and have talked about getting on one of Starfleet’s ships and studying the politics of other nations.”

“What does that mean for us?”

“Fuck land leave,” you said, shaking your head. He laughed and leaned in to kiss you lovingly. You hummed and touched his cheeks, kissing him deeper.

“I love you,” he said when he pulled away. “And I’m never letting you go.”

“I love you, too, and I’m not going anywhere.”

[causalityparadoxes]

Doctor Who Tagging Game

Tagged by @popcornpages88 and @incorrect-doctorwho. I have been tagged by two (2) separate people so now I have to do it. But seriously ty for tagging me this was really fun to do.

(Sorry this is so long. I ramble A Lot.)

Favourite Doctor: Twelve!! I LOVE HIM! Especially later in his run but I still love him at the beginning too. He's just so lovely but also ready to snark. Plus his character (and hair) growth is just wonderful. Second fave is Eleven, since he was the first doctor I watched where I was old enough to really appreciate the story

Favourite Master: mmm... Missy! I'm not even sure why really, she's just magnetic. Delgado is a close second though! Which I mostly attribute to how many times I watched the Sea Devils when I was younger, haha.

Favourite Sonic: Eleven's one. I find the clicking mechanism really satisfying. Plus is the colours are nice?

Favourite Companion: DONnNaAaaa... noble. I love her so, so, much. She's wonderful and ready 2 fite. Her relationship with ten is just so close and strong, without any need for romance. It's brilliant.

Favourite Episode: Tough one. Really, really, tough one. Maybe Empty Child/Doctor Dances? That one is brilliant. It absolutely terrified me as a kid. I love how creepy it is while still having so much humour. Also the ending is really sweet. Love a happy ending me.

(Weird site note: but when I was younger I used to think Rose said the Doctor should have more 'spock' as in a misspronouniation of 'spunk'. So you can imagine my shock when I later realised it was a Star Trek reference lol.)

Favourite Soundtrack: 'I am the Doctor' is definitely my all time favourite. It so bouncy and has all the right nostalgia.

My top 13 favourites (eyy) in no particular order (other than the obvious) are: I am the Doctor, Madame De Pompadour, Amy's theme, Impossible astronant, Martha's theme, Gallifrey Our Childhood Home, Clara's theme, A Dazzling End, Song of Freedom, Rose's theme, Shepards Boy, Doomsday, and Bad Wolf (which I know is actually Nine's theme but I'm sorry it's Bad Wolf to me.).

Dream actor for the next male/female Doctor: For female definitely Jo Martin. I don't care how they do it but I want it. She had so many good doctor vibes and she wasn't even on screen for more than 20 minutes. Other than that, I guess I just want a good actor? I've heard a few people suggest Colin Morgan and if we get another guy I think he'd be cool.

Dream Composer: Really dont know enough about music composers to choose... Though honestly Murray Gold was the dream.

Dream story: I'm very much a moment to moment forgets ideas two second after I thought them kind of person so I don't have anything concrete but.

1: a multi doctor story, with Donna, Clara, and Bill. (Or any one of them). Where the subplot is 13 struggling with guilt and making herself not stop a future that has already happened. Maybe 12 also feels guilt over Clara & Donna and 11 feels guilt over Donna and all their half hearted attempts to stop the past get interrupted by each other. Idk I just want Angst. (In this scenario 10 would just be getting gradually more worried about his future lmao)

2: I saw an amazing thread (link here) about the next Doctor & Master regenerating at the same time in the Tardis and both getting amnesia. Basically neither of them know which one is which and the entire story is them working together to figure out who they are... While they also deal with an alien threat. I love the idea that, because they're both bastards and two sides of the same coin, you literally can't tell who's who until the reveal. Bonus points if the main foreshadowing of their actual identity is that the Doctor is played by someone substantially taller.

Companion you'd like to see back: oh Ace, definitely. I think it would be wonderful if there was a 'School Reunion' (without the jealously though please) esque episode. It would be really fun to see her interact with a newer companion like Yaz. I've seen screenshots of a story I believe Sophie Aldred wrote(?) and yeah something like that.

Tagging, @dw-textposts, @queerconfusionthings, @oxbowreality, @alyona11, @bootstrapparadoxed, @uselesstimelords, @starlightanddragons, @being-of-rain, @the-patrex, @stillthesunkenstars, @yesokayiknow, @imnotgivingmynametoacomputer, @madfanboyinablueblog

Only if you want to ofc! Don't feel like you have to do it. I just like seeing other people's opinions :)

[theamazingcaptdeadpool]

Sinday Meme for Characters Who Share a Brain

The original meme can be found here: x Characters: Wade Wilson (@theamazingcaptdeadpool), Frank Castle (@mementomorimthrfckr) and Ajax (@cantfeelsht) Warning: An abundance of words, massive TMI, cursing duh, threats double duh, Any complaints may be directed at our lawyer; @hellsainted

Frank scoffed as Wade had spent the last three minutes trying to figure out a title, brainstorming no pun intended with himself – and the result he landed on you already read. “That sounds terrible, Wade.” he grumbled and sipped his coffee. A sort of bribe to get him to partake in the thing. “You come up with a better one then, Skulls, and we’ll use that.” Wade fired back, thankful that Frank wasn’t known for his creativity. “What was wrong with the original title?” Ajax wanted to know and crossed his arms. He was leaning nonchalantly against the wall, watching the other two with what one could describe as ‘calm suspiciousness’. “It was too long.” Wade complained. “Not catchy. And we’re replying as ourselves. The original title suggested that the co-pilot do it for us. Or arms dealer. Or whatever the hell you call her.” he explained, because he could see Frank straining as he tried to work it out. Be nice Wade. I’m always nice.  “Why don’t we just get this over with.” Ajax’s stare moved from Frank to Wade. His former subject was the most keen on this, after all – surely he would kick it off.  “Best idea you’ve had, Francis.” Wade murmured as he counted the questions of the meme. “Alright, there are twenty questions. Let the sinning commence!” he clapped his hands and rubbed his palms eagerly. 

“Jesus,” Frank exclaimed and leaned over the table, snatching the laptop from the merc with a dirty imagination mouth. “I’ll read these.” He glowered at Wade who raised his hands in defeat. There was no point in challenging the Punisher this early in the game.   “What muse needs the most attention on sinday?” Frank read and for some reason found himself looking glumly up at Ajax who shook his head.  “Wade it is then.” It wasn’t that Frank wouldn’t mind the attention… he just wouldn’t actively seek it.   “Yeah, that’s a no brainer.” Wade murmured, he had somehow produced whiteboard signs and written “Me!” on one side and “Not me!” on the other. What? I came prepared. I always do. Yes, that is me being suggestive. He gave one to Ajax who reluctantly accepted.  “Just making it easier for us.” He explained, surprisingly caring.  “Whatever it takes to shut you up,” Ajax looked at both sides to make sure he hadn’t written anything funny on his. 

“Easy, Francis,” Wade began only to be interrupted by Frank who read the next question loudly. “Which muse usually stays silent on sinday?” Frank sniffed. He hadn’t partaken in any sindays, yet. “I’m not it.” Wade said quickly. “I love me some sinday. Actually every day is sinday in my book. Doesn’t always have to be sex. Severe procrastination. Excess eating. Pillows of blow…” “You ever hear of TMI?” Frank put the laptop down on the table with more force than he intended.

  Wade wiped one of the sides of his sign clear and wrote “NO!” only to hold it up for Frank to see. None of them had noticed how Ajax was holding up his own sign reading “Me!” and it took all his effort not to wack Wade in the back of the head with it. “Let’s move on.” Ajax shot in, before Wade could start one of his endless rambles. Frank glared at Wade like a teacher glare at the kid in class that won’t ever stay silent – that they’re afraid to take their eyes off because they know they’ll cause trouble. “Share some headcanons about your muses’ sexual and/or romantic orientation… You want to go first, Ajax?” Frank offered without looking at him. “Francis.” Wade corrected him. “Can’t feel. He can’t get it up – and can’t get it off.” Ajax closed his eyes, his jaw tense. “Wade is right.” he murmured. “I’m asexual. Except for specific muses. That has to be talked over in detail.” “Contracts has to be signed. Very Christian Grey. Wouldn’t play with him.” Wade turned towards the room and whispered to no one. Well, at least none that Frank and Ajax were aware of. They shared a moment of confusion, waiting for something to happen – someone to reply. As the silence bordered awkward Frank nodded and continued with the survey; “I’m bi with a preference towards women, but I’m not really looking for anything.” His voice was low. He wet his lips and averted his eyes, bouncing his foot impatiently. 

“I’m pan – the comics has me paired up with women and Spiderman. Over here, meaning Tumblr, I have a preference towards men.” Wade stated the obvious. Frank drew a breath to read the next question, but then Wade continued; “Men with metal arms. Men that are Avengers. Men that’s purple… Is that even a man?” “You done?” Frank wanted to know. They’d missed how Wade had fixed the other side of his sign – and was now holding up a “YES!”. “What are your favourite ship for your muses?” Frank was visibly confused by the question.   “For me it’s the Millenium Falcon,” Wade answered – hoping it would make it easier for the not so shockingly thick marine. “Oh, and I love my warship.” “I don’t ship.” Ajax shrugged. He saw no need to. “Cablepool, Winterpool, Cappool, Hawkpool – the one with Colossus, I forgot its name…” Wade counted on his fingers. “Thunderpool is kinda cute.” “You any idea what he’s on about?” Frank turned towards Ajax. “You don’t want to know, mate.” Ajax said with a sigh. “It’s a question about who you see yourself with.” “No one.” Frank answered shortly. He couldn’t be with anyone, because whoever got close to him ended up dead or worse. 

“Why so glum sugarplum?” Wade leaned forward. “What about Castlevania?” “Are you…” Frank was about to get fired up but by some miracle managed to compose himself. He cleared his throat and shifted. “Nevermind. The next question – “ Frank decided he best ignore the entire thing; he thought they were done with Castlevania. He was not to be ‘shipped’ as the kids called it – with Dracula. “Which muse is the kinkiest?” “Next!” Wade called – he was holding up his sign. “Me!” it read. And maybe that was the truth. Wade is into a lot of things, after all… “Which muse has the strangest kinks?” Frank read warily. Wade slammed his sign down on the table to grab everyone’s attention and held it up again. He pointed to it and looked between the other two; “Unless you want to list some kinks?” “Next.” Ajax nodded towards the screen. “You sure, Francis? I won’t kink shame. Maybe I could interest you in – “ “Next!” Ajax insisted. “Choose one muse and tell us how they lost their virginity.” Frank read. He thought perhaps they could draw straws or… “Rock papers scissors lizard Spock.” Wade said with remarkable speed and accuracy. 

“I lost mine to and older girl at one of the many orphanages I visited.” Ajax said flatly, wanting them to believe that it hadn’t really mattered.   “You’re so boring, Francis.” Wade pouted. “At least give us some details.” “It was quick, messy and left me wanting more.” Ajax squared his jaw. “Satisfied?” “Unlike you’ll ever be again; yes. Thank you. I’m touched, Francis.” Wade sniffed as if he was sincerely moved, whilst Frank hid a chuckle and shook his head, clearly relieved that he didn’t have to spill the beans.

“Each of us have to share a random sex fact… I…” Frank rubbed the back of his neck. “I like it when the woman is on top of me, so I can see her pleasure and have her in control.” he admitted. Wade gave an approving nod. “I prefer to be the sub – to give up the control, but more often than not I’m taking it because I get impatient – I think. What about you Francis? Any sexy secrets about your preferences? Oh that’s right…” “I get off on watching others emotions. Pleasure – pain? Doesn’t matter.” Ajax admitted – his tone threatening. Wade gasped loudly and murmured ‘Sadist’ under his breath. Frank blinked and tilted his head slightly to the side – as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Remind me again why we haven’t killed this guy?” Frank asked Wade. “You tell me. Hey, Francis, would you like to hurt me a little – how about that, huh?” “Yes, how about that?” Ajax pushed off the wall, his eyes like pits of hell. Dark, angry. A far too familiar smirk tugging at his lips. 

