Two Ships Passing

Fanfiction
Title:	Two Ships Passing
Author(s):	Dovya Blacque
Date(s):	1993
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Two Ships Passing is a K/S story by Dovya Blacque.

It was published in the print zines As I Do Thee #20, Splendor and Legends #2.

This story has a sequel called In the Night.

Summary

"Peter Kirk is graduating from Starfleet Academy and his uncle tries desperately to conceal a long-hidden truth... or is it such a secret after all?"

From Splendor:

While undergoing debriefing following their encounter with V’ger, Kirk discovers what’s truly important in his life… and that, despite his deepest desires, holding on to it might be more difficult than expected.

From Legends:

Having returned, victorious, from their encounter with V’ger, the crew of the ENTERPRISE is reassigned, a fact that does not sit well with any of them, least of all Kirk and Spock – who have just realized the need to admit a few difficult truths to each other.

Reactions and Reviews

1994

Taking place right after STI. Kirk and Spock in the San Francisco apartment contemplate their lives. Unable to sleep and deeply disturbed, the two Starfleet officers face being separated by command. Kirk to a new ship and Spock to the Enterprise. Neither wants the honor nor the hero worship.

After the ceremony, they return to the apartment and talk about their circumstances and their relationship.

The tone of this well-written story is quite dark and borders on the morose. When they make love in a long and explicit sex scene, the enjoyment for the reader was lost amidst depression. It was just too difficult to switch gears from the sad and heavy to the sexual.

One thing that really disturbed me occurred near the end of the story as they realize they will be going their separate ways. Kirk says: " 'I'm not going to ask you to be faithful to me or anything as pedestrian as that. And I won't make that promise to you, either. But I want you to know that there will be no one who will ever touch that place you hold in my heart, no one will ever replace it." First of all, being faithful to one's consummate love is 'pedestrian'? And since when is it so great to be told that even though you won't be with someone that you'll think of them fondly? I realize that this story might be an explanation as to why Spock and Kirk led each other at that time. The only problem is it asks us to accept that they both value their careers above their love and that has been continually shown to be untrue as they both have risked life and career to save each other.

I enjoy dark, moody stories, and this author can write the best of them, but the premise of this one was unacceptable as it reduces their grand and eternal love to something they can just walk away from.

This beautifully written, bittersweet story by one of my favorite writers is set after the events in ST TMP. Spock is being given command of the Enterprise, and Kirk is being given a prestigious new command of his own. There's lots of angst. tenderness and love as Kirk and Spock discuss their futures, and take that final step to act on their love for each other before they are parted.

2008

The best stories fall into one of three categories: emotionally satisfying, intellectually satisfying or occasionally, both. Two Ships Passing and its sequel In the Night, when read together, are definitely both, a whole greater than the sum of its parts. After the last words were read, I sat back and was absolutely certain that everything had happened just as described. I wasn‘t cognizant of plot holes, uncharacteristic behavior, strident voices, unrealistic situations or suspension of credulity of any kind. Put simply, these are a great read with the characters we‘ve come to know so well living out a real world plot.

Two Ships Passing begins with the return of the Enterprise to Earth after its encounter with V‘ger and the accolades awaiting the command crew. How are our heroes rewarded? Why, with promotions to positions of increased responsibility and visibility, of course. Kirk is awarded command of Voyager, the first of the new line of Galaxy class starships, Spock is given command of Enterprise and the command crew is split between them. McCoy and Scott are transferred with Kirk while Uhura, Sulu and Chekov are to remain aboard the Enterprise with Spock. Needless to say, no one is happy about this turn of events and in the following 24 hours, Kirk and Spock finally realize that they want to be together, not just work together. Nothing about the unfolding seems contrived. These are the guys as I like to think of them, mature, competent, accomplished, aware of who they are and what they want, unafraid to pursue their goals, unembarrassed by what they feel for each other and not inhibited 'away from work‘. This is one of the best relationships of equals that I‘ve read. We also see the beginning of the Uhura-Scotty relationship seen in Star Trek V.

Before they go their separate ways, the bestowal of the Nobel Peace Prize to the command crew for resolving the V‘ger incident without loss of life is a nice touch. The preceding three days are filled with Kirk and Spock discovering each other and discovering that neither is yet ready to give up deep space, starship life in order to be together. The love scenes are hot, not Gayle F hot, but 'oh yeah‘ satisfying. The ending, leaving for the Nobel ceremony and the inevitable parting, is bittersweet. If the story ended here I would be really annoyed. Thank heavens, ten years later we got In the Night.

2009

Back on Earth after V'Ger, Kirk and Spock realizes their mutual love and desire just when they are about to be separated by Starfleet, in command of different ships. Very poignant and beautiful, full of that searing intensity brought by desperation and imminent separation. And God, the sex is H.O.T. No HEA, yet the ending is not a unhappy one. The story is continued in In the Night (Legends 2).