Talisman (Star Trek: TOS story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Talisman
Author(s):	Theresa Kyle
Date(s):	1991
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Talisman is a Kirk/Spock story by Theresa Kyle.

It was published in the print zine First Time #28.

Summary

"Kirk and Spock meet in Pikeʼs home before Kirk takes command and remember back to their affair as cadets."

Excerpt

"Jim Kirk didn't have second sight, like his best friend Gary Mitchell, but he knew from the look on Morrow's face that the dream he'd dreamed since he was eight years old had come true."

Reactions and Reviews

1991

A sexy story with, I think, a realistic ending, consistent with the premise. I like stories in which the characters grow.

I usually don't like stories that depict Kirk and Spock together in their youth or adolescence. But this story was quite interesting and different. I especially liked the meld with Kirk's funny thoughts and his telling Spock 'It feels lonely when you leave'. Nice. It was fast moving and the end seemed just right to tie up all the loose ends.

1992

This one was a surprise to me. I don't usually like stories that have Kirk and Spock together in the academy. I guess it is because I like my stories to have some facts in them. But like I said, this one was a surprise. I like it. It even quickly became one of my favorites in the fanzine. I guess my favorite part of the whole story is the first time that Spock and Kirk shared a bed. First one and then the other would nearly fall out of bed. And Spock ticklish. That I would love to see!

A first command scenario. Kirk's attraction to Uhura was pleasant. Pike talking about McCoy was amusing. Interesting idea that Kirk and Spock had roomed together at Academy. All quite charming, amusing, very sweet, their getting to know each other at that time. I like the story going back and forth in time, not being only the young characters.

The mind touch while Kirk masturbated was exquisite. Sex was great. The best story I've read of their having been lovers long ago. The talisman, the goodnight kiss, a lovely idea.

1995

On the eve of his assuming command of the Enterprise. Kirk has drinks with Chris Pike in his suite on the Starbase. He's a good guy, here, but it was kind of funny, after all the stories I'd been reading where he's a villain, I kept expecting him to do something villainous' Spock comes in and then it's flashback to fourteen years earlier when Kirk and Spock were roommates at the Academy.

Lots of neat things like when Kirk sees his bare room and he remembers his old room back home with "wallpaper pattern of clipper ships" and a picture of Alexander the Great on one wall and Abraham Lincoln on another. Also neat was (in present time) when Kirk sees Uhura and he's never met her, but he lusts after her.

When Kirk insists that Spock call him "Jim" and says il he doesn't, he'll kick him in the ankle, "Spock was stunned by the threat of physical violence." Cute.

Very interesting scenes of the two getting to know each other. I loved Spock's explanation of his clan name and their talk about masturbation. This talk leads to 'touching" Kirk's mind as Kirk touches himself. Totally cool. (Hey. This is LA.) Equally totally cool is whan Spock kisses Kirk in the snow.

Such cute Spockian things—when Kirk pins Spock to the floor during a wrestling match. Spock says: "I believe the correct phrase at this juncture is 'uncle."

More lovely moments when Spock reflects on his love for Kirk. "Whet was he? Vulcan or human? It no longer mattered. He was Jim's" And when Kirk wants to bond as "a symbol, a living monument to IDIC—just like your parents."

One major difficulty for me was believing that Spock would rather have Kirk leave him forever than just tell him that he (Spock) has been bonded to T'Pring. When they finally meet again, fourteen years later, Spock thinks: "The human deserved the truth." Why didn't he deserve the truth before? Then, there was no justification (he was too scared, too shy..J for Spock's not tailing Kirk and, in fact. Kirk just accepts it.

One other difficulty was believing that this 17 year old Kirk would be instantly ready, as he is, to make a total lifetime commitment.

But, the last line "And tomorrow, the five-year mission of the starship Enterprise would begin" was totally cool.

1997

Ok, I admit it. I'm a sucker for Kirk and Spock at the Academy stories. But I haven't found that many Academy stories yet which were extremely well written. "Talisman" is extremely well written, and sooooo good! First of all, it has a lovely, elegant structure. It begins with Kirk getting the Enterprise. A momentous day in his life. As Kirk is staring at the Enterprise in dry dock, he meets Chris Pike and they decide to have drinks and talk. This story is filled with wonderfully evocative dialogue and description, and I like the exchange between Pike and Kirk. As they both stare out at the ship, Pike says to Kirk, "You'll belong to her more than she'll ever belong to you." One captain handing off the ship to another is a nice scene.

