Miles to Go Before I Sleep

You may be looking for the 1983 Star Trek story by Suzan Lovett called Miles to Go.

Fanfiction
Title:	Miles to Go Before I Sleep
Author(s):	Meg Fine
Date(s):	1985
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Miles to Go Before I Sleep is a Kirk/Spock story by Meg Fine.

It was published in the print zine T'hy'la #5.

Summary

"A/U: On a mission to warn Vulcan of an impending attack, Kirk crashes and is found by Spock, who has gone into the desert to die as his Time approaches."

Reactions and Reviews

Unknown Date

Fun, if convoluted plot, and nice writing, despite some odd relations being brought in. Commander Kirk has just been assigned to command Enterprise, but before the promotion goes into effect, he is assigned undercover to find out about a potential Orion/Kzinti alliance. The Kzinti have just raided and eaten a Vulcan colony, and the Federation non-response has caused the Vulcans to withdraw from the Federation. Kirk discovers that the Kzinti are planning an attack on Vulcan and sends McCoy off to get help; meanwhile, he goes to Vulcan in his borrowed Andorian ship to warn them. Terrans have been barred on pain of death, but Kirk is an adopted Vulcan by way of his blind aunt Miranda Jones, who has been raising him (and recognized him as a psi-sensitive) and is trained as a Vulcan Healer. Meanwhile... Spock, who served with Pike, but has not met Kirk, has decided to go die in the desert at his pon farr. Kirk crashes in the Forge. Ichaya, having followed Spock, brings Kirk to him. Explanations follow, and Kirk and Spock decide that they will bond, ensuring Spock's survival and also allowing them to use Spock's energy to restore Kirk long enough for both of them to get the message back to Shikar - despite the fact that they may both die shortly after from Spock's exhaustion. They don't.

1985

Kirk, Spock, and Ee-chiya meet in the Vulcan desert and begin a race against time (not to mention the Orions, the Kzinti, and pon farr) to save the Federation in an ever-so-slightly alternate universe. Good action/adventure.

1986

I absolutely loved it and I'm afraid I've raved all about it. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough explicit sex in it. [It] raced over that part in one hell of a hurry. (Let's face it. I am now, and always shall be, a dirty old broad!)

2000

T'hy'la 5 to me is a pretty mediocre zine as far as the stories go. I wasn't very impressed, but there is one that stuck in my mind and that I truly enjoyed reading. "Miles..." is an Alternate Universe story, and anyone who knows me also knows that they aren't normally my cuppa java so to speak. But this one grabbed at me. Probably because it is a story where Spock never was the First Officer on the Enterprise, and this is very much a first meeting between Kirk and Spock. I enjoy stories like that. Here, the tale begins with Kirk going on a mission to Vulcan, trying to warn them about an attacking force. He crashlands in the Vulcan desert.

Spock, who's an outcast on Vulcan, and approaching his pon farr, has moved into the desert to die. With him he's got E'Chiya, his pet sehlat. They find Kirk, wounded and delirious and Spock, though weakened and determined to die, does what he can to get Kirk into Shi'kahr to warn the Vulcan High Council. Of course, Spock is so weakened by his progressed plak tow that both he and Kirk will die unless he finds a mate, and who else is there but Kirk? However, Kirk is weak and in no condition to service a Vulcan in pon farr....

The plot of the story is interesting and it is well- written, and it truly stands out among the other stories in the zine.

In this AU story Kirk is a commander of a small ship, just before taking over command of the Enterprise.

Important for this story is that this Kirk was raised by his aunt Miranda Jones (!!) the first human trained as a Vulcan healer. Kirk has the same high PSI ratings as his aunt and is a telepath. His aunt taught him how to shield himself.

Vulcan is in danger to be attacked by the Kzinti's, and Kirk is going to warn them. His ship crash-landed on Vulcan somewhere in the desert. He decides to try to reach Shi-kahr but his cracked ribs from an earlier accident aboard his ship are damaged a little further and together withthe heat he finallycollapses. He is found by a sehlat, Spock's pet. Spock was an officer in Starfleet, but because Vulcan has declined from the federation he had to return to Vulcan. Now he is in pon farr and nobody is there for him, so he went in the desert to die.

I-Cheya brings Kirk to Spock. He suffers from heatstroke and his former injuries. He tells Spock about the planned attack and that he has to go to Shi-kahr. For Kirk it will be impossible to reach Shi-kahr on his own. Spock wants to help, but he knows that he will reach the plak tow in about two days, and that is what it will cost to go there.

To save Vulcan there is only one solution: Kirk has to serve Spock in his pon farr and hopefully he will survive it, too. and he does, however, he is rather seriously injured. Together they go to Shi-Karh on the back of the sehlat. Then, suddenly they are there and everything goes too fast. Vulcan is saved, Spock is back in Starfleet and in his old function a s first officer of the Enterprise, nowunderthe command of Kirk.

There are a lot of details in the beginning, about Kirk and McCoy and the events that go before this mission, the meeting of Kirk and Spock, lots of details about Spock and his life before, and then suddenly the story rushes to an end. In a sort of telegram style the events of the shared pon farr and the journey to Shi- Kahr pass by, giving an unsatisfied feeling. Iwantedto read about their coupling during pon farr, more about their joumey, and more about the ending of the conflict from Vulcan with the Federation. A chance to make a good complete story is missed.