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The Preacher
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Preacher |
| Author(s): | Margaret Draper |
| Date(s): | early 1970s as drawerfic, 1981 in a print zine |
| Length: | |
| Genre(s): | slash |
| Fandom(s): | Star Trek: TOS |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | |
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The Preacher is a Star Trek: TOS Kirk/Spock story by Margaret Draper.
Early Drawerfic
While it was published in Queen Grope in 1981, the story was written much earlier, likely late 1960s or early 1970s.
From the editorial:
A word of explanation might be in order here. About ten years ago, before fandom or fan fiction was well-established in this country, Audrey wrote a sequence of about 100 stories. She developed the series and characters entirety in her own way. There are some unusual features and characterisations and Audrey has often offered to revise them for publication. But I prefer to print them as written on the assumption that other fans will find them as fascinating as I do.
Summary
Kirk and Spock are lovers until a powerful alien that looks like Abraham Lincoln turns them against each other using public shame and insecurities. Kirk wondered "how he could ever have let that gawky bag of bones touch him. The idea was so repulsive and incredible now that he almost thought he must have dreamt it all... The Preacher was right -- nothing unnatural could be good. It was all Spock's fault, of course -- Kirk'd never have thought of it himself. Poor Spock, kinky as a corkscrew. Its what came of mixed blood. A bad thing."
When he tells Spock their relationship is over, Spock offers to stop all the physical aspects, but doesn't want to lose their friendship.
Spock gets a bit alpha and convinces Kirk to do a mind meld. Spock lays out his love, and Kirk is now back to his normal self.
Spock goes to confront The Preacher, but the alien has turned the crew against Spock. They don't have stones to kill him with, as per the custom in the Bible for "such sins," but instead throw other things. When they think Spock is dead, everyone goes to Kirk's quarters. The Preacher shouts that "your lover is dead, Jim Kirk!"
Spock drags himself to the crowd, and he and Kirk confront everyone by declaring their love.
Spock nerve pinches The Preacher, they drag him into Kirk's quarters, and kill him.
They feel bad about this.
Spock, however, feels very happy that Kirk declared his love for him in front of the entire crew.
Excerpts
"Sit down, Jim," said Spock quietly, and somehow Kirk obeyed. Spock turned to face him. "Your mind is being taken over, though you are unaware of it, by the Preacher. It is he who has put you against me, as he has put the entire crew against me, because he knows I am a threat to him. I am the only person in this ship who can fight him and win, on his own ground. You must listen to me now." "I've never heard such bullshit!" Kirk broke in. "If anyone's mind has been taken over it's yours! The Preacher? You're mad! It's no good coming to me with your fairy stories... "
"Be quiet!" said Spock so authoritatively that Kirk shut his mouth with a snap. "His hold on your mind must be broken, and only I can break it. Jim, you trusted me once."
"More fool me, then!" flared Kirk angrily. “I know you and what you're up to!' The Preacher warned me, you're corrupting, making me evil like yourself. You want to influence me for your own ends. Why wouldn't you ever let me see into your mind, though you looked often enough into mine? You were hiding something, weren't you? And now I know what it is!" He looked mad himself, face flushed and voice raised.
No, said Spock, "you do not know what it is, and nor does the Preacher. But now you will know, for I shall show it to you." He went up to Kirk and put out his hands to Kirk's head. Kirk shied away like a frightened animal.
Don t you touch me! Sucking my mind out, corrupting me with your evil!" he shouted.
"Jim," said Spock, "you know I would never do you harm - all this fear is created by the Preacher's hold on your mind, nothing more. He wishes you to reject me so that he can take you over. When have I ever brought you evil? All I ever did for or with you was motivated entirely by my... friendship for you and: for the sake of that and the friendship you once had for me, let me show you what I have kept hidden from you - from pride, and no other reason."
His hands closed gently around Kirk's head, the fingers pressing. The barrier had to come down now, because only by its so doing could the Preacher's influence be counteracted. Kirk, looking bewildered, gazed into the Vulcan's face as the full impact came over to him - the years of wretchedness, the loneliness, the despair, mingled with the love that nothing had killed. Spock began to speak in a low voice.
"Do you think that having waited so long and suffered so much I would now destroy all that I know of happiness? Do you think there is one hair of your head that I would not lay down my life to defend? If my physical lovemaking was in truth obscene to you it never was so to me and I tried, no doubt poorly, to express how I felt by it. The Preacher has filled you with his own thoughts - it is he who is wrong and • obscene and evil. No, look at me. Jim, you will never fully realise what the years have been for me - the waiting, the isolation, the longing for you to recognise me. I was content to take whatever you could spare me, as long as you would let me be with you. I watched you waste your love on worthless little girls who could not give you a fraction of the love I could offer in return. But what could I say or do? I listened to your broken romances and I tried in my stilted fashion to offer solace, and all the time I wondered why you didn't see the love that was waiting for you. I watched you with Bones McCoy, laughing and joking as you never could with me, and I was always looking on. Do you think now that it is different for me that I would ever turn against you? I would not have done so even then - now I have a hundred times more reason not to. Jim, you have never known the desolation I knew, and I hope you never will. But are you going to condemn me to it again? I have never begged for pity in my life, but I beg for it now. Are you going to throw me aside into the darkness again? Or will you give me your trust once more and help me break the hold the Preacher has on your mind?"
Kirk stared at him. He suddenly had a vision of the Preacher as he really was, not a likeable honest man of God who resembled Lincoln but a raving dangerous influence. The hold was broken, and, appalled by the misery he'd caused and his own blindness, he seized the Vulcan by the shoulders and gripped him hard.
"Spock... Spock... " he murmured. "It's all right. I can see now... Where would I be without you?
I'm sorry. My only excuse is that I wasn't responsible for my actions, but you know that."
"I could never tell anyone before," Spock said rather unsteadily.
"I know. I understand," Kirk told him gently.
Kirk pushed Spock gently to one side, where he stood leaning against the cabin door, gasping for breath. The blood made livid trickles down his face. He was too weak to resist Kirk's removing him. Kirk once more faced the Preacher."Tell me. Preacher," he said loudly and clearly, “why is he corrupt and evil?"
The crowd drew in their breath with astonishment, but they remained still.
"And you ask me that?" the Preacher said.
"Yes, I do ask it. Tell me."
"The love there is between the two of you - it is a thing of evil and of shame!"
The crowd fidgeted and murmured agreement.
"Shame?" said Kirk, facing them all. "Shame, did you say. Preacher? Hardly that! Yes, I love him more than anything in my whole life, but I'm not ashamed of it. I'm standing up here in front of you all now and proclaiming it aloud - hardly the action of a man who's ashamed. As for evil - do you call this evil; a man who is willing to strive to his very limits to save the one he loves? How many of you who fancy yourselves virtuous would do for anyone else what this man here has done for me, not once but countless times? Yes, indeed I do love him - and what kind of man would I be if I didn't? The whole of Christianity is based on love. Evil? Shame? All right, Preacher, now tell me exactly where the evil and the shame lie."
The crowd stood motionless, stricken silent. Kirk looked beyond the Preacher and caught Spock's eye.
He flashed a message to him, then turned again to the Preacher, who was ready to speak once more.
"Well, Preacher? Tell us! I proclaim it aloud to everyone within earshot. I glory in my love for this man and his for me! Now explain where the shame comes in. I'd really like to know."