ST:TOS - General Fanfic

[Nerys Ghemor]

SLWatson wrote:

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Yah. I've never been very happy with that one, but I'm glad I got the point across with it. Thank you for the comment, too!

I can't really see what would've bothered you about it...to me it comes off great.

I'm gonna have to read that. I don't (rather guiltily) know a whole lot about Cardassians, but anything that shows the more small, life-and-mind-shaping stuff is great with me.

That's OK...for this one, you really only need two episodes: "Second Skin" and "Ties of Blood and Water". Even if you read the synopses at M-A, it's my personal opinion that even if you know what's coming, if you've never seen those two episodes it'll still hit you HARD to see it for the first time. By the time I was able to see "Ties," I did know, and it still was incredibly powerful.

In "A Weaver of Lives," you definitely get "bigger" events from those episodes, but you also get to see how behind the scenes, Ghemor affected the people around him, and how those people remember him after he's gone.

I think so, too. Still, I ultimately think he was a good man; flawed, but with genuine intentions.

I don't doubt his good intentions either. I just think he had some lingering Vulcan-centrism that maybe he didn't want to fess up to. (I know, odd considering what species he married, twice, but still.)

[SLWatson]

That's OK...for this one, you really only need two episodes: "Second Skin" and "Ties of Blood and Water". Even if you read the synopses at M-A, it's my personal opinion that even if you know what's coming, if you've never seen those two episodes it'll still hit you HARD to see it for the first time. By the time I was able to see "Ties," I did know, and it still was incredibly powerful.

I don't think I've seen either of them... do I have to in order to be able to read?

[Nerys Ghemor]

SLWatson wrote:

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I don't think I've seen either of them... do I have to in order to be able to read?

Reading synopses should be enough to make the story make sense--though personally, I think you should definitely take time to watch them both whenever you get the chance, and then re-read afterwards.

[SLWatson]

Nerys Dukat wrote:

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Reading synopses should be enough to make the story make sense--though personally, I think you should definitely take time to watch them both whenever you get the chance, and then re-read afterwards.

::laughs:: The 'when I get a chance' is the rub. But I'll take a look for the summaries and see what's up.

[SLWatson]

Title: Here to Learn
Characters: Pike, Spock
Rating: G
Words: 724
Disclaimer: They are all Paramount's, not mine.
Notes: As Spock is on the bridge, listening to Pike being a mentor, he reflects some himself. A parallel tale to the Arc of the Wolf story, Tactics.

--

The quiet of the bridge was soothing. Even with the presence at the helm and navigation console of the Captain and Lieutenant Scott, it was still a good deal quieter than it normally was while the Enterprise was underway, and Spock took advantage of that quiet in order to run some simulations of his own at the science station. Currently, he was analyzing recent changes in nearby nebulae under his own theory that increased warp travel around them had caused some surprising fluctuations in their base densities and compositions.

Most of his attention was dedicated to that endeavor; he looked forward to studying this possible phenomenon to its conclusions. Science was a discipline of logic, and Spock found it consistently challenging; if he were so inclined, he would even consider it to be enjoyable. The search for the truth, regardless of what that truth ended up being. He held no anger and didn't feel offended when one of his theories was disproved; he considered any quest that ended with new knowledge to be entirely worthwhile.

Some small part of his attention followed the Captain's and Scott's conversation; Captain Pike was acting as a mentor in this case. Spock had found him to be quite adept in that particular role. Within only months of joining this crew, Spock had come to appreciate the calmness that Pike carried himself with, as much as he appreciated the logical nature of Number One. Both were excellent commanding officers without many contrasts that could potentially lead to a conflict in the chain of command. Whether acting as Captain, mentor or explorer, Pike held true to his own value set -- he was able to tailor his approach to individuals of his crew without ever giving into false or duplicitous behavior patterns. In as such, he was able to make his crew feel as secure as possible.

His approach to Spock was a genuinely respectful one, always with courtesy and devoid of any unnecessary emotionalism. Pike listened when Spock had a theory, and encouraged his officers to be able to act and think for themselves within their specialties. In part because of this, the Enterprise ran like a very well-disciplined machine.

It was not often Spock allowed himself strong moments of uncertainty and doubt, but he had them. Moments where he misspoke to a human crewmember, sometimes angering them, sometimes even seeming to hurt them with his words. It was never intentional, but those moments left him feeling shaken and wondering what he had done wrong. After a few such conversations, he had brought it up to Pike. The Captain's words were patient and soothing without being edged with pity or derision.

"Sometimes, Spock, humans get emotionally invested in ideas, even just theoretical ones. And when those ideas don't pan out as expected, they can become frustrated and feel that they've failed." Pike had nodded, then. "Perhaps you should show them another perspective -- instead of them dwelling on what they haven't found, show them what they have."

The advice had been simple, succinct and invaluable. While some of the older scientists in his division were set in their ways, many of the younger scientists, some on their first tour, responded well. Spock remembered more than one instance where a theory worked on was disproved, and he was able to divert the attention to what had been learned by this, instead of it merely being a failure. While they had all gone through training and should have known that, Pike had been right; the emotional investment in the sciences could prove a boon, as it often encouraged harder work, but could also be a detriment. By reminding those young scientists that they had indeed found something valuable by proving what a theory was not, he was not only able to keep them on track, but also ease the interactions between himself and them.

He listened to Pike mentoring Scott now, even as he still worked himself; a different approach, more firm but also more gentle at the same time, and Pike had the same words for the engineer that he once gave to Spock.

"...you're here to learn."

"Indeed we are," Spock thought, and felt the peace of the nearly empty bridge.

And the same peace within himself.

[Nerys Ghemor]

Very nice life-lesson feel here...this is one of those moments that while it may seem small, is one I think Spock would flash back to a lot in "bigger" circumstances later on.

