07

(Contest Zine)

EMPIRE REFLECTIONS - A.T. Bush

Kirk strode briskly around the busy bridge collecting and correlating ship's reports while Captain Pike indolently lolled in the command chair his still injured leg elevated on a temporary stool. Kirk carefully avoided bumping the hazard. He was new to the ship and still on 'probation'

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THE GAMBLERS - Dovya Blacque

In the near-darkness of his cabin, Spock remained still, uncertain what even the most minute movement on his part might set in motion in his suddenly rebelling system. He didn't notice the green moisture pooling in his palms from bitten nails; he didn't notice the swelling of his lower lip where he continued to bite himself; he didn't notice the fever and sorrow building to the breaking point. He didn't notice as tears steadily streamed down his cheeks . . . .

STILL WATERS - Alexis Fegan Black

"I have been matched to T'Sheir."

It was a statement of fact which made Kirk blink as he stood looking at his first officer in the turbolift. A cold feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, gradually working its way up to his throat.

But instead of the response he had expected, Spock replied coolly: "My matching to T'Sheir had nothing to do with T'Pau." He paused while Kirk felt his own heart racing. "The decision was mine. "

A STUDY IN GREEN - Agusta Elton

In the place where Kirk would have expected the fireshrine to be, stood a satiny metal box. The lid must have made the tiny noise he heard, for it was open slightly and from beneath it flooded the quaking, pulsing blue radiance which he had somehow confused with the flickering red flame. As he watched, realizing what it was, the lid began to rise and the intense blue glare brightened and spilled a light too bright to see over the sleeper.

THE TAKING - Charlotte Frost

Humans call it 'turning over a new leaf.' Vulcans use no such phrasing, for Vulcans, as a rule, do not make a practice of changing their philosophies. But I am only half-Vulcan, and that admission no longer brings me shame.

BRIGHT STAR - Roberta Haga (first prize winner by fan vote in landslide!

T'aiya was quiet for a moment, then she gathered her courage and asked the question she'd held in for years. "You knew my parents, Bones. Why have you never told me of them?" The blue eyes were steady as he answered. "I've waited for you to ask about them. You never seemed interested T'aiya, your father was Spock . . . ."

WHEN THE SKIES FILL WITH SAND - Natasha Solten

"Vulcan sends greetings and welcome," Uhura said, turning from her panel.

"Acknowledge." Kirk waved his hand and swiveled back to face the dry, desert planet before them. It swam in shades of red and orange, swirling as though huge winds buffeted the surface. Over one tiny quarter of the sphere, a grey sheet clouded the atmosphere, dulling the sharp patches of red that bled through orange and ocher masses. Sand storm, Kirk mused, staring at the blotch. Vulcan rain, he thought, a touch on the poetic side, when the skies fill with sand and flood the streets with dust.

ETERNITY'S CHILD - Jenny Starr

The pre-dawn stillness was broken only by the sounds of quiet voices and bird calls. As the voices drew nearer, even the birds hushed their strident singing to listen to the rise and fall of the words of these interlopers into their early-morning domain.

"Eddies of time be damned, Spock. I still don't understand how we could have undershot our target this much."

THE HEART IS FOREVER - Theresa Hernandez

He comes here every day at this time to be alone. A man has a right to solitude and I have respected his privacy thus far. But today I have followed him down this winding path unable to any longer keep my distance.

A cluster of palm trees hide me from sight; trees transplanted from another world. A gift from one desert to another. Brought from Earth by Sarek, to make a Human wife smile. Love has many forms of expressing itself. How long it took me to learn that lesson . . . .

COVER

POETRY

October 1986