#Mr spock I don���t feel so good

[carrietrekkie]

Now Comes The Night

Contains Spoilers from “Project Daedalus” (Ep.9)

Named after the Song from Rob Thomas - Now comes the night

Cathrin gets more in touch with her new situation. A little sad story...

There are a lot of things to learn, when you came to a new place. Some are little, others are big, some are annoying and some are never changed. Or, like me, you have to learn everything new.

After an awkward conversation with Dr. Pollard I knew that PMS and all that it comes with are still sucks, better to handle but still ugh…

What also sucks were that jeans from the 21th century are not made to be worn in the engine room of a space ship. I ripped it, while Commander Stamets showed me the spore drive, I still not sure how it actually happened but that’s are the story, how I get my own Discovery uniform.

 Tilly was so nice to introduce me the strange bathroom and helped me with most of the commonplace things. I got an impressive ship plan from Commander Saru along with another guided tour to Discovery. I apologized to Mr. Spock, our start was not the best but after that, we had a nice conversation and found some common ground to build our friendship on. Who had thought that?  

Lt. Commander Airiam tried her best to teach me something she called Kadis Kot but she had to recognized like many others before her, that I´m absolutely inappropriately for any kind of board game. We switched instead to a lovely cup of hot chocolate and had a nice conversation about home and family. More members of the primary bridge crew jointed us and on this late afternoon, I first get a glimpse of that what could become my new home, maybe family.

But then…

„Please tell everyone, I love them.”

I felt my lips start to shiver. I pressed my hand over my mouth to stop myself from crying and was damned like everyone on the bridge, to watch the following seconds helplessly, unable to do anything to prevent it.

Than the unbelievable happened. A hollow crack and the merciless vacuum of space took Airiam away. I heard myself gasp for air, a tear ran down my cheek. She was gone. Shock, Sorrow, Pain flooded me, her friends on the bridge, let us all remained in silence, starring at the screen. From the corner of my eye I could see how Tilly starts trembling, struggling with herself, than she starts running.

“Silvia.“

I teared myself from my solidification and followed her. I catched her at the turbolift, jumped inside and put my arms around her before she could start protesting.

“It´s okay.“ I firmly pressed her against me. „I´m here.“  Before the doors closed, I could see Pike took a look at me, then Tilly and I were alone and she starts uncontrolled crying in my arms.      

The lift stops at least three times before she was ready to step of. I put my arm around her and hold her hand. Still tears running down her cheeks. She tried to hold them back, unsuccessfully.

“Really Sil, it´s okay.” I towed her to the mess hall, placed her on a chair and took a seat beside her. “You are allowed to mourn.” I closed my hand around hers. „Everyone has, everyone will.“

„She is.“ Tilly bitted her lip. „She was my friend an now she´s gone.“ I said nothing, let her talk. “For no reason and we should go on like nothing happened?” “Nobody required that.” To be honest, I had no idea what the Starfleet Protocol provided in such a case but I was sure, that it offered time to mourn, everything else wouldn´t fit. “Take your time.”

I looked up as Detmer and Owo entered the room, raised my hand and waved them towards us. They sat beside us, both shocked, not so heavy as Tilly, but almost enough. I stand up to get everyone some tea or coffee, asked if they want something to eat, than I sat again.

“Can I do something else for you?” Nobody response, so I continued to talk. “Talk to each other, if you feel about it. Remember, she did it for you all, for the entire crew, to save you.”

“You are here too.” Rhys joined us meanwhile, now he looked at me. “I guess you both understand each other well.

“Well, if you would say it like that. I barely knew her.” I smiled softly. “Should I look after Burnham for you?”

“Oh shit, I totally forgot her!” Tilly jumped to her shaky legs, brushing away the tears from her face.

“Okay, sit down.” I stood up too and pushed her back to her chair. “I do that, than I inform you.” I placed my hands upon her shoulders. “She´s surely still in sick bay.  All good!“

I smiled, than I walked away, hoping I was right with my guess. Halfway through I ran into Spocks arms.

“Ah finally.” I gazed at him.

“I was searching for you too.” He considered me with his usual view. “I´m just back from sick bay.”

“You were with Michael.” Thank god someone, but I kept that to myself.

“I was, yes.” He did something that could be a sigh. “She will be back on her feet soon, but Dr. Pollard would keep her a little longer under observation.

“Why?”

“She was hardly attacked by Lt. Commander Airiam.” He broke off. “Well, rather by the entity that controls her.”

“That doesn´t make it easier.” I let my head hang down. “Do you know anything about Commander Nhan?”

“Still in surgery.” Then he looked at me. „How is the rest of the primary bridge crew?“

“I put them around a table in the mess hall, I guess, there still sitting there. “ Another name came through my mind. “Commander Stamets?”

“Dr. Culber are with him.“

“Is that a good idea?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe not our best option, but in the lack of other options, not the worst. They are in the reception room on Deck 3, Commander Saru and some other crew members along.”

“Captain Pike?” I forgot him too.  „He was not with my group.“

„Neither with mine. Maybe he is with Admiral Cornwell?“

We both shared a moment in silence, than looked at each other and spook simultaneously.

“Implausible.”

 “Alright.” I shortly scratched my nose. “Would you be so friendly and inform the others how your sister is doing?”

“That should be feasible.” Spock nodded. „She sleeps at the moment. Someone should look after the Captain.” He looked at me.

“Well, I can do that.”

“Let me know, if you need help.” Than he left me, a little confused what to think about that comment, so I turned around heading to the Captains quarter. I pushed the doorbell, but still didn´t received an answer after my third try. I knocked gently.

“Captain?” I listened but again nothing. So next try. I turned around and headed through the bridge.

 Only a few crew members passed me by, everyone looked sad and depressed. One the bridge the same picture, just a skeleton staff, engrossed in silence. I passed them and reached the entry to the ready room. The doors didn´t open, so I knocked softly.

“Come in.”

I entered and looked around. He sat on the couch in the rear part of the room, his collar released and his jacket half unzipped. Pike looked distracted and weary, I was not totally sure, but he probably had to fight with his tears as well.

“Hi.” I smiled lithely at him.

“Hey.” He looked at me. “Can I do something for you?

“Actually I wanted to ask you that.” I pointed towards him and with a wink he indicated me, to sat down. I walked across, sat down, than I looked at him. With sad eyes he gazed back. “Can I do something for you?”

Now he smiled a little bit.

“Do you know how Tilly is doing?”  

“She´s sad, shocked, but not so upset as the time she left the bridge. Most of your primary bridge crew is at the mess hall, I think it´s good for them to be together for a while. Spock told me, that Michael is so far as it possible, okay. Nhan gets back on her feet too.”

“Thank you.” His eyes were still on me. “You don´t have to do this.”

“But I want, I can´t do nothing else.” My mouth twitched shortly. “And now it´s your turn.”

Again he smiled al little, started do say something but then brook with nothing.

“Captain.”

“Chris.” I looked at him, probably a bit surprised; nevertheless I was pleased by his offer.

“Okay, Chris.” Shortly I hesitated, than I grabbed his hand. “I don´t know how Starfleet goes through those things, but that wasn´t easy for you at all. You must get some rest even if it is just for a few hours. The Crew needs someone that gives them hold and I believe that someone is you.” That actually made him a bit embarrassed.

“I have a thousand things to do.”

“They surely don´t run away and are still here after some hours of sleep.”

“I didn´t have that time.” He softly shook his head.

