Blue Courage

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Blue Courage
Author(s):	Kay Wells
Date(s):	1993
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Blue Courage is a Kirk/Spock story by Kay Wells.

It was published in the print zine First Time #35.

Summary

"Kirk, thinking theyʼre going to die before help can arrive, talks Spock into making love while marooned on an unknown planet."

Excerpt

"Well, I guess this is really it this time," Captain James Kirk announced boldly as he turned from looking at the wall of rain just outside the tiny cave. "I calculate the odds of our rescue at " his science officer started to say. Kirk interrupted with a gesture of his hand, tattered shirt sleeve waving like a flag of surrender. "I really don't want to know the odds, Spock. Besides, how could you possibly calculate odds on something with so many unknown factors? No, don't answer that either. The shuttle sank before you had a chance to manually activate the distress beacon and I can't believe we managed to lose both our communicators out there." Wearily, he waved in the general direction of everywhere. They had already had this same conversation several times in the days they had been trapped."

Reactions and Reviews

God, what a ride! Abject misery of a physical nature. Kirk and Spock believably face the end...not in a sun-baked world surrounded by enemies they can fight, but on a miserable planet drenched by caustic rain that slowly deteriorates both flesh and spirit.

In desperation, unable to face the fact there is no escape, no hope, Kirk tries to distract himself by getting Spock to share secrets—and learns his friend has been intimate with a man. This is a path the Captain has never trod, so Spock agrees to grant him that experience.

Very convincingly, Spock takes the lead over an uncertain Captain and proceeds to love the human as he's never been loved before. A gritty, painful realism is maintained when the two accept without discussion that their physical condition will no longer allow them to engage in the act of touching. Kirk's arms have begun to blister and ooze, but it is the raw, bleeding hands of his lover that causes him the greatest pain. The end—rescue at the last moment— is predictable, but their physical hopelessness quickly turns to emotional despair (at least the reader's) as they desperately try to regain the equilibrium of their friendship.

Thought it was over, didn't you? No. Spock runs to Vulcan and disappears, leaving Kirk in a state of desperation that is gut-wrenching. The second half had me teetering on the edge of tears, while Kirk cried only on the inside.

If you haven't read it—read it. If it's been a while, I urge you to read it again, especially if you've temporarily forgotten what it's like to love someone to the depth of your soul.

A very long, juicy, spicy story from a well established writer. Clean, tight, long and exciting. Everything I like in K/S. What a treat.