03

TURNING POINT - Ann Carver

"Kirk! Call him off. Please!"

Kirk hauled himself to his feet and moved quickly over to the pair. Spock hadn't moved a muscle since pinning the Commodore to the wall. He might have been a statue except for the trembling hand clenched into a fist and held stiffly at his side.

"Spock!"

Kirk grabbed the Vulcan's arm, feeling the tension in the biceps. Spock was a coiled spring, tightly wound, and needing only a slight twist to snap.

"Spock." Kirk's voice was soft and soothing. "Let him go, Spock. He didn't hurt me.

Let him go."

THE HARD SELL - Vivian Gates

"Are you a tramp?" asked the Human suspiciously.

"Certainly not," replied the Vulcan calmly in a low, pleasant voice. "Pardon me for taking refuge from the storm in your barn." He made a gesture towards the open door, outside where a forceful rain still pelted. "I was unable to attract attention at the house and so withdrew to this relatively dry location to wait for the storm to subside." The young Human still looked doubtful, so the Vulcan cautiously reached into an inner pocket and handed over a small imitation pasteboard object. "My card," he said.

ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE TO REMIND ME - A.T. Bush

"Admiral? Admiral?" Spock waited for Kirk to return from his reverie. The soft expression in the hazel eyes indicated that Kirk had been daydreaming . . . pleasantly. And Spock could fairly well guess what the subject had been. He sighed inaudibly, tempted to reveal immediately that he had also been indulging . . . frequently of late.

"Yes, Spock? Captain?" Kirk corrected himself and pulled himself together. He eyed McCoy's amused, knowing grin. Of course, Bones knew all about them . . . always had . . . even before they had . . . .

MIDNIGHT SILENCE - Beverly Danielson

"Never in my life have I had anybody cry on my shoulder like he did last night, much less a Vulcan. Showed me something in him I'd only suspected. He thinks it's completely hopeless, and made me promise not to tell you. Without really considering you, I did. Obviously, now I think I was wrong to promise."

Kirk had ceased his pacing and was standing quietly in the middle of his cabin. "Why are

you really here, Bones?"

CHARADE - Tere Ann Roderick

"Oh, you know . . . a slave . . . cherished and all that jazz; the usual." Kirk bantered on, pretending not to notice the interest in the dark eyes.

"The only slave that is cherished in this society is a sex-slave," the Vulcan commented drily, his eyes fastened somewhere near Kirk's bare midriff. "Unfortunately, you are a little . . . ah . . . old . . . for that."

"OLD!! Why you . . . . " The sputtering roar dispelled any illusion the captain might have created with his costume.

PROPERTY RIGHTS - Vera Barga

"I talked about him a lot, I guess. Lori made him, our friendship, a focal point for her anger and blamed him for our falling apart." Jim let a foolish grin cover his face and wafted his hands in the air to punctuate his words. "How was I to know she'd earned extra money when she was a cadet applying tattoos?!"

"What I'd like to know is WHY you held still for it?"

THE CONFIDENCE - Alexis Fegan Black

Go to him, Spock. Go to him now, while the desert is cool and the distance from Death's darkness isn't quite so great. When you've had time to think logically, you'll lose your nerve.

You'll start to slip once again into your Vulcan lifestyle . . . and maybe there won't be any more chances. Don't waste this life.

And don't be afraid. Somewhere in all this darkness, somewhere in a quiet room in this great stone mansion, you'll find someone else shivering, Spock. You'll find someone just as terrified as you.

BLIND DATE - Brandy Amber-Allen

"Captain." Spock had recovered some of his lofty dignity. "It would appear that we are on the receiving end of a joke. While I did not, certainly, subscribe to the gambling that has of late consumed the interest of this crew, it would appear that . . . somehow . . . I have drawn the winning ticket." And as visible proof, he lifted a hand bearing the stub of that very same ticket.

"WHAT?!" The smaller man collapsed in laughter, hugging his ribs and bent double with his mirth. "Y-you mean y-you're my d-date?!" he sputtered.

REMEMBER, REMEMBER ME - Natasha Solten

Your father's words echo. "He must not be disturbed. His mind and body must rest for the healing process to be complete." That was all he said but I read between the lines. If you were disturbed, or even if you were not, there was no guarantee you would completely recover.

Memory is a fleeting concept. You might remember everything tomorrow. Or you might not remember for a hundred years.

Choked at the thought, my knees give way. I kneel, hands twined in your robe. I don't know if I can live any longer with this pain. Oh, Spock . . . you must remember, remember me!

LONG WAY HOME - Ellen Thacher

"Nothing, just talk."

"Right, but what talk?" Kirk was going to insist.

"You know. After all, you do hang around with the Vulcan an awful lot," he said in a melodramatic voice. He stopped to see if Kirk would let it go. He wouldn't. Scott swallowed a groan and continued, knowing that to keep on avoiding the subject would only cause Kirk to think the worst. He spoke quickly, attempting to keep his voice light, not wanting to give the rumors more credence than they deserved. "Okay, rumor has it that there might be something between you and Captain Spock. You know, you save his life, he saves yours. And then Genesis

. . . . "

POETRY by

COVERS by

ART by

June 1985