“In that case coffee and a shower?” I pressed his hand, than I stood up and noticed, how he watched me.  

“Black?”

„Yes, please.“ Pike leaned back, now a little bit eased. I came back with the cups and pressed one in his hands.

“Did you know her well?” I placed my hands around my coffee and took a small sip.

“Unfortunately not.” He sighed. „I have not been here for so long. She was nice, amenable, always with an open ear for her friends and popular by the whole crew.” He gazed in his cup, than to me. “What about you?”

“Me?” I shrugged my shoulders. “I really don´t know anybody here, but Airiam was always nice to me. She told me a game, I guess Kadis-Kot?” He nodded, so I moved on. “I would have liked to know her better.”

 Then we remain silent for a little while, sipping our coffee, both followed our own thoughts. That´s when it happened to me for the first time. Everyone I ever had known are dead, without exception. I took a deep breath, sniffed a little.

“Everything okay?” Pike turned off his cup.

“Yes, it´s only.” I shortly closed my eyes, released a deep breath, than gazed at him. “Another time, don´t let me keep you longer.” I stud up and he followed me. “Shower was settled.”

“I didn´t forget.” He still looked heartbreaking shocked.  I remembered darkly, that he didn´t handle it well to lose people. Every loss touched his heart and he mourned all of it honest and sincere. “But you should follow your own advice. To help hundreds of people to mourning is not exactly conducive to the mood.”

“Let´s see.”

“I could make it an order.” This got us both a little chuckle.

“No, you couldn´t.” Then I spread my arms and gave him a hug. For a moment he seemed too hesitated, than he replied it. I leaned back a little and looked at him. „But nice try.“

We released each other than I turned to go.

„Cathrin.“ I took a look over my shoulder as he accosted me. “Thank you.“

„Don´t mention it.“  

 I left the ready room and headed to my quarters. For a brief second I wondered, that nobody followed me. But with all that happened the last hours, I just had been forgotten and right now I was very happy about it. I entered my rooms, goes through the bathroom and following Chris “Order” to take care of myself. I stepped into the shower, closed my eyes and let the water wash my tears away.

Everything my new friends and companions had told me twirled in my head and made me even more sadder and I had to agree Chris, it had been a lot for me too.

I finished, dressed in my pajamas and laid down on my bed. Eventually I felt asleep but neither is was very long or especially good. Some more hard days are to come and if I just had suspected how hard, I would try harder to have a good night.

[xxx-cat-xxx]

A hand upon my forehead

A short ´n sweet little Peter - Irondad sickfic cause you all deserve it. Reblog or leave comments if you like it, I´m moving flats, have been packing boxes all weekend and crave some human interaction.

Mild fever and emeto here, very faint mention of painkiller overuse, but really, this is mostly fluff. Have a good start into the week, everyone!

“Mr. Stark, why aren´t you in bed?”

Tony startles when Peter´s voice interrupts him in the middle of solving a rather tricky equation. He glances up from the screen he has been bent over for the past hours.

The kid is leaning against the workshop´s doorway, eyes barely open, light brown curls sticking out in all directions. He has clearly just woken up. There´s a nasty bruise over his cheekbone that´s slowly turning purple and adds to the boys´s overall dishevelled appearance, but Tony doubts that he himself is looking any better.

“Not a night for sleeping, Pete,” he replies matter-of-factly.

Tony is always edgy after missions, and forcing himself to rest usually ends in the sort of unpleasant dreams he rather seeks to avoid. Coffee and tinkering had seemed like a more preferable choice when they had gotten back to the tower a few hours ago. However, the headache throbbing behind his eyes tells him that maybe, maybe the kid has a point.

“You...you must be tired.” Peter states, sounding a little off.

“Pfffh, a short rendez-vous with New York´s most pitiful criminals doesn´t wear Iron Man out”, he brags. “Gone without sleep for much longer in more adverse situations. My record must be somewhere at... Friday?”

“86 hours, boss. And the fact that you appear to be proud of sleep-deprivation shows that you have a serious issue with-”

“Ya ya, Mummy,” he cuts her off, facing Peter again. “Anyways, what brings you here at this ungodly hour?”

“Actually...” His protégé looks a little embarrassed. “Do you have some Advil down here? Think I´m running a fever.”

Tony swivels his chair around.

“Don´t worry, it´s not bad”, Peter hurries to add when he catches Tony´s alarmed gaze.

The older man takes a closer look at Peter. What he mistook for a casual stance in the doorway is actually an attempt of inconspicuously supporting his weight against the metal frame. The kid´s whole posture radiates tiredness, and he is a few shades paler than usual, bright red spots highlighting his cheeks.

“Friday, diagnosis?” Tony prompts, already getting up to grab the medicine. He groans when every single muscle of his body protests the sudden shift of position. God, getting old is no fun at all. He silently adds find a remedy against ageing to his mental to-do list.

“Mr. Parker´s temperature is currently at 100.6 degrees and hasn´t risen significantly during the past three hours. He is not exhibiting any symptoms of respiratory infection, so I suspect a mild virus or post-battle exhaustion as the most probable cause.”

Okay, Tony can work with that. He just needs to feed the kid some medicine and then tug him into bed. “Alarm me if the fever rises, Friday.”

“I´m okay, Mr. Stark, seriously.” Peter interferes.

“Yeah, a certain spider-lady told me the same thing a few hours ago just before passing out quite spectacularly in the middle of debrief, because she didn´t think it necessary to inform anyone about a foot-long slash wound in her abdomen. So I think it´s justified if I´m a little apprehensive right now.”

“Hey, I just came here to tell you something´s wrong, didn´t I?” Peter protests. “And how is Agent Romanov?”

“Still laid up in medical. Came to a few hours ago, Barton had to threaten her with tranquilizers to make her stay overnight. And they say I am stubborn.”

He observes suspiciously when Peter moves towards a chair and all but falls into it, gratefully accepting the glass of water Tony hands him.

“Only one, Mr. Stark?” he frowns when Tony offers him a fever-reducer.

“You´re a lightweight, be happy I´m letting you have any at all.” Tony rebuts.

“My body burns this stuff way faster than normal people´s!” he protests. “One will hardly do anything for me.”

“Okay, okay.” Tony hands out another tablet. “But that´s all you´re gonna get for the next few hours.” It´s enough if there´s one person in the room with an unhealthy relationship to all kinds of pain-numbing substances, he adds mentally, dry-swallowing two pills himself. It doesn´t escape Peter´s notice.

“Are you okay, Mr. Stark?”

“Yep,” he replies, popping the p. “Great power comes with great punch-attraction, or something like that. We fought and won a battle today, you forgot? And despite lots of rumours on the contrary, I´m still somewhat human and damageable.”

"Hmm.” Peter replies, clearly not following his mentor´s monologue. His eyes have drifted close, exhaustion taking over. Tony wonders whether he has ever been as young as the kid is looking right now.

“Hey, Pete.” He softly shakes him at the shoulder. “Nighty time, come on, let´s get you to bed.”

“Hmm.” It´s a sound of low-key disagreement this time, and Tony glimpses a spark of unease in Peter´s eyes when the boy groggily gets to his feet.

“Spit it out, kiddo,” he probes while following him through the door, trying his best not to limp. “What´s going on?”

“It´s nothing, Mr. Stark. I´m sorry.” Peter rubs his eyes while they wait for the elevator doors to open.

“Gosh, what´s that thing with teenagers and acting all mysterious?” Tony rolls his eyes. “You don´t wanna sleep, you don´t have to. Free country, free choice, all that.”

