Irresistible Force

Fanfiction
Title:	Irresistible Force
Author(s):	Gene Moretti
Date(s):	1991
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Irresistible Force is a Kirk/Spock story by Gena Moretti.

It was published in the print zine Scattered Stars #3.

Summary

"While his partners are away getting supplies, Kirkʼs camp is visited by a Vulcan in pon farr who proceeds to bond himself to Kirk."

A Mix Up in the Zine's Table of Contents

The very first thing to say about this alternate universe story is that it was indeed written by Gena Moretti, not Greta Foulard as it says not only in the Table of Contents, but on the story itself as well. The authors to two of the stories in this zine were switched. Greta Foulard wrote the enjoyable “Direct Hit,” and Gena Moretti wrote “Irresistible Force.” If you’ve got the zine, do yourself and the authors a favor by making a note of this in your copy. They deserve the appropriate credit, for each story is memorable.

Reactions and Reviews

1991

A wonderful long-time story!

This had some terrific lines -- for example, the one about a certain object looking "desperately intent." I also like the way she included McCoy and Sulu: present, but not obtrusive. The part where Kirk is trying his wings with mental communication is a scream. I can just see Spock's long-suffering expression.

In this a/u story, I had a difficult time with the characterizations and that the reader was kept distant from most of their thoughts and feelings. The reader is told that Kirk is angry about the rape and that Spock experiences guilt, but it seemed to me that neither man's behavior indicated these feelings (other than Kirk trying to fight Spock off initially). McCoy never gets angry, as he knows all about the pon farr, so seems oddly more sympathetic toward Spock -- a total stranger to all of them -- than toward Kirk. In short, the aura of complacency in the story smothered any possibility of conflict. Everyone was too nice and agreeable, and Kirk and Spock conveniently fall in love with little angst or hardship. I had trouble suspending my disbelief.

1992

I never thought I'd read a story where I actually sympathized with a rapist, but this one made me do just that. I especially liked the part after they had decided to stay bonded for a year and Spock joined Kirk and his friends on their explorations. Spock's insistence on "giving back" Kirk's kisses was a sweet touch and his quiet hope that Kirk would agree to remain his bondmate aade this an engrossing, pleasant read.

1998

Irresistible Force is one of those stories that stays in my mind for reasons I don't completely understand, but I like it quite a lot and re-read it from time to time. Kirk is part of a mineral surveying team that travels from planet to planet. As the story begins, McCoy and Sulu are off-planet getting supplies. Spock arrives from we know not where on a small ship, deep already in pon farr, and though Kirk fights him as best he can, eventually he ends up face down in the dirt, being raped by an irrational Vulcan. I especially like the spirit with which Gena imbues Kirk in this story. Although I would have made him even angrier than he is. Still, he doesn't immediately fall hopelessly in love with his assailant, and he fights as best he can before the deed is done. Even better is the way he finds a weapon the next morning and forces Spock to leave, after stunning him to show he means business. This turns out not to be a good thing. because the pan farr isn't over, they are already bonded—although this means nothing to Kirk—and the separation means possible insanity for Kirk and death for Spock. McCoy finds Kirk in bad shape, deduces the situation, and urges Kirk to "call" Spock back. He does, they do the expected thing, and soon after Kirk finds himself on Vulcan in an attempt to break the bond. But nothing doing, and so he and Spock go back to mineral surveys together. After a few cute incidents that explore their growing togetherness, resistance is worn down and they act on their inevitable attraction. Great use of butter as lubricant during the initial assault, because through it Gena illustrates Kirk's character, his ability to think quickly, accept the inevitable, and act to survive above all else. As he puts it later in the story, that butter probably saved his life. The story could have been even better than it is already if we'd seen a little bit more below the surface, if the riot of emotions Kirk was feeling could have been explored more deeply. Any mature man would have a tough time accepting rape, and Kirk probably would have done everything possible to reject his attraction to Spock. It would have been interesting to follow his mental gyrations as he came to terms with it all. But even so, I find this story to be refreshingly straightforward, and an alternate universe scenario that presents the characters in believable roles.