The Lost Child

Star Trek TOS Fanfiction
Title:	The Lost Child
Author(s):	Vicki Kirlin
Date(s):	1975, 1976
Length:
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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The Lost Child is a Star Trek: TOS story published by chapters by Vicki Kirlin.

It was published in the print zine Berengaria #6 (part one), in Berengaria #5/6 (part one), and in Berengaria #7 (part two).

Summary

Part two: a castles & dungeons story. Kirk is captured and tortured by one of the parties in clan warfare/castle intrigue until he is rescued by the telepathic princess.

Reactions and Reviews

Part one of a novella by Vicki Kirlin is called 'The Lost Child.' It seems like this idea for this story came out of a very early SF book because I haven't seen this done in a looooong time. A girl is born to a royal blood line on a Medieval-type planet. Because the child has caused the death of its mother, the king becomes angered that his beloved queen has died to only bring a girl into the world... and he order it to be destroyed. Of course, the story doesn't end here... instead the scene switches to the Enterprise, which SO HAPPENS to be on its way to this same Medieval planet 25 years later. And just GUESS who happens to be one board. To make a long summary short, they arrive at the planet and the protagonist, Charlene Tokenlia, convinces the captain to let her go on the landing party. When she finally arrives on the planet, she finds -- SURPRISE -- that's she's the long lost princess of Kletonia, and to make things simple for her at seems that at the 25th birthday of the members of the royal family, they inherit telepathic memory from their ancestors and a few precognitive powers. Before long, this lovely lieutenant retires from Starfleet, meets her father (whereupon he promptly dies), becomes queen, takes on Kirk as a temporary lover, and loses him to kidnappers. Come on! Mother Goose couldn't have made a plot with more holes in it. To make it worse, the agony is prolonged by the fact that there will be another issue of Berengaria taken up by this story.

Mary Sue with kings and dungeons. On planet Kletonia, the King orders his newborn princess daughter destroyed because his beloved queen died giving birth; the nurse rescues the baby, who ends up a crewwoman on Enterprise, now headed for Kletonia. The woman, Charleen, has dreams revealing her heritage; she and Spock are also both having visions of the Captain in danger. She arrives to the acclamation of the people just in time to reconcile with her father before he dies, leaving her the new queen. Oh, and by the way, Kirk is also in love with her. Ends with Kirk kidnapped by her rebellious cousin (who accuses her of treachery for agreeing to a Federation treaty). His rescue awaits in part II. Dull to my taste, which doesn't run to royalty.

'The Lost Child' is the longest story in the issue. It is about a lieutenant on the Enterprise who is actually a long lost princess. 'The Lost Child' is maddeningly predictable, from the princess Charleen's falling in love with the Captain... to her discovery of her heritage through some strange premonitions, on to her adventures on the planet Kleton. This is Lt. Mary Sue with royalty all the way from the bump in the corridor to the kidnapping of Kirk by Charleen's unpleasant cousin, who is also vying for the throne of Kleton.

The second half of Vicki Kirlin's 'The Lost Child' raises some nagging doubts. Wouldn't a love affair with (and impregnating) the queen of a fairly primitive planet be a court martial offense, a gross violation of the Prime Directive? And would Kirk and Charleen, both Federation officers, indulge in their personal feelings at the expense of their duties? And we aren't told how the nobility regard this addition to the royal line. Mrs. Kirlin has the talent to turn out a more complex story line if she would take more time and though. But if the reader is willing to suspend belief in this matter, and in the complete manipulation of the human mind, he will enjoy this good, romantic story... I just wish it could have been longer and more detailed.

The second part of 'The Lost Child' is not much better, switching this time to Queen Mary Sue, planetside. If the reader has gotten used to the total sacrifice of characterizations for the sake of dear Charleen, the second part and its conclusion is palatable. Spock and McCoy are mere cardboard props, and poor Kirk is helplessly in love with the heroine -- and if this wasn't bad enough, he is kidnapped, tortured and made miserable for a year. Never does the reader hear his side of the story. Everything and everyone revolves around Charleen, who suddenly becomes a dignified, mature, and intelligent queen after having been a blushing, lovesick dip aboard the big E. The Charleen in part 2 bears no resemblance to the Charleen in part 1...

The lead story in this issue of part #2 of 'The Lost Child.' IT is probably the most disappointing [thing] in the issue. First, it doesn't contain a synopsis to the first part. The story in general seems like it was written to reflect chivalry and nobility that was so resplendent in the Middle Ages contrasted with the stark reality of evil. Trouble is, there aren't any characters, only a set of cardboard figures who follow a poor rewrite of good and evil, St. George-style. The protagonist overcomes her enemies and troubles like so many dominoes that fall down before her path, and it has a nice happy ending. Yawn!...

The main reason for this letter, besides the praise that I think you deserve for getting better all the time with Berengaria are some things that struck me when reading your story "The Lost Child." I thought It was a little out of character that Kirk should suddenly be infatuated with Charleen after she became the Queen. He really hadn't shown that much interest before when he ran into her. It left me with the Impression that Kirk thought he was too good for a lieutenant, but was a fit consort to a Queen. Or maybe I just Interpreted it that way. Also, I had a question about the end when he went back to the Enterprise. Did he ever for a second consider staying with Charleen and his child? Or take them with him? I know that the chances of either happening 1s non-existant, but it bothered me that he didn't even raise the question, to himself or Charleen. [Ed. Note: Alot of this will be covered in the third story which takes place when Kirk's daughter is 20 years old.] I had always wondered what he would have done in that situation since he was with quite a few women, all over the galaxy. Like Miramanee. What if she had lived? Would he have taken her with him? Or Leela. Wouldn't he have some consideration for his child or children, regardless of his relationship with the mother? The child of K1rk and Charleen will no doubt be exceptional. Will he make It back to her? Are you going to do future stories? "The Lost Child" certainly was one that put "every woman's dream" on paper with the relationship Charleen had with Kirk. I enjoyed it immensely and it was thought provoking enough to raise these questions In my mind which is unusual. I usually accept the stories just for what they are and don't usually dwell on them. "The Lost Child" did net leave my mind quite so easily. Thank you.