Peter looks up at him, blushing a little, but visibly relieved. Tony pretty much knows what´s going on, being intimately familiar with the motions that mind and body go through after days like these, including the desire to not being alone in an empty bed. He himself doesn´t really have a choice these days, with Pepper back in her old apartment, but he´s certainly not going to force the kid to be on his own when he doesn´t want to be.

“Movie night it is, then.” he smirks. “But I am getting the couch. Tell me, what was this Star Trek film again, the one in which they travel back into the eighties and Spock strolls around San Francisco in this hilarious beach robe...?”

They both end up on the couch, because it is by far the most comfortable piece of furniture in the living room, and despite contrary assertions, it´s clear Tony won´t let a sick kid lie down anywhere else.

The spaceship crew hasn´t even landed on earth yet when Peter is fast asleep, wrapped up tightly into a blanket, only his messy curls sticking out. Tony shoves a pillow under his head after checking his temperature and then falls back into the cushions, too exhausted to even think about getting back to the workshop.

He dozes on and off while the movie plays in the background, still too pumped to actually sleep, but oddly comfortable. He´d insist to anyone asking that his robots are all the company he needs in his life right now, thank you very much and mind your own business. But he has to admit reluctantly that it´s a nice change to have an actual human being around, even if it´s a feverish 15-year old drooling into the cushions.

The situation is faintly familiar. A few winters back he was the one laid up with a bad case of flu on this very same couch, lights dimmed, TV on, his aching head resting on Pepper´s lap - well, better not think about this now.

Peter´s fever slowly drops to around 100, but he wakes up disoriented and nauseous a few hours later, and despite the boy´s protests, Tony sits with him on the bathroom floor, awkwardly hovering behind his back when he throws up into the toilet bowl, absent-mindedly wondering when exactly he became comfortable with someone else vomiting in his immediate vicinity.

When the kid is reduced to hiccupping and spitting bile into the toilet, Tony fills a glass of water and hands it to him together with a washcloth to wipe down his sweaty face.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark”, Peter says hoarsely once he has caught his breath. “I´m sorry for this...” he trails off, cheeks coloured red from strain and embarrassment.

“No worries, kiddo.” he winks at him. “Trust me, it´s not a true battle without someone tossing cookies afterwards.”

He helps Peter to his feet, a warm feeling spreading through his chest when the boy doesn´t resist Tony´s supporting arm around his waist.

“Okay, enough adventures for today. Off to bed now, Spiderling.”

[inappropriatefangirlneeds]

Gotham s5ep10 “I Am Bane” Personal Review

“Future got you spooked” Warning spoilers below …

I´m not on board with this episode.  Well this week it´s HARVEY BULLOCK on the hope train, Jim voices some doubt and fears but Harvey lifts him up, then  pushes him into the GCPD spotlight and Jim delivers an insufferable speech. At least he ends it with a applause for everyone and their good work but what is this, other than annoying.  But oh well everything is about FUTURE this week. ~ The future of Gotham after the reunification with the mainland ~ Gotham citizens living in peace and safety ~ The future of the Child ~ Jim´s new role as a father, like next to being city saviour ~ Nygma and Oswald´s future outside of the city  ~ Bruce future home, that´s quite like the old but not the same ~ Alfred´s role on Bruce´s side in the future ~ The future that Nyssa / Bane want. Which kind of is the opposite of all above. Which also is partly Nyssas private revenge but also League of Shadows ““Humankind will be purged of weakness” stuff. Or whatever, I´m out.  On the side of personal revenge, Bane gets sent after Barbara Kean, because she lend Bruce a hand with Stabbing Ra´s al Guhul. Jim tires to appeal to Eduardo/Bane by telling him that she´s pregnant, but Bane doesn´t care “One soul's future weighed against the world's.”  (Oh, hi Spock! ) So here we have the motive of clashing futures tied into one life.   Besides future it´s also HUMANITY “Right, being strong does not mean you have to be a criminal.” “If the world is full of monsters, the only way to defeat them is to become one yourself.”  Eduardo/Bane says to survive he had to “stop being a human” and “had to become something else.” He became Bane, he just didn´t know it yet but Nyssa al Ghul/Theresa Walker knew it and showed him the way. To survive you have to do bad things. Then Lee tells Barbara, who says she has to be strong that being strong doesn´t mean being a criminal aka. doing bad things. There is also a BARBARA KEAN / BANE PARALLELL both had a run in with an AL GHUL´s ideas, the ideas of someone that saw who they “really” are and made them that, or tried to.  Also Lee, I´m not so sure about the “Jim will help you”. Jim had plenty moments to acknowledge the good stuff Barbara did but he just didn´t.  He just said she is awful and needs to change but he doesn´t really believe she can. That´s not helpful.  “Consent is hardly a prerequisite.”  Okay HUGO STRANGE is even a notch more unpleasant and scary this week. Horror. And actually, the tension between his atrocious actions and then have Jim to try to talk him into letting him go because that way he can do what he does best: survive aka paint him as human and actually  vulnerable is kind of well made. And his line about him actually believing Nyssa has better chances, is frightening and weighs heavy in this context.  Also there is a mouse looking down on Eduardo Dorrance / Bane. And this can´t possibly be sanitary. Doesn´t Hugo Strange have any standards? Ha, wait, I bet half of his experiments weren´t actually experiments but just wild life and pests walking into his “patients”.  So NYSSA AL GHUL is THERESA WALKER okay I had my mind rattling a while until it stopped at Ra´s, since Bruce “killed” him but, like Ra´s had all this going on where he wanted Bruce to kill him and pushed him to do it, so it can´t possibly be that right? Oh for fucks sake. Oh and she blames Bruce for everything aka. mostly the actions of others (again). Do they want to annoy me personally? Pet Peeve is an understatement at that point.  “THIS”  is, “about punishing Gotham. For the sins of Bruce Wayne.”  Well at least it´s not for the sins of Bruce Wayne´s long, long dead ancestors, like Theo Galavan wanted to. So yeah, understandable that Bruce got this idea that he´s bad for the city which he voiced last episode but there the hell is Selina when you need her? She´d call out that bullshit asap as well.   Oh no I like GENERAL WADE that´s not going to end well. “All due respect, Mr. Wayne, but I got to go with what my people tell me on this.” And he is right to do so, this is integrity. I mean I get their distrust with that story so far but they could at least have waited for the results until they side eye him that much. They should rather side eye him if hadn´t done that and just taken their word for it.  So turns out it didn´t end well. That they had him sitting there visibly through all the scene with Jim had me dream for a moment, what if he gets up and saves the day. I´d like that. But nope. They pumped Jim with strength juice so he could break his bonds and get the General out. Despite thorough neck and the back of his head checks, the general was chipped and gave the devastating Order 386. Great. So someone hook him to a battery and then give the General a chance to shine you cowards.   “Oh, nothing is just like it was.”  So ALFRED PENNYWORTH´s idea what the reunification future will bring is a new Wayne Manor. Just like the old one. Well as far as possible. His “last great service” but he´ll not retire he keep standing guard. Selina offers support, she´d like to blow up her past, if that helps him. Alfred says maybe she will, some day she might have built something new but the past will always be there. And he´s right but I don´t like that sentiment that SELINA KYLE resents her past like that I´d rather have her be proud of who she is, and was. (Also “some day” my ass, if this is not solely meant to be a commentary about how she feels but also refers to a “making up” for past “wrongdoings” that´s long been settled)  Later they drive right into Eduardo/Bane and despite Alfred´s repeated words Selina won´t stay in the car, they both try to fight Bane. Before that Selina says, it looks like Alfred is not done yet protecting Bruce. Well. Anyway them looking for the plans of the Manor was sweet. But I´m wondering if Bruce wants that “home?. I get that Alfred still feels guilty and would want to undo this.  But rebuilding the whole Manor and everything in it, maybe Bruce would know something better to invest that shitton of money into. I mean there´s a whole city to rebuild. Infrastructure and stuff. * OSWALD COBBLEPOT & EDWARD NYGMA have their submarine. How? Barbara wants to go on board (there is banter about the weight limits) but she got to go to a hospital. Oswald offers to drive her just to drive her away. “I knew she would never accept my help”,  So there´s worries about being crossed and double crossing and turns out Barbara took an important submarine part. They show up at the hospital trying to get it back. They basically are slapstick comedic duo in this one, and eh idk, yes but no. Ed get´s to McGyver a bomb because Os didn´t bring enough ammunition to deal with Bane. I guess it´s fun. * Edward told a riddle and Oswald tried to solve it, kind of. That was nice.  * So LESLIE THOMPKINS and EDWARD NYGMA ran into each other and they acknowledged their relationship with a line. A quite good line I´d say: “For the record, you stabbed me first” * I lied there´s a second line: “And you stuck around long enough to risk both of our lives to save Barbara's? Or was it to protect Lee?” “Do you want me to answer that or do you want sail away from here?” “Bon voyage.”  And I´m on board with that sentiment.  * Oswald Cobblepot has a tiny razor over his tie. Why? * Gotta get a look at Barbara´s handbag. * Does Bane sound a bit like Scarecrow? * “It doesn´t really work that way” Lee is right and her delivery (of the line) was on point * “I´m glad something about this is normal” Bab´s get´s a lol point too. * “ gives us the What's it called?” “Pressure regulator valve.” “Right. That.” * I don´t like that they killed off all the Sirens Ladies, like not that they did anything with them that was particularly good writing or anything like that but still, they could have and I don´t like it. * “They'd choose one of us and they buried us alive. They'd take bets on whether you could dig your way out. But then they'd bury you deeper. And play again. I was the champion.“ The guards only did do that, because if they had just buried them once, Jim might have had an option to say, ha buried alive, been there, done that.  ** There were so many GREAT SHOTS in this episode like OMG. I think my favourite frames are the ones where Eduardo is in the hospital and the nurses watch him form above and he looks up the staircase. This was gorgeous!!!!!!

