Familiar Friend

Fanfiction
Title:	Familiar Friend
Author(s):	Martha Selena Brown
Date(s):	1990
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Familiar Friend is a K/S story by Martha Selena Brown.

It was published in Charisma #9.

Summary

"After a terrible incident during Spock's second pon farr that splits Kirk and Spock up for several years, they meet again to face V'ger and afterwards must deal with strong feelings of love/hate, while at the same time trying to solve the mystery of an alien life form picked up on a recent planetary investigation."

Reactions and Reviews

1990

This story left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. It very nicely set up the conflict between Kirk and Spock — and between the Enterprise crew and the alien — but the resolutions went on too long and were, therefore, anticlimactic. Yet, the story also seemed to end too soon. I thought the importance of Kirk and Spock acknowledging their feelings and what they were going to do about them deserved a bigger 'bang' and more time once the alien situation was taken care of. I thought it peculiar that Kirk and McCoy were so relaxed about the situation when Spock's sanity was in so much danger. I realize that they were using humor to keep themselves sane during the crisis, but it also seemed that the reader wasn't allowed to worry about Spock very much because the author kept reminding us, through Kirk and McCoy's mutual reassurances, that everything was going to turn out okay. And it did. I think the story's strongest point was that Kirk's and Spock's feelings about the pon farr were intense and painful; i.e., realistic. The story may have been even more powerful if that aspect didn't have to share importance with the alien situation. By resolving both problems together, it seemed the drama of each was lessened. I did enjoy the plotting of this and the idea of an alien entity being harmful only because it's trying to survive as opposed to any malicious intent. True Star Trek. On a K/S level, it was enjoyable to see Kirk and Spock discussing such intense feelings, particularly when the situation didn't allow them to beat around the bush as much as they otherwise would. Loved 'Amanda's' notes.

This is one of the best K/S stories I've read in a long time. Ms. Brown is a talented writer. She handled her people with clarity, and the moments of shared feelings between the three guys were touching and real. More by you, Martha, please.'

1991

"Familiar Friend" was quite interesting. A familiar subject, of course, but the Mandelbaumian (?!) in Spock's mind as the catalyst for getting them to speak of the problem was an inventive twist. I think what struck me the most was Spock's anger at Kirk for forcing him to do what he did. He would rather have died. I also liked Kirk's perception of himself when he admitted that his own arrogance was one thing at fault; and I enjoyed Kirk's "politely" telling Sarek at the beginning to mind his own business.

1992

"Familiar Friend" (72 pages + footnotes) is interesting and original. Both Kirk and Spock can't forgive the other one for actions in the past even though they do love each other. This story is several years after ST 1. One special part of the story was the various poetry fragments Spock recited while trying to fight the alien inhabiting his body.

McCoy was fairly prominent in this story. On page 41 he utters a wonderful one liner that is both "very perceptive" (Spock's words) and totally HILARIOUS (my opinion). This line alone makes the story worth reading.

If Kirk says 'use me to a Spock in pon-farr, how is it rape? There is still the issue of informed consent. Kirk didn't know that pon-farr was disastrous for unbonded partners. So he was raped. And there are consequences for the K/S relationship as a result of this rape. They don't live happily ever after. That's certainly an improvement over many K/S stories. I do question the idea that Kirk would have wanted Spock to be there after the rape because he'd grown accustomed to relying on Spock when he was in trouble. I think that Kirk would have lost his trust in Spock at that point. There are some wonderful touches. I loved the irony of McCoy seeing destroying Spock's confession tape as a "small revenge" because he was disintegrating Spock's image. I also thought Kirk's discovery that hearing and touch are more dominant senses for Spock than sight was very apt. I agree that it's likely that sight would be less important for a Vulcan, who can see into another's mind through touch. I also think it very likely that someone losing ground in a mental struggle might end up canceling one of his senses, just as a starship shuts down non-essential systems when it's losing power. I did wonder why the author thought a Vulcan needs to go to Gol to have absolute physical control of his body. It seems to me that absolute physical control is the reason why healing trance works. I would have preferred seeing a flashback to the rape rather than having Kirk talk about it to McCoy. Flashbacks are always more direct and powerful than a conversation about the past. I would also have liked to have seen Spock's struggle with the alien in his mind described to increase the immediacy. The wording is sometimes too 20th century like Spock a "junkie" after his "junk". That's obsolete now. I can only imagine how archaic that would sound in the 23rd century.

1999=

It has been some time since I first read this novella, but it has stayed with me through the years, mainly because it contains some elements of creative science fiction which would be interesting in any setting, not just the Star Trek universe. Ms. Brown has created some intriguing alien life-forms who end up playing an important role in the process of bringing Kirk and Spock together. I would‘ve liked to learn more details about the aliens, but what’s there is likely to interest anyone who enjoys speculating about what forms alien intelligence might take. The K/S in “Familiar Friend” is also quite good; Spock is in danger, and only Kirk can help him. Kirk, unfortunately, has issues of his own to deal with which prevent him from being really comfortable with Spock. This leads to some wonderful dramatic tension. In one section, the author skillfully interweaves current dialog with flashbacks in which we learn more about the source of Kirk’s negative reaction to Spock.

There are moments when the tension between Kirk and Spock is captured to perfection....

If you’re a fan not only of Star Trek, but of science fiction in general, you will probably enjoy “Familiar Friend.”