Frank’s arm shot out – stopping the villain from getting too close. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Wade taunted him. “Yeah,” Ajax snarled – pressing against Frank’s hand. “If you could organise… Seriously who made up these questions? Are these,” Frank turned the laptop around, unable to mask how mortified he felt. “Are you behind these Wade? Because I swear to god…” “I can take the blame for a lot of things – but not that.” Wade pointed at the screen. “Finish the question. I’m curious now.” Frank sighed and tilted his head upwards, as if he was asking for patience. 

“Alright. Alright… Argh… God. If you could organise a threesome involving three of your muses, who would you choose? I guess this one isn’t for us. And… heaven forbid the three of us ever get put in a room together again. Because the next time? I won’t go easy.” Frank pushed Ajax so he fell back against the wall and stared threateningly at Wade. “Careful Frank, he might like it.” Wade taunted. Ajax pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He hated Wade for his ability to get to him.   “The next one is for her as well. What muse she’d like to write a ship for…” Frank shook his head again. “What the fuck’s up with all these damned boats? Anyway… I assume she’d like to try me out with Billy.” “Kinky.” Wade purred. “I’m already in quite a few ships. If we’re adding to… pfft.” Truth was, Wade was content with his situation, so it took some thinking. “A Nathan would be nice? And no ships for Francis. His ship sank the day he let Michael Jackson Dr. Killebrew fiddle with his body.” Wade clicked his tongue and winked at Ajax. 

“How can you possibly know – “ Ajax began – cut off by Frank as he read the next question. “What are some preferences when deciding whether or not to ship a muse?” Frank frowned at the screen. “Read the rules, play nice, write well – I don’t know.” Wade hummed in agreement.  “And don’t assume we’ll ship – I don’t know about the other two, but I’m picky.” “You? Picky?” Ajax scoffed and leered at him. “Do you get to be?” “Well – I can’t fuck all the people who’s bummed because you couldn’t get it up for them.” Wade fired back. 

Frank rubbed his face – considering shooting them both. Ajax wouldn’t feel it, but he could die. Wade would feel it and couldn’t die. What a trio they were… “Are you guys DONE bickering yet?” he sounded tiredly. “Never,” Wade answered as he breathed in. Ajax rolled his eyes. “I prefer missionary or the cowgirl or whatever it’s known as these days. I like the intimacy. The control or giving up of. I like to touch, to see…” Frank’s words grew with passion as he spoke. Wade blinked and looked at him. “What are you on about?” “The next question. I figured I might finish this on my own and get the hell out.” Frank was done with the bullshit.   “What was the question?” Wade put his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Headcanons, sex positions.” Frank scratched his cheek, and glanced up at Ajax. “You outta this one, too?”

“Against a wall… Or relentless teasing,” Ajax didn’t even get to finish before Wade corrected him; “Endless foreplay,” “To draw as much sound from the other part as possible.” Ajax blinked and turned slowly towards Wade. “What about you then, collared and on your knees begging for it?” 

“Actually that’s not that far from the truth. But I like a lot of things. Depends on my partner and whether I’m giving up control or not.” Wade shrugged. “How much time – “ Frank already began reading the next question. “ – none, then.” Wade sighed. “Has she written smut for you guys? Because that’s a no for me.” Frank didn’t take his eyes off the screen – this he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Ajax arched an eyebrow and cocked his head, Wade nodded vigorously. “I suppose neither of you know whether she prefers to write it or not?” Frank huffed and leaned back into his chair. “How are we supposed to answer these questions when they’re not even… yes… Wade?” Much to his surprise Wade has raised his hand. 

“Thank you. I happen to know that she don’t mind writing smut, but she has to feel comfortable with the person she’s writing it with.” “Multiship or singleship?” Frank turned to Ajax. He couldn’t stand the guy, but at least he’d had the decency to explain some of these things to him. “Is no ship an option?” Ajax smirked. It should be pretty clear at this point that he didn’t ship. “It is now. I’m on the fence. I wouldn’t ship with someone exclusively I think.” Frank grimaced at himself, as he was now using Tumblr and games own terms.   “Good call, Frank! For me it’s multiship all the way.” Wade drew a horizontal line in the air before him. “I’m not exclusive either.” “Huh, I think we just answered the next question. So… What is our shipping preferences? Weren’t we over that? Chemistry?” Frank thought that slow-burn sounded nice, but neither of the other guys seemed like the “slow burn” type. He didn’t know how wrong he was in his assumptions. “Yeah. What would you call my ship with Thanos? Because… that’s like… unhealthy. Toxic ships? I guess we’re semi into that? Aren’t we Francis?” Wade winked at him. Damn was he having a field day. Ajax on his end just shook his head and slammed his shoulders back against the wall. “What’s an OC?” Frank glanced up from the screen, relieved that they were close to done.  “Original character. We don’t really do those.” Wade knew that was frowned upon in the roleplaying community, but he didn’t give a shit. “I don’t know about you, but I have more than enough with the canon characters.” On most days, he actually had more than enough with himself. Ajax and Frank both seemed on board with that. 

“So,” Frank turned the laptop off and pulled the screen down. “That’s it. We’re done. Let’s never do it again.” his knees cracked as he stood up. 

“Or the next time we can get naked and –“ Wade began,  Frank pulled his gun and aimed it straight at his crotch. 

“You don’t want to finish that sentence.” his voice was low, barely audible.  “You don’t want to shoot me, Francis might get off on it.” Wade kindly reminded him.  “Oh my fucking…” Frank rubbed his face and headed out of the room. There wasn’t enough booze in the world to make him forget. 

“Hey – are you off to kill someone? Do you have a team yet – hey Frank, wait up!” Wade picked up his swords and chased after the Punisher. Ajax sighed and pushed his shoulders down. Being around Wade always made him tense up. He rolled his head from side to side, then left through the back door – half expecting the two of them to be waiting to kill him.

If you made it this far, please let me know what you think. No, Frank didn’t kill Ajax. Yet. 

[jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets]

Lost in Translation

Title: Lost in Translation

Fandom: Star Trek

Pairing: Mckirk

Rating: i have recently been advised that i should use the “citrus scale” so... Lemon (eventually)

Tags: minor character death, hurt, little bit of self destruction, stranded, possible smut down the line

Summary:

    “Attention citizens. This is the crew of the Enterprise asking for your aid. On Stardate 2264.78 a shuttle manned by our captain and fourteen cadets was ambushed by an unknown source and chased out of sight of our ship and into open space. Those cadets as well as our captain, James Tiberius Kirk, are still missing. We are asking anyone with any information on their whereabouts, or regarding the attack, to please contact the Enterprise immediately. Our family would appreciate any assistance you can give.” 

AO3 Link

Masterlist

Special Thanks: wanted to give a huge shout out to my girl Katie, AKA @goingknowherewastaken for being a huge inspiration for this fic as well as for being a huge help (especially when it comes to putting up with my frantic ramblings lol) you're awesome boo <3

A/N: So this is a work in progress but it’s basically finished and I’ve been making great headway with this recently, so this will be the first fic I’ve ever finished! Woohoo!! And I'm thinking that I’ll probably stick to a Sunday post schedule.

    Also a little note for y’all to keep in mind while reading. I have tagged this fic “possible eventual smut” and that’s because right now I don’t have any planned buuuuut… I'm going to leave that option up to you guys! Between the readers here and AO3, if you're still with me by the end of this fic, leave a comment and let me know if you would be interested in an epilogue or end scene with smut. I’ll post a reminder at the end, but keep it in mind while reading.

    And if anyone is interested in being tagged for future posts for this fic or any others I may post, please let me know and I’ll add you to the list! Thanks for reading <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 5

    Leonard slammed a fist on his desk and ran the other hand down his face, ending the comm. He couldn’t take much more of this. If someone didn’t find Jim soon he was going to have some kind of nervous break down, in fact, he was surprised he hadn’t had one already.

    He decided to take himself up on that drink and left his office, not even giving a wave to anyone at the nurse’s station as he stalked past. He was on his way to his room when that old saying popped violently into his head, playing over and over again, “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone,” and hell if that weren’t true.

    He’d known Jim Kirk since the day he sat next to him on the shuttle in Riverside, and he’d be the last to admit that there had been something between them right from the get go, but now he wished he had. He’d spent years trying to convince himself that what he felt for the kid wasn’t anything more then friendship, but after a few close calls he started to realize that maybe he couldn’t keep up that charade for much longer. Now Jim was missing, and every emotion that he had tried for all those years to push down and ignore, because ain’t no way the kid would have feelings for a grumpy old man like him, came quickly flooding back to him, pushing him into a sort of self destructive spiral.

    It started slow. The first few nights Jim was missing he had spent them locked up in his room, trying to quell the frequent panic attacks that were suddenly plaguing him. Thoughts and visions filled his head of Jim dying in so many different ways. Jim floating in space, mangled in the shuttle crash, by infection, by dehydration or starvation… alone. The thoughts quickened his heart and tightened his chest, but no matter what he did he couldn’t vanquish the thought of Jim dying alone and without knowing what he should have told him years ago.

    He had hoped that throwing himself fully into the rescue efforts for Jim and the cadets would maybe help deter these thoughts, but it only made them worse. Each day he would join Spock, Nyota, and a few other members of their crew in mapping out different routes and possible locations. Only, when Leonard started seeing for himself what kinds of planets Jim could have landed on, he was sure one of his panic attacks would turn into a heart attack. As he stood motionless and silent in the ready room off the bridge, looking at pictures and listening to Spock talk about different planets along the shuttles possible routes, “volcanic planet,” “made up of 87.65% water,” “host to a race of hostile inhabitants,” and more, Leonard could hardly contain his very high, and quickly rising, level of anxiety.

    He managed to hide it fairly well during these meetings with Jim's rescue crew. Holding the emotions inside and saving his attacks for when he was in the privacy of his own room, alone, where he could drown his fears in a glass of bourbon. And that’s where it quickly went down hill, and fast. What started off as his usual one or two glasses a night, turned into three, then four, and eventually he found that even the entire bottle couldn’t stop the scenes from running through his mind.

    Now, eighteen days into searching for Jim and again coming up empty handed, he found himself sitting on his couch, having already emptied bottle number one, and half way through bottle number two. And even that didn’t seem to be enough tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Lieutenants log, Stardate 2264.96. It has been eighteen days and still no sign of the captain or our missing cadets. I have sent out alerts in all areas of the quadrant in all native languages as well as several foreign ones, and still no one has reported seeing our missing shuttle or crew members...”

    Nyota sighed, running a hand down her face. She had been on the bridge for she didn’t know how long, composing alerts and translating them into as many languages as she knew in an attempt to find Jim, or at the very least have someone come forward with some information that could lead them in the right direction. At this point they were grasping at straws and practically guessing when it came to searching planets. They might as well have closed their eyes and thrown a dart at a map. They had no idea where the shuttle had even gone, and no one in this entire quadrant seemed to know either.

    She ended her comm and turned back to the screen where she was working on her latest translation. The bridge had been quiet all shift, everyone solely focused on finding their missing captain and crew.

    She heard the rush of air as the turbo lift doors opened and closed, and heard the footsteps as they walked steadily across the bridge and stopped behind her. Though she didn’t turn around and instead continued her work.

    A gentle hand touched her shoulder, an attempt to gain her attention. “Lieutenant,” the steady voice of their acting captain broke through the silence, “have you been here for both shifts?”

    She turned to face Spock, realizing now that the bridge crew behind him were not the faces her usual shift crew. Quickly turning back to her screen and looking at the time she sighed and slumped back in her chair, “Yeah, I guess I have.”

    Spock leaned over her slightly, looking at the screen, “Are you sending out another alert about the captain and the cadets?”

    “Yes.”

    “How many have you sent out?”

    “Not including the thirteen native languages of this quadrant…” she thought for a moment, “this will be the eighth.”

    “What language?”

    “This one’s in Klingon.”

