Winds of Chance

Fanfiction
Title:	Winds of Chance
Author(s):	Gena Moretti
Date(s):	1991
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Winds of Chance is a Kirk/Spock story by Gena Moretti.

It was published in the print zine Fever #2.

See some comments about this story at Some Fan Comments: Her Star Trek Fic.

Summary

"A/U: A research scientist at an isolated site, Spock must ask a certain hazel-eyed cargo captain to become his bondmate as he enters pon farr, the only compatible person near."

Reactions and Reviews

1991

I have some reservations about this a/u story, yet my overall feeling is that it was a nice light read in the middle of what is generally a zine consisting of 'heavy' stories. Kirk's 'sunny', babbling behavior was a bit much for me. We are told on the first page that he's a 'young man', but as the story progressed I found myself wondering if this meant he was 1? or 30. Certainly, his behavior was more in line with a teenager, though I imagine his independent lifestyle would tend to keep him somewhat carefree even as he grew older. I think the author put herself in something of a 'no win' situation with Kirk having to decide whether or not to 'help' the scientist Spock, a stranger, which would result in the commitment to a permanent bond. I thought the decision came too easily on Kirk's part; yet, I was also thankful that said decision didn't drag on for pages and pages when the reader knew what the result was going to be, anyway. There was a feeling of nonchalance throughout this story. There wasn't such angst about anything. Kirk and Spock were almost overly-pleasant to each other, especially considering they hardly knew each other, bond or no bond. Yet, just when I thought this story was getting to be a bit long for having nothing really happening, Kirk up and appears with his injury. (I have to give the author credit for her cleverness for the type of injury... as well as how it occurred! And I though some really mean beings had gotten a hold of Kirk...) Overall, an easy-reading, tame bit of writing.

1992

Some changes in character are okay, but making Kirk a pilot of a freight hauling spacecraft is a little hard to accept.

Good idea to add the planet in jeopardy and the need for the caccine at the time of Spock's Pon Farr. I enjoyed Kirk's dilemma of saving the people and the planet by forfeiting his sex life, (except with Spock, of course).

The Pon Farr sequence was well written although there's a bit too much talk between them. It's more effective to use the thoughts of each one instead of the constant discussion of every sexual nuance. The mental conversations don't work as they sound like phone calls.

A little overly long to support a slight plot, but still it has definite potential as a more full realized story.

The plot of this story was well-used and a bit "pat", but it was still a well-written and entertaining happy piece. I do believe what makes it so enjoyable are Ms. Moretti's wonderful turns of phrase, i.e. Kirk's thought on page 65 "...get your brain out of storage, stupid..."

Satisfying story; good pon farr scenario. Some touches I particularly liked: Kirk's "thing" with voices. Kirk thinking a Vulcan in his "time" might be pregnant! I liked the explanation about earning joint credits. Perfectly lovely phrase, "winds of chance." I love it as the name of the ship (though it doesn't seem Spock would not have used that phrase). What Spock said to Kirk in the first meld was very beautiful. The beginning of their first sexual contact was so quick and dry, not satisfying, but I can see that might have been intentional. It indeed was "incredible" after that. (It seems Spock would not have called Kirk "Captain" since Kirk is not his captain in this story. Why not call him "Kirk" if he doesn't call him "Jim"? I don't care for the "big" Vulcan. A le-matya fur rug in Spock quarters? Doesn't seen likely. Slang expressions in narrative in quotes seem not quite proper.)

Some fine poetic language. Good, subtle nuances of character.

A lovely, sweet story.

1999

I bet I've read this story five or six times, and each time I find myself wishing it were longer. That's quite an accomplishment, since I'm familiar with every scene, practically every word of this story. Ifs the kind of tale I like to pull out when my spirit is going through a dark and stormy night, when I need some comforting. What's even more remarkable is that this an alternate universe Kirk and Spock, when I don't often care for a/u. But I've found that when I run across an a/u story that works for me, it really works for me, and I find it very memorable.

Kirk is an independent freight operator with his own battered ship. He lands on an isolated, sparsely-peopled planet where a group of scientists, including a young computer expert named Spock, is working against time to develop a cure for a deadly disease that sweeps across space, inundating whole populations of planets. The project will be unsuccessful without the computer and mathematical efforts of the Vulcan, but he has just realized that he is entering his "Time" two years eariier than expected. He has searched the profiles of everyone on the planet, and no one is suitable to serve him in pon farr and become his bondmate. In desperation, the scientists have considered Kirk, the person who occasionally brings supplies to their outpost, and unexpectedly, his profile seems to match Spock's.

The opening interview between a bewildered Kirk and a sadly determined Spock is especially well-done. Spock oh-so-carefully explains to Kirk what the pon farr will entail, that they will be bonded for life, that Kirk will be impotent with other sexual partners. Forget it! the independently-minded pilot says. He can't imagine giving up either his freedom or his heterosexuality. Spock explains that he wouldn't ask for such a sacrifice if it were just for him, but that literally millions of lives depended on his staying alive to help find the cure for the disease. Kirk remains adamant, he even offers to take Spock anywhere else he needs to go on his ship, for free. But there is no time for that. Sadly, Spock leaves Kirkalone in the room to watch a video outlining the devastating effects of the disease. When Kirk emerges, shaken and with his face tear-streaked, he simply nods. He cannot selfishly take his own life at the expense of so many others'.

The rest of the story is a delightful rendition of how the two men, forced into sexual intimacy before they even know one another, manage to forge a friendship. Kirk, eternal optimist that he is, is convinced that Spock is wrong about the impotence business. After all, he reasons, the bond between them is only 25% Vulcan.

He has to try having sex with three women before he decides, in near suicidal hysteria, that maybe Spock was right! That's when Spock makes it clear to him that Vulcans, specifically this particular Vulcan, are sexually receptive at all times, and he wouldn't mind making love with Kirkany time at all.

This conversation, and several others like it, take place long distance and telepathically through the bond. That's one of the most interesting things about The Winds of Chance. It uses a K/S convention of which I'm not too fond, the bond as communication device, but it uses it so artfully, with so much innocent enthusiasm and verve, that I'm completely accepting of it. (See my roundtable for more discussion about the bond.)

Another really interesting aspect of the story is the way the author interprets the results of the bond. For her purposes, having the bond enforce monogamy on the participants works really well. This is a great example of how an author can pick and choose among various interpretations of things like a bond, or telepathic communication within it, to support her particular plot. In another story with a different plot and purpose, it might not work so well.

For an easy-going, imaginative, delightful read, I recommend The Winds of Chance.

2004

An A/U story of a young Kirk, the captain of a small freighter and Spock, a brilliant scientist working on a project to save worlds from a deadly virus. Kirk arrives on the planet where Spock is going into his Time. Kirk is the only suitable candidate available for Spock to bond with and live so he can finish the research and save billions of lives. Of course Kirk agrees and they bond with some lovely hot sex scenes The rest of the story deals with the development of their relationship as they become friends and true lovers over the next few months and realise they wish to be together forever. I thought this was a delightful story of a Kirk and Spock unburdened by the heavy responsibilities of command.