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Cycles (novel), May 1993, 183p.
[Abode of Strife #21]

Action/Adventure tale with a rather rambling plot. Starts off with the Three taking a camping shore leave on a recreational planet, whose magnate then comes aboard. After investigating an archaeological dig with evidence of cataclysmic war, the Enterprise encounters a world-ship populated by sundry color-coded castes of Varmatites. Some are priestly, some agricultural, some nomadic. Some are downright dangerous; redshirts start dropping like flies in sundry gruesome ways. They discover and must solve radiation poisoning affecting the population. They bring some Varmatites aboard and end up overrun with precocious infants. They arrive at the Varmatite home world with Varmatites taking over the ship in bloody corridor warfare, and discover that the Varmatite civilization runs through continual cycles of overpopulation, war, collapse, rapid development, overpopulation... Roller coasters figure nicely in a couple of places.

All the Time In the World (novel), 1993, 171p. [Abode of Strife #22] An entertaining time-travel tale with Kirk, Spock and McCoy jumping around in time and space trying to maintain a timeline in which they manage to recover Fabrini data with the cure for a galactic plague. Stops include the American Civil War and the Korean War. The first try results in a universe with Earth surrounded by Klingon and Romulan forces.

 

"Dark Knight from Future Past"     R & R #10, Summer 1979 (p. 25-46)

ST X SW. The explosion of the Death Star has sent Darth Vader's little fighter ship tumbling out of control from his galaxy to ours, and into the path of the Enterprise. Kirk rescues the occupant, leading to mayhem, death for a number of redshirts, and near-death for Kirk and Spock as they try to forcibly transport the dark lord back to his own time and space. A fun crossover, with good characterization, including a particularly fine little Spock/McCoy argument at the end.

 

* "What They Seem"     R & R #10, Summer 1979 (p. 157-172)

Seth Kalomi puts two and two together to discover that his computer science professor Spock is his father. Includes flashbacks to a visit from Kirk, Spock and McCoy in his childhood, in which McCoy learns the truth but Leila forbids him to tell Spock. Excellent writing, with strong confrontation and reconciliation scenes.

 

"Pentagram"     R & R #11, Fall 1979 (p. 107-128)

A new crewman dabbles in black magic, conjuring up a demon to wreak vengeance. He loses control, setting the demon loose on Enterprise until the chaplain calls on Spock to bring it under control. I don't much care for the magick premise, but even so, the story's a good ride.

 

"Virgin Territory"    Candlelight & Flames #1, date unknown - 90's? (p. 39-48) (with St. John )

Mirror-Universe sex farce (believe it or not). Despite his reputation and his legendary organ, Kirk of the ISS Enterprise is a virgin and, because of the fearsome grandmother in his head, won't remedy that until he's married. Things come to a crisis and Spock takes advantage of the opportunity to have a shotgun wedding. Pretty funny.

"Reunited"    Candlelight & Flames #1, date unknown - 90's? n (p. 72-100)

The events of STIII, from Kirk's pov and taking into account that the men were bondmates. After fal-tor-pan, much of Spock's memory, as well as their bond, has been lost. Sarek asks Kirk to leave without Spock, but Spock rejoins the Bounty as they prepare to leave.

 

* "The Bissco"     Abode of Strife #19, May 1993 (p.9-19)

A small furry smuggled aboard Enterprise escapes as it enters its mating cycle - and it uses very loud flatulence as its mating call. Attempted cures lead to delightfully entertaining results, as well as confrontations with Admiral Komack and the Klingons.

 

 

"I-Chaya and the Chocolate Cake"     Abode of Strife #19, May 1993 (p.55-56)

Charming vignettes of young Spock with his pet and McCoy finally meeting I-Chaya - who wants to wrestle.

 

 

"Z'Rar: Halfbreed"     Abode of Strife #19, May 1993 (p.114-116)

The child Spock learns of the possibility of fitting in with Starfleet and resolves to do so, despite his father's plans for him.