    “May I?” She gestured to the screen and pushed her chair to the side so Spock could better view the message. He leaned fully forwards and began reading the text, “Attention Klingon citizens in the Omarian quadrant. This is the crew of the Enterprise asking for your help. On Stardate 2264.78 a shuttle manned by our captain and fourteen cadets was ambushed by an unknown source and chased out of sight of our ship. Those cadets as well as our captain, James Tiberius Kirk, are still missing. We are asking anyone with any information on their whereabouts, or regarding the attack, to please contact the Enterprise immediately. Our family would appreciate any assistance you can give.”

    When he finished reading the passage, he backed away and turned to her, hands folded behind his back, “Do you think the Klingons would help us if they did hold information pertinent to the captain’s rescue?”

    She shrugged, “It’s worth a shot at this point. So far everything else has been a bust.”

    “You do have a point, Lieutenant.” She nodded in response and Spock watched as her head slowly began to fall into her chest. He placed his hand on her shoulder again, jolting her from her half asleep state, “Come, Lieutenant, you must rest. If any information is discovered I will contact you immediately.”

    “No,” she said as she stood from the chair and Spock began gently guiding her towards the lift, “Spock, I have a few more languages I wanted to translate that message into. Just-”

    “Nyota,” he stopped her with a hard look, “we will be no help to Jim, the missing cadets, or the rest of the crew if we are not well rested. Get some rest and we can continue the translations tomorrow.”

    “Yeah,” she nodded, getting into the lift, “you're right. I’ll be here tomorrow morning to continue the translations.”

    Spock gave a nod as the doors closed and she ordered the lift to her deck. In seconds the lift doors opened again and she slowly made way to her room. She was just about there when a familiar blonde head of hair came towards her from down the hall.

    “Christine, what are you doing up so late?”

    “Emergency surgery on one of the engineering crew,” she huffed a breath and rubbed her already red eyes, “I was actually already off shift and in bed when M’benga called me in to help.”

    “Doesn’t doctor McCoy usually take the reigns on these kinds of things?” She quirked a brow and crossed her arms, “At the very least he's usually present during the surgery.”

    “That’s just the thing,” she shrugged, “no ones been able to get him on comms. He left the sickbay around noon without telling anyone and no ones heard from him all day.”

    “That’s odd.”

    Christine rubbed a hand up her arm, shifting slightly closer to whisper to Nyota, “I'm worried about him, Ny,” she stepped back, not sure if she should disclose this next bit of information to a lieutenant, but she needed to tell someone and she didn’t think that someone should be Spock, considering his track record with Leonard, “I keep finding empty bottles of alcohol all over his office, he's leaving shift early, I don’t think he's done a surgery or even an exam on anyone in weeks, he won’t talk to anyone, spends most of his time in his office gaping at those maps. I know this all has to do with Jim going missing, and believe me we are all feeling the loss right now, but I'm afraid he's spiralling into something he won’t be able to pull himself out of and soon it might… it might get really bad if someone doesn’t pull him out.”

    “You’re right,” she nodded, “what's his room number? I’ll check on him.”

    Christine pulled up the padd in her hand and tapped away for a second before looking back to Nyota, “Room, 226.”

    “Ok, I'm on my way,” she turned to head back to the lift before calling out, “I’ll comm you when I’ve got him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

    Nyota arrived at room 226, the room of her good friend Doctor Leonard McCoy. She knocked and waited, looking around the deserted hallway. It was long past midnight and the ship was eerily quite as she waited. When she heard no answer or rousing from the other side she knocked again, this time shouting, “Leonard, I know you’re in there, please let me in. I know this change in you is because of Jim but we can talk it out, just open the door. People are worried about you.”

    Still no one answered and she would admit that she was starting to get worried too. She took another look around the halls, making sure she was still alone, before quickly hacking into the lock pad beside Len’s door and breaking in.

    She entered to the room in complete darkness. She closed the door behind her and called out for Len but again there was no answer. She ordered the computer to turn the lights on and gasped when she was finally able to see. And what she was met with was a room full of countless empty bottles, a passed out doctor on the floor in front of the couch, and a bottle of half empty bourbon slowly leaking in his hand.

    She ran over to him, turning him over and taking his face in her hands shaking him gently, “Leonard, wake up!”

    When all she got in response was a groan and a still unconscious Leonard, she grabbed her comm and called Christine.

    “Uhora!” Christine’s voice came through the comm, “Did you talk to Leonard?”

    “Not exactly,” she grunted as she hauled the limp doctor off the floor and slung his arm over her shoulder, “meet me back in sickbay, find an empty room and prep a bed for me. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

    Before anything else could be said she ended the call and began dragging Leonard across the room and slowly down the hall. He was no help to her at all, only grunting in protest at the upright position and occasionally shuffling his feet and throwing them both off balance. And after what seemed like a life time they finally made it to the lift that would take them to Christine.

    When she had first laid eyes on Leonard lying lifeless on the floor, her first thought was to call Spock. He was after all, their acting captain in Jim's stead, but when rethinking that strategy she decided against it. Spock and the doctor did not have the best past and she could only imagine the fight that would ensue when Spock found out that his chief medical officer had nearly drank himself into a coma. And with Jim being gone and tensions already on the rise, she was sure it would most likely end in a blood bath. Instead she decided it best to keep this incident quiet and leave Len in the trustworthy hands of nurse Chapel.

    When the lift door opened Christine was already there waiting for them, eyes blowing wide upon seeing the limp state of Leonard hanging off uhora’s shoulder. She quickly ran inside the lift taking up Len’s other side and lead them all to the room she had prepped in the far back of the sick bay.

    They landed Leonard on the bed and shaded the windows before closing the door, leaving the three alone.

    “What happened?!” Christine instantly began scanning Leonard, checking all vitals while waiting for an explanation.

    Uhora sighed, running a hand through her hair before answering, “Jim still missing has clearly put a strain on all of us in many different ways. I found him passed out in his room surrounded by empty bourbon bottles. I can’t even begin to guess how many bottles he drank before he passed out.”

    Chapel ran a scanner over him, eyes on her padd. “He’s lucky you found him and not someone else.”

    “Those were my thoughts exactly,” she nodded, “I thought about calling Spock for help but I thought maybe it would be best to keep this quiet.”

    “You’re probably right.” She pulled the scanner away, placing it back in her pocket and put the padd on the bedside table before turning to Uhora, “He’ll be fine. Nothing I can’t fix with a few good hypos.”

    Uhora smirked, crossing her arms and standing, “I’ll be back in the morning to talk to him when he’s more himself, so don’t let him leave this room until I get here.” Chapel nodded, “And you should get some sleep too, Christine. Don’t let this fool keep you up all night.”

    “I will. Good night, Nyota.”

    “Good night.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

    For the first time in a long time Leonard woke up to a blinding headache. His eyes were so heavy and sore they didn’t even want to open, and sitting up was definitely not going to happen right now.

    He ran a shaking hand down his face trying to remember what happened. He remembered making it to his room, then soon after receiving a comm from Spock informing him that the mission had yet again been a failure, and they would have to move on to another planet to search for Jim. Next thing, he had a bottle of bourbon in his hand and the rest is a haze.

    Though he didn’t remember what happened he was sure he could put two and two together and figure it out, but how he had ended up in the sickbay would remain a mystery.

    As he rifled through his jumbled thoughts for an answer the door opened, letting in a little too much light for his over sensitive eyes, and he shot a hand up to cover them.

    “Oh, is that too bright for you?” A woman's voice hit his ears and he groaned in response, “I'm sorry, let me just open it a little more then. Or how about I do you one better. Computer, lights one hundred percent!”

    As more light flooded the room Leonard hissed and rolled onto his side, which was a horrible idea as he felt his stomach lurch with the motion. Though he was far too stubborn to blow his stomach contents, and also not willing to stand to run to the bathroom, and forced himself to get over the sudden wave of nausea.

    He let out one more groan as his stomach screamed at him, along with his liver, and he slit his eyes open just enough to see a familiar figure standing before him, arms crossed. “Uhora. What are you doing here? And why am I here?”

    “You don’t remember?” She spat, walking closer to him, “I had to drag your dumb ass here after I found you passed out on your floor last night! I had to pull Chapel out of her room after she already worked a double and assisted on an emergency surgery because you were nowhere to be found, just so she could save your sorry hide from dying of alcohol poisoning!”

    Yep, it was just as he had suspected. He clutched his stomach as another wave of nausea hit him and he looked up at her, “Look, Uhora, I-”

    She raised a hand to stop him, “I don’t even want to hear your lame excuse Leonard. I had every intention of coming in here this morning and being as sympathetic as I could, but I couldn’t do it. I know your situation is slightly different then the rest of us, but you're not the only one who’s effected by Jim's absence!”

    His brows furrowed and he pulled himself up in the bed to sit up slightly, “What do you mean my situation is different?”

    She met his confused eyes with ones filled with pity. “Leonard, I know how you feel about Jim, I think everyone knows.”

    “How I feel about him?”

    She moved to sit on the edge of the bed facing him, all sternness replaced with the sympathy she spoke of before as she placed a hand on his shoulder, “The two of you were made for each other. I’ve seen the way you look at him, and how he looks at you, I’ve seen the way you act around each other and I know it’s more then merely friendship between you. But Leonard, you have got to pull yourself together. Jim is out there somewhere, along with fourteen other cadets who all need our help. No doubt when we find them they are going to need their chief medical officer in top condition to patch them up, and Jim is surely going to need his Bones just the same way.” He laid his head heavily back on the bed, letting it all sink in as she continued, “If you love him as much as I know you do, you'll sober up and get ready for when we do find him. And when he does get back, you should probably do something about that unspoken bond between the two of you. If this is anything to learn from, it’s that our lives are too dangerous and unpredictable to wait until it’s too late.”

    She gave his arm a pat and left him alone to wallow in her words. He sighed, thinking over what she had said and decided that as always, Uhora was right… about everything.

    He rolled to his side again and searched the room for his comm finding it on top of his shoes beside the bed. He grabbed it and rolled to his back, holding the comm in front of his face, before taking a deep breath and speaking as calmly as he could. “CMO’s log, stardate 2264.97. It’s… it’s day nineteen now in our search for the captain, and I won’t lie… I am struggling with his absence. After some much needed words of wisdom from Lieutenant Uhora I’ve come to realize some things, or rather finally come to fully accept them. All I’ve got to say is we better find you soon, Jim, and we better find you alive, cuz I’ve got a lot to say to you kid… a whole hell of a lot.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: A very Leonard heavy chapter XD And I hope y’all are still enjoying this despite the horrible things I do to our boys, but I promise there are some good times ahead! As always let me know if you would like to be tagged, and thanks for reading <3 Tags: @goingknowherewastaken @bi-e-ne @weresilver-in-space @medicatemedrmccoy @reading-in-moonlight @resistance-is-futile81 @0dannyphantom0 @haveyouseenmymind @jimboy-mccoy @flaminglupine

[v-thinks-on]

Out of Danger

Part 5 of A Crazy Little Thing Called Love

First | Previous | Next

“Bring the shuttlecraft aboard, Mr. Scott,” Captain James Kirk ordered.

As much as he wanted to run down to the shuttle bay and greet his first officer for himself, it was his duty as captain to stay on the bridge and wait patiently for said stubborn, alive first officer to come to him.

So, he leaned back in his chair and said, “Mister Chekov, lay in a course for Starbase Six. Ahead warp factor five. I'm still looking forward to a nice period of rest and relaxation on some lovely” - he watched a beautiful yeoman walk by - “planet.”

“Jim,” Dr. Leonard McCoy exclaimed, “What are you waiting for? I’m sure he’s docked by now!”

Jim turned to smile up at Bones. “Right you are.” He didn’t really want to wait, after all. He pushed himself out of the captain’s chair and headed for the lift. “Scotty, you have the con. We may be a while.”

They couldn’t get down to the shuttle bay fast enough as far as Jim was concerned, and Bones seemed to be of a similar mind, hurrying along as he grumbled with a wide grin about how Spock “better not have botched the rest of those tests!”

Spock was already waiting for him, composed and steady as ever - not a single hair out of place - as though he hadn’t just risked his life on some fool mission that had, of course, saved them all. Jim was glad he hadn’t waited. He rushed toward his first officer with a grin and grabbed him by the arms, just far enough away that he could look up into Spock’s eyes and see the telltale cues of a hidden smile all across his face.

