Though Stars May Fade

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Though Stars May Fade
Author(s):	Islaofhope
Date(s):	2002
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Though Stars May Fade is a Kirk/Spock story by Islaofhope. It was a winner of a 2003 FanQ.

"The Perfect Touch" by Animasola for Though Stars May Fade -- "Hmmm, another picture that has a title with the word "touch" in it, and a very good one, too! In this picture about touch, Spock is once again holding Kirk. I’m not sure which of the touches shown in the picture are supposed to be the perfect one—Spock kissing Kirk, Spock wrapping his right arm around Kirk’s head and neck as he kisses him, or Spock stroking Kirk’s penis! Kirk looks like he is enjoying all three very much! I love the technique on this one, and not being an artist have absolutely no idea what it is. (Is it pencil? Or charcoal?) The background is all shaded in with swirling patterns, and set against this backdrop is the picture of Spock holding Kirk, all softly shaded to bring out the muscles and movement of the picture. Really, really nice. And I notice Animasola also wrote "Harp Solo" in this issue, which I thought was a very different, unusual and enjoyable story. It hardly seems fair for one person to be able to both write and draw so well!"

The story was published in the print zine Beyond Dreams #5.

Summary

"Once more posted on Earth, Kirk worries that now that Spock is captain of the Enterprise, his own place in the Vulcanʼs life will be pushed to the background."

Reactions and Reviews

This is a marvelous, professionally written story with fresh perspectives, wonderful characterizations. I simply loved it and can safely say it's my absolute favorite! Such erotic lovemaking on their boat—hot and realistic. Mature, compelling portrayals of Ad. Kirk and Cpt. Spock. Simply excellent and heartwarming too. Damn, I kept saying, if only I could write like that. The author took her time and did a superb job. I also kept saying, this is exactly the way I want to think of Jim and Spock, the story I want in my head to define their later life together. Exceptionally satisfying! An exciting, sensual, believable interlude with our guys. I loved the fact that they were married, so together and in love. Just great!

This is the only story I‘ve come across about the ceremony transferring command of the Enterprise from Kirk to Spock. As the story opens, Kirk is reviewing past Enterprise change of command ceremonies trying to decide what he will say when his cheeky, young adjutant asks, 'Did you know immediately?‘ Kirk eventually replies, 'Was it love at first sight? No it wasn‘t. He thought I was an undisciplined cub and I was terrified that he was too damn smart for me. We were both right ...‘

Kirk throws the tapes in his briefcase to review later, heads to the market then home to fix dinner. It‘s the night before the ceremony and their tenth anniversary. Jim opens a bottle of Steele Pinot Noir because Spock likes the taste on his lips. The stage is set for a romantic dinner but Spock calls. He and Scotty are still getting the Enterprise ready for the ceremony and inspection tomorrow. He doesn‘t know if he can get home and he‘s not at a private terminal. The exchange is professional and just the thing to tip Jim into a fit of melancholy self-indulgence. Their lives are in flux. Jim‘s not overjoyed about being behind a desk and worried about sending Spock off alone. Spock‘s worried about being an adequate commander for his cadets and annoyed with his status as Starfleet‘s token Vulcan. Both are worried about how long separations will affect their relationship. Spock‘s commanding Admiral, Pulaski, is amazed at what Spock‘s been able to accomplish getting the ship ready but after Jim and Spock take a two week medical leave in the middle of ship preparations, is uncertain Jim is really handing over command. Jim and Spock have had very little time together since Spock‘s last pon farr and Jim is annoyed Pulaski is too dense to put two and two together. When Jim‘s mother calls to wish them a happy anniversary, her antennae are up. She asks if Jim is thinking about his parents‘ long distance relationship then admonishes him, 'Honey, I‘m hardly qualified to hand out relationship advice but ... don‘t screw this up. He‘s the best thing that ever happened to you.‘ It helps. Fortunately, Spock does manage to get home for a few hours, wakes Kirk with a kiss and asks Jim to go for a walk with him. He escaped for a few hours to give Jim a very special anniversary present even though their custom is not to gift. A delightful misunderstanding about the gift shows that no matter how close they‘ve gotten, there are still occasional, cross-cultural miscommunications. A long, hot, hot celebration is interrupted by a beeping communicator and a scramble through the pile of clothes. Sulu has a message for 'Captain‘s eyes only.‘ Commanding Admiral Morrow wants to give Spock a pep talk. Ack! The Enterprise has been assigned to shuttle diplomats to the Tholian Confederacy and Morrow thinks Jim made first contact with the Tholians. Ack, ack! The ceremony is brief but touching, a beautiful one between Jim and Spock, a congratulatory one for everyone else. And a prayer from Jim to their silver lady to keep his beloved safe.

Islaofhope hasn‘t written in this fandom for a long time. If I could, I‘d wave a magic wand and change that. Though I sometimes disagree with the occasional plot point, Isla‘s stories are always interesting, well paced, beautifully written, wonderfully detailed, often steamy and always uniquely Isla. The characters speak with the voices I remember. It‘s like brand new TOS episodes running just for me. Isla wrote a number of series. Though the Star May Fade was the last in the ??? series. Too bad we don‘t find out about the Tholian diplomatic mission. Bet that would have been good. Many of Isla‘s stories are available in the BLTS (http://www.squidge.org/blts). Or go for the gold, request Beyond Dreams 5 from the lending library. All its stories are desert island material.

This one takes place after events in The Motion Picture and was an interesting look at Kirk’s reactions once he has accepted promotion to Admiral and is about to hand over command of the Enterprise to Spock. It starts with him reviewing the handover ceremony when he took over from Chris Pike, so he knows what to expect when he has to officially hand over the Enterprise to Spock. Although he is happy Spock has achieved the promotion which he deserves, he is also a bit ambivalent about the fact that Spock will be away quite a lot and the effect this will have on their relationship and this is described very well in this story, as is his concern when he realises that Spock’s first mission as Captain of the Enterprise is not the simple training cruise that he had expected. It is a very well written exploration also of Kirk’s reactions to giving up command of his ship, which, up to this point, has been the most important thing in his life. His realisation that he now has something else to replace that is well described.