[fibula-rasa]

Familiar Faces from the 5th Dimension

Getting a role on The Twilight Zone was a hot ticket, particularly in its first few years. Rod Serling had built up considerable cache with his well-received teleplays for drama anthology shows like Playhouse 90 and The Desilu Playhouse (where The Time Element originally appeared) and the Peabody-winning Requiem for a Heavyweight. Twilight Zone features appearances from lots of big-name actors from film, television, and radio as well as actors that would go on to become household names.

Often when this sort of topic is covered, the discussion centers on future award-winning film actors like the Roberts Redford and Duvall so I thought I’d take a moment to celebrate the small screen. Below is a sampling of familiar faces between The Twilight Zone and some other hugely popular mid-century television shows: Bewitched, Star Trek, and Batman.

BELOW THE JUMP

Bewitched (1964-1972)

In addition to some shared directors, most of the major stars of Bewitched appeared on The Twilight Zone. The Bewitched cast made out very well for themselves in the 5th dimension: their episodes are all good to great!

Dick York (Darrin Stephens)

in A Penny for your Thoughts 2.16 as Hector B. Poole and in The Purple Testament 1.19 as Capt. Phil Riker

Two very different stories here, both about psychic powers. Penny is a funny, screwball sort of episode about a hapless bank employee unexpectedly gifted with telepathy and Testament follows a soldier who starts getting premonitions of who’ll die next. If you like York’s Derwood mugging, you’ll love Penny.

Agnes Moorehead (Endora)

in The Invaders 2.15 as the Woman

If you read my Twilight Zone post from yesterday, you know this one is an all-time fave of mine. Moorehead still has loads of witchy energy in this episode, albeit a very different, unglamorous kind of witchy.

Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha Stephens)

in Two 3.01 as the Woman (but y’know a different one from Agnes…)

Montgomery and Charles Bronson play two lone soldiers on opposite sides of a war that has ended in apocalypse. The story works through what happens to those soldiers when there’s little more to fight over. It’s a very Rod Serling concept though I’m lukewarm on the resolution. Now, Inger Stevens is great in The Lateness of the Hour, but I always wonder about how great Montgomery would have been in the role.

David White (Larry Tate)

in I Sing the Body Electric 3.35 as George Rogers

I also covered this episode in yesterday’s post. White’s character in I Sing couldn’t be further from the selfish and obtrusive Larry Tate and it’s fun to see him as a sympathetic single dad trying to do what’s best for his kids.

Small Roles: Sandra Gould (Gladys Kravitz #2) in Cavender is Coming 3.36 & What’s in the Box 5.24, Alice Pearce (Gladys Kravitz #1) in Static 2.20.

Honorable Mention goes to Maurice Evans (Maurice) in Planet of the Apes (1968) as Dr. Zaius because Rod Serling wrote the screenplay.

Star Trek (1966-1969)

Star Trek and The Twilight Zone have a ton of cast in common, especially when you include guest spots. Half of the Enterprise’s bridge crew appeared on The Twilight Zone and even their engineer. Unlike with the Bewitched stars, the Star Trek actors have a spotty record on Twilight Zone. Both of Shatner’s episodes are true classics, but Nimoy and Takei are in some troubling territory.

Twilight Zone writers George Clayton Johnson and Richard Matheson also wrote episodes of Star Trek, respectively The Man Trap and The Enemy Within.

William Shatner (James T. Kirk)

In Nick of Time 2.07 as Don Carter and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet 5.03 as Bob Wilson

Bit of Trivia: When Richard Matheson wrote Nightmare, knowing Shatner would likely star, he wanted to make Bob Wilson Don Carter following his inevitable nervous breakdown after Nick of Time. When Patty Breslin was unavailable for Nightmare, the plan was scrapped.

Leonard Nimoy (Spock)

in A Quality of Mercy 3.15 as Hansen

A jingoistic WWII soldier (Dean Stockwell) is all-too eager to kill and it takes a Freaky Friday situation for him to learn a lesson about mercy. Nimoy’s role is a small one here, but maybe that’s a good thing.

James Doohan (Scotty)

in Valley of the Shadow 4.03 as a Father

A reporter takes a wrong turn roundabout Albuquerque and finds himself in a town with a secret. He makes the mistake of asking questions after Doohan’s daughter disappears his dog and things get messy from there. Valley of the Shadow is one of the best episodes from this season of drawn-out stories and it often feels like a Star Trek plot.

George Takei (Sulu)

in The Encounter 5.31 as Arthur Takamori

Just don’t.

Small Roles (too many to mention): Susan Oliver (Vina from Star Trek’s pilot) in People Are Alike All Over 1.25, Arlene Martel (T’Pring) in Twenty-Two 2.17 and What You Need 1.12.

Batman (1966-1968)

We never had the pleasure of the caped crusader himself on The Twilight Zone, but we do have two of his greatest nemeses and his butler.