I'm afraid, though, that the ending of "The Lost Child" embarrassed me no end. It all seems so much like an adolescent fantasy, with the lost princess and dungeons and pirates and The Great Charleen out-Spocklng Spock with various mind techniques and everybody "speaking forsoothly." You can do better than that, Vicki, and we both know it. And Jim playing with a baby? The impression I have of him is that he would furiously resent having anything to do with a slobbery, probably wet, child - at least until said child reached the age of reason. Jim lives very much in an adult world. Playing with a baby is too much like trying to make a typical housewife of him. No way, as I see him.

I felt the ending of "The Lost Child" was very good, although I do not yet understand, knowing you, why you subjected Kirk as you did. The subjection would have been justified if he would have stayed with Charleen [who was integral in his recovery] and they lived happily ever after but it doesn't seem fair for any involved that that bitch of a woman named the Enterprise would so greedily grab him back again.

Congratulations on "The Lost Child". I thought 1t was very well done! Engrossing. I stayed up too late, reading it, in fact, I think it would be even better expanded into a longer story. Something about Kirk was not quite right, I thought, but I got so caught up in it that it had to be good!

Now comes my most favorite, "The Lost Child". I love this one. I'm a medeival [sic] fan. I especially like Arthurian books and other things about him and his time, Merlin for example. I can't wait for the continuation.

"The Lost Child" was a very entertaining and imaginative story. I often think stories in zines would be improved by cutting, but I think this one would have held our interest if it had been even longer and included even more details. For instance, I would have enjoyed more of Charlene's thoughts and experiences when she first became queen, and Dortek's thoughts after he was changed. Also, how did his wife react to her "new" husband. And of course it would be interesting to know how the prophecy concerning Jaimie worked out, but of course that would have to be a sequel. You have your work cut out for you!

I am curious as to how you are going to develop the relationship between Kirk and Jaimie in upcoming installments of "The Lost Child." Eileen Roy and Leslie Lilker et. all. seem to think that any off-spring develop strong feelings of hostility towards their fathers - do you envision anything similar?

"The Lost Child", unfortunately, has some problems, many of them a result of trying to do too much in too little space. You have enough material plotwlse for a novel or two, and the plot really needs that kind of length so that the back-ground society and its history can be more fully developed As it is, everything suffers—the plot is very superficial (They did this, and this, and then they did this…); the background on the culture is almost completely missing; characterization is sketchy—Charleen is a Lt. Mary Sue, for one thing—and the character's motives are often muddy. But the most glaring problem for me is one of morality; in one action of Charleen's you destroy her credibility as a heroine and with it half the point of the story. The action is Charleen's tampering with Dortek's mind, page 12. There is no possible justification for such an action on her part (she's the heroine, for heaven's sake!); the only defense is the old one of the end justifying the means, a doctrine which is morally as well as practically questionable in itself. That's the same as saying that war crimes are only committed by the loser in a war, since the winner won, and thus everything he did to win was justified. In this case, Charleen's action lowers her to at least Dortek's level, if not lower; he attempted to arrange matters to suit him through espionage, subtlety and violence, but all can be resisted to some degree; Charleen takes control by taking advantage of Dortek in a way he can't resist. "In revising" Dortek's personality, Charleen takes it upon herself to determine what is good for another person (which looks suspiciously like what will serve her best, an attitude we've all seen recently in dear old Nixon), implying that she knows what is absolutely good, and this allows her to act towards that good. Even God cannot compel people to act the way we wants them to, and Charleen is hardly God. She is also not a woman Kirk would even like, let alone love, and if this is how she starts her reign, then heaven help her subjects.

I enjoyed "The Lost Child" and found the ending touching.

About the "Lost Child". Well, I'm not so upset about the things you did or planned to do or whatever to Kirk. What bothers me is what Charleen did to Dortek. I guess I really have a sort of Vulcan viewpoint on such things—somehow I cannot abide the idea of tampering with a man's mind in such a way—in effect, Charleen altered his whole personality. No matter how evil—there HAD to be some other way. And no matter how good Charleen may be, and how good what she did was for her people—no mortal, I think, can make such a judgement. I have often thought about that little bit of tampering that Spock did on Kirk In "Requiem for Methuselah"— the last scene "Forget." I understand the reasons—and the feelings (dammit, if Spock doesn't know compassion, then who does?) But it was not right, somehow—and I always wonder if Kirk knew—just what might happen. If Spock can do that much-why not a little more? And none of us are perfect; does having such a power mean we should use it, no matter what the reason. It's a little bit too close to playing God, for my comfort (and I'm not meaning that I have a particularly religious viewpoint. It's just sorta that I'm fascinated by telepathy and such, but at the same time it scares me. If there was a Spock,and if he melded with me, I'm not sure what I'd do. Scream, maybe.) Other than that, It was pretty well done—some of the writing needed work, perhaps (It did drag in places.)