[SLWatson]

Nerys Dukat wrote:

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Very nice life-lesson feel here...this is one of those moments that while it may seem small, is one I think Spock would flash back to a lot in "bigger" circumstances later on.

I always figured that there would be a good reason for Spock to be so loyal to Pike as to risk his career and even his life to take him to Talos IV. Plus, I adore the potential for Pike-era pieces, and don't think he gets nearly enough attention.

Thanks much for the note!

[Gibraltar]

A very professional, very mentoring relationship between Pike and Spock. It’s rather ironic that Spock’s best friend and commanding officer later in his career would be such an impulsive firebrand. Perhaps it was Pike’s patient instruction that gave Spock the perspective to accept Kirk for who and what he was.

Oh, and so that’s what a calm, fully functioning starship is supposed to run like. I’d wondered...

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Very nice vignette with a younger Spock serving with Captain Pike. It's a shame there aren't more stories from this era.

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Gibraltar wrote:

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Oh, and so that’s what a calm, fully functioning starship is supposed to run like. I’d wondered...

Yeah, but it's quiet.

Too quiet.

[SLWatson]

Gibraltar wrote:

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A very professional, very mentoring relationship between Pike and Spock. It’s rather ironic that Spock’s best friend and commanding officer later in his career would be such an impulsive firebrand. Perhaps it was Pike’s patient instruction that gave Spock the perspective to accept Kirk for who and what he was.

Oh, and so that’s what a calm, fully functioning starship is supposed to run like. I’d wondered...

LMAO! I think it really was Pike's mentoring in a more distant, professional (but still sincere) way that DID allow Spock to serve later on. It gave him a chance to kind of find his feet and learn his job, and get more internally secure so that when Jim came along, he was better able to handle the inevitable ups-and-downs two friends so different would face.

And yeah, I get the notion that Pike's Enterprise ran on a lot more formality and military precision than Kirk's did. Which is no bad thing.

Thank you very much for the comment!

TheLoneRedshirt wrote:

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Very nice vignette with a younger Spock serving with Captain Pike. It's a shame there aren't more stories from this era.

I've written a few more, but they're for one of my storylines and I'm not sure I'll post that far in it, just because there's so many blank spaces yet where big stories and adventures go. But if I don't, I will post a link so potential Pike-era fans can read 'em.

TheLoneRedshirt wrote:

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Yeah, but it's quiet.

Too quiet.

Thanks for the comment, and the subsequent laugh!

[DavidFalkayn]

Good story. I'm also a sucker for Pike-era TOS stories--they're few and far between and this is an era of Trek that is too often overlooked. I liked the relationship between Spock and Pike as well--we get a glimpse here at how Spock evolved as both a scientist and an officer and how he begins to better reconcile the two halves of his heritage.

Very well done.

[SLWatson]

DavidFalkayn wrote:

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Good story. I'm also a sucker for Pike-era TOS stories--they're few and far between and this is an era of Trek that is too often overlooked. I liked the relationship between Spock and Pike as well--we get a glimpse here at how Spock evolved as both a scientist and an officer and how he begins to better reconcile the two halves of his heritage.

Very well done.

They are! I've scoured the web for them, and only came up with a handful of them to read. I'm really glad Fontana wrote 'Vulcan's Glory', just to give us an awesome view -- don't think the newer one cut it.

Much appreciated the feedback!

[SLWatson]

Title: 'Cross the River
Rating: G
Timeline: 2265
Words: 423
Disclaimer: Star Trek belongs to Gene Roddenberry. I dare you to tell me otherwise.
Notes: Written as a gift for my best friend Maguena; my first Spock-centric story. The title doesn't have much to do with the story, perse... but it fits in my mind, and that is good enough. Originally posted on the LJ Community fic_simplicty.

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He did not know why the memory came, unbidden, but he welcomed it anyway.

Truthfully, he could likely trace back through the thought processes that led to it, but as he picked up his freshly laundered uniforms from the ship's laundry on Deck 8, he just focused on the memory itself. Later, perhaps, he could go back and follow the paths that led to it.

She was kneeling in the kitchen, humming, in a beam of screened sunlight from the window. In her hands was a delicate and ancient piece of fabric, which she carefully washed in an old bucket. The soap suds sloshed over the sides, but she didn't seem bothered by the fact that she would later have to mop it up.

He had wondered then why she simply didn't take more care to not slosh soapy water over the sides of the bucket, in order to save herself the later effort of mopping it up again.

The suds were iridescent in even the screened light, and the tune she was humming was human in origin, though he didn't know the name or the composer. He had been checking through the code of a program he had been working on, line by line, but every once in a while he paused to watch his mother washing delicate and ancient materials by hand.

He had never asked her why.

They had a perfectly functional sonic-laundry unit. She used it on nearly all of the clothing in the house; it was perfectly safe for the fabrics, and would never fade the colors. Nonetheless, once every so often, she would take certain pieces that he later understood were heirlooms, and wash them by hand in a bucket of water.

It had been many years later, when he had more contact with humanity, that he had come across a painting on a trip to a museum. He had thought, perhaps, that he would understand humanity better if he looked more closely at their culture.

The painting was of a woman, kneeling in sunlight, washing clothes. Her hair was pinned under a bonnet; her apron was damp. And even as he went through the details; the brush strokes, the artistry, the use of color and light and contrast, he could imagine for only a moment that he could hear his mother humming.

Many years later, he walked into the quarters which were as arid and red as the world he had once called home, and put his uniforms away. And he remembered.

Spock had never asked her why.

Perhaps now, however, in some way he understood.

[Nerys Ghemor]

What a wonderful image...the story itself feels more like a painting than a narrative.

Just curious--did you have a particular painting in mind when you wrote this?