Burgess Meredith (The Penguin)

in Time Enough at Last 1.08 as Henry Bemis and in Mr. Dingle, the Strong 2.19 as Mr. Dingle and in The Obsolete Man 2.29 as Romney Wordsworth and in Printer’s Devil 4.09 as Mr. Smith

Burgess Meredith is tied with Jack Klugman for most starring spots on The Twilight Zone; Meredith’s episodes hew more toward the humorous though. Printer’s Devil is probably the least seen of Meredith’s appearances and that’s a shame. He’s got a cigarillo-chomping menace that builds steadily throughout the story.

Julie Newmar (Catwoman)

in Of Late I Think of Cliffordville 4.14 as Miss Devlin

A bored robber baron cuts a deal with the devil (Newmar) to go back in time to his hometown so he can change a thing or two about his past. Unfortunately for him, even non-traditional Faustian bargains have their pitfalls. Newmar is spectacular as the sly and charming “travel agent.” You can definitely see some roots of what Newmar would later put into her portrayal of Catwoman.

Alan Napier (Alfred)

in Passage on the Lady Anne 4.17 as Capt. Protheroe

A young couple books passage on the wrong ship according to all the strange elderly people on the ship. Passage is a spooky concept that’s just too drawn out. This would have made a very memorable 30-minute episode though.

Small Roles: Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara) in Nick of Time 2.07 and in The Grave 3.07 and in Caesar and Me 5.28.

Many many one-time special guest villains also appeared!

These are just a few fun shows that followed The Twilight Zone and have more than a smattering of cast and crew in common. It’s the tip of the iceberg, really. The Beverly Hillbillies also had a ton of crossover performers, but since the Clampetts aren’t psychics or villains, the connections aren’t quite as fun to make!

I don’t think so anyway...

[v-thinks-on]

The Undiscovered Country

Part 3 of Aging With Mistakes

First | Previous

In a fit of rebellion they should have long since outgrown, they took the USS Enterprise on a final cruise. As much as Captain James Kirk bitterly wanted to take his ship and just keep going, to explore as much as of the sector as they could and live out the remainder of his natural life span among the stars, he wasn’t the only one aboard. He owed it to his crew and the new crew that would take their place to return to Earth and retire with as much grace as he could muster.

They arrived in spacedock in the middle of ship’s night, and it was the wee hours of the morning by the time the entire crew had disembarked for what, for the senior officers, at least, would be their final shore leave. The captain stood alone on the darkened bridge watching the Earth roll by on the viewscreen, his hand on the back of the chair that was no longer his. He knew the others were waiting for him, but he could not bring himself to move and bring his final mission to a close.

The sound of the turbolift door sliding open jarred him out of his thoughts. He could feel Spock watching him, his own regret simmering just below the surface as he considered whether to interrupt the captain or leave him to his thoughts for just a moment longer. Kirk closed his eyes to focus on the place in the back of his mind where Spock always was and beckoned his First Officer forward.

Kirk could hear Spock’s even steps against the hard floor as he took his usual place behind the captain, to his right, standing at attention with his hands clasped behind his back. This was where they belonged.

“Last chance to take the helm and never look back,” Kirk said as lightly as he could with a weak, teary grin.

Spock quieted the reflexive logistical considerations - a starship requires more than two people to operate, it would be dangerous, we would be caught, possibly imprisoned… - and said aloud, his voice little more than a rough whisper, “Jim.”

Kirk twisted around to glance at Spock. The half-Vulcan’s face was set in a serious expression that could have been mistaken for stern, but his eyes told a much softer story of warmth and concern that echoed through their bond.

Kirk turned to face him properly, his attempt at a smile turned to a grimace. He let out a shaky sigh and shook his head. All of a sudden, he found it difficult to meet Spock’s eyes.

Kirk had just begun to consider suggesting they leave the bridge when Spock remarked, “This” - by your side, on a starship very much like this one - “was the first place where I felt I belonged.” He caught Kirk’s eyes with his firm, steady gaze and held it. But it is not the last.

Any words Kirk might have said caught in his throat.

You do not need to say anything, Spock insisted through their bond.

Still, Kirk eventually got out the words, “Thank you.”

“I am grateful to you,” Spock replied.

Kirk gave him a small smile and put a hand on Spock’s shoulder. Finally, he said, as his lips twitched down into a frown, “Standing around on the bridge forever isn’t going to change anyone’s mind.” He gestured toward the lift. “After you.”

Spock inclined his head and turned away to allow Kirk a moment to wipe his eyes.

The former starship captain James Kirk and his first officer, Mr. Spock, began the slow work of settling in to Jim’s - now their - apartment in San Francisco. They had few belongings to transfer, but making themselves comfortable on Earth was a challenge in and of itself.

Spock settled for the evening in his usual seat in front of the fire, savoring the dry heat and a mug of Vulcan tea as he caught up on the scientific progress he had missed while in space. Jim was reading one of his antique books, ostensibly, but Spock could feel him fighting to focus on the words in front of him. Discontent and quiet frustration radiated off of his bondmate, building up until it threatened to burst out.

Precisely on cue, Jim put the book aside with an overly forceful thud. He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh that took with it the brunt of his anger, leaving behind dulled resentment and more insidious resigned defeat.

With steady, deliberate motions, Spock put aside his own reading and turned to face his bondmate, skeptical, but not unsympathetic.

Finally, Jim’s malaise congealed into words, “I don’t think I’ve felt young since the end of our first five year mission.”

Spock nodded in acknowledgement. He attempted to wade through his bondmate’s tangled emotions before finally he said gently, “Youth is not everything.”

Jim sighed again, letting out a little more steam, and leaned forward to face Spock properly. With a rueful smile he remarked, “Maybe you’re right - just look at you.” He gestured toward Spock for emphasis. “Maybe I’m just not meant for old age.”

Spock’s expression fell hard; he did not bother to hide his disagreement. “I would not prefer the alternative,” he said sharply.

Jim’s eyes widened as he realized what he had said. “Spock, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” He held out a hand to his bondmate, his first two fingers outstretched in contrition.

Spock accepted the gesture and extended his own hand to meet Jim’s. Their fingers brushed together and Spock was struck with a storm of embroiled emotions that a brief contact alone could not begin to untangle - and yet Spock hesitated at the thought of a mind meld.

As they both pulled away, Jim gave Spock a wry smile. “I wouldn’t want to meld with me either.”

“Jim.” Spock held out a hand toward his bondmate’s face, angled to match his familiar psy points.

Jim’s smile softened, but Spock could still see the sadness in it. Finally, he admitted, “It’s almost a relief, being stuck on Earth again. I don’t know what to do with myself, but I don’t have to worry about you sacrificing yourself or spending the rest of my life on some god-forsaken planet. And then I wonder who I am and whatever happened to Captain James Kirk.”

“Our last mission was not an easy one,” Spock attempted, though he lowered his hand.

“But when have they ever been?” Jim retorted.

Jim’s fight faded as he felt Spock gathering the resolve to speak. He waited patiently, silently as Spock overcame his Vulcan upbringing and finally said, “I am also relieved that we are both out of danger.”

Jim’s face melted into a smile. “Remember, there were times on the Enterprise we would have killed for some shore leave, or just some time together in a safe place without the rest of the crew?”

Spock nodded. “Yes, I recall a few such occasions.” His expression was as straight as ever, but there was a tentative teasing humor in his eyes.

