Thunder and Lightning (Star Trek: TOS story)

You may be looking for the Star Trek: TOS zine Thunder & Lightning.

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Thunder and Lightning
Author(s):	Dovya Blacque
Date(s):	2007
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Thunder and Lightning is a Kirk/Spock story by Dovya Blacque.

It was published in the print zine The Legacy #1.

Summary

"McCoy thinks thereʼs “a storm aʼ brewinʼ,” when Kirk and Spockʼs interaction with each other becomes awkward, but then the ship is hit with a real cosmic storm."

Reactions and Reviews

Living in the Midwest has taught me to be a weather watcher, so I’m in tune with a lot of the signs of impending change myself. I found Dr. McCoy’s comparison of the Kirk/Spock relationship to an approaching storm to be most appropriate as well as unusual.

Of course I don’t want to spoil the story, so you won’t get any details from me! But I will tell you that McCoy is a very astute observer of his shipmates and especially of his two best friends. As we begin to see the density of the building storm, we are allowed glimpses into some of Kirk and Spock’s moments together – moments that are intensely personal and revealing. Something is happening between them, and while they may not be the weather-watchers that McCoy is, both certainly sense a change in the air. Are they looking forward to that change or do they see it as something that will imperil their futures? Something is quite clear – their affinity for each other. Ms. Blacque beautifully and allegorically explains: “...thunder didn’t clap without lightning striking and, without the thunder to come, lightning had no purpose, no cause to flash. They were integral to one another, stronger together and unable to exist apart.” Was there ever a better synopsis of the Kirk/Spock relationship? I found this both beautiful and profound.

If an emotional tempest were not enough, the Enterprise is plunged into the ion storm of the century and the pace of the story similarly picks up in intensity, adding drama and suspense of a different nature. OK, that is simply all I can tell you except this is pretty much a classic K/S story, following in the footsteps of the episodes, with a nicely woven plot, exceptionally well- drawn characters and an unexpected twist or two.

This woman has always been one of my favorite authors, as her stories never fail to draw me in right from the beginning and make me wish they would never end. She also is very skilled when it comes to using symbolism in her stories, blending it perfectly into the plot, as this story so clearly demonstrates.

This story is told, for the most part, from McCoy‘s POV and as is indicated by the title, a storm is brewing, but not on some planet the Enterprise crew is investigating. Rather, this storm is the one developing between Kirk and Spock, one that only McCoy can see. He becomes concerned that should the storm continue to brew, it could impact the rest of the crew, as the rumor mill aboard the ship is that her two top officers aren‘t getting along and speculation runs wild as to why. But the truth is that although Kirk and Spock know something is causing a strain in their relationship, even they don‘t know exactly what it is. Yet despite McCoy‘s best attempts, neither one is willing to find out from the other exactly what is wrong. It takes a real ion storm that leads to a rather fascinating discovery to give Kirk and Spock the answers both have been seeking (with a little help from McCoy, of course).

One of the things I love about this story is it has some of those ―little moments‖ that make a K/S story memorable for me. From a simple chess game in Kirk‘s quarters to a landing party gone wrong on a planet as cold as Vulcan is hot, and one starship captain desperately doing everything he can to keep his first officer warm, it‘s these moments that demonstrate the deep love and caring between these two better than any sex scene possibly ever could. But then again for me, K/S has never been about the sex – it‘s always been about the love. Something this author understands in spades. It‘s why I love this, and all her stories, so much.

Another great story by Dovya Blaque, one of my favorite authors. Thunder and Lightening is excellent. I am an unabashed McCoy fan and I loved this wonderful viewpoint through McCoy’s eyes watching a storm brewing. The interactions between McCoy and Kirk were right on. And a great interaction between Spock and the crew about ‘Tinkerbell’. The story was a wonderful presentation of a post pon farr story without falling back on the clichéd “oh no, Spock’s not really over the pon farr stuff yet and Spock has to . . . you know...with Kirk”. This was a sweet, realistic story and as always, I love Dovya’s characterizations of all three of our guys.