“As you can see, Captain, I am quite alright,” Spock said, his voice warm and almost teasing.

“It’s good to see you too,” Bones put in, his voice dripping with good-natured sarcasm.

Spock gave him a nod in greeting.

“Now, what about those readings, Mr. Spock?” Bones asked.

Jim waved him off. “Later.” He offered Spock his other arm and asked with a grin, “Will you accompany me to my quarters?”

“I see how it is,” Bones grumbled, but his smile ruined the effect.

“Certainly, Captain,” Spock replied, and took the proffered arm with an almost smug expression.

Spock let his arm drop as they made their way through the corridors to the captain’s quarters, though Jim kept a hand on Spock’s forearm. When the door to his quarters closed behind them, Jim faced Spock and searched his eyes for permission as he slowly reached out to take Spock’s hand in his own.

Spock inclined his head, only barely, and extended his hand toward Jim, two fingers outstretched. The tips of their fingers brushed together and Jim inhaled sharply at the familiar, yet alien contact. Spock’s eyes fell closed to savor the influx of Jim’s thoughts and emotions.

When their hands separated and he opened his eyes once more, Jim was looking up at him with an open smile that only a human could give, yet which he chose to give to a Vulcan.

“You should not have risked the Enterprise on my behalf,” Spock said softly.

Jim’s expression turned unyielding. “I let you go because I knew you’d have a better chance of coming back. I wasn’t about to let you die when I knew we could save you.”

“It could have cost the ship,” Spock began to protest.

Jim cut him off, “But it didn’t. You’re not about to make me regret saving your life.”

Spock nodded in reluctant acknowledgement. “Understood.”

“Good,” Jim said with a wry smile. “Now, I know just the place for shore leave, a veritable Garden of Eden.”

The planet Neural may have been a Garden of Eden once, but was no longer. Someone was giving the natives weapons, primitive by modern standards, but deadly to peaceful men who had known nothing stronger than a bow and arrow. And Spock had paid the price. Jim stared at him, laid out on the only occupied cot in sick bay. Again, they didn’t know whether he would live or die and there was nothing Jim could do about it.

Jim was tired of his first officer risking his life on his behalf. He was tired of losing him, hoping beyond hope that he would somehow make it out alive - hoping that this would not be the last time. Again, he tried not to wonder what he would do if Spock died, how he could continue to captain without Spock by his side.

He could not just stand there doing nothing. Jim made up his mind.

He turned to Dr. McCoy and declared, “You and I are transporting down.”

It was an unmitigated disaster. Even the sound of Spock’s voice, alive and well, was little consolation for what he had done to a once peaceful planet.

“We’re very tired, Mr. Spock,” Jim said into his communicator. “Beam us up home.”

Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy materialized in the transporter room as Spock stepped through the door.

He assessed the situation with a single sweeping glance and turned to Dr. McCoy. “Is the captain unharmed?”

“Physically,” Dr. McCoy replied. “What about you?”

“My trance was successful, though I did not expect to find that the captain had returned to the planet’s surface.” Spock gave the captain another searching look.

Jim just shook his head.

Spock glanced back at Dr. McCoy who merely gestured toward the captain as though to say, “go ahead.”

Spock stepped toward the captain. Very softly, he said, “Jim, a word?”

Jim nodded. “Sure,” he said. He sounded more tired than he had over the communicator.

So, Spock led the way to the captain’s quarters, where they often found themselves, whether it was at the end of a particularly harrowing mission or for a game of chess after their shift. Jim sat down on the end of his bed and gestured for Spock to join him.

“Something is troubling you,” Spock remarked as he obliged.

Jim leaned against Spock’s shoulder and let out a sigh.

“I can attempt to relieve some of the discomfort,” Spock offered, a hand outstretched in a suggestion of a mind meld.

Jim shook his head into Spock’s shoulder. “It won’t help Tyree or the hill people.”

Spock lowered his hand. He hesitated. “I am sorry that I was not there to help you.”

“I don’t know what you could have done, unless Vulcans happen to be able to turn back time,” Jim said.

“We cannot,” Spock replied. “Were the Klingons responsible?”

Jim nodded. “They were giving the village people weapons - I can’t fathom why - and teaching them how to make them, so we couldn’t just take them away. Maintaining the balance of power was the only option.”

Spock’s eyebrows rose at the suggestion, but he knew better than to tell Jim what he already knew. Instead he said, “At times, it seems it is crueler not to interfere.”

“I don’t know which is crueler,” Jim said with a sigh.

“You said the hill people are peaceful; are you certain they will use the weapons even if we supply them?” Spock asked.

“I made sure of that too,” Jim said bitterly. “Tyree was the most peaceful of them, but when the village people killed his wife all he could think of was revenge. I half hope he won’t actually be able to go through with it, but then I’ll have condemned him to death. Which is worse?”

Slowly, Spock reached his arm around Jim’s back to rest a hand on his shoulder. Jim put his hand on top of it and Spock felt a turbulent rush of emotion; guilt and frustration and a powerful undercurrent of exhaustion.

“Jim,” Spock murmured, as he waded through Jim’s feelings, “You need rest.”

Jim let out a long sigh and finally nodded in assent.

“Allow me to help,” Spock offered.

Jim waved off the suggestion of a mind meld.

“No,” Spock said, “Not a meld. Your body is as tired as your mind.”

Jim cocked his head to get a better look at him. “Okay,” he said with a shade of a smile, and shrugged off the vest he had been wearing to blend in with the people of Neural.

Spock positioned himself behind Jim and set his warm hands on Jim’s cold shoulders.

Jim sighed and leaned into the touch.

Spock worked his way down Jim’s back, massaging the tension out of each muscle and sending as much calm as he could back through the contact to soothe Jim’s raging emotions. He only stopped as he felt Jim begin to doze.

He helped Jim down, onto his back. Spock watched his chest rise and fall, slow and steady. He was not asleep yet, but it would not be long. Spock tore himself away and turned to leave.

Before he could go, Jim reached out and grabbed his hand. Spock felt a surge of gratitude through the contact.

Jim could tell that Spock wasn’t happy about the prospect of allowing advanced alien intelligences to claim their bodies, even for a short time. Spock hadn’t protested against it, in fact he had spoken out in favor of the captain’s plan, but he was quieter than usual. And as Jim finally returned to his body, the two surviving aliens dissipating into space, he did not miss Spock standing there, his eyes locked on the ground.

It did not take long for Spock to come to him. Spock was silent, deep in thought, as they walked back from their shift. They stopped in front of the door to the captain’s quarters and Jim was about to wave Spock inside, when he turned to the captain. Their eyes met for the first time since they had returned to themselves. There was something pleading in Spock’s expression, and Jim’s eyes narrowed in concern.

Spock said, his voice almost inaudible, “I nearly cost you your life.”

Jim’s expression hardened. He swept Spock inside, to the privacy of his quarters, and turned to face him. “That wasn’t you and you know it.”

“I could feel his intent when he took over my body, but I could not stop him,” Spock said.

“Of course you couldn’t stop him,” Jim exclaimed with a wave of his arm. “While we were in those orbs, none of us could do anything.”

“I detected something amiss before then, but I did not pay it sufficient heed,” Spock insisted.

Jim put a hand on Spock’s shoulder and gave him a small smile. “We all had misgivings and decided it was worth the risk. None of us had any way of knowing it would go like that. I’m just glad Sargon was able to come up with a plan to stop Henoch without killing you - and that it worked. I wish we could have given them real bodies, but I don’t think even their technology could make something that could really feel.”

“You have done more than enough for them,” Spock said, his voice surprisingly sharp.

Jim’s eyes widened, and then he realized what was going on and gave Spock a smile. “I’m sorry for worrying you.” he said gently.

“To worry would be illogical,” Spock replied, dismissing his apology outright. “I merely intended to remind you that you are essential to the operation of this ship and therefore should not needlessly endanger yourself.”

“You didn’t object to me becoming one with Sargon, then?” Jim pressed his luck a little, his smile turned mischievous.

“It was an unnecessary risk,” Spock said.

“I’ll try to be more careful in the future. I wouldn’t want to make you jealous,” Jim teased. He brushed his hand against Spock’s and tried to convey all of the comfort he could.

Spock quirked an eyebrow at him, even as the corners of his lips turned upward at the contact and the accompanying wave of affection. “Jealousy is illogical.”

“Of course,” Jim answered without missing a beat.

[calliethetrekkie]

Triumvirate Prompts: Day 19

#19. Favorite Spock Moment

Because I suck at just picking one thing, I shall give you a Top 5 list, and will also do so for Kirk and McCoy's prompts. So for Spock, going off the top of my head in no particular order...

1. The Naked Time Breakdown

Am I a horrible person for picking this? To me, this is when Spock began to click as a three-dimensional character. Up to that point, he'd been the smart character. The composed, no-nonsense, logical second-in-command who was the smartest man in the room. He'd spoken about being half-human before and how he was able to live with it... but we see here that no, it's not that simple. Upon the illness removing his emotional control, he gets into a conference room, tries to use his usual methods to keep himself controlled, and just... breaks down into tears. It shows us that there is more to this guy. He does have feelings and emotions that he keeps suppressed, and the more that the show goes on, the more we realize why. It really helped open Spock up as a character for me.

2. Climax of The Galileo Seven

My opinion of this episode probably differs from some, since I think that Spock is very much culpable for some of the troubles in the episode and that he earned the mistrust of the crew. He's clung so hard onto his logic and come across as a cold hardass with a superiority complex, and refuses to listen to anything that anyone else has to say or suggest. All that did was lower morale and worsen the situation. But here? With nothing left to lose, Spock is finally able to let that logic go and do something utterly insane by ejecting the shuttle fuel. It's an utterly insane plan that by all means should have failed... but it didn't. It shows us that Spock can make the more, for lack of a better word, human choice and take the risk. Sure, he tries to deny it at the end, so he still has a long ways to go. But it's still a step in the right direction and a great piece of character development that saved the day at the end.

3. Protecting McCoy in Bread and Circuses

Okay, this one might be self-indulgent, but can you blame me? It's such a good moment. He and McCoy have been bickering all episode, even more than normal. But once they're forced into the arena with McCoy hopelessly out of his depth, what happens? As soon as he's down, Spock intervenes and nerve pinches the opponent before McCoy can be harmed. Remember by doing this, he broke the rules and Kirk thus volunteers himself for execution to spare the two of them. That means by saving McCoy, he's condemned Kirk. He tries to play it off as losing the doctor would be consequential to the ship, but McCoy doesn't buy the BS, calls him out on his emotional suppression, and makes it clear that he's worried about Jim also. All because Spock won't just admit that he saved McCoy because he cares about him and panicked. I think it goes a long way into showing that McCoy understands Spock more than he thinks and bringing that to light to him and giving more insight on how ashamed Spock can be when it comes to his emotions. It's a strong scene for both Spock and McCoy, but it goes a long ways in allowing us to better understand Spock.

2. The Sacrifice in The Wrath of Khan

I don't think you can mention Spock moments without bringing up this scene. It's arguably the most famous moment in Star Trek history. With the ship in danger, Spock acts to save everyone. He knows full well that he'll be killed by radiation, but he doesn't hesitate. McCoy tries to stop him and gets knocked out/given Spock's soul as a result. Spock sacrifices his life to save the many. To save his friends. Yes, we all know that he gets brought back at this point, so maybe that undermines the impact a little, but it's still such a strong moment. After watching Spock grow and struggle all these years, it all culminates at this moment. The moment where he says goodbye to Kirk? Yeah, that's... that's a lot.

5. This Scene from The City On The Edge Of Forever

EDITH: [...] You know as well as I do how out of place you two are around here. SPOCK: Interesting. Where would you estimate we belong, Miss Keeler? EDITH: You? At his side, as if you've always been there and always will.