“We should make the best of it before the next crisis strikes and we have to cheat another unwinnable scenario.” There was some blind desperation behind his words - though they both knew the grim truth was that there was little way for either of them to cheat old age - but Jim gave Spock a wry, knowing grin that quelled his bondmate’s concerns at least for the moment.

Spock replied, “May I suggest a game of chess?”

“Mr. Spock, I thought you'd never ask.”

***

It was a beautiful day, as reluctant as Jim was to admit it. The sun was shining, the air was warm, but not too warm, with a gentle breeze and just a touch of humidity from the bay. Bones would say it was the perfect remedy for being stuck on a starship in the middle of a void. As much as it made Jim homesick for said starship and the starry void that surrounded it, he found it hard to be resentful as he ambled through a lush green park with Spock by his side.

He glanced over at his bondmate, bundled up for much colder weather by human standards, and still a little chilly. The mild humidity was heavy and cloying compared to the parched deserts of Vulcan, not that Spock would ever voice the complaint aloud. Jim shot him a smile and Spock savored it like Jim savored a breath of fresh air. The tension that had echoed through the bond since before their retirement was not gone, but for a little while it gave way to contentment.

Their hands hanging by their sides brushed together in a stolen kiss and they shared a burst of warm affection.

“Maybe the future isn’t so bad after all,” Jim remarked at last, though there was still something rueful in his smile. “I would have never thought peace with the Klingons was possible - I was there and I still can’t believe it - but for all my misgivings, I’m glad we’re not still at war with them, exchanging blows over distant outposts. Now we’ll have to figure out how to live with them, but that’s better than being at each other's throats.”

“I would be inclined to agree,” Spock acknowledged, not without a hint of disbelief that it even needed to be said.

“I know, you’re ahead of your time,” Jim said with a smile. “The rest of us are just catching up.”

Spock quirked a skeptical eyebrow at him.

Jim ignored the underlying suggestion that it should not have been such a feat, and instead mused, “What a time to be young. If we’re on good terms with the Klingons now, that means a whole new sector of space will be open for exploration. It almost makes me wish I hadn’t retired,” he said, but they both knew the “almost” was a lie.

Spock carefully prepared his response - something he had been meaning to bring up, but hadn’t yet found the right time to mention. Finally, he began, “Even if you are no longer commanding a starship, you do not necessarily have to be fully retired.”

“I’m not going back to commanding a console, if that’s what you’re suggesting,” Jim retorted, though he doubted that was what Spock was actually getting at.

Spock’s eyebrows rose to suggest that Jim allow him to finish what he was saying before dismissing it outright.

Jim waved for him to continue with a silent apology.

“I found serving as an instructor at Starfleet Academy to be an edifying experience,” Spock explained. “I am certain they would be honored if you volunteered to lecture on your experience as a commanding officer, and though you would not be exploring the galaxy personally, you would be preparing those who will.”

Jim had an argument ready on the tip of his tongue, but it faltered as he considered Spock’s words. He relented, “Maybe you’re right. It would be better than resenting them for it.”

“Precisely,” Spock said.

Jim grinned at him, a warm open smile. He drifted closer to Spock as they walked so their arms gently bumped together. Spock did not move away.

“You’re a wise old man,” Jim teased.

“I have made my share of mistakes,” Spock replied, the young Vulcan, Velaris, at the front of his mind.

With Spock’s unspoken permission, Jim took the first two fingers of Spock’s hand in his own, so they were just barely touching as they walked, but their bond was open wide.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Jim insisted, thinking of the Klingons, and everything he had said to Spock while his bondmate was still regaining his memory, and the son he barely knew, and the list went on. But in that moment, even stronger than the remorse for his own mistakes was acceptance that they were both, after all, only human, and they still had time to improve themselves and make up for it all.

“I am not ‘only human,’” Spock corrected him.

“Vulcans make mistakes too,” Jim said with a smile, “As do half-Vulcans. But you’ve done a lot more good than bad.” He had championed peace when no one else did, saved the Enterprise countless times, even at the cost of his own life, mentored cadets, made innumerable scientific discoveries, and even captained a ship of his own. And he stood by Captain James Kirk when no one else had, and gone far beyond the call of duty. Jim’s affection for his bondmate flooded through their linked fingers.

Spock took a moment to collect himself before he trusted himself to speak, “You have also done much more good than the sum of all your mistakes, and I am certain that you will continue to improve the lives of others, least of all my own.” Somehow, in Spock’s mind, all of the former captain’s myriad accomplishments seemed to pale in comparison to the kindness and acceptance he offered an isolated Human-Vulcan hybrid, born of two words but belonging to neither, who had been given a place at the captain’s side.

Jim glowed with love. He paused for just a moment to give Spock a quick peck on the lips and then returned to walking by his side with no one but the two of them any the wiser.

Note: After such optimistic beginnings, the whole series ended on a very bleak note, which to me seemed to be a tragic thing in and of itself. I thought they deserved a little happiness, maybe some time to adjust to civilian life and start moving forward again (before the prologue of Generations, at least...).

This marks the end of Aging With Mistakes - for now. I haven’t actually seen Generations yet, but when I do I will certainly write a reaction. I’ve been meaning to write a fix-fic where Kirk survives ever since I first heard about the movie years ago, and I’m actually in the middle of watching The Next Generation, so I’ll get to include interactions between him and the whole TNG crew  - though I doubt I’ll ever write much for TNG on its own.

Thank you to everyone who has followed me on this long and at times tumultuous journey through Star Trek: The Original Series! Even though the series is (mostly) done, rest assured the journey is far from over - as always, I have many more stories that have been waiting in the wings!

[riobastayem-blog]

Dream Diary 11

As I said in my last post, the following entry happened to occur to me in the same night I dreamt Dream Diary 10. After waking up, I always try to remember what I dreamt so I can write it down (naturally) and a lot of times I think: Wat da fak did I just drem. And this is a prime example of that. The whole time I was thinking about it new memories made their way up into my brain and made me shake my head in disbelief again and again. I tried to make as much sense as possible from what I experienced.

