To Drink of Life

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	To Drink of Life
Author(s):	Sharon St. James
Date(s):	1989
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

To Drink of Life is a K/S story by Sharon St. James.

It was published in Charisma #6.

Summary

"During negotiations involving admission of a newly discovered planet to the Federation, a beautiful young man with alien, vampiric powers becomes so obsessed with Kirk that he commits a serious breech of etiquette, leaving Kirk injured, weak and impotent just as Kirk and Spock are seriously thinking of becoming lovers for the first time."

Reactions and Reviews

I normally turn up my nose at vampire-type stories. But this story was an excellent example of IDIC as it portrayed the race of aliens as being simply who they were, and the author was careful to make it clear that they weren't the 'mythical' vampires of Terran history. This story was very powerfully told, and I could feel Kirk's fear as Zann stared at him; it set a good, chilling mood. This story was well-plotted and just the right length. Also, the relationship between Kirk and Spock was portrayed as one of gentle restraint, and liked that very much. I also liked the aspect of Spock feeling himself inadequate, as well as that of Kirk feeling afraid on the planet. (I always enjoy it when either K or S demonstrates honest fear.) My minor complaints are: 1) It was puzzling that, after Zann seemed truly apologetic, he started to 'come on' to Kirk again; and 2) It didn't quite ring true that Kirk and Spock would be so intent on experiencing intercourse together; surely, they both could have given Kirk more time to overcome his rape by Zann. They could have experienced other pleasures until then.

I have always been a sucker for vampire lore, especially in the erotic vein (pardon the deliberate, and really bad, puns), and therefore the plot of this one naturally appealed to me. I thought Sharon did an excellent job of evoking the horror of Kirk's situation and his revulsion/fascination with Austene. The image of Kirk weakened and helpless and lock in a dimly lit room waiting for the candles to burn out was an extremely powerful one to me. I still shudder just thinking about it. Normally, I abhor rape stories, so it's hard to explain why I found this one to be so fascinating. Perhaps it was the whole vampire angle that made me accept it. Austene is not evil, only misguided and arrogant. He truly believed he was sharing something beautiful and loving with Kirk, and Sharon conveyed his confusion and hurt at Kirk's ultimate rejection very convincingly. His crime cannot be condoned or forgiven, but it can be understood in the context of his background and beliefs. If there was a single major flaw in the story, it was that Kirk's trauma was healed too readily by Spock's love, but that is perhaps nit-picking under the circumstances set forth in the story and a small fault to find with an otherwise captivating, moody, and well written story.