14

THE LOVER WITHIN - Brigitte Whelan

I don't care what's in the dust, it's a useless ball of shit. Beam me up.”

Captain Kirk's voice barked out from the console. Spock suppressed the surge of irritation the words caused, even though they were not unexpected. For Kirk, the uninhabited, dilithium-free planet below was of no value, as it had nothing to personally offer him. Spock knew what that meant: the planet would be abandoned.

WORST NIGHTMARE - Carabao Pandion

Spock straightened from the viewer to turn toward the command chair. Imperial Captain Kirk was leaned forward, hands gripping the armrests, steely eyes squinted, attention riveted to the main viewscreen. Spock smoothed his beard and swallowed, reacting to the tension on the bridge.

Kirk didn't divert his eyes from the tiny S at this distance S rusted/gray spaceship. Even at extreme magnification, it was an ugly, ugly toy. "Spock, tell me that's not what I think it is."

ONCE AND AGAIN - Deanna Grey

Tension hung heavy across the wide expanse of desk separating the two adversaries. The older man scowled as he snapped off the viewer, his Emperor's orders ringing in his ears. He threw a contemptuous glare at James Kirk, the youngest, most powerful Admiral in the Empire. His protégé, he reminded himself grimly. He himself had handpicked this one, pulled him off the streets, oversaw all his training, helped mold him into the best, most ruthless Captain in history. So much for gratitude, but what else could be expected from the most conniving, smug, son-of-a-bitch…he halted the string of mental profanities. They would do no good, no matter how satisfying.

HIGH TIDE - S. R. Benjamin

I remember this planet. We visited it before the Organians forced peace upon the inhabitants. Back then, both Romulans and Vulkanhsu lived in uneasy proximity to each other and eked a living from the spare terrain.

Just as they done had since the invasion in which they had conquered the Vulkanhsu, the Romulans held the shore. That gave them access to foalim, the drug precursor for the most potent Rigellian anti-viral in existence. The drug synthesized from foalim had saved hundreds of thousands of lives on planets galaxy-wide. This was counterbalanced by the ability of the targeted virus to flourish in vectors that were impossible to eradicate. New epidemics arose with depressing regularity.

THICKER THAN BLOOD - Brianna Falken

“Just get the job done, Kirk, or by this time next month you'll be in command of a garbage scow.” The sneering face of High Commissioner Ferris faded from the screen.

Black and ivory chess pieces skittered every which way as the captain of the ISS Enterprise swept his hand viciously across the desktop. “Of all the mother fucking…. He's out to get us, Spock.” Kirk glared at the bearded Vulcan sitting quietly across the desk. “This is payback, you know, for cutting his boy, Finnigan, out of those salvage rights last month.”

COVERS by

Poetry by

ART by

June 2001