I live in a house together with my best friend and my sister. My sister and I have been orphans for a few years now. We probably were really sad about the death of our whole family but now I can´t even remember what happened back then. But our life is good now. Stable jobs and no problems. I think. At the moment my mind is more focused on relaxing on the couch in our living room than remembering the past and present. All three of us are watching some TV show while the sun makes it´s rounds outside. Suddenly all hell breaks loose as a wall to my right explodes in a million pieces.  A group of men and women, who look like stereotypical employees of a super-secret underground agency that operates outside of the law, become visible. Immediately, they shout at us that we should give up willingly.  We have absolutely no idea what is going on or why they are attacking us but one thing is clear: Whatever they want, I won´t give it to them. Run! I shout to my sister and my friend and throw some stuff from the table at the agents to slow them down. Then I vault over the couch and follow the others. I hear my sister calling out to me. She is hiding in a closet that is standing in the hall which connects the living room to the kitchen. She motions at me to join her. I join her in the closet and ask where my friend is. She shakes her head and says she doesn´t know. I can hear the agents searching our whole house and I know it is just a matter of time until they find us. As if my thoughts were the flag for an event the doors of our hiding place are yanked open and two men reach out with their gloved hands to rip us from our home. My sister starts crying and I shout at the agents to leave us alone! But before they can even lay a finger on us, a sudden vibration of energy emits from my sister and I. The closet, the agents, the house, the whole world just fades away and I close my eyes when the vertigo kicks in and when I open them again, I am standing in front of our house.  My sister next to me. And everything else is gone. We are floating through empty space on huge piece of rock that carries the building we have lived in for the past years. I look at my sister and her eyes reflect the same cluelessness as mine. Since there is nothing else to do here, we walk up to our house.  I can see light shining from the inside like a fire. I didn´t know we had a fireplace. As we open the door the scene shifts again and we are standing in an old, wooden hut. Dead birds and rabbits are dangling from the ceiling. It is snowing outside. And the inside is pretty cramped. With people. Our whole family is in here standing or sitting. Looking at us with a warm smile. A you´re finally hear. I hear our mother say. She is standing in front of an open fireplace, stirring in a big kettle filled with soup. Dinner is almost ready. She says and focuses on her work again. Where are we? I ask and my voice feels like I haven´t spoken in years. Our father comes into my view and says. Well, you´re home. Where else? I look at my sister. We were home. She says. And then some men burst through our door and attacked us. Straight to the point as always. I think. Well, and…you all have been dead for years. I add to the conversation. It felt like we were teleported by some kind of magic. As my sister utters these words I can see a change in my parent´s expression. They go from friendly to sad. But not the kind of sad when you look like you are about to cry but the kind of sad expression you have when you realize that something terrible from your past you have tried to avoid for years has finally caught up to you and is now not only plaguing yourself but your children as well and there was never any chance that it was going to be any other way. It seems the time has come. My father says. My mother nods. Then she says. We´re magic. You´re magic. Our whole family has been magic for generations. But we tried to leave that life behind us. Somehow the events of the past hour have stolen my ability to feel surprised so I merely ask. Why? There are some evil people out there. Says my father. His eyes peering into the snow outside. My mother agrees. These agents are part of an organization that wants to kill everything magic to protect humanity. Once we were at war with them but then we realized that the best way for us to live in peace was to give up on magic. Instead of continuing with her explanation she suddenly says. Listen, whatever you do next, don´t trust the Witch! Then everything shifts again and I am back in front of our house on the space rock. I turn around to look at my sister but she is gone. Instead my friend is standing there. I explain to him what happened but he just raises his arm and points into the darkness of space. I turn around again and see a giant, metal, three-headed space dragon that takes up most of my field of view. At the top of the metal beast I can make out a platform. A woman is standing on there. Do you know where this is from? She asks me. Despite the distance she doesn´t shout. I can hear as if she was standing right in front of me. Yes. I answer. She smiles and behind the dragon another way longer neck with three dragon heads emerges carrying the woman with it. And now? She asks. No. I answer. Come to me and undergo the challenge of fire goddess! She demands. I nod. Then I say. Mr. Spock, warp speed! The space rock with our house suddenly starts moving and within seconds we reach the space dragon. Pull up! I shout as we are about to crash into the giant metal beast. The rock listens to my command and levitates to the top of the second head. We dock at the platform and the woman greets us with open arms. Welcome. She says. Are you ready? Ready for what? I ask. For the challenge of the fire goddess. She motions to metal statue that depicts the mouth of a dragon. Fire is spewing out of it. What is this challenge? I want to know. You have to reach through the flames and touch the button on the other side to turn them off without getting burned. She explains. She nods into the direction of my friend. You first! Reluctantly my friend walks up to the statue. He looks back at me. I shrug. As quickly as possible he shoves his hand through the flames but merely two seconds in he yanks his arm back and falls to the ground screaming. I run over to him to look how badly he is hurt but the burn doesn´t seem too severe. His arm lightly red. Alright. Now it is your turn. The woman says. Now I walk up to the statue. The woman walks over to the other side. Are you the Witch? I ask. Yes. She smiles sheepishly. What happened to my sister? I don´t know. She answers. And the agents? Oh, they´re dead. Another smile. Right then. So I just have to push the button on the other side? She nods. Where exactly is it? I mean, it would be a shame if I can make it through the flames easily but then I fiddle around trying to find the button and burn off my arm. You know? With her finger she points at the button. Ah. Thank you. I say. Without further hesitation I reach through the flames and push the button. The flames go out and I am unharmed. Well done. The Witch cheers. The scene changes and so does the time. It has been a few weeks since I have been training my magical abilities with the Witch. My friend is still staying with us, although he does not have any magical power. But the Witch doesn´t seem to mind. There are two other pupils as well. They are only small children, still toddlers more or less but they have immense power for their age. At least that is what the Witch tells me. One of them is called Poppy and he looks a bit like Peter Griffin from Family Guy. I don´t know what the other one is called. They are both always fighting each other. The Witch says it´s how they play. I have never seen toddlers throwing chairs at each other with telekinesis but if she says so. One day while the Witch is leading me and my friend up a staircase we hear a loud bang. At first I think that Poppy and the other child are playing rough again but then the Witch says. Intruders. Wait here! She vanishes into thin air and I hear more bangs and also screams from the other rooms of the house. Suddenly an agent emerges from the room in front of us but before he can even think about attacking us a magic attack hits him in the back and with a somersault he lands on his back in front of us. Dead. I don´t really mind but my friend breaks out in sweat and crawls down the stairs. He kneels down beside the dead agents and rips his suit open. Then with a knife in his hand he cuts open his belly. This is madness. I hear my friend say. Then without another word he runs away. No thought of calling or running after him crosses my mind. If he wants to go, he should go. I think. After a while the sounds of fighting die down and the Witch appears by my side again. Is it safe? I ask. For now. She answers. Another week or so goes by when the agents attack again. This time we are prepared though. The Witch has installed magical barriers that alert her when they arrive. They´re coming. She says. What should we do? I ask. I deal with them. Go watch the children. You can handle the ones that make it inside. She vanishes again. I run over to the children´s room. The door is closed and I hear something shatter. Without hesitation I kick open the door and see a man holding a flat, yellow stone in his left hand. I quickly can the room but he is the only one in there. Neither Poppy nor that other kid are here. The man moves to attack me. I try to teleport behind him but in the last moment he touches me with the stone I feel how my magical powers are being drained but the spell was already cast. Together we vanish and reappear inside the room. I wrap my arms around his body to throw him but he just jumps backwards. He lands on me and I land on a glass table. The table shatters and I let go of the agent. While he gets up I pick up a large piece of broken glass. And then when he turns around I ram it into his chest. With disbelief in his eyes he touches the massive splinter covered in his blood. Then he falls to the ground. The stone sliding from his loosened grip. I run over to the windows. One of them is broken. The agent probably got inside through. I look outside and see a few dead agents in the garden. A sound behind me. I spin around. It´s the Witch. Are you alright? She asks. Yeah. I say. Then I point to the dead agent. I think that yellow stone he had can cancel spells. The Witch looks to the corpse. Good job. She says. Where are the kids? I don´t know. I explain. Maybe they escaped somehow? I don´t think he took them. The Witch nods. What do we do now? I ask. First, we find Poppy. Then we get revenge.

And then I woke up. Somehow my dreams always end at key plot points to make extra annoying cliff hangers. Although in this case I don´t think I want to dream that one any further. To be honest, I don´t even know if the part with the giant metal space dragon was actually a part of that dream but it would be kinda weird to have a dream shoved in-between another dream. Fun facts about this dream include that my sister was actually my real sister but all other family members and people in the dream I have never seen before. Apart from the Witch. She looked a bit like my actual mother. Which makes all that even weirder. By the way, I am not an orphan or plan on being one in the near future, so I don´t really know why that was part of the dream. Maybe it has to do with the typical hero trope. The nobody from nowhere. But what I find interesting about my dreams, is that due to the fact that most of the people are strangers to me or rather never actually existed (as far as I know) the dreams are easier to write and publicly publish since they are not that personal. Which is also kind of sad, if you think about it.