Trophies     (novel) 1990, 144p

Nice cover portraits & nicely presentation are the best points of this zine. It's a jumbled tale full of pompous, mysterious prose, misused vocabulary, poor similes... all in all, very badly in need of editing. Even so, the story was somehow compelling and the character- play pretty good.
      Admiral Nielson, pressured by the Commission to respond to a 200-year-old plea for admission from the Omega System, sends the old, ill-equipped Zephyr with its green crew instead of the Constitution, because he considers them expendable. They arrive, find the planet's orbit filled with dead spaceships, punch a hole through an energy barrier and are all killed by The Alien, except for Captain Kendrick, whom it inhabits. Meanwhile, Kirk is blaming himself for a failed mission and killed men, and Starfleet is giving him a medal for it. There is a scene with a widow, ruining the PR, and Nielson cancels Enterprise shore leave and sends Kirk under sealed orders to find out what happened to the Zephyr, ordering him to leave them there when he does. Kirk is also withdrawing from his friends. They find the Zephyr, but Kirk can't leave the mystery per orders, so a landing party go down to play cat and mouse with The Alien. Safekeeper, a survivor of the original race beams Kirk into the mountain and explains to him that the Alien is a machine they made to power their planet on the psychic energy of emotions, but it got out of control and killed them all, and if it gets out of the barrier they constructed, which it will do as soon as it learns how to feed on human emotions, it will wipe out the galaxy, turning everybody into "perfect" immortal sparks imprisoned in itself. Or something like that. And for some reason, the savior has to be Kirk. So, with the help of Safekeeper, Kirk tangles with Kendrick/Alien while Spock, McCoy & LeSal try to blow up its generator deep in the mountain. Spock sets the detonator then collapses because somehow he's helping Kirk fight the alien. Safekeeper gets them out, though. Everybody goes home. Nielson is found out. Kirk is called before a board of inquiry, but it's a sham - they are testing him to make sure he would follow his oath rather than his orders. Kirk decides Starfleet was always this way, only his view of it has changed and he can live with that. And the adventure goes on..

"Without the Gardener's Craft"     Contact #2, May 1976, (p.?)

"The Gift"     R & R #1, July 1976 (p.61-74)

(Reprinted in Accumulated Leave #1)

Holiday time, and Kirk is on the rampage from a mixture of loneliness and frustration, when Amanda sends him and Spock a matched set of necklaces. Nice little confrontation when McCoy & Scotty pretend to be drunker than they are to scare Spock away from a party, and Kirk demands that they persuade him to come or they won’t be allowed themselves.

 

 

" 'Mate"      Stardate: Unknown #2, November 1976 (p. 38-40)

Nicely written, very short Spock get 'em. McCoy talks Kirk out of giving up his career to stay near Spock, who is brain-damaged and dying. Kirk makes a last visit, leaving the chess board set up, waiting for Spock's last move. Hence, the title.

 

POEM: "Gone With the (Solar) Wind"     Interphase #4, May 1977 (p. 29)

Interp of Interphase #3 cover - McCoy in sleep or death. Unidentified mourner(s) taking leave of McCoy; all stanzas relate to the blue and gray of the Civil War.

* "Logjam"     Alpha Continuum #2, March 1977 (p.145-150)

Nicely done McCoy & Kirk confrontation. Kirk reports McCoy drunk in his official log, leading to an estrangement that begins to affect the entire ship. Spock prods McCoy to restore amity with an apology. McCoy does so, but gains revenge at the same time that he eases the tensions, by reporting the Captain “not drunk today” in his official medical log.

 

 

"An Article of Faith"     Interphase #4, May 1977 (p. 32-52)

Enterprise pursues thieves who have made off with the entire Temple of the Ellysians, which those people credit with maintaining the peace and perfection of their disease and violence-free planet. Despite a plot based on mysticism (the temple turns out to be some kind of lens that captures and uses the power of faith), which is always annoying to me, the story is well-plotted with nice twists and has excellent characterization both of the familiar and new folks. Points, too, for having the beautiful thief fall for McCoy, the only one aboard who seems immune to her charms, rather than the Captain.

Untitled.     Alpha Continuum # 4, March 1980 (p. 40)

Illo interp. Kirk has been trapped in some medieval planet's revolution and dies on a mountaintop, soaring with eagles.

 

"Song of the Jellicles"     Alpha Continuum # 4, 1980 (p. 53-72)

The Enterprise bunch encounter a race caught in a cycle of advancing civilization and reduction to primitive level, all caused by health effects of a passing comet. Premise is rather vague, but story has some nice points, including a little romance for McCoy with the civilian archaeologist.

* "Paragraph 17"     Antares #5, July 2000 (p. 31-37)

[Reprinted in: Orion Archives 2001: First Mission v.2]

In a first contact encounter, things go nicely with Kirk wining and dining the Beta Reticulan head of state until he discovers that though the people are startlingly human-like, their secondary sexual characteristics are reversed on that planet. Cute.

"Winter Hunt"     Antares #3, 1999 (p. 46-68 )

[Reprinted in: Orion Archives 2001: First Mission v.4]

On a skiing vacation, Kirk is kidnapped, with ensuing escape and ordeal as his captors pursue

* "Mail Call"      DeForest Kelley Compendium, June 1991 (p.163-165)

McCoy receives a letter from T'Pau following "Amok Time".

 

"Is There a Psychiatrist in the House?"     Abode of Strife #19, May 1993 (p.52-54)

[Reprinted from Formazine #6.]

Amanda is concerned about the psychological ramifications of Spock's doodlings... and discovers that they are actually Sarek's.

 

FILK: "The 12 Star Trek Conventions"     Abode of Strife #19, May 1993 (p.98-99)

 

* "You Call This Shore Leave?"     Abode of Strife #19, May 1993 (p.118-125)

A fine romp as McCoy & Uhura manage to spend a rowdy shore leave on Vulcan, and Kirk is miffed - more at being left out than their behavior.

