A Web of Twos

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	A Web of Twos
Author(s):	Scott Hunter
Date(s):	1991
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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A Web of Twos is a Kirk/Spock story by Scott Hunter.

It was published in the print zine Within the Mirror #5.

Summary

"Kirk's lamb side dies when integration fails, but his “wolf” is merged with the “lamb” of the M/U when that Kirk's “wolf” refuses integration."

Reactions and Reviews

I found this to be a most intriguing and complex story. At first, when I realised what was going on I thought "uh oh" I'l not going to be able to figure out who's who. But that didn't happen. The author very skillfully managed to keep everything and everyone straight. The characterizations were very strong and I found myself, particularly at one point with McCoy, nodding my head in agreement with his feelings and actions on the loss of his friend and the "replacement". The author showed the total brutality of the mirror universe, most specifically, the "wolf" Kirk. (Almost no tenderness there at all.) A couple of small points I found interesting -- when Spock called McCoy T'hy'la it stopped me cold for a few seconds, but then I realized that, indeed, under certain circumstances, our Vulcan could look at the doctor in that way. I loved Spock calling Kirk "small warrior". That terminology just hit the right note for me and sounded like something Spock might say. I did think that the mirror "lamb" Kirk recovered rather quickly from his abuse. And I still can't quite figure out how Spock managed to complete both Kirks at the end. But all in all, I enjoyed this story thoroughly. It was a real page turner (with its many twists and turns) and I actually stayed up late to finish it. Very thought provoking and unique.

In this story there are four Kirk's. Kirk is divided into Wolf and Lamb in both universes. The story is hurt/comfort and contains torture, as the Wolf decides to torture tne Lamb for the weakness that he despises within himself. I am usually against torture in any K/S, for I love the characters. However, in this case the torture meant sonething. The Wolf is determined to break the Lamb, but he can not. The Wolf represents ambition, drive, and the survival instinct. He desires to eliminate the Lamb who will hold him back. The plot traces many twists and turns and somewhere along the line the mainline Lamb gets killed. The ending filled me with confusion. It does not seem possible for Kirk or Mirror Spock to remedy the situation, for after the death of his Lamb mainline Kirk would, in my opinion, be doomed. I do like Scott Hunter's uncompromising style, and I would recommend the story to Mirror fans and hurt/comfort fans.

Though I found the premise of this story a bit shaky, there were a number of things about it that I liked. The scene when Kirk gave up command of the ship was... riveting, causing tightness in my throat and chest. I believe the element of the story I found most enjoyable was, however, the slow resolution of McCoy's feelings culminating in the marvelous line: "I love him. I don't care who he is.

This is a wonderful concept. The fusing of the Mirror Lamb and the Mainline Wolf into a single Kirk brings up questions of identity and the role of societal conditioning. Unfortunately. I think that there are occasions where the characters forget that the Lamb is the one with the cultural assumptions. The Wolf operates on a totally instinctual level. So this Kirk should be regarded as a man who was brought up in the Mirror a/u -- who has the beliefs and prejudices that you would expect of someone who was brought up in that universe. Spock forgets who this Kirk is when he berates him for instrumental sex in order to keep his command. That's the way it's done in the Mirror a/u. He doesn't know any better. Spock should have more compassion and understanding. I had some problems with the story's failure to conform to Service procedures. For example, I didn't understand how this Kirk could be beamed to a starship's sickbay when he hadn't been Fleet personnel for almost a year, on the orders of McCoy who also wasn't Fleet personnel at the time. Then Spock tells McCoy that he's started the paperwork on getting Kirk's command back. This can't be that simple. There are questions of identity here. The Kirk at this point in the story isn't acting like either Mirror Lamb or Mainline Wolf. He's acting like an intact Mainline Kirk, and such a being shouldn't exist. Mainline Lamb died in this story. Shouldn't Spock be ordering that this Kirk be put through psychological tests before he starts paperwork on getting Kirk back into the Captain's chair? We later learn that this Kirk is missing the Mirror Lamb's personality which was taken by Mirror Spock, yet the Mirror Lamb "psyche"- remained. Could someone please explain the difference between a "personality" and a "psyche"? It sounds really nebulous to me. What part of Mirror Lamb was taken and what part remained? Then there are the problems with McCoy's professional behavior. McCoy also shouldn't have told Spock about Kirk being raped. That's a breach of medical ethics. Kirk wasn't even in Starfleet. It should be none of Spock's business. The idea that McCoy would say "unthinkingly" that at least he hadn't said that Kirk enjoyed the rape boggles the mind. What kind of Doctor would be that unthinking? So there are some character inconsistencies, plot holes and background problems. Yet on the whole, it was a really fascinating premise that made for a highly unusual story. Perhaps the flaws of the story resulted from the concept having too much complexity.

I came across this zine while trying to organize my WTM pile, and of course instead of doing what I was supposed to, I ended up reading. Hadn't read this zine in awhile and I had only read this once before, so it was almost like a new zine for me. This story stood out for me because of the intricate plot it has, dealing with both the Mirror and regular Kirk and Spock.

It begins with the Mirror Kirk being split in two by the transporter. The wolf Kirk can't stand the lamb Kirk. He's a threat to him, a weakness. The wolf Kirk is practically obsessed with his gentler part, and with inflicting pain on him. He is beaten and sexually assaulted, and only when he is nearly killed does the Mirror Spock decide it's enough, and helps him escape. What he does is actually send that Kirkto the regular universe. There our Kirk and Spock meet up with him. It is decided to leave him fairly isolated on some planet to live out his life.

Now comes the problem. The regular Kirk is now split in 2 by the transporter, but his lamb dies when they try to reintegrate him. Only his wolf survived. Spock seeks out the Mirror lamb Kirk and convinces him to join with the regular wolf Kirk. Intriguing, isn't if? Of course there are many problems. I like how the author really dug into this new Kirk's psyche. This new Kirk had both sets of Kirk memories and couldn't find a way to deal with it all. He's afraid of losing command, and that is just what happens. He's afraid he's also lost Spock, who does realize this can never be Kirk the way he was before.

McCoy goes with him off the ship, and one day Spock shows up. Only it's not Spock, "it's MirrorSpock. He lures Kirk off on a pretense, McCoy stubbornly following. The Mirror wolf Kirk is too erratic and irrational, and needs his lamb back. Mirror Spock needs his captain back. Spock initiates a meld after both he and his captain have sex with Kirk - to 'relax' him, they say, so his mind is clear and can be separated. It does work, and both Kirks are left whole: the lamb Mirror Kirk restored to the wolf Mirror Kirk, and just the Mirror lamb psyche is impressed on the regular Kirk's wolf.

Our Spock arrives after all this, apparently receiving a message from his alternate. He is grateful to have Kirk back but upset by what has been done to him, and his own avoidance of Kirk. Kirk doesn't really remember what's happened over the last months, but he remembers how he feels about Spock. Now it's time for them.

The author does a good job keeping her Kirks and Spocks clear and in character. It's a very interesting, unique story, with plenty of twists and turns.