Cannot Touch

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K/S Fanfiction
Title: Cannot Touch
Author(s): T'Guess
Date(s): 2004
Length:
Genre: slash
Fandom: Star Trek: The Original Series
External Links: online here

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Cannot Touch is a Kirk/Spock story by T'Guess.

It was published in the print zine T'hy'la #24.

Summary

"At the end of the five-year mission, Kirk asks something of Spock he canʼt give."

Reactions and Reviews

"Cannot Touch" is about 25 pages long. That makes it one of the three long stories in T'hy'la 24. T'Guess is a major contributor since she did the cover and also a lot of the interior art which are photo manipulations. "Cannot Touch" is an extremely original story which stretches from the end of the five year mission through the first movie. It's an unusual take on Vulcan practices and presents Spock with a difficult problem he doesn't reveal to Kirk until near the end. I personally wasn't too interested in the story. It's nothing I would ever reread or recommend to a friend as a story not to miss. However, I am sure some people will like it just because it is very different. Very different. [1]

It is the end of the five year mission—an oft- examined period in the lives of Kirk and Spock. More of a challenge, then, for the writer who attempts to find a fresh and plausible reason for Spock’s departure from Starfleet. This author met the test head-on and managed to convince and entertain me.

While the premise here is a misunderstanding of their feelings for each other and while this is not an unexplored concept, it is a convincing read. Much of this is because the writing is good, the dialog is on-target and the emotions are effectively and painfully revealed. Very disturbing recollections of a childhood trauma are partially to blame for Spock’s inability/unwillingness to allow his feelings for Kirk to escalate. I found his memories to be one of the most dramatic and convincingly written elements of the story and the most devastating. Truly his formative years on Vulcan have given him a tremendously heavy burden to bear throughout his life. An area not previously speculated upon and that I greatly enjoyed, was being with Spock as he traveled from Gol to meet the Enterprise. The thoughts that plagued him, the conversation he had with the pilot of the long-range shuttle are great touches.

Inclusion of familiar dialogue and scenes from TMP added greatly to the reality of this account for me. Seeing what happened behind those scenes was most revealing and rewarding. It’s a fine story! [2]

References

  1. ^ from The K/S Press #104
  2. ^ from The K/S Press #106