One Winged Angels

Fanfiction
Title:	One Winged Angels
Author(s):	Gena Moretti
Date(s):	1990
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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One Winged Angels is a K/S story by Gena Moretti.

It was published in the print zine As I Do Thee #16.

See some comments about this story at Some Fan Comments: Gena Moretti's Star Trek Fic.

Summary

"Okay, so something on the planet had changed the members of the landing party into the opposite sex... all but Spock... and now they have to face the reality of men who are now women, women who are now men. They're all sophisticated members of Starfleet, they can handle it. Can't they?"

Reactions and Reviews

1990

This is the first time I have to say I didn't like one of Ms. Moretti's stories. When I read the flyer for the zine, I was looking forward to an old idea handled in a new way, unfortunately it wasn't. First of all, I have a problem with a sense of time in this story - how long did it go on? Secondly, why was Admiral Samules aboard other than for Kirk to be rude to? The Romulan commander, Tivaun, came across much more like the Kang of the original story which the author acknowledges gave her the idea. The solution the sex change was really no solution at all and gave rise to another question - Kirk allowing any crewmember to beam into a hazardous area alone? I also felt that Spock's desire to bond, even given the extra Y "whosit" was a little too abrupt. One thing that especially bothered me was Kirk's, and to a lesser extent McCoy's, use of make up. It appears to me that rather than making the best impression on the crew, Kirk's use of make up, especially on the morning following the change, would undermine crew confidence and indicate to them that Kirk's personality had also been drastically altered. I also found that the changes tended to adjust to their new bodies much too easily. The one thing I did enjoy very much was the relationship between the altered McCoy and Uhura. I wonder, if trying it "opposite" might get them to wondering when they're back to normal if they should try it again.

1991

As always, Gena did a fine job capturing feelings of a crew coping with a difficult set of circumstances. I find the whole idea of changing gender intriguing (wouldn't want to try it) and of course the obvious effect on Kirk and Spock makes for a delightfully different angle on things. I welcomed the ease with which the inevitable cure was accepted because I like to think their's is a kind of love that knows no boundaries.

This is the only time I can remember having difficulty getting through a story by this author. On one hand, "One Winged Angels" seemed to be told in a rushed manner; on the other, it dragged in spots, and I was left wondering what its point was. Most of the story seemed to have a disjointedness about it, and a few times I had to stop and go back a few paragraphs to make sure I hadn't missed something (which, in all fairness, in a few cases I had.)

A couple of examples of things that made me stop and page-back: On the top of page 17, Kirk refers to where he told the crew, "how hard we will work to find a reversal for this state." I went back to page 15 where Kirk talked to the crew and found no evidence of him having said this, in fact, he contradicts it somewhat, saying, '...in a short time, we will all adjust.' Near the top of page 44, we are told, "The Admiral looked around the bridge.' I didn't know they were on the bridge. I went back to page 43 and realized the sentence, "The busy captain had forgotten Admiral Samules was on the bridge, but was soon reminded..." was the clue they had moved to the bridge. This reader would have appreciated a more explicit mention of the change of setting. (Which isn't necessarily a flaw; I probably should have been reading more carefully.) In any event, it was situations such as these that made some parts of the story seem like they were being told in a rushed manner.

Considering the shock and trauma I assume would come from someone suddenly finding themselves the opposite gender, I felt far too much emphasis was placed on clothing, both in the beginning when it first happened, and then later when they were all being changed back. (These are situations where the story dragged.) I thought clothing and makeup both were also over-stressed during the course of the story. I mean,why wasn't Kirk and crew more concerned with getting changed back? It seems like this was left in McCoy's hands -- and his test results -- and no one else was concerned with dealing with the problem. No one was genuinely worried that a solution might not be found. (And, again, it didn't seen like anyone was working very hard to find a solution.

I was puzzled as to why, if the inner person wasn't changed, Kirk seemed a bit weak in his command persona. I couldn't picture his admitting to the landing crew, on page 13, that it was "unsettling" listening to his own voice; or his complimenting Sulu, on page 17, for his speech being "far more effective" than Kirk's own (complimenting is one thing, undermining yourself at the same time is another); and, on page 42, that Kirk let Spock speak for him after Tivaun's sneer (though, granted, Kirk did make a sneering remark of his own, but it was a bit long in coming).

