Gemini: the Flame and the Fire

Zine
Title:	Gemini: the Flame and the Fire
Publisher:	T.J. Publications
Editor:
Author(s):	Pat M
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Date(s):	1993
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:	86 pages another version of the cover, interior text is printed on light green paper, 55 pages
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Gemini: the Flame and the Fire is a slash 86-page (another version is 55 pages) novel by Pat M. It is a sequel to Brother's Keeper.

Summaries

Summary from Karen Halliday's Star Trek Index:

After recovering from crippling injuries, Spock faces a period of retraining at the Academy while Kirk takes on the bureaucracy of Starfieet in order to get the Enterprise back. When it seems like life is finally get- back to normal, Spock is captured by a Romulan Commander hell-bent on revenge. When Spock is tortured and left for dead McCoy faces losing Kirk, too, as he follows his Bondmate into coma and impending death. Once Starfleet finds out... they are given five days to choose: Starfleet or each other.

Summary by Gilda F:

With Spock healed, Starfleet orders him back on duty, leaving Kirk, who resigned from Starfleet to care for Spock, unsure of his future.

Reactions and Reviews

This is 55-page sequel to 'Brother's Keeper' by the same author, published by Jenny Elson. It has no artwork and costs £2, which is a reasonable enough price, and although the zine is obviously cheaply produced, the one thing that really put me off was the horrible shade of green paper on which it's printed, which shows up the type very blotchily.

Fans already familiar with 'Brother's Keeper' will know it involves Spock becoming brain injured as the result of an accident, and 'Gemini' picks up the story where Spock, now cured, returns to Starfleet for retraining. Kirk relinquished command of the Enterprise to look after Spock during his illness, so up till now they have been constantly together, but Spock's impending departure makes both realise how much they will miss each other, and provides the impetus for them to admit their love for each other. As soon as Spock has left, Kirk applies for re-enlistment into Starfleet active service, but is turned down on the grounds that he is now too valuable to risk on active service. He immediately resigns, refusing to carry on as a deskbound administrator.

The next section of the story is the most unsatisfactory and unconvincing for me as it involves many re-worked, cliched situations, e.g. Kirk going home to Iowa to spend, some time with his Mother, Kirk picking up an old flame on a visit to a Starbase, and least satisfying of all, a very pat and easy reinstatement into active service, involving promotion to Commodore in command of three ships, including the Enterprise, and a promotion to Captain of the Enterprise for Spock.

When Kirk and Spock are finally re-united at the cottage on Altair II which they shared during Spock's illness, it also takes them an awfully long time to "get together", so to speak.' Kirk's restraint is admirable, but it's hard to believe he could ever be as backward in coming forward as he is here. What's hardest to take, though, is Kirk's immature response when Spock confesses to a past affair (a nice twist to have Kirk on the receiving end of this kind of news for a change!). Along the same lines, I also find it hard to believe (however passionate a lover Spock is) that Kirk would pass out from sheer ecstasy the first time they make love!

Thankfully though, these early problems are resolved and they become bonded, and the final part of the story brings the bond to the fore. It centres around a re-encouner with the Romulan Commander from 'The Enterprise Incident', anxious to take her revenge on Spock. The climax is novel and original and would have made a fine story in itself, for it is cleverly devised so that the bond is utilised to the full. It would be unfair to give away more of the plot - suffice to say, the story builds to an exciting climax.

Gemini, is, in fact, two totally separate stories in one, with the latter half of the zine being vastly superior. The idyllic "K/S in a log cabin" section is a little played out by this time and the early plot is somewhat predictable, but Pat Mitchell's great strength as a writer is the sincerity and gentleness she brings to theK/S relationship. For that reason alone, Gemin is well worth adding to your collection.