War Games (Star Trek: AOS story)
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| Star Trek AOS Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | War Games |
| Author(s): | seperis |
| Date(s): | 21 February 2010 |
| Length: | 109,105 words |
| Genre: | slash fanfiction |
| Fandom: | Star Trek (2009) |
| External Links: | War Games (AO3) War Games (K/S Archive) War Games (includes links to PDF and Spanish translation) |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
War Games is an epic Kirk/Spock novel by seperis (~109,000 words). It's a sequel to You'll Get There in the End (It Just Takes a While).
Summary: The Federation and the Romulan Empire have been on the verge of war for what sometimes feels like forever; this is the place where what passes for peace might end.
While You'll Get There in the End (It Just Takes a While) is a Pon Farr story, War Games is Space Opera action/adventure, political thriller and mystery at its best and the only thing a reader needs to know going in is that Kirk and Spock are now a couple.
Photo art illustrations[1] for all the characters are by girlnamedpixley.
Recs and Reviews
I find the mark of a good writer is that they write about things that interest them, and that makes the experience all the more interesting for the reader. Seperis is a GENIUS at this, no matter what she writes, but it's especially true in this universe. You can tell that she loves playing in this world, and that makes for an amazing reading experience. [...] Jim and Spocks relationship in both these stories (because you really have to read the first, or the second won't make much sense) is beautiful. It isn't always easy, because neither of them are easy men, but it is real and I think that's what everyone wants: something real. [...] All the characters, even the OCs of which there are several, have been lovingly (and lushly) fleshed out so that no one is in the background and everyone has a part to play that is integral to the plot, even if the character is only seen for a brief moment. I'm not going to ruin the story by giving away the plot, but the action, the adventure, and even the freakin' POLITICS are all just so amazing and so necessary to the story. [...] It is truly a work of art.[2]
Let's just put it this way: before I read War Games, You'll Get There in the End, its prequel, was far and away my favorite Trek fic, and I like this one about twice as much. Seperis is a master storyteller, and boy does this work showcase her talents. Trying to teach some one how to show, rather than tell, in their fiction? Make them read this.[3]
Kirk and Spock face off with the Orions, Romulans, and Starfleet.[4]
The first story in this series is You’ll Get There in the End (It Just Takes a While), a pon farr story. A Jim Kirk has pon farr story, no less. There are some cut scenes set between the two stories. And there is the second story, War Games. It has the most wonderful original characters and the best plot of any story I’ve read in this fandom so far. The Romulan Empire and the Federation may be on the verge of a war–one that not everyone seems interested in preventing."[5]
This is a long and deliciously detailed story, the second by this author set in this particular timeline. The first is "You'll Get There in the End (It Just Takes a While)". Jim and Spock are already bonded here, and in this universe Jim has turned out to be telepathic, though as a kid he tested psi-null like most humans. It's been discovered that in the course of helping Jim heal from various injuries both mental and physical, Spock has managed to regenerate the psi-center in Jim's brain to more like that of a Vulcan. Both Vulcan and Earth doctors are intrigued by this and they would very much like to study the boys and find out how/why this happened. Also, in this 'verse, Sarek does not approve of his son bonding with a human; he expected Spock to bond with a Vulcan female and start cranking out BB's, as he and his own new bondmate have done -- one babe-in- arms and another on the way already. No mention here of Vulcans only being fertile every seven years, but the lack doesn't harm the story at all. There's none of those jarring "WTF??!?" moments here, just very skilled and tightly woven plotting along with a truly awesome Captain!Awesome!Jim, one of the best I've read yet. Spock is not done in as much detail, which saddened me a bit, but what there is of him seems well done, both old!Spock and Nu!Spock. In the story background, there is a slowly developing crisis between the Romulans, the Orions, and the Federation. The Orions have invented a way to create ion storms on demand, and they captured five small Federation ships and have been holding their crews in coldsleep -- perhaps as future slaves, it isn't known for certain. Also in this 'verse, there is what is known as the Grayson Test, which is an individual-rights law much like our own Bill of Rights, wherein each sentient Federation citizen is and must always be free to believe as they wish, marry or bond as they wish, live where they choose, and determine their own life's course. Amanda Grayson went before the Federation Council as a twenty-five-year-old linguist with no legal experience, and argued them into passing this law, which in turn permitted Sarek to marry her over his clan's objections, and permitted her to live on Vulcan with her husband and son, where Vulcan would have preferred to exile the entire family, mother, father, and Spock. In the aftermath of Nero, Vulcan's views have become harder and more codified. Sarek is heading an effort to get Vulcan exempted from the Grayson Test -- first, to permit the clans to dictate marriages again, then to terminate the citizenship rights of any divorced non- Vulcan spouse, and eventually to exile any Vulcan who outmarries, and any offspring of such marriages. Slytherin!Vulcan, anyone? And this is very believable as portrayed here. I'm mixed-race myself and I know this kind of prejudice personally -- this author hasn't missed a stitch anywhere. At the story's beginning the Enterprise is summoned to Vulcan for an unexplained medical emergency. Jim pulls strings and eventually they learn that what's happening is, there are ten unresponsive patients in the hospital in ShiKahr; all ten are "separated" ex-bondmates of Vulcans, and all ten are themselves non-Vulcan. They have suffered damage during the disbonding, and McCoy's expertise is wanted, since as Jim and Spock's physician he has gained much experience of dealing with a mixed-race bonded couple and what effects the bond has on illness, healing, and so on. Vulcan healers, those who survived Nero, do not have this level of knowledge when it comes to non- Vulcans. There is a character in here called Sorin, an expert mind-healer and student of Gol, who is assisting in the treatment of these patients. One of the worst-off was once his relative -- she was bonded to his brother, he helped them build the bond, and he feels responsible for the damage its removal did to her brain. These are all the set-up bits; after this the author grabs the ball and runs with it, through a whole bunch of well-plotted developments and interesting twists and turns. There's bits of Vulcan lore, lots of trippy side-notes and I dunno, go read it, yeah? I'm not gonna spoil the ending for ye, but it's a good story and well worth the read. Me, I'm a sucker for telepathic sex and mental snark, so yeah, I'm good!! Greywolf, still grinning and licking his chops." [6]
Additional Art
Photoart created for War Games by girlnamedpixley includes:
References
- ^ seperis: Tag: star trek reboot. (Accessed 19 February 2011)
- ^ asitor. Fic Rec: War Games by Seperis, Star Trek Reboot/XI, 23 April 2010. (Accessed 19 February 2011)
- ^ terinbegins. Star Trek Rec List, 23 November 2009. (Accessed 19 February 2011)
- ^ The Marci Rating System. (Accessed 19 February 2011)
- ^ Templum Bellonae. Reboot Duo. (Accessed 19 February 2011)
- ^ from The K/S Press #171