There were some aspects of the story that came off as overly-clinical (with all the careful emphasis on penis size, vaginal size, hymen thickness, etc.), while other parts seemed silly. An example of the latter is the appearance of Admiral Samules. I wasn't sure what purpose he served since he was the source of only a small degree of conflict. The reader never gets to know the results of his evaluation of the crew, so I don't know why that subject was even brought up. I also felt him an unbelievable character in that he was shallow and his subordinates showed him little respect.

I felt the cooperation from the Romulans was obtained too easily and they left me with a couple of questions: The episode "The Enterprise Incident" clearly shows that women can obtain command rank, so why did the Romulans in this story consider it so degrading to be changed into females? Also, on page 40, why were the Romulans searching specifically for the Enterprise? Did they know the Enterprise had been to the planet, so they thought her crew might have found a solution? Or, is Tivaun always searching for the Enterprise because he wants to engage it in combat? Or was there some other reason?

The solution to the entire changed-gender situation was simple enough, and again I don't know why anyone didn't even try to think of it. (In the beginning, I was wondering why they didn't simply bean up to the ship to see if that reversed them, before they started acting like they were going to live with their new genders forever.) Surely, they could have beamed down a laboratory animal a few times (as was done in the episode "The Enemy Within") to see what effect multiple beamings would have. But these people were more concerned with what clothes to wear -- and how to deal with their new genitals and sexual feelings — than they were with solving their problem.

It didn't make sense to me that Kirk was concerned about Spock wanting to continue their relationship after he was changed back. After all, during the first sex scene, Spock outright told Kirk he preferred him in his male body.

However, I did like the scenes between Kirk and Spock in this story. They were tender and compassionate and a breath of fresh air in a tale that I otherwise found difficult to swallow.

An enjoyable reworking of "The Procrustean Petard," with the bits put in that Marshak and Culbreath left out. This was a lot of fun.

I had trouble with a couple of points, partly due to my own perceptions of the Star Trek era. In spite of the fact that the actors on the TV show obviously wore makeup (including the men) and brassieres, I have always wishfully assumed that the "real" Trek would have forgotten such tortures. So when they're mentioned in a story, I give a start. And even if the women wear them, I can't see why men who've changed to women would bother, any more than men today who grow their hair long wear curlers and bathing caps. (Also, I don't see any reason why changing sex would change hair length.)

Nitpicks aside, I did love how the new men burst out their clothes and had to get their boots off fast. And of course, I loved the opportunity for Kirk and Spock to get together (though they did talk an awful lot). The Admiral was infuriating, and all too likely. And I really liked the Romulan, Tivaun. Neat guy.

2001

This title comes from a poem (or part of a poem?) at the beginning of the story:

We are each of us Angels with one wing.

And we can only fly

While embracing each other.

I love this little poem, and ifs a perfect way to start this story, which basically is a first time story in which Kirk and Spock acknowledge their love for each other. According to the author, this story about a sex changing planet was inspired by "The Procrustean Petard" published in ST—The New Voyages 2. (I've read a couple of other stories with this theme, too.) In this particular story, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura, and several other crew members beam down to a planet, and all except Spock are transformed into the opposite sex! The author does a good job of describing how everyone feels and the physical transformations they've gone through. Back on the ship, the transformed crew members must adjust to their new bodies, and there are some amusing/poignant/interesting scenes depicting what happens, especially the adjustments Kirk must make to his female body. As time goes on Kirk wants to try out his new body sexually, and with guess who? As he ponders why he's only thinking of Spock, he realizes he's in love with Spock. Of course, Spock agrees to make love with Kirk, revealing his own love in the process of melding with him. Eventually everyone is transformed back, leaving Kirk to worry if Spock will still want him in a male body. Not to worry, a mindmeld puts that fear to rest!

There's lots more to this story I haven't discussed— an admiral sent out by Star Fleet to see whafs going on, a Romulan ship that has the same transformation problem, and even a love scene between Uhura and McCoy. But I'll leave a few surprises for anyone who hasn't read this story to discover for themselves. I enjoyed this story, and it stuck in my mind. I've read so many stories in such a short period of time, that many blur together, and I don't really remember them unless I read them more than once. But this one I did remember, partly due to the unusual plot. It didn't have any really explicit or erotic love scenes, but not every story needs them. This was just a very pleasant story that created a warm and loving mood.