In the After Silence

Fanfiction
Title:	In the After Silence
Author(s):	Isabol
Date(s):	2007
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:	online here
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In the After Silence is a Kirk/Spock story by Isabol.

It was published in the print zine Legacy #5.

Summary

"Kirk seems unable to decide whether he wishes Spock at his side or to let his pride interfere once his body is restored to him from Janice Lester."

Reactions and Reviews

I‘m learning something as I read this long and involved story: I like Isobol‘s style! Having thoroughly enjoyed her ambitious novel, there‘s no reason I should be surprised.

What appeals to me is that nothing is rushed. Not the storyline, not the dialogue and most importantly, not the process of falling in love.

Because the basis of the plot is ―Turnabout Intruder‖, there is much of a psychological nature to be explored, and it is done here with much thought and careful attention to detail. To say Kirk is troubled in the aftermath is a gross understatement. And if you think about it, having your gender identification turned completely around instantly and without your prior knowledge or consent, would be horribly disorienting and traumatic. This is expertly depicted by the author.

Just as in the episode, Spock‘s loyalty and devotion to Kirk never wavers for a single moment. Anyone who has ever considered him as having emotional shortcomings will be convinced of their error.

I just love the way both men are depicted, the way they gradually allow their feelings for each other to grow and the maturity they display as they clear the hurdles along the way.

As it happens, I read this by booklight during an extensive power failure. It kept the dark at bay and warmed me from head to toe. Thank you, Isobol, for another true K/S gem. Please, please keep sending them our way.

The editors chose to display my CGA, ―Cost of Command‖ with this story and I am proud to have been chosen for such an honor. There is a particular scene that matches very closely the image I created, but with her ingenious words, the author drew it long before.

The still-new Legacy zines contain some wonderful stories, of which this one is a good example: Isabol is new to me as a writer—and long may she continue in our fandom! I found ―Silence‖ to be an extremely powerful story, one that stayed with me for days afterwards. It‘s a story set in the immediate aftermath of Turnabout Intruder, exploring both the psychological damage inflicted upon Jim Kirk and the attraction between him and Spock. We learn early on that both have been hiding their feelings and, painfully, they have to continue to do so... What I really enjoyed about this story was the real sense the author creates of a working starship. The missions do not stop because of what‘s happened to Kirk, of course and we see him intent on ―fence-mending‖, reassuring his crew, even when exhausted. There are good descriptions, too, of their necessary preparations for the next assignment, one which will put Spock at some risk. I loved seeing Kirk join Spock, late one night, to complete the pre-flight checks of the First Officer‘s shuttle, and learning that they always perform these final tests together...There‘s a nice touch here when, even though exhausted and preoccupied, Jim asks which crew member had successfully stocked the vehicle, to give praise where it‘s due. A wonderful portrayal of our Captain, no doubt about it! Isabol‘s use of McCoy is good as well: Supportive, flexible, amusing and yet always professional, he‘s a credit to the Enterprise. There‘s hint—just a hint—that he suspects and approves of the developing relationship between Kirk and Spock, who do finally get together successfully on the final pages of the story. The love scene is beautiful and a well earned one for both the characters, who have endured bitter-sweet, aborted almost-sex more than once, and us, the readers. All in all, this is a complex, ambitious story that I‘d recommend. Even better, I still have the author‘s novel, Sleeping in Elysium to read! Yay!