Alternatives (Star Trek: TOS story)

You may be looking for the Gerry Downes story, Alternative: The Epilog to Orion.

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Alternatives
Author(s):	Gena Moretti
Date(s):	1995
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
External Links:
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Alternatives is a K/S Star Trek: TOS story by Gena Moretti.

It was published in the print zine Way of the Warrior #8.

Summary

"A/U Getting Spock back a year after he left for Gol, Kirk resigns from Starfleet and he and Spock sign on a commercial ship now that they are bondmates and not allowed to serve together."

Reactions and Reviews

Kirk pines for Spock who has been gone for a year at Gol. In an interesting idea, McCoy visits, discovers some secret tapes that reveal Kirk's feelings and sends them to Amanda. Kirk and Spock bond and quit Starfleet. The story continues as they get their own ship and are joined by Scotty, McCoy and in a little twist that I wasn't sure why, Uhura's niece.

A number of adventures await them-all very inventive and different. At one point, they beam down to an unexplored planet where the plants wreak terrible havoc. McCoy's medical treatment on Kirk was appropriately gruesome. In scenes of medical emergencies like this, I often find myself paying close attention in case I am ever called upon to do it. Boy. In this case, I sure hope not.

Another neat adventure was a village of cannibal teddy bears. This author is definitely imaginative! More than occasionally, however, there were things that either Kirk or Spock would say (especially Kirk) that, to be honest were a bit strange such as when Kirk says: "Apparently this broad has more guts than a slaughterhouse." I'm afraid that a lot of Kirk's dialogue probably sounds like the author's, herself.

But Ms. Moretti has a wealth of wonderfully inventive ideas for stories and they're always interesting and her genuine love for Kirk and Spock definitely shows through.

Spock has realised that Gol has no answers for him, and returns home. Kirk knows that being an Admiral is not the life he wants, McCoy could have told both of them that before they even started. He finds that Kirk has been making tapes for over a year – messages to Spock that he never sent, having peeked at some McCoy decides that perhaps Spock should read just a few!

The result is that once more Kirk and Spock are reunited, and Spock re-enlists to Nogura’s great delight. Everyone wants a bit of Spock, and they are prepared to offer Kirk any post he wants, just so they can get him. Unfortunately neither man is prepared to take up Nogura’s offer, and they resign. If Starfleet won’t give them a ship there are plenty who will. Eventually they decide to go with a Consortium, to explore planets that are mapped but unexplored, suitable for colonisation. If they can find one, or some other valuable commodity the consortium will make a great deal of money. The finding of a suitable vessel, and its outfitting is just what you would expect, it just rings so true. The same with choosing a suitable crew. I can’t condense 80 pages of fascinating reading into a few lines. Suffice it to say that on their way back to Earth with a hold full of a medical discovery that will gladden the hearts and fill the coffers of the shareholders, Kirk makes a troubling discovery – Klingons surgically altered, living as ‘ordinary’ inhabitants. Not just on one planet but others closer in to the Federation HQ. His efforts to report this to Nogura are blocked at first, but his communications officer, no not Uhura, gets him a channel and he makes his report.

You have to read the whole story to find out how it ends.