It took me forever to think of one more thing for this list. I'm not even sure if this one really counts. But I thought about this, and it seems like the perfect moment to end on. I am nowhere invested in the Kirk and Spock relationship as the vast majority of the fandom is. I'm sorry, I like them, but there's just nothing worth exploring with them for me. But there is no denying how loyal and devoted to Kirk that Spock is. There's so many episodes and moments that I can point to showing this. But I think that this bit in The City on the Edge of Forever sums it all up perfectly. He's always right by his captain's side. Whether it be to follow him into a mission, keep him focused on his captain duties, throw himself in the way of harm for him, he is always there. He outright calls Kirk his closest friend (as well as McCoy, we are NOT taking McCoy erasure on here) in Amok Time hence why he asked him to go with him to Vulcan. Their trust in each other is so strong and Edith Keller, who has pretty much known them for just a few hours, puts it perfectly.

...also Spock's reaction when Kirk insinuates that working with 30's resources is 'asking too much' of him. Seriously, his face when Kirk dares says that.

It's so beautiful XD

[randomnessunicorn-imagine]

🌠 STAR TREK- FANFICTION 🌠

This is my first Star Trek fanfiction and I truly wanted to write something about it even if it’s nothing special but I could not resist! I'm trying to emulate the best I can the style of the classic episodes of Star Trek. Some elements of this fanfiction have been invented by me. This story will be composed by some chapters, it’s better this way. I accept every kind of advice as long as they are expressed with politness. I hope you can appreciate it and sorry if you’ll find some mistakes, it can happen, and the summer heat does not help me at all to think properly, I’m melting. By the way, good reading!

Don’t forget to tell me your opinion about and leave a like or share if you liked it, it would make the writer very happy.

FANDOM: Star Trek: The Original Series

PROMPT: The Collector [ by @badthingshappenbingo ]

WORDS: 1888

✰ THE COLLECTOR: first chapter ✰

Stardate: 41254.7.

 Captain's log: My faithful crew and I are traveling to a planet called Xenox Z. It will soon become part of the federation. We have been instructed to accompany their State Councillor to have some diplomatic discussion about their admission in the United Federation of Planets and to attend the ceremony. Our destination will be reached in ten terrestrial hours.

 The planet of Xenox Z was in an unexplored area of the galaxy and therefore, its entry into the federation would have allowed the exploration of new areas and the creation of new space colonies. This travel was extremely important for the achievement of an intergalactic peace between every living creature of this vast universe.

The legendary Enterprise was following the route to the planet Xenox Z, crossing corners of the galaxy that were still waiting to be explored but, despite the immense beauty of the stars and the infinite space, something disturbed the young soul of the Captain Kirk who was questioning himself about the strange message sent to him by the Starfleet.

This message informed the captain about the strange disappearances that were taking place in the galaxy. It was assumed that they were real kidnappings and someone was plotting against the Federation. Heads of state, generals and scientists disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Nothing was left of them, not even a trace. As if they had disappeared in cosmic space or sucked into a black hole.

Captain Kirk did not want to make his crew worried with his anxieties and he showed the usual grit and bravado that made of him the brave captain of today. This was not his responsibility and neither his mission since some experts have been assigned for this task by the Starfleet but the Captain could not ignore the danger of this situation.

"Mr. Chekov, have you calculated the route?" The captain asked, sitting on his throne as he watched the screen showing the immense spatial vault. A show that the captain would never tire of observing and that always filled his soul with pride.

"Route already calculated, Captain. We are traveling to the Xenoxian space station.” The young Chekov answered professionally without taking his eyes off his machinery.

The current task of the Enterprise was to withdraw the State Councillor of the planet Xenox Z, who would have been the mediator of the communication between the human beings and the Xenonians because the language of this people was unknown to men. The State Councillor proved to be very interested and open to this work and very curious about the human culture as well.

A few minutes passed from the order of the Captain and everything seemed to proceed according to the calculations.

Mr. Spock was silent and focused on his work as usual, Mr. Chekov and his colleague Sulu were driving the ship and then Uhura received new messages from the Starfleet about their task.

"Mister Captain, a message from the Starfleet. They warn us that the Xenonian Councillor has arrived at the meeting place and is ready to be teleported.” Uhura notified the Captain.

"Tell them that we are ready to welcome our guest." The captain said firmly and then he stood up his chair, making his way with Mr. Spock, Dr. Bones and Mr. Scott to the transporter room.

Everything proceeded according to plan and yet, the thought of those poor men disappeared in enigmatic circumstances continued to torment the captain’s mind because he felt powerless in view of this cruelty.

All the missing men were important and successful elements of the federation, indispensable for this galaxy, but they were taken away by an unknown entity, perhaps a ravenous alien, a criminal who ran free to the galaxy. Whoever they were, they had to be stopped.

The doctor, who knew Jim more than anyone else, noticed the discomfort in his eyes. He was able to understand when his friend was emotionally hurt and therefore could not help but ask him what happened to make him so disquiet.

"Are you alright, Jim?" Bones asked before entering into the transporter room.

The captain turned, forgetting his worries because he, the great captain Kirk, could not be seen vulnerable in front of his men. He answered to him with a confident smile.

"I'm fine, Bones. Your profession makes you see disease everywhere, but thank you for your interest.” Jim said ironically, as he watched the transporter platform and then he looked at Scott, giving him the order to activate the teleporter.

"Energy, Mr. Scott." The captain ordered.

"Yes, sir." And Scott operated by actionizing the usual machine to make the transporter work.

From the beam of light of the transporter came out an humanoid alien with a bluish skin, a bald head and a blue goatee adorned his chin. They were rather short, and they wore a long grey tunic with long sleeves that covered their hands.

"Howdy, Terrestrial. I give you my greetings from the planet Xenox Z. I am the Councillor of Xenox.” Said the alien showing a bow. They appeared polite and friendly and they tried to emulate the human’s tradition. It seemed they appreciated the human race and so they tried to use the human’s vocabulary to impress their future allies.  

Then the captain approached the guest, followed by his subordinates.

“Welcome to the Enterprise. We’re glad you and your people have decided to be part of the Federation and we’ll do our best to make your trip comfortable.” Said the Captain in his usual proud tone of voice and then he turned toward his men, presenting them, “Let me introduce you to my first officer, Mr. Spock, my chief medical Leonard McCoy and the head engineer, Mr. Scott.” Everyone of them nodded as they were called by the Captain.

“I’m sure it’ll be a great journey. Hope you don’t mind if I take a look around. I find your starship extremely mesmerising. I’m always been interested in your culture, you are such an extravagant race.” commented the Councillor and the Captain smiled seeing how this alien looked more like a human than a Xenoxian. Evidently, they were trying to adapt themselves to this new cultural environment and actually, the Councillor has been the one to recommend to his own sovereign to take part of the United Federation of Planets.

“I’m glad for the interest you’ve got for our culture. Mr. Scott, why don’t you accompany our curious guest to a tour across the Enterprise before showing them their accommodation?” proposed the Captain and the alien seemed agreed with this idea.

“I’d be honoured, Captain.” They nodded and then they followed Scott to explore the mythic Enterprise.

The preoccupations that were consuming the Captain mind have been quell for some time and it seemed everything was going well.

Jim and Mr. Spock came back to the bridge, while the Doctor returned to his infirmary. Bones did not forget how the Captain looked like before the meeting with the Councillor, he understood there was something Jim was hiding but, since the physical condition of the Captain seemed perfect and he did not show signs of sorrow anymore, the doctor had no reason to worry. The captain was able to take care of himself better than anybody else in this vast ship.

This mission was important and the Captain took his duties very seriously. It was normal he wanted to make a good impression to his new guest and show how the human race was worthy and determinate to accomplish its responsibilities. Jim was the most brilliant human the doctor knew and so he got worried a bit much sometimes.

On the screen of the bridge appeared an unknown planet, one of the many unexplored planets that constituted this part of the universe. Nothing seemed to be a source of concern, for now.

"Captain. The engines have suddenly stopped working but no failure is reported in the system.” Chekov warned the Captain about the unexpected inconvenience happened.

"We are entering in the orbit of that planet, it seems, we are attracted to it, Mister." Sulu said this time.

"Bridge to Scott. Have you verified some failure in the engines? "Asked the Captain to Scott, calling him from the intercom.

"The engines do not seem damaged. They should work very well.” Scott explained, perplexed.

"Then find out what's wrong, warn me about the situation." The Captain ordered and then he closed the call.

"The atmosphere of this planet is out of the norm, Captain. Its gravity is attracting us to the core. It's like someone trying to force us to stay into its orbit.” Spock explained, calm and attentive as usual. Not even the slightest preoccupation could be perceived in him, even the Captain appeared controlled but his feelings were mixed with worries, the same worry he thought he had forgotten.

"What kind of planet is this?" Jim asked.

"The computer defines it as a class-K planet, arid and desert, but its characteristics are abnormal compared to the other known planets of the same class. No form of life seems to inhabit the surface of the planet. The computer only reveals an unidentified source of energy.” Mr. Spock said controlling the data in the computer.

"What kind of energy?" The captain asked, looking at Mr. Spock with a stern look.

"The energy of a living being, Captain." Spock nodded, moving close to Jim, admiring the planet being shown on the large computer monitor.

"So we're stuck here until Mr. Scott finds out a way to reactivate the engines?" The Captain asked, trying to hide his irritation. Mr. Spoke just nodded, because it seemed the only solution now: to wait even if this phenomena was very strange and that planet seemed hiding a secret.

It could be hypnotized that someone on that planet was interested in meeting the crewmembers, even if they did not know the source of that energy so the captain could not ignore the current problematic.

Maybe the only thing they could do now was exploring the surface of that planet and doing some research to find the cause of this block and to locate the entity hidden behind that energy, if it could be a threaten for the Enterprise, they had to understand and be ready to every emergency.

"Captain, someone is trying to communicate with us from the planet but the frequency seems to be disturbed. It is impossible to contact the sender.” Uhura warned the captain.

"That planet must not be completely uninhabited if they are sending us signals. Do you have any theories, Mr. Spock?” Jim asked to the efficient Spock.

"Theories, Captain? This planet possess some infrequent characteristics for a common class-K planet As if someone had rigged with the nature law of the planet.” Spock explained calmly and afterwards the Captain ordered to Spock to follow him.

"Prepare a reconnaissance team! You, Mr. Spock, and the doctor Mccoy will come with me. The entity that sent that message is located to that planet and, surely, they will know how to release the Enterprise from this block” The captain explained the plan and then he went with his men in the transporter room.

The entire group prepared itself to be teleported to the mysterious planet, aware of the unknown dangers they would find there.

 [ To be continued … ]

[xephinatheeleven]

Can we all just stop scrolling for a moment to think about how underappreciated film score composers are! Without the music that they compose/write, movies would not have the impact they have on our hearts!  

Lets analyze this shall we? Let’s start with ones everyone knows, and get more obscure as we go!

 -Star Wars IV: The Hologram/Binary Sunset (John Williams) - This piece of music is heard when Luke Skywalker looks up at the setting twin suns of Tatooine.  Can you imagine Luke just standing there without any music; it wouldn’t be impactful with the feeling of loss of him being an orphaned child living with his aunt and uncle, all the while he wants to go and be his own person but he is stuck on this desert planet.  The harsh strings really prove to you that Luke Skywalker is growing up and becoming his own person, followed by the mellow flutes that allow you to understand that he is still a kid as well.  Without the music none of these feelings would have been conveyed!

 -Titanic: Hymn to the Sea/My Heart Will Go On (James Horner) – Before I start on this, no Celine Dion did NOT write My Heart Will Go On, James Horner did.  Anyway back to the point.  This movie is one of romance and tragedy, almost none of which would be conveyed without the ominous and melodious soundtrack.  The dark feeling that comes with the vocals and bagpipes in Hymn to the Sea help you to feel and envision just how much pain Rose is going through at the loss of her newfound lover and her future as she has to go back to her fiancé.  Not to mention the much more cheerful strings and vocals that help you to see just how proud everyone was of the ‘unsinkable’ ship.  Much like with Star Wars, without the music you wouldn’t be able to feel as emotionally connected to the characters without the score.

