Perspective (Star Trek: TOS story by Pat Charles)

You may be looking for the K/S story by Alex Kane called Perspective.

Fanfiction
Title:	Perspective
Author(s):	Pat Charles
Date(s):	1989
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Perspective is a Kirk/Spock story by Pat Charles.

art by Dragon for "Perspective" -- "It took me years to really appreciate Dragon’s work. This one is a gem, as Kirk and Spock appear in what looks like bathrobes. They are sort of embracing from the chest up, with Kirk’s hand up and caressing Spock’s chin. I like the hair on Spock’s chest! (Thank goodness for Patterns of Force, K/S wouldn’t be the same without that episode!) What I really adore, though, is the expression of Kirk’s youthful, very beautiful face: quiet passion, loving devotion. I would feel that way in his position, too!"

It was published in the print zine First Time #22.

Summary

"An ambassadorʼs homophobic remarks cause Kirk and Spock to advance their plans to be together."

Reactions and Reviews

Unknown Date

Before the reunion for ST:TMP, McCoy is off at a dude ranch missing his former life; Spock is on Gol missing his former life; Kirk is estranged from Lori, missing his life with Spock, and having nightmares about being afraid to meld with Spock. Kirk wins an auction for an hour with an Orion animal woman, and his revulsion at the being who is sexual without the ability to communicate or relate to the partner causes him to speculate that perhaps Spock feared being joined to someone who was psi null, unable to share mind speech during pon farr. Interesting. Graphic.

2000

This is an interesting but somewhat uneven story that goes where few K/S stories bother, and that is to an examination of prejudice against same-sex relationships.

Perspective opens in the aftermath of Specter of the Gun and the melds that Spock shares with Scotty, McCoy and Kirk. Kirk muses over the differences in the melds. Spock had said “Be one with me” to McCoy, but “My heart to your heart” to his captain. (Sigh. Bless James Blish for giving that to us!) This successfully and succinctly sets the stage for Kirk’s attraction to his first officer, and he determines to do something about it soon.

A battle with the Orions ensues, forcing the Enterprise to return to a starbase for repairs. There they are instructed by Komack to almost immediately go back and search for more Orions, but to take with them a Federation ambassador in case diplomatic relations are possible. The ambassador is Komack’s brother-in-law, and the story implies that Komack has appointed him under pressure from his wife!

Ambassador Angles is a broadly drawn caricature with a considerable understanding of his own importance and a crate-load of prejudices. Among them is a dislike of “fags.” “And I hope there are no fags doing the cleaning,” the ambassador spouts. “I’ve heard that some Starships’ Captains tolerate them.” Then, later, “I’ll never know why they let those perverts into space, it gives everybody they meet the wrong idea.”

Since Angles is intolerable and insists that all senior officers join him for every meal, Kirk and Spock basically decide to consummate their relationship to get out of going to dinner with him! “Captain and First Officer looked at each other, even more closely in tune since Angles’ arrival. Suddenly there was no difficulty: that one remark had provided solutions for more than one problem. They excused themselves as soon as they could.”

And that’s the weakness of this story, the Angles character not being believable, and the motivation for the K/S relationship being consequently weak.

Additional details that make the rest of the story interesting include Spock quickly overturning Kirk’s assumption that he is sexually inexperienced (done really well in this story), and after notifying Starfleet of their change in status (I was confused about what they told Starfleet: “we’re lovers now?”), getting a note of congratulations from Nogura. Too funny! Parts of this story could have been really amusing if taken over the top, but the author just seems to hover between funny and serious, and so it’s a little hard to make the story stand still long enough to really see it clearly. But I’d read it many years ago and was pleased when I “found” it again; seems I had remembered that homophobic Angles character! So he obviously works on some level.