And Will Go Free

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	And Will Go Free
Author(s):	Vivian Gates
Date(s):	1985
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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And Will Go Free is a Kirk/Spock story by Vivian Gates.

It was published in the print zine Of Course Another K/S Zine.

Summary

"Kirk struggles to get a shipload of slaves to safety after they are rescued by the Enterprise, while dealing with his and Spockʼs newly expressed feelings for one another."

Reactions and Reviews

This is an extremely interesting, absorbing story. The plot was a real plot, well thought out and very believable. I enjoyed Christine's going to Spock and making him face Kirk to find out what had really happened with S'Tannen. (Her saying, "Oh, hell, on top of everything else, here's Chapel." was hilarious - that's just what he was thinking!) I also liked K and S giving each other "hickeys" as a symbol of what was yet to come. The intruder, the chase, and the nick-of-time rescue had just the right amount of excitement— and tension. I would love to know what happened to the ex-slaves they rescued (all of them), and to find out if Kirk and Spock "fit"! A wonderful story.... and come to think of it, it would've been a terrific filmed episode, too!

The story starts with the Enterprise having come across a badly damaged slaver ship. The slavers are gone, but the holds of the ship are filled. Andorians, Denebians—and Vulcans. They manage to save most of the slaves, but Kirk can't shake the feeling that something is very wrong.

He has every right to feel that way when the Enterprise is almost captured by the supposedly disabled ship. Kirk manages to get them free, destroying the slaver ship in the process. They then continue to a nearby starbase where the rescued slaves will be taken care of. And all will need a lot of care. The Andorians and the Denebians are barely functional, while the Vulcans have had their telepathic abilities neutralized. Without that, they have turned more to touch as a communication method. As McCoy describes them, 'They aren't Vulcan anymore. More near to Human.' But they really aren't human, either. And since they didn't want to be separated, McCoy has set them all up in Spock's quarters since they're all set up for Vulcan comforts. Which means that Spock will be sharing quarters with Kirk. And that's a real problem, because Kirk has a growing sexual interest in Spock. But he pushes that aside, knowing there are more important matters to attend to. Having divided the time each will sleep, Kirk returns to his quarters for his turn at getting some rest. He takes a shower and then falls asleep. He wakes to find a nude Vulcan in his bed but it's not Spock. He pushes the Vulcan away and turns on the light. It is S'Tannen, one of the freed Vulcan slaves. As the only non-paired of the group, he had volunteered to 'serve' Kirk as their liberator. The offer is heartfelt, and Kirk turns him down gently. But he is touched by S'Tannen's despair and, wrapping him in a blanket, holds him as he would a child. And this is what Spock sees as he walks into Kirk's cabin. You can imagine the exchange. Spock is stunned and flees. But Kirk sees the disbelief and sense of betrayal in Spock's eyes so once he explains the situation to S'Tannen, he dresses and goes looking for Spock. But there are other things that take precedent and Kirk must be captain first, then friend...or prospective lover. Like the Andorian ship that shows up, demanding its people. But Kirk can't, and won't, hand them over, knowing that, given the slaves' situation, they could be summarily killed. I'm not sure that wouldn't be doing them a favor. In the meanwhile, Spock has found refuge in a small storage space behind the science labs. Unfortunately, he has little time alone for Christine Chapel has followed him. The scene is wonderfully written, as Chapel lays it on the line for Spock. That she's known for awhile that it had always been Kirk that Spock wanted. That the only thing that's made her feelings bearable was knowing that Spock might have a chance with Kirk. So she persuades Spock to go to her room. She'll get Kirk there so that the two men can straighten the matter out. And in doing all this, frees herself from an impossible and hopeless love. Of course, they do straighten it out and it's wonderful. There's more to the story; the ship's problems aren't quite over. But in the end when everything is resolved, or close to being, you know that they're together. And that's all that matters.

This is an all-around great story, with both an intricate plot and plenty of emotion.