 -Star Trek 2009: Enterprising Young Men (Michael Giacchino) – Another one of my personal favorites, this particular piece isn’t as slow, mellow and melodic as the other scores I have referenced, this one is much more upbeat and full of action, contrasting even to some of the pieces in the same movie in a beautiful way.  As the stings in the beginning rise, there is a feeling that something big is coming and it is going to affect the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew. Quickly the track leads into its crescendo with the bass drums and horns giving you a sense of satisfaction as they manage to beat the situation that has threatened them through so much of the movie.  The scene where the Enterprise comes in and fires on Nero’s ship to save Spock would be nowhere near as climactic if the music weren’t there to accompany the strong feelings of the film.  (I didn’t even mention the soft and depressing track during the destruction of the U.S.S. Kelvin)

 -The Hunger Games: The Train/Rue’s Farewell (James Newton Howard) – The strings with a dark undertone of drums and bass in the piece The Train, allow for the feeling of despair and loss when Katniss and Peeta leave District 12, most likely forever. The brokenness they both feel as they come to realize they will probably never see their loved ones again, and for Peeta the thought of killing the girl he has always loved.  In some ways this differs from the piece Rue’s Farwell, but in some ways they are very similar.  Rue’s Farewell starts very mellow as if Katniss is in shock, unwilling to believe that the little girl who reminded her so much of Prim is dead/dying.  As the guitar comes in, you know Katniss is beginning to accept the death of her friend and gathers flowers.  As the crescendo builds, with the bass becoming deeper, the strings/orchestral track becoming more layered and emotion filled, Katniss stands and uses the three-fingers salute in defiance of the Capitol, causing an uprising in District 11 with the spark of hope she provides.  This is one of my favorite pieces of film score with the emotion it holds.  Now imagine Rue’s death without the music to accompany it, you wouldn’t feel as much of a sense of loss for the young girl. You wouldn’t be able to understand the pain that is being brought upon Katniss by the Capitol, it just wouldn’t be the same scene without the music.

 -Mulan: Short Hair/Mulan’s Decision (Jerry Goldsmith) – You wouldn’t expect a Disney movie about a 16 year-old Chinese girl who pretends to be a man to save her elderly father from having to go to war against the Huns would have the same composer as the original Star Trek.  That is the beauty of film score composers; they can make music to fit almost any genre of movies!  

When Mulan goes into the room where her father keeps all of his gear for war the strings are mellow with some classic Chinese instruments, allowing you to feel the how Mulan thinks this is the only way she can really serve her family after she has practically destroyed their honor.  Then as the electronic synthesizers kick in, you begin to understand the determination the girl feels for her family and country as she cuts away her hair and becomes someone new.  The horns that come in later in the song add another layer of feeling to the music as she leaves the note for her father, making it final that she is going to leave to save his life and the lives of the Chinese people from the Huns.

 -The Little Mermaid: Main Title/Happy Ending (Alan Menken) – I cannot thank the film score community without mentioning the ever phenomenal Alan Menken.  (I have been blessed to be able to see this man perform live.)  He has written the soundtracks of our childhood as he has written the music for Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tangled, and of course The Little Mermaid.

The piece starts off with chimes and flutes, allotting for the feeling of just how young Ariel is. The whimsical feel becomes even more intense as the vocals come in, showing you just how much of an imagination the girl has as she dreams of joining humans on the surface, with all of their strange inventions.  As the piece arrives at the crescendo, cymbals create the feeling of pure joy as Ariel marries the prince but as it slowly goes back into the strings and chimes from the beginning, there is a layer of sorrow as she leaves her father and her family behind to become fully human.  Without the music the final scene would be no more than a simple wedding with little feeling other than that of a newly married couple.

 -The Polar Express: Main Title (Alan Silvestri) – This Christmas film based off the children’s book has both an up lifting and ominous score. The soft vocals, strings, and piano in the beginning offer a feeling of uncertainty as a young boy tries to justify the existence of Santa Clause, despite there being no proof that he is real. As the bells and strings pick up you can understand the feeling of joy as he sees the train that is The Polar Express, the final evidence he needs to prove to himself that Santa isn’t just some made up children’s story.  The music manages to capture the fanciful feeling of a child while still maintaining the composure of a well respected Christmas film.

 -Interstellar: Quantifiable Connection (Hans Zimmer) – No composer differs more from the famous John Williams than Hans Zimmer. The fast paced piano and strings make you understand just how fleeting time can be to someone else even when it feels as if it is creeping by for you.  The rising tones help you to understand just how much the love that Cooper has for his daughter Murph manages to keep them connected, even when Coop is stuck inside a singularity.  He manages to find a way to contact his daughter and save the humans still living on Earth, and the tones in this particularly upbeat part of the soundtrack allow you to feel more than just a father’s pain from being separated from his children, but the joy he feels in knowing that he is able to save their lives and the lives of his race who would die otherwise.

 -Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire: Hogwart’s Hymn (Patrick Doyle) – Not only do the horns and strings give a sense of nostalgia to any true Harry Potter fan, but they manage to make the school itself feel like a living, breathing being.  (Some might even argue that it is…Room of Requirement)  This piece helps you to understand how Harry and his friends feel in the winter, leading up to the Yule Ball, not only trying to keep up with their studies but trying to partake in the festivities of the Triwizard Tournament, all the while the threat of Lord Voldemort hangs over their heads.  Still this piece manages to bring all of those emotions to light while still adding a prideful sense of serenity to the school.

 -Jurassic Park: Main Theme (John Williams) – The piano at the beginning of this piece helps you to understand the beauty and magnificence that the park is trying to create and show to the world.  As the strings come in to match the piano a magical feel is added to the movie as dinosaurs and humans walk the planet together for the first time.  At the crescendo when the bells and horns are added into the breathtaking composition you understand not only how amazing these creatures are but just how little control humans have over them, and the immense power they possess.  Next time you watch Jurassic Park imagine the scene where Alan Grant sees the dinosaurs for the first time without the music, I can guarantee you will want to go back and watch it again with the music, because it isn’t the same without it.

 -Jurassic World: As The Jurassic World Turns (Michael Giacchino) – The horns in the beginning offer an ominous feel to the movie as you know something will inevitably go wrong with the park.  Still the piece picks up using cymbals and trumpets to signify the vastness and magnificence of the park that has finally been opened to the public. The stings that come in as the track progresses gives you a feeling of insignificance in comparison to the science used to bring the majestic animals back to life.

 -The Rocketeer: Main Title (James Horner) – This is probably the least known movie on my list, but it holds the top spot in my heart. The piano in the beginning is just astounding, and as it leads into the strings that follow, you almost feel as if you are flying through the air.  The drops of bass horns allow for the feeling of darkness that you would definitely have if you were being chased by the Nazis because you had a jetpack that they were developing.  Still the light strings manage to give you a sense of suspense that is only intensified by the drums and horns that come in towards the middle of the piece.  As the track reaches its crescendo and goes back to the same rift of strings and chimes from the beginning, you have a wonderful sense of relief of escaping with your life.

 So my whole point of this post is to make sure that film score composers get the credit they deserve. They make all these astonishing compositions that can make you cry one moment and laugh the next and yet they almost never get recognized for their superb works!  So next time you watch a movie whether you’ve seen it before or not, I encourage you to listen to the music as well as the dialogue and find out who wrote it.  You never know, you might find that you like symphonic music more than you ever expected you would.

With that I say THANK YOU to John Williams, James Horner, Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino, Patrick Doyle, Alan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith, Murry Gold, Alan Menken, Steve Jablonsky, David Arnold, Michael Price, Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, Howard Shore, and every other movie composer out there!  Movies wouldn’t be the same without you, and for that I thank you!

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

TrekFest 2017

Word Count: 2319 Tags: @southernbellestatues @engineeringtrashcan @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @outside-the-government @samaxraph99, @flirtswithdanger @supermoonpanda @sugarshai Prompt: "It never occurred to me that I could possess such feelings until I met you" @makemyownwonderland Warnings: Aggressive seduction of an unwilling participant (attempted assault? Not sure if that’s how it should be labelled?) - Pon Farr is not sexy

The mass spectrometer chirped, informing you that your samples were ready. You stepped over to the machine and looked at the initial read out. Commander Spock stepped over to look over your shoulder.

“That looks promising, Lieutenant,” he commented. You nodded and proceeded to pull your samples. Spock must have been standing closer than you’d thought, because as you turned around, you bumped into him and dropped the tray, shattering the tray of samples. A fine mist evaporated into the air, and you dropped to your knees to clean up the mess. Spock knelt across from you to assist. “I apologize, Lieutenant Y/L/N. I allowed myself to be distracted by your findings, and didn’t realize I was standing too close to you.”

“I have more samples. It means more work, but I have more samples, thankfully,” you replied. There was no use being upset over it, particularly with Spock at fault. Being too emotional would compromise the working relationship that you’d developed with him. And what you’d said was true. There were more samples, and you had nothing but time on your hands. As you worked to clean up the mess together, his bare hand brushed against yours a number of times, each time eliciting an apology from him. And then Spock sneezed, distracting you from your clean-up. Your brow furrowed in concern. “Are you okay? I’ve never heard you sneeze before.”

Spock nodded and sneezed again. “I am, thank you.”

He wasn’t fine, you were soon to observe. A thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he started to flush an alarming shade of pale green. Soon he was tugging at his collar, and grimacing - a facial expression that, until that moment, you didn’t think he was capable of making.

“Spock, you look unwell.” You watched him carefully as he paused, and looked at you. His pupils blew wide and he went very still. He blinked, took a deep breath and opened his eyes, meeting your concerned gaze.

“I tend to agree with your assessment, Y/N,” he nodded. “You are both beautiful and astute. A desirable combination in a human.” You raised an eyebrow at the comment.

“Would you like me to assist you to MedBay? Doctor McCoy has some passing familiarity with Vulcan physiology, I think,” you offered. Spock shook his head, swaying unsteadily on his feet.

“I just need a moment to compose myself,” he replied, bracing his hand on the wall nearest him. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” You didn’t buy it. You’d never seen Spock anything but the picture of health. You reached forward and pressed the back of your hand against his forehead. He was burning up. You flipped your comm open and sent a quick message to MedBay that you were bringing Spock down. He stumbled away from the wall and you stepped forward, catching his weight with a grunt.

“You weigh a ton, Spock,” you commented.

“Vulcans have a greater bone and muscle density than humans,” he explained, his voice uneven and what you would assume was emotional if he weren’t Vulcan. “I’m not fat.” It was both an afterthought and a whimper. You wrapped his arm around your shoulders and took the brunt of his weight.

“I didn’t say you were fat,” you commented, rolling your eyes. “You are super hot, Spock.” 

“Thank you,” he smiled. “You are considerably attractive as well.” 

“I meant that I think you’re running a fever,” you laughed, and his smile fell.

“I’ll be fine!” He snarled. You drew in a deep breath, and hauled him into the turbolift. You propped him up and selected the deck for MedBay, hoping there would be someone there to meet you. Your hopes were answered in the figure of Doctor McCoy, standing at the turbolift with his arms crossed. As soon as he saw you were struggling with the Vulcan’s weight, he jumped forward to help.

“She is an angel, Leonard,” Spock gushed, suddenly happy again. McCoy’s brows knit together in confusion. 

“Good god, man, you’re burning up!” He shifted Spock’s weight off your shoulders, and helped him down the hall into MedBay. “What brought this on?” He looked to you for answers.

“We were in the lab, and he was standing closer than I thought he was. I turned around and dropped some samples. They vaporized when their vials shattered. It was while we were cleaning up that he got,” you paused, “weird.”

“Weird?” McCoy was looking for clarification as he settled Spock onto the biobed. He seemed unbothered by Spock’s initial vital signs.

“He sneezed. And then was flirty?” You commented. 

“He was flirting? What did he say?” You could tell McCoy’s curiosity was both clinical and amused. 

“He said I was beautiful and astute, which was desirable in a human. And then he said I was considerably attractive.” You felt like an idiot admitting it. McCoy grinned. 

“You’re fond of the lieutenant, are you, Spock?” McCoy teased. Spock turned slightly greener and looked away.

“Doctor McCoy, if we could speak privately. Without Y/N present?” Spock asked. McCoy looked at you, and you nodded.