[ashroadtrek-blog]

Court Martial

Air Date: February 2, 1967

Writer: Don M. Mankiewicz (story and teleplay), Stephen W. Carabatsos (teleplay)

Director: Marc Daniels

I can’t help but enjoy a good courtroom drama. I’m a low-key Law & Order fan, I love a good investigation. I enjoyed Court Martial for the most part, constantly wondering how Spock would get Kirk out of this one. 

The episode opens over Starbase 11 - the very same starbase from The Menagerie, and we get to see two Constitution-class ships in orbit! Early Star Trek never really had the luxury of multiple models to show off crowded space, so this is a real treat because we see three ships up there in total.

Apparently the Enterprise got through an ion storm and someone died - and that person allegedly died due to Kirk’s negligence. 

Kirk is offered ground duty; give up his ship, his rank, but stay in the service. Do we know Kirk? We know Kirk. Kirk is NEVER going to let that ship go, he will literally face a giant space probe monster thing before he pushes a desk! Kirk demands court martial. 

There’s a lot of character stuff in this episode for Kirk. The crewman who died - Ben Finney, was in the same graduating class at the Academy as Kirk, and he runs into his former classmates at the base. These guys talk low-key shit, and Kirk demands they just go out and say what they want - he looks like he’s ready for a fight before he leaves in a huff. 

There’s a woman who enters the scene - Areel Shaw

“Wanna know why they call me ‘Bones’?”

Apparently she’s an old friend of Kirk’s, same as Finney. We learn that Finney and Kirk served together on the Republic, but Finney screwed up and nearly blew up the ship so Kirk reported him, knocking Finney down to the bottom of the promotion chain and probably earning Kirk a commendation (I mean he saved the ship, after all.)

It turns out that Shaw is a lawyer, an old flame of Kirk’s, and the prosecution in his court martial. She’s also got a psychedlic taste in dresses. 

Finney also spent more time at the Academy than normal - I got from this (and Where No Man Has Gone Before) that graduates spend some time as instructors before they get a ship posting. 

Finney and Kirk were friends before the Republic incident, such good friends that Finney named his daughter after Kirk.

She’s wearing a spray-painted sailor costume.

The prosecution is based on Finney’s hatred of Kirk causing Kirk to hate Finney also, and murdering him. Two of three witnesses insist on Kirk’s impeccable character, the other one (a female ensign) giving testimony about the Republic incident. 

So Finney drew short straw on the duty roster and ended up in the ion pod during the storm, which was to be ejected in event of red alert. Kirk insists he went to red alert, but the record tapes show he hit jettison pod during yellow alert. Apparently, the ships have multiple cameras with multiple angles with such incredible resolution they can magnify down to the consoles on the captain’s chair.

Kirk momentarily expresses self-doubt, but dismisses it. Spock finds out the computer is off, and he and Bones swoop in for a saving throw after Kirk’s lawyer rests his case - and then we get a theatrical insistence on human rights from Mr. Cogley in order to get everyone on the ship for a resolution.

Samuel T. Cogley, attorney at law!

The ship is evacuated down to just a few on the bridge, the court, and the transporter operator. They beamed down nearly 430 people. The computer can detect heartbeats, so McCoy and Spock filter out everyone else’s to reveal one in engineering, B-deck.

Surprise, motherfuckers!

Finney faked his death to screw Kirk, and now he’s going to crash the ship with no survivors because he’s bitter and insane. Kirk manages to beat him by telling him he brought his kid aboard, and goes to repair the damage that Finney did in an attempt to destroy the ship.

Kirk crawls into a Jeffries tube himself, fucks with some live wires, and saves the day! The court dismisses its case, and Kirk and Shaw share a moment. Finney is going to be defended by Cogley and probably sent to a cushy rehabilitation center.

I contend that Bones is a bigger poon-hound than Kirk.

There’s a few interesting things in this episode. For one, the Commodore is black, and the judges in the court martial include an Indian.

Those goofy dress uniforms are a crime in themselves

This was the era of Civil Rights, so I imagine it was kind of a big deal to see two dark-skinned men in positions of power and authority on television. 

Another interesting thing is that Shaw isn’t really characterized as a weepy, hysterical-prone damsel in distress - it’s positively progressive for this show to not have Finney abduct and put her in a situation to force a confrontation with Kirk. On top of that, she’s a professional prosecuting a man far above her rank. I don’t think it’s wrong to say that Areel Shaw is treated as an equal compared to all the women portrayed so far; even Dr. Dehner really just wanted Gary Mitchell to be nice to her. 

No, the REAL damself in distress that forces Kirk to act in this episode is the best girl of the series: the NCC-1701 herself.

NSFW

Again, the most important thing to Kirk is his ship - he can never love a woman the way he loves that ship, the way it makes him feel; it makes him feel like he can make a difference, it’s always there for him, it’s the place where he has power and also the place where he has his friends, the crew that is his family. The show is able to give us a sense of comraderie and love between the Enterprise crew that three films in the reboot series have yet to be able to crack.

Rating: 3/5; possibly rewatch

Court Martial is a very Kirk episode, and while it’s nowhere near as thrilling and exciting as the similar The Menagerie, it is still a great character episode for Kirk.

[stillcooli0]

I’m Going To Handle Something

I don;t know I just wrote something for an OC of mine that I use for Star Trek stuff. Her name is Abigail Mary Kirk, and I like her. Please feel free to help me out so that I can make trash like this better. Thank you and enjoy. 

I didn’t think that I would be beating the shit out of a metahuman ever but you never know where life is going to take you.  Why am I beating a metahuman you may ask. Well, let’s go back about forty minutes ago. About forty minutes ago my brother James T. Kirk died due to radiation poisoning. He died saving the rest of the ship but still, that is my brother. Everyone else was crying and feeling every emotion, I was a void. I didn’t really feel anything I was always prepared for Jim to die. I mean it was only a matter of time before he would, with the way he would always throw himself in situations that screamed death. He wanted to save everybody else all of the time. This is was one of the few times I was going to save him.

I had walked down to the transporter room. I looked dead in Chekov’s eyes and said: “When you get Kahn’s coordinates beam me down.” He gave a little nod. I saw Spock and Uhura came down.  Spock tried to argue with me about going down saying things like ‘Abigail you are too emotional to be going down to fight.’ I was more than annoyed by that statement but I didn’t show it. I looked dead into Spock’s eyes and told him, “You’re one to argue about being emotionally seeing as you just screamed like you just lost the only family member who means anything to you. He may have been your best friend but he was my brother. So I am going to do find the person that is mainly responsible for his death and make him pay for it. Now if you have a problem with that Mr. Spock save it for a later time because I am going.”  After that Spock didn’t try to argue his point any further. Chekov beamed us down to Kahn’s coordinates and the chase was on.  

We chased him around for a good fifteen minutes before anyone could land a hit. While Khan and Spock were fighting I managed to get behind Kahn and choke him for quite a while until he started to pull my some of my skin off. I held on tight. I didn’t stop until I heard Uhura say “He’s the only way to say, Kirk.” I let him go so that Spock could knock him out. We got back to the ship an odd sense of calm washed over me. I knew that Jim was going to be okay.