So, during their conversation, it becomes clear that Kirk is assuming that Spock is leaving with Pike. But Pike tells Kirk that Spock has decided to remain on the Enterprise. On hearing this news, we're told, "Kirk felt a cold tingle at the base of his spine." Furthermore, Pike says that Spock is stopping by this evening to say hello. Kirk is none too pleased by this news. When Spock arrives, they explain to Pike that they've already met—they were roommates their first year at the Academy.

Begin Flashbacks. The story now becomes Kirk and Spock each flashing back to their first year together. The POV switches between Kirk and Spock at the end of each little scene, so it's not confusing. We see many of the important moments they shared; meeting, studying, talking about masturbation, being curious about the other's body. Well this is a K/S story! It's all very romantic and very sexy. This part is particularly good at illustrating how James T. Kirk wins Spock's heart by accepting him exactly as he is, neither Vulcan nor Human, just Spock.

I won't tell you any more of the plot, but will just tantalize you by saying that something goes wrong, they hurt each other, and they don't see each other again until the evening in Pike's apartment. But don't despair, (this is a Robin zine after all), the ending is wonderfully written. I wish there was a sequel to this story, or if someone out there can point me toward other Theresa Kyle stories, I'd love to read them...

2000

One of my favorite K/S stories! I just love a well-written Academy story, and there are very, very few of them. I’m not sure if this is just a guilty pleasure or what, but I re-read Talisman with pleasure every time.

The heart of the story is the time when Kirk and Spock, as first year cadets, share a dorm room. (This is a good example of how you can fool around with “canon” to your heart’s content. So what if typical understanding has Spock a few years older than Kirk? You can manipulate their ages however you want to in order to produce a good story. I can recall a Duet story or two where Spock is more a teenager when Kirk is a grown man.) But the main plot is framed by a time many years in the future, as Kirk assumes command of the Enterprise. It is the night before he actually steps foot on the ship, and he is in Chris Pike’s room on a starbase. Spock arrives and meets Captain Kirk for the first time in many years. The meeting is extremely awkward and precipitates memories for both of them.

I love how their first meeting as youngsters is not auspicious. Spock wanted a single dorm room, and Kirk’s initial enthusiasm at rooming with a non-human is quickly doused by Spock’s hostility. But they gradually get to know one another, partly because of Kirk’s irrepressible attitude.

“Finally one night when they were conversing about an upcoming mathematics exam, Spock called him “Kirk” one too many times and the human exploded: “Dammit, Spock! You call me that one more time and I’m going to kick you in the ankle! My name’s Jim. Get it?”

Ah, nice echoes from the episodes.

I also like it a lot that what really gets them together is Spock almost failing body mechanics and therefore having to leave the Academy. Hah! I always have thought he runs more awkwardly than almost anybody else on the ship. (Of course, I still love him!)

Lots of clever touches in this story, including the “dust kittens” that Spock finds in Kirk’s mind during their very first meld, and Kirk trying to find the privacy to masturbate without letting Spock knowing what is going on.The talisman of the title refers to the good-night kiss that Kirk’s mother used to give him, and which he gives Spock at one point in the story. When the story switches to real time, the two exchange it once again, a promise of what might be between them even after so many years.

Perhaps the only complaint I have with Talisman is at the very end, when Spock indicates his willingness to bond despite the long years of their misunderstanding and separation. That just doesn’t make sense to me, as Kirk gently points out, because both have surely changed so much over the years. Okay, I guess I have a second complaint, I never have quite understood why Spock didn’t think he could tell Kirk he was already bonded, especially when the results of not telling him were about as bad as he could possibly imagine. But I do understand that the whole plot revolves around this inability, I just wish the author had shored it up a little.

But, gee, this story always brings a smile to my face. Nothing hot and heavy, nothing decided, really, but oh, what potential! When they finally get together again, how sweet it will be!

2009

Following his appointment as captain of the Enterprise, Jim finds himself face to face with his new first officer Spock, the man he fell in love with at the Academy and who broke his heart. Lovely, lovely story of two men's first love, and their sweet, innocently passionate exploration of sexuality together. Cute and touching, some heartbreak but ends with promise of an HEA in the future.