“I’ll head back to the lab and finish cleaning up, Commander.” You smiled awkwardly as you left, stopping at the desk to ask Christine to let you know if Spock was going to be okay.

You were putting in some extra hours to get the replacement samples started, and were alone in the lab. The doors slid open, and you glanced up, and smiled as Spock approached.

“You must be feeling better?” You offered.

“For the moment. Doctor McCoy gave me an antipyretic to manage the Plak-Tow.” He stopped inside your personal space bubble, making you slightly uncomfortable.

“Plak-Tow?” You asked, dumbly. Spock stepped closer again, prompting you to back up. He followed, until you stumbled against the wall. He leaned in, dipping his head to your neck and inhaling deeply. “Did you just smell me?”

“It never occurred to me that I could possess such feelings until I met you," he murmured against the bare skin of your neck. Your eyes widened and you pushed him away.

“Commander, you’re being highly inappropriate!” You exclaimed, ducking under his arm and dodging away. You skirted around the edge of the table you’d been working at, putting it between the two of you. Spock’s shoulders slumped, momentarily, before he squared them with new resolve. He put his hands on the table and leaned forward.

“I need you, Y/N.” His words were measured, and careful, but the stress on the word need sent you reeling. “Badly.”

“Spock, I don’t -” You yelped in surprise as he darted around the table, taking you in his arms. He was hot against you, the medication McCoy had given him obviously burned out of his system.

“Y/N, we have always had an agreeable working relationship. Your intellect is well-matched in mine. It is logical that we form an attachment to one another,” he began. You reached behind you, groping blindly on the table until your hand settled on a Erlenmeyer flask, and you swung it, aiming for the side of his head. It shattered, sending pieces of glass everywhere, but not relaxing his hold on you. In desperation, you opened a comm channel to the last frequency you’d hailed, hoping someone - anyone would overhear your distress and come assist.

“Spock stop!” You exclaimed, struggling in his embrace. “Please!”

“I am not explaining myself clearly,” he continued. “Every rational argument made, you are my perfect match. I would have you as my mate. I propose Koon-ut-so’lik.”

“Koon-ut-so-what?” You asked, becoming more frightened. Spock was significantly stronger than you, and your struggles were in vain.

“Accept and become my mate,” he urged, pressing his lips against your neck. “I am half human, I know how to please you in both the human and Vulcan ways.”

You stifled a horrified laugh and finally managed to push him back. He was dishevelled, his eyes hooded with desire, his pupils blown wide. “Spock, please, you’re scaring me,” you begged. “Please slow down and tell me what is happening. You are obviously unwell, your fever is physically painful to me.”

He released you suddenly, and looked almost contrite. “It is the Pon Farr -” he began, and pulled you back into his arms. Doctor McCoy crept into the lab as Spock pulled you close, and as suddenly as he grabbed you, you fell from his arms. Doctor McCoy had sedated him.

“I’ll take care of him, if you’d like to report to Christine -” McCoy started. You nodded and left the lab as quickly as you could.

Christine assessed you and found you free of physical injury. She checked her comm and suggested she walk you back to your quarters so that McCoy could bring Spock into MedBay without a scene, and spent some time with you talking through your emotions about the altercation. You were hesitant to call it assault. Spock was clearly not himself, imbalanced by something physiological. You checked in with Doctor McCoy for updates on his condition for the next few days. There was largely no change.

You were in the lab, writing up the final conclusions on your report on the samples you’d been working on when Doctor McCoy walked in.

“The samples, what were they?” He asked, no preamble, or niceties.

“A reactive protein that alters reproductive rates in certain plants,” you replied. He nodded, as though that made perfect sense.

“Is there a counter-agent? A protein that protects the plant from being altered?” He asked.

“A protease, actually. The plant releases it in times of drought to prevent the production of pollen and spores,” you replied, becoming more confused by the conversation with each successive question.

“Can you synthesize it?” He pressed. You nodded, pulling up the sequencing app on your PADD and typing in the commands.

“Should be ready in three hours,” you replied. “Did you want me to bring it to you?”

“Spock is still quite ill. I’ll send someone,” McCoy declined.

“Y/L/N to MedBay please.” Christine Chapel’s voice paged you in the lab. You tucked away the project you were working on, and reported to the nurse’s station.

“You called?” You asked. She smiled.

“Spock is asking for you. He’s in isolation room three,” she replied. You cringed. “It’s perfectly safe, Y/N, I wouldn’t have paged you otherwise. He wants to speak with you about what happened. I can come with you -”

“If you say it’s safe, Christine, I’ll trust you,” you interrupted, raising your hand to wave her off.

Spock was sitting up in bed, reading from a PADD when you entered. His cheeks took on a slight green tinge and he put the PADD down in his lap.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Y/N. I have a great deal to apologize for,” he began. “But first, I want to thank you for synthesizing the protease for Doctor McCoy. That seems to have been the catalyst to end this torture.”

“You’re welcome?” You sat down in the chair beside the biobed.

“Vulcans are very private about our mating rituals.” He struggled to make eye contact with you. “But because of my aggressive attempts at seducing you, I feel it logical to inform you of those rituals.”

“Okay,” you nodded. You were a xenobotanist, but you had a reasonable understanding of xenobiology. How hard could it be to understand Vulcan reproduction?

“Once every seven years, Vulcans undergo pon farr. It is the time of mating. Our neurochemistry is compromised to the point of madness. One of the symptoms is the plak tow, the blood fever. If we do not secure a mate during the pon farr, the plak tow will consume us, and we will die,” he explained.

“You go crazy and die because you can’t find someone to have sex with?” You asked. Spock pursed his lips and sighed.

“When you simplify it like that, you make me sound no better than an animal,” he commented. “The fever can be broken by mating. Sometimes structured, intensive meditation can help. There are other ways, too. One of which Doctor McCoy discovered.”

“The protease?” You asked. 

“This pon farr cycle was not at the seven year interval. When Doctor McCoy was made aware of that, he looked at the possibility that something had triggered it. His theory was that the reactive protein from your samples had caused an imbalance in my neurochemistry that provoked the pon farr. Using that theory, he came to you for answers. You provided the protease, and on administration, it soon caused a reduction in my symptoms. After a number of injections, my cortical levels stabilized.”

“So you’re not having your mating time anymore?” You clarified. He nodded.

“I am not,” he agreed. “I seek to apologize for my behaviour toward you, Y/N. I know I frightened you greatly. I have spoken with Captain Kirk, and he has agreed that should you feel can no longer work under my supervision, he will see to a transfer for you.”

“So I’ll be punished for your transgression?” You exclaimed. Spock looked puzzled. “You attacked me! Why should I have to leave the fleet flagship? That’s hardly fair.”

“I had not considered it a punishment, Y/N. I only sought to remedy the situation I’d caused. I will let Jim know that should you decide you cannot work with me, it should be I who is transferred.” He was quick to reply.

“If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’d rather not be transferred. And I can clearly see what an excellent team you and the captain are. I’d just ask that for now, you not be alone in the lab with me,” you considered. Spock nodded in agreement.

“Very well.” He looked down at this PADD and back up at you. “I appreciate your understanding, Y/N.” 

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 18: 1x15 Shore Leave

Shore Leave tonight! Because I need it. I had a lot of thoughts on this because it’s so ridiculous and wonderful.

That planet looks like a giant green screen. Which is appropriate.

I could watch this back rub scene on a loop all day. Fellas, is it gay to want your First Officer to really dig it in there?

Captain going to his quarters to work from home today.

Oh-ho, what is this, the little seen Sulu & McCoy dynamic.

Plant nerd Sulu wants information on all the greenery.

That rabbit is so great. Fun fact I had an LJ icon with that rabbit back in the day.

Honestly this is such a great concept for an episode. Like I don’t have any really deep notes or feelings about it but both as a sci fi idea (a very high-tech ‘amusement planet’ that uses unseen machines that can read your thoughts to manufacture delightful things for you) and an entertaining yarn, it’s so good. I also think the characters are really on point.

It’s so good that Theodore Sturgeon could put that back rub scene in there and no one even noticed.

“Stardate.... something.....uh, point three.” I laughed, I really did. Stardates do not and never have made sense and I like that even Kirk is so tired at this point he’s like “yeah whatever.” Mood, Sir.

Kirk is canonically a workaholic. He’s the kind of guy who checks his email on vacation. Who answers emails at 11pm. With his husband next to him like to rest is to rest jim!!!

“On my planet, to rest is to rest.”

Kirk thinks he’s so cute. He’s looking really handsome today himself, but Kirk always looks at his best when he’s got his heart eyes face on.

“A crewman’s rights end where the ship’s safety begins.” We need that on a poster today in 2020 for Reasons.

Love how unamused Kirk is and how amused Spock is. Ya got played, son!

Oh, look, it’s a random gun. Too bad Chekov’s not here to claim it. (He’d love this planet btw.)

YFIP: Captain Kirk. Cancels shore leave mere minutes before it’s supposed to start.

Gunshots!! Sulu found the gun! And he’s so excited! And then Kirk takes it away like the Mean Dad he is.

One thing I wonder about this planet is at what point do the objects, people, etc. cease to exist. Do they just eventually wander back to the trapdoors and.... get recycled? Do they have this built in? Is that not... weird? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Shore Leave. And do the inanimate objects have to be returned?

I love this Kirk Academy back story and we were robbed--ROBBED--of it in AOS, fight me on this. “I was downright grim.” Bullied by an upperclassman?? Who liked playing dumbass pranks?? Sounds like enemies to lovers, slowburn, 20k, to me.

Love how absolutely deranged Finnegan is though.

Yeoman Barrows’ rape fantasy.

Kirk stops to a pick a flower! To romantic music!! He is so soft and I love him byeeeeeeeee.

And then the flower reminds him of his Academy girlfriend Ruth. Who is uh obviously played by a woman in her 30s and yet hasn’t aged a day in 15 years so 19 year old Kirk with an older lady y/y?

Love his confused face while she’s kissing him though.

He’s so dazed as he calls McCoy and then just kinda... gives up lol.

Bones, too busy flirting to remember the white rabbit he’s supposed to be chasing. Don’t say “a whole army of Don Juans”!!!

His eyeshadow is also on point today. He’s so shameless, trying to not-quite-watch her as she changes into the Princess Costume. No one ever remembers how flirty McCoy is but he IS.

Oh look, a big kitty!!! Very beautiful and nice.

Sulu lol, just casually thinking of samurai. Bet he wishes he still had that gun now.

Spock having a hard time beaming down reminds me of that meme “Now I will always be a child of two worlds.”

Spock’s thought process is hilarious. “Our transporters were about to stop working so I thought, hey, how about I strand myself too--just to be with you, Jim.”

McCoy and Barrows holding hands.

They’re supposed to spread out but Kirk and Spock go together obviously.

Oh no, the knight! I’m sure Kirk told Spock not to shoot bc he knew his phaser didn’t work but it still looks like ‘I got this baby.’

There’s no one to say “He’s dead Jim.” :(

Barrows shouldn’t feel guilty; it was Bones’s fault for conjuring the knight in the first place by saying the word “knight.”

Lol can’t Sulu run the tricorder? Like the obviousness with which they switch out Sulu and Spock so K and S can have their moment is... Something.

“Are you saying that this is a plant, Mr. Spock?”

Lol just poking the dummy in the face.

“Funny air vehicles.” Don’t have planes in the 24th century I guess?

Don’t say strafing run!!

When Kirk thinks of the Academy, he thinks of Finnegan first apparently. And now begins an incredibly long fight sequence. I actually like the TOS fights in general quite a bit because they’re SO choreographed. So for me they are more fun than fights now, which are such a mess I don’t even know what I’m looking at. But even so--this one is VERY long.

And VERY homoerotic.

“Jim baby.” “Sweet Jimmy boy.” Resting on top of that cliff in a ‘draw me like one of your French girls’ pose. Kirk’s shirt just like.... REALLY randomly ripping right the hell off.

“You couldn’t find your head with both hands.” ???

I love this Irish tune. Apparently this was the first ep this composer worked for and I think he did a really good job all around! I rarely notice music but I did in this one and always in a good way.

