10

MERCY - Mara Lynn Cade

"Spock!" Kirk's cry was an involuntary response of relief. The past six days had been a nightmare of not knowing, of fearing the worst. But the dark head did not lift at his call. It remained bowed over their captor's feet. Fear surged anew within the imprisoned captain.

Wha had Raetivar, the self-proclaimed ruler of this private planetary hellhole, done to Spock?

GREEN-EYED MONSTER - Mary Urbanski

"Bones, where have you been hiding all evening?"

"Been right here . . . . " Spotting a vacant table off to one side, the doctor gestured toward it with his hand. "You look beat, Jim. Car to sit for a spell?"

Kirk smiled wearily. "Sounds good." The captain dropped himself heavily into the huge chair. Everything on Akhtar was oversized. It had to be. The planet's inhabitants were all towering. The average height of an Akhtarian was eight feet. The fact that his feet dangled over the edge of the chair, unable to reach the floor by a good foot, only served to lengthen Kirk's ever-mounting list of irritations. He began a slow boil.

SHOULD I FOLLOW MY HEAD OR MY HEART - S/K

His face contorted as he stared at the screen before him. Quickly, the shock changed to anger when he realized the intrusion into the medical records of the Enterprise personnel files and, worse yet, his own personal files. The screen scrolled down the list of attempts to break his access code, numbering at least one hundred. Some of the attempts were close, too close for comfort as far as the doctor was concerned.

AMOR VINCIT OMNIA - Pat Charles

The gazed at their surroundings. "Not quite the luxury I had in mind, Spock. Functional is about all you can say for it."

"It is perfectly adequate for our needs, Jim."

"Guess so, but there's not much privacy."

"Regretfully, not as much as in our original accommodation."

And you can read into that whatever you want to hear, thought Kirk. Enigmatic Vulcan!

THE VARIEGATION COMPLICATION - Ande Hughes

Images faded in and out. Laughing, sneering faces. Hate! Pain! It seared through his mind, red hot, tearing at his thoughts. Probing, pulling, trying to get . . . . No! his mind screamed. They will never find out. Control! More pain, deep, ripping, digging, trying to reveal what he kept hidden from them.

THE BRAVEST OF MEN - Dovya Blacque

Spock watched as Kirk exited his bathroom draped in a large, green robe and plopped sulkily into the chair opposite him. The moment Spock had entered the cabin, he'd sensed tension in the air . . . and had smelled the lingering tartness of male.

INTO LOVE - Roberta Haga

"I don't care what you don't wanna do. It's either that or a battery of tranquilizers. And THEY go on your medical record, Captain. Now get out of here and do as you're told. And take Spock with you," McCoy called after the retreating gold back. "Maybe getting him laid will get

you in the mood. He's not in much better shape than you are!"

POETRY

COVERS

ART