One Winged Angels

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	One Winged Angels
Author(s):	Gena Moretti
Date(s):	1990
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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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

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.

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.

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.