Spock’s makeup is great as usual. He and Kirk are on the same expository wavelength.

Spock, don’t say the word “tiger”! You can clearly see it is on a leash lol. Lots of gratuitous touching as Kirk and Spock run away. My mom and I agree that Spock liked the tiger, though. He does like cats and big animals like iChaya.

All the crewman line up except for Angela. Really dropping the ball there.

Love how the amusement park manager shows up just after Kirk told everyone not to think about anything. “Okay, who imagined the man in green robes?”

Spock’s posture and expression.... so good. He clearly loves the idea of an amusement park, and, given that he describes it as a place with “many fascinating things” to do/see, I think he would, canonically, love it.

“The more complex the mind, the greater need for the simplicity of play.”

 THE MUSIC WHEN MCCOY SHOWS UP WITH THE GIRLS OMG.

He’s such a slut. One whole love interest plus TWO imaginary showgirls? Tone it down Mister.

I can’t believe one of the girls goes to Spock. He’s like “What do I do with this?” Then hands her off to Sulu because Rodriguez is already helping Angela move on from her dead husband. So now Sulu gets two ladies.

Spock doesn’t need any more shore leave, because he got to spend some time with Kirk, solve a mystery, and see a tiger. That’s all the fun he needs!

The last scene was pretty unnecessary (except that I guess without it, it kinda looks like Kirk is just...leaving the Enterprise for his old girlfriend lol) but at least we get the awkward implication that Kirk, McCoy, and Sulu had a lot of sex, and some random fake laughter.

(Sulu absolutely canonically had a threesome.)

Next up is the Galileo Seven, a Classic TM Spock (and Spock & McCoy) episode.

[girlkirk-blog]

SPIRK (for the otp ask meme) !!! xoxo

omg hey!! HOW ARE YOU?

1- Who is the most affectionate?

I’m going to say that Spock is? I know that’s kind of a curve ball for some people but I believe that he shows affection in a very different way from what a lot of people are used to. Like, his affection is checking to make sure everything is alright. You know how in the Shore Leave episode (when they go to that planet and Bones sees a furry and then gets stabbed) Spock tells Kirk that there’s someone who desperately needs some time off and Kirk’s like “YES GOOD IDEA MR. SPOCK I WANT EVERYBODY TO BE HAPPY BC i’M JAMES T HAPPYPANTS” and Spock’s like “jokes on you, it’s you, go bye now” so I think that Spock’s affection is the best type of affection – it’s not all cuddles and quick kisses, Spock’s is things like making sure Jim has eaten, that Jim is okay, etc. 

2-Big spoon/Little spoon?

Spock: Big Spoon

Kirk: Little Spoon (even though he hates it sometimes)

3-Most common argument?

Probably something about how “illogical” Jim’s decision was that day. Like, “Jim, it was highly illogical for you to challenge that alien that was approximately 40.6 times larger than you to a duel” and Jim’s like “suck it logic i BELIEVE IN MIRACLES” (omg i’m making jim such a joke i’m sorry i’ll stop now)

4-Favorite non-sexual activity?

Probably legit being huge nerds with each other. Kirk was known for being basically a pile of books with legs at the academy, and I feel like in their downtime, Spock and Kirk just like go to town with the computer’s library and float all these theories and concepts past each other. Like, Spock tries to help Kirk with the logic of his thought and Kirk tries to help Spock see past the logic in his thought to come to more conclusions. 

5-Who is most likely to carry the other?

KIRK IS MOST LIKELY TO CARRY SPOCK 24/7, 365 EVEN THOUGH IT SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE BC OF VULCAN BONE DENSITY

6-What is their favorite feature of their partner’s?

I think Kirk really likes Spock’s pointy ears. I feel like he always hates it when they have to go and do recon on a planet and they have to cover Spock’s ears up with a beanie or something. I feel like as soon as they’re away from the other people on the planet, Jim quickly takes off Spock’s lil beanie. 

I feel like Spock’s favorite feature of Jim’s is his eyes. I don’t know, I guess Spock just likes them because they’re legit windows to what Jim is thinking? Jim is really good at composing himself and never panicking, but Spock is always able to look for Kirk’s eyes to see exactly what the captain is thinking – he doesn’t even have to use the mind link. 

7-What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

HOT DANG THE INTERACTIONS ON THE BRIDGE??? I have a feeling that they’ll both start analyzing each other a lot (before they confess their feelings.) Like every single time Spock stops to talk to Kirk, Kirk is always like “I MUST ANALYZE EVERYTHING DOES HE LIKE ME BC I LIKE HIM HOLY CRAP WAIT WHAT DID HE SAY ABOUT AN ASTEROID BELT APPROACHING? SHUT UP CHEKOV I’M TRYING TO LISTEN” and Spock just tries his hardest to logically explain WHY the captain would have feelings for him? 

The whole Bridge starts to get annoyed and bones is like “y’all kidding me? y’all kidding me? I’VE BEEN PUTTING UP WITH THIS BY MYSELF FOR LEGIT YEARS” and the atmosphere on the bridge is just kind of funny (in a good way) and Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov are always serving up each other looks. Like, “lmao did you see Spock just check out Kirk’s ass?” 

8-Nicknames? & if so, how did they originate?

Hmmm. I don’t feel like Spock and Kirk are big on nicknames, unless you count “Jim” as a nickname, which it kind of is since Kirk’s first name is actually James. 

9-Who worries the most?

Kirk. Definitely Kirk. You can’t tell me that Kirk doesn’t worry his ass off about Spock, especially during the episode “Journey to Babel” – Jim is so concerned about Spock’s relationship with his father. Like, he wants to know all about it and he wants to help so bad. ALSO I think Spock also worries A WHOLE BUNCH because he’s just always on high alert to be on the look out for his captain – like in that one episode when the flowers SHOOT OUT THORNS AT PEOPLE?? AND SPOCK LEGIT STANDS IN FRONT OF KIRK AND GETS IMPALED WITH THEM TO PROTECT JIM??

10-Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Spock. Dude has a photographic memory and it’s legit amusing but also terrifying when they have little fights. Spock just pulls out “Do you recall what occurred on Eminar VII when…” and Kirk’s like “SPOCK NO?”

11-Who tops?

I think it’s like a cycle – they’ll take turns, whoever is up to it at the time. 

12-Who initiates kisses?

(I already answered this one, so check it out!)

13-Who reaches for the other’s hand first?

Spock. I think he just really likes the feel of Kirk’s hand in his? I also think that it’s just instinct, since Vulcan hands are so sensitive. I kind of think it may be the first thing to really calm a Vulcan down – for them to reach out their hand and have their hand held by someone they are close to. 

14-Who kisses the hardest?

Kirk, no doubt. 

15-Who wakes up first?

KIRK. Kirk is the BIGGEST morning person in the FREAKING GALAXY. He’s one of those people that’s like “AH YES MORNING *HUGE CRAZY DEEP INHALE* HELLO GALAXY! I’M STAR TREKKIN’” (ok i’m sorry i just love kirk so much) 

16-Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

I think it’s neither, really. Spock isn’t energized by mornings, but he’s also not exhausted and dislikes them. I think that when Jim gets up, Spock usually gets up as well. 

17-Who says I love you first?

Spock. And it happens in the most VULCAN WAY EVER. like, i’m a slut for the th’y’la trope, y’all already know. Like in all my fics for Star Trek TOS, it always revolves around the expose of “CAPTAIN KIRK IS SPOCK’S FATED” because i just love that trope and nobody can pry it from my hands. So I think it happens when Spock is just like “ok it’s a matter of time before we accidentally fully mind meld so i better just get this over with” 

I believe that they SHOW each other that they are madly in love with each other through their actions such as making sure the other is okay, basically SACRIFICING themselves for the other, etc. I think that when it comes to doing it verbally, they’re both lil nervous babies. 

18-Who leaves little notes in the other’s one lunch? (Bonus: what does it usually say?)

I think Kirk would be the one to leave notes and they’d be cute little things like “you’re a vulCAN not a vulCAN’T” and stupid stuff like that, and it begins to grow on Spock a lil bit and he keeps all of the post-it notes that Kirk puts up. 

19-Who tells their family/friends about their relationship first?

I feel like EVERYBODY ABOARD THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE knows that Spock and Kirk are in a relationship, even before Spock and Kirk do, so that’s not really applicable. I feel like Spock tells his mama first because Amanda is that mom that wants to know everything and whenever Spock contacts her she’s always asking about that “nice kirk boy!” and junk and Spock’s just like “UGH FINE” and Amanda’s all excited like “JUST WAIT ‘TIL I TELL YOUR FATHER” 

20-What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

I think that all their friends LOVE it, even though Bones acts like he’s always suffocated by it. I don’t think Bones EVER feels left out, because they’re such an amazing friend group, and they’re all so close, so Bones isn’t threatened by the officialness of the kirk/spock relationship. I think he just LOVES to tease about it and frustrate Kirk and Spock by being a lil southern cockblock. 

As for family, I think that everybody likes it too. Amanda is like the #1 Spirk fan and Sarek is pretty okay with it – he doesn’t really mind either way, I think. 

21-Who is more likely to start dancing with the other?

Kirk loves to dance like a freaking idiot sometimes, but Spock isn’t really into dancing, so he’ll stand there and just watch, like “…please don’t throw out your back like last time, Doctor McCoy won’t be as understanding this time” 

22-Who cooks more/who is better at cooking?

REPLICATOR SQUAD, enough said. (I think that they’d both suck at cooking tbh) 

23-Who comes up with cheesy pick up lines?

Spock actually starts with them first, because he probably asks Bones for some RARE ADVICE and Bones is like “holy shit is this really happening????” when Spock asks Bones about earth relationship advice. So Bones is like “just do these pick up lines and you’re golden” and Spock tries one and instead of Kirk just being like “the fuck is this” he just laughs and loves it. 

24-Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

Kirk, because Spock does it through the mind meld lmao

25-Who needs more assurance?

I think they both do. I think that they both need each other very badly – one can’t exist without the other. It’s like that whole entire “by your side” thing. It’s where they’re meant to be. That being said, I think that they’re both VERY assured in their relationship. 

26-What would be their theme song?

“You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate (AKA THE “I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES” SONG  all because of that DAMN video someone made (and it’s my FAVORITE of all time) where there’s that #CLASSIC scene where Spock is like “Captain, you make me almost believe in luck…” and Kirk is like “why mr. spock…you almost make me believe in MIRACLES” and the damn song plays while the credits come on. 

27-Who would sing to their child back to sleep?

aww omg omg omg my fav thing is a kirk/spock raising a child together thing and it brings a tear to my eyes y’all. um. I think that Spock probably would. I think Spock would be extremeLY affectionate with the child. Maybe because he realizes that the child is kind of like him as a child – a human parent with a vulcan parent. and he wants the child to feel like they really do belong. (wipe ur tears i’m crying too)

28-What do they do when they’re away from each other?

wait until they see each other again lmao

29-one headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart.

oh dang. okay, here goes. i have this head canon that spock is super super insecure about confessing his feelings for jim, because here’s jim – this huge ass ray of sunshine that LOVES to laugh and smile and he’s just so open, and Spock feels like, since he is a Vulcan, he cannot make jim laugh or so happy like that since it just isn’t in his nature? I also feel like Spock sees Jim as almost unattainable, because here is this amazing captain that he loves to serve under, ofc, but STARFLEET REGULATION and it also doesn’t help that literally almost EVERYWHERE they stop Jim runs into a former female friend or something. (which is something that I really do love because it really shows feminist kirk because he still treats them with respect and love!) 

30-one headcanon about this OTP that mends it.      

Kirk knows that it’s hard for Spock to feel like he can fully express himself, and Kirk is fine with that. So that’s why Kirk flirts so openly and freely with Spock and smiles around him. Spock makes him happier than anything else in the universe, and nothing could ever replace him. (AKA SEARCH FOR SPOCK HELLO?????). So Kirk is always at Spock’s side, smiling and laughing and trying to encourage Spock and is patient with him.

thanks for the ask! and sorry for writing so much!!!