"Happily Ever After"     Abode of Strife #19, May 1993 (p.141-42)

Amanda exasperates Sarek by taking endless candid photos of all his cute expressions.

"Montage"     In a Different Reality #10, 1981 (p. 12-18)

[with Susan Sizemore]

The first of a series of connected, rather charming and witty, Mary Sue stories in this issue. Ruth Valley, an Antari with empathic healing powers, a computer rating equal to Spock’s, a daddy high up in the Fleet, astonishing work efficiency, and a complete disregard for authority, is assigned to the Enterprise after doing her cadet stint there. This plotless story pretty much just sets the scene. She becomes Sulu’s lover, calls Kirk ‘Bwana,’ beats Spock at chess, and establishes a hostile relationship with McCoy.

 

* "My Friend, the Witch Doctor"     In a Different Reality #10, 1981 (p. 20-31)

[with Susan Sizemore]

The best of this set. Amidst witty little scenes following Ruth’s foibles, idiosyncrasies and love affairs, hostilities between McCoy and Ruth escalate (with McCoy even being so petty as to deny her coffee) until an epidemic on the ship forces them to acknowledge each other’s expertise and cooperate. Ruth realizes that she cannot cure, only heal; McCoy ends up calling her “Ruthie” and all is well.

"It’s Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature"     In a Different Reality #10, 1981 (p. 33-60)

The inevitable Mary Sue/pon farr combo, but cleverly told. Ruth’s new roomie is Jilla Majiir, Indiian, but recently widowed from her Vulcan husband Selar. Selar had treated her genetically to help her become Vulcan; unfortunately this sends her into pon farr with no husband, but bound by strict Indiian custom not to remarry. At this point the story degenerates into silly romp as Ruth takes charge, forcing Spock to help Jilla in her extremity -- for four days, just as the ship is caught in some field. McCoy eventually comes up with an antidote (with the help of his test rabbits Jimboy and Ruth). A fed-up Kirk insists that Ruth act as lure to Spock while they retrieve Jilla. Ruth gets her comeuppance when Spock attacks her, and Kirk and McCoy decline to rescue her. McCoy’s antidote makes Jilla fall in love with Sulu for a week, but she gets better and goes back to being married to the dead Selar.

 

 

"Wild Goose Chase"     In a Different Reality #10, 1981 (p. 60-69)

The Mary Sue romp descends straight into farce. Jilla and Ruth are kidnapped, drugged, decorated up and sold as sultry pets, while angry Daddy Ambassador sends Enterprise chasing after them.

 

 

"T'was the Nightingale"     In a Different Reality #13, 1982 (p. 52-58)

Sulu and Jilla have been in love for 8 months, but Jilla refuses to consummate the relationship because of her culture's insistence on faithfulness to her dead husband. With a little help from some song lyrics, Sulu convinces her to "go on as three."

"The New Beginning"     Galactic Discourse #3, July 1980 (p.157-158)

Some alternate universe thing with Spock leaving Vulcan after losing a music competition to Sarek. Bleah.

"Of Things To Come"     Alnitah #9 Jan. 1979 (p.33-36)

Christmas is only a few days away, and Spock drives himself to distraction in dread of it. Cute.

 

"Transports of Delight"     Log Entries #23, April 1979 (p.37-41)

Romp. McCoy and Chapel, testing a new intraship transporter, keep winding up at the scenes of previous episodes - the ISS Enterprise, the Romulan Commander's vessel, and the Shore Leave planet, where a jealous Tonia Barrows confronts them. Best of show for this zine.

 

"No Credit, All Credit"     Alnitah #11 July 1980 (p.23-28)

Fun farce of Spock's trials and tribulations as the rest of the bridge crew go slowly stir-crazy when they are denied leave on - but have to stay in orbit around - Wrigley's Pleasure Planet.

 

"The Ultimate Nightmare"     Alnitah #15 Aug. 1983 (p.30-33)

Kirk's annoyance at McCoy mother-henning him leads to a nightmare in which McCoy really is a mother hen, with a nest full of bridge-crew chicks. Bizarre but funny.

 

"The Bonnie Machine, Pt. II"     Duet #8, 1984 (p.27-33)

[Sequel to "The Bonnie Machine" by Anne Kydd, Duet #1]
Both Kirk and Spock have been spending a lot of off-time in the "Recreation Dream and Fantasy Maker" booths, discovering their hidden desires. After suitable embarrassed encounters, they declare their love.

"After Platonius"     Antares #3, 1999 (p. 69-83)

McCoy forces the couples tortured in "Plato's Stepchildren" to confront one another.

"Abyss"     Contact #3, March 1977, (p. 24-25)

Get-‘em. Kirk and Spock are dying; Kirk is yanked back, leaving McCoy to have to tell him about Spock.