Heartlights

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Heartlights
Author(s):	Roberta Haga
Date(s):	1986
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Heartlights is a Kirk/Spock story by Roberta Haga.

It was published in the print zine First Time #6.

art by Caren Parnes

Summary

"Two weeks after becoming lovers, Kirk and Spock accept an undercover mission where Kirk must be changed into a female in order to trap a smuggler."

Reactions and Reviews

Since it was established that the pirate who is the villain of this story has a weakness for women, I don't understand why Starfleet didn't use a genetic woman to infiltrate his organization instead of asking Kirk to change sex. This shouldn't be a light request. Changing sex has tremendous psychological impact on someone. It seems to me that the mission was relatively routine. Starfleet wouldn't want to risk Kirk's mental stability that way — especially when the result they wanted could be attained more simply by assigning a female officer.

One kind of first-time story begins with Kirk and Spock having their first sex right away, so that their coming together sexually isn't the main element underlying the plot of the story; rather, a story unfolds involving what they do with their love once they've taken this first step.... Then we have a "Janice Lester" scenario. There's this bad guy in another galaxy (sic). This guy Varian is so a ladies man that Starfleet needs Kirk to do this highly secret mission, to be in a woman's body again, with Spock to stir up a romantic triangle. It wasn't indicated that Kirk switched with another body, although that is how the technology worked in the Janice Lester episode. This story just has him morphed into a female James Kirk. Anyway, there's a lot of good action about the mission, but the thing I didn't personally care for was how much Spock and this female Kirk loved having sex all the time, even to the point of considering that they could go ahead and bond, not waiting until Kirk is back in his own body. We even have Spock calling Kirk "she who is my wife," and Kirk calling himself "wife" too. But at least they had had sex already as two men, so it wasn't as much of a cop-out as it might have been. Some things seemed contrived; one being what seemed to be a set-up just so that Spock could have rough, abusive sex with Kirk (so this Varian would believe Kirk (Jamie) was under duress). Even then, we're not quite shown this sex in theend. More like "Spock joined their bodies." It's a long time, even after the mission is over, before Kirk is back in his own body; and there's lots more male/female sex taking place. Then the scene of their first coming face-to-face again, male-to-male, and kissing, is really sexy and well written. But then, in the very final lines, some poor word choices took me out of the romantic mood: When Spock is sucking Kirk's cock, she writes that he "suppressed his gag reflex" and "buried his nose." Graphic, I sure don't mind, but there are words that are a turn-on, and words that aren't.

Roberta is apparently fascinated with this idea of Kirk changing sex because she wrote another Procustean Petard story earlier [than Bright Star ] called "Heartlights" (FIRST TIME 6). Other than the common theme, it has no connection with "Bright Star". In this one, Kirk is asked by Fleet Command to make the gender switch in the course of duty. The story is well—plotted, but the concept-is less interesting and there is too much focus on jealousy to suit my taste. I will say that the establishment of a bond during this story very nicely i1lustrates that bonding is a mental phenomenon. Kirk may be wearing a female body instead of his own, but that is irrelevant to the bond. I would definitely agree with the implication that the bond is more essential to K/S than the physical aspect of sex.