Singular Passion

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Singular Passion
Author(s):	Deanna Gray
Date(s):	2011
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Singular Passion is a Kirk/Spock story by Deanna Gray.

It was published in the print zine First Time #64.

Excerpt

"Spock sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, regarding the man opposite him and the extraordinary proposition just given him."

Reactions and Reviews

For those of you familiar with both “The Naked Times” and “The Tholian Web” (and who among us aren’t?), you’ll certainly recognize the similarities in plot in comparison of this stories to those two episodes. But while the stories may seem the same, this author does with this work what she always does so well – puts her own spin on the events and manages to produce a story that, despite how much it mirrors those two classic episodes, still stands on its own quite well.

Here, Kirk and Spock are lovers for only a few months when Kirk suddenly and inexplicably seems to end the relationship. Spock can find no reason for him to do so other than the one reason he himself was reluctant to enter into such a relationship in the first place – Kirk’s well-known promiscuity with the opposite sex. But unbeknownst to Spock, he couldn’t be more wrong. Kirk’s withdrawal has nothing to do with his reputation as a “tomcat”. Rather, it is his realization that his relationship with Spock is beginning to take precedence over his responsibilities as a starship captain. For the first time in his career, he is faced with the fact that if he had to sacrifice Spock for the ship and the crew, that was a decision he might not be able to make. Before either of them could go to the other to find out what was wrong, however, the Enterprise stumbles across a “ship’s graveyard” containing every type of ship known to the Federation (and some not), with the exception of a Vulcan vessel. Spock leads an investigation which reveals that those on board those other ships were all dead – seemingly while doing nothing more than going about their daily tasks or engaging in recreational pursuits. Despite McCoy’s best efforts, no medical reason can be found for all those deaths, leaving a mystery for the Enterprise crew to solve. But as time goes by, Spock discovers he seems to be the only once whose focus remains on solving that mystery as one by one, the behavior of each Enterprise crewman begins to change. No one, not even the captain, is unaffected and Kirk’s reaction to the as-yet unknown force that has gripped the crew threatens to destroy all that he and Spock have become to each other.

As I stated previously, because the plot of this story is so similar to the two TOS episodes, it had the potential of becoming something predictable and dare I say, boring. But this author has a way of taking even the most-used K/S plot device and turning it into something fresh and new. This story is just one more example of that and frankly, I can’t wait for her to write more.

Kirk and Spock had just begun an intimate relationship almost three months before the events of this story, and Spock is still finding his way through the intricacies of the most meaningful connection he’s ever shared with another being. They come across what appears to be a starship graveyard of more than a thousand ships from all races and parts of the galaxy. All races but Vulcans. No lifeform readings are measured.

While exploring this mystery, strange things start happening to the crew. Chekov sees himself as captain of the ship. Uhura would much rather lose herself in decoding an ancient text than in opening hailing frequencies. Scotty is obsessed with his engines, and as for the captain? He’s got other things on his mind. There’s a tricky bit of characterization going on here: Spock can usually avoid many of the situations described here due to his great strength, but Deanna manages to make it all completely credible. Very well done. (Is that oblique enough?)

I’ve been waiting quite a while for the next story from this writer, and I’m thrilled to say this one was worth the wait. Good story. Good